Spoiler The Emperor's Strategy

Discussion in 'Spoilers' started by alexfilia, Jan 16, 2018.

  1. weisschneewhitte

    weisschneewhitte Active Member

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    Does this title have a english translation?
     
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  2. Kirihara Maya

    Kirihara Maya Well-Known Member

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    Heavy brotherhood/partnership? :blobjoy::blobjoy:
     
  3. Shizuka15

    Shizuka15 Lady Lan XiChen

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  4. alexfilia

    alexfilia Bromance & Fluff <3

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  5. Shizuka15

    Shizuka15 Lady Lan XiChen

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    I see, thanks. So for the Bl novel there isn't NU page yet...
     
  6. meridianna

    meridianna Suffering Ikemen Best Civilization

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    did anyone do MTL on this or something? i tried, at least 5-6 chapters, and i'm hella confused coz the POV is switching :blobdizzy:
    the southwest King is the ML right?
     
  7. tianx111

    tianx111 Well-Known Member

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    well i would love to think so too, but i cant read Chinese. i read through MTL. but again A lot of people consider it blhttps://myanimelist.net/anime/37293/Wo_Jia_Da_Shixiong_Naozi_You_Keng .
    but m pretty sure author said this is not.:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:
     
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  8. veihakase

    veihakase [Lurker in BL Hell]

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    I was looking for this!! Waaa finally T.T
     
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  9. veihakase

    veihakase [Lurker in BL Hell]

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  10. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    Just started this novel and it's pretty interesting so far!

    Some spoilers up to chapter 15:

    • Summary of the setting: Should set be during the Spring and Autumn period in Ancient China, so there's a bunch of different countries and feudal states that regularly fight each other. Our MC (although the POV switches regularly between them, so it might not be accurate to call them as such) is the Emperor of Chu Country, while our ML is the King of a feudal state(?), the Southwest (literal translation). Also involves martial arts sects which have only been mentioned briefly so far, but will likely play a greater role in future. My knowledge of Ancient Chinese history is pretty terrible, so I could be wrong about the setting...
    • Note that the story starts 2 years after the events in the summary.
    • POV switches alot between the Emperor (Chu Yuan) and the Southwest King (Duan Bai Yue) - am assuming the King is the gong because he's tall, cold, handsome and doing all the chasing so far.
    • Starts off with DBY going to the capital of Chu Country with his teenage brother (Duan Yao) to see CY, but CY has gone to a different city in order to deal with a family of Ministers who are planning a revolt.
    • DBY ends up helping quell the revolt in the capital (along the way it's shown that basically everything he does is to help CY, even becoming the Southwest King when he didn't want to at first).
    • Meanwhile, CY is injured while escaping from traitors linked to the Minister's family in the other city, but is saved by a master doctor (real identity is CY's younger brother) and DBY's master in disguise as a homeless old man.
    • DBY rushes off to the other city (he didn't know about the injury), and it is clear when the two meet (+ from hints starting from the beginning) that these two have some complicated backstory.
    • There's barely any interaction before they go their separate ways (which is where I've stopped at for now), but quite a few characters and settings have been introduced, and they're all very interesting.
    • I really like the humor in this! One example is when DBY accidentally reveals to his brother DY that he's going to the capital to see his lover, and DY tries to guess this lover's identity, getting it wrong like a billion times even though the answer is super obvious (there's one moment where he goes: "Someone my brother likes in the palace? What kind of person wouldn't my brother be able to get? Is it the Emperor's queen? Wait, Chu Country doesn't have a queen... then who is it???")
    • One point that's really cute is that the Palace has a plum tree that CY regularly orders to be dug up when he's mad at whatever DBY is doing, and when he's feeling soft-hearted again he orders it to be replanted. Thus the poor tree goes through many rounds of being dug up and replanted, but ends up blooming really well every year. There's a scene where DBY visits the palace secretly and sits below the tree, so there's definitely something special about this particular plum tree (maybe a gift from long ago)?
    • The first few chapters have some characters who will probably have quite an important role to play, so I'll briefly introduce them: Duan Yao (DBY's brother; looks like a pretty young girl; excellent at martial arts; likes to fight with poisonous worms), Shen Qian Fan (one of CY's generals, know as a War God, his family is very loyal to CY), Si Xi Gong Gong (CY's personal enunch, has been with him since childhood), Nan Mo Xie (DBY and DY's martial arts master, a really old man who's still super strong), Ye Jin (CY's younger brother who left the palace, a master doctor).
    • Also, DBY has an unhealed internal injury that makes it difficult for him to practise martial arts, although it's under control for now. He mentions to his brother DY his life expectancy is only 3-5 years long because of this. I spoiled myself on the ending because I didn't want to read a tragedy:
      I read the last few lines and DBY and CY are still alive and together.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2018
  11. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    Some more random spoilers I remembered after posting the previous one lol:

