Raising the Taihang Mountains

In the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, the government is corrupt. Emperor Ling openly sells official posts and lets the Ten Eunuchs run rampant at court and meddle in state affairs. Plagues spread across the provinces, natural disasters strike one after another, and bandits infest the land. The people suffer unbearably.

A handful of powerful clans buy their way into office, oppress the locals, and seize ever more land.

In Zhao Commandery, Ji Province, beside the Taihang Mountains, Chen Zhang, a man from a later age, transmigrates as a member of a minor family bullied by powerful clans. He brews liquor and boils salt to build up funds, then successfully buys an official post. After gathering displaced people, he leads them into the Taihang Mountains to clear land and farm. He seizes the opportunity of the Yellow Turban Rebellion to earn merit, and uses the Yellow Turban name to plunder the great clans while secretly bringing the Taihang Yellow Turbans under his control. All the while, he spares no effort to recruit beautiful women and seek out renowned generals and strategists. His power steadily grows: he destroys the Xiongnu, defeats the Xianbei, subdues the Wuhuan, and takes control of several provinces, turning the Three Kingdoms into a four-way contest for power.