The Long Song of the Flourishing Tang

As the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty came to an end, Li Yuan and his sons secured the Central Plains and established the Tang Dynasty in 618 AD. From the arduous founding struggles against rival warlords, through the diligent governance of the Zhenguan era and the territorial expansions of the Yonghui period, through the turbulent changes of the Wu Zhou interregnum, to the pinnacle of prosperity during the Kaiyuan era when all nations paid homage. Over 144 years of dynastic changes, civil officials strategized for the state, military generals defended the frontiers, and poetic brilliance illuminated the ages, as generations of Tang heroes took their places on the stage of history. Beneath the surface of prosperity, undercurrents were already stirring. Land issues had long been festering, regional military governors grew increasingly powerful, and court intrigues never ceased—the glorious era concealed fatal crises. The An Lushan Rebellion brought a cataclysmic upheaval, shattering the realm. The former glory of the flourishing age collapsed, with the Mawei incident and the royal family's displacement, as the High Tang abruptly descended from its zenith into a turbulent era. The book comprises 118 chapters, spanning over a million words, concluding in 762 AD with the successive deaths of Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Suzong, marking the definitive end of the great Tang golden age. Strictly adhering to the historical records of the Old Book of Tang, the New Book of Tang, and the Zizhi Tongjian, this work contains no time travel or fictional embellishments. It narrates the rise and fall of dynasties and the vicissitudes of human nature from a multi-perspective view, profoundly illustrating the timeless truth that founding an enterprise is difficult, but sustaining it is even harder, and reflecting the unchanging nature of human affairs through the tides of history. — Description from novelcodex.org