The Rise of Zhao Lie in the Late Han

The late Han dynasty crumbles under the weight of corruption and calamity. Four invisible hands—the emperor, the eunuchs, the imperial relatives, and the powerful landed gentry—tear the realm apart. Plagues, ceaseless warfare, and crushing taxes bear down on the common people like Mount Tai, reducing the land to ash. In their fortified manors, ambitious schemers bide their time, while beyond the borders, nomadic horsemen sharpen their blades. The age is poised for cataclysm, a silence before the storm—yet it is also an age destined to produce heroes who will turn the tide of history. Amid the rolling thunder of fate, a young boy named Liu Bei awakens, his mind filled with foreknowledge of the very history yet to unfold. Alongside him, the eternal lantern of the Great Han’s destiny flickers back to life. Good morning, Han dynasty. A historical, pre-Three-Kingdoms epic.