The Long Ballad

- General/commander Male lead
- smart, sassy female lead
- historical romance war
- age gap
- power struggle

In both dramas both main leads are very strong and independent. both dramas mainly focus on the nation to be in peace . both drama are the war related dramas .

Alen Fang, who plays Wei Shu Yu in The Long Ballad, plays the main character, Li Qian, in The Love by Hypnotic.

The both have revenge themes as well as a love triangle, and have political aspects between two different countries.

I enjoyed both of them. ^_^

Both dramas have female lead who are warriors and skilled fighters, there are hidden identities, and have historical, romance, action and wuxia as common genres. Both stories capture you as soon as you see the first few episodes making you want to see something similar.

Both have strong male and female character leads. The stories have very modern relationships with proper communication, development, and even humor. Both have a male lead that is attracted to the female lead from almost the first episode. Neither have the cliche tropes these dramas are famous for.

In both the drams the male lead has acted and they both are historical, action, wuxia and romance dramas. they both have over forty episodes and have plots different but the ML has acted out an amazing performance of the character he played. Both are worth a watch...

Both FLs disguise as men to take revenge for their murdered family. The MLs or SMLs are generals who conquer a city the FL is in, causing her to lose a member of her group.

Both are dramatic stories of the beautiful princess who is seeking revenge for her family in the world of betrayals

Both drama deal with the fallout of a murder by fellow family member and the path to reconciliation.

Strong FL that has martial arts, strategy and revenge arc.
The ML of the Long Ballad has similar vibes as the 2ML in Qingchuan from the Chu Kingdom only that he is not villainous.

Both have general that fall in love with a smart FL. The FL is good with scheme and strategies. The FL also have few identities.

Both are played by talented actors and actresses. Both tell a love story full of struggles. . Both have a happy ending. Both tell the meaning of friendship, and true love. Both take the theme of family, friendship, love, betrayal, and revenge. Both have smart and talented female main characters.

I agree that the 2nd couple (Leyan and Houdo) outdid the 1st couple in terms of showmanship, personality and acting. Houdo has that effective facial expression that viewers couldn't took t ones eyes away from him when he is in focus. It is Leyan who is in wanting. I missed that look of love from Leyan's face in "a female student... when he looked at Xu kaicheng. He should have looked at Houdo that way during their dialogue after the fight in the ring. Much improvement should be done by Lusi in terms of eye expression, "that look of being in love".

Both are costume dramas about female led revenge. Intricate plots, cunning women, elusive and cold but supportive male leads, and both plots have involvement from royalty to some degree.

Neither drama focuses on romance and instead is excellent at weaving the story through each plot.

Both have strong and smart female leads who are fighting against the social norm for women. They are both young as well, both female leads grow before your eyes as their stories unravel. They also mask their genders, Chang Ge more-so than Jin Xia. The romance for both is slow-burn and based on mutual respect and all couplings go through a good deal of hardships together. You also get to watch as the casts both mature over time, character growth is prominent in both dramas.

Also, since the recommender is an Art Historian, the costuming is absolutely breath-taking in both dramas. You will not see the cast wear the same 2 pieces of clothing all throughout the drama. (Embroidered Guards in Under the Power wear an AMAZING set of uniforms! The embroidery is absolutely gorgeous.)