The Chang’an Blacksmith Shop: I Used Modern Technology to Build the Tang Dynasty

Mechanical engineer Chen Mo transmigrates unexpectedly to the Zhenguan era, becoming the young proprietor of a blacksmith shop in Chang'an's Western Market that is on the verge of going under. Facing an empty storefront and suppliers demanding payment, he grips the blacksmith's hammer in his hand and decides to turn things around with the skills he knows best: improving the bellows to raise furnace temperatures, using a staged quenching process to make kitchen knives both sharp and resilient, and even drawing up plans for an improved curved-plow. His small iron goods become a hit, and when Qin Shubao happens to pass by, he's impressed enough to recommend Chen Mo to the Ministry of War. Chen Mo only wanted to make a steady living with his craft, but ends up caught in a storm over military reforms. He must contend with skeptical traditional craftsmen while guarding against schemes by court factions. In the end, thanks to his “modern forging techniques,” he rises from a street blacksmith to a key official in the Ministry of Works with the power to shape the Tang dynasty's military supplies.