In the tenth year of Hongzhi, the first transmigrator arrives.
He presents the steam engine and railway tracks, sending horseless carriages racing across the lands of Yan and Zhao. The court is shaken, calling him a “demon” or a “god.” Over twenty years, amid the struggle between imperial power and the gentry, he plants the seeds of industry.
During the Zhengde era, the second transmigrator arrives.
He discovers that this Ming Dynasty, despite having steam engines, is trapped by a primitive fiscal system. Bonds, insurance, stocks... the magic of finance begins quietly eating away at the ancient monetary system. Merchants cheer, the court grows wary, and a silent war over “money and power” begins.
In the final years of the Jiajing era, the third transmigrator opens his eyes.
Faced with an empire of distorted technology, divided between north and south, he sets aside his blueprints and takes up a planning document. His weapons are not machines, but institutions and balance. Within the shell of the old empire, he tries to lay tracks leading to a new world.
In the middle of the Wanli era, the fourth transmigrator awakens.
He sees a giant thundering with steel and steam, yet still plagued by barren land. His battlefield is the fields, and his weapons are seeds and fertilizer. At last, a quiet agricultural revolution gives this empire, propelled into premature growth, the foundation it needs to stand firm.
From Hongzhi to Yongli, a span of one hundred and fifty years.
Four transmigrators of different backgrounds and beliefs are no omniscient, all-powerful gods. Each brings their own expertise and limitations as they struggle, cooperate, compete, and pass the torch amid the tides of history. They kindle the first sparks, but cannot control where the flames will spread.
There is a steamboat when Sanbao Eunuch goes to the sea.
It's my favorite style
Come on, keep working hard?
Save it, the physical details are pretty good
After reading it, I feel it suits me very well, the pace is a little faster