In the final years of the Great Zhou, a severe drought grips the land and warlords rise on every side. Lu Chen, a refugee so hungry he sees stars, holds a broken bowl and is about to beg a passing rebel army for food. Just as he is about to pass out from hunger, he casually repeats a bit of motivational wisdom from his past life. To his surprise, the rebel general is so impressed that he bows down to him on the spot!
“Are kings and nobles born to their stations? Sir Lu is a genius. We swear to follow you to the death!”
It starts with him talking a few refugees into following him, then he commands an army of a hundred thousand, suppresses the powerful clans, and sweeps away rival warlords and nations. Every time Lu Chen tries to run away, his mighty generals and scheming ministers invent some world-shaking master plan for him, then chop off his enemies’ heads on his behalf.
Years later, seated on the dragon throne and gazing at the assembled civil and military officials bowing in submission, Lu Chen sighs helplessly. “Back then, I really was just trying to beg for a bite to eat…”
A typical protagonist has an IQ equal to that of the author. It's fun to cheat for a while, and it's always fun to cheat all the time.
Okay, okay, I feel involved.