Chronicles of the Late Five Dynasties

The Tang Empire has long since faded into the distance. Warlords battle one another, military strongmen vie for power, fathers turn against sons, brothers slaughter one another, and the people live in misery. In the Central Plains of the north, five dynasties rise in succession: Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou, collectively known as the Five Dynasties. In the south, nine kingdoms emerge one after another: Wu, Wuyue, Jingnan, Chu, Former Shu, Later Shu, Min, Southern Han, and Southern Tang. Together with Northern Han in the north, they are known as the Ten Kingdoms. Heaven and earth show no mercy. Flames of war spread across the land, moral order collapses, and people deceive and scheme against one another, each evil worse than the last, while the Khitans watch from the sidelines. In the end, a great ruler rises amid the chaos, navigating a world of drawn blades, plotting and planning as if treading on thin ice, until at last he unifies the realm. “Who is that nameless girl? And where am I going?” Han Yi had once wondered in dismay.