(The first twenty-two chapters have been revised.)
New plan: I want to lock the chapters and give the story a major overhaul!
Murong Zhao transmigrates as the eldest daughter of Murong Jun, the founding emperor of Former Yan, who died young. The year is 345 CE. If history runs its course, Former Yan will be destroyed by Former Qin in twenty-five years, and she will become a princess of a fallen kingdom.
She can't just sit around and wait to die. After thinking it over, she realizes there is no reliable patron to cling to in this chaotic age, so she'll have to become one herself.
At twelve, she leads troops into battle. At seventeen, she holds power in her hands. At twenty-four, she stages a palace coup and seizes the throne. At thirty-two, she unites the land. Through twenty years of turmoil, she walks across a world in ruins.
Some hate her and curse her to die a horrible death. She is the one who fabricates charges and launches successive purges. She is the one who overturns the court and schemes for power. She is also the one who expands in every direction, leaving rivers of blood in her wake. She leads her armies to conquer Dai, Former Qin, Former Liang, and Eastern Jin, slaughtering the aristocratic clans, imperial relatives, and powerful families on a massive scale, carving a bloody path to the summit of power.
Some love her and wish their emperor ten thousand years of life. She is the one who establishes the imperial examinations and promotes men of humble origins. She is the one who campaigns across the south and north to unite the land. She is also the one who governs with diligence and brings stability to the realm. She reforms the tax and military systems, unifies the currency, vigorously develops agriculture, industry, and commerce, raises women's status, promotes universal education, opens trade routes, and advances technological change. Thus, the nations on every side submit and pay tribute, and all the people under heaven live in peace and happiness.
In November 393 CE, the emperor dies at the age of fifty. She receives the posthumous title Emperor Wenwu. On that day, snow falls from the heavens, and all the realm grieves.
Reader's Guide (Potential Spoilers):
The heroine belongs to one of the Five Barbarians of the Wu Hu uprising, and the Murong clan are Xianbei. This may be a sticking point for some readers.
The heroine is fictional. Her golden finger is an "encyclopedia" that lets her access whatever knowledge she needs.
This story includes historical research as well as a great deal of creative invention, with invention making up the larger share. All research is based on the Book of Jin, the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and papers and books related to this period. Please don't offer guidance based on unofficial histories or romanticized historical tales.
Fans of other Sixteen Kingdoms regimes or Eastern Jin are advised not to read this story. It's a fictional parallel world meant for entertainment, so please don't take it too seriously.
Theme: Build a better life together
