The Southern Kingdom

The "no horses" theory of the Song Dynasty has had a far-reaching and deeply harmful influence. The horses of the Central Plains, bred and improved over centuries by the Han and Tang dynasties through the acquisition of superior Central Asian breeds, completely outclassed the Mongolian donkeys of the steppes.

I just don't understand. Qian Liu was a powerful figure who had contended with Huainan for decades, and in actual battles, the outcome was roughly equal for both sides. If such a powerful figure could be so easily defeated by the Huainan army while he was personally defending the city, then the protagonist's cheat-like abilities would be truly outrageous.

I was looking for a decent warlord novel, but this one had a toxic premise. The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was a chaotic era where dynasties rose and fell every ten years or so, arguably one of the lowest periods in Chinese history in terms of the status of scholars; it was always the era of warriors.

It's that stepmother's dislike again, the useless person's rise to fame through poetry at a banquet—it's so boring.

I couldn't stand the first few chapters. The military governor has the power of life and death, so how could Zhu Guangde dare to speak at the banquet? The eldest son is sitting in a corner. I even doubt if he has read any history books.

I read five chapters and it's unbearable! I'm turning away! The protagonist is mentally challenged, and everyone in the story has a low IQ!

Forget about the Song and Ming dynasties! They were the most shameful of all. Both dynasties lost their empires.

This is utterly ridiculous. Both maids are orphans. The protagonist asks them their father's surname and then names them. They were perfectly fine sharing the same surname with him. In ancient times, changing one's surname to match one's master's was considered an honor, not something a fool would do. Yang Xingmi's legal wife had no legitimate sons.

From the very first chapter, the protagonist is determined to kill Xu Wen and his companion, and he continues to do so in several later chapters. He doesn't seem to consider why they rebelled in the first place. Furthermore, the protagonist lacks any plan for dealing with the upcoming crises, indicating a problem with his thinking.

A truly excellent book, deserving at least four stars. It's rare to find historical novels these days, and this one is exceptionally well-written.