Songs of a Thousand Autumns

An unreliable bandit with grand ambitions, the top × A hot-tempered prince with the world in his heart, the bottom

*

Autumn, year ten of Tianhuan.

The north wind swept the clatter of enemy hooves across the border, shattering the frontier's peace.

As smoke signals rose into the sky, the court was filled with calls for peace talks.

At last, to put an end to the fighting, Chen Chuxing, Minister of Diplomatic Protocol, rushed to the frontier through the night. He promised ten thousand taels of silver and a thousand dan of grain each year, and sent Princess Yongning to marry in a distant wasteland, buying a brief respite from war.

The day the marriage contract was signed, snow from the border fell on the capital and on the hearts of countless military officers.

That same day, an urgent report arrived from the front: General Xie Pingyi had fled in the midst of battle.

The court and country were thrown into an uproar.

The fleeing general, Xie Pingyi, became a coward reviled by all, while the princess's marriage became the only bargaining chip for restoring peace.

-

Year eighteen of Tianhuan.

Prince Chen Xiao Jingzhi refused an arranged marriage. With grand plans to set the realm in order, he volunteered to take up his fief in remote Xianzhou.

At the time, Xianzhou was plagued by corrupt officials, bandits entrenched in the mountains, and suffering among the common people.

Xiao Jingzhi tried to discipline his subordinates, only to be obstructed at every turn.

He tried to revive military affairs, only to run into trouble everywhere.

After two setbacks, Xiao Jingzhi was seething with rage. He decided to wipe out a bandit stronghold and establish his authority in Xianzhou, never expecting the bandit chief to be Xie Chenxiao, the son of the general who had fled eight years earlier.

-

"This realm has been rotten to the core for ages. Civil officials wield all the power, while military officers die unjustly. The people in the capital drink and dream their lives away, while soldiers on the frontier bleed to death. I guarded the border and protected the people, but the court has never protected us! When the enemy attacks, they don't dare fight. They only send out a princess to buy peace for a generation. If the emperor is cowardly and the officials are incompetent, then whoever wants to protect this realm can do it! I won't kneel to a worthless ruler, bow to corrupt officials, or listen to that damned logic about trading women for peace."

"I occupy a city now only to protect the people here. What have I done wrong?!"

Theme: In troubled times, hearts are tested, and loyalty shines across the land.