Chapter One: Rebirth

“Hiss, my head hurts so much.”

Li Xiang, clutching his splitting headache, struggled to open his eyes. He found himself in a room of classic elegance, dignified and grand, every detail unfamiliar, suffused with a distinctly retro air.

Suddenly, the door swung open with a bang, and a young girl dressed as a maid, about fifteen or sixteen, hurried in. Seeing Li Xiang sitting up, she didn’t even pause to set down the medicine in her hands before shouting loudly, “Master, Madam, the young master is awake, the young master is awake!”

Within moments, a mature, handsome gentleman and a noble, dignified lady rushed in.

“Xiang’er, how are you feeling?” The gentleman asked anxiously as soon as he entered.

Only then did our protagonist realize, belatedly, that he had crossed into another world. His thoughts in disarray, Li Xiang resignedly resorted to the tried and true method favored by many transmigrators, feigning amnesia.

“Call for the divine physician to examine my son thoroughly.”

“Master Li, the young lord’s external injuries are no longer serious, but this issue suggests that the trauma may have affected his memory.” Since the injury had indeed been to the head, no one suspected anything unusual. The middle-aged man instructed, “Xiang’er, rest and recover; we’ll discuss anything else once you’re feeling better.”

When everyone finally left, Li Xiang couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter. He had transmigrated—those fantastical moments reserved for internet novels had happened to him. Unlike other transmigrators, Li Xiang did not struggle to accept his new reality. In his previous life, he was an orphan with no ties or support; this new existence was a stroke of fortune. Moreover, the family he had entered was clearly a wealthy, influential official household, and in the feudal system of ancient times, rising to the pinnacle was no longer a mere fantasy. The only flaw was that his new body was that of a child, eleven or twelve years old at most.

In the days that followed, Li Xiang was able to get out of bed and walk around. He continued to feign amnesia, subtly probing the maids and servants for information about his predecessor and the Li household. After some effort, he finally obtained the details he sought.

The good news: the Li family resided in Bing Province, ranking among the top three aristocratic clans in the region. Though not as prestigious as the Wang family of Taiyuan—whose prominent member, Wang Yun, would later use the beauty trap to bring down Dong Zhuo and was currently serving in the court—the Li family’s fame in Bing Province was unmatched. At present, the local governor of Bing, the “Inspector,” was Li Xiang’s father, Li Yang. The Commandant of Yanmen was also held by the Li family, with Li Yang’s brother, Li Ming, in office. The Li and Wang families were intermarried; Li Xiang’s mother, Lady Wang, hailed from the Taiyuan Wang clan. Thus, Bing Province was essentially under the sway of the Li and Wang families. The newly appointed provincial governor, Ding Yuan, had only just arrived, with most real power still held by the Li, Wang, and other prominent clans. Ding Yuan had not yet become the future warlord who would challenge Dong Zhuo, though his ultimate fate would be even more tragic.

The bad news: Bing Province was under threat from the northern Xiongnu. Ding Yuan, in the original timeline, would leverage the Xiongnu menace to seize power in Bing, and during this process, he would adopt Lü Bu as his foster son. The current year was the third year of Guanghe; Emperor Ling of Han had already reigned for over a decade. In four years’ time, the Yellow Turban Rebellion would sweep the land, ushering in the era of warlords vying for supremacy, when legendary heroes and cunning strategists would emerge—five tiger generals, five sons, the twin pillars Dian Wei and Xu Chu, the sleeping dragon, the ghostly genius, kingly advisors, venomous counselors, the four great governors of Jiangdong—their names crowded Li Xiang’s mind.

At this thought, Li Xiang’s heart surged with excitement. This was the best of times, and the worst of times. His starting position was not as illustrious as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, descendants of four generations of high officials, but far superior to Sun Jian, whose claims to noble lineage were dubious, or Liu Bei, the mat seller and straw sandal peddler. If he did not vie for the world now, how could he live up to the title of transmigrator?

Furthermore, Bing Province was one of the three main horse-producing regions of the Eastern Han, and, owing to the Xiongnu threat, its people were hardy and valiant—just a little training could forge a mighty army. The reputation of Bing’s wolf cavalry was no less than that of the iron cavalry of Xiliang or the elite horsemen of Youyan. The only issue was Bing’s vast territory and sparse population: the entire province barely exceeded a million souls, less than a single major district in the central plains—for example, Yuzhou’s Runan and Jingzhou’s Nanyang each boasted three to four million people. The future emperor, Yuan Shu, would leverage Nanyang and the Yuan clan’s base in Runan to rise, only to squander it all after a decade, ending in ruin. Compared to that, Bing’s desolation was evident. However, the upcoming Yellow Turban Rebellion might offer opportunities; after all, the central plains would be flooded with refugees—rather than letting them perish, why not find a way to relocate them to Bing Province, contributing to his grand enterprise?

“Ding! Host’s ambition detected...”