Everyone knows that Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Li Ye, was trapped in Chang'an and eventually killed by a regional warlord, bringing the Tang dynasty to an end.
When a soul who knew history's conclusion took possession of the body of this last-days emperor, Li Ye refused to repeat the same fate. Guanzhong lay in ruins, enemies surrounded him on all sides, and Chang'an had become a death trap. Overruling the court's objections, he set out a grand plan to restore the dynasty from Shu, abandoning the imperial capital and leading his people into western Sichuan.
Five years to secure Shu, bring Yunnan and Guizhou under control, and open the Tea-Horse Road; five years to advance east, take Jingxiang and Hunan, command the Yangtze, and build a navy; five years to march south, pacify Guangdong and Guangxi, and establish maritime trade offices, using the wealth from overseas trade to sustain the imperial army.
He reshaped the military, appointing instructors and introducing military farms and a system of merit earned in battle, forging an iron army that would rather freeze than damage a civilian's home. He used conciliation and division to deal with the Khitan, slowly neutralizing the threat on the northern frontier. Whenever he reclaimed a territory, he granted three years of tax exemption and distributed farming tools and seeds, winning the hearts of the people through tangible benefits.
After fifteen years of preparation, his network of agents already stretched across the north. When the imperial army raised its banners and marched north, with the people behind it, could the warlords' weapons still stop this lone emperor from restoring the Tang?
