The Empire Will Keep Winning

In the sixth year of the Xuanwu era, the capital remains immersed in song and dance, but those with insight recognize this so-called golden age as merely the empire’s final gasp. On the seas, neighboring ironclad fleets fly the Z-flag, flaunting their military might. Along the southeastern coast, provincial governors operate independently, hinting at impending separatism. In the borderlands and deserts, local aristocrats construct fortified strongholds and recruit private armies. The Ministry of Revenue faces a crippling deficit, with annual expenditures of eight hundred million against revenues of only five hundred million. Overnight, foreign powers reveal their predatory intentions, making it seem as though the entire world has turned against the nation. Court officials lament that this is an unprecedented crisis unseen in three thousand years. However, Shen Moqing, a transmigrator and associate professor who dedicated his life to studying international political theory, sees this differently. To him, the crumbling old empire is not a disaster, but a perfect testing ground. Having studied the "art of slaying dragons"—metaphorical strategies for overthrowing tyrannical rule—for twenty-five years, he believed such knowledge would die with him. Instead, he has found a real dragon to challenge. Armed with idealism as his shield and ambition as his sword, he sets out to slaughter traitors, rebels, and ultimately the dragon itself. But first, he must clear his name of a fabricated crime.