I Just Want to Be a Little Country Gentleman

(One heroine or no heroine + war + court politics + a little civil-service examination drama + everyday life)

(This is an alternate-history setting. Women in this book are mostly just there to serve the plot, so please don’t complain if that’s not to your taste.)

(He won’t become emperor or invent modern, era-defining weapons. The story mostly focuses on everyday life.)

Qi Xiaoxi transmigrates to the Wu Kingdom, hoping to become a small-town gentryman and enjoy life as a wealthy landowner.

After passing the provincial-level imperial examination, Qi Xiaoxi happily heads home, ready to lie flat.

But things don’t seem to be going quite as planned.

With the provincial examination approaching, the emperor asks, “Didn’t that talented poet Qi Xiaoxi place first in the provincial qualifying exam? Why haven’t we heard anything about him in the capital lately?”

The head eunuch replies helplessly, “Your Majesty, there’s a rumor that the top scholar Qi has no plans to take the provincial examination. He’s gone home to live the life of a wealthy landowner.”

The emperor is furious. “I’m short on capable people, and this top scholar only wants to be a wealthy landowner? Send someone to drag him back! He thinks he can run after placing first?”

When Qi Xiaoxi hears that the emperor has sent people to arrest him, he is horrified. There’s no way he’s becoming an official, not in this life.

So, under the pretext of visiting relatives, Qi Xiaoxi flees to another region.

But he runs straight into a war. His side’s army is collapsing, and to save his own life, Qi Xiaoxi impersonates a member of the imperial family, rallies the defeated troops, and leads them in a desperate defense as they hold out for reinforcements.

When the emperor hears the news, he is nearly furious enough to die. Qi Xiaoxi disobeyed his imperial decree and fled to another region to avoid the examination, only to run into a war and impersonate royalty to command the army.

The court officials all chime in, “Qi Xiaoxi is both a scholar and a warrior, a pillar of the state. Your Majesty must not let him go!”

The emperor lets out a cold laugh. “Don’t worry, my dear ministers. I won’t let him go!”