    • DBY is incredibly devoted to CY from the very start:
    • Some random gangster tries to curry favour with DBY by giving him a gift representing a tiger stepping on a dragon (i.e. DBY taking over the throne of Chu from CY), and gets invited to the "guest house" by DBY, a.k.a the cold and scary prison.
    • Along the way to the capital he sends his brother DY to fetch a special pearl from a pagoda, and later on gives this pearl to CY. Not sure what the pearl is for right now, but many martial artists have died trying to get it (and DY just waltzes in and out with the pearl without even knowing the danger he was in - DBY is kind of a terrible big brother lol)
    • He offers to help CY to quell some uprising in another part of the country, and his requirement is that CY give him 16 provinces in exchange. It's immediately revealed that he would be willing to do it for free, but CY wouldn't have accepted it, and wouldn't give DBY what he really wanted (i.e. himself), so he had to ask for something else.
    • One of the times where CY orders the plum tree to be dug up is when a Minister requests that he grant marriage of some minor princess/lady(?) to DBY - he agrees but orders her painting be drawn super beautifully, and the painter decides to use the No.1 beauty of the martial arts world as the base for his painting. When this painting is sent to DBY he immediately throws it into the fireplace without hesitation. Moment of hilarity where DY sees the painting and is like "huh??? the Emperor wants to grant big brother marriage to Sect Leader (aka the No.1 beauty)?? why would he do that???"
    • No one wants to tell DY that the person his brother actually likes is the Emperor, so he goes from mistaking him to be the minor prince of another country, to the Emperor's non-existent queen, to a palace eunuch, to one of the Emperor's personal guards.... poor DY...
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2018
  12. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    If anyone's read Everywhere in Jianghu is Wonderful, or The Bandit's Strategy, the main characters there are side characters here (or just mentioned by name so far), and vice versa (apparently Duan Bai Yue's character was quite popular in The Bandit's Strategy?). Definitely can be read as a stand-alone, but I definitely missed some of the nuances between the character's relationships, i.e.:

    There was this one line about how Ye Jin and the eldest Shen brother were married (???) and I was just so confused because it wasn't mentioned before and can guys even get married in this ancient chinese world???

    I've read till chapter 35 so far, and a whole lot of things have happened, but just posting some random spoilers/thoughts for now:

    The main couple is so so cute I'm just dying of diabetes. Duan Bai Yue is incredibly devoted, and sorta reminds me of LWJ from Diabolism except he talks and jokes more. Chu Yuan is just as in love, but is less demonstrative about it because he has to shoulder the heavy burden of being Emperor. They've progressed to the stage of forehead/hand kisses (DBY to CY) and sleeping platonically in the same bed. Plot is still slowly moving forward - the author is good at tying each sort of 'incident' to the next quite well, but I understand why some people complain that the plot moves very slowly at the start. Well it is a 200+ chapter book, and 35 chapters isn't even 20% of the way, so I'm fine with the pacing. More hints about the past of our lead couple are given - they knew each other since CY was ten.

    Their love is very pure right now, as DBY would never even think about asking CY to do something he doesn't want to do (there's this beautiful line in the novel that translates to something like "DBY is the kind of person that doesn't mind forcing others to do what he wants, but when it comes to CY, he doesn't want the other person to feel even a little bit wronged"), and CY turns red at the slightest contact/insinuation. However, I bet this author won't keep it pure the whole way - there's a scene early on where DBY is fed medicine that makes him uh... very horny... and he basically masturbates to CY's back (because CY insisted on going into the room but then just looked out the window the whole night). Also, there's another scene where CY and DBY soak in the hot springs together (sadly clothed), and the way it's described is very lovely and sensual and touching! I really love them, all their interactions are sweet and funny and sometimes angsty ahhhhh

    Because so many things are happening in the novel, and many new characters are coming and going, I feel that trying to summarise the story quickly would be really confusing, so I'll just pick out some parts to mention and just ask me if you want to know specific things!
     
