Chapter Summaries

Zhu Ying received the hereditary title of Count Champion for presenting Hemostatic Powder, and his soldiers celebrated as news of the honor spread. Lan Yu and Chang Mao resolved to petition against the title, while Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao considered how it would affect their plans.

• Zhu Ying asked Xiao Han to return to Huizhou City and reassure the two people waiting there that he was safe.
• Feng Sheng and Imperial Guards arrived, and the Crown Prince’s decree elevated Zhu Ying to Hereditary Count, awarded him the title Count Champion, and granted him wealth, a residence, and servants.
• Zhu Ying accepted the decree and pledged to defend his honorific, while Feng Sheng warned him that its prestige would bring heavy expectations.
• Chen Heng, Zhang Wu, Liu Lei, Xiao Han, and the Daning Border Army celebrated Zhu Ying’s new title.
• Lan Yu and Chang Mao, angered that Zhu Ying had received the title Champion, decided to gather memorials from Huai West commanders opposing it.
• In Beiping, Zhu Di recognized that the title bound Zhu Ying more closely to the Ming court, while Yao Guangxiao advised him to lie low and wait.

Naha Chu planned to use Tieling City as bait to destroy Lan Yu’s Ming army, while Lin Fu and Shen Yu’er learned that Zhu Ying was alive, had become a general, and had been named Count Champion. After assassins attacked them in Huizhou, Ming soldiers rescued them and prepared to escort them to Daning for safety.

• Naha Chu told Alishili that Yuan reinforcements would not come and entrusted him with Liaodong’s hundred thousand elite troops to lure Lan Yu toward Tieling City and destroy his army.
• Lin Fu asked Shen Yu’er what she would do if Zhu Ying had died and he sought revenge on the Shen Family, and Shen Yu’er vowed to stand with him.
• Four assassins disguised as servants attacked Lin Fu and Shen Yu’er at the Huizhou posthouse, but Ming soldiers arrived, killed three, and captured the last, who died by taking poison.
• Xiao Han returned and confirmed that Zhu Ying was alive, had risen to general, and had received a hereditary title, then announced that His Majesty had granted him the title Count Champion.
• A Hundred Commander said Zhu Ying’s family would be escorted to Daning Prefecture City because Huizhou was near the war zone and the assassination might have been ordered by the Northern Yuan.

After three months of Ming advances into Liaodong, Zhu Ying realized Naha Chu might be using Tieling as a trap to destroy Lan Yu’s army and warned him. Zhu Ying’s warning reached Chang Mao’s camp, where the generals were preparing to attack Tieling, leaving their response unresolved.

• Lin Fu and Shen Yu'er learned that the Shen Family had sent assassins to silence them, and Lin Fu reassured Shen Yu'er that Zhu Ying could protect them.
• The Ming armies captured cities across Liaodong while Fu Youde advanced toward Gai Prefecture and Lan Yu approached Tieling.
• Zhu Ying recognized that Naha Chu’s forces were yielding cities with weak garrisons, and concluded that Tieling might be bait for an ambush against Lan Yu.
• Zhu Ying sent Lan Yu a warning and ordered his troops to prepare to ride out and break the Yuan Army’s ambush if Lan Yu attacked regardless.
• Zhu Ying’s guards arrived at Chang Mao’s camp with urgent military intelligence as Chang Mao and his generals celebrated their planned assault on Tieling.

Zhu Ying warned Chang Mao that the Yuan Army was preparing an ambush at Tieling, but Chang Mao and Lan Yu’s other commanders dismissed the warning and prepared to attack. As Zhu Ying readied the Daning Border Army and opened treasure chests containing an Imperial Seal Treasure Map and steam engine blueprints, Alishili finalized Naha Chu’s plan to trap and burn the Ming Army inside Tieling; Lan Yu then advanced on the city, believing scouts had found no ambush.

