Li Che, a modern man who travels through time, finds himself in the body of the sixth prince of the Great Qing dynasty, an unloved son of the emperor. Framed by the crown prince, he is forced to fake his death by smashing his head against a pillar before being exiled beyond the frontier to Ningguta. What everyone else sees as a desolate land of exile is a treasure trove in his eyes. He reclaims the wilderness, develops agriculture and modern industry, establishes the nation of Feng, trains his troops, and launches military campaigns, sweeping across the Northern Barbarians and Goryeo before leading his army on an expedition northward all the way to the Arctic Circle. Just as he comes to rule thousands of miles of territory in the northern frontier, the aging emperor in the capital falls critically ill and issues an imperial decree summoning him back to inherit the Great Qing throne.