The Sui Dynasty's First Rogue Emperor

Yang Diaozai, a modern security guard, is down on his luck, sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. After accidentally drowning, he transmigrates to the famine-ravaged final years of the Sui Dynasty, inhabiting the body of a little beggar. With a broken bowl from the start and barely able to speak the language, he uses every bit of streetwise survival sense he has to stay alive. He tricks, cheats, and swindles, earning his first fortune through little schemes like refining coarse salt and causing endless comic mishaps.

Relying on his uncanny talent for spinning grand promises, he half-forces the fallen scholar Wei Zheng to become his adviser, then recruits a gang of bandits through underhanded means and makes himself their king. To make a name for himself quickly, he has the audacity to claim that he is the illegitimate son of the late Prince of Mount Kao, Yang Lin, and from then on bluffs his way through life under that intimidating banner. He reorganizes the bandit stronghold with modern management ideas, somehow attracting future generals like Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong to join him, and his ranks grow ever stronger.

The realm falls into chaos, and warlords rise on every side. Yang Diaozai throws himself into the struggle with his "ruffian army," competing for supremacy against formidable figures like Li Yuan and Wang Shichong. He never fights fair, relying on countless tricks and a constant stream of trash talk, yet somehow always wins through the unexpected. He treats Xiao Meiniang, the Empress of Emperor Yang of Sui, with respect after she falls on hard times. His combination of roguishness and sincerity ultimately wins her heart, as well as an important political symbol.

After countless battles, large and small, he finally sweeps away all his rivals. He ascends the throne, keeps the dynasty's name as Sui, and proclaims himself Emperor Wu of Sui. As ruler, he remains as roguish as ever, using modern common sense to solve ancient problems. The court is thrown into uproar, but his policies prove effective. In his later years, deeply aware of the burdens of being emperor and the uncertainty of his descendants, he defies all opposition and implements an era-defying system of "constitutional monarchy," placing power inside the cage of institutions.