This book is a slow burn.
If you're looking for the quick fix of face-slapping, instant gratification, or the regular, high-speed pace of an online "fast-food" novel, this is not the right choice for you. Similarly, if you expect an overconfident, overpowered, or overtly saintly protagonist, you will be disappointed. And, to be absolutely clear: there will be no harem.
I have always found myself frustrated with novels that skip the crucial details—especially in genres like kingdom-building or farming. To me, the details are the most interesting part, the core of the story. Therefore, be warned: this will be a detail-heavy novel. I will strive to keep the story grounded and logical, and I might occasionally take a slight detour to fully justify the logic behind the actions of the protagonist and his comrades. Please bear with me and forgive these detours in advance.
This is a commitment to a long novel. We will cover the life of our protagonist and his group of friends—who will evolve into revolutionaries, comrades, national leaders, and statesmen—tracing the journey of a nation from 1895 all the way to 1965, into the Cold War era.
This immense timeline means the story will be rich with themes. We will delve into economics, warfare, politics, ideology, commerce, infrastructure, spycraft, diplomacy, and technology. While there will be romance, it will be a very small, secondary thread in the grand tapestry of the story. I am committed to rebuilding real history as accurately as possible within the framework of a novel.
I am not Chinese (and won't be sharing my nationality), but I am utterly fascinated by the nation and its history. For the past seven or eight years, I've been an avid reader of Chinese novels, particularly those focused on nation-building—a genre I'm addicted to. I have consumed everything from the great to the merely so-so. Many stopped halfway or left me with unfulfilled desires because they were simply too unrealistic or skimmed over important details without logic. After years of reading, I finally decided to write the story I wanted to read. For the record, I've never used the Webnovel platform; my journey has been through reading raw Chinese novels via Google Translate, starting with Boxnovel, then MTL, and finally moving to websites like 69shu to hunt down less available titles.
The Rationale for Time and Place
The choice of China and the specific start date of 1895 is deliberate and foundational to the entire premise of this novel, as this nation and era offer the greatest opportunity for meaningful change and exploration.
A Canvas for Change
Unlike nations with highly defined geopolitical or inherent military limitations—for example, a time-traveler in Germany facing World Wars—the trajectory of late Qing and Republican China remains one of vast, untapped potential. China possessed the scale and the capability to completely rebuild its worldview and destiny. To me, a story about a time-traveler requires the ability to logically change history without it becoming fantastical or nonsensical, and China's situation in 1895 provides that realistic leverage. Furthermore, the sheer number of major, transformative events throughout this timeline (1895 to 1965) naturally provides a much more engaging and dynamic narrative.
Ideology and Historical Compliance
Ideologically, I have no repulsion toward Communism. Therefore, I am happy to comply with historical developments and respect the ideological choice made by the nation in its eventual form. This approach is not only historically accurate but, pragmatically, will help me avoid the pitfalls of heavy censorship or "404ing" that often plague alternative history novels that stray too far from the final historical outcome.
The Critical Starting Point: 1895
Starting the story too late—say, after 1911 (the fall of the Qing), or definitely after 1920 or 1930—misses the critical preparatory window. The period of 1895-1911 is essential for laying the groundwork for everything that follows.
The single most important component for any nation-building project is Education. Without a well-educated populace, all the great institutions—factories, modern armies and navies, railways, and advanced infrastructure—are merely "castles in the sky." You can import machines and industrialize quickly, but you cannot sustain or innovate without knowledgeable people to operate, maintain, and improve those machines.
Choosing 1895 gives the protagonist the necessary headroom to build his own foundational, modern education systembefore the major world upheavals. This makes future actions logical:
It allows the protagonist and his eventual group of comrades to properly exploit the benefits from Germany after WWI and the opportunities presented by the Western world after the 1929 crash.
To make the grand plans logical and grounded, education must precede everything else.
Even the protagonist, who has 21st-century knowledge, will commit to studying within the 1895 timeline, even going abroad to study, and will actively pull his friends into the pursuit of modern knowledge.
In short, the novel starts here to ensure that every future success is built upon a logical and sustainable foundation of human capital and learning.
I sincerely hope you enjoy this journey. I am a new author, and I am here to learn. I encourage you to review and rate the book, and please feel free to comment and point out any issue, whether related to historical fact or narrative flow. I will read every comment and do my best to rectify any concerns.
Thank you for picking up this book. Let the journey begin.