You Call 800,000 Troops a Bandit Problem?

Li Zheng transmigrates as the only son of the new emperor, only to have his identity stolen by an imposter crown prince. After fleeing the capital, a twist of fate leads him to become a mountain bandit. With a cowardly court, a wealthy nation but impoverished people, and hostile foreign tribes eyeing the borders from the steppes, the world has grown thoroughly corrupt. Seeing no other path, Li Zheng decides to rebel. He gathers heroes, shelters refugees, plunders the tyrannical elite, and wages war against imperial forces. Farming? Why farm when he is a bandit? While the government hoards grain, he stockpiles weapons, treating official storehouses as his personal supply depot. Terrified villagers watch as Li Zheng brandishes the county magistrate’s severed head, declaring that he will seize thirty percent of their next autumn harvest if they do not work diligently. Yet, to his confusion, these trembling commoners begin calling him a bodhisattva instead of a bandit. When the Jin Empire invades from the north, Li Zheng mobilizes his army and seizes control of the emperor to command the realm in his name. Upon reuniting with his long-lost son, the emperor finally awakens to the truth and attempts to appoint the greatest bandit under heaven as the crown prince. Li Zheng politely declines, claiming his brothers merely wish for him to dress warmly in the cold weather, though he cannot help but notice that the yellow dragon robe draped over his father’s shoulders looks like it is made of excellent fabric.