  13. veihakase

    veihakase [Lurker in BL Hell]

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    Thank you very much!! Umm.. are there any side ships here? *v*)/ and what's your fave side ship (if there are any). ;)
     
  14. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    The side ships here are all from the other novels in this series (Everywhere in Jianghu is Wonderful and its direct sequel, as well as The Bandit's Strategy)! The Emperor's Strategy is the last of the 4 books, so most of the side ships here have all been developed in the other books, but they do appear from time to time:

    The main one that appears is Ye Jin and Shen Qian Feng (side couple in Everywhere in Jianghu is Wonderful), as Ye Jin is the younger brother of Chu Yuan. They're really quite adorable, as Ye Jin is the tsun kind lol. His favourite line to think is 'We aren't close' or 'I don't know him' about his brother and lover (one really funny line was when he went 'Shen Qian Feng? We aren't close. Even if we're married, we still aren't close.')

    The other couple that appears, but alot less, is Wen Liu Nian and Zhao Yue (starring in The Bandit's Strategy. The main couple of Everywhere in Jianghu Shen Qian Ling and Qin Shao Yu are mentioned in name only so far.

    I've read a whole lot of chapters since the last time (because things keep happening and I couldn't stop) and I'm almost halfway now. Would definitely rec this novel, there's no shortage of both pain and fluff....
     
  15. alexfilia

    alexfilia Bromance & Fluff <3

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    How does the ml spoil the mc? ...also is there a chance they will end up together?
     
  16. veihakase

    veihakase [Lurker in BL Hell]

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    Oh oh oooh! FLUFF! I bet ImI gonna die from diabetus this time xD. Thank you very much *kowtows:blobok::blobReach::blobhug:
     
  17. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    Oh boy, where do I even start.... [this is only up to about chapter 90+, which is where I've stopped]

    A little bit of background on their backstory prior to the start of the novel:
    • They met when CY was 6, and DBY was 9/10, in the palace. DBY really liked the little prince because he was clever and brave, and helped him out when he was being bullied by his elder brother.
    • Since then, DBY and CY have gotten along well, and the two of them regularly see each other when DBY visits the capital with his father, the former Southwest King.
    • When CY became Emperor at 18, it was with the help of DBY, who pacified the revolt in the South. However, at this time, DBY was actually in the middle of practising martial arts and shouldn't have left seclusion before finishing, but when CY asked him for help he rushes to the battlefield, which is how he gets his life-threatening internal injury. When CY finds out much much later, he cries because he never knew his request for help had caused DBY so much pain.
    Oh the spoiling... to quote DBY's brother: "If Chu Yuan wanted the moon, my brother would definitely find a way to pluck it out of the sky."
    • This unfortunately involves him getting injured all the time as he goes around solving all of CY's problems and giving CY anything he even thinks about wanting, which leads to a lot of angst in the middle of the story.
    • As Crown Prince and later Emperor, CY is pretty used to being spoiled, so there are many scenes of DBY feeding him food, giving him gifts, and fussing over him when he's ill, although CY always resists the spoiling at first before giving in.
    • CY does his share of spoiling DBY too: he's much better at remembering DBY's favourite foods and habits compared to DBY himself, and is always concerned over matters relating to DBY. In the later chapters, he's ready to go to war for DBY's sake, having deployed troops to the the South, much to the puzzlement and worry of his ministers.
    A little more on their characters and relationship: Basically, the premise is that DBY has liked CY since they were young, and thought that he would always just keep liking him in secret for the rest of his life, without any expectations (lwj syndrome???). He doesn't care much for worldly affairs, and is quite cool to people he doesn't care about, and very ruthless towards his (and CY's enemies). However, he's very very sweet to CY and enjoys teasing him, but never really goes beyond words of flirting and (excessive) gift giving. Meanwhile, our Emperor CY is clever and talented, which is why he was made Crown Prince despite not being the eldest prince. He regularly threatens to punish DBY when being teased, and frequently banishes DBY from his room, but as time passes, he finds himself more and more willing to let DBY take advantage. They sleep together for the first time in chapter 54 (none of the sex scenes are explicitly described, fyi), after which a truckload of angst happens. The main issues opposing their relationship are that (1) CY is Emperor and has to consider the nation before self, and (2) DBY can't publicly come to the capital anymore because everyone thinks he wants to usurp the throne, so they can only carry on in secret.

