Pioneering in the Early Tang: Building a Homeland

Chen Feng, a fifty-year-old long-haul truck driver, after a rainy night accident, finds himself alone in the deep mountains of the early Tang Dynasty's Wude era. He immediately encounters refugees harassed by mountain bandits and fights back to protect himself, gradually developing a calm and decisive style. His backpack contains crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, and tomatoes, along with outdoor lighting, self-defense knives, medical books, and emergency medicine. He saves an injured local boy and agrees to help find his missing younger sister, settling in the Qinling valley and befriending a reclusive Taoist master. He improves ancient salt-making methods, expands trade routes, defends against bandits using the mountainous terrain, takes in orphans to teach them knowledge and skills, and makes a pact with a powerful official to enter the world. Later, he joins the military, compiles educational texts, writes enduring poetry, and after achieving success, chooses to retire to the mountains for a peaceful life. This story focuses on farming development and survival in chaotic times, with a rational and pragmatic protagonist steadily establishing himself in the Tang Dynasty. — Description from novelcodex.org