In the middle period of the Great Yong Dynasty, imperial authority had waned, and Chancellor Zhao Gao held the court in his iron grip. Marquis of the Northern Frontier Xiao Ce had guarded the northern border for twenty years and earned countless military honors. He was the people's protector, as well as the greatest obstacle in Zhao Gao's path to power. In secret, Zhao Gao colluded with the Left Xian King, the most powerful leader of the northern barbarian steppe, and sold him the defense plans for the Great Yong border. He framed Marquis Xiao Ce for treason and persuaded the emperor to order the extermination of the entire marquis's household.
On the night the household was wiped out, the personal guard battalion sacrificed the lives of three hundred men to help the sixteen-year-old heir, Xiao Mo, escape the capital. Hiding his identity, Xiao Mo took the name Xiao Jingyuan and lay low for two years in Yunguan, a small city on the very front line of the border. To gain total control of the Northern Frontier's military forces, Zhao Gao colluded with the Left Xian King once more, bringing a hundred thousand northern barbarian troops south. The entire northern defense line collapsed, leaving Yunguan as the last barrier protecting the Northern Frontier. This is where the story begins.
