The Yuan army suppressed the territory and surrendered in Lin'an. Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie, together with King Yi and King Guang, fled southward at night and traveled to the sea to establish a court in exile. Nine-year-old Zhao Shi and eight-year-old Zhao Bing became emperors one after another. Wen Tianxiang was defeated and captured. He wrote the swan song "Since ancient times, no one has died, and his loyal heart will illuminate history." After retreating to Yashan, Zhang Shijie chained thousands of ships and burned the palace and burned the cauldron; Zhang Hong did not attack the area, which cut off water and food. In the end, Lu Xiufu betrayed the emperor and crossed the sea, and more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians died for the country.
The novel takes history as its bones and poetry as its soul. It not only describes the determination of loyal heroes such as Lu Xiufu, Zhang Shijie, and Wen Tianxiang, but also describes the struggles of small figures such as fisherman Lin Aniu and palace maid Shen Qingluo in troubled times. It not only records a military defeat, but also analyzes how a dynasty collapsed due to internal strife and dispersion, asking profound questions: When the tide is over, what can a person or a civilization rely on to stand? The answer lies not in victory or defeat, but in those who refuse to kneel until death.
