**"Your Majesty, the rebel forces have breached Juyong Pass! The capital is in imminent peril!"**
Zhu Youjian awoke with a start, his imperial sleeping robes drenched in cold sweat. The darkness outside his windows remained impenetrable. Fumbling to light a candle, the mountain of memorials on his desk seemed to mirror his crumbling empire in the flickering light.
"Wang Cheng'en!" he rasped.
The elderly eunuch hurried in. "Your Majesty, it's still the fourth watch..."
"I cannot sleep." Rubbing his temples, the emperor ordered, "Fetch me the latest military reports from Liaodong."
Suddenly, a blinding white light filled the bedchamber. Zhu Youjian staggered back three paces as a strangely dressed youth materialized, holding a glowing rectangle.
"Holy shit! I actually time-traveled to the Ming Dynasty?" Xu Qing gaped at the Chongzhen Emperor while a system prompt chimed in his mind: *Host successfully anchored to March 1644. Remaining duration: 23 hours 59 minutes.*
"Assassin!" Wang Cheng'en shrieked.
"Wait!" Xu Qing raised his hands. "I'm not here to harm you—I'm here to save the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Youjian steadied himself, studying the short-haired intruder. "Who are you? Why do you dress so strangely?"
"I'm Xu Qing, from the year 2023." He produced a smartphone displaying prepared materials. "Your Majesty, I know you're besieged by crises, but do you know what happens nineteen days from now in original history?"
The screen clearly showed: *"The Chongzhen Emperor hangs himself at Coal Hill"* beneath a photograph of the ancient scholar tree at Jingshan.
Zhu Youjian froze as if struck by lightning, his trembling fingers touching the screen. "What... what sorcery is this?"
"Not sorcery—technology." Xu Qing swiped to reveal the historical timeline of the Ming-Qing transition. "I can show you the future. Perhaps we can find a way to save your empire."
Wang Cheng'en clutched the emperor's sleeve. "Your Majesty, this demon—"
"Silence!" Zhu Youjian shook off the eunuch, madness gleaming in his eyes. "I will go with you!"
Activating the system's portal function, Xu Qing conjured a doorway of light. When Zhu Youjian stepped through, Beijing's glittering nightscape unfolded before him—skyscrapers like pillars of heaven, rivers of steel flowing through illuminated streets.
"Is... is this the celestial court?" The emperor's knees buckled on the observation deck.
"This is the China World Trade Center, 378 years after your time." Xu Qing helped him up. "Let me show how future generations judge you."
In an internet café, Zhu Youjian paled while reading forum debates titled *"Was the Chongzhen Emperor a Tyrant?"* Some praised his diligence; more condemned his stubbornness and purges.
"They say I... destroyed my own Great Wall?" His voice cracked.
Xu Qing pulled up Yuan Chonghuan's records: "You executed your most capable general. And also..."
When the documentary showed Li Zicheng's forces breaching Beijing's gates, the emperor finally broke down in tears. After allowing him to compose himself, Xu Qing guided him through a military museum.
"These drones can scout enemies fifty kilometers away. These listening devices can capture whispers from thirty meters." Xu Qing explained the exhibits. "Applied to your court—"
Zhu Youjian's eyes blazed. "I need these!"
Returning to the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's luggage now contained micro-cameras, solar chargers, and ten civilian drones. At parting, Xu Qing said, "I'll return in seven days to discuss our livestream strategy."
As dawn broke, Wang Cheng'en discovered his sovereign suddenly reappeared in the bedchamber beside a mysterious crate. More unsettling was how the emperor's melancholy had vanished, replaced by a terrifying gleam in his eyes.
"Decree: Morning court will convene one hour early today!"