Chapter Summaries

Zhu Biao established tax relief, land redistribution, judicial measures, and troop deployments to integrate Liaodong into Ming, then began planning the next campaign against Northern Yuan. Meanwhile, Zhu Ying returned to Daning, where more than a hundred thousand citizens gathered to welcome him, leaving him astonished by their admiration.

• Zhu Di vowed to prove himself to Zhu Yuanzhang, while Yao Guangxiao predicted that governing Liaodong and campaigning against Northern Yuan would give him a chance to distinguish himself.
• Zhu Biao approved Liaodong tax relief, ordered officials to punish abuses by Northern Yuan nobles, and directed that land be measured and distributed to commoners.
• After reviewing the reorganization proposals, Zhu Biao assigned the three reorganized guards to Huizhou, the Goryeo border, and north of Jincheng, then sent his decree to the Ministry of War.
• Zhu Biao turned his attention to planning the next campaign against Northern Yuan after Liaodong had been settled.
• Bu Wan arranged for Lin Fu and Shen Yu'er to await Zhu Ying's return, while Daning's citizens poured out of the city to welcome him of their own accord.
• Zhu Ying arrived with seven hundred cavalrymen, and Liu Lei explained that the people regarded him as their guardian hero; Zhu Ying looked on in surprise at the immense welcome.

Zhu Ying returned to Daning, reunited with Lin Fu and Shen Yu'er, and settled into the residence granted to him by the emperor. He began planning to recruit refugees and secretly train deathsworn, leaving the story with his preparations to build a loyal force and take revenge on the Shen Family.

• More than a hundred thousand commoners welcomed Zhu Ying to Daning, where he reunited with Lin Fu and embraced Shen Yu'er, promising to protect her and marry her.
• Zhu Ying thanked the gathered people, then declined Bu Wan's banquet invitation and went to his residence with Lin Fu, Shen Yu'er, and his seven hundred personal guards.
• Zhu Ying vowed to repay the Shen Family for its attempt on his life and assured Lin Fu and Shen Yu'er that they would be safe in Daning.
• Zhu Ying gave Lin Fu a medicinal prescription and ordered him to recruit willing refugees under fifteen, while promising to care for Shen Yu'er.
• Zhu Ying ordered Liu Lei to find a secluded place and secretly recruit young refugees to train as deathsworn loyal to him.
• Zhu Ying planned to strengthen his personal guards with the Iron Body Technique and Bone Tempering Powder, while resolving to destroy the Shen Family.

Zhu Ying demonstrated his strength, taught his seven hundred personal guards the Iron Body Cultivation Method, and used Bone Refining Powder to begin strengthening them. As he planned to build a larger force, visitors from the Prince of Yan's Manor in Northern Peace arrived with a black-covered carriage.

• Shen Yu'er spent the night with Zhu Ying before he quietly left her sleeping the next morning.
• Zhu Ying assembled his seven hundred personal guards, shattered a stone lion with one punch, and offered to teach them his cultivation method in exchange for their loyalty.
• The guards pledged to serve Zhu Ying and their descendants became his household retainers; they memorized the Iron Body Cultivation Method diagrams, which Zhu Ying then had burned.
• Zhu Ying gave the guards an additional five taels of silver each month and used Bone Refining Powder medicinal baths to strengthen them.
• Zhu Ying planned to train deathsworn and later retrieve hidden weapons and armor, but Lin Fu told him that visitors from the Prince of Yan's Manor in Northern Peace had arrived with a black-covered carriage.

Zhu Neng delivered Prince Yan Zhu Di’s goodwill to Zhu Ying by handing over Li Tao, the corrupt recruitment officer who had arranged for Zhu Ying to be sent to Daning, and an investigation report on the Shen Family. After killing Li Tao, Zhu Ying planned his wedding to Shen Yu'er and returned to official duties, where he reviewed military casualties and recruitment matters.

