Win Over the Sisters First, Then Rule the World with the Way of Caution

[Multiple heroines + conquest + recruiting troops and gathering talent + a satisfying low-profile rise + a cunning protagonist]

In the early stages, he keeps his small faction under the radar and focuses on growth. When chaos erupts midway through the story, he takes over Jizhou City, recruits troops and talent, and stockpiles soldiers, food, and weapons. In the later stages, the warlords vie for control of the realm.

This is absolutely a story about warlords vying for supremacy, not one that promises one thing and delivers another. The protagonist is extremely cautious early on: he avoids trouble whenever possible, and if trouble finds him, he resolves it sensibly, turning major problems into minor ones and minor ones into nothing. He never shows off for no reason or provokes others into hating him.

If you think a low-profile approach is too timid when you have no faction or backing, then this story probably isn't for you.

After Yang Fan dies suddenly, he transmigrates to Laifu Village in the Great Zhou. First, he uses a scheme to set enemies against each other and lets someone else do the dirty work, avenging the original owner's death. Then, learning that tofu has yet to appear in the Great Zhou, he uses it to earn his first fortune.

His uncles see that he still has no wife and send one his way. But this wife is no ordinary woman: she's the daughter of the prime minister. The prime minister's entire family, however, has been framed by the eunuch Zhao Qiu and executed. At the cost of his life, the prime minister gets his daughter out of the capital.

After fleeing, she is mistaken for a refugee, and that's how Yang Fan happens to get lucky and take her in.

From his young wife's account, Yang Fan learns that eunuchs now hold sway in the Great Zhou, throwing the court into chaos. The dynasty's days are numbered, and a time of turmoil is coming.

First, he sells tofu to earn his seed money. Then he builds a manor, kills bandits, digs caves, and secretly stockpiles provisions.

He follows the Nine-Character Mantra: amass grain, build high walls, and only claim kingship when the time is right.

First take Jizhou, then drive back the northern barbarians. Retake Jizhou, then seize the realm!

The Great Zhou falls, and the Great Han rises!