The First Female Marquis of War

This book is also known as Blossoms Across the Mountains and Rivers.

One-sentence synopsis: From an oppressed concubine-born daughter to the founding marquess, she tears open a rift in a world where women are deemed weak.

Blurb: A time of chaos. Warlords divide the land, the people are displaced, and natural and man-made disasters abound.

If men can barely survive, women suffer even more abuse.

Born a concubine's daughter, she cuts ties with her past and enters the palace in her sister's place.

She has no particular talent. She seeks teachers everywhere, only to suffer setback after setback.

She witnesses far too many injustices in this world, and far too many lonely, miserable women enduring abuse.

At last, she decides to join the army, seeking a peaceful and prosperous age through weapons and bloodshed.

Amid campaigns and slaughter, the young men who once drank and crossed swords by her side meet different fates. Some ascend the throne, while others are buried beneath the yellow earth;

some withdraw from the world, while others attain high office and great wealth.

And she spends her entire life honing her martial skills, eventually tearing open the first crack in this suffocating world, one wide enough for all the women beneath heaven to breathe.

At last, the mountains and rivers stretch far and wide, with flowers blooming everywhere.

[Things to Know Before You Begin]

1. This book begins when the heroine is thirteen and will tell the story of more than a decade, tracing her growth. It should run to roughly 1.5 to 2 million Chinese characters when complete. There is no romantic pairing in the main storyline. The main plot follows the heroine as she builds achievements and establishes a unified nation. The heroine is a normal person and has feelings as well, so there are romantic elements in the story. However, given her characterization, those few and far-between feelings have no effect whatsoever on the direction of the plot.

2. This is a serious historical drama. There are many characters, with romance between men and women, boys' love, and girls' love among them. There are family bonds, friendship, romantic love, brotherly affection, and sisterly affection.

3. Female characters become more numerous starting around the middle of Volume One. The girls join hands to advance together and change the world. There is no infighting or fighting over men: they contend with men for power and influence.

4. This is a story centered on a powerful female protagonist. No man will devote himself completely to the heroine, live or die for her, or stay at her side to provide every kind of assistance. Their relationships with her are mainly those of comrades and rivals. This is purely a female-led story. The heroine does not rise through the ranks by relying on men.

[Regarding the question many readers have asked: Why does the heroine not become emperor?]

1. This is a serious historical drama, so historical realism must be taken into account.

2. This is a series, and the female emperor appears in the final book.

*[Currently updating in the same series]*

A Scumbag Man in a World Ruled by Women (satirical)

*[The next book in the same series]*

The Wife-Lord Above All (provisional title, subject to change)

(A female-led story about solving cases, political struggles, and resisting foreign aggression)

*[Completed books in the full series]*

1. The Splendid Blossom Dynasty series:

She Dug Up Her Idol's Corner (girls' love)

A dog-like star-chasing female swordswoman versus a spoiled, dramatic milk-cat heiress

2. The Great Wu Dynasty series:

(1) Seven Days of Change for the Emperor and Empress (body swapping)

(2) His Tenderness Amid Snow and Moonlight (a light, fluffy sweet story)

Theme: Fear neither doubt nor rumor, and turn the tables against the odds. Break through the shackles of feudal patriarchy: women can hold up half the sky.