Against the Tide, 1915

In 1915, the tide of imperial restoration swept over China, and the ghosts of the old era haunted the land of the Yan and Huang emperors.

That same year, Li Yizhi, a military-industrial engineering PhD, awoke after a bizarre laboratory accident to find himself the son of a minor warlord in Fucheng, southern Hunan (Chenzhou): Li Zhenhua, courtesy name Yizhi.

At home, relatives fought for power. Abroad, powerful neighbors stood ready to pounce. Most deadly of all was the well-equipped Beiyang Mixed Brigade stationed outside the city, its blade poised at his throat.

Faced with the tide of history and a desperate fight for survival, Li Zhenhua chose the hardest retaliation.

Others fought for power with schemes. He fought with blueprints and lathes.

Others expanded their armies by annexing rivals. He did it with mines and factories.

While his opponents were still engrossed in political maneuvering and bayonets, he had already built an intelligence network beyond its time and begun unlocking the branches of military technology.

From grenades to mortars, from a corner of southern Hunan to the rivers and hills of all Hunan.

With steel and fire, he would put the simplest truth into practice on this ancient land: guns and cannons would usher in a brand-new era!

This is the legend of a man who used knowledge as his flame and steel as his plow, carving a future into history against the current.