The founding of the Song Dynasty was plagued by internal and external troubles. The rebellion of the vassal towns in the Tang Dynasty and the turmoil of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms left behind a lot of evils and diseases, and the people were miserable. During the Xining period, Emperor Shenzong Zhao Xu was determined to reform and strengthen himself. Wang Anshi stepped forward and pushed for new policies such as Qingmiao, Fangtian, Shiyi, and Baojia. A revolution that shocked both the government and the public began.
Zhao Zhirui, an ordinary scholar with great ambitions, devoted himself to the reform with his extraordinary courage and wisdom. He was appreciated by Wang Anshi and participated in core affairs. Above the court, the old and new parties were facing each other tit for tat. Wang Anshi and Sima Guang spoke fiercely. The conservatives used their ancestral laws to exert pressure and denounced the reform as deviant. The reformers shouted for a strong country and safe people, arguing that reform was imminent, and the two sides were at war with each other.
With the implementation of the New Deal, problems frequently arise. Officials were corrupt, the young crop law became a tool of exploitation, and the people went bankrupt; profiteers manipulated the market law, causing prices to soar and the market to be in chaos. Militaryly, although the Song Dynasty had a victory at Kaibian of Xihe River, it also suffered disastrous defeats in Lingzhou and Yongle City. Three hundred thousand soldiers spilled blood on the battlefield, and the reform cause suffered heavy losses.
Zhao Zhirui joined hands with like-minded people such as Peng Ruli and fought fiercely with the conservatives in the court, struggling to solve the problems of the New Deal. At the same time, he gained support from the royal family such as King Zhao Kai. Inspired by Fan Zhongyan's spirit, they determined to inherit the legacy of Qingli's New Deal and connect their personal destiny with the rise and fall of the country.
In this turbulent era, can they turn things around? The author has reviewed a large amount of historical materials and strictly followed historical facts such as "History of the Song Dynasty" to create this novel. It highly restores historical events and profoundly shows the transformation of the Northern Song Dynasty from prosperity to decline. He invites you to participate in this historical storm.