• Cao De delivered Zhu Ying’s warning about a possible Yuan ambush at Tieling, but Chang Mao tore up the letter and dismissed it as an attempt to obstruct his campaign.
• Zhang Yu persuaded Chang Mao to send scouts to investigate, though Chang Mao ordered that the army’s planned attack would proceed regardless.
• Zhu Ying prepared his 20,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry to support Lan Yu if the Ming Army fell into an ambush, then opened three Tier 1 and four ordinary treasure chests and received an Imperial Seal Treasure Map, steam engine blueprints, gold, and other rewards.
• Alishili told the Yuan generals that Naha Chu planned to use Tieling as bait, burn the Ming forces inside the city, and strike Lan Yu’s central army with 100,000 elite troops; he also confined the generals’ families in Liaoyang and placed guards over the commanders.
• Lan Yu arrived beneath Tieling with nearly 100,000 troops, accepted Chang Mao’s report that scouts had found no troops outside the city, and prepared to attack.

Lan Yu’s Ming army fell into Naha Chu’s trap at Tieling, where the Yuan forces set the city ablaze and attacked from outside, nearly encircling them. Zhu Ying arrived with twenty thousand Daning cavalry and broke through the Yuan formation, while Lan Yu rallied his troops; Zhu Ying then charged straight at the Yuan cavalry commander Yexian Buhua.

• Chang Mao led the Ming vanguard into Tieling as Lan Yu ordered a full assault, while Alishili prepared an ambush devised by Naha Chu.
• After Ming troops pushed into the inner city, hidden Yuan soldiers set Tieling ablaze, trapping the armies and civilians in the spreading fire.
• Yuan cavalry attacked Lan Yu’s rear while Yuan infantry encircled the battlefield, leaving Lan Yu’s forces trapped and suffering heavy losses.
• Zhu Ying arrived with twenty thousand Daning cavalry and launched a surprise assault that tore through the Yuan formation.
• Lan Yu counterattacked to clear a route for troops escaping the city, while Alishili ordered the Yuan forces to tighten their encirclement.
• Zhu Ying charged toward Yexian Buhua, whose guards rushed forward to intercept him.

Zhu Ying broke the Yuan Army’s encirclement of Lan Yu and the trapped Ming forces, then led the counterattack that defeated Alishili’s army. After killing Alishili, Zhu Ying ordered Zhang Wu and Liu Zhen to seize cities east of Tieling while disguised as routed Yuan soldiers.

• Zhu Ying killed Yexian Buhua and shattered the Yuan cavalry’s encirclement, rescuing Lan Yu and the Ming troops trapped near Tieling.
• Zhu Ying’s attributes surpassed 4,000, and Daning cavalry and infantry counter-encircled the Yuan Army under Alishili.
• Alishili ordered a withdrawal toward Liaoyang, while Zhu Ying rallied the Ming forces to pursue and destroy the retreating Yuan troops.
• Zhu Ying explained that he had inferred Naha Chu’s plan from the Yuan Army’s depleted garrisons, and Alishili acknowledged his defeat before charging him.
• Zhu Ying killed Alishili and routed the remaining Yuan soldiers, then ordered Zhang Wu and Liu Zhen to capture cities east of Tieling in disguise.

After Zhu Ying’s Daning Border Army rescued Lan Yu’s forces at Tieling, the Ming commanders counted devastating losses and acknowledged Zhu Ying’s decisive role. Feng Sheng promised to petition for Zhu Ying’s reward, while Lan Yu accepted responsibility for the defeat; the chapter ended with Hu Hai complaining that they would no longer be able to hold their heads high before Zhu Ying.

• Lan Yu learned that his army had suffered nearly forty thousand casualties, with more than twenty thousand dead, after the Yuan Army set Tieling ablaze.
• Zhu Ying entered the command tent, rebuked Hu Hai for accusing him of coming to mock the defeated army, and Feng Sheng confirmed that he had summoned Zhu Ying.
• Lan Yu, Zhang Yu, and more than a dozen generals thanked Zhu Ying for rescuing them, while Feng Sheng praised the Daning Border Army and condemned Hu Hai’s ingratitude.
• Zhu Ying revealed that he had killed Alishili, and Feng Sheng ordered the battle’s losses and results reported accurately to Yingtian while saying Lan Yu must answer for the devastation.
• Feng Sheng promised to petition for Zhu Ying’s reward and personally thanked him for saving the army; afterward, Lan Yu accepted responsibility for the defeat.
• In Lan Yu’s tent, Hu Hai complained about Zhu Ying’s growing prestige, while Lan Yu said surviving the battle was already a blessing.

