The Ming Dynasty: A History of China

The Ming Dynasty: A History of China, PART ONE, invites you on a sweeping journey through the rise and glory of one of the world's most formidable empires. It opens with Zhu Yuanzhang — a peasant boy stripped of family and fortune by famine and disease, who found shelter in a Buddhist monastery and then transformed into a relentless warlord. From tending livestock to commanding vast armies, Zhu's ascent from beggar to emperor is one of the most astonishing true stories in history — the kind that proves courage and cunning can rewrite a destiny forged by hardship. Along the way you'll meet unforgettable rivals who vied for control of China's future: Chen Youliang, the fierce "river king" whose fleets once dominated the waterways; Zhang Shicheng, the salt merchant who rose to rule Suzhou and its hinterlands; and the crafty generals who fought beneath Zhu's banner. Each clash — the protracted sieges and river battles along the Yangtze, culminating in the decisive Battle of Lake Poyang — and the sequence of campaigns and strategic maneuvers that followed pushed him ever closer to his ultimate goal: to end the chaos of late Yuan rule and found a new order. When the Ming dynasty rose, a new chapter of stories began. You'll trace the creation of the Jinyiwei — the embroidered-uniform guard that became the emperor's secret police after being established by the Hongwu Emperor in the dynasty's early years — and the dramatic fall of heroes like General Lan Yu, a brilliant commander whose battlefield triumphs could not save him from execution in 1393 when he was accused of treason. Inside the palace, plots and whispers never stopped. Seeds of rebellion had already been sown, and brothers would clash for the right to sit on the Dragon Throne. That struggle culminates in the Jingnan Campaign (1399–1402), where the young Emperor Jianwen squares off against his uncle Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan — the very man who would become the Yongle Emperor after seizing power in 1402.