    Both parties are the jealous type, but respond in different (hilarious) ways: DBY wants to send the unnecessary person far far away while showing an unhappy face, while CY insists DBY spend more time with the unnecessary person with a beatific smile on his face.

    As to whether they end up together:
    They do acknowledge their feelings for each other quite early on, and they get married in the last few chapters (which I only know because I skipped ahead as I was dying to know lol).
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
  18. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    No problem!!! I'll consider doing short chapter summaries after I'm done with the novel and have some free time, as I'm pretty sure I'll be re-reading this one at least once hehe
     
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  19. alexfilia

    alexfilia Bromance & Fluff <3

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    What happened to the mc's elder brother?
    And did the ml ever recovers from his injury?
     
  20. solowars

    solowars Well-Known Member

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    CY's elder brother gets removed as crown prince, and CY replaces him. Can't remember what happens to him after CY becomes Emperor, probably he got demoted to a civilian and was left to wander around outside... It was kinda sad for him, though he was the eldest son of the Empress and Emperor, they liked CY alot more than him, and CY was smarter, more talented and good looking.

    CY has many brothers, since Ye Jin is the 9th prince, while CY was the 2nd prince (but they seem really close in age?), but few of them are mentioned by name.

    ML's injury:
    As this point in the story (~Chapter 90), he has fully recovered from his injury. The process of recovery is pretty drawn out and painful for both parties, however. Originally it is said DBY's injury can only be cured by finding a special kind of medicine, which is rumored to only be present on a far away country with closed borders. This is the reason why CY deploys troops to the South, as he was seriously considering just taking over the country to get to the medicine. DBY couldn't bear to see him become labelled a wastrel Emperor by randomly wasting troops and resources attacking some useless far away land, so he pretends that they've already found the medicine and it doesn't work. Instead, in order to keep living he learns this really evil martial art from his Shifu that puts him into seclusion for 3 years and resulted in him turning into a kind of zombie/ghost person. He gets these marks on his face (the phrase used is 'disfigured' but the description tells me it just looks like a blue tattoo on his face [seen in the PV for the animation, it doesn't look bad at all smh]), his blood turns to poison, and he no longer has a heartbeat. Because of this, his solution was to avoid CY forever after coming out of seclusion and just quietly watch over him from the shadows his whole life (sigh...). CY waits for DBY for 3 years, and travels to the Southwest to see him, but DBY refuses, so CY is heartbroken and leaves. Bunch of plot things happen, and CY and DBY manage to find the medicine, which allows DBY to fully recover from his injury, and restores his body from the evil martial art. CY keeps saying he hasn't forgiven DBY for refusing to see him, and doesn't want him anymore, but they patch up nicely (and pretty quickly, didn't drag out at all thankfully) by the most recent chapters I've read.

    I was really sad over this part because DBY wanted CY to just forget about him and find someone else because he wouldn't be able to be near CY due to the poison in his blood and he wore a mask because of his 'disfigurement'. Meanwhile, CY just stated that he will keep waiting for DBY, but was actually very sad and gets dead drunk before his brother Ye Jin finds him (which is the start of Ye Jin's vendetta against DBY). I wanted to slap DBY a little here because clearly CY is a stubborn ass and wouldn't get together with anyone else, so he's just making them both sad for nothing!!! Also, CY says DBY wasn't nice to look at anyway (blatantly lying here, but it does comfort DBY), so the 'disfigurement' doesn't make a difference anyway.... Sigh I'm glad it got resolved nicely, even though I had to sit through 40 chapters of pain.