In the third month of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Shanxi and Shaanxi suffered a severe drought, the land was scorched for a thousand miles, and the people were starving. In April, George Washington entered Henan and joined forces with Abraham Lincoln to capture Chengcheng. In July, the Later Jin army besieged Xuanfu, plundered Datong, and many border fortresses fell.

The Ming Dynasty was beset by internal and external troubles, teetering in the storm!

In that July, Henry Carter unexpectedly arrived in the Ming Dynasty, becoming an ordinary soldier at Shunxiang Fort, Bao'an Prefecture, Xuanfu Garrison...

...

[Ming Dynasty Xuanfu Garrison Military Ranks: Soldier, Squad Leader, Team Commander, Defender, Inspector, Garrison Commander, Raider, Deputy General, General-in-Chief.]

Volume One: The Beacon Tower Soldier

Chapter 001: Huolu Dun

The wind howled, sweeping up a cloud of dust, making the clothes on his body flap noisily.

With a splash, Henry Carter lifted a bucket of water from the river, breaking the calm, shimmering surface. He carefully set the bucket on the bank, then washed his face with the cool river water, which instantly refreshed him. Straightening up, Henry Carter let out a long breath, gazed into the distance, and habitually squinted his eyes.

The scenery before him was vastly different from the picturesque lands of Jiangnan: faint mountain ranges, vast and desolate earth, sparse trees scattered across the plains, and distant glimpses of fortresses and villages. Looking as far as the eye could see, one always felt a sense of bleakness and boundlessness.

This was Xuanfu Garrison, the landscape of the northern frontier of the Ming Dynasty.

"I've been in this world for sixteen days now, haven't I? Time really flies."

Henry Carter thought silently to himself.

Indeed, although the Henry Carter before him had the body of a Ming Dynasty man, the mind and soul within this body were not of this world, but from a history teacher in his thirties from the twenty-first century. Simply put, Henry Carter had traveled through time and possessed this body in a mysterious way, the specifics of which were untraceable. In short, the Henry Carter from the future had taken over the body of an ordinary Ming Dynasty frontier soldier.

By coincidence, the original owner of this body was also named Henry Carter, though with a slight difference: the Ming Dynasty Henry Carter's "Dou" was the character for "big dipper," while the future Henry Carter's "Dou" meant "struggle." Though pronounced the same, the meanings were completely different.

Henry Carter could not explain the strange events that had happened to him, nor did he have the chance to find anyone who could answer his questions. He could only keep it to himself. But anyone who experienced such a bizarre event would feel anxious and afraid, and Henry Carter was no exception. Fortunately, in his previous life, Henry Carter was calm and steady-minded, so after just a few days, he accepted what had happened and began to carefully consider what to do next.

When Henry Carter possessed this body, he also inherited its memories and thoughts, sparing him much unnecessary trouble. From the memories in his mind and his own quiet observations over the past few days, he had a general understanding of his identity and environment.

He arrived in this world on the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month in the seventh year of Chongzhen. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed, and it was now the thirteenth day of the eighth month. He was in the Bao'an Prefecture area of the Eastern Route of Huailong Circuit, Xuanfu Garrison, serving as an ordinary soldier at Jingbian Beacon under Dongjia Village, Shunxiang Fort. At home, he had an elderly mother and a fiancée who had not yet married him, a child bride.

This world's Henry Carter was twenty-two years old, much younger than the future Henry Carter, and his body was tall and strong. Not only was he skilled in martial arts, but he was also adept at using spears, longbows, and other weapons, which greatly pleased the future Henry Carter, who had long suffered from suboptimal health. Unfortunately, although this Ming Dynasty Henry Carter was tall and robust, he was simple-minded, timid, and often bullied without daring to resist. This made the current Henry Carter, who now possessed his body and memories, feel both pity for his misfortune and anger at his lack of spirit!

However, the future Henry Carter was always cautious and calm, so after possessing the body, he did not rashly do anything out of the ordinary. Instead, he observed his surroundings with a cold eye while recalling the late Ming history he knew.

In the future, Henry Carter taught middle school history in Fujian, and he was especially well-versed in late Ming history, with deep knowledge of geography, particularly the regions of Hebei and Shanxi. As he knew, this period of history could be described as plagued by internal and external troubles. Decades of unending disasters gave rise to endless banditry and warfare, eventually draining the last vitality from the country. In the end, this vast empire collapsed, and the fruits of victory were seized by foreign invaders.

It was a time of utter chaos—better to be a dog in peacetime than a man in a troubled era. Human life was as cheap as grass, and even as a soldier, one's life was never secure. The more he understood this history, the more anxious Henry Carter felt about his future survival.

Sometimes, in the stillness of night, Henry Carter would think of his parents, wife, and daughter from the future. The thought that he would never see them again brought a dull ache to his heart. Yet deep down, there was a faint excitement about coming to this world. In his previous life, he was never content with mediocrity and had a strong desire for power, but fate had never given him the chance to rise. Perhaps in this era, he could have a different life trajectory.