The Wind Blows From Longxi Review

I expected The Wind Blows From Longxi (风起陇西) to be a long-winded saga. Thus, I was actually surprised when I found out that it only has 24 episodes in total. After all, the story is written by Ma Bo Yong who is also the author of Luoyang which has 39 episodes. Anyway, it is good that the drama is kept short as I don’t really fancy another lengthy production of political intrigues. If they are not well-executed, such dramas can be a drag and descend into boredom midway through. So, do we have a gripping story from start to finish with this one? Check out The Wind Blows From Longxi review below for details.

My rating: 8.5/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Investigation
Aired: April 2022
Images Credit: iQIYI TW Facebook

The Cast Of The Wind Blows From Longxi

• Aloys Chen Kun as Chen Gong
• Johnny Bai Yu as Xun Xu
• Li Guang Jie as Zhuge Liang
• Nie Yuan as Feng Ying
• Chang Yuan as Sun Ling
• Yang Yi as Gao Tang Bing
• Liu Ting Zuo as Yin Ji
• Yin Zhu Sheng as Li Yan
• Zhao Zheng as Li Miao
• Sun Yi as Di Yue
• Edward Zhang Xiao Chen as Huang Yu
• Dong Zi Jian as Guo Gang
• Lawrence Wang Xiao as Mi Chong
• Angelababy as Liu Ying

Main Characters

Chen Gong

Chen Gong’s official position is the Recorder of the Wei state which gives him vital information on the administration’s supplies movements. However, he is actually a spy for the Shu state with the codename Baidi. His identity as an undercover agent is top secret in Shu’s intelligence agency. Chen Gong is a cautious and calm man as well as a quick thinker under pressure. He is married to Di Yue while his brother-in-law is Xun Xu.

Xun Xu

Xun Xu is the Deputy Chief of Internal Affairs in Shu’s intelligence agency. He is in charge of counterintelligence. Xun Xu is an observant and a smart investigator who is determined to do the right thing. Pei Xu is his trusted subordinate. Xun Xu reports to Feng Ying and subsequently, Li Miao.

Supporting Characters

Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang is the Prime Minister of Shu with plenty of achievements under the previous Emperor. He is much respected due to his seniority and controls the military as well as intelligence agency. His main desire is to protect Shu and expand its territory. Yang Yi is his Chief of Staff

Feng Ying

Feng Ying is one of the founders of Shu’s intelligence agency and its Section Clerk. He is an old-timer and an influential senior officer who has control over the agency. He is deemed to belong to Zhuge Liang’s camp. Feng Ying’s aim is to prevent the agency from being used as a political tool. Yin Ji and Gao Tang Bing are his subordinates and friends.

Sun Ling

Sun Ling is a Scribe in Shu’s intelligence agency. He is also Feng Ying’s brother-in-law. Sun Ling is responsible for transcribing messages and has access to coded plates used to decrypt messages from agents. He appears as practical and simple-minded with a tendency to view things at the surface level.

Gao Tang Bing

Gao Tang Bing is the Chief of Internal Affairs and responsible for intelligence analysis in Shu’s agency. He is also Xun Xu’s friend and colleague. He reports to Feng Ying who regards him as a trusted friend.

Yin Ji

Yin Ji is Chief of the Operations Department of Shu’s intelligence agency who is in charged of intelligence collection. He prefers to remain amiable and carry out his duties as told rather than being confrontational and ambitious. He is good friends with Gao Tang Bing as well as Feng Ying who is also his superior.

Li Yan

Li Yan is the Calvary General of Shu. He doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Zhuge Liang whom he distrusts. His aim is to reduce Zhuge Liang’s powers and influence over the Emperor and officials. General Hu Zhong is his righthand man and Adjutant.

Li Miao

Li Miao is the former Adjutant to Zhuge Liang who was sacked for protesting over the execution of a general who lost a battle with Wei. Hence, he has an axe to grind with Yang Yi and Zhuge Liang.

Di Yue

Di Yue is Chen Gong’s wife and Xun Xu’s younger cousin sister. She is also a Shu spy who has gone undercover to infiltrate the Wuxian Sect. Her position in the sect is the Saint Lady and the leader’s future wife.

Huang Yu

Huang Yu is the leader of the Wuxian Sect which is collaborating with Wei to attack Shu. He is a cautious and suspicious man.

Guo Gang

Guo Gang is the Governor of Tianshui of Wei which was won after a battle with Shu. He is good friends with Chen Gong whom he trusts as Chen Gong had saved his life in the past. He is related to Guo Huai who is the founder of Wei’s intelligence agency and Regional Inspector of Yongzhou.

