In the sixteenth year of Yongle, in Yingtian Prefecture, Xu Ce, heir to Prince Qing, is just sixteen. His birth mother died young. His stepmother, Princess Consort Zheng, appears to dote on him, but secretly resents his status as the legitimate eldest son and Prince Qing's exclusive favor. Zheng plots in secret, joining forces with palace eunuchs to forge evidence and accuse Xu Ce of being born from an affair between his mother and a guard, making his bloodline impure. Enraged, Prince Qing strips Xu Ce of his status, expels him from the manor, and exiles him to Liangzhou Guard on the northwestern frontier.
After traveling thousands of miles, Xu Ce happens upon a few scattered, incomplete pages of the Yongle Encyclopedia on an ancient desert road. They record several lost skills, including ancient agricultural texts and military strategies. No magic or divine power is involved, but with his genuine talent and knowledge, he rises from a lowly cook in the frontier army. He improves military rations, builds irrigation works, trains local militias, and repeatedly earns great merit. Gentle and composed, he repays kindness for cruelty. In the northwestern army, he makes sincere friends, including veteran soldiers and impoverished scholars, gradually building a force that cannot be ignored.
Meanwhile, Zheng tightens her grip inside the manor and even tries to kill Xu Ce's only surviving sister. On the frontier, the remnants of the Northern Yuan are stirring, and undercurrents gather. The tides of history drive Xu Ce to advance step by step through one desperate situation after another. His enemies are not only the lofty imperial authority, but also the dark flame of jealousy deep in the human heart.
Xu Ce knows that beneath the glory of the Yongle Golden Age, he must not only reclaim everything that belongs to him, but also protect this vast land and find his true self again.
