Three Kingdoms: The Qilin Prodigy from the Clouds

[This is a true-to-life society of the Han dynasty. Some details may not match your impression of the late Han period.]

[This novel has a high barrier to entry and includes some historical research. Some readers with less background knowledge may find it off-putting.]

The late Han and Three Kingdoms era began with a woman of the He clan in Nanyang, and ended at the Luo River with the Sima clan, forsaken by both Heaven and man.

On the eve of the late Han, before the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

This brand-new “ancient dynasty” had been reborn for a second life, yet it was aging even faster than before.

Yunzhong Commandery, north of Luoyang and south of the Yin Mountains. The place that would one day be called “Chilechuan.”

Wang Cang was reborn as the eldest legitimate son of the Yunzhong Wang clan, a branch of the Wang clan of Qi County. He was one of the countless ordinary people whose names would never earn so much as a single stroke in the history books.

At this time, Tan Shihuai was sweeping across the empire’s entire northern frontier with unstoppable force!

Yet the high officials at court were useless and content to draw their salaries without doing their jobs!

The emperor, perched precariously on his throne, had no interest in progress and was squandering the legacy of his ancestors!

Natural disasters struck without end, leaving the people destitute! The Western Qiang were constantly at war, draining countless millions of coins and provisions! Across the Jianghuai region, there were more bandit leaders proclaiming themselves emperors than anyone could count, yet the court was powerless to stop them!

Who were the oppressors of the people: the local officials, the powerful clans, or the emperor himself?

In the countryside, the Way of Great Peace was secretly building its strength. Could it replace Confucianism’s “Heaven-and-Man Resonance” with “rule by non-action”?

At court, the Runan Yuan clan, with its former students and officials spread across the land, cultivated influence and reputation while secretly raising death squads. Were they really plotting against the emperor?

In the palace, could Empress Dowager He, who ruled in the emperor’s stead, keep the three forces of scholar-officials, imperial relatives, and eunuchs in balance?

In the provinces and commanderies, the regional governors were recruiting troops and stockpiling grain. What were they really planning?

Let us see whether Wang Cang, a Han official, can save the crumbling empire and extend the Han dynasty’s rule for another four hundred years.

Or will the one with the strongest army become emperor?