Deep Roots

Deep Cultivation: An Imperial Epic That Recasts the Course of History

When taxes crush the people and the system stifles vitality, Chen Wang, a down-and-out scholar, rises from the ridges of Zhengyi’s countryside. He turns unripe green wheat into life-saving gruel, using fields as paper and wisdom as ink to write a blueprint for saving the realm that overturns tradition.

This is no simple tale of farming one’s way to fortune, but a profound transformation that begins on a small scale and ends on a grand one. From bringing people together with a single contract to improving tools and boosting efficiency; from opening trade routes and building networks to founding a rudimentary financial system, every step Chen Wang takes challenges the deep-rooted ills of this ancient empire.

When he is forced to leave the countryside and enter the imperial court, he discovers that he is already caught in a grand game of strategy with the fate of the nation at stake. Local power brokers, provincial officials, and court ministers all vie for advantage on this vast chessboard. Grain transport, salt and iron, taxes, and land: each is a vital nerve sustaining the empire.

Caught in a vortex where power and wealth intertwine, Chen Wang must stay true to his original ideals while navigating political intrigue, and push for change while seeking a way forward amid entrenched opposition. He wields economics like a blade, cutting into the body of the dynasty to confront its deepest, most intractable ills.

Deep Cultivation is not only the story of a poor scholar’s rise against the odds, but also an epic that reveals the secrets behind an empire’s rise and fall. It brings to life an era, the souls struggling to survive in the currents of history, and those who try to change their fate, showing how they use wisdom and perseverance to forge an unprecedented path through the narrow spaces their times allow.