Blood and Loyalty Series (2): Zu Ti

The long historical novel Blood and Loyalty: Zu Ti is the second of six books in the Blood and Loyalty series. Set amid the turmoil at the turn of the Two Jin dynasties, it tells the sweeping story of Zu Ti, a famous general of the Eastern Jin whose ambitions went unfulfilled. Born into a prominent family in the north, Zu Ti dreamed of the fate of all under heaven from a young age. Faced with the collapse of the Central Plains after the Rebellion of the Eight Princes and the southward invasion of the Hu cavalry, he struck his oar against the river at Jingkou and swore an oath before leading his troops north across the Yangtze. In Yuzhou, he overcame stronger forces with weaker ones, outwitted Shi Le's general Tao Bao, and rallied men of talent. Under the Hu people's iron hooves, he recovered vast swathes of territory south of the Yellow River. Yet just as his forces were poised to reach the Yellow River and he prepared to reunify the Central Plains, suspicion from the imperial court and internal strife thwarted his ambitions. Grief and anger made him ill, and he died on the northern campaign's front line. The novel vividly depicts Zu Ti's drive to action, captured in the story of him rising at the sound of a rooster, his heroic oath to strike the oar in midstream, and his deep devotion to his country, shared with Liu Kun, the two stars gazing toward each other from afar. It celebrates the unyielding backbone of the Chinese people.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Please do not imitate.