I transmigrated into Liu Shan, and it was hell mode from the start.
The treasury was empty, the army had been wiped out, the south was in rebellion, and Wei and Wu were closing in.
At court, everyone kept saying, “Let the Prime Minister decide.” Then they’d sneak off to catch cicada nymphs by the wall.
Everyone thought the emperor was a lost cause.
No one knew that while he crouched by the wall, he was calculating the finances of the entire Shu Han kingdom.
Cicada nymphs could be used to pay taxes, so the people no longer had to go hungry.
The state took over private monopolies, funneling all the aristocratic families’ money into the treasury.
A ten-percent stake gave the court control over the fate of the merchant houses.
The veterans of Jingzhou were finally getting enough to eat, and their spirit had returned.
When Zhuge Liang came back from his southern campaign, he took one look.
When he left, Shu Han had been a complete mess. Now the treasury was full, the people were secure, and the aristocratic families were panicking.
“Prime Minister, I only wanted to make a little money.”
“...Your Majesty, you have changed Shu Han’s fate.”
He’d been busy making money, and before he knew it, he’d taken the whole realm.