• Zhu Neng told Zhu Ying that Prince Yan had investigated how he was sent to Daning and handed over Li Tao, the recruitment officer who had taken bribes to arrange it.
• Zhu Ying read Zhu Di’s investigation report, learned that the Shen Family had left no conclusive evidence, and thanked Zhu Di for the favor.
• Zhu Ying executed Li Tao, then told Lin Fu that the Shen Family remained his true target and instructed him to prepare for Zhu Ying’s wedding to Shen Yu'er.
• Zhu Ying ordered returning commanders to come to Daning City so he could distribute their rewards, then went to the Prefectural Yamen at Bu Wan’s summons.
• Huang Yao reported that the border army’s casualty records needed Zhu Ying’s seal before compensation could be issued and that replacement troops had to be recruited.

Zhu Ying received an imperial edict reorganizing surrendered Liaodong troops into a fifty-thousand-man guard under his military command, while the court covered its expenses and his meritorious soldiers received promotions. He married Shen Yu'er in a feast at the Daning camp, where Lin Fu gave them jade pendants left by Zhu Ying's parents, and the story ended with the newlyweds holding the family heirlooms.

• Bu Wan gave Zhu Ying an imperial edict establishing a fifty-thousand-man guard from surrendered Liaodong troops in Huizhou, with the court supplying its expenses and Daning Border Army officers filling most posts.
• Zhu Ying approved Huang Yao's promotion roster and settled military affairs with Bu Wan, then invited Bu Wan to his wedding and explained that Lin Fu was his only remaining family.
• Zhu Ying announced promotions for Chen Heng, Zhang Wu, Wei Quan, Zhuang Wei, and other commanders, then invited his generals to celebrate his wedding at the barracks.
• Bu Wan presided over Zhu Ying and Shen Yu'er's wedding before the soldiers, and the newlyweds bowed to heaven and earth, Lin Fu, and each other before serving him tea.
• Lin Fu gave Zhu Ying and Shen Yu'er the jade pendants carved with “Yu” and “Huai,” which Zhu Ying's parents had left for them.

Zhu Ying celebrated his wedding to Shen Yu'er with his border soldiers, honoring fallen comrades and those still stationed at the frontier. In Beiping, Zhu Di learned of the marriage and lost his chance to arrange a match for Zhu Ying, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao also received the news in Yingtian.

• Lin Fu reflected that he had fulfilled his late madam's charge by seeing Zhu Ying marry, and vowed to devote the rest of his life to caring for him.
• Zhu Ying thanked his soldiers for their wedding blessings, offered three bowls of wine to fallen comrades, border troops, and the men gathered at the feast, then invited them to celebrate freely.
• Zhu Ying lifted Shen Yu'er's bridal veil and affirmed her as his wife.
• Zhu Di welcomed Zhang Yu back from Liaodong and asked him about Zhu Ying, whose courage and loyalty impressed Zhang Yu.
• Zhu Di considered arranging a marriage alliance for Zhu Ying, but Jin Zhong reported that Zhu Ying had already taken Shen Yu'er as his principal wife.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao received news of Zhu Ying's marriage in Wenyuan Pavilion and pondered it in silence.

In Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed the marriage plans they had lost with Zhu Ying and mapped out a future campaign against Northern Yuan. Jiang Yan then revealed that the Shen Family had arranged Zhu Ying’s dangerous assignment to Daning to escape a marriage agreement, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang demanding to know what would happen to the Shen Family.

