A Minister in Troubled Times

[Chaotic times] + [Multiple heroines] + [Decisive and ruthless] The fortunes of the Nine Provinces shift without end; in the year of the White Wolf, the Central Plains are brought to heel. A century after the northern Quanrong tribes took control of the Central Plains, the people live in misery, with starving corpses strewn along the roads. The Rong invaders rule with brutal tyranny, treating the people like pigs and dogs. The founding emperor of the Qian Dynasty rallies an uprising in Jinling, then spends half a century pacifying the Central Plains and establishing the Qian Dynasty. History calls it the Uprising That Followed the Han. After founding the nation, he lavishly rewards his armies and ennobles several princes. Our story begins decades later on the frontier of the great Qian Dynasty... (The ruler and his ministers are united in purpose. At court, scheming aristocratic families stir up trouble; beyond the borders, barbarian tribes watch like tigers ready to pounce. The emperor is young but ambitious. A single imperial decree summons the male lead from the frontier to the capital, where he becomes connected to the royal family by marriage. He will put down rebels within the realm and repel the barbarian tribes beyond its borders.)