Author's Note on Official Publication

Good morning!

I have two pieces of good news to share with everyone.

First, the book is officially launching today. Since the VIP chapters will not be unlocked until noon, the new chapters will be released around 12:15 PM.

Following tradition, I should write a launch post, but I really didn't know what to say, so I’ll just talk about this book. After finishing my previous work last year, I originally planned to take three months off to get married and prepare for my new project, but I never imagined how difficult this new book would be to birth.

I hadn't intended to write about rebel armies, but as I researched, I became deeply immersed and felt a sense of indignation, and so this story gradually took shape. Setting a rebellion in Northern Shaanxi during the late Ming Dynasty is a difficult narrative choice. Yet, if I didn't start there, the story would feel incomplete. The uprisings at the end of the Ming era were not merely peasant revolts; they were the result of the Ming Dynasty pushing its own frontier troops to a point where they had no choice but to rebel—a phased, collective mutiny.

Modern people, standing on the high ground of history, often blame military commanders for poor discipline. However, in most cases, for an army to refrain from looting while starving or tearing down homes while freezing, the commanders must have a degree of autonomy and control over their finances. Whether it is the imperial court or the generals, they must ensure the soldiers do not starve or freeze before they can expect them not to pillage or destroy property. During the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras, the Ming Dynasty truly made it the norm for soldiers to starve and freeze to death. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty was incredibly deep, and this land was filled with so many heroes; had the foundation been weaker or the heroes fewer, how could it have lasted seventeen years?

It had to start in Northern Shaanxi. If I didn't start there, then it wouldn't have mattered where I started at all. That is why I read so much material, hoping to flesh out the story as much as possible.

In fact, I wrote the first draft during the Lunar New Year and had 120,000 words saved up. Later, I felt dissatisfied, so I wrote a second version, also with 120,000 words. Still unsatisfied, I wrote a third... and just like that, half a year passed. I realized that by not publishing, I wasn't getting any reader feedback, which made my skills grow rusty and made me increasingly withdrawn. In reality, the overall quality of those five attempts was constantly declining; none were as good as this current one.

Even so, this version had its own flaws, so I had to edit as I went along after publishing. Because my skills had become rusty, I couldn't get them back immediately, and my writing pace was very slow. When I first started, I couldn't even manage two thousand words a day, which made me very anxious. But as I kept writing, I found my rhythm again. I can feel my craft coming back piece by piece, and that makes me very happy.

Currently, I can write a little over four thousand words a day. Yesterday, I tested myself and managed eight thousand. Although I am still slow, I have made significant progress. This is the first piece of good news: my update speed is expected to increase by one hundred percent. My preliminary plan is to update eight thousand words daily after launch, perhaps dropping to four thousand during holidays.

The second piece of good news is that I accompanied my wife to her prenatal check-up a few days ago—I am going to be a father! We are going to listen to the fetal heartbeat in a few days, and by this time next year, I will have a "four-legged money-swallowing beast" of my own, my little "Deer."

My only regret is that, looking back, I could have written the beginning better. But perhaps people always feel this way, which just shows that I am improving and accumulating experience. In short, I am improving, the book is improving, and my family is improving—everything is getting better. I will keep working hard, striving to make this book even better and to progress a little more every day.

Finally, I wish you all the best in everything you do.

Oh, and one last thing: Little Deer is humbly asking for your subscriptions!

See you at twelve.