Chapter Summaries

At court in Ying Tian, Zhu Yuanzhang received a military report praising Zhu Ying’s victories in the Northern Frontier. The report described Zhu Ying’s campaign against the Jianzhou Tatars, but its account was still unfolding when the chapter ended.

• A courier delivered a military dispatch from Daning Prefecture to Zhu Yuanzhang in Fengtian Hall.
• Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted to see Zhu Ying named in the report and asked Yun Qi to read it aloud.
• Feng Sheng reported that 230,000 Ming troops had gathered at Huizhou City after the Yuan army withdrew from its attack.
• Feng Sheng credited the Daning Border Army with holding Huizhou and described how Zhu Ying split his forces to delay the Yuan and Jianzhou Tatar armies.
• Feng Sheng reported that Zhu Ying had destroyed the Tatars’ Blue Banner Tribe, beheaded ten thousand, and later wiped out another ten thousand Tatar cavalry.

After Zhu Ying’s victories against the Jianzhou Tatars were reported at court, Zhu Biao proposed granting him a hereditary county baron title. Zhu Yuanzhang supported the proposal, and the ministers unanimously agreed.

• Yun Qi read a report stating that Zhu Ying had tied down the Jianzhou Tatars and inflicted heavy losses while keeping more than three thousand of his four thousand cavalry alive.
• The ministers marveled at Zhu Ying’s success in destroying Tatar cavalry and operating deep in enemy territory.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Biao for his assessment, and Zhu Biao praised Zhu Ying as an outstanding young general.
• Song Ne and other ministers called for Zhu Ying to be richly rewarded for his service in Daning Prefecture.
• Zhu Biao proposed granting Zhu Ying the title of Hereditary County Baron, and Zhu Yuanzhang backed the proposal.
• The ministers voiced unanimous support for Zhu Biao’s recommendation.

Zhu Yuanzhang granted Zhu Ying a hereditary county barony and discussed how Zhu Biao could command the Huai West generals. At the Lü residence, Lu Ben arranged his eldest son’s concubine marriage and considered Zhu Ying’s rise as part of a larger court strategy.

• Zhu Yuanzhang awarded Zhu Ying a hereditary county barony and another hundred gold for his service.
• Zhu Biao told Zhu Yuanzhang that Zhu Ying was a promising young commander, and Zhu Yuanzhang said Biao could use the Huai West generals as his future military strength.
• Lu Hao reported that the Shen Family had delivered a lavish dowry, and Lu Ben instructed him to arrange for the Shen girl to enter the household without a grand banquet.
• Lu Ben urged Lu Hao to support his sister’s position in the Eastern Palace and keep his younger brothers from causing trouble.
• Lu Hao questioned Zhu Ying’s new title, and Lu Ben rebuked him before suggesting the emperor’s favor toward Zhu Ying served the court’s dealings with the Huai West commanders.

Lu Ben and Lu Hao discussed the Emperor’s efforts to weaken Huai West’s influence, while Feng Sheng organized the Ming army’s advance toward Liaodong after the Yuan forces withdrew. The chapter ended with news that Zhu Ying had been granted a hereditary County Baron title at sixteen.

• Lu Ben told Lu Hao that the Emperor intended to cultivate new generals to counter Huai West’s military influence.
• Feng Sheng praised the Daning Border Army for defending Huizhou City and ordered its soldiers’ merits recorded and rewarded.
• Feng Sheng sent Lan Yu toward Liaodong and ordered Fu Youde to advance by a side route, while warning that Naha Chu had a large, well-armed force.
• Feng Sheng and Bu Wan praised Zhu Ying for holding back the Jianzhou Tatars, though they did not know his current situation.
• A message from Yingtian informed Feng Sheng that the Emperor had granted Zhu Ying a hereditary County Baron title, and that an imperial envoy was on the way.

Zhu Ying’s cavalry destroyed another Tatar tribe, bringing their tally to fifteen, then marched north as Agunu’s forces arrived too late to stop them. The soldiers pledged their loyalty to Zhu Ying, who promised to lead them through the campaign and never abandon a brother; the chapter ended with the exhausted army resting by bonfires.

• Zhu Ying ordered his soldiers to behead Tatar men taller than a cart wheel, poison the tribe’s water, and burn its supplies before riding north.
• Agunu arrived with more than ten thousand Tatars, found the tribe devastated, and vowed to keep pursuing Zhu Ying despite his depleted cavalry and lack of reinforcements.
• Wei Quan, Zhuang Wei, and Zhang Wu celebrated the destruction of fifteen tribes and reminded the soldiers to keep the ears they had taken as proof of their military merits.
• Zhu Ying’s soldiers swore to follow him, and he promised he would lead from the front and never abandon them.
• Zhu Ying led the cavalry on a forced march, then had them rest at night beside bonfires with dry flatbread and water.

