The novel is set in the Three Kingdoms and focuses on the ups and downs of Wei Yan, a general from a poor family. The story begins with the undercurrent of the Battle of Chibi. Wei Yan and Zhang Meiniang, two partners from humble backgrounds, met each other in the flames of war and repeatedly performed extraordinary feats on the battlefield with their extraordinary courage. They opened an ironworks in Nanyang to help the refugees and tried to find a way out for the poor people. However, because they touched the interests of the nobles, they fell into a whirlpool of power struggle.
The controversy of the Ziwu Valley conspiracy, the tragedy of Wuzhangyuan, and the conspiracy in the court push the story to a climax. Wei Yan's insistence on the strategic concept of a surprise attack on Chang'an strongly collided with Zhuge Liang's cautious decision-making; the trap of Yang Yi and other noble forces put him in a desperate situation. The mystery of Zhang Meiniang's life experience, Chen Dao's loyalty and loyalty, and Fei Yi's struggle in power and conspiracy, together weave a grand and complex picture of troubled times.
The novel uses colloquial narration to show the helplessness and struggle of small people in the torrent of history, reveals the sharp contradictions between poor families and noble families, and also depicts the fierce conflict between ideals and reality. In the end, although the protagonist failed to fully realize his ambition, his spirit was like a cold gun, becoming a beam of light that illuminated the troubled times, which was touching.
Very well written