• Zhu Yuanzhang accepted Zhu Ying’s marriage to Shen Yu'er and told Zhu Biao to send a generous imperial wedding gift.
• Zhu Biao proposed Lan Yu for the next Northern Yuan campaign, and Zhu Yuanzhang chose Guo Ying to lead, with Lan Yu as his deputy and Zhu Di as a commanding general.
• Jiang Yan reported that Shen Yu'er was Shen Wansan’s daughter but had been raised as a servant, and that her mother and true origins remained unknown.
• Jiang Yan revealed that the Shen Family had bribed a recruiting officer to send Zhu Ying from Beiping to Daning so he might die and their marriage agreement would end.
• Jiang Yan said Prince of Yan had uncovered the scheme, punished the recruiting officer, and implicated his entire clan; Zhu Yuanzhang then asked what had happened to the Shen Family.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Imperial Guard to watch the Shen Family after learning that the investigation into their role in Zhu Ying’s transfer found no proof. Zhu Biao canceled Zhu Ying’s proposed marriage to Lu clan’s daughter, while Lu clan and Lu Ben discussed using the Shen Family’s wealth and warned Lu Hao to avoid reckless actions.

• Jiang Yan told Zhu Yuanzhang that the Prince of Yan and the Imperial Guard had found no evidence tying the Shen Family to the recruiting officer’s abuses, so Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Imperial Guard to monitor them and punish any future crimes.
• Zhu Yuanzhang warned Zhu Biao that merchants could use wealth to corrupt officials and gain power, while Zhu Biao said he intended to reform the Imperial Guard when he ruled.
• Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang discussed the Shen Family’s broken marriage arrangement, Zhu Ying’s success with the Daning Border Army, and Zhu Di’s disappointment at losing a promising commander for the Northern Peace Army.
• Zhu Biao told Lu clan that Zhu Ying had married and that their marriage arrangement was canceled; Lu clan concealed her relief and sent Rong Lin to warn her father about Zhu Biao’s mention of her elder brother.
• Lu Ben questioned Lu Hao about his conduct, warned him not to endanger Yun Wen’s future, and discussed exploiting the Shen Family’s wealth while distrusting their ambitions.

Zhu Ying expanded his plans for recruiting and training deathsworn, received generous wedding gifts from Zhu Biao, and learned that Shen Yu'er was pregnant. He opened three treasure chests and gained two brewing methods and a military formation, leaving him eager to put the rewards to use.

• Zhu Ying inspected Liu Lei's hidden forest stronghold, approved continued recruitment across Daning Prefecture, and ordered loyal deathsworn trained under Xiao Han.
• Zhu Ying received Zhu Biao's wedding gifts and an ordinary treasure chest from Golden Guard commander Luo Yang, then discussed plans for the distillery and taverns with Lin Fu.
• Zhu Ying learned that Shen Yu'er was pregnant and ordered the household to care for her.
• Zhu Ying opened two ordinary treasure chests and a Tier 1 treasure chest, obtaining the Distilled Winemaking Method, Fine Medicinal Wine Brewing Method, and Yellow Tier Low-grade Dragon Gate Trapping and Killing Military Formation.

Zhu Ying celebrated Lunar New Year with his guards and Shen Yu'er in Daning, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao attended a stiff palace banquet that reminded them of their lost family. The chapter ended with them arriving outside Kunning Palace to pay respects to Empress Ma and Zhu Xiongying.

• Zhu Ying discovered the Dragon Gate Formation in a treasure chest and planned to recover and train his troops while awaiting the Emperor's campaign against the Northern Yuan.
• Zhu Ying hosted a Lunar New Year's Eve feast for his seven hundred guards, declaring that his residence was their home, then celebrated the new year with Shen Yu'er.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao began the imperial family banquet in Ying Tian, and Zhu Yuanzhang asked why Zhu Biao had not brought Yunteng and his sisters.
• Zhu Yuanzhang remembered an earlier Lunar New Year's Eve when Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, Crown Princess Consort Chang, and Zhu Xiongying had filled the hall with warmth and laughter.
• After the present-day banquet ended, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang went to pay respects to Empress Ma and Zhu Xiongying at Kunning Palace.
• Zhu Yuanzhang admitted that he often missed the palace but feared entering it, and Zhu Biao comforted him as they stood outside.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao paid their respects to Empress Ma, Chang, and Zhu Xiongying before a tense family banquet exposed the Lu clan’s ambition for Zhu Yunwen to become heir. In Daning, Zhu Ying handed the trained Huizhou Guard to Mu Sheng and rushed home when he learned Shen Yu'er was in labor; the chapter ended with a newborn’s cry.

• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao entered Kunning Palace and mourned before the spirit tablets of their loved ones.
• At the Eastern Palace family banquet, the Lu clan resented the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children and vowed to make Zhu Yunwen the legitimate heir.
• Zhu Ying reviewed the disciplined drills of the fifty thousand reorganized surrendered soldiers and complained that Huizhou Guard’s commander had not arrived.
• Mu Sheng arrived with his appointment as Garrison Commander, and Zhu Ying entrusted Huizhou Guard and its training program to him.
• Xiao Han reported that Shen Yu'er was about to give birth, so Zhu Ying hurried back to Daning City.
• Zhu Ying reached the Zhu Residence, where a newborn’s cry came from Shen Yu'er's bedchamber.

Zhu Ying welcomed his first son, named him Zhu Xi, and discovered that the family panel had granted the child the Governance talent. Meanwhile, the court prepared for a spring campaign against the Northern Yuan, and the chapter ended with Zhu Yuanzhang telling Zhu Biao that Zhu Ying had an heir.

• Shen Yu'er safely gave birth to a son, and Zhu Ying named him Zhu Xi.
• Zhu Ying unlocked the descendant and family panels, accepted a random talent assignment, and Zhu Xi received Governance.
• Bu Wan congratulated Zhu Ying and gave him a record showing supplies for three hundred thousand troops were being sent to Daning and Beiping for a likely spring campaign.
• Zhu Di learned that Zhu Ying's son had been born and ordered a generous gift sent to Daning.
• Tang Duo, Zhao Mian, Chen Jing, and Shen Jin reported on troop replenishment and Liaodong's recovery and administration to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.
• Zhu Yuanzhang celebrated Liaodong's integration and told Zhu Biao that Zhu Ying had an heir.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed Zhu Ying’s military success and planned to summon him to Yingtian after the Northern Yuan campaign, while ensuring his family remained under court oversight. In the Eastern Palace, Lan Yu warned Lu clan not to let her son seek what belonged to the legitimate heir, then asked Zhu Biao to let him take Zhu Yunteng to the military camp for training, leaving Zhu Biao undecided and Lu clan anxious.

• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao agreed that Zhu Ying should be summoned to Yingtian after Northern Yuan was settled and that his family should remain there to keep his military power in check.
• Lan Yu arrived at the Eastern Palace, insulted Lu clan’s status as a concubine, and demanded to see Zhu Yunteng.
• Lan Yu warned Lu clan that her son must not covet what belonged to the legitimate heir, then urged the timid Zhu Yunteng to remember his status and speak up if anyone bullied him.
• Zhu Biao arrived, dismissed Zhu Yunteng to his studies, and listened as Lan Yu asked to take Zhu Yunteng to the military camp for training.
• Zhu Biao considered Lan Yu’s request without deciding, while Lu clan grew anxious.

Zhu Biao denied Zhu Yunteng a place in Lan Yu’s army, then offered Lan Yu a chance to earn a dukedom in the Northern Yuan campaign. In Daning, Zhu Ying expanded the Black Guard and prepared his forces after an imperial decree ordered the Daning Border Army to assemble in Beiping Prefecture.

• The Lu clan persuaded Zhu Biao to keep Zhu Yunteng in the Imperial Academy, disappointing Lan Yu and leaving Zhu Yunteng under her care.
• Lan Yu asked to command the campaign against the Northern Yuan, and Zhu Biao assigned him an army while promising to recommend him for a dukedom if he distinguished himself.
• Zhu Ying reviewed the Black Guard’s newly trained third batch and ordered it to expand into Beiping Prefecture and attack Shen Family caravans outside Daning.
• Zhu Ying celebrated Lunar New Year with Shen Yu'er and their infant Zhu Xi, anticipating that war would come in the new year.
• An Imperial Envoy delivered an edict ordering Zhu Ying to deploy the Daning Border Army to Beiping Prefecture, and Zhu Ying ordered the Thousand-Household Battalions to assemble there.

