The Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli reforms were still gaining momentum when the waves of the Age of Exploration came crashing in.
A specter, the specter of hereditary clans and powerful families, haunted the lands of the Nine Provinces.
Open the history books, and familiar names gradually appear alongside those of the Three Kingdoms and the Sui and Tang dynasties.
Xie Qian, of the Chenjun Xie clan, a descendant of Xie An.
Wang Shizhen, of the Langya Wang clan, a descendant of Wang Dao.
Tao Dalin, of the Kuaiji Tao clan, a descendant of Tao Kan.
Yuan Wei, of the Runan Yuan clan, a descendant of Yuan An.
The lock on their greed was being opened by a key called the School of the Mind.
“Eradicating human desire” had never kept ordinary people in chains. It was hunger that had always bound them.
The School of the Mind was destined to become a celebration for the scholar-officials alone.
Alas for the common folk, alas for all living beings.
A transformation without precedent in three thousand years was close at hand, and so was a struggle for power without precedent in three thousand years.
Ning Jue: Please, someone come kill me. I really just want to die.
