"General and I" had a thrilling plot from the get go. As the invaders arrive, a mysterious woman plays the zither, calculating the weather, and giving prophecies to her army as to how to win. The cunning villain immediately sees that this woman is a threat and ends up kidnapping her. To the villain's surprise, even his cunning nature is no match for her wits. She escapes all of his traps, outsmarting him over and over. Yet, fates begin to shift as she realizes that this villain is the key to peace between nations. If she can persuade him to pursue peace, then great harmony might be possible. She decides that she is willing to sacrifice herself to a loveless marriage if this villain will promise to stop waging war on her people.

Yet, as time goes on, the villain's true colors are revealed, and he proves himself to be an honorable patriot that would die for his people and his moral principles. As one can't judge a book by its cover, the female lead becomes impressed by his passionate character and falls in love. Yet, this love is cursed by her adopted family, the gods, and the spirits of the dead, as her lover is technically the murderer of those closest to her. She feels cursed as fate blocks the two from being together over and over.

When this most powerful general decides that love is more important than the state, he becomes a liability to his emperor. The emperor sets his sights on destroying their relationship at all costs. This general gives a passionate speech to his men about his priorities - “If a man can’t protect his own wife, how can he be worthy of protecting the state?” The men are rallied to his side as they empathize with his passion to not chose his wife over the state, but rather to protect both.

When he solidifies in his role as protector of both his wife and the state, enemies of the state realize that targeting his wife is the perfect way to destroy his battle-ready soul and weaken the emperor's right-hand man. Like a valuable chess piece, she sits and watches as countless pawns die to protect her. She can't bear the pain of causing countless suffering on those around her and desires to retreat from the political arena. Both her and her husband decide that love is more important than power and prestige. As the emperor's kingdom slowly collapses from his lack of wisdom and moral inadequacy, the emperor realizes that those who desire power the least are the most needed in positions of power. He makes it his dying mission to persuade this power couple to come out of retirement to not only save their nation, but to save all of China.

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