Su Chen, a modern researcher of Song history, unexpectedly travels back in spirit to the Renzong era and becomes the son of a local gentry family in Jing County, just as the Song dynasty reaches a pivotal moment: “benevolent yet enfeebled.” Drawing on his knowledge of Song history and modern practical learning, he displays prodigious talent from childhood. He improves the brewing process to ease his family’s financial hardship and earns the emperor’s favor by submitting his “Ten Strategies for Fire Prevention.”
While traveling to broaden his horizons, he meets reform pioneers such as Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi, and discusses the “three redundancies” plaguing the dynasty. On the road to the imperial examinations, he excels through his practical, statecraft-oriented learning, taking first place at every stage from the county exam to the provincial exam. Determined to strengthen the nation and bring peace to its people, Su Chen uses his knowledge of history to plan ahead, advancing steadily through the examinations and officialdom while building support in court and across the martial world. He vows to eliminate the problems of excessive officials and oversized armies, repel foreign threats, and secure the people’s livelihoods. With his own strength, he will rewrite the fate of the Jingkang Disaster and forge a reformist path to national strength uniquely his own in the Renzong era.
