I’m Qin Zheng, an ordinary medical student. I was cramming late into the night when I opened my eyes and found I had transmigrated into Guo Rong, the Later Zhou Emperor Shizong, who was destined to die young at just thirty-nine.
It’s now the sixth year of Xiande. The northern campaign has nearly ended in disaster, my body is at death’s door, factions stir at court, and military power has slipped away from me. Zhao Kuangyin, who will later stage the Chenqiao Mutiny and overthrow Zhou to found Song, is watching me like a hawk.
History’s script has already been written: I’ll die soon, a child emperor will take the throne, and a helpless mother and son will be manipulated by others. Decades of hard-won foundations will pass to a new dynasty overnight.
But I’m different.
I know modern medicine and can drag myself back from the brink of death;
I know a thousand years of history and see through every political scheme and the unfathomable depths of the human heart;
I wield an emperor’s authority and can stabilize the court, reclaim military power, improve people’s lives, and steady the army.
I won’t be a short-lived emperor or a bit player in history.
With Fan Zhi, Wang Pu, and Wei Renpu managing affairs and improving people’s lives,
with Han Tong, Cao Bin, and Han Lingkun commanding the imperial army,
I’ll avoid bloodshed and suppress the powerful ministers by degrees, like boiling a frog in slowly heated water.
Zhao Kuangyin is waiting for me to die? Then I’ll live a long, healthy life.
The Chenqiao Mutiny is set to happen again? Then I’ll cut off its roots.
The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun have fallen? Then I’ll lead the campaign myself.
The chaos of the Five Dynasties will go on forever? Then I’ll unite the land.
When a medical student meets the Later Zhou Emperor Shizong,
he uses medicine to prolong his life, political acumen to secure the throne, and foresight to change his fate.
In this life, I, Guo Rong, will live to old age, wield real power, reclaim Yan and Yun, and unite the realm.
I’ll rewrite every regret and create a golden age for the Later Zhou that will never fall!
