When Deng Zexiong, a graduate student in the Department of Modern History, was studying a unique collection of poems from the Tang Dynasty, he was accidentally involved in the turbulence of time and space by the mysterious literary spirit escaping from the pages of the book, and traveled to the Daqi Dynasty where literature was the most important thing. This is a world where literary spirit can be embodied: poetry can evoke visions of heaven and earth, policy and theory can influence court decisions, calligraphy can condense literary power for protection, and even top literati can retreat thousands of armies and stabilize mountains and rivers with a single heroic article.
However, Deng Zexiong had a miserable start and became a scholar from a poor family in the south of the Yangtze River. Not only was his family poor, he was also ostracized by the local literary society because of "the guidance of an unknown teacher and weak literary talent." To make matters worse, the Daqi Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, but there were also hidden dangers: the barbarians in the north were eyeing it, the Chinese party in the court were fighting endlessly, and the literati from poor families were suppressed by aristocratic families.
Relying on the historical knowledge and literary reserves accumulated in the modern era, as well as the unexpectedly awakened "literary mind" ability (which can see through the literary context behind the words and quickly understand the essence of classics), Deng Zexiong started from the county examination and shocked the examination room with a song "Youth Journey" that integrated modern thoughts. Later, in the government examination, he pointed out the current shortcomings with his policy essay "On the Key to Recruiting Scholars from Poor Families" and won the appreciation of the examiner; after entering Beijing, he used "the people as the foundation" in the Imperial College debate. He refutes the views of the literati from aristocratic families and gradually emerges.
