Looking for High-Quality Historical Fiction. No Mindless Power Trips or Brain-Dead Plotting

I want high-quality historical fiction that’s engaging and doesn’t dumb things down or rely on brainless plots. It can be satisfying, but don’t treat readers like idiots. No stories like the one where the protagonist fools Cao Cao’s quartermaster about the provisions from the start, or those where a literati protagonist suddenly has the strength of a tyrant. They’re unoriginal and mindless...