Originally Posted by
Ken Cheng
Those who have read Chinese history know about Chu Yeun Cheung and his unscrupulous deeds during his rise to power in China (and during his reign as the first Ming Emperor, Hongwu), but HSDS takes place before all that. In HSDS, we do see some of the cunning and ruthlessness that Chu Yeun Cheung would later exhibit in more drastic ways as emperor, but it's all very low key compared to his later deeds. During HSDS, in fact, one might even argue that some of Chu's questionable deeds were justifiable because he was rebelling against the Yuan government and some scruples needed to be overlooked for the sake of the rebellion.