My Brother Is Su Dongpo, the Song Dynasty's Greatest Brother

[Imperial examinations] + [Historical what-ifs] + [Farming and the civil service exams] + [Brotherly bonds] + [Slow-burn political intrigue] + [The splendor of the Great Song]

I transmigrated and became the second son of Su Xun of Meishan, Great Song: Su Zhe, courtesy name Ziyou.

That’s right, the Su Zhe from the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song, who couldn’t afford a house and was always bailing out his older brother.

My brother is Su Dongpo, the greatest heartthrob of all time, brilliant beyond compare, but... his mouth gets him into trouble!

He has fun writing poems, and I’m left smiling apologetically afterward;

He has fun mouthing off to the emperor, and I’m left writing memorials to beg for mercy;

He gets demoted, and I’m left sending him money and grain.

Given another life, and armed with the “Great Song Literary Master System,” I’ve decided to do things differently.

To keep my brother from getting our whole family exiled to Hainan Island to drink coconut water, I have to outrank him! Have more power than him! Be richer than him!

Su Shi: “Ziyou, I’ve written another poem criticizing the New Policies...”

Su Zhe, clutching his forehead: “Brother, keep quiet! Let me handle it! I’d better be the chancellor of Great Song. It’s the safer option.”

This is a leisurely chronicle of life in the Great Song, and a guide to protecting my brother as I climb step by step to the pinnacle of power.