The mighty Tianyuan Empire has endured three hundred years of turmoil, and the flames of war are finally dying down. In Wuchuan, Guanzhong, the humble Yang family welcomes a gifted child: Yang Jian. A Buddhist temple is engulfed in a hellish blaze of red lotuses, and a senior monk prophesies, “He is destined to rule the realm.” Is it a blessing or a curse? Young Yang Jian witnesses a century of bloody feuds between the Hu and Han peoples, with corpses covering the land and the realm in ruins. Deep in his heart, a seed takes root: end the age of chaos and reunite the realm. As deep and patient as an abyss, he plays the fool and hides his abilities for twenty years under the menacing blade of the powerful minister Yuwen Hu. Then fate brings him together with Dugu Jialuo, a noblewoman of Xianbei descent. United in heart, they combine intelligence and courage. At last, with the force of a thunderbolt, he overthrows the Zhou and founds the Sui, establishing his capital at Chang'an.
The Kaihuang era shines through the ages. Yang Jian rises before dawn and retires long after dark, implementing the Three Departments and Six Ministries, the Kaihuang Code, equal-field land reforms, and the imperial examinations. The first canals are dug, the garrison forces grow mighty, Chen is conquered in the south, and the Turks are driven back in the north. He earns the supreme honorific “Khan of Heaven.” Yet beneath the splendor of this golden age, suspicion spreads like a poisonous vine. Gao Jiong, Yang Su, Heruo Bi... the empire's founding heroes are either banished or put to death; veteran generals who helped build the realm stain the palace steps with their blood. He even personally strips his virtuous crown prince, Yang Yong, of his title, entrusting the empire to the treacherous and deceitful Yang Guang. In his twilight years, a coup unfolds at Renshou Palace. Candlelight flickers, and blood spills across the imperial bed. This mighty ruler dies in bitterness, betrayed by the cold lies of his beloved son.
The vast empire he built with his own hands, after his death, follows the canal carved out with the lifeblood of the people toward the blazing zenith of the Daye era, and then slides toward an abyss of ruin. The snows of Chang'an will eventually cover the tattered banners and grieving masses of the fourteenth year of Daye. This is a tale of grand ambition and the depths of human nature, of an emperor who laid the foundations of an empire with his own hands, only to plant the seeds of its collapse. Though the Sui dynasty was short-lived, its light and shadow will shine through history forever.
Well written and well spoken.