Zhongdu, the Forbidden City, this palace symbolizing the supremacy of imperial power has witnessed the rise of the empire over the past century.

At this time, a middle-aged man in Hanfu stood quietly in the pavilion beside the lake in the Imperial Garden, watching the water birds flying up from time to time on the lake thoughtfully. There was an indescribable calmness and restraint between his brows, as if he carried a thousand words of silence.

At this time, a voice sounded outside the pavilion, breaking the brief silence. It was a white-haired old man, whose expression and words seemed extremely respectful, and while speaking, he also lowered his head slightly and looked at his toes.

"Your Majesty, this is the entire process of my first contact with him. I have asked 007 to stay by his side and instructed 007 to mobilize all the resources of the Investigation Bureau."

He bowed his head and said, and although his tone was respectful, it did not hide his decisiveness at all.

The middle-aged man in the pavilion responded calmly.

"The Faceless One."

His eyes were still on the water birds on the lake, as if he was thinking about some profound question.

Yes, this middle-aged man is the fifth emperor of the Ming Empire - Emperor Qiansheng. Five years ago, Emperor Dezong died in Edo while on a tour of Japan, and he hurriedly inherited the throne. In the eyes of the outside world, he has always been a generous and benevolent emperor, deeply loved and respected by officials and people.

But in fact, he has his own plans.

"Can you believe it? Emperor Shizu actually left behind such a hidden plan. Could it be that Emperor Shizu really anticipated all this?"

Emperor Gansheng muttered to himself in a low voice, and the documentary film he had watched of Emperor Shizu once again emerged in his mind. There seemed to be a deep light always shining in his eyes, as if he could see through all the mysteries of the world.

Did Emperor Taizu really foresee all this?

As this question spread in his mind, Emperor Gan Sheng thought for a moment and seemed to have made a decision. He turned and looked at the old man behind him. Although his voice was not loud, it was full of power.

"Let's do as you say. I believe that Emperor Taizu's arrangement must have his deep meaning."

As he finished speaking, the entire imperial garden suddenly fell into silence. Birds flew in the sky and the sun shone on the water.

Who are the Faceless Men?

What secrets are hidden behind them?

While pondering, he thought of the "Royal Secret Treasures" left by Emperor Taizu, which contained a lot of scientific knowledge that was ahead of its time. Although with the passage of time, those scientific knowledge were no longer as surprising as when he first saw them as a child, many directional theories still guided the scientific development of the empire.

Perhaps, Emperor Taizu had really anticipated all of this, which is why he left that backup plan.

"I think that Emperor Taizu, with his extraordinary talent, may have already figured out the crisis of the empire. As for the 'Faceless Men', I think they are worth considering. They may also be a handle to solve the current dilemma. Your Majesty once said that if they are not rectified, the situation will intensify and the country will surely be in ruins. Now, if they can take the lead, there may be unexpected gains."

How could Gan Sheng, as the ruler, not have noticed the crisis of the empire? In fact, he had been carefully investigating everything in the hope of being able to turn the tide in the future.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. I also want to cut the Gordian knot, but, alas..."

Nodding slightly, Emperor Gan Sheng looked into the distance and then said.

"In the final analysis, it is still our descendants who are incompetent! After so many years, we still have to rely on the secrets left by our ancestors to solve the problem. If this problem cannot be solved, how can the spirit of our ancestors in heaven forgive us, his unfilial descendants?"

In fact, as early as when he was the crown prince, he discovered that the empire's political system had deviated from the design of Emperor Shizu. The imperial political system designed by Emperor Shizu was neither traditional nor Western, but borrowed the advantages of both China and the West. In order to avoid the situation of civil officials dominating the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shizu adopted the separation of civil and military officials.

The highest administrative system of the empire is the Imperial Executive Council, which is responsible for domestic affairs, foreign affairs, finance, education and other matters. This is the civil service system of the empire. The Imperial Army and Navy are independent of the Executive Council and are only responsible to the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces, that is, the emperor himself, and are completely independent of the cabinet.

For the military, the Executive Yuan only had the power to review and approve the budget. Even if the budget did not exceed 5% of the previous year, it did not have the power to directly reject the military's preparations, but only the power to suggest amendments. Even if the budget exceeded the limit, after three rejections, the emperor could still directly approve it according to the circumstances.

In other words, at that time, the emperor had absolute authority.

However, in the last years of King Sejo, everything changed quietly with the establishment of the Imperial Advisory Council, which was composed of the House of Nobles and the House of Commons. Now the budgets of both are subject to the Imperial Advisory Council - the annual budget needs to be submitted to the Imperial Advisory Council for review and approval.

Over the past century, the Imperial Council, which seemed inconspicuous at the time, has gradually extended its tentacles to various departments of the empire through its budgetary and supervisory powers. It was also from this time that certain changes began to take place within the empire.

"Your Majesty, I think it is because you are too kind that some people are greedy. When Emperor Taizu was alive, although he was kind, he never let go of the sword of the emperor in his hand!"

Some things cannot be done just because you want to do them. Emperor Taizu can do it, but what about me?

"Times are different. The Emperor's Sword... The Emperor has several Emperor's Swords in his hands..."

After sighing like this, Gan Sheng looked back at the old man and said.

"I only have your sword now. As for the others... they are all broken! Go, do it well. I hope you can reforge this sword for me... so that I can face my ancestors with dignity in the future!"

When the old man left, Emperor Gan Sheng was still standing by the nameless lake in the imperial garden. He looked at the lake thoughtfully. A group of water birds were dancing on the water, gliding lightly across the lake, leaving a series of ripples. As night fell, the sky was dyed golden, and the rays of light were reflected in the lake, forming a beautiful scene.

But Emperor Gan Sheng was not interested in such a scene, but talked to himself.

"Faceless..."

Then, as if he had thought of something, he spoke softly.

"When I was a child, I seemed to have heard my father tell this story. The Faceless Men seemed to be a group of assassins. This story seemed to be told by Emperor Taizu... The Faceless Men, it seems, were indeed the work of Emperor Taizu."

Gazing at the nameless lake under the curtain of light, Gan Sheng said again.

"Nameless Lake, Faceless Men... This is indeed the Emperor's habit... But, what kind of dramatic changes will these faceless assassins bring to the empire's political arena?"

A breeze blew by, causing ripples on the lake, and water birds danced gracefully on the lake. The emperor in the pavilion raised his brows slightly, with a faint smile on his face.