Lu Chen, a modern history graduate student, dies suddenly after pulling an all-nighter. When he opens his eyes again, he has become a down-and-out scholar in Beiping during the first year of the Jianwen era. The storm of princely demotions is about to break, Prince of Yan Zhu Di is “feigning madness” to avoid disaster, and the imperial army is bearing down on the city. Beiping is on the brink of collapse. Lu Chen has no achievements to his name and no money to his family’s name. His only advantage is the history he remembers from books. To survive in this dog-eat-dog age, he has no choice but to take an unorthodox path: giving the future Yongle Emperor a “preview” of what lies ahead.
“Your Highness, you’ll move the capital to Beijing.”
“Your Highness, you’ll compile the Yongle Encyclopedia.”
“Your Highness, you’ll launch five northern campaigns, then die on the way back…”
Zhu Di: ??? (draws his sword)
Lu Chen: Don’t rush! I can also tell you how to win!
From a second-rate city defense officer in the Defense of Beiping, to a “walking think tank” in the Jingnan army, and finally to the invisible hand behind the Yongle era, Lu Chen dances on the blade’s edge of history, trying to use modern thinking to change the fate of the Ming dynasty. But when he truly finds himself at the heart of the vortex of power and sees the ambition and madness in Zhu Di’s eyes, he realizes that giving the future away is easy, but changing fate is hard. To survive, the price he pays may be far heavier than anything in the history he remembers…
