Shen Yan, a scholar of Qing history, transmigrates to the twenty-seventh year of the Kangxi reign as a penniless refugee in a frontier fort in Zhili. With no memories, no golden finger, and nothing to rely on, he opens his eyes to find Eight Banners soldiers accusing him of being a fugitive rebel, a blade at his throat and execution imminent.
With death upon him, he grips half a wooden token and stakes everything on a shout: “A direct descendant of the Tongjia clan, of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Han Army!”
The laws governing banner registration are strict. Those who falsify their banner affiliation are condemned to death by slicing, while those who falsely claim noble status bring death upon their entire clan.
He may know Qing history inside out, but he has no other advantage. Relying on his knowledge of banner regulations, ritual, Manchu, criminal law, and fiscal records, he proceeds cautiously, observing every formality and bluffing the frontier officers into letting him escape his death trap.
A start with nothing, surviving under a false identity.
He enters the Tong residence, secures banner registration, attends the imperial clan school, debates the classics and histories, takes charge of practical affairs, and stirs up the court.
Nobles of the Upper Three Banners look down on him. Manchu aristocrats frame him. The Sormu faction's infighting bears down on him, while the nine princes, each a hidden dragon, circle nearby.
He has no troops, no power, no patron, and no trump card. Armed only with history and his wits, he breaks through every crisis and turns his false identity into an ironclad claim of legitimate descent. From a refugee in a frontier fort, he climbs step by step to the pinnacle of power in the Kangxi court.
A Han Army impostor, building a dynasty on a false banner identity.
In this game, only meticulous historical research can keep him alive until he rules the realm!
