The Cannon Fodder Who Conquered the Steppe

Xu Qingshan wakes up to find himself a lowliest soldier at the frontier of the Great Qian Dynasty. With no food, no money, and no backing, his superiors treat him as expendable cannon fodder, veteran soldiers eye his meager quarters, and barbarian tribes threaten to sweep south and slaughter the garrison at any moment. To make matters worse, the camp forcibly assigns him eight convicted women to look after. Everyone mocks his misfortune—a frontier soldier who can barely feed himself, expected to support eight women? But no one knows that Xu Qingshan has awakened the Homeland Military Merit System. Feeding his household earns grain, training troops earns martial prowess, and killing enemies earns military credits. What others see as eight burdens, he turns into eight paths to glory. The daughter of a vice minister manages his provisions, the orphan of a female general trains his soldiers, a disgraced merchant's daughter raises funds, a healer tends to the wounded, a craftswoman builds crossbows, and a barbarian captive guides him through enemy terrain. Starting from a drafty, broken-down courtyard, Xu Qingshan slays barbarians, stockpiles grain, drills elite troops, builds fortified towns, and rises to the rank of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households. Years later, his iron cavalry breaches the barbarian royal court, and the entire civil and military court kneels as his frontier army enters the capital. Looking back at the eight women behind him, Xu Qingshan smiles faintly. "They said I picked up eight deadweights back then. Now it seems I picked up eight kingdoms."