You may not have heard of this name, but you must have heard of that era: the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the north, the sky is dark and the earth is dark. The emperors change like a revolving lantern. Whoever has the toughest fist has the final say.
The protagonist of this book, Gao Huan, emerged from this troubled world.
His starting point could not have been lower - a poor boy from a border town in the Northern Wei Dynasty, who was fostered in his sister's house and didn't even have a horse. Today, this is an ordinary young man with "no mine at home and no money in his pocket."
But it was this ordinary young man who married a rich girl, joined a powerful man, defeated his boss, swallowed up his power, and finally became the actual ruler of the entire North China. He conquered half of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and his son founded the Northern Qi Dynasty - an empire that lasted for twenty-eight years, all because of the foundation he laid alone.
What this book is about is the journey from "nothing" to "the world is divided into two parts".
But please don't get me wrong, this is not a cool read.
Gao Huan's life had highlights as well as dark moments: he lost a battle of 200,000 people against 10,000 people, buried 70,000 bones under the Jade Wall City, and before he died, he sang a Chilean song with his old subordinates, "The sky is blue, the fields are vast, and the wind blows the grass, and you can see the cattle and sheep." At that moment, he was not a hero, but an old man who knew he was going to die.
I wrote this book without being pretentious or pretending to be profound. When I should complain, I should be emotional. You don't need any historical foundation. From the first page, we will explain the concepts of Northern Wei, Six Towns, Xianbei, and Sinicization in plain language.
Intention: Counterattack in troubled times, inspirational