In the twenty-eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, the glorious "tributary trade" system was already undercurrent. Li Qing, a young official in the Shipping Department, was involved in a bizarre "tribute smuggling case" because of his proficiency in Chinese. He accidentally obtained a "Book of Needles" that recorded maritime secrets and astonishing wealth. In order to clear his grievances and pursue the truth about his father's disappearance in the ocean many years ago, he was forced to join forces with Lin Suye, the daughter of a general whose background is a mystery, and Andre, a Portuguese navigator who was both friend and foe, and embarked on a dangerous voyage.
From the markets of Yuegang to the Portuguese city of Macau, from the hidden murderous Nanyang to the ever-changing Hirado of Japan, they dealt with the Fujian and Zhejiang maritime merchants who intended to monopolize sea profits, the Japanese daimyo who believed in bushido, and the Western explorers who longed to open the door to the East. And behind all this, in the deep palace of the Forbidden City, a storm of party disputes about the "open sea" and the "forbidden sea" is quietly sweeping across... This is an epic about dreams, betrayal, loyalty and choices. See how the little people control the boat of their own destiny in the wave of the big era, and raise the sails that connect the east and west.