Mi Chong

Mi Chong is the Chancellor of Tianshui’s military intelligence agency and reports to Guo Gang. He is an instinctive man who is highly suspicious of Chen Gong and is determined to root out the spy within Wei.

Liu Ying

Liu Ying is a refugee who happened to be saved by Xun Xu from bandits. She is a beautiful maiden who claims to be a musician and is on her way to meet her teacher in Nanzheng, Shu.

Synopsis

The Shu and Wei states are at war. Shu lost a battle for an important city due to faulty intelligence. Consequently, their spy in Wei named Chen Gong (codenamed Baidi) is presumed to have betrayed Shu. An intelligence officer, Xun Xu, is sent to Wei to investigate what happened and kill Chen Gong. However, Xun Xu has full trust in Chen Gong and through their investigations, they find out that a Wei spy has infiltrated Shu’s intelligence agency and changed Chen Gong’s messages. They only know that the spy’s codename is Zhulong but they have no idea who he is.

On top of that, Xun Xu and Chen Gong have no proof that the latter is not a traitor. As Chen Gong is being investigated by both sides, they quietly make a plan for Chen Gong to kill a senior Wei military intelligence officer and assumes his identity while out on a mission. The Wei mission is to steal Shu’s newest weapon designs with cooperation from the Wuxian Sect. At the same time, Xun Xu will return to Shu and report that Chen Gong is dead as well as to flush out Zhulong.

Therefore, Chen Gong goes undercover as a Wei officer to infiltrate the Wuxian Sect in the hope to be able to find out Zhulong’s identity. However, the sect leader is suspicious that Chen Gong is Baidi due to Zhulong’s intelligence. As for Xun Xu, he is facing obstacles in his investigations without knowing whom he can trust in Shu’s intelligence agency which has split into 2 camps due to politics.

The Wind Blows From Longxi Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Before you go on to read the spoilers for The Wind Blows From Longxi, please be aware that knowing the ending before you start watching will take away much of the enjoyment from this drama. This is because this is not your typical rom-com whereby the story and ending are both predictable. This drama relies on unpredictability and twists to make viewers hook to the story. So, if you already know what is going to happen, the drama won’t have the same excitement anymore.

Happy Or Sad Ending?

The Wind Blows From Longxi has a sad ending. Chen Gong was beheaded in the last episode. He sacrificed himself by taking all the blame and claiming to be a Wei spy working against Shu’s interests. By doing so, Feng Ying can be absolved of treason and Li Yan will not be able to get away with his treasonous deeds. Everything can be explained and all involved in the plan to take down Li Yan will be able to escape unpunished including Yang Yi and by extension, Chuge Liang.

With Chen Gong taking the blame, Feng Ying is reinstated to head Shu’s intelligence agency. Xun Xu is chosen by Zhuge Liang to be the envoy to Wu state with the task of setting up Shu’s intelligence network there. He requested Feng Ying to bury Chen Gong together with his late wife, Di Yue. Xun Xu paid his respects at their tomb before leaving for Wu. They seemed to appear in the distance being happy together before fading away from Xun Xu’s sight.

Chen Gong left a message to his assistant to be passed on to Xun Xu before he died. Hence, Xun Xu found out that Chen Gong had planned for his own death. Chen Gong was tired of the situation after his wife’s death and came out with the plan to sacrifice himself for the state. This included making Xun Xu suspect him to be spying for Wei so that he would be caught. As Xun Xu blamed himself for Chen Gong’s death, the assistant gave Xun Xu the message as instructed to help him recover emotionally.

Who Is Zhulong?

There are 2 Zhulongs in the overall scheme. The first one is Gao Tang Bing which is revealed to the viewer in Episode 11. Liu Ying is also a Wei spy and messenger.

Gao Tang Bing was flushed out in Episode 15. Chen Gong captured him when he went to retrieve the weapons designs stolen from the Shu military facility. With the capture, Chen Gong was promoted to be the Chief Clerk of the intelligence agency.

However, Chen Gong was the real Zhulong in Wei’s Qingping Plan under Guo Huai and this is seen in Episode 17. The ultimate aim of the Qingping Plan was to gain control of Shu’s intelligence agency at the highest level. Guo Huai sacrificed Gao Tang Bing to be captured so that Chen Gong could earn the credit to be promoted in Shu’s intelligence agency. This will enable Wei to get more intel and create internal rivalry in their enemy state to weaken them.

What Is Wei’s Qingping Plan?

