A New Dynasty in a Chaotic Age: The Chronicle of Liu Gong and the Southern Han Empire

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Central Plains are plunged into chaos. The Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou dynasties rise and fall in rapid succession, while war consumes the people's livelihoods. In a corner of Lingnan, the warlord Liu Yan, originally named Liu Yan, spots an opportunity amid the turmoil. He rejects Later Liang's offer of submission, makes Guangzhou his base, and in 917 declares himself emperor and establishes Han, a regime known to history as Southern Han. Thus begins his astonishing rise from regional lord of Lingnan to ruler of a transregional empire.

He breaks free of history's constraints of “indulgence and eunuch rule,” making his strategic priorities “secure Lingnan first, then expand into the south-central regions, advance west into the Western Regions, and finally conquer the Central Plains.” He builds up a Pearl River navy and monopolizes the South China Sea spice trade, securing the resources for expansion. He conquers Champa, pacifies Laos, and defeats Burma, acquiring elephant troops and jungle fighters to shore up his military's weaknesses. He allies with Dali and opens routes to the Western Regions, using Uyghur cavalry to build a powerful mounted force and create a combined army of “naval, infantry, elephant, and cavalry units.” Taking advantage of Later Jin's internal strife, he attacks on two fronts, using elephants to smash enemy formations and cavalry to outflank them. He captures Luoyang and Kaifeng, ends the Later Han regime, and in 947 declares himself emperor in the Central Plains, founding the “Great Southern Han Empire,” whose territory spans Lingnan, the Indochinese Peninsula, the eastern Western Regions, and the heart of the Central Plains.

He is not merely a conqueror. He stabilizes his rule with policies of “equal treatment for all peoples, civil service examinations open to every ethnic group, and light taxes and labor service.” He connects the trade routes linking Lingnan, the Central Plains, and the Western Regions, encouraging integration among many peoples. But just as the empire is secured, the cavalry of the northern Liao dynasty rides south and war flares up once more in Youzhou. Standing atop the walls of Kaifeng, Liu Yan faces a choice between “fighting Liao in the north” and “consolidating his rule at home.” At last he understands: the day an empire is built is also the day new challenges begin. This novel follows Liu Yan and recreates the turmoil of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, telling the story of a “southern empire” overlooked by history