After Zhu Ying’s victory at Tieling earned him a promised promotion and the Northern Peace Army’s gratitude, he opened eight treasure chests and gained a Golden Eagle whose vision he could share. As Zhu Ying prepared to continue marching toward Liaoyang, Naha Chu learned that his 150,000 troops had been defeated.

• Lan Yu warned Hu Hai not to provoke Zhu Ying after his rescue of their army, while admitting he admired Zhu Ying’s decisive character.
• Bu Wan praised Zhu Ying’s victory, promised to recommend him as Daning Commander, and discussed the campaign’s next advance toward Liaoyang.
• Zhu Ying told Bu Wan that the Ming Dynasty would likely launch a later expedition against the Yuan Court, then received Zhang Yu and Northern Peace Army generals who thanked him for saving them.
• Zhu Ying opened four ordinary and four Tier 1 treasure chests, gaining supplies, martial arts rewards, Bone Tempering Powder and its formula, skill points, and a Golden Eagle spirit pet.
• Zhu Ying discovered that he could share the Golden Eagle’s vision and command it, then planned to continue marching east the next day.
• Naha Chu learned that his 150,000 troops had lost the Battle of Tieling and reacted with shock and terror.

After Zhu Ying’s intervention turned the battle of Tieling against Naha Chu, Zhu Di learned that Zhu Ying’s native place was Beiping and suspected that someone had sent him to Daning to get him killed. In Ying Tian, the court received news of Lan Yu’s defeat and heavy losses, and Zhu Yuanzhang moved to punish him as Zhu Biao argued for restraint.

• Guantong reported that Zhu Ying had broken Naha Chu’s encirclement at Tieling, killed Alishili, and helped defeat the Yuan army; Naha Chu ordered his surviving troops to gather at Liaoyang and prepared to fight on.
• Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao discussed Zhu Ying’s Beiping native place and suspected that powerful people had deliberately sent him to enlist in dangerous Daning; they planned to investigate and bring him under Beiping’s command.
• An urgent dispatch from Liaodong reached Zhu Yuanzhang, reporting that Lan Yu’s army had fallen into Naha Chu’s trap at Tieling before Zhu Ying’s Daning Border Army rescued it and counter-encircled the Yuan forces.
• Zhu Biao told the court that Lan Yu’s forces had suffered nearly thirty thousand deaths and more than twenty thousand wounded, prompting officials to demand punishment for Lan Yu.
• Zhu Yuanzhang declared that Lan Yu must be punished, while Zhu Biao urged him to impose only a light penalty so the army’s morale would not suffer.

After the court praised Zhu Ying and the Daning Border Army for saving Lan Yu’s forces at Tieling, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered rewards for the soldiers and a one-year pay dock for Lan Yu. Zhu Ying reached Liaoyang ahead of the main Ming army, where Naha Chu refused to take his bait; the assembled Ming commanders then prepared to attack the city, and Feng Sheng delivered the imperial decrees.

• Zhu Yuanzhang docked Lan Yu’s pay for one year and postponed Zhu Ying’s full reward until Liaodong was pacified, while ordering commendations and pensions for the Daning soldiers.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Feng Sheng to capture Naha Chu if possible and kill him if not, as Goryeo sent Yi Seong-gye’s army to reinforce Liaoyang.
• Zhu Ying arrived outside Liaoyang with nearly twenty thousand cavalry, challenged Naha Chu with an arrow-borne message, and failed to lure the Yuan army out of the city.
• Naha Chu ordered Liaoyang sealed and its forces to hold the city, while Zhu Ying withdrew to camp and waited for the Ming main force.
• Feng Sheng assigned attacks on Liaoyang’s gates to Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and the Daning Border Army, and announced that whoever captured or killed Naha Chu would earn the foremost merit.
• Feng Sheng presented Bu Wan and Zhu Ying with imperial commendations, then read Lan Yu’s decree docking his pay for a year and allowing him to redeem himself through service.

