I Only Wanted to Be a Strategist, Yet I Became the Founding Emperor

Name: I Only Wanted to Be a Strategist, Yet I Became the Founding Emperor
Author: An Chun

只想做个谋士，却混成了开国皇帝

by An Chun (桉椿)

Status: Completed
Length: 417k Words
Genre: Historical
Subgenre: Historical & Ancient
Updated: 1y ago
Source: Fanqie

Request a translation

Refreshed 2h ago

Translated by GPT-6 Luna

Report

Synopsis

After Zhu Zhao died, he transmigrated to an undocumented dynasty.

His family situation was a disaster from the start. His parents were ordinary farmers, and he had two older brothers.

Years of warfare dragged on, and taxes grew heavier every year.

At the time, Zhu Zhao's only wish was to make sure his whole family had enough to eat.

Later, rebellions broke out across the land, and the imperial court splintered.

Zhu Zhao originally planned to take his whole family and join a promising warlord.

He would become a scheming strategist like that advisor surnamed Jia from the Three Kingdoms, lie low under a powerful patron, and protect his family through the chaos.

After carefully choosing a lord to serve (and a fool to bankroll him), Zhu Zhao was on his way with his family when he heard that his future lord had been killed.

Staring at the chaotic city and his exhausted family, with the brothers who had fled alongside him, Zhu Zhao stood there cursing the man who had killed his future lord for a good hour or two.

Once he'd vented, he still had to figure out how to survive.

After careful consideration, Zhu Zhao used his wits to take the nearest city with his brothers, without shedding a drop of blood.

He planned to let the place recover while waiting for a discerning patron (and another fool to bankroll him) to come and invite him out of retirement, making three visits to his thatched cottage.

But as time went on,

his force grew larger and his followers multiplied.

Step by step, Zhu Zhao ascended to the highest seat, leading everyone toward their shared dream of having enough to eat.

(A story about a farmer's son raising a rebellion and conquering the land.) (This story is entirely fictional.)

Content warning: No female lead. If that's not for you, feel free to move on.

Other names

Your Majesty! The Coronation Ceremony Is About to Begin陛下！登基大典开始了Former title · until Oct 2026

Stats

What these numbers mean →

202Chapters

310Reads

6.8Score

30Listens

129.2kReads · all time

More by this author

Want to Marry Me? Only If You Can Perform a Lion Dance

Another World: I Compete with Wild Gods for Faith

A Hoe from the Start: Watch How I Ascend the Throne

The Seventies: A Madman Fell in Love with Me at First Sight

Infinite Transmigration: I'm a Bit Player in Horror Worlds

In booklists 24

Any Historical Dynasty Is Fine, as Long as There Is No Romance, No Male Lead, or No Female Lead

Please, everyone! I've recently fallen in love with stories about transmigrating into historical dynasties, but so many protagonists lose their minds over every woman they see. It's so annoying. Please recommend a story with no romance, set in any dynasty. I'm begging you! Thank you, thank you! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

103Books663kViews1dUpdated

High-Quality Farming Stories: Build Strong Walls, Stockpile Grain, and Claim the Throne Later, While Developing Firearms in Ancient Times

531Books8.8MViews1dUpdated

Desperately Short on Historical Fiction, Please Recommend Some to Save Me From This Reading Drought

Preferably a historical novel with a realistic feel.

1.2kBooks23.2MViews1dUpdated

Any Strategist Characters Who Are Sickly and Completely Incapable of Fighting, Yet Still Masterminds?

269Books4.7MViews2dUpdated

Cultivation!! So Funny You'll Laugh Until You Pound the Bed!!! No Romance, Beloved by Everyone!!

Looking for books similar to "My Disciples All Want Me to Stay Alive". I want a cultivation novel with a funny, goofy heroine, preferably no romance but with a bit of a harem of admirers! Good writing, please.

423Books6.7MViews3dUpdated

Looking for Stories About Infrastructure, Building Cities or Nations, or Transforming Them

Looking for stories about infrastructure projects, building cities or nations, or transforming cities and countries.

542Books8.6MViews4dUpdated

No CP, Urban Speculation, Spiritual Qi Revival, No Brain-Dead Plotting

285Books109.3kViews4dUpdated

Stories Where the Protagonist Founds His Own Country

The protagonist conquers territory and founds a nation.

580Books28.9MViews5dUpdated

A Whole Group Transmigrates, Like The Whole Class Transmigrated to Ancient Times and the Ministers Begged Us to Stop Causing Trouble

I want books like Our Whole Class Transmigrated to Ancient Times, and the Officials Begged Us to Stop Causing Trouble. Are there any books like that? I’m really begging you.

23Books19.3kViews13dUpdated

Great Stories About Traits and Destiny

487Books10.4MViews15dUpdated

I'm Out of Books, Please Recommend Some

I'm looking for books like "High Martial Arts: A Comparison? I Can Beat the Empress Too! (When Kings Meet, Neither Yields!)". I'm in a reading slump. Any high martial arts novels with expansive worldbuilding?

263Books6.8kViews15dUpdated

Male Protagonist, No Romance or Ambiguity

Looking for male-oriented stories where the male lead isn't cold and aloof. I really don't want any more weird books labeled “no CP” or “no heroine” that still have romantic tension.

770Books3.7MViews18dUpdated

Invincible Protagonist, No Need to Lift a Finger, With an Entire Cast of Invincible Subordinates

Their followers can be summoned creatures, captured creatures, or pets. Anything works.

431Books8.1MViews21dUpdated

Any Books with a Slight Ensemble-Cast Feel?

I want to read books similar to A Careless Moment Turned My Dragon-Prince Childhood Friend into a Smirking Charmer (Yan Hui Jing Chun Yu). I especially want something like You Yu and Yan Wanzhou!!!! The ensemble cast is just too delicious. Preferably a cultivation novel too, with plenty of fighting and killing for the protagonists.

118Books4.4kViews27dUpdated

From Peasant to the Pinnacle of Power, One Step at a Time

Looking for books similar to Thirty Years in Politics: The Pinnacle of Power.

77Books310.5kViews1moUpdated

Family Bonds, Political Intrigue, No Romance, and a Beloved Protagonist

Looking for books like "Crazy! Everyone Around Me Is a Lunatic!" Please, I want something with the same vibe as this novel.

62Books5.9kViews2moUpdated

Please, Political Intrigue

Any good political intrigue stories? I want excellent writing and that tense, ambiguous push and pull as the protagonist works their way up step by step.

37Books1.4kViews7moUpdated

Male-Oriented: Wuxia and Xianxia

Looking for books like "The Iron-Blooded Marquis of Zhenbei: Starting Out as a Spoiled Young Master". It's pretty good, and if you're out of books to read, give it a try. A solid, readable story with clearly defined levels, rich content, and sound logic.

222Books15.9kViews7moUpdated