The Endgame of Great Xia

The Great Xia dynasty is nearing its end, and the land is on the brink of collapse. In the Forbidden City during the late Wanli era, eunuchs wield power and factional strife rages. Mongol cavalry and the Eight Banners of the Jurchens attack the border passes at the same time, while starving refugees rise in revolt. The garrison system has long since rotted away. The old dynasty is a leaking ship, ready to capsize at any moment. Xiao Ran, a rising star from a humble family, is a mere jinshi, yet with a single hand he can turn the tide of political intrigue, secretly weaving an intelligence network that spans the entire court. Murong Lie, a tiger cub of a military family and the reaper of the northern frontier, excels at firearm-equipped wagon formations and the Mandarin Duck Formation, yet is repeatedly obstructed by the court and stripped of his military honors. Princess Li Wan, the imperial family's sharpest blade, commands the palace's secret agents and part of the imperial guard. Ye Qingshuang, a former female secret agent of the Eastern Depot, is a master of both swordsmanship and firearms, moving between the martial world and the imperial prison. The four should have been natural enemies: Civil officials and military commanders distrust one another, while the princess and the assassin each have their own schemes. But after one bloody palace coup, border war, and siege by bandits after another, they are forced to form an alliance of life and death. Together, they purge the eunuch faction, sow discord among the barbarians, break enemy formations with firearms, and turn rebel forces to their side. Yet step by step, they also approach the ultimate struggle for power: Should they defend the old dynasty to the death, or remake the world? Should civil officials rule at home and military commanders abroad, or should all sides fight to the bitter end? Thirty years of political intrigue, like a game of chess. Thirty years of bloodshed on the battlefield. As cannon fire thunders beyond Beijing and secret imperial edicts multiply within the Forbidden City, the four finally realize The fate of Great Xia has never been in the emperor's hands. It has always been theirs to decide. This is a truly weighty Ming-inspired novel of political intrigue and war. No saintly heroine, no brainless characters, no overpowered chosen one. Every betrayal, every counterplot, every bloody battle strictly follows the real institutions, tactics, laws, and intelligence practices of the Ming dynasty.