Iron-Blooded and Residual Brightness

Set in the twilight years of the late Ming Dynasty, the global silver influx that once fueled the empire's economy reverses as Spain and Japan restrict bullion exports. This monetary contraction strikes a heavy blow against a dual economy of commerce and small-scale agriculture, which is further exacerbated by the catastrophic climate disruptions of the Little Ice Age. As the dominoes of turmoil fall one by one, rebel forces cross the Yellow River in November of the sixth year of Chongzhen, sweeping across the Central Plains, while Later Jin forces ravage the northern frontiers virtually unchecked. Amidst the gathering storm that threatens the nearly three-hundred-year-old dynasty, a modern protagonist finds himself transported into the role of a lowly yamen runner in Tongcheng County, Southern Zhili—where an epic historical saga begins with a single, flying dead rat.