Zhu Ying mobilized the Daning Border Army for the Northern Expedition, while the Ming court appointed commanders and prepared a force of more than four hundred thousand troops. As Zhu Ying approached Beiping, Zhu Di and Li Jinglong went out to meet him, with Zhu Di eager to see the renowned young general.

• Zhu Ying ordered the Daning Border Army to march for Beiping, said farewell to Shen Yu'er and their son, and led twenty thousand soldiers out of camp.
• Zhao Mian and Tang Duo reported that provisions, weapons, and military supplies had reached the expeditionary forces, while Zhu Biao announced Guo Ying, Lan Yu, and Zhu Di as commanders of the two armies, with Li Jinglong serving under Zhu Di.
• Zhu Di learned that the Daning Border Army and Mu Sheng's troops were approaching Beiping, and confided to Zhang Yu that he resented having a deputy commander assigned to him.
• Li Jinglong arrived at Zhu Di's camp with a command tally, and Zhu Di welcomed him warmly before they discussed their roles in the campaign.
• A guard reported that Zhu Ying had reached the prefectural border with the Daning vanguard, and Zhu Di and Li Jinglong went out to meet him.

Zhu Ying arrived with the Daning Border Army and met Zhu Di and Li Jinglong ahead of the Northern Expedition. Zhu Di was shaken by how closely Zhu Ying’s eyes resembled his dead nephew Zhu Xiongying’s, while Zhu Ying learned that the army would be led by Guo Ying, with Lan Yu and Zhu Di commanding separate forces.

• Zhu Ying halted his twenty thousand cavalry outside the Northern Peace Army camp, impressing Zhu Di and Li Jinglong with their discipline and battle-hardened presence.
• Zhu Di saw Zhu Ying’s face and was stunned by his resemblance to Zhu Xiongying, but recovered and warmly greeted him.
• Zhu Di introduced Li Jinglong as deputy commander, and Zhu Ying privately worried that Li Jinglong’s poor military ability could endanger the campaign.
• Zhang Yu led Zhu Ying to arrange the Daning Border Army’s camp, and Zhu Ying asked who would command the Northern Expedition.
• Zhang Yu explained that Guo Ying would be Great General, with Lan Yu and Zhu Di commanding the two armies and Chang Mao and Li Jinglong serving as their deputies.
• Zhu Ying reflected that defeating the Northern Yuan would not end the threat to the Ming frontier and recalled the future damage of Zhu Qizhen’s Tumu Crisis.

Zhu Ying opened three treasure chests and ordered Liu Lei to prepare their poison and combat-enhancing formulas for the Black Guard. Meanwhile, Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao discussed Zhu Ying’s resemblance to the dead Imperial Eldest Grandson, and the chapter ended with them observing the Daning Border Army’s disciplined morning drill before the Northern Expedition.

• Zhu Ying told Zhang Yu that the Northern Expedition offered a chance to earn military merit, while privately setting his sights on Fenglangjuxu and the Imperial Seal.
• Zhu Ying opened three treasure chests, obtaining 100 Fine Steel Sabers and formulas for Throat Seal Poison and Blood Burst Powder, then ordered Liu Lei to have the Black Guard prepare and carry them.
• Zhu Di told Yao Guangxiao that Zhu Ying’s eyes reminded him of Zhu Xiongying, and Yao Guangxiao asked to meet Zhu Ying to examine his features and fate.
• Zhu Di agreed to summon Zhu Ying to the camp the next day, while Yao Guangxiao insisted that Zhu Xiongying was dead and that Zhu Di would still gain the white hat he had promised.
• Zhu Ying led his personal guards and the Daning Border Army in their morning drill, startling the neighboring Northern Peace Army with their battle cries and synchronized running.
• Li Jinglong told Zhu Di that the Daning Border Army trained every day in all weather, from Zhu Ying down to the common soldiers, leaving Zhu Di astonished.

