Set against the turmoil of the late Tang dynasty, this story features historical figures such as Huang Chao, Zhu Wen, and Li Keyong, bringing to life the period from the fall of the Tang through the beginning of the Five Dynasties. Huang Chao repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, and, enraged by the corruption and darkness of late Tang society, eventually raised a rebellion. The Tang dynasty crumbled under the force of Huang Chao's massive uprising. Ambitious warlords carved out territories and grew in power, while the problem of the regional military governors remained unresolved until the dynasty's fall. Zhu Wen of Bianzhou, Li Keyong of Taiyuan, Liu Rengong of Youzhou, Li Maozhen of Fengxiang, and even the powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi all take the stage, recreating the late Tang's fractured, turbulent landscape of war and regional rule.
