The Northern Wei dynasty was in its final years, and the empire teetered on the brink of collapse.
Within the palace, Empress Dowager Hu ruled as regent, disgraced the court, and ultimately poisoned her own son with her own hands. Beyond the palace walls, Erzhu Rong rode south at the head of his iron cavalry, claiming to purge the emperor’s court, but in truth holding the Son of Heaven hostage, slaughtering the imperial clan, and cowing the officials. On the banks of the Yellow River at Heyin, a ceremony to worship Heaven became a blood sacrifice of thousands. From then on, the ancestral temples of the century-old Great Wei were awash in blood.
Amid the chaos, two young heroes emerged.
Gao Huan was born to humble beginnings, yet had a deep understanding of human nature. He could hear the rumblings of a changing world in palace taverns, and maneuver for advantage among powerful ministers, the emperor, and the empress dowager. He saved people, and harmed them; he upheld principles, and abandoned them. He knew that loyalty could be a sword’s scabbard, or its shackles.
Yuwen Tai, a former student at the Imperial Academy, had lost his father and brothers and had no foundation to rely on, yet his heart encompassed mountains and rivers. He saw through the powerful and refused to bow to them. He used learning to secure his place and the sword to shape his fate, pursuing Gao Huan step by step, determined to prove that in a chaotic age, success did not belong only to the ruthless.
And Yuan Jishang was the woman neither man could escape in his lifetime.
A daughter of the Yuan clan, she was radiant as fire and her sword keen as frost. She longed for a true hero, but repeatedly misjudged, wavered, and came to her senses between Gao Huan’s schemes and Yuwen Tai’s sincerity. She had been rescued, and used; she had admired the powerful, and witnessed with her own eyes how they devoured human decency.
This was an age when mothers killed sons, powerful ministers destroyed empires, and heroes struggled for their own way.
Some sold out their own kin just to survive. Some slaughtered the imperial clan to claim legitimacy. Some endured humiliation for the greater good, while others still tried to preserve a shred of human dignity amid the blood and filth.
When all that remained in the realm were armies and power, who could become its true ruler?
Female characters such as Yuan Jichang and Lou Zhaojun are also very eye-catching. They are not love-minded, but ruthless people who are sober and engaged in career! The rhythm of the plot is super steady, and there are twists and turns in every chapter. I can't stop reading it. It's already tied, and I'm waiting for the author's big update!
It's rare to find a good book. The plot is not draggy and everyone in the group portraits has their own characteristics. It's great.
The storyline is very good, I like it very much
The story is very exciting and the writing is fluent. After reading it, I am still unsatisfied.
A wonderful series of historical articles to share with everyone
It's so beautiful, every plot has foreshadowing, and it's very eye-catching.
It's so well written that I had to stay up late to read it.
The rhythm is very precise, exciting and relaxed.
What I found in the bookstore is exactly the type I love to read!
The plot is novel and interesting, creative and refreshing.