A modern mineral exploration specialist unexpectedly transmigrates into Li Che, the Sixth Prince of the Great Qing Empire. Just as he arrives, he finds himself framed in a witchcraft conspiracy. His predecessor was forced to strike his head against a pillar and died, but he miraculously comes back to life. He is supposed to be exiled to the bitterly cold Ninggu Prefecture in the northeast. However, Li Che exploits the emperor's intentions to escape this deadly predicament. He recruits convicted criminals as elite soldiers and wins over capable low-ranking officials from the imperial court. Along the way, he exposes the aristocratic clans' dark secrets involving human trafficking in Ye City, crushes tens of thousands of bandits in Mangdang, and uncovers the Crown Prince's conspiracy to secretly maintain a private army and murder his rivals. Armed with the strategic advantages of fertile black soil and abundant mineral resources, he relies on superior crop varieties, advanced agricultural techniques, and innovative military-industrial ideas to reclaim wasteland and train troops beyond the passes, gradually building an empire of his own.