The Strategist's Guide: While the Lord Works, I Ascend the Throne

Gu Sanqian is transported into a chaotic-era novel about rival heroes, where she is bound to a strategist System.

System: Host has only one year of life remaining. To survive, choose a lord to serve and help him unify the land.

Facing a world full of warlords, Gu Sanqian decisively rules out the most dangerous choice:

Cheng Shiwan, whose martial prowess is off the charts, whose intelligence is at rock bottom, and whom the strategist community considers the worst possible choice of lord.

But all she did was take a sesame flatbread from a "corpse" to stave off hunger.

The System suddenly glitches: Lord [Cheng Shiwan] bound. Host's lifespan reduced by 300 days!

The "corpse" lying in a pool of blood suddenly opens his eyes, his gaze full of murderous intent.

Gu Sanqian smiles and draws her blade. "If I kill him properly, can I undo the binding?"

The System cries out in alarm: Host, stop! If he dies, you'll die too!

Gu Sanqian calmly sheathes her blade. "Now that I take a closer look, Young Master Cheng has a noble and handsome bearing. He is an excellent choice of lord."

The System and Cheng Shiwan: ???

Everyone knows Cheng Shiwan is a mad dog who bites anyone he sees, until one day a gentle strategist in white appears at his side.

The mad dog kicks down a door: "Slaughter the city for three days!"

Gu Sanqian takes up a megaphone: "He says the granaries will be opened for three days, and everyone can come get food!"

The mad dog burns a ship: "Let the rivers run red with blood!"

Gu Sanqian scatters paper money: "General Cheng is giving his life to summon you all to surrender!"

The mad dog draws his blade: "Anyone who touches my strategist dies!"

Gu Sanqian smiles faintly: "I am willing to pursue the dream of conquering the land with all of you!"

The eighteen allied lords watch Cheng Shiwan standing beside Gu Sanqian and can't help feeling that something is off...

The System watches the rapidly rising lifespan value with delight: Once Cheng Shiwan takes the throne, Host will achieve the highest possible honor for a strategist!

But Gu Sanqian slips the imperial seal into her sleeve. "Why not broaden our horizons? The highest achievement for a strategist should be... becoming emperor oneself!"

System: ???

Reader's guide:

1. Career-minded heroine x lovesick hero

2. Lighthearted wish-fulfillment story with a romance

3. Alternate history. No historical nitpicking, and please don't question the author's intelligence.

Theme: Life is full of surprises