Heroes of Troubled Times: Chronicles of the Late Tang

Thirty years into Li Longji's reign, he spends every day listening to zithers and flutes and watching the Precious Consort dance. Even morning court has turned into a "Yang Yuhuan fashion show."

She is granted the title "Taizhen." It sounds like the name of an immortal, but whenever she opens her mouth, the entire court wants to request transfers to the frontier. At least there, they wouldn't have to hear her booming voice!

The three Yang family ladies are even worse, selling official posts more frantically than a market stall. The people curse them, but they just laugh: "Oh, they're praising how successful our family is!"

And what about their distant relative, Yang Zhao? He rises from a minor official in Shu through sheer verbal skill, not talent!

He can talk the ears off a bull, and the emperor slaps his thigh in delight: "What a brilliant man! Let's rename him Guozhong!"

Before long, he holds fifteen posts at once, so busy he's like a spinning top. He spins his way into becoming the hottest figure at court, provided no one realizes he has no idea how to do the job.

An Lushan, once a street thug, saves his life with the line, "General, why are you killing me?" From then on, he understands: to get ahead, you have to know how to act, and act well. Thus begins his rise. He offers treasures, performs the Hu Xuan dance, and charms the emperor, gradually becoming the person Xuanzong trusts most.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.