In the third year of Xining, Shen Yan, a scholar from a poor family, was thrown to a remote small county to become the ninth-grade bookkeeper. At the time when Wang Anshi was carrying out his political reform, the old and new parties were beginning to fight, the bigwigs in the court were fighting to the death, and local government affairs were being changed day by day - the new laws implemented yesterday may become useless tomorrow. Shen Yan has no background or backing, and his only philosophy of survival is: don't take sides, just do things.
He improved the chaos at the grassroots level of Qingmiao Law, found out that subordinate officials were corrupt, and gained some political achievements in the cracks. However, sooner or later, the storm of party struggle hits everyone: Yuanyou changed his mind and was demoted to the bottom by the old party; Shaosheng Shaoshu, he was re-appointed by the new party. Over the past few decades, Shen Yan has witnessed the successive appearances of Sima Guang, Zhang Dun, Cai Jing and other big guys, and witnessed the absurdity of the three parties in Luo Shushuo tearing each other apart and the "Yuanyou Party Monument". He has grown from a passionate young man to a smooth old official, but he always sticks to a bottom line - he is worthy of the people and worthy of his conscience.
When the party struggle reached its darkest moment, Shen Yan chose to retire and, with scars all over his body, wrote his reflections on this long party struggle. This is the story of a small person who does not lose himself in the tide of the times.
Reader comments
This is a pretty good ancient novel that tells the story of the hypocrisy and greed of officialdom, the darkness and nastiness of human nature, and the endless loneliness and persistence of an upright lonely brave man.
The author's writing style is sophisticated and his narrative techniques are skillful. The story concept has ups and downs in the straightforward narrative. In the casual description, people can imagine the people's life in Song Dynasty society along with the chapters. It is a rare masterpiece.
I hope the author will not rush for success, be patient and make steady progress while conceiving, and write a good work. Come on!
There is no messy time travel, no bloody love. Against the historical background, the characters of the group of portraits are very different, depicting the difficult journey of Shen Yan, an upright official who was in the whirlpool of the reform wave and only wanted to do things for the people and did not want to get involved in factions. It is a work worth reading
I don't know if the information was not fully checked or if it was written directly by AI. There is no county magistrate in the front, and another one pops up at the back. The previous sentence just said that the county magistrate is the ninth grade, and the next sentence says that the county magistrate is the eighth grade. There is also the part about delivering books at the end. Song Ci is a character who appeared a hundred years later. How can his works appear a hundred years ago out of thin air?
It's very interesting to read. The content is carefully prepared and the rhythm is just right. There are no exaggerated routines. It is very comfortable to read calmly.
The inner world is wonderful, some things are simply described, and overall it's very good, giving me the feeling of a Pelican Enlightenment! ! !
It's pretty good. Let's take another look.
Very delicate and beautiful
Very well written, keep it up
It has the potential to be a hit, please give it a thumbs up.
I've just read a few chapters now, and they're surprisingly good.
Not bad. The writing is okay, although there are still some minor ideas in some places. But it will look good as it grows slowly, I look forward to it
It's very well written, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it overall.
The storyline is good, but the AI flavor is a bit heavy. Can be lowered
The author has good writing skills and solid historical knowledge. It is a very good historical novel.
It seems like I have really returned to the Song Dynasty
The narrative is plain and the plot is compact.
Well written, with flesh and blood
Study hard and make progress every day
It feels quite interesting.
Super invincible and beautiful
It looked good, and it made me want to take the postgraduate entrance examination, and then I was selected to be a transfer student.
A bit sloppy but not bad (maybe I don't dare to write)
It's really well written to use the past as a metaphor for the present. The ancients didn't have that wisdom.
It profoundly explains who power comes from and who the efforts are ultimately for.
This is the first time I have seen a description of officialdom in the Song Dynasty [Like]
A person with a right heart, does the right thing, and has the original mission to serve the country and the people!
It's written about my hometown, and it feels like I'm actually there when I read it. Good luck to the author.
A very good treasure book, I hope more people can read it!
It's a wonderful article about ancient officialdom. There is no time travel or rebirth. Yuanzhou Pingxiang written in the book is my hometown and I feel very close to it. I hope the author will update it soon.
Don't let it suck. It's well written. I like reading it.
This is a pretty good ancient novel that tells the story of the hypocrisy and greed of officialdom, the darkness and nastiness of human nature, and the endless loneliness and persistence of an upright lonely brave man. The author's writing style is sophisticated and his narrative techniques are skillful. The story concept has ups and downs in the straightforward narrative. In the casual description, people can imagine the people's life in Song Dynasty society along with the chapters. It is a rare masterpiece. I hope the author will not rush for success, be patient and make steady progress while conceiving, and write a good work. Come on!
There is no messy time travel, no bloody love. Against the historical background, the characters of the group of portraits are very different, depicting the difficult journey of Shen Yan, an upright official who was in the whirlpool of the reform wave and only wanted to do things for the people and did not want to get involved in factions. It is a work worth reading
I don't know if the information was not fully checked or if it was written directly by AI. There is no county magistrate in the front, and another one pops up at the back. The previous sentence just said that the county magistrate is the ninth grade, and the next sentence says that the county magistrate is the eighth grade. There is also the part about delivering books at the end. Song Ci is a character who appeared a hundred years later. How can his works appear a hundred years ago out of thin air?
It's very interesting to read. The content is carefully prepared and the rhythm is just right. There are no exaggerated routines. It is very comfortable to read calmly.
The inner world is wonderful, some things are simply described, and overall it's very good, giving me the feeling of a Pelican Enlightenment! ! !
It's pretty good. Let's take another look.
Very delicate and beautiful
Very well written, keep it up
It has the potential to be a hit, please give it a thumbs up.
I've just read a few chapters now, and they're surprisingly good.
Not bad. The writing is okay, although there are still some minor ideas in some places. But it will look good as it grows slowly, I look forward to it
It's very well written, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it overall.
The storyline is good, but the AI flavor is a bit heavy. Can be lowered
The author has good writing skills and solid historical knowledge. It is a very good historical novel.
It seems like I have really returned to the Song Dynasty
The narrative is plain and the plot is compact.
Well written, with flesh and blood
Study hard and make progress every day
It feels quite interesting.
Super invincible and beautiful
It looked good, and it made me want to take the postgraduate entrance examination, and then I was selected to be a transfer student.
A bit sloppy but not bad (maybe I don't dare to write)
It's really well written to use the past as a metaphor for the present. The ancients didn't have that wisdom.
It profoundly explains who power comes from and who the efforts are ultimately for.
This is the first time I have seen a description of officialdom in the Song Dynasty [Like]
A person with a right heart, does the right thing, and has the original mission to serve the country and the people!
It's written about my hometown, and it feels like I'm actually there when I read it. Good luck to the author.
A very good treasure book, I hope more people can read it!
It's a wonderful article about ancient officialdom. There is no time travel or rebirth. Yuanzhou Pingxiang written in the book is my hometown and I feel very close to it. I hope the author will update it soon.
Don't let it suck. It's well written. I like reading it.