I Sparked an Industrial Revolution in the Tang Dynasty

[No System + Not mindless + Tang Dynasty + Modern ideas clash with feudal ideology]

What would you do if you brought a complete knowledge of modern industry into the prosperous Zhenguan era praised in the history books?

At first, all you wanted was to survive. With your advanced knowledge, you fought for a life in which you wouldn’t be trampled at will in an age ruled by imperial power.

Later, you wanted to live with dignity. From a commoner, you rose to become a county marquis, then a Duke of the State, and head of the Ministry of Works. You became Li Shimin’s most trusted right-hand man and Chang’an’s most dazzling rising star.

Your house overflowed with gold and silver, your halls teemed with retainers, and the great families treated you as an honored guest. The history books had already reserved for you the timeless title of “Zhenguan’s Greatest Minister.”

You had traveled every road from survival to the pinnacle of power. Your needs for both survival and a good life were entirely in your hands. You should have followed that path and lived the perfect life of a transmigrator.

But when you stood on the steps of the Taiji Palace, gazing up at Chang’an’s ten miles of splendor and the glory of a golden age, you looked down and saw what lay in the gaps beyond the red walls:

People still severed their own hands and feet to escape forced labor. Farmers still sold their sons and daughters after losing their land to powerful families. Countless people struggling to survive remained stepping-stones for the golden age, trapped by the feudal decree that “the Son of Heaven shepherds the people,” and forced to fight with all they had just to live in peace.

At that moment, the modern soul carved into your very bones surged within you:

Would you let go of your convictions, become a beneficiary of this golden age, enjoy the splendor of noble titles and high office, and be remembered in history as a great Tang minister?

Or would you fight with everything you had, wager all you had earned, and carve an unprecedented path to survival for the common people silently swallowed up by this golden age, making an enemy of the entire imperial system and the whole feudal era?