The Balancing Cauldron

In the final years of the Zhaozuo era, the Dayin dynasty lost control. The Nine Provinces fell into chaos, fortified manors carved up the land, and peace vanished from every corner. Qin Chong, a commoner from Yanzhou, rose from humble beginnings and drew his sword to contend for the Central Plains. After ten years of war, he pacified Yu, Qing, Xu, and Ji, brought his armies to the gates of the Capital Province, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Hengting, holding half the realm in his hands. He swept away the northern warlords, destroyed the Shen clan of Jiangzuo in the south, and annexed Yi, Bing, and Liang, unifying the realm. One day he would rule the realm, but half a lifetime had already been spent weathering storms. The fires of war finally died out, and the struggles of peacetime began.