The novel is set in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms of Fujian, focusing on the struggle of Lin Yanqiu, a son of a sharecropper. He studied farming since he was a child, and passed the Jinshi examination many times based on his Confucian beliefs. When he was the captain of Jian'an County, he used "rituals" to solve cases and protect poor families, and met the powerful general Su Tieshan. During the later period of Ding You, he was ordered to organize the countryside to bravely fight Wu Yue. He ran the army with "no massacre, no plundering of the people, and no personal wealth". He used the tactics of "gathering crops in the fields" and "building a strong stronghold" to stand out. However, he was feared and framed by Chen Jingxuan, the representative of the gentry.
Lin Yanqiu resolved the crisis with tenacity. After being promoted to an important position in the Forbidden Army, he promoted the expansion of imperial examinations and the rectification of water transportation. He still adhered to the reform despite the interests of the gentry. Faced with Wu's alliance with the Tang Dynasty, he allied with the Later Tang Dynasty to defend against the enemy, and was entrusted by the King of Fujian to take sole charge of military affairs. In his later years, he assisted his young master in promoting health care and agricultural technology innovation to help the country of Fujian become prosperous and strong. After becoming an official, he lived in the countryside, but his ideas still influenced the country of Fujian. After his death from illness, he was promoted to a feudal ancestral hall. Throughout his life, he went from a humble tenant farmer to a state minister. With his Confucian background, he supported the stability of the Fujian country in troubled times, interpreting the persistence and responsibility of "cloaking Confucianism".
