Plum Blossoms Startle the Wind

Prince of Yan Zhu Di forced his nephew from the throne and ruled for more than a decade. At home, he relentlessly hunted down Jianwen’s former officials; abroad, he waged one military campaign after another. His fearsome authority silenced the realm. When his grandson, the newly enthroned Xuande Emperor, took power, tensions finally erupted. The empire seemed peaceful and prosperous on the surface, but turbulent currents stirred beneath. Annam rebelled abroad, while bandits rose up in Datong and Xuanhua. At home, princes coveted the throne, and Jianwen’s former officials were poised to rebel. On top of that, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei suffered years of famine, sending refugees surging across the land. Beset by troubles within and without, the court and the country were thrown into turmoil. A chance incident brought all the factions together in Luoyang, where they fought endlessly for their own interests. Luo Meifeng, a Luoyang constable, was an unremarkable street ruffian, and the constables under him were a band of scoundrels who would stoop to anything. These insignificant nobodies were inadvertently swept into the fray and, through a series of coincidences, blundered into triggering a major showdown within the imperial court and between the righteous and wicked factions of the martial world. This book is nothing like conventional wuxia. Its intricate, carefully constructed plot is full of unexpected turns. The protagonist is a typical nobody at the bottom of the official hierarchy, yet his clever improvisation and lightning-fast reactions are nothing short of astonishing. None of the characters in this book are members of the martial world. To them, martial artists are nothing but rebels or rioters. The bureaucracy, meanwhile, is the perfect place to pursue personal gain. They are always looking to climb higher, but never stray from their most essential nature: they are scoundrels! Luo Mei is a truly ambitious work. It begins in a traditional style, then gradually develops a voice of its own. Strictly speaking, it differs considerably from traditional wuxia and might be better described as unconventional wuxia. Don’t miss: Luo Mei Startles the Wind. Highly recommended: 1. A Peaceful and Prosperous Age, an unconventional wuxia novel unlike any other, filled with beautiful women and thrilling adventures. Don’t miss it. 2. Chronicles of the Many Worlds: The Emperor’s Saga, an alternate-world fantasy about a legendary hero who conquers the realm and fears no rival!