Chen Yan, a modern history enthusiast, accidentally traveled to Jingzhou in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, just when Liu Biao occupied Jingxiang and was experiencing internal and external troubles. He had no extraordinary powers, but relied on his familiarity with the general trends of the Three Kingdoms and some common sense of modern farming and military management. He rose to prominence in a poor family, and was appreciated by Liu Biao and entered his shogunate.
At that time, Jingzhou's nobles were constrained and their military equipment was slack. Cao Cao was spying on Nanyang, Sun Quan was coveting Jiangxia, and Liu Bei was stationed in new fields to hide his ambitions. Chen Yan first proposed methods of improving farm tools to increase grain production, and then used the strategy of streamlining the army to reorganize military equipment. When Liu Biao hesitated, he urged him to join forces with Liangzhou Ma Chao to contain Cao Cao and appease the Wuling barbarians to stabilize the rear.
He traveled around to reconcile the conflicts between the Jingxiang gentry and the poor families, helping Liu Biao gradually gain real power; he also made arrangements on the eve of Red Cliff to prevent Jingzhou from becoming a place for Cao and Sun to compete. From a commoner to seeking mastermind in Jingzhou, Chen Yan took history as a mirror and worked step by step to assist Liu Biao, who should have been in a corner of peace, to break the fate of the Three Kingdoms, and step by step embark on the road to conquer the Central Plains and dominate the world.
