Fleeing into the Wilderness from the Start, I Secretly Built a Mighty Empire

I am Xiao Che, an engineering PhD from the 21st century. An accident brought me to the turbulent Great Qian Dynasty, where I became the reigning emperor's Ninth Prince. The new emperor had only just ascended the throne, and the court was still unstable. I had no intention of entering this maelstrom of power and wanted only to stay out of it. But fate had other plans, and I was dragged into the conflict after all.

“I wanted to live among everyone as an ordinary person, but all I got in return was one threat after another.” Standing atop the city wall, I gazed into the distance. “Since that's how it is, I'll stop pretending. Here's the truth: I want this empire for myself.”

While my brothers were still stockpiling grain and building walls, the homes of the people under my rule already had electricity. While their armies still fretted over food and supplies, a transportation network already crisscrossed my territory. While they were still drilling with formations of cold weapons, my guns and cannons were already aimed at the battlefield...