The Ballad of Changshuai

The Rebellion of the Eight Princes in the Jin dynasty plunged the Central Plains into chaos. The Five Barbarians seized the opportunity to vie for supremacy in the heartland, setting the realm ablaze and leaving the people homeless and scattered.

Fu Jian could stop a river with a thrown whip, and Liu Yu had the might of a tiger swallowing ten thousand miles, yet in the end, neither could reunite the North and South.

Then came Emperor Xiaowen's reforms in Northern Wei. As Hu and Han peoples blended, the sons of nobles were sent to guard the borders, and the nation reached the height of its power.

But after the capital moved to Luoyang, the soldiers of the Six Garrisons were reduced to the status of servants, while the high-ranking nobles' greed knew no bounds.

As the saying goes, every peak is followed by a decline. The foundations of the Yuan Wei dynasty had already begun to shake.