Embers of Mountains and Rivers

In the last years of Emperor Suzong's reign, the imperial power was weak, eunuchs were monopolizing power, aristocratic families were monopolizing power, vassal towns were separatist, and the courts were constantly strife. The people were displaced in troubled times, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty fell into the abyss of twilight. Shen Yanchen was charged with many injustices against the Shen family. He went to Beijing anonymously and dressed as a commoner, and entered the situation as a member of a poor family. Everyone in the world knew that the Shen family had collaborated with the enemy and treason, but he was the only one who knew that this disaster was a dirty chess game conspired by the imperial power, the aristocratic family, and the eunuchs. He hides his edge and works step by step, maneuvering in the cracks of the court, relying on the checks and balances of factions to accumulate strength, and relying on wisdom and original intention to break the situation. He only hopes to redress the injustice, reorganize the court, and stabilize the refugees. He encounters Su Lingwan, the adopted daughter of a powerful eunuch. Their positions are naturally opposite and their fates are at odds with each other. However, they understand each other and fall in love with each other in the light of power's machinations. Their deep love is hidden in restraint, and their affection is trapped in troubled times. Their love is difficult to stay together. Shen Yanzhou, the biological brother he was looking for so hard, turned out to be a rebel general in the feudal town, separatist Hebei and became an enemy of the imperial court. The older brother survives to protect the remnants of the family in troubled times, while the younger brother goes to death for the world to bring peace to the people. The closest relatives of the same flesh and blood confront each other on the battlefield. The righteousness of the family and the country and the love of blood and family are ultimately inextricable dilemmas. From a chess piece at the mercy of others to a chess player in charge of the world, Shen Yanchen went through the intrigues in the court and killed on the battlefield, losing his innocence as a young man and becoming full of wind and frost. He punished the powerful officials, checked and balanced the aristocratic families, stabilized the remnants of the troubled times, exchanged half-life power for decades of people's livelihood stability, and protected the Tang Dynasty and the people of the world. But there is never any perfection in troubled times. After success, relatives become strangers and loved ones are separated. He was able to hold on to the broken mountains and rivers, but could not retain an inch of human gentleness. He eventually became a lonely minister in Dali, leaving only his character and half-life ember, leaving his merits and demerits for future generations to comment on.