In a distant parallel world, the Central Plains at the end of the Qing dynasty are trapped in a desperate plight. War rages, and the people have been driven from their homes. The Western powers have forced open the country’s gates with their ironclad ships and advanced guns, while the corrupt and incompetent Manchu aristocracy is powerless to deal with this “unprecedented upheaval in three thousand years.” The court is stubbornly conservative, and the state is adrift.
The Taiping Rebellion surges across the land, draining the Qing of most of its elite Manchu forces. Fortunately, Zeng Guofan establishes the Xiang Army, which puts down the rebellion after bitter fighting and saves the collapsing dynasty. Yet the Qing court goes back on its word: the promise that “whoever recaptures Nanjing will be made a prince” comes to nothing, and Zeng Guofan is denied a dukedom. The Xiang Army’s soldiers are filled with resentment.
At this moment, shocking news arrives from the Tiandihui overseas: for a century, descendants of the Chongzhen Emperor’s crown prince from the former Ming dynasty have lived abroad. In Southeast Asia, with the help of loyal ministers and years of painstaking effort, they have amassed enormous wealth and established close ties with European elites through trade, becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Han Chinese leaders such as Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, and Li Hongzhang hear the news and, deeply disillusioned with the unjust Qing court, secretly resolve to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, bringing back a Han emperor. The Xiang Army is already battle-hardened, and now it has overseas wealth to fund its soldiers and the moral authority of a just cause. Its morale soars. Wherever its forces advance, the Qing army is driven back. The decaying Qing court is like a building on the verge of collapse. Under the assault of this righteous army, it comes crashing down. The land of China seems poised to see the dawn of rebirth and begin a new chapter.
