The author is David Drake. http://hell.pl/szymon/Baen/When the Tide Rises/Warlord/0743435877_toc.htm What do you guys think about this series?
The series is online available for free at the Baen publishing, due to their "let us release free digital copies of out of print books to encourage people to buy our new releases" policy. http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ On the "When the Tide Rises" CD. It's a classic Stirling and Drake milporn scifi from the 1990's, inspired by the historic campaigns of General Belisarius. On neo-barbarian planet Bellevue, young scion Raj Whitehall has a fortunate encounter with a cheat item containing a ghost sage (AI) that allows him to cultivate his military prowess over the years, much to the alternating delight and worry of his paranoid emperor. More or less. There are fewer personal duels, and more military command and politics, but otherwise if you enjoy wuxia you should find it a good read.
Thanks for the summary. I only missed the book about conquering the blond barbarian islanders. The series is great for the military battles as well as governing the conquered territories with a paranoid tyrant eanting to replace the mc. David Weber's Armageddon series is similar for conquest of a technological backward planet while rediscovering industrial revolution from swords and arrows and fighting a religious fanatical enemy. There's even a op issekai half nipponese mc who is also the first, last, only Christian, buddhist, Muslim, pagan Jewish soulless robot (enough chunni?) since the earth federation may be destroyed by aliens. Most of the inventions are made towards military use and weak on domestic impact Since it is a military novel. Both are good if you like the idea of nation building on a backward planet.