This is a tragic epic about ideals, sacrifice and absolute loneliness.
Core context:
In the troubled times when order was collapsing, Qin Yan, the prince of the Jin Dynasty, adhered to his father's teachings of "hiding the sword in the sheath and standing in front of the reason" and determined to build a cold but stable new order called "Cornerstone" with the three pillars of farming, law, and armaments to end the eternal chaos.
The road to conquest:
With the help of his soul confidant and counselor Yun Mei, and the support of his most loyal arm Qin Mo (Shadow), the Northern Army God Xiao Qi (Iron Buddha) and other capable generals, he gradually disintegrated, defeated or annexed the princes such as Lin Zhao who advocated force, Cui Lie who insisted on benevolence, Lu Yan who was rich in the world, and finally completed the unification of the nine realms and established the cornerstone empire.
The core of tragedy:
However, the road to "order" is paved with countless sacrifices. In order to achieve his ultimate goal, Qin Yan constantly sacrifices the warmth of humanity around him:
· Qin Mo was pierced by thousands of arrows to save him, and his last words were, "The world is too dirty, wash it with blood."
· Yunmei refused to receive the jade seal on the eve of his ascension to the throne due to a rift in his ideals, and went into seclusion.
· Qingyuan (maid), as the last warmth in his world, died early to protect Yunmei.
· Xiao Qi and other generals exhausted their efforts in successive battles.
Ending: absolute loneliness
Qin Yan won the world, realized his ideals, and established eternal laws. But looking around, everything he loved, believed in, and relied on had been paid as a price. He became the last prisoner in the perfectly functioning cold system he had created.
