A Noble Son of the Three Kingdoms

Dynasties throughout history fell because they were weak, but the Han fell despite its strength. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion first erupted across several provinces. Then Dong Zhuo entered the capital and deposed the emperor without cause, sparking civil strife. The Three Kingdoms period followed, with one great war after another. Yet throughout those decades, none of the Han's neighbors, whether the Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Xianbei, Qiang, or Man and Yue peoples, dared raid the border commanderies or provoke the Han armies. That was because, from the reign of Emperor Guangwu onward, the Eastern Han continued Emperor Wu's policy of stabilizing the northern frontier. It relocated 300,000 households of worthy commoners from across the empire to farm and defend the borderlands. To qualify as a worthy commoner, one had to be recommended at every level, from village to county to commandery. Such families had farmed and herded for generations, prospered through their own work, and passed down kindness and filial devotion. Among their relatives within five generations, there could be no criminals, no cowards who let others walk all over them, no deceitful or lazy people, no disobedient or unfilial people, and no bullies who preyed on the good. Tian Qi, a modern man, transmigrates into the family of a worthy commoner in a border commandery at the end of the Han Dynasty. He experiences that turbulent history firsthand and struggles to survive amid the chaos. He had hoped to lead his family to a secluded paradise, but to avenge his family's enemies, he has no choice but to take the thorny path of contending with the heroes of the realm.