Zhu Ying planned to raid the Tatar tribal court before dawn and promised his men he would take them home afterward. As he rested, he checked his increased attributes and remembered two unopened treasure chests.

• Zhu Ying told his commanders their mission was complete and asked if they would join him in a final major attack before returning to Ming.
• Zhang Wu identified how Zhu Ying’s raids on fifteen Tatar tribes had drawn away defenders and weakened the tribal court.
• Zhu Ying ordered the army to attack the Tatar tribal court that night, destroy and seize what they could, then ride east without pushing farther north.
• Zhu Ying promised his soldiers he would take them home after the battle, then checked his attribute panel and noted his lifespan had risen to 112 years.
• Zhu Ying remembered one ordinary treasure chest and one Tier 1 treasure chest, then ordered them all opened.

After opening two treasure chests, Zhu Ying stored a high-grade Heart-Protecting Pill and an Azure Rainbow Sword. At the Tatar tribal court, Aha Chu agreed to let Agunu lead an encirclement against the Ming forces, while refusing to consider breaking with Great Yuan.

• Zhu Ying opened an ordinary chest and a Tier 1 chest, obtaining an Azure Rainbow Sword and a Mysterious Tier High-grade Heart-Protecting Pill.
• Aha Chu condemned Agunu for the losses caused by the Ming Army, but Agunu begged for another chance to avenge the dead clansmen.
• Agunu claimed he had spread forty thousand troops across the tribes to encircle the Ming soldiers, and Aha Chu agreed to trust him again.
• Aha Chu heard that Zhu Ying was a newly risen Ming commander and discussed the difficulty of gathering intelligence on the Ming Army.
• Aha Chu ordered his men to tell Naha Chu to wait for reinforcements until the Tatars dealt with the Ming force in their territory.
• A commander urged Aha Chu to consider submitting to the Ming Kingdom, but Aha Chu refused, fearing Great Yuan's retaliation.

Zhu Ying led the Ming Army in a night assault on the Jianzhou Tatar tribal court, using ten thousand stampeding horses to smash through its defenses. The gates fell and the soldiers charged into the settlement, where the battle had only just begun.

• Aha Chu ordered Agunu to destroy Zhu Ying's force and gave him the tribe's remaining two thousand personal-guard cavalrymen.
• Zhu Ying and Wei Quan gathered ten thousand warhorses near the Jianzhou Tatar tribal court without alerting its guards.
• Zhu Ying ordered the horses to charge the settlement while the Ming soldiers followed behind them.
• The Tatars raised the alarm and fired arrows at the stampede, but the horses continued toward the gates.
• The warhorses smashed through the palisades and camp gate, trampling many Tatars as the Ming soldiers charged in.

Zhu Ying led a night assault on Aha Chu’s tribal encampment, using ten thousand stampeding horses to overwhelm its defenses while his soldiers killed and burned their way through. Aha Chu survived the stampede behind shields and torches, but Zhu Ying’s troops were closing in on the remaining defenders.

• Zhu Ying ordered his three thousand soldiers to attack the Tatar encampment behind ten thousand charging horses, killing fleeing Tatars and overrunning their defenses.
• Zhu Ying told his soldiers to bypass ordinary combat and target the main tent, while he gained lifespan and other rewards for killing enemies.
• Aha Chu learned that the Ming Army had attacked with ten thousand horses and ordered his personal guards to retreat.
• Zhu Ying’s soldiers set fire to the Tatar tents as they continued their assault through the encampment.
• Aha Chu’s several thousand guards formed a defensive ring and fired arrows, but the stampede trampled most of them before a few hundred used shields and torches to protect him.

Zhu Ying led a Great Ming cavalry raid on the Jianzhou Tatar tribal seat and cut through the guards protecting their chieftain. He killed Aha Chu and announced the chieftain’s death, leaving the fleeing Tatars convinced their tribe was finished.

• Zhu Ying spotted Aha Chu among the Tatar guards and charged toward him with three thousand Great Ming cavalry.
• Zhu Ying cut down the Tatar spearmen and guards as his troops and commanders joined the attack.
• Aha Chu turned to flee, but Zhu Ying caught up and beheaded him.
• Zhu Ying received a reward from the panel and hung Aha Chu’s head from his waist as proof of his military merit.
• Zhu Ying declared that he had slain the Jianzhou Tatar chieftain, and the Tatars’ morale collapsed.

Zhu Ying’s forces killed Aha Chu and devastated the Jianzhou Tatar tribal court before withdrawing. Agunu returned to find the camp in ruins and learned that Zhu Ying had beheaded the tribal chief.

