The Song Dynasty's Emperor

Most people in this world are ordinary, and Zhao Zhen is no different. He never thought there was anything extraordinary about himself. Yet fate brought him to the Great Song and made him the emperor, supreme over all. Being the emperor of the Great Song is no easy task, and for Zhao Zhen it is especially difficult. Above him is Empress Dowager Liu E, who, entrusted by the late emperor to oversee the state and govern, keeps a close eye on him every day. She is only one step away from becoming empress in her own right. Below him is a group of civil officials who are constantly watching him, proud to offer blunt remonstrances and ready at any moment to cite the ancestral law forbidding the arbitrary execution of officials. And then there are the figures who will appear before him in the years to come: Ouyang Xiu, Bao Zheng, and Fan Zhongyan, names he had only ever seen in textbooks. Zhao Zhen, an ordinary man, feels no excitement. He only feels like a harmless rabbit suddenly thrown into a den of beasts… P.S. The protagonist plays it safe early on, then rules with an iron fist later. Enter at your own risk if that’s not your thing.