The First Mansion in Western Beijing

Xuanfu Town, the foremost prefecture west of the capital and the leading stronghold among the Ming Dynasty’s nine frontier garrisons.

Lin Bei transmigrated here by accident from the 21st century. He has no protagonist’s halo, only a determination to get things done.

Over fourteen years, he repaired the city walls, improved irrigation, built public granaries, founded academies, and opened markets for trade. He turned a crumbling border town into the strongest fortress in the north.

Then came the Tumu Crisis. Two hundred thousand Ming troops were wiped out, and the emperor was captured. The Oirat army stood at the city gates, and the people looked to him.

He climbed the city wall. Behind him lay the capital; before him stood a hundred thousand cavalry.

“The state comes first; the ruler comes second.”

An epic of an ordinary man on the frontier, and a forgotten chapter in the history of the Ming Dynasty.