The Qingping Plan was designed by Guo Huai for Wei to have complete intel on Shu. He knew Chen Gong was a Shu spy sent over to infiltrate Wei. So, he recruited him to be Wei’s agent instead. He did this by showing Chen Gong how Feng Ying had caused Chen Fu’s (Chen Gong’s father) death. Chen Fu was a general under Li Yan. He helped Li Yan to escape from danger while holding Wei’s army attack. Feng Ying had leaked information to Wei which enabled them to defeat Chen Fu.

Guo Huai gave the impression to Chen Gong that Feng Ying had traded information with Wei and sacrificed spies on the ground to further his own career. He thought Chen Gong’s hatred towards Feng Ying will ensure his betrayal. This backstory is told in Episode 17.

Therefore, the Qingping Plan involved getting Chen Gong into the top position of Shu’s intelligence agency. To do this, Guo Huai set up Gao Tang Bing to be flushed out and captured by Chen Gong. Upon returning to Shu, Chen Gong was promoted as expected. But Chen Gong had no intention to be a traitor especially after he learned from Feng Ying that his father was sacrificed under the late Emperor’s order. Chen Fu was the bait to entrap a Wei general so that Shu could conquer the city under the general’s command.

Is Feng Ying A Bad Guy?

Feng Ying was never a traitor. Together with Yang Yi, their only concern was Shu’s interests. However, they will not hesitate to sacrifice individuals including their own people in the name of patriotism.

Feng Ying and Yang Yi knew all along about the Qingping Plan. So, they took advantage of Guo Huai’s own plan to trick him into believing that he was succeeding. They worked together with Chen Gong to put up a pretense that the latter was working against Zhuge Liang who was planning to attack Wei. When Chen Gong was arrested by Xun Xu for being a Wei spy, it threw Guo Huai off-guard and he thought he had lost a valuable agent that he had carefully nurtured.

Li Yan And Zhuge Liang’s Rivalry

Li Yan and Zhuge Liang were political rivals. They have differing views on Shu’s war policy direction and Li Yan was against Zhuge Liang’s Northern Expedition to attack Wei. Li Yan also felt that Zhuge Liang needed to be brought down due to his immense power. Therefore, Li Yan’s version of patriotism included sabotaging Zhuge Liang’s war efforts which amounted to treason.

Feng Ying and Yang Yi believed that Li Yan ought to be taken out due to his greed for power and wrong policy direction. Furthermore, Li Yan was being targeted by Wei and it was a risk to let him have control over Shu’s intelligence agency. Therefore, they entrapped him by advising him to divert provisions meant for Zhuge Liang’s troops during the Northern Expedition by faking a war with the southern Wu state in Episode 18. When Li Yan took the bait in his quest to destroy Zhuge Liang and put the advice into action, he already committed treason. He was arrested while trying to escape in Episode 24.

The Fate Of Other Characters

• Mi Chong was killed in Episode 6. Chen Gong set him up to be killed while out on a mission together as he needed to assume Mi Chong’s identity to infiltrate the Wuxian Sect.
• Li Miao was killed by Gao Tang Bing in Episode 12.
• Di Yue died in Episode 13 after her identity as a mole was exposed through Gao Tang Bing’s intel. Huang Yu fed her a pill to make her talk but she committed suicide before it could take effect. She knew she was going to die anyway and refused to be saved by Chen Gong as that would expose his identity and all their efforts would be in vain.
• Gao Tang Bing died in his prison cell in Episode 18. He was reported to have committed suicide. In actual fact, he was killed by Feng Ying.
• Xun Xu knew Liu Ying was a Wei spy in Episode 19. But he didn’t have the heart to arrest her. He even gave her a badge that will enable her to get out of the city in case of danger. Liu Ying carried out her mission to destroy the secret edict kept by Li Yan as per Chen Gong’s order in Episode 24 and successfully escaped.
• Huang Yu was killed by Chen Gong in Episode 23 to avenge Di Yue’s death.

The Wind Blows From Longxi Review – Close Attention Needed!

The Wind Blows From Longxi is not a breezy watch. You can’t skip episodes or even scenes because that will make the story incomplete. In fact, close attention is needed to know what is going on as this is a story of spying and counter-spying. You have a group of men setting the stage step-by-step to achieve an aim. Each step is important to ensure success. But along the way, those steps may not be what they seem on the surface. You have to be patient for the plot to unravel. You will also have to follow the dialogues closely to understand the steps taken just like Nirvana In Fire Season 1.

I see this as a conversation-heavy drama. There are not a lot of action scenes. Therefore, some might find this slow and boring especially if you are not into political power plays of plotting and scheming against one another. It is the kind of drama that would probably appeal more to older viewers with its serious tone and more complex story. There is no romance here to lighten things up with its male dominated cast either. It relies mainly on a good script and storytelling to interest viewers who have the patience for a serious historical spy drama.

