Lieming

Lieming is a historical web novel by the author Ruishi, completed on Qidian on December 11, 2015, totaling about 1.55 million Chinese characters and 477 chapters. The platform classifies it as "History · Song, Yuan, and Ming" with the tags "Ming Dynasty, Time Travel, Imperial Examinations." The story opens on the tenth day of the eighth month in the tenth year of the Chongzhen era of the Great Ming, in Fengyang, the Central Capital: Zhu Ping'an, a prince's concubine-born son, and his companion Cao Wushang secretly visit the Fengyang High Wall at night to see Zhu Yujian, the Prince of Tang—his father in this life—who was reduced to commoner status and imprisoned there for mobilizing troops to aid the emperor without authorization. They bring him ointment and food. At the chapter's end, the courtyard they are visiting is surrounded. Though born into a princely house, Zhu Ping'an finds himself in a dynasty on the brink of collapse. He begins by reorganizing the hundred-household garrison under his command—one that exists in name only—drilling formations and practicing combat, forging a group of starving military households into a unified, disciplined elite force that moves as one. He then fights at Fengyang, pacifies the Huai region, campaigns through Qi and Lu, and marches on Liaodong, driving straight to the enemy's heartland and founding a new order—carving out a path to restore the realm. The work weaves into its narrative the collapse of the Ming garrison system, land concentration, and official corruption, and features historical figures such as Zhu Yujian, Wu Sangui, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and Zheng Zhilong. It is a typical historical time-travel "Chuangwang Road" power-fantasy novel, with a clear main plot, tight pacing, and a blend of historical research and extrapolation.