The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

When Emperor Chongzhen first saw the History of Ming, he was absolutely unwilling and unable to believe what was written in the book, but driven by strong curiosity, he couldn't help but open the History of Ming to take a look.

It's fine if you don't look, but once you do, you'll be completely stunned.

Because it's so real.

Every person and every event in it is based on evidence and is not baseless or fabricated.

Everything seemed unexpected, yet somehow perfectly logical.

For example, Yuan Chonghuan, whom he had just recalled from the provinces.

Yuan Chonghuan was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the 47th year of the Wanli reign (1628). Later, in the second year of the Tianqi reign (1623), he volunteered to go out of Shanhaiguan and join the front line to resist the Later Jin and recover Liaodong.

In the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Nurhaci, the Khan of the Later Jin, personally led an expedition to Liaoxi and launched a major attack on the Ming Dynasty. Yuan Chonghuan, under almost impossible circumstances, managed to block Nurhaci's offensive at Ningyuan, achieving the first victory against the Later Jin in a direct confrontation since the Battle of Sarhu. When the news of the victory reached the capital, the court and the public cheered. The Tianqi Emperor said, "This is unprecedented in the past seven or eight years, and it is enough to make the frontier proud." Yuan Chonghuan became famous in one battle.

This was a fierce general, just like Lan Yu, one of the founding generals of the People's Republic of China.

Therefore, after Wei Zhongxian was eliminated, many officials petitioned to reinstate Yuan Chonghuan to guard the north against the Later Jin. The petitions had reached the point of being "full of petitions in the imperial carriage." Emperor Chongzhen himself had the same intention, and immediately issued an imperial edict to reinstate Yuan Chonghuan in order to recover Liaodong.

However, in the History of Ming, Yuan Chonghuan was executed by slow slicing for treason after only a little over a year of being employed.

The ending was undoubtedly unexpected, but the whole process was detailed and logical.

The key event, the Jisi Incident, was described in great detail, as if it had actually happened.

In fact, not only Yuan Chonghuan, but also every famous figure in the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty has a well-detailed biography or annals.

If it's fake, how could it be so realistic? And such a massive project couldn't have been accomplished by one person alone.

But if it's true, the Ming Dynasty is still around, and Emperor Chongzhen is still alive, so how did he become history?

What exactly is this "History of Ming"? And what kind of place is this?

Emperor Chongzhen was torn between his conscience and his conscience, and before he could figure out what was going on, the young owner came to tell him that the bookstore was closing down.

Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to leave temporarily.

Upon returning to the imperial palace, Emperor Chongzhen was filled with fear and unease, just as he had been when he first entered the palace. He sat alone by a solitary lamp all night.

He dared not sleep, nor could he fall asleep.

If he doesn't figure out what's really going on with that "History of Ming," he'll never be able to eat or sleep properly again.

Therefore, the next day, he decided not to return to the palace for the time being, but to stay at the Tianshou Mountain Palace for another day.

The wind was still biting, but the heavy snow had stopped, and visibility was much better today than yesterday evening.

Emperor Chongzhen once again came to the back garden alone. Following the route from yesterday, he walked through the secluded path and, sure enough, saw the bookstore again in a hidden corner.

Everything that happened last night was not a dream, but reality.

However, the bookstore seemed to be both inside and outside the palace, giving it a somewhat ethereal feel.

Having learned from the previous night's experience, Chongzhen was not afraid. Instead, filled with intense curiosity, he once again passed through that seemingly intangible barrier, which made him feel as if he were traversing endless years...

He came to this strange bookstore again.

It's still that same book, the History of Ming.

This time, however, Chongzhen looked even more carefully, scrutinizing every person and every detail, trying to find any clues or flaws.

But the more he looked at it in detail, the angrier he became.

He had the ambition to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, but after reading the whole book, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

This feeling of powerlessness made him angry, and he almost smashed his desk several times.

Perhaps it was because I was too excited that I attracted the attention of the young employer.

The other person called him "classmate" as before and poured him a cup of hot tea.

He wouldn't drink the tea until he figured out the other person's identity and current situation, but he could try asking them a few questions.

The other person called him "classmate," so Chongzhen also called him "classmate."

"Hey... classmate, do you think everything in this book is true?"

