{year}=2025{episode}=24.END{type}=TV{completed}
Plot Summary
The Wind Blows from Longxi is a complex classic spy thriller that is not for the faint-hearted. Its biggest hurdle is the first three or four episodes, which are weighed down by the introduction of too many bearded and obscure characters on both sides of the Shu-Wei conflict. Clearly, even Lu Yang can’t resist the romance of the Three Kingdoms saga and descends into a rabbit hole of events that are set and larger than life figures, bound by a rigid plot. Beyond that, the narrative simply traps you in the lonely, confusing, nail-biting, heart-wrenching, cruel, and ungrateful world of ordinary espionage, the ants who put themselves in harm’s way to pave the way for great men to be glorified in history.
This recent adaptation of Mo Boyang’s work is a fast-paced chase and thrilling action sequences that are both thrilling and provide a satisfying thrill and attraction. It’s very much the opposite. The production values are filmic in quality, but because of the shadowy shadows, it is best enjoyed on the big screen. The camera is often still and sometimes comes in avant-garde angles in low light, emphasizing the hidden nature of the interactions, the murky motives, and conveying a sense of isolation, tension, uncertainty, and danger. The action scenes are Lu Yang’s signature – choreographed, bloodthirsty, fierce, and up-close-and-personal in a tense moment.
The story is set during Zhuge Liang’s Northern Expedition, a period of stalemate between Shu and Wei, in which neither side has a clear advantage or an outright victory. It is an apt setting for this type of story, because when the margins are narrow, cunning and intelligence can tip the scales in either direction. The story begins with Zhuge Liang’s first (of five) Northern Expeditions, which failed. This led to the beheading of General Ma Su for his failure to capture Jieting and Zhuge Liang. It allowed his political rival, General Li Yan, who had advocated a southern campaign against Wu instead of Zhuge Liang’s northern campaign against Wei, to gain power and influence. The Northern Expedition took place in a complex geographical location, where timely military supplies were difficult and made the difference between victory and defeat. That is the general historical perspective needed to understand this story. Sure, the Three Kingdoms story would be enlivened by the "drive-by" of many legendary figures on both sides of the conflict, but the main characters in Ma Boyong's story are often minor figures or ants.
The line between fact and fiction blurs as Shu's intelligence officer Siwencao suspects that compromised military intelligence led to their defeat at Jieting. Siwencao hastily concludes that Chen Gong (Chen Kun), a Shu spy named Baidi (White Emperor) under deep cover in Tianshui (Wei Fortress), must have defected and sends Xun Xu (Bai Yu), the deputy minister of internal affairs, to deal with him. But Xun Xu is not convinced of Chen Gong's guilt. They are close friends, by marriage. Together they discover that the highest echelon of Siwencao has been infiltrated by Zhulong (Wax Dragon), a Wei spy. They can trust no one and resort to cunning tricks to lure Zhulong out with the design of Shu’s cross, long desired by Wei. They are forced to walk separate paths, full of danger, under-resourced and alone, with nothing but their complete trust in and knowledge of each other. But nothing is ever completely planned, and everyone has secrets. When the rubber meets the road, is there a back? How well can one really know someone? This also applies to Chen Gong’s relationships with both Mi Chong and Guo Gang, whose relationship with Xun Xu is fraught. In short, this is about two states at war with each other. There really is no good or bad side, no right or wrong. Both characters are patriots for their own causes. Interesting, layered, suspicious, and unscrupulous characters, practiced in the art of deception. It is not by chance that Guo Gang could be the Xun Xu to Chen Gong.
The role of a character as cunning, duplicitous, and morally ambiguous as Chen Gong must have been written with Chen Kun in mind. He dominates the screen in every scene and has my heart in my throat for his ability to turn a bad situation around and the sight of his brutal pain and anger quickly disguised by indifference or confidence. The savagery and violence of his emotions as he retaliates, his veins protruding from his forehead, is intense and terrifying. Bai Yu’s Xun Xu is Chen Gong’s conscience, a loyal and persistent truth-seeker whose bottom line is unyielding. Most of Xun Xu’s co-stars
