Marquis of the Great Han

Marquis of the Great Han is an alternate-history novel by web author Iced Dark Plum Soup. It began serialization on Qidian Chinese Network in 2014 and concluded on November 2, 2015, totaling about 1.2 million characters in 333 chapters, categorized under "Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms." The story is set from the late reign of Emperor Jing of Western Han through the reign of Emperor Wu: the protagonist, Cao Shi, is reborn and opens his eyes as the gravely ill Marquis of Pingyang—a descendant of founding meritorious official Cao Can. His wife is Princess Pingyang, and his brother-in-law is Liu Che, still the crown prince. Wei Zifu, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing, future towering figures, are at this point still obscure servants in the marquis's household. The lingering benefits of the Rule of Wen and Jing have not yet faded, but the marquis have already been reduced to rights of food and clothing taxes; cruel officials run rampant, powerful clans grow strong, and the blade of centralization is slowly descending. Cao Shi first solves his fief's "food problem" with coal-based iron smelting and iron pots and stoves, reforms the marquis's household, gathers old subordinates, rebuilds a private army, and foils a frame-up with a hundred-dish banquet. He then enters Chang'an, where as the crown prince's study companion he expounds on institutions to the future Emperor Wu, joins scholars of the Hundred Schools in debating the Confucians, and tries to choose another path for the Great Han on the eve of "revering Confucianism alone." The main line then advances through establishing a base in Hedong, political maneuvering in Chang'an, counterattacks at Yanmen, chasing the Xiongnu across the southern desert, securing the Right Worthy Prince in the Hexi region, and driving the Chanyu from the northern desert. Finally, during the Yuanguang era, he leads more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians west out of Jincheng, crosses the Yanzhi Mountains and Juyan Lake, and reaches the Western Regions, completing the turn from "marquis saving himself" to "civilizational expansion westward." The book examines Han dynasty institutions such as the mausoleum-city system, the military merit peerage system, and court rites, and includes plots of technological improvement and economic reform. It is a relatively well-regarded "minister-faction" work in Western Han historical fiction.