Modern engineer Lin Zhiyuan transmigrates into the Kaiyuan era as a poor scholar, stuck working as a bookkeeper at a money shop in Chang'an. Armed with the Illustrated Gazetteer of Yuanhe Prefectures and Counties, he uses his knowledge of geography and water management to crack a major gold heist. He earns the admiration of the renowned minister Zhang Yue, then makes a stunning impression in the imperial examinations and earns a place on the list of successful candidates.
But passing the imperial examination is only the beginning. Posted to Xuanzhou as the magistrate of Taiping County, he comes face-to-face with the real Tang empire: the mountains of southern Anhui, plagued by floods, ruled by powerful local clans, and home to defiant mountain folk. Drawing on modern knowledge, he builds dams, opens roads, develops the tea trade, and establishes a county school, transforming a “lower county” into a model “upper county.”
Yet beneath the golden age, dangerous currents run deep. Corruption in the grain transport system, warlords ruling their own territories, and land grabbing all reveal to Lin Zhiyuan that the magnificent Tang empire is sliding toward an abyss. Should he remain a loyal subject and go with the flow, or, as a mere county magistrate, search for another way forward for a golden age on the verge of collapse?
