Stockpiling Supplies in the Qing Dynasty: Fighting Dinosaurs

A young man from modern times accidentally transmigrates to the final years of the Tongzhi era, around the 1860s, and becomes the illegitimate son of a fallen family of small landowners. At first, he struggles to adapt to life in the Qing dynasty, learning about the historical changes and political turmoil of this era. He discovers that, alongside the historical Sino-French War, Taiping Rebellion, and Self-Strengthening Movement, this world also holds a historical mystery: the migration of “European dinosaurs.” In a mysterious ancient book, the protagonist finds a prophecy of “the dinosaurs' return,” foretelling that dinosaurs will soon migrate en masse from the western continent. These dinosaurs are extraordinary, ferocious as wild beasts, and will have a devastating impact on human society. The protagonist decides to stockpile supplies in advance, but what to stockpile and how to do it become his biggest headaches. Several Western nations have already been trampled by dinosaurs, and the unstoppable dinosaur horde is migrating across the Eurasian land bridge toward Central Asia. The protagonist senses that the Qing dynasty, too, will be ravaged by them. Meanwhile, the Qing court receives secret reports from envoys of various European nations, but is powerless to respond amid its internal and external crises. Empress Dowager Cixi dismisses the reports as “foreigners' lies” and refuses to take any action. Seizing the opportunity, the protagonist uses his limited money and resources to buy land and set up secret warehouses, quietly stockpiling large quantities of grain, gold and silver, medicine, weapons, and other supplies.