[Alternate history + prince + succession struggle + court intrigue + play the pig to eat the tiger + rise of the frontier army + satisfying power fantasy]
At a palace banquet, dragon-patterned armor is found beneath Prince Ning Xiao Jingheng’s seat, sending the entire court into an uproar. Everyone says he is planning a rebellion.
But the thing is, he really isn’t.
As the least-favored, frail prince of Great Sheng, with his mother dead and her entire clan wiped out, Xiao Jingheng has everyone in the capital hoping he will die. Since staying in the capital is a dead end, he takes the initiative and requests permission to go govern Ningzhou, the poorest, most chaotic, and most dangerous place in the north.
He only meant to stay alive at first. But once he reaches the north, he discovers that military funds are being embezzled, the salt routes are controlled, local magnates are bleeding the people dry, and the border army has been abandoned. Even his mother’s death years ago conceals a deeper secret.
If they insist on forcing him to rebel, then he has no choice but to feign innocence while reopening old cases, rallying the border army, confiscating the magnates’ wealth, battling the powerful ministers, and bringing the other princes to heel. Along the way, he might as well turn Great Sheng upside down and see what happens.
Many years later, the officials kneel across the golden hall, trembling as they cry, “Long live the emperor!”
Xiao Jingheng looks at the man on the dragon throne and sighs:
“Father, I really wasn’t planning to rebel back then.”
