A Strategy of Mountains and Rivers

In the winter of Yongchang Year 19, an unexplained fire broke out in the Eastern Palace, and Crown Prince Li Heng was “killed” in the flames.

Ten years later, the salt merchant Shen family in Yangzhou hired Zhou Yin, a bookkeeper with six fingers on his left hand, superb at chess and unmatched in strategy. With nine princes vying for the throne, the court in turmoil, and corruption rife in the salt administration, a game spanning ten years quietly began anew.