I Just Wanted to Be a Great Landowner, but I Became the Cabinet's Chief Minister

"Written especially for readers over thirty, this book paints an extraordinarily realistic portrait of an ancient world. Darkness and hardship form its backdrop, while human scheming and struggle trace its course. If you’re looking for an uninterrupted, feel-good power fantasy, read with caution." Liu Chengwen transmigrates into the body of a small landlord in the Great Ning Dynasty, founded by Zuo Liangyu. He plans to live a quiet life, but as a wealthy man with only a widowed mother and orphaned child in his household, he becomes a thorn in the side of the local tyrants. A setup involving the “accidental” smashing of an antique porcelain piece and a deadly IOU for three hundred taels drive him to the brink of ruin in an instant. At the critical moment, he calculates people’s motives and counters their moves one by one, deftly escaping the trap. In the countryside, he uses his influence to acquire land and stockpile grain, eventually becoming a major local landowner. On the path to the imperial examinations, the Donglin clans monopolize the test halls and block the poor from advancing. But he secretly employs a modest hypnotic technique to break through the barriers in the examination hall, enter officialdom, and get caught up in the whirlpool of power. From then on, this scholar from a humble family rises to the imperial court, carefully maneuvering through the surging undercurrents of political struggle. He goes from a pawn at others’ mercy to a powerful, influential Grand Secretary who commands the reins of power. Watch as he relies on strategy as his backbone and secret arts as his wings, carving out a path to power through the worldly tides of the Great Ning Dynasty: a treacherous, nerve-racking climb full of twists and turns, all the way to the summit!