The Doctor Rules the Empire

The Doctor Rules the Empire is an alternate-history novel by Shi Zhangyu (real name Ye Yong, a practicing doctor), a platinum author at China Literature's Yuewen Group. Serialized on Qidian from August 15, 2014, and completed on October 27, 2016, it runs about 5.41 million characters. The protagonist, Hu Xiaotian, was a neurosurgeon in his previous life who died of overwork on the operating table. He wakes up in the body of the only son of Hu Buwei, Minister of Revenue and the greatest traitor of the Dakang Dynasty—a boy who has been deaf, mute, and feeble-minded for sixteen years. Once recovered, he intends to leave behind his previous life of "saving people to death" and live as a rich second-generation idler with a beautiful wife, children around his knees, and a life of ease. Instead, his family falls into sudden crisis and decline, forcing him to start as a ninth-rank minor official and move among county offices, prefectural seats, and the capital. His assets are twofold: medical skill and surgical methods far ahead of his time, and a sharp eye for people and power, along with the political craft he hones in the cracks of officialdom. Martial factions, local strongmen, imperial succession struggles, foreign marriage alliances, and border military power all push him repeatedly into the spotlight. Healing and governing become the same craft in his hands—dissecting human hearts and the ailments of the dynasty alike. The work is known for dense suspense, constant reversals, and witty dialogue, and it creates a cast of vivid female characters including Tang Qingxuan, Murong Feiyan, and Li Wuyou. In 2017 it ranked 84th on the Maopian Hurun Original Literature IP Value List and was selected as one of Jiangsu's 20 outstanding representative works of Chinese online literature over 20 years.