Cage the Emperor

Xiao Yujian, a down-and-out clan member who had been trapped in a cage for twenty-four years, was proclaimed as the puppet emperor of the Zhao Dynasty in times of trouble. Surrounded by powerful enemies externally and constrained by powerful officials internally, every step of the way is restricted and difficult. He forbears in planning, secretly accumulates strength, defeats powerful ministers, quells internal strife, and drives out foreign enemies. He breaks free from the shackles of puppets, regains the broken mountains and rivers with his iron and blood, and emerges from the cage as a rejuvenating emperor.