Li Wei, a modern-day office drone, is struck by lightning and sent into the chaotic Eastern Han dynasty. When he wakes up, the Yellow Turbans have bound him as a demon.
He recites Romance of the Three Kingdoms to save his life, but Zhang Jue scoffs. "The Cao Cao and Liu Bei you're talking about don't even exist."
Just when all hope seems lost, both Diao Chan and Cai Wenji offer him a helping hand: one teaches him the art of political maneuvering, while the other shares poetry and the classics.
Li Wei realizes he's in a parallel timeline: historical events are similar, but the key figures are all different.
He uses modern knowledge to make soap and escape poverty, applies mathematics to improve weapons, and uses marketing to sell the idea of a "mandate from Heaven."
When the eighteen warlords unite to attack Dong Zhuo, Li Wei raises his banner at Suanzao. "I am no Han official. I am the founder of a new dynasty!"
Diao Chan presses a dagger against his lower back. "You little liar. Didn't you say last night you just wanted to be a wealthy landowner?"
But Cai Wenji unfolds the warlords' secret letters. "That's all right. They're offering more."
