Xu Qingshan wakes up to find himself a low-ranking soldier on the border of the Great Qian Empire.
Short on food, money, and connections.
His superiors treat him as cannon fodder, veteran soldiers want to steal his quarters, and the barbarians could invade and massacre the city at any moment.
Worse still, the army forces eight women convicted of crimes on him.
Everyone laughs at his bad luck.
“A border soldier who can’t even feed himself thinks he can support eight women?”
But no one knows that Xu Qingshan has awakened the Homeland Military Merit System.
Supporting his family earns food, training soldiers earns weapons, and killing enemies earns military merit.
The eight burdens in everyone else’s eyes become eight paths to greatness in his hands.
The daughter of a vice minister manages his provisions, a fallen female general’s orphan trains his troops, the convicted kin of merchants help him amass wealth, a healer saves lives, a craftswoman builds crossbows, and a barbarian girl guides his way...
Starting from a drafty, dilapidated courtyard, Xu Qingshan kills barbarians, stockpiles provisions, trains elite troops, builds a military stronghold, and rises to become a marquis of ten thousand households!
Years later, his cavalry breaks through the royal court, and the officials of the entire court kneel to welcome the border army into the capital.
Xu Qingshan turns to the eight women behind him and smiles faintly.
“Back then, they said I’d taken in eight burdens.”
“Now it seems I took in eight kingdoms.”
