The Turning of the World: Whose House Holds Heaven’s Mandate?

(Everything in this novel is fictional, from the countries to the cities. Please don't compare it to the real world.) The Han River cuts north from south like a blade. Since ancient times, the eleven prefectures north of the river have been where the Mandate of Heaven shifts and great empires rise and fall. This time, unusual ripples stirred in the river of time. It began when the mighty tiger Sun Wentai escaped death at the hands of a lone arrow. Rising up in Huainan and establishing himself in Jiangning, he laid the foundations of Great Wu. His son, Sun Bofu, surpassed his father. Bearing the Imperial Seal and commanding powerful armies, he spent twenty years uniting the fractured eleven prefectures north of the river for the first time in history, sweeping them all into his realm. Wu reached the height of its power. But the Mandate of Heaven is fickle, and every dynasty has its limits. From the reigns of Quan and Liang onward, peace endured for too long. The palace grew lax, and even the most formidable passes could not stop the rot that took hold within. Over the long years, the once-mighty empire grew faded and cracked without anyone noticing. Amid the empire's twilight, new stars began to glimmer. No one family can rule the land forever, and the Mandate of Heaven is never set in stone. When a hero makes up for history's regrets and achieves an unparalleled feat, the legacy he forges will in turn become the backdrop and stepping-stone for the next hero's rise. This is a sweeping saga of founding, inheritance, decline, and revival. Here, you will witness the full life cycle of a dynasty and see how great ambitions surge and ebb like the tide, while new masters of the waves have already left another deep trail in history's sands. The old gears have stopped turning. A new cycle is now slowly beginning.