I transmigrated and was reborn in the year 925, falsely accused of being a Khitan spy and being taken to the execution ground to be beheaded. I stopped Li Siyuan’s carriage. “Father,” I said, “you have the bearing of an emperor. Before long, you will ascend the throne.” That year, I was twenty years old. From that day on, the course of the Five Dynasties began to veer away from its original path.
They say this was an age when anyone with a powerful army and strong horses could become Son of Heaven. Warlords carved up the land, rites and music fell into chaos, and emperors came and went like lanterns on a revolving stage.
I made Li Siyuan acknowledge me as his son; made Li Yongning protect me with all her heart for her entire life, as both sister and mother; made Li Cunxu adopt me and campaign across the land; made Liu Zhiyuan willingly serve as my trusted right hand; made Guo Wei treat me as an elder brother; made Chai Rong call me father; and made Zhao Kuangyin kneel before me and address me as “righteous father.”
They each ruled the realm in turn and made their names immortal in the history books. No one knew that the fate of every one of them rested on a single thought of mine.
Shen Wan’er, princess of Later Liang, became my first source of support. Shen Yanqiu, a Khitan princess, betrayed her entire people for my sake. Fu Qinghui, younger sister of Fu Yanqing, spent her life proving that politics could be sincere, too. Each of the three had her own role, and each was indispensable to me.
I served as regent twice and relinquished power twice. Every time I stepped down, the realm fell into chaos. I gave up the dragon throne, then took it back, again and again. Not because I craved power, but because I was the only pillar capable of holding this troubled age together.
When I ascended the throne, I named the dynasty Zhou and the era Shengning. I proclaimed to the realm: after my death, blood ties would no longer bind the succession. Those who came after me could choose their own dynasty name and rites. But from that day on, I would write the rules of the realm.
What I sought to end was not merely the flames of war during the Five Dynasties. I sought to end a thousand years of selfish dreams of family and state.
