『Status: Completed』
『Synopsis:
[This is a newbie author's first book, and I didn't understand the rules. In the main story, the protagonist focuses entirely on his career and has no romantic storyline, but later the author had a moment of madness and gave the protagonist a background-character empress in the extras. If that bothers you, please don't read.]
The following is the book's blurb:
The moment Chu Zhao opened his eyes, he was bound to an infrastructure-building System. Before he could even get his bearings, the old emperor exiled him to the frontier!
Chu Zhao: ???
Looking at the few hundred guards left beside him, Chu Zhao silently sighed.
Forget it, forget it. At least I'm alive!
Yet the moment he arrived in Liangzhou, bandits showed up to deliver their heads—and the first pot of gold of his exile!
Later on: You say there's nowhere to live? No big deal! Fire bricks and build houses!
You say banditry is rampant? His eyes lit up. What bandits? Those are clearly walking piggy banks!
The land is too barren to grow grain? No problem! Plant sweet potatoes and corn! Turn wasteland into granaries!
The people are impoverished? Not a chance! Open factories, build irrigation works, lay roads—turn a bitterly cold border city into a prosperous oasis in the blink of an eye!
Foreign enemies invade? No problem! Cement walls plus modern firearms, train the troops and strengthen the defenses, and beat the barbarians until they cry for mercy!
In a mere three years, the once remote and bitterly cold Liangzhou transformed into the wealthiest great city under heaven. Merchants and travelers came in an endless stream, while its iron cavalry shook the northern deserts!
Chu Zhao, too, went from a disgraced prince loathed by everyone to a powerful prince commanding a massive army and renowned throughout the Nine Provinces—all while wanting nothing more than to build infrastructure!
Until the Central Plains fell into crisis and foreign armies pressed against the borders.
The entire civil and military court wept as they blocked the city gates:
“Your Highness! Great Chu is on the verge of collapse. Only you can turn the tide!”
“Your Highness, please ascend the throne at once and save the people from catastrophe!”
Chu Zhao: ???
System: [Ding! Detected that the court officials are kneeling and begging you to ascend the throne. Ultimate mission unlocked: Rule All Under Heaven!]
Chu Zhao: Thanks, but no thanks! I only want to be an infrastructure tycoon. I don't want to be emperor!
#YouSaidBuildTheFrontierSoWhyAreYouForcingMeToBuildTheWholeWorld#
#IOnlyWantedToFarmQuietlyButTheWorldInsistedOnShovingACrownAtMe#
——Blurb divider for “That Good-for-Nothing Dandy Unified the Realm”——
Lu Zhige, an elite special-forces king, died honorably in an accident.
When he opened his eyes again, he had become the late-born son of a minor county magistrate near the end of the Great Jing dynasty.
His parents treasured him like a jewel, while his seven elder sisters took turns doting on him. Between them, they had spoiled the original owner into a useless little dandy who couldn't lift a load and cowered whenever trouble came.
On the very day he transmigrated, bandits happened to besiege the city, leaving the county seat in mortal danger.
Original owner: Eyes rolled back. Fainted on the spot.
Lu Zhige: …All right, then.
He loosened his muscles, snapped the bandit chief's neck with his bare hands, and laid a chain of traps.
Leading barely a hundred government runners who could hardly hold their sabers steady, he beat nearly a thousand bandits until they wailed for their parents.
His father, stunned: When did my son learn military strategy?!
Lu Zhige: …In a dream.
His mother, worried: My son won't get hurt, will he?!
Lu Zhige: …No.
His seven sisters, ecstatic: Little Brother is amazing! From now on, we'll protect you!
Lu Zhige: …Wait. Isn't that backward?
As for the warlords of this chaotic age who wanted to make trouble for him?
Lu Zhige smiled faintly.
Sorry. The last person who acted that arrogantly already has grass two meters high over his grave.
One-sentence synopsis: I never wanted to fight for supremacy, but this family is too adorable. How could I not protect them?
[Mini Theater]
Seven elder sisters, puffing their cheeks: “Little Brother, someone called you a useless idiot!”
Lu Zhige wiped the blood from his fingertips and calmly raised his eyes. “Bury him.”
His parents hurriedly advised him, “Ge'er, don't be too fierce. Take care of yourself.”
Lu Zhige's voice instantly softened. “I know, Father, Mother. I'll go easier next time.”
The warlords, kneeling and begging for mercy: “Young Master Lu, please stop hitting us! We surrender!”
——Blurb for “I Just Want to Squander My Fortune, Not Go Down in History!”——
After transmigrating into the son of a notoriously corrupt county magistrate, Shen Zhou unexpectedly binds to the [Heartless Rich Man System].
The System immediately issues its ultimate mission:
As long as he squanders the entire family fortune, terrorizes the countryside, stirs up public resentment, and waits for the emperor to decree the execution of his entire clan, he can return to the modern world.
Lin Zhou is ecstatic!
This is practically tailor-made for him! Oppressing the people, wasting money, throwing his weight around—he's brilliant at all of that!
From then on, he devotes himself to slacking off and courting death, concentrating on being a heartless rich man and vowing to ruin his family's name and burn through its fortune.
He deliberately hoards grain and raises prices, hoping to provoke public fury, only for the common people to misunderstand him on their own and praise him as a merciful benefactor.
He deliberately seizes wasteland, intending only to fence it off, leave it idle, and squander the ancestral estate, yet by a twist of fate he gives his neighbors land to reclaim and a way to make a living.
He intentionally makes corvée labor harsh and gives laborers a hard time, wanting only to squeeze out money to squander, yet the villagers revere him as fair, strict, and considerate of the people.
And so, Shen Zhou frantically courts disaster, fully intending to destroy his family's reputation and squander every last bit of its property.
The result—
The Shen family's terrible reputation completely reverses course. The whole city praises him in gratitude and hails him as an upright lord who is justice incarnate.
Even his father, the county magistrate once notorious for corruption, is forcibly dragged by him into turning over a new leaf, governing diligently, and loving the people.
Important ministers at court sing his praises, and even the reigning emperor personally issues an imperial decree commending him.
Watching his Reputation Points soar until they overflow, while the family fortune grows richer the more he tries to squander it, Shen Zhou finally breaks down completely.
I just want to squander my fortune and wait to die! I don't want to go down in history!』