The Ming army launched its decisive assault on Liaoyang, and Zhu Ying’s Daning Border Army broke through a city gate and drove into the city. Zhu Ying used Golden Eagle’s vision to locate Naha Chu’s residence, where Naha Chu refused to surrender and prepared to fight.

• Feng Sheng ended the council after warning Lan Yu to be more cautious, and the Ming army rested for the decisive battle.
• Naha Chu ordered his fewer than one hundred thousand troops to defend all four gates and make the battle a fight to the death.
• Feng Sheng began the four-gate assault with cannon fire, while Zhu Ying led Daning cavalry in a charge that shattered a gate and broke into Liaoyang.
• Zhu Ying and his troops fought through the city, killed the defending Yuan commander, and routed the soldiers at the northern gate.
• Zhu Ying shared Golden Eagle’s vision, found the Grand Commandant’s residence, and led the Ming forces there to surround Naha Chu and his personal guards.
• Zhu Ying offered Naha Chu a chance to surrender, but Naha Chu rejected it and prepared to fight.

Zhu Ying slew Naha Chu during the Ming assault on Liaoyang, earning the campaign’s greatest military merit as the city fell and Feng Sheng ordered the victory reported to the emperor. Zhu Ying privately resolved to find Naha Chu’s hidden treasure and, after the war, confront the Shen Family, while his officers anticipated his appointment as Daning Commander.

• Zhu Ying led the Ming troops in a fierce attack, killed Naha Chu, and raised his head to rally the soldiers against the remaining Yuan guards.
• A scout told Feng Sheng that Zhu Ying had slain Naha Chu and captured the Grand Commandant’s residence, prompting Feng Sheng to order an all-out assault on Liaoyang.
• The Ming Army took Liaoyang within a day, and Feng Sheng praised Zhu Ying, ordered Naha Chu’s head and the battle report sent to the emperor, and assigned Lan Yu to recover the eastern towns.
• Fu Youde noted that Naha Chu’s residence contained no gold or silver, so Feng Sheng ordered an investigation; Zhu Ying privately decided to use Naha Chu’s treasure map to find the hidden wealth.
• Bu Wan and Zhu Ying’s officers celebrated the victory, discussed Zhu Ying’s expected appointment as Daning Commander, and arranged to attend his housewarming banquet after the war.
• Zhu Ying remembered the Shen Family’s attempts on his life and the lives of Uncle Lin and Shen Yu'er, and resolved to settle that blood debt after the Liaodong campaign ended.

After securing Liaoyang, Zhu Ying opened his campaign rewards, while Zhu Di considered how to recruit him and the Shen Family learned that Zhu Ying was the general they had tried to eliminate. Shen Wansan ordered the family to relocate to Yingtian, keep a northern branch, and remove those who knew of their plot against Zhu Ying.

• Zhu Ying opened nine treasure chests, gaining martial skills, military and industrial manuals, and a map of the Ming Empire and its neighboring states.
• Zhu Ying learned the Eight Extremes Fist and Berserk skills and reviewed his improved attributes after the Liaodong campaign.
• Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao discussed Zhu Ying's role in the victory and planned to investigate his background and win him over.
• Shen Rong revealed to Shen Wansan that Zhu Ying had risen to become the Count Champion, and the Shen family feared his retaliation for their past schemes.
• Shen Wansan ordered the Shen Family to begin relocating to Yingtian the next day, while Shen Wang stayed behind to manage their northern businesses.
• Shen Wansan told his sons to deal with every family member who knew they had sent Zhu Ying to Daning, so Zhu Ying would lack evidence against them.

