[Transmigration] + [Villain] + [Strategy] + [War]
A middle-aged Yuan Shu from a future with no house, no car, and no wife accidentally transmigrates into the warlord Yuan Shu at the end of the Han dynasty.
This Yuan Shu has just declared himself emperor. He has a car, a house, and women, but the territory under his control has shrunk by more than half.
After absorbing his predecessor's memories, Yuan Shu learns that the man had declared himself emperor out of desperation.
The warlords vying for supremacy at the end of the Han dynasty are divided into two factions: Cao Cao, Liu Yu, Liu Yao, and Liu Biao, led by Yuan Shao; and Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian, led by Yuan Shu. The two sides are locked in a fierce contest.
At first, all of Yu Province, the Luoyang region, Nanyang in Jing Province, and Huainan in Yang Province are Yuan Shu's territory.
But when Liu Bei, under Gongsun Zan, occupies Xu Province and switches sides to join Yuan Shao's faction, Yuan Shu's advantage steadily slips away, and he inexplicably gains another enemy in Liu Bei.
After Cao Cao takes the emperor hostage to command the warlords, he effectively seizes the Luoyang region and most of Yu Province, leaving Yuan Shu confined to the lands south of the Huai River.
Most troubling of all, Liu Bei may officially be Lü Bu's vassal and temporarily stationed in Xiaopei, but in reality, he and Cao Cao are in cahoots.
As Inspector of Yu Province, Liu Bei keeps recommending local gentry sons to Cao Cao, who then issues appointment orders, turning these otherwise uncredentialed scholars into officials.
The Yuan clan, a family of four generations of high-ranking officials, rose to become the foremost gentry house in Yu Province by monopolizing knowledge and recommending scholars for office. Now that advantage is gone.
Yuan Shu must either watch Liu Bei and Cao Cao gradually dismantle his power, or proclaim himself emperor.
