Chen Mo, an impoverished history student, has been exploited by his stepfather and relatives and owns nothing. By chance, he obtains a mysterious bronze lamp that lets him establish contact across time with the young Ying Zheng, who is being held hostage in the State of Zhao in 259 BC.
From then on, the gears of fate begin to turn in both worlds.
With his godlike perspective, Chen Mo explains the Warring States landscape to Ying Zheng, predicts Lu Buwei’s investments, advises him on escaping Zhao, and helps him eliminate Lao Ai, reclaim royal power, and ultimately unify the Six States. He teaches him knowledge far ahead of its time, from improved stirrups and the curved-beam plow to primitive steelmaking and glassblowing, giving the Qin army the power to crush the world beneath its iron hooves.
In return, Ying Zheng buries the various “modern necessities” Chen Mo specifies, including gold, lost ancient texts, and peerless treasures, in locations known only to Chen Mo.
In the modern world, Chen Mo uses the first fortune he “unearths” to escape the mire of his family background and deliver a satisfying face-slapping to everyone who looked down on him. From a poor student, he transforms into a mysterious antique collector and a business magnate wealthier than a nation, attracting the attention of all kinds of beautiful women.
When the Qin Empire’s ambitions outgrow the Nine Provinces and Ying Zheng turns his gaze toward Rome and the rest of the world, Chen Mo will become the ultimate strategist behind this emperor for the ages, guiding the world and forging a global empire across two thousand years of history
