The Iron Edict: From Beacon Fire to Emperor's Throne

The night at Fenghou Fort was so cold it cut to the bone. Ling Du was bound to the beacon tower, seven whip lashes already crusted into black scabs. Three days earlier, he had burned the enemy's supply lines and turned back three thousand riders. His reward was a false accusation of claiming undeserved merit, chains, and a slow death awaiting him. But in the end, he escaped. From there, he raised his own troops, took his own land, and conquered the realm. Seated upon that throne, he poured half a lifetime of toil into forging an iron code, believing it would safeguard peace for ten thousand generations. Yet the higher he climbed, the fewer people remained beside him. After he died, three sealed dossiers were buried beneath an old tree. Thirty years later, a fleeing refugee boy dug them up. The first line read: "My name is Ling Du. The most human I ever felt was at seventeen." The last page said: "Fire is warm. If you grow cold, add your own wood."