Chemist Traveling Through the Tang Dynasty

Stranded in Chang'an during the tumultuous ninth year of the Wude era, chemistry graduate Xu Qing must use his modern scientific knowledge to survive. Starting with rudimentary ventures like saltpeter ice-making and alkali soap production, his hidden talents soon catch the eye of powerful generals and Emperor Li Shimin himself. Entrusted with a sprawling plot of barren land south of the Wei River and armed with the banner of the "Great Tang Workshop," Xu is tasked with building a modern chemical empire from scratch in the seventh century. As he erects coke blast furnaces, sulfuric acid towers, cement kilns, and gunpowder bureaus, Xu's innovations begin to transform the empire. Soon, steppe cavalry meet landmine defenses, and aristocratic memorandums clash with empirical data. Yet, as his technological prowess accelerates, Xu finds himself pulled into deadly political whirlpools—navigating imperial succession struggles, aristocratic backlash, foreign espionage, and the dark side of human greed born from unprecedented power. With every breakthrough, he is forced to confront a haunting question: by thrusting the future into the past, is he saving a nation or creating a catastrophe?