The Tale of the Slave Emperor

At the end of the Western Jin dynasty, a young Jie from Bingzhou was sold like a piece of goods. Shackled alongside two other Hu, he was sold in Chiping: left hungry, beaten, and nearly split up to be sold separately. At the lowest price, he first made himself useful. He learned about horses, found companions, and rose to prominence under the herdsman-in-chief Ji Sang. From slave to bandit, he would gradually fight to reclaim his own name. The history books say that he later took the name Zhao and declared himself emperor. This story is about the years before he ever sat on the throne: hungry, humiliated, and still refusing to give up. Poverty is not the end. The price can change.