I Help Liu Xiu Defeat Wang Mang

A modern history enthusiast transmigrates into the Xin Dynasty at the end of the Western Han, just as prophecies are spreading and Wang Mang is hunting Liu Xiu. The protagonist lands outside Chang'an and witnesses Liu Xiu fleeing south toward Nanyang with only a handful of followers. He knows official history and the folk tale of "Wang Mang chasing Liu Xiu." He knows about the many lucky escapes, such as hiding in a plow furrow and the well that was tipped over, and he knows where Deng Yu, Ma Wu, and the other heroes of the Yuntai Pavilion can be found. Yet he is bound by invisible shackles of history: interfering with the past will cost him his own memories, and key tragedies cannot be fully undone.

The protagonist conceals the secret of his transmigration and follows Liu Xiu as a refugee, secretly offering advice and turning many of the "heaven-sent miracles" passed down by later generations into carefully arranged events. He evades the pursuing Xin armies, repeatedly finds himself in desperate situations, and seeks out and gathers the Yuntai generals along the way, helping Liu Xiu reach Nanyang and raise an army. He witnesses the bloody Battle of Kunyang and watches helplessly as Liu Yan is murdered by Emperor Gengshi. He accompanies Liu Xiu north to Hebei, enduring humiliation as they defeat Wang Lang, absorb the Red Eyebrows, and bring the warring factions across the realm to heel. After the Eastern Han is founded, the protagonist refuses high office and great wealth. His name is absent from the history books; only scattered folk tales remain, while he alone bears the regret of a troubled age that he could not rewrite.