The Glorious Ming Dynasty

At the end of the Yuan dynasty, the land falls into chaos. Zhu Yuanzhang, a monk from Huangjue Temple, leaves the clergy to join the army. Beneath the walls of Haozhou, he meets Li Chengze, a clerk who remains devoted to Confucian ideals. One believes that “the Mandate of Heaven comes from the fist,” while the other is convinced that “the people’s will is the Mandate of Heaven.” From the blood-soaked waters of Poyang Lake to the scheming court of Jinling, they stand side by side to build a dynasty. But when the new dynasty is established and Zhu Yuanzhang sits high on the throne, looking down upon all the people, Li Chengze sees familiar hardship in the faces of the common folk. When the Mandate of Heaven is taken from the fields and brought into the halls of power, what becomes of the ideals that started it all? The two close friends take entirely different paths, answering with their lives the question: Who truly holds the Mandate of Heaven?