A Life of Wealth and Glory

I never used to write book reviews after finishing novels because reading novels, especially online novels, is just for entertainment; good or bad, it's over in the blink of an eye. The reason I'm writing one this time is because I was disgusted by the author.

This is the best time-travel novel set in the Song Dynasty that I've ever read.

While described as meticulous, the book feels somewhat padded. The protagonist is an all-around science whiz, adept at agricultural machinery and military industry, fluent in five- and seven-character verse, and charismatic in local government.

After reading the first few dozen chapters, it's utter garbage. There's no main plot, and the protagonist is just an arrogant and short-sighted person. The funniest thing is his belief that farming is enough to ensure the wealth of his own region. Do modern people who transmigrate to ancient times not understand the class system? Don't they know that merchants are just people who can be slaughtered at will? It's absolutely disgusting. I don't understand why so many people praise it.

The writing style and depth of "An Jun's Lifetime of Wealth and Prosperity" far surpass most current online novels. The style is realistic and concise, without the affected affectation of pseudo-intellectual works.

I've read a few chapters and it's really toxic. Putting everything else aside, firstly, I'm manipulated by the protagonist's mother's servant, and then I'm resented by this helpless old servant. Where do servants get their audacity? How dare a helpless old servant? It's a ridiculous joke that an old servant, whose social class is lower than livestock, would dare to bully his master…

After the author apologized, he just let himself go and started acting recklessly 🤭. He needs to control himself. Novels aren't incapable of conveying (principles/reasoning), but they shouldn't be conveyed in this way. The saying goes, "Literature carries the Way," so why not say "Literature discusses, expounds, and narrates the Way"? There's a difference between "carrying" and "discussing."

This introduction is baffling. A common soldier can become an army commander? In the Song Dynasty, army commanders were civil officials; there was no difference between military officers and common soldiers. The army was a place where background didn't matter. Aren't there countless examples throughout history of common soldiers rising to command?

This is a trashy book full of stories about giving away women and having sex with them. After the protagonist becomes an official, the story stops abruptly. His newlywed wife is left at home for years, and the maidservant his father-in-law gave him as part of his dowry is immediately given to his brother.

The author's biased views are utter nonsense, and attributing Yue Fei's death to the coercion of the Imperial Guard's interest group is simply absurd. They don't even consider the costs of war and the fact that, without central government support, they managed to ensure the people weren't starving, freezing, or their houses weren't demolished.