origami8

If you are curious just check the wiki page of Hu Jinsi, it's there.

But he's fearlessly arrogant because most of the military senior figures served under him in the past. That's why the King couldn't do anything against him.

If you like Swords into Plowshares, I recommend Ryomaden. It's one of the best Taiga (historical) dramas ever made.

Yeah I've totally lost interest in korean dramas. Absolutely bland now despite getting so much money from Netflix and so on.

We no longer see the likes of Chuno, Deep Rooted Tree, Dong Yi, Signal, Stranger and the likes.

For those who have read up about the era's iconic figures, there will be some obvious parts that are fictional, made to ensure the drama flows well.

Example, Feng Dao's 10 days plan. He was shipped out as governor by the young emperor and was not around in the capital until after Khitan took over.

Which also meant that the role of Qian Hongchu in the capital is fictional.

Even the Sang Weihan's role and death part where changed to make things more dramatic.

The Advisors Alliance season 1 was decent but season 2 was shite.

The Longest Day in Changan. Really good but different kind of series.

The Emperor Han Wu was really good too but kinda old now.

Historically, the old man will cause lots of trouble until his very death.

Wang Pu finally appeared! Those playing Where Winds Meet will recognise him.

The actor is outstanding in the portrayal of Feng Dao. Really lived up to the reputation of his, where he was immortalised as one of the 40 peerless heroes (from Han up to Song dynasty) in Wu Shuang Pu.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Shuang_Pu

There's a spoiler in the wiki page of the the 7th prince if you are ready. Best not to read it but for those who don't mind spoilers then yeah.

Another interesting fact about Shuiqui Zhao Quan's relation to the royal family of Qian of Wuyue. He's part of the Shuiqiu clan from the founding of the state.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Shuiqiu

So the already ailing Khitan emperor died on his way back to Liao territory. So Feng Dao was allowed to return to Kaifeng. Should be on the way. It was mentioned in one of the latest episodes, in-line with actual history.

Read the "After Surrender to Liao" part
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi_Chonggui

Zhang Yanze the butcher wasn't a Khitan. He's just one of the tribal barbarians. There were too many tribes featuring prominently during the Five Dynasties period.

You can identify Khitan by their hairstyle.

For example, Shi Jintang the emperor who surrendered the Sixteen Prefectures was also not Han Chinese. He's Shatuo. The same goes to the Later Han emperor who was crowned by his officers in Taiyuan. Also Shatuo.

No even Du Chong Wei didn't appear. We already felt like we are being bombarded with so many different characters so far. I guess there were just too many figures hahaha they cut them out.

Basically Shi Chonggui was a fool to trust his own uncle Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen to command the main army of the kingdom of about 100,000 men. So with the surrender at Zhongdu Bridge (also depicted in Where Winds Meet), the capital of Kaifeng was basically defenceless, which led to an easy ride for Khitans.

Yeah fictional.

Another fictional part I noticed was Feng Dao was not always in the court leading up to the Liao invasion. He was sent out to be governor of other places by Shi Chonggui due to some disagreements. So the plotting to manouver/delay for 10 days also should be fictional.

Watched up to episode 12 and so far I gotta say Feng Dao is the MVP of the whole drama.

He clearly lived up to his legacy of being immortalised in Wu Shuang Pu (Table of Peerless Heroes), which featured 40 of the most outstanding figures in Chinese history (from Han up to Song dynasty).

It's frustrating that the theme songs are not available on international streaming platforms or iTunes store. I'll purchase without even thinking if they are available. The opening theme is just wowwww.

Another fact you might be interested in is that Qian Hongchu greatly influenced the ranking of Chinese surnames in the "Hundred Family Surnames". Most likely so because it was likely written and curated by the Jiangnan scholars, thus the heavy focus on him.

Check it out here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Family_Surnames

I believe what Sima Yi did to Cao Cao's descendants, the coup and wiping out Cao and Xiahou clan families made him a hate figure throughout Chinese history.

So Jiangnan is a collective of the major cities (Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing and also slightly north Yangzhou) in the region south of Chang Jiang river. It's the most prominent area in China throughout history and wuxia works. Usually they are referred to collectively, although yes the drama is centred on Hangzhou.