I Really Didn’t Mean to Start Trouble in the Tang

[Time Travel · Historical · Farming · Court Politics · Academy · War · Harem]

A modern young man, Qin Ming, travels to the fifth year of Zhenguan and originally wants to live a laid-back life as a landlord—marry a beautiful wife, take in a few concubines, and lie back to enjoy the bright moon and fresh breeze of the Tang Dynasty.

But fate loves jokes:

The stunning “mother and daughter” he casually buys while shopping in the Western Market turn out to be Xiao Changxi, the empress consort of the Sui Dynasty, and Princess Yang Zijun, the princess of a fallen kingdom.

The grain merchant he meets by the river turns out to be Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling, traveling in disguise.

And even more absurdly, the “maternal grandfather” who comes to claim kinship turns out to be Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

When Qin Ming acts out of kindness and begins taking in disaster victims, setting up workshops, and establishing schools, the entire Tang Dynasty’s style of development changes overnight:

The curved-ridge plow in his estate is copied and promoted nationwide overnight by the Ministry of Works;

The stories he casually adapts to cheer up his beloveds—The West Chamber and The Legend of White Snake—become top-tier IP among Chang’an’s noblewomen;

And soap, perfume, qipao, and silk stockings become treasured luxuries coveted by aristocratic ladies and daughters of prestigious clans.

After that, Qin Ming even goes to Longyou to save Cheng Yaojin and his son, fighting barbarians, curing epidemics, and defending Lanzhou...

From then on, the Tang Dynasty has its own Champion Marquis.

Yet as Qin Ming faces hunts from all sides, he looks up to the sky and sighs: “I really just wanted to be a salted fish...”

Li Shimin: “A salted fish? With this kind of talent for governing the country, he must become Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince—drag him into the Lingyan Pavilion if we have to!”

The clans: “If this man is not eliminated, the thousand-year aristocratic families will be in danger!”

His beloveds: “Darling, it’s fine to take concubines, but can we keep it a little low-key? There are still several princesses waiting to enter the house...”