By a twist of fate, the clear-headed but naive college student Pei Zhu finds himself transmigrated as the incoming magistrate of a remote border county.

He soon realizes that his new post is nearly deserted, lacking both food and clothing, and constantly at risk of invasion by external enemies. Feeling resigned, Pei Zhu decides he might as well die.

The poverty-alleviation system that brought him here quickly reassures him: “Don’t panic. Complete ten poverty-relief missions, and we can send you back!”

Pei Zhu, on the brink of despair, suddenly sits upright, opening the task list—and discovers the missions are surprisingly simple: expand industries, build irrigation, repair roads, increase crop yields…

Piece of cake!

However, after finally making some progress, he realizes that without addressing external threats, all his efforts are meaningless. To truly alleviate poverty, Pei Zhu grits his teeth and works even harder: fortifying city defenses, building more granaries, raising more horses for the troops, and even expanding the county office staff. Reasonable, right?

The problem? The advisers he casually recruits include a former Grand Tutor who had committed a capital offense.

The strongman he meets along the way is a general the emperor regards as a thorn in his side.

The accountant girl who joins him once managed military finances in the northwest.

Even the seemingly unremarkable teacher is a famed scholar with disciples across the nation.

Pei Zhu hides nothing from them and knows nothing about their identities. Yet he gleefully keeps recruiting people—even his fiancée is someone he “picked up” along the way. Later, when the imperial court can no longer tolerate him, they send an army to crush him. Before Pei Zhu can figure out how to save himself, his subordinates storm the court and declare him the new ruler.

Pei Zhu is bewildered: “Is this a hidden reward?”

The system is clueless: “Don’t know, headquarters never said.”

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