Using his modern knowledge, Cheng Yifeng assists the new emperor Li Yan and fills the state treasury through a series of ventures, including trade, ice-making, salt refining, and tobacco production. He counters cultural aggression from foreign powers with poetry and prose, saves the people by tackling floods and droughts and responding to earthquakes, and expands the empire's territory through border conflicts and land reclamation. He governs and helps the people with grain reserves and measures to prevent soil erosion, eventually earning the emperor's favor and trust, as well as the admiration of a bevy of beautiful women. In the end, he wins the heart of his beloved and achieves a victory for both himself and the nation.
