Su Yan, a doctor of modern engineering, traveled to a poor county magistrate around Bianliang in the Northern Song Dynasty. He faced the dilemma of difficult dirt roads, easy waterlogging of farmland, lack of finances and tax collection. He relied on modern knowledge to burn cement to build bridges, improve canals to relieve drought and floods, and build looms to increase harvests, gradually improving people's livelihood and attracting merchants. However, as the county became a model and alarmed the palace, conservative forces obstructed him in every possible way because of their damaged interests. On the one hand, Su Yan has to deal with taxation and other problems within a limited time. On the other hand, he has to resolve the misunderstandings caused by the slander of conservative forces. He also has to face the betrayal of friends due to different ideas. He made a difficult choice between adhering to the belief of developing infrastructure to improve people's livelihood and adhering to traditional feudal concepts. In the end, Su Yan succeeded in overcoming numerous obstacles and built an "ideal city" in this ancient wilderness, but he also tasted the bitterness behind success in the process.
