Recommendations (CN) Political novels

Like the title says, any Chinese novels that are MAINLY about politics. It'll be great if the plotline is really intense.

I don't mind if it's modern or historical. As well as having a female or male lead.

Some examples are:
Both are Foxes
Chu Wang Fei
The Princess Wei Yang
Xian Wang Dotes On Wife

 

I can only think of Divine Doctor: Daughter of the First Wife, Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao, and
The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

Note: These are the only ones I know of that I've read. There's probably more if you search.

 

I'm currently reading Divine Doctor. Haven't tried Phoenix Xiayiao nor Rebirth of the Empress, will do! Thanks!

 

The Human Emperor is heavy politics!

 

Will try it. Thank you!

 

Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao is great! And funny. You can also try Return of the Swallow.

 

Thank you! Will do.

 

I'm surprised nobody mentioned The Grandmaster Strategist. Also, while I haven't read the novel, I watched Nirvana In Fire and it's great.

 

I'll try both of them! Thank you!

 

You really should give Unruly Phoenix Xiayiao a try right now. The FMC is the freaking emperor(cross-dressed) so it's not like those court yard schemes and politics with consorts, concubine daughters, etc. It's much more intense and direct confrontation instead of the slower more secretive subtle poltics you'd usually read. The MC really is unruly and wild. It's hilarious how much trouble she causes to the antagonists. I don't laugh easy but this makes me lmao and smile.

I edited my previous post:

Try Unruly first. Malicious Empress is nice tho you'd might be a bit frustrated as ML starts as opposing/countering FMC.

Second this. Really good and enjoyable. It's well written/translated and although it starts out with business then some politics and more military focus, it's really great. Great male MC and tho no romance, that doesn't matter as it's so good it doesn't need it.

 

Thank you for your opinion! Will definitely try all three!

 

LOL yes. It's like when you watch a drama or read a novel and you just wish the MC would do X but they don't, they hold back for whatever reason and it's frustrating. Well, in UPX the MC *does it*. Plus, she can talk to animals who help her out! There's also funny authorial asides. And translated by @Ruyi one of the best translators around! OwO

 

The Captivating Crown Prince
The mc is ambitious, she is into throne and power.

 

They're generally not considered primarily as political novels, but I'd suggest Tong Hua books "Bu Bu Jing Xin" and "Song in the Clouds". The first chronicles the fight for the succession of Emperor Kangxi's throne and the second is about the complex politics of the Han court during the reign of Liu Fu Ling. These books are about as intense as they get and they're great reads. They're tragedies, so take note if you're sensitive to that kind of thing.

I'd also recommend Yue Guan novels, but his books aren't translated so you're on your own. They're totally amazing though, so they're worth the effort.

As for "Unruly Phoenix Xiaoyao", it's not really that much of a political novel because the protagonist doesn't rely of political stratagems to win. Instead, she gets by by being a hundred times as strong as anyone else and by being immune to injury and poison. There is some politics though so you may get what you're looking for. It does make for a great dumbass comedy.