Is The Story Difficult To Understand?

I would say that the overall story is not that complex especially with the brief explanation/summary at the end of each episode. But if you want to understand all the finer details of the hows and whys, the hurdle would be higher. This is where attentiveness comes in for a complete story. Otherwise, you might end up with little gaps here and there. The gaps may not render the drama incomprehensible, but they may be annoying as you will need to rewind to get a complete picture.

Basically, the plot is about an undercover agent who is accused of treason due to a mole lurking in his state’s intelligence agency. He wants to prove his innocence and together with his brother-in-law who is an investigator at the agency, they try to flush out the mole. So, a large part of the drama is about the 2 men working to find out the mole’s identity. Part of the excitement for the viewers is to guess who the mole might be.

However, viewers will also be bombarded with a lot of characters in the first few episodes. It takes effort to recognize everyone and remember their names and positions. This is made worse with the dim lighting for most scenes and the similar costumes donned by the men. Their bearded faces add another layer of difficulty in telling them apart. Hence, it might be tempting to give up after the first episode if you are that type of viewer who gets frustrated easily with trying to make out who’s who in the story.

Good Storytelling

The Wind Blows From Longxi is a well-told story to me. It has a good plot to work on and nicely executed. I find it to be better than Luoyang in some aspects. Luoyang may have a more intense start but the finish is disappointing. On the other hand, The Wind Blows From Longxi has a consistent pace throughout with a very tight focus. There are no fillers to lengthen the drama unnecessarily. 24 episodes is just right to unpack the story with each character and scene having their rightful place.

Even though the story is more complex than usual, it is well-structured and logical with no obvious plot holes. The sequence of events fits together perfectly and nothing appears too dramatic or exaggerated. This means the outcomes will make sense to the viewers. The mind games may not be as brilliant as Nirvana In Fire Season 1 or even Sword Snow Stride but the twist to the plot and the guessing game of who might be a villain still make this a well-planned production.

The screenwriter also didn’t try to force an ending to fulfill certain expectations when it comes to the fate of the various characters. There is a grey area between right and wrong in this drama and some characters can be both good and bad in the name of patriotism. I think it is a more realistic way to end the story rather than tying everything up too neatly whereby all the good guys are rewarded and the bad ones are killed or jailed.

Acting

The cast delivered a good performance to make The Wind Blows From Longxi highly watchable. They are all experienced actors who can bring out the essence of the characters in an effortless manner. It is a joy watching Chen Kun playing a spy with an air of nonchalance to give the impression of innocence to his enemies. But he does show pain and rage for certain scenes and these are the ones that will move you due to the intensity of his emotions.

Bai Yu’s Xun Xu is more stubborn when it comes to his principles of right and wrong and his need to get to the bottom of things for justice to be served. Thus, he displays steely determination for this character. But when he breaks down into tears due to mistakes made which cannot be undone, you will feel for him for the outpouring of emotions.

While the 2 actors are the main characters in the drama, this is not a bromance like The Untamed or Word Of Honor. Chen Gong and Xun Xu are related by marriage. Xun Xu’s cousin sister is Chen Gong’s wife. The 2 men share a close bond and trust each other as brothers. They don’t really have a lot of screen time together but when they interact, their closeness is obvious from the more relaxed body language.

My Verdict – Watch But Be Patient!

The Wind Blows From Longxi is definitely a good watch in my book and should be one of the better Chinese dramas for 2022. No doubt you need to be patient for all the pieces to fall into place with the plot twists and the slow reveal. But the journey is worth it with a gripping story that stays close to the plot with no room for fillers and overdramatic events. Perhaps you need to have the mood for such a serious drama before you start watching. So, if you are looking for something relaxing to destress that is easy to understand, this is not it.

This is also a male-dominated drama with bearded men plotting against each other. The few women are reduced to minor roles. Hence, there is no strong and smart female character here to spice up the story. Despite the historical political genre, there is also nothing visually aesthetic about it unlike dramas such as Royal Feast with its beautiful costumes and elaborate settings. This production is all about clandestine operations with hidden schemes beneath the surface. So, do expect dim lighting, plain apparels, and bare rooms to give viewers the covert feel of spies at work.

For this The Wind Blows From Longxi review, I would give it a score of 8.5/10. I like its rather short length of 24 episodes with its well-packed story. Watch it for the focused plot and the intrigue of 2 states spying on each other. There is anticipation on who the traitors might be and this is where the story will draw you in after the first few episodes as you follow the protagonists’ journey to flush out the mole.

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