Season 1 Plot
In the year 626 C.E., the Tang Dynasty faces upheaval following the successful Xuanwu Gate Incident, a coup orchestrated by a cunning prince. During the chaos, Li Chang Ge's family is slaughtered, but she manages to escape. Determined to avenge her family, she raises an army to challenge the new Emperor, Tai Zong. However, her plans take an unexpected turn when she's defeated by the Eastern Turkic Khaganate forces. General Ashile Sun, her conqueror, keeps her as his strategist, and as they form a powerful military partnership, romantic feelings begin to bloom between them. (Source: MyDramaList) ~~ Adapted from the manhua "Chang Ge Xing" (长歌行) by Xia Da (夏达).
The Long Ballad Season 1 aired on March 31st, 2021.
Season 1 Episodes
1. Episode 1
Li Changge survives the palace massacre that kills her father and brothers, escapes into hiding, and vows to avenge her family as she abandons her life as a princess.
2. Episode 2
Changge evades pursuit, sheds the last traces of her old life, and hardens her resolve to grow strong enough to avenge her family.
3. Episode 3
Changge is betrayed in Youzhou, forced to flee again, and realises she can rely only on herself.
4. Episode 4
Changge is taken by Ashile Sun, forced to travel under his watch, and waits for the moment to break free.
5. Episode 5
Changge studies the Ashile camp from inside her captivity, quietly turning prisonerhood into advantage.
6. Episode 6
Changge travels with the Ashile army, quietly observing their tactics while waiting for the right moment to escape.
7. Episode 7
Changge’s escape fails, and Ashile Sun recaptures her—more intrigued by her resolve than angered.
8. Episode 8
Changge enters the Ashile Khan’s court, reads the shifting politics around her, and uses her wits to stay alive under growing scrutiny.
9. Episode 9
Changge hides her identity in the Khan’s household, gathering secrets while staying one step ahead of suspicion.
10. Episode 10
Changge helps foil a plot against the Khan, earning a measure of trust while still hiding her true aims.
11. Episode 11
Changge proves her worth in battle, earning deeper trust while drawing new political suspicion around her.
12. Episode 12
Changge spots danger on the supply route and quietly prevents disaster, strengthening her growing value to the tribe.
13. Episode 13
Changge uncovers enemy movement near the border and saves her team, sharpening her growing reputation.
14. Episode 14
Changge and Ashile Sun survive an ambush together, their forced cooperation deepening an uneasy bond.
15. Episode 15
Changge is seized by a rival tribe, forcing Ashile Sun to risk himself to bring her back, revealing how much their fates have become intertwined.
16. Episode 16
Changge navigates the Eagle Division’s tensions and spots hidden danger, forcing Ashile Sun to shield her once again.
17. Episode 17
Changge exposes a traitor in the Eagle Division, forcing the commanders to acknowledge her insight.
18. Episode 18
Changge exposes the true mastermind behind the unrest, shifting power and deepening Ashile Sun’s trust in her.
19. Episode 19
Changge flips a political trap back on her enemies, gaining new authority as Ashile Sun quietly backs her.
20. Episode 20
Changge’s strategy helps the tribe outmaneuver a looming threat, proving her value as more than just a captive.
21. Episode 21
Changge helps the tribe secure a fragile peace, but her choices spark new tension as rival factions begin to circle.
22. Episode 22
Changge uncovers a plot threatening the tribe’s stability, forcing her to act quickly and proving her growing influence in their ranks.
23. Episode 23
Changge’s warning comes too late to stop a deadly betrayal, forcing her and Ashile Sun into a desperate fight that exposes the true enemy moving in the shadows.
24. Episode 24
Changge survives the fallout of the betrayal, forcing the tribe to confront its fractures as she and Ashile Sun push to uncover who orchestrated the chaos.
25. Episode 25
Changge and Ashile Sun track the real instigator of the tribe’s chaos, closing in on the enemy just as a new threat rises to block their path.
26. Episode 26
Changge and Ashile Sun finally corner the true culprit, forcing a decisive showdown that exposes the full scale of the conspiracy tearing through the tribe.
