The Ming Dynasty in 1587: The Wanli Deadlock

If you were an official in the Ming, what would be more terrifying than a corrupt official?

Gao Yue.

He is the “shadow chief minister” whom the Wanli Emperor both loves and resents, and the “underworld judge of the officialdom” whom every court official avoids.

When faced with a scheme as devastating as breaching a dike to flood fields and ruin families, he turns the tables by using his opponent’s own strength against him.

When faced with moral blackmail from a censor willing to die for his cause, a single dossier is enough to make the man bring about his own downfall.

“When I, Gao Yue, do things, I don’t care about the face of the imperial relatives. I only care whether the rules of this Ming can be upheld.”

You won’t find a single fool of an antagonist in this novel.

Every opponent is a cunning old fox, and every conversation hides three layers of murderous intent.

Watch Gao Yue rise from a lowly sixth-rank clerk and carefully fight his way through the Wanli Emperor’s locked game to carve out a bright new world!