The Great Song Martial House

The Great Song Martial House is a historical time-travel novel by the web novelist Qingshi Jinchenghui. It was serialized on the History Channel of Qidian Chinese Network from February 2017 and completed in March 2018, comprising about 1,171 chapters and 3.5962 million Chinese characters. The story is set in an alternate Northern Song. Wang Ning'an, a modern writer, wakes up one morning as a young member of the Wang family in Tutta Village, Cangzhou, Hebei. The Wangs were once a military family but have since fallen on hard times: an aged great-grandmother runs the household while the various branches scheme against one another, and the boy has been beaten nearly to death by his second aunt over a false accusation of horse theft. With Liao armies pressing at the border and kinsmen and officials plotting within, the protagonist begins by clearing up the truth of the missing horse and protecting his younger siblings, then plans a livelihood and builds up the family fortune while befriending renowned Song ministers and generals, gradually making his own way between the civil and military spheres. Centered on the idea that "letters are not noble, arms are not base," the novel depicts a top-down reform and transformation in which old and new forces contend, touching on the economy, military system, finances, and border affairs, and portrays a gallery of historical figures including descendants of the Yang generals, Bao Zheng, and Ouyang Xiu. Blending estate management, family intrigue, and national narrative, the work moves at an even pace and has a clear lighthearted, satisfying flavor.