Zhu Ziming hadn't heard the term "classmate" for a long time, but what surprised him even more was the question the other person asked: "Is the History of Ming Dynasty true?"

Zhu Ziming looked at the other person with a puzzled expression, and subconsciously replied, "This is history, of course it's true."

"But……"

Emperor Chongzhen hesitated for a moment, then pointed to an illustration in the book, frowned, and asked, "Did the founding emperor really look like this?"

"this……"

Zhu Ziming was stumped by the question.

In the History of Ming, the illustration of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang is that of a shoe-shaped face covered with pockmarks, unlike the appearance of a normal human being; he is extremely ugly.

Zhu Ziming understood the question the other party had just asked.

It seems that the person asking whether the History of Ming is true is not completely ignorant, but rather feels that the History of Ming compiled by the Qing court is suspected of slander and does not fully conform to historical facts, hence the question.

interesting.

Zhu Ziming simply sat down and said, "I have never met Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but I think he probably didn't look like this."

"Why?" Chongzhen pressed.

Zhu Ziming replied, "Think about it. If Zhu Yuanzhang really was that ugly, why would Guo Zixing have kept him by his side as a personal guard when he left Huangjue Temple to join the Red Turban Army under Guo Zixing, and even married his intelligent and beautiful goddaughter, Ma, to him?"

"Furthermore, the portraits of the Ming Dynasty imperial descendants and Zhu Yuanzhang's children all show full faces and dignified expressions. How could their ancestor possibly have a long, narrow face?"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded in deep agreement.

Zhu Ziming continued: "Under normal circumstances, the first thing the ruling party does after overthrowing the previous regime is to distort the history of the previous regime and smear its culture, so as to achieve the goal of the current regime being in accordance with the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people, thereby demonstrating the legitimacy of the current regime."

The Qing Dynasty, which replaced the Ming Dynasty, was a unique dynasty. As a minority ethnic group that entered the Central Plains, the Qing urgently needed to prove the legitimacy of their rule. Therefore, I personally believe that the vilification of Zhu Yuanzhang was most likely a deliberate act by the later Qing regime.

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen nodded in deep agreement once more, his gaze fixed intently on Zhu Ziming, and said:

"So, this book was fabricated by the Jurchen people, and its contents are all false, all slander against the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty never perished, right?"

???

What?

This time, it was Zhu Ziming's turn to be dumbfounded.

The Ming Dynasty didn't perish?

What kind of brain circuit is this? Saying the History of Ming is fake is one thing, but how come the Ming Dynasty hasn't even fallen yet?

Are you possessed?

Even if you're a Ming Dynasty fan, you don't have to be this obsessed, do you?

Zhu Ziming gave the other person a strange look, but still patiently replied:

"Although the Qing court encountered many setbacks in the process of compiling the History of Ming, and it took a long time and was completed by many hands, there are some problems such as contradictions in the content and omissions in the narrative. In particular, there are many vague and inaccurate records in the accounts of the Jianzhou Jurchen and the history of the Southern Ming."

"But overall, this History of Ming is quite rigorous in its structure, clear in its narrative, well-organized, and concise in its language, making it a basic read for understanding the history of Ming."

"So, everything you said is fabricated, fake, and impossible."

"Furthermore, the claim that the Ming Dynasty never perished is utter nonsense."

Zhu Ziming's words were like a bucket of cold water poured directly over Chongzhen's head, chilling him to the bone.

Emperor Chongzhen muttered in disbelief, "Is the Ming Dynasty really gone?"

"Of course," Zhu Ziming replied decisively.

This definitive answer shocked Emperor Chongzhen, leaving his mind blank.

After a while.

As if struck by a sudden realization, Emperor Chongzhen stared at Zhu Ziming and asked, "What year is it tonight?"

"???"

Zhu Ziming was once again completely baffled by the other person's question. Was the other person crazy? Although he thought this to himself, Zhu Ziming still checked his watch and replied, "It is currently 4:06 PM Beijing time on January 8, 2026."

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't understand the exact time.

But that wasn't what Chongzhen cared about; he only cared about the Ming Dynasty.

"Then the Ming Dynasty..."

For a moment, Chongzhen didn't know how to ask, but Zhu Ziming seemed to understand what he meant and replied, "The Ming Dynasty fell in 1644, which is 382 years ago."