Zhu Di summoned Zhu Ying to meet Yao Guangxiao, who examined Zhu Ying’s supposed fate while Zhu Ying concealed his real birth date. Zhu Ying then negotiated a discreet wine-selling arrangement with Zhu Di, leaving their cooperation poised to expand into Beiping Prefecture.

• Zhu Di praised Zhu Ying’s practice of training alongside his soldiers, then ordered him to come to the tent after breakfast.
• Zhu Ying told his generals that more than 400,000 men would join the Northern Expedition and instructed Chen Heng to keep drilling the Dragon Gate Formation.
• Zhu Ying met Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao, recognized Yao Guangxiao, and suspected Zhu Di had been cultivating ties with him for future rebellion.
• Yao Guangxiao read Zhu Ying’s fate from a false birth date, and Zhu Di relaxed after concluding Zhu Ying was not Xiongying.
• Zhu Di proposed expanding Zhu Ying’s wine business into Beiping, and Zhu Ying offered to supply Zhu Di’s taverns at cost while opening separate ones himself.
• Zhu Ying cautioned Zhu Di to conceal his involvement in trade, and Zhu Di said he would use private merchants’ names to keep the taverns discreet.

Zhu Di and Zhu Ying arranged a profitable partnership while Zhu Ying ordered the Black Guard to destroy the Shen Family’s trade operations. At the Northern Expedition’s military council, Guo Ying divided the 300,000 troops into two routes and ordered Lan Yu to attack Zhenhan City and the surrounding border cities.

• Zhu Di told Yao Guangxiao that he intended to seize every opportunity, while Yao Guangxiao praised Zhu Ying’s cleverness and unusual accomplishments.
• Zhu Ying sent Liu Lei with a letter for Uncle Lin to settle their Beiping Prefecture trade agreement, then ordered the Black Guard to seize the Shen Family’s goods and kill its people across multiple prefectures.
• The 300,000 troops assembled on the Beiping Prefecture border, where Guo Ying arrived and was greeted by Zhu Di, Zhu Ying, Li Jinglong, Mu Sheng, and the other generals.
• At the military council, Zhu Di presented his knowledge of Northern Yuan’s forces and cities, and the generals discussed Northern Yuan’s internal divisions and its ten border cities.
• Guo Ying announced that the army would advance along two routes, led by Lan Yu and Zhu Di, and ordered Lan Yu to take 150,000 troops against Zhenhan City and uproot the five nearby border cities.

Guo Ying assigned the Ming forces their Northern Expedition targets, while Zhu Ying planned how to break through Northern Yuan’s border defenses. In New Capital, the Northern Yuan Emperor gathered tribal reinforcements but hesitated to withdraw the troops guarding his restive tribes.

• Guo Ying ordered Lan Yu and Li Jinglong to attack separate groups of five Northern Yuan border cities and kept Zhu Di at headquarters for his safety.
• Li Jinglong asked Zhu Ying and the other generals how to attack the five cities, and Zhu Ying recommended simultaneous assaults to divide Northern Yuan’s defenders.
• Zhu Ying volunteered to lead the attack on Zhenxia City, while Zhang Yu and Mu Sheng offered supporting attacks on nearby cities.
• The Ming army broke camp and advanced toward Northern Yuan as the Northern Yuan court learned that the invasion force could number hundreds of thousands.
• Shiliemen urged the Northern Yuan Emperor to mobilize more troops, and several tribal commanders pledged reinforcements.
• Guilichi called for the emperor to withdraw another two hundred thousand troops from the Northern Frontier, but the emperor hesitated for fear of losing control over the tribes.