During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, deep undercurrents surged in the seemingly prosperous empire. Zhao Yan, a young man from a humble background but proficient in arithmetic, was involved in the thrilling imperial financial reform by chance. From market abacus to palace abacus, he dealt with cabinet ministers determined to reform, conservative vested interest groups, mysterious overseas smuggling forces and the powerful eunuchs in the palace. This is a war without gunpowder, and the stakes are the national destiny of the entire dynasty. With his wisdom and tenacity, Zhao Yan gradually uncovered the shocking secrets behind the flow of silver in the empire in the whirlpool of friendship, power and family justice, and finally used an iron abacus to help create a magnificent historical legend.
