Director: Gao Xixi

Starring: Chen Jianbin  /  Yin Tao  /  Shao Feng  /  Wang Huichun

First aired: 2015

Plot Summary:

     During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, China was engulfed in bloodshed and turmoil, with the common people struggling on the brink of death, gazing up to the heavens and bitterly asking: When will this great chaos end? When will the nation finally enjoy lasting peace? At the age of twenty-one, Zhao Kuangyin bade farewell to his parents and wife, left home to seek his fortune, and undertook the arduous journey to escort the young lady Jing to the capital, enduring countless hardships along the way. In times of chaos, heroes emerge; Zhao Kuangyin joined Guo Wei and, thanks to his outstanding performance at the Battle of Gaoping, rose to become a senior commander in the imperial guard. Gradually, he established his own power base within the imperial army and formed the “Ten Brothers of the Righteous Society.” After Emperor Chai Rong’s untimely death, Zhao Kuangyin launched the Chenqiao Mutiny and donned the yellow robe, proclaiming himself emperor. Upon ascending the throne, he first crushed the remnants of the Later Zhou regime, then adopted a strategy of “pacifying the south before the north,” subjugating the separatist states and strengthening defenses in the north. Subsequently, without a single drop of blood, he implemented the “Cup of Wine Dismisses the Generals” policy, retiring his military commanders. Adhering to a national policy of valuing culture over martial prowess, he ushered in the glorious golden age of the Song Dynasty. On October 12, 976, Zhao Kuangyin died suddenly, leaving behind the enduring mystery of “the flickering candlelight and the sound of an axe.” Just one day later, his younger brother, Zhao Guangyi, succeeded him, historically known as Emperor Taizong of Song.