The Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

On the eve of the Jia Shen Rebellion in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, a soul from a later era transmigrated into the body of Zhu Cilang, the last crown prince of the Ming Dynasty… Before the bandits besieged the city, Zhu Cilang persuaded the Chongzhen Emperor to send the Empress and others south, but he and the Chongzhen Emperor remained in the capital… The capital fell, the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself in the southeast, and Zhu Cilang was taken hostage by the bandits… Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Li Zicheng was defeated at Shanhai Pass, and Zhu Cilang seized the opportunity to break away from the bandits… He did not choose to go south to succeed to the throne, nor did he choose to live a life of seclusion, but instead went to Shizhu… He occupied Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, raised hundreds of thousands of troops, and watched as the bandits and the Jurchens fought… When the time was ripe, the last crown prince marched out of Sichuan, unified the country, and defied fate…