Lu Mingzhe, a modern mechanical engineer, accidentally traveled to the fictional Jinghe Dynasty and became a member of a poor family. He has nothing but engineering thinking and improved technology that transcends the times.
When the Yellow River burst its banks, he used simple cement to fight against natural disasters, but he was denounced as "tampering with the ancestral system." The improved loom shocked the south of the Yangtze River, causing interest groups to set fire to counterattack. In a crisis in northern Xinjiang, the city defense artillery he modified turned the tide, but was conspired by collaborators and eunuchs behind his back.
His road to innovation was thorny at every step: Wang Shouchang, a great scholar of Neo-Confucianism, regarded technology as a miraculous trick that "shakes the foundation of the country"; Xu Shizheng, the Minister of Household Affairs, mobilized the power of the entire interest group to crazily encircle and suppress; the conspiracy of Mr. Zhao, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, spread quietly in the dark.
The only light comes from those who are also unwilling to sink: Lin Moqing, the daughter of a general who carries a secret, connects with him in the test of life and death; Zhou Yanshu, the imperial censor who adheres to his ideals, makes a difficult way for him in the court; Shen Qinglan, a shrewd and courageous businesswoman, becomes his most reliable business ally.
From the flood control official to the border counselor, from the master of the workshop to the core of the New Deal, this is a war that uses gears to fight etiquette and formulas to challenge classics. Lu Mingzhe wants to prove that the strongest copper and iron walls cannot stop the will of an era to move forward.
