引子

Introduction

In the late Ming Dynasty, Spain and Japan gradually restricted the outflow of silver, reversing the capital inflow that had been flowing into the Ming Dynasty since the early 16th century. The coexisting commodity economy and small-scale peasant economy of the Ming Dynasty simultaneously suffered from deflation. Coupled with the effects of the Little Ice Age, one domino after another fell in this chaotic era. In November of the sixth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, bandits crossed the Yangtze River from Mianchi, their forces erupting like a festering sore, sweeping across the Central Plains. In the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, the Later Jin army, which had ravaged the north for over a decade, swept through Xuanfu and Datong as if they were nothing. The Ming Dynasty, which had stood for nearly three hundred years, was teetering on the brink of collapse. The protagonist arrives at this time, becoming a lowly constable in Tongcheng County, Southern Zhili. The story begins with a dead rat leaping into the air.

明朝末年，西班牙和日本逐渐限制白银流出，明朝自十六世纪初以来的资本流入已经逆转，明朝并存的商品经济与小农经济同时遭受到通货紧缩的冲击。叠加小冰河的影响，一个一个乱世的骨牌不断倒下。崇祯六年十一月，流寇渑池南渡，势如疮疽溃裂而出，席卷中原大地。崇祯七年，肆虐北方十余年的后金军横扫宣大，如入无人之境。立国近三百年的大明王朝风雨飘摇。主人公于此时到来，成为南直隶桐城县一名小小皂隶，故事就从一只腾空而起的死老鼠开始。