A dispatch rider reported that Zhu Ying’s forces had captured Liaoyang, killed Naha Chu, and brought Liaodong close to complete recovery. Zhu Yuanzhang credited the campaign to Zhu Biao and ordered the Crown Prince’s achievement proclaimed, then agreed that Zhu Ying and the soldiers who distinguished themselves should be rewarded.

• A dispatch rider arrived in Yingtian with news of a great victory in Liaodong, and the people celebrated the territory’s imminent recovery.
• Yun Qi read Feng Sheng’s report to the court, describing Zhu Ying’s capture of Liaoyang, the death of Naha Chu, and the surrender of the Yuan Army there.
• Zhu Yuanzhang declined to inspect Naha Chu’s head and ordered that the defeated general be buried.
• Zhu Yuanzhang declared that Zhu Biao deserved the credit for restoring Liaodong, and the ministers agreed to record the Crown Prince’s achievement in history.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Lu Ben to prepare an edict proclaiming Zhu Biao’s achievement throughout the realm.
• Zhu Biao requested rewards for the Liaodong generals and soldiers, and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to reward Zhu Ying, the Daning Border Army, and all who distinguished themselves.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao rewarded Zhu Ying for his service in Liaodong and discussed how to govern the newly pacified region. After the court session, Zhu Yuanzhang revealed that he intended to turn against Northern Yuan once Liaodong was secure, while urging Zhu Biao to build a prosperous Ming Dynasty.

• Zhu Biao recommended Zhu Ying as Garrison Commander of Daning Guard, and Zhu Yuanzhang approved the appointment, a thousand taels of gold, and a residence called Champion Residence.
• Zhu Yuanzhang heard proposals to reorganize Liaodong's nearly 200,000 surrendered soldiers, ordered Feng Sheng to develop a plan, and decided the troops would remain in Liaodong until the region was fully pacified.
• Zhu Yuanzhang directed the court to arrange compensation for casualties, appoint officials to Liaodong, and consider tax relief for its people.
• After the court dispersed, Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Biao that he hoped he would rule as Ming's Emperor Wen and govern with benevolence.
• Zhu Yuanzhang explained that Liaodong's pacification would remove Northern Yuan's strategic foothold and prepare Ming to confront its true enemy; Zhu Biao pledged not to disappoint his father.

Zhu Ying found and emptied Naha Chu’s hidden treasure vault, then led his four hundred guards to confront Yi Seong-gye’s approaching Goryeo army at the Liaodong border. Yi Seong-gye withdrew after his officers urged him not to provoke the Ming, while Zhu Ying recognized his future ambition to establish Joseon.

• Zhu Ying followed Naha Chu’s map into the mountains and discovered an underground vault filled with gold, silver, jewels, and jade.
• Zhu Ying collected the entire hoard into his storage space and returned to his guards.
• Xiao Han reported that a Goryeo army was approaching Liaodong, and Zhu Ying rode to meet it with his four hundred personal guards.
• Yi Seong-gye halted his ten thousand cavalry after Zhu Ying’s warning and threatened to enter Liaodong, but his deputy and other generals urged him to withdraw.
• Yi Seong-gye turned his army back toward Goryeo, and Zhu Ying recognized him as the future founder of Joseon.

After the Ming army completed the recovery of Liaodong, Zhu Ying attended a victory banquet where Lan Yu noticed that he resembled the late Zhu Xiongying. Feng Sheng announced the victory and an imperial reward for the army, while an important guest from Yingtian was expected to arrive.

• Zhu Ying let Yi Seong-gye and the Goryeo army retreat rather than risk his four hundred soldiers or destabilize Liaodong, then set out to claim Naha Chu's weapons and armor.
• Half a month later, Zhu Ying stood in the snow in Liaoyang and learned that the Great General had summoned him; he told Liu Lei to prepare the border army to return to Daning.
• At the victory banquet, Bu Wan said the court's reward edict might make Zhu Ying the Daning Commander, while Chang Mao complained to Lan Yu about Zhu Ying's growing status.
• Lan Yu studied Zhu Ying and told Chang Mao that he resembled Zhu Xiongying as a child, but Chang Mao rejected the comparison and reminded him that Xiongying was dead.
• Feng Sheng arrived and announced that every city in Liaodong had been captured, then declared that the Emperor had lifted the army's alcohol ban so the soldiers could celebrate.

