When the Japanese raiders' cavalry smashed through the defenses and the flames of war swept across Korea, the Great Ming was already setting beneath a blood-red sun. Born into poverty, he rose from the bottom, struggling forward one step at a time through an age of chaos, his official career beset by setbacks. He suffered the factional infighting at court and the repeated persecution of civil officials. His fervent desire to serve his country was met again and again with cold water, until the passion of his youth was worn away by reality. Within the empire, he would root out corruption at court; beyond its borders, he would repel the wolves and mighty foes. He had no time for romance, devoting himself entirely to preserving the crumbling fortunes of the Great Ming. From an ordinary nobody, he rose through the ranks amid war and bloodshed, defying the odds in the struggle for power and holding up the vast lands of the dying Ming!
