In March of the first year of Yongchang, in the Wuying Hall, the slightly tired Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng fell asleep amidst the long trumpets of the Forbidden City. In a trance, he seemed to have seen the brave and fearless young man Huang Lai'er seventeen years ago, wearing bright clothes and angry horses. From the Mizhi Uprising to the pursuit of deer in the Central Plains, from riding horses in Jinyu to the aspiration for the capital, from a wilderness to a hero in troubled times, everything was so unreal and so touching.
The book is divided into two parts. The upper part begins with Li Zicheng's uprising and ends with Wu Sangui's surrender to the Qing Dynasty. The second part focuses on describing the politics of the Southern Ming Dynasty and the successive anti-Qing struggles in various parts of the Central Plains. Taking the novel as the main body, it strives to restore that impassioned and soul-stirring epic.
Reader comments
Taking history as a mirror, we can know the ups and downs. The turmoil and heroes vying for the throne in the late Ming Dynasty can best reveal the desolation of the world and the changes in human nature. We can learn from the gains and losses from the rise and fall of ancient and modern times. We can see the grand view of honor and disgrace from the change of dynasties. We can see the clearness of human nature from the competition for power. We can see the tragedy of fate from the recklessness of the court.
Taking history as a mirror, we can know the ups and downs. The turmoil and heroes vying for the throne in the late Ming Dynasty can best reveal the desolation of the world and the changes in human nature. We can learn from the gains and losses from the rise and fall of ancient and modern times. We can see the grand view of honor and disgrace from the change of dynasties. We can see the clearness of human nature from the competition for power. We can see the tragedy of fate from the recklessness of the court.
It's well written and a good book worth reading.