At the victory banquet for reclaiming Liaodong, Zhu Ying received promotion to Daning Commander and authority over the Daning Border Army, along with orders to oversee promotions for meritorious soldiers. Tie Xuan also delivered the court’s plan to reorganize surrendered troops into three guards, while Bu Wan considered returning to Daning and leaving the army’s affairs to Zhu Ying.

• Feng Sheng hosted a victory banquet, where Zhang Yu toasted Zhu Ying and the generals celebrated the end of the campaign.
• Tie Xuan arrived as Liaodong’s new prefect and presented an edict promoting Zhu Ying to Daning Commander and placing the Daning Border Army under his command.
• Tie Xuan delivered a second edict authorizing Zhu Ying to work with the garrison’s military commissioner to recommend promotions based on merit.
• Tie Xuan announced that most of the forces in Liaodong had to remain there and that the court ordered nearly two hundred thousand surrendered soldiers to be reorganized into three guards.
• Back at camp, Bu Wan lamented the administrative work awaiting him in Daning, and Zhu Ying offered to handle the border army affairs so Bu Wan could return sooner.

After becoming Commander of the Daning Border Army, Zhu Ying received a powerful authority seal and several treasure chest rewards before attending a meeting on reorganizing surrendered Yuan soldiers. He learned that his army could return to Daning the next day, while Feng Sheng defended Zhu Ying’s rise from insinuations by the Huai West generals.

• Bu Wan handed Zhu Ying the Commander’s official seal and happily relinquished responsibility for military affairs.
• Zhu Ying condensed the Daning Commander Authority Seal, which doubled his soldiers’ combat strength, morale, and endurance, then opened two ordinary treasure chests and one Tier 1 chest.
• At Feng Sheng’s meeting, Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and other generals proposed measures to control the surrendered soldiers, and Zhu Ying recommended separating the three guards and tightly limiting their grain supplies.
• Feng Sheng told Zhu Ying and Zhang Yu that their armies could return to Daning and Beiping the next day, and the two generals prepared to leave.
• Chang Mao asked whether Lan Yu might be made a Duke, but Feng Sheng said Lan Yu’s merits would likely only offset his mistake at Tieling, while the Crown Prince’s intervention had spared him harsher punishment.
• Hu Hai questioned Zhu Ying’s rapid rise, and Feng Sheng defended his achievements; Chang Mao then challenged Feng Sheng over the effect Zhu Ying would have on Huai West.

Chang Mao’s outburst against the court’s treatment of Huai West was silenced by Feng Sheng’s warning that even powerful founding families could face death. In Beiping, Zhu Di uncovered how the Shen Family had arranged to send Zhu Ying to Daning, passed the findings to him, and then reflected with Yao Guangxiao on the Emperor’s favor toward the Crown Prince, ending with his belief that only his eldest brother truly counted as their father’s son.

• Chang Mao voiced his resentment before the Huai West generals, and Feng Sheng reminded them that Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong had been destroyed and warned that imperial power could bring them the same fate.
• Jin Zhong reported that Zhu Ying had originally been registered in Northern Peace Prefecture, but a recruiting officer had taken bribes from the Shen Family to enlist him in Daning and falsify his records.
• Zhu Di learned that the Shen Family had sought to avoid a marriage agreement with Zhu Ying and married their daughter to Lu Hao; he ordered the recruiting officer sent to Daning for punishment and the investigation’s findings delivered to Zhu Ying.
• Fang Bishou brought Zhu Di a Ministry of Rites proclamation and discussed replenishing the Northern Peace Army after the Liaodong campaign.
• Yao Guangxiao told Zhu Di that the Emperor had granted the Crown Prince exceptional prestige through the Liaodong victory, and Zhu Di said that perhaps only his eldest brother truly counted as their father’s son.