I never read the novel, so I have nothing to compare it to, which I'm glad of. No expectation, no disappointment. ^^

I learned the charm of Chinese actors compare to Korean through Chung Wallace (and Chan William). Instead of pretty faces, charismatic portrayal of their characters & passion turned them into heartthrobs. Can't contribute good acting for Angelababy, but lucky for her Chinese drama often dubbed voices, and her perfect heroine character made up what she lacked.

Not many characters stood out to me, except for He Zia for his perseverance . Except for main couple, I found everyone kinda dumb and pathetic. But who cares? Finally found a happy ending that made sense, avoided plot holes, hero & heroine had passionate romance. It's was entertaining from beginning to end.

Drama was basically written to make Bei Jie seem awesome. He's strong, smart, possessive but passionately dedicated to the heroine, self-sacrificing & loyal to his emperor/step-brother, sympathetic to his enemies. He was called unbeatable, god of war, and most desired bachelor - possible future king. Over the top a bit? Writers tried to balance out the hero by giving heroine intelligence, courage and virtue but she was too vulnerable and delicate to fulfill that role. As the story progressed, heroine's intelligence seemed to strengthen and climb higher above everyone else, so there's that. Interactions and match of wit between the couple was a lot of fun.

It's better to not expect a masterpiece historical Chinese drama from GENERAL & I. It's just an entertaining romance story with satisfying ending where bad guys are punished and the couple end happily ever after. Political aspect is short sighted and forced, therefore okay to skip. ^^