War fires reddened the Huai River as Liang Hongyu guarded the frontier with her iron spear. The orphaned daughter of a military family had spent twenty-two years becoming the pillar that upheld both a besieged city and its people's morale. She ran her troops with iron discipline yet hid a tender heart, and beneath her stern brows burned a fierce devotion to her country.
The court was rife with undercurrents. Magistrate Zhao Yuan argued for peace talks to buy the kingdom time, repeatedly clashing with Liang Hongyu, yet growing to admire her despite their opposing views. Yue Zhen, leader of the northern-returning resistance army, arrived with his followers. His twin blades could cut through the enemy's ranks and the gloom above, but they could not sever the chains of suspicion bound to his identity.
The Jin army pressed at the borders with its iron hooves, alternating between letters urging surrender from Wanyan Zonghan and schemes to sow discord. Worse still than the arrows flying on the battlefield were the covert attacks from Qin Hui at court, where he withheld military provisions and pay. Liang Hongyu had to foil enemy schemes on the battlefield while navigating the power struggles in the imperial court. When the Huai River ran red once more, she sat tall on her horse with spear at the ready, vowing amid the whirlpool of war drums and political intrigue to hold up the sky and let the stars of great generals shine.
