Saving the Ming: Deposing Chongzhen

On the evening of March 17, 1644, Li Zicheng's rebel forces have already encircled the capital. The heart of the once-glorious Ming dynasty is poised to be pierced through within a single day. That night, Emperor Chongzhen drowns himself in wine, acutely aware that he is fated to become the dynasty's final sovereign. That night, the court officials scheme and maneuver, convinced that the Mandate of Heaven now resides beyond the city walls. And on that same night, Zhu Zongye arrives outside the imperial city at the head of over a hundred elite household guards. A history enthusiast who has traveled through time to this era, Zhu Zongye knows with absolute certainty that Li Zicheng outside the gates is no divinely ordained ruler, nor are the Jianzhou Eight Banners beyond the passes worthy masters of the realm. Having landed in this moment, he refuses to stand idly by and watch history unfold along its predetermined course—he must act and overturn it. After careful deliberation, he conceives a daring scheme: as a famously rebellious scion of the imperial clan and a descendant of the Prince of Ning, he will revive his family's time-honored tradition. He will launch a "clearing of the sovereign's side" before Chongzhen has the chance to take his own life on Coal Hill. To rescue the dying empire, the well-intentioned yet woefully inept Chongzhen must be taken off the board—early.