27. Episode 27
Changge and Ashile Sun race to stop the conspiracy’s final move, forcing a tense clash that leaves the tribe’s future hanging by a thread.
28. Episode 28
Changge and Ashile Sun stop the conspiracy’s final strike, but the victory comes at a cost that reshapes the tribe’s power balance.
29. Episode 29
Changge and Ashile Sun confront the aftermath of the conspiracy, forcing the tribe to reckon with its divisions as a new political struggle begins to surface.
30. Episode 30
Changge and Ashile Sun set out on a new mission beyond the tribe, uncovering a threat that pulls them into a wider conflict neither can ignore.
31. Episode 31
Changge and Ashile Sun enter a new territory where shifting alliances test their unity, and a hidden enemy quietly begins setting the stage for the next conflict.
32. Episode 32
Changge and Ashile Sun uncover a deeper scheme behind the shifting alliances, realizing the conflict ahead is far larger than they imagined.
33. Episode 33
Changge and Ashile Sun navigate rising suspicion in the new territory, forcing them to outmaneuver a rival power whose quiet moves signal an even larger conflict approaching.
34. Episode 34
Changge and Ashile Sun are forced into a dangerous negotiation as a powerful new faction tests their loyalties, pushing both of them to choose between survival and the fragile trust they’ve built.
35. Episode 35
Changge and Ashile Sun are forced into a high‑stakes pursuit when a hidden traitor slips through their grasp, pushing them into enemy territory where one wrong move could cost them everything.
36. Episode 36
Changge and Ashile Sun are forced into an uneasy alliance with a local power, but the partnership quickly turns treacherous when a calculated ambush exposes how deeply their enemies have infiltrated the region.
37. Episode 37
Changge and Ashile Sun push deeper into hostile territory, uncovering a covert network of spies whose movements reveal that the conflict is no longer local but part of a sweeping plan aimed directly at them.
38. Episode 38
Changge steps into the heart of the enemy’s stronghold, where a quiet revelation exposes the mastermind guiding the chaos from the shadows, forcing her and Ashile Sun to confront a truth that will change the direction of their entire mission.
39. Episode 39
Changge and Ashile Sun finally confront the mastermind behind the unfolding chaos, but the encounter reveals a deeper plot that forces them to choose between striking now or risking a far greater storm waiting just beyond the horizon.
40. Episode 40
Changge and Ashile Sun launch a bold strike to dismantle the mastermind’s network, but the operation forces them into a brutal standoff where a single miscalculation threatens to tear their fragile alliance apart.
41. Episode 41
Changge and Ashile Sun regroup after the failed strike, only to discover that the enemy has already moved to exploit their setback, forcing them into a desperate counter‑move that tests their resolve and the fragile unity around them.
42. Episode 42
Changge and Ashile Sun scramble to stop the enemy’s next move, but a betrayal inside their ranks shatters the alliance they’ve been holding together.
43. Episode 43
Changge and Ashile Sun strike back after the betrayal, taking a risky move to regain the upper hand.
44. Episode 44
Changge and Ashile Sun face a new trap that forces them to choose between saving their allies or striking back.
45. Episode 45
Changge and Ashile Sun launch a final push to break the enemy’s hold, but a sudden shift on the battlefield forces them into a perilous choice that could cost them their remaining allies.
46. Episode 46
Changge and Ashile Sun fight through a fierce counter‑attack that exposes which allies will stay loyal.
47. Episode 47
Changge and Ashile Sun push into the final phase of the campaign, but a devastating twist forces them to confront the true cost of their choices, setting the stage for the conflict’s final reckoning.
48. Episode 48
Changge and Ashile Sun face the enemy’s final gambit, a ruthless strike that forces them to confront the full weight of every sacrifice made so far, pushing them to the brink as the end of the conflict draws near.
49. Episode 49
Changge and Ashile Sun make their final stand against the enemy’s last, desperate strike, forcing a showdown where every sacrifice, loyalty, and betrayal converges into one decisive moment that will determine the fate of all they’ve fought for.
