Mo Fanzun, a history teacher, suddenly collapses while grading exams. When he wakes, it's 1911 in Sichuan. He has become an assistant officer in the Patrol Battalion, with a knife wound in his left shoulder and over a hundred men under his command, trapped in Chengdu at the heart of the Railway Protection Movement.
He knows what will happen next: the Chengdu massacre, the Revolutionary Army's siege, the Wuchang Uprising, and the fall of the Qing court. He also knows that the dark blue official uniform he's wearing will become a death warrant in a few months.
His only way out is to appear loyal to the imperial court while carving out his own territory. Taking advantage of an opportunity to escort weapons, he exchanges old guns for new ones in Chengdu, then retreats to Chongqing with more than a hundred Hanyang rifles. The court grants him the title of “Loyal and Brave Baturu,” so he uses “suppressing bandits” as a pretext to expand his forces, recruit soldiers, and train his men. When Zhao Erfeng orders him to send troops to reinforce Chengdu, he uses “reinforcement” as a pretext to advance along the Eastern Route, capturing city after city.
He knows the Wuchang Uprising is about to break out and the Qing court's rule is about to crumble, but he can't tell anyone. All he can do is bind everyone around him to his cause with a simple truth: “In troubled times, the only way to survive is to have soldiers at your side.”
From assistant officer to commander, from a thousand ragged soldiers to ruling eastern Sichuan: it takes him just two months. But the real test still lies ahead. After the Qing court collapses, he must hold this land and protect the thousands of brothers who follow him.
This is a forgotten piece of history, the story of a man struggling to survive in the cracks of time. He knows which way the tide is turning, but he can't say. All he can do is grip the gun in his hands.
