This text traces the turbulent political shifts in the late Northern Song Dynasty, starting with Empress Dowager Gao’s regency after Emperor Shenzong’s death. It covers the Yuanyou Restoration, when conservatives led by Sima Guang abolished Wang Anshi’s New Policies. Factional splits among conservatives and Emperor Zhezong’s resentment followed, leading to the Shaosheng Restoration and…
Yu the Great and Hou Ji lived in times of peace. Yu passed by his own home three times while controlling floods but never entered; Hou Ji tirelessly taught farming to feed the people. Confucius praised them.
In the autumn of 211 CE, the windswept plains of Guanzhong became the stage for one of the most psychologically sophisticated campaigns of the Three Kingdoms era. Following his setback at the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao turned his attention westward.