• Zhu Ying beheaded Aha Chu, then led his soldiers through the tribal court, killing Tatars and setting tents ablaze as they carved their way out.
• At dawn, the surviving Tatars mourned their dead and tried to rescue the wounded amid the destroyed camp and ongoing fires.
• Agunu returned with his troops and realized Zhu Ying had drawn the Tatar forces away from the tribal court before attacking it.
• A bloodied centurion told Agunu that Zhu Ying had beheaded Aha Chu and that fewer than five hundred of the tribal chief’s guards had survived.
• Agunu rushed to the remains of the main tent and saw Aha Chu’s headless corpse as the surviving Tatars wept around it.

Agunu mourned Aha Chu and arranged for Shijianu to succeed him as tribal chief, while Zhu Ying rested his troops after destroying the Tatar tribal court and received a Red-Clad Cannon blueprint from a treasure chest. The chapter ended with Ming forces bombarding Kaiyuan City, the Northern Yuan stronghold in Liaodong.

• Agunu blamed the guards for Aha Chu’s death, swore vengeance against Zhu Ying, and sent for Eldest Prince Shijianu to take over as tribal chief.
• Zhu Ying halted his troops after their forced march, checked his improved attributes, and opened a Tier 1 treasure chest that contained a complete blueprint catalog for a Yellow Tier Mid-grade Red-Clad Cannon.
• Zhu Ying approved sending the battle report by carrier pigeon and told his commanders that he would take the troops home after they rested.
• Ming artillery crews fired several hundred cannons at Kaiyuan City, striking and killing Yuan soldiers with solid shot.

Lan Yu led the Ming Army’s assault on Kaiyuan City, while Harazhang feared the battle-tested invaders despite his city’s defenses. As Feng Sheng assigned the next attacks and urged the generals to fulfill Zhu Yuanzhang’s decree, an urgent dispatch from the Northern Frontier arrived for Bu Wan.

• Lan Yu ordered a probing assault on Kaiyuan City, and the Ming troops withdrew after facing fierce fire from Harazhang’s defenders.
• Harazhang warned his deputy that Lan Yu’s skill and the Yuan Court’s internal weakness made Great Yuan’s position dangerous.
• Feng Sheng heard Lan Yu’s report and learned that Fu Youde had moved his troops to Jin Prefecture as the Ming Army split its forces between two routes.
• Lan Yu assigned Chang Mao to lead the vanguard and Hu Hai to serve as the second vanguard, then promised Feng Sheng he would take Kaiyuan City within half a month.
• A guard brought an urgent Northern Frontier dispatch by carrier pigeon addressed to Bu Wan, and Feng Sheng looked toward him with delight.

Feng Sheng read Zhu Ying’s battle report and learned that he had raided the Jianzhou Tatars’ tribal court and killed their chieftain. Impressed by Zhu Ying’s achievements, Feng Sheng ordered an urgent memorial sent to Yingtian seeking rewards for him.

• Bu Wan presented Zhu Ying’s battle report to Feng Sheng and explained that Zhu Ying had not known Feng Sheng was overseeing Daning’s military affairs.
• Feng Sheng read that Zhu Ying had entered Jianzhou Tatar territory with a small cavalry force, raided the tribal court, killed its chieftain, and inflicted heavy losses.
• The generals in the tent reacted with shock, while Lan Yu dismissed Zhu Ying’s success as luck and Zhang Yu considered informing Prince about him.
• Bu Wan urged Feng Sheng to report Zhu Ying’s achievements, and Feng Sheng agreed to personally seek rewards for him.
• Feng Sheng ordered his personal guard commander to send an urgent report to the emperor in Yingtian detailing Zhu Ying’s accomplishments.

Bu Wan and Feng Sheng praised Zhu Ying’s victories and prepared to reward him, while Lan Yu sought merit by promising to capture Kaiyuan City within ten days. Bu Wan then warned Chen Heng and Liu Zhen to keep their dealings with the Huai West generals strictly professional as the campaign continued.

• Feng Sheng praised Zhu Ying’s achievements and said he would meet him personally when he returned.
• Lan Yu requested permission to raid Kaiyuan City, and Feng Sheng let him lead the attack while promising merit to whoever captured a city first.
• Bu Wan, Chen Heng, and Liu Zhen celebrated the Daning Border Army’s growing reputation and praised Zhu Ying’s leadership and military record.
• Bu Wan noted that Zhu Ying’s achievements had earned him a Hereditary County Baron title and the Emperor’s attention.
• Bu Wan warned Chen Heng and Liu Zhen not to form private ties with the Huai West generals, whom he considered arrogant and politically dangerous.

Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao discussed Zhu Ying’s remarkable campaign and the Emperor’s plans to cultivate new generals. In Yingtian, Feng Sheng’s report revealed that Zhu Ying had killed the Jianzhou Tatar chieftain, stunning the assembled court as they awaited Zhu Yuanzhang’s decision on his reward.

