The Crumbling Empire (Complete in 3 Volumes)

Under pressure from a powerful empress dowager, a weak emperor walks on eggshells and makes concession after concession, only to lose both his power and his land.

With domestic unrest and foreign threats closing in, how can the Guangxu Emperor, on the verge of taking personal control, find a chance to revive the Qing Dynasty under Empress Dowager Cixi’s oppressive rule?

In the fifteenth year of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi “retired behind the scenes,” and Guangxu took the reins. Filled with ambition, he brushed aside opposition and firmly supported war with Japan. After the war began, Pingrang, the Yellow Sea, and Weihaiwei all fell in succession, and the Beiyang Fleet was completely destroyed… In the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu, amid desperate times and mounting danger, Guangxu was once again thrust into the eye of history’s storm.

With the support of Kang Youwei and others, he demoted six officials and launched the Hundred Days’ Reform, beginning his final struggle for power…