The Great Lin Dynasty

The Great Lin Dynasty endured centuries of upheaval, from the founding emperor who laid its foundations to the eleventh ruler who took the throne. Eleven emperors came and went over the course of hundreds of years. The early rulers governed with diligence, and the realm enjoyed peace and prosperity at its height, but neither could withstand the passage of time and the shifting hearts of men. Powerful ministers seized the opportunity to rise and fight for power, eunuchs meddled in government and threw the court into chaos, and consorts in the inner palace schemed at every turn for favor and the position of empress. Meanwhile, various factions secretly amassed strength, watching and waiting. From open power struggles at court to the tangled, shifting relationships within the palace, from the glory of a well-governed realm under harmonious rulers and ministers to the crises of the final years, each emperor bore his own ambitions and struggles, and every generation was shaped by love, hatred, and choices between family and country. This sweeping chronicle spans the rise and fall of a dynasty, recording the changing fortunes under eleven emperors and tracing the complete arc of a realm from its ascent and golden age to its decline. All its conflicts and convictions unfold across this history of hundreds of years.