• Zhu Di read a secret report detailing Zhu Ying’s victories against the Jianzhou Tatars, and Yao Guangxiao said Zhu Ying could become one of the Ming Dynasty’s foremost generals.
• Zhu Di realized Zhu Ying’s rise suited Zhu Yuanzhang’s desire to develop generals who could replace the Huai West commanders, and he wished Zhu Ying served in Beiping.
• Yao Guangxiao asked Zhu Di to obtain Zhu Ying’s birth date and eight characters so he could divine whether Zhu Ying might serve him in the future.
• Zhu Biao and the ministers discussed the Liaodong campaign and plans to restore governance and protect the people after the war.
• Yun Qi read Feng Sheng’s memorial stating that the Ming army had launched a two-pronged attack on Naha Chu and reporting that Zhu Ying had raided the Tatar tribal court and beheaded chieftain Aha Chu.
• The court fell silent after hearing of Zhu Ying’s achievements, while Feng Sheng’s request for a reward awaited Zhu Yuanzhang’s decision.

After Zhu Ying’s victories against the Tatars, Zhu Biao praised his achievements and arranged a promotion and rewards, leaving Zhu Ying’s unusual enlistment and Zhu Yunteng’s behavior as questions in the Eastern Palace.

• Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang praised Zhu Ying for killing the Tatar chieftain and breaching the tribal seat, with Zhu Biao comparing him to the Marquis of Victory.
• Zhu Biao proposed promoting Zhu Ying to Commander of the Thousand Households, placing him in command of ten thousand troops, and granting him gold, armor, a sword, and a bow; Zhu Yuanzhang approved.
• Zhu Biao wrote and sealed the decree himself, then ordered an official to send it to the Ministry of War for dispatch to Liaodong.
• Zhu Biao wondered why Zhu Ying, whose registered hometown was Beiping Prefecture, had enlisted in Daning Prefecture.
• Lu clan arrived with Zhu Yunwen and chicken soup; after learning that Zhu Yunteng had secluded himself and repeatedly missed the Imperial Academy, Zhu Biao listened as Lu clan explained his behavior.

Zhu Biao summoned Zhu Yunteng and rebuked him for missing lessons at the Imperial Academy, while favoring Zhu Yunwen’s diligence. Zhu Yunteng returned to his residence feeling abandoned and afraid that he would keep being bullied.

• Zhu Biao ordered Zhu Yunteng summoned, while Lu clan’s trusted maid warned Yun Yu to keep quiet about the late Crown Princess Consort.
• Zhu Yunteng entered the main hall trembling and explained little when Zhu Biao questioned him about missing Imperial Academy lessons.
• Zhu Biao ordered Lu clan to ensure Zhu Yunteng attended lessons and praised Zhu Yunwen for studying diligently.
• Zhu Biao questioned Lu clan about her visit to Lu Mansion and cautioned her against being misled into illegal dealings by merchants.
• Zhu Yunteng returned to Yun Yu in tears and asked whether he would keep being bullied, saying that his father did not like him.

Zhu Yunteng grieved over the family members he had lost while Yun Yu comforted him, and the Lu clan ordered Rong Lan to keep him under surveillance. In Liaodong, Fu Youde’s Ming forces struggled to take Jinzhou City until tens of thousands of Yuan cavalry suddenly charged a patrol west of the city.

• Zhu Yunteng blamed himself for his mother's death and believed he had brought misfortune upon his grandmother and elder brother, while Yun Yu urged him to live on.
• The Lu clan told Rong Lan to watch Zhu Yunteng closely and deal with Yun Yu if she became troublesome.
• Fu Youde’s army bombarded Jinzhou City and launched repeated assaults, but the Yuan defenders held firm and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Fu Youde ordered his troops to withdraw and sought a way to breach Jinzhou City’s gates rather than continue wasting soldiers in direct attacks.
• A Ming patrol west of Jinzhou City formed ranks after hearing approaching hoofbeats, then saw tens of thousands of Yuan cavalry bearing down on them.

Zhu Ying returned to Ming territory with nearly three thousand battered cavalrymen and thousands of captured horses after their campaign in the Northern Frontier. He and his soldiers reached Liaodong, where the Ming army recognized their victories and welcomed them home.

• Thousand Commander Wu Xiong recognized the approaching Ming battle banner and ordered his soldiers not to fire.
• Wu Xiong identified the returning force as Zhu Ying’s garrison battalion and sent word to General Fu.
• Zhu Ying stopped the charging horses near the Ming formation and rode forward to meet Wu Xiong.
• Wu Xiong saluted Zhu Ying and confirmed that they had reached Jincheng in Liaodong.
• Zhu Ying called to his brothers that he had brought them home, and nearly three thousand cavalrymen gathered behind him.