Transmigrate as the Southern Song Crown Prince: Build the Embroidered Uniform Guard from the Start

The moment I opened my eyes, I was in the Southern Song, a dynasty clinging to a corner of the realm. I was Zhao Shen, the adopted son of Zhao Gou: a fourteen-year-old “prince” with no power or influence, liable to be deposed at any moment. The shame of Jingkang remains unavenged; the court and its officials cling to half the empire. I look north to the Central Plains, where iron hooves thunder; I look within, and overmighty ministers reign supreme! To transmigrate here isn’t to defy fate and change my destiny. It’s a hellish start! No System to help me, no knowledge of the future, and no overpowered cheat! A prince? What a joke! With no troops, no power, and no family or friends, I’m just a lamb awaiting slaughter, confined in the depths of the palace! A treasury of memories? Empty! In this treacherous world, every step is a trap, and one wrong move means utter ruin! At court, the powerful minister rules with an iron fist and has his cronies everywhere; beyond the court, the Jin invaders’ spies roam freely, constantly gathering intelligence. No matter how learned or clever you are, you’re still a candle flickering in the wind, liable to be snuffed out at any moment by this chaotic age. And yet, one piece on the chessboard can decide the whole game; even a tiny spark dares to rival the bright moon! Who would have thought that this lamb, marked for deposition, could stir up the whole realm? At Fengbo Pavilion, I stand alone to stop the imperial procession and save Yue Fei from the powerful minister’s blade! I establish the Pacification Commission, sending its mounted investigators far and wide so no traitor can hide! I have defied the emperor and challenged his edicts, all for a promise to the people; I have also tied up a beloved’s hair and watched fireworks with her, honoring the glance she bestowed upon me. With the imperial robe placed upon my shoulders, I ascend the throne and forge an empire for Huaxia; my fleets sail west and my armies march north, so that the lands beneath the four seas and eight directions may all hear the Han dynasty’s glory! Let the history books of my past life say what they will! In this life, I, Zhao Shen, will write the history of the realm with my own hands! If the heavens collapse in the northwest, I’ll hold them up; if the earth caves in to the southeast, I’ll fill it in!