Chapter Summaries

The Northern Yuan court mobilized troops and summoned the Jian slaves as the Ming Army advanced on Zhenxia City. Zhu Ying led the Daning cavalry through the city's cannon and arrow fire, reaching the gates with a Charged Saber Slash.

• Guilichi and the Northern Yuan generals urged the emperor to prioritize the war against Ming, and Shiliemen proposed mobilizing troops while conscripting Han Chinese men and summoning the Jian slaves.
• A messenger reported that Ming generals Guo Ying, Zhu Di, Lan Yu, Chang Mao, and Li Jinglong were advancing, prompting the Northern Yuan emperor to order reinforcements to the border.
• Zhu Ying's five hundred cannons bombarded Zhenxia City with needle-filled shells, inflicting heavy casualties while Mahawu ordered the defenders to hold the city.
• Zhu Ying led his personal guards and twenty thousand Daning cavalry toward Zhenxia City as Zhu Di and Li Jinglong watched from the central army.
• The Yuan defenders fired cannons and volleys of arrows at the charging cavalry, but Zhu Ying cut through the incoming projectiles and reached the city gates.

Zhu Ying shattered the fortified city defenses and led his troops into the city, where the Ming Army began routing the Northern Yuan forces. Zhu Di and Li Jinglong watched in disbelief as Zhu Ying’s advance revived talk that he was the Hegemon-King of Western Chu reborn.

• Zhu Ying split the sealed city gate, cracked the wall behind it with the Frenzied Dance Saber Technique, and charged through the breach on Black Edge.
• Zhu Ying cut down the Yuan soldiers’ arrows and shattered their shield formations, while system notifications rewarded him with attributes and lifespan for his kills.
• Liu Lei led Zhu Ying’s seven hundred personal guards into the city, and they smashed through the Yuan defenses with their enhanced strength.
• Chen Heng and Wei Quan led the Daning cavalry into the pass as Mahawu struggled to rally the frightened Yuan Army and stop the advance.
• Zhang Wu led thirty thousand infantry toward the city, while Zhu Di and Li Jinglong watched the breach and wondered how Zhu Ying could have accomplished it.

Zhu Ying led the Daning Border Army in a bloody assault that broke through Zhenxia City’s defenses and sent the Yuan Army into retreat. As Zhu Di and Li Jinglong watched the victory unfold, Zhu Di grew increasingly wary of Zhu Ying and the strength of his army.

• Zhu Di feared that Zhu Ying’s battlefield strength could make him a future rival and resolved that Zhu Ying must not rise to a powerful ministerial position if he could not be won over.
• Zhuang Wei ordered the Daning archers to suppress the Yuan defenders while Daning infantry climbed the walls and cavalry pushed into Zhenxia City.
• Zhu Ying’s troops cleared streets near the gate, and Zhu Ying killed the Yuan commander of ten thousand with a spear, causing the commander’s forces to collapse into a rout.
• Mu Sheng waited outside the city for the Daning Border Army to enter before advancing with the Huizhou Guard, and he admired Zhu Ying’s command.
• Zhu Di and Li Jinglong praised the Daning Border Army’s performance and discussed reporting its success to the emperor, while Zhu Di privately remained suspicious of Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying’s Ming Army broke through Zhenxia City and captured much of its outer district, forcing Dibao Nu to retreat while Mahawu organized a desperate defense. After reaching 7,000 kills, Zhu Ying exposed and attacked Mahawu’s hidden ambush, leaving the Yuan forces under a deadly barrage of arrows.

• A Yuan messenger reported that Zhu Ying had breached Zhenxia City’s sealed gates, and Dibao Nu ordered most of his troops to withdraw toward Zhenhua City.
• Mahawu stayed behind with his men, ordered a defense of the outer city, and prepared archers and weapons to fight the Ming Army.
• Zhu Ying led his troops through the outer city as Chen Heng, Zhang Wu, and Liu Lei carried out his orders; his kill count reached 7,000 and earned him a Tier 1 treasure chest.
• After clearing the outer city, Zhu Ying arranged his troops to advance cautiously and halted when he sensed an ambush ahead.
• Zhu Ying ordered the archers to fire into the concealed Yuan positions, and the first volleys killed and wounded many of Mahawu’s soldiers.
• Mahawu ordered his forces to hold their positions, but Zhu Ying used the Golden Eagle to locate them and commanded his archers to advance and keep firing.

Zhu Ying led the Ming Army through Zhenxia City, breaking the Yuan ambush and slaughtering thousands as the Huizhou Guard joined the battle. After his attributes surpassed 6,000 and the Yuan defenses collapsed, Mahawu confronted him and challenged him to a fight to the death.

• Mahawu ordered the Yuan soldiers to reveal themselves and fight after Zhu Ying’s archers exposed their ambush positions.
• Zhu Ying broke through the Yuan shield line, charged into the formation, and killed the Yuan commander of ten thousand, raising all his attributes past 6,000.
• Zhu Ying continued killing until his personal enemy count surpassed 8,000, while Mu Sheng led fifty thousand Huizhou Guard soldiers into the city.
• Mahawu accepted that Zhenxia City could not be defended and charged toward Zhu Ying as the Yuan Army’s formation collapsed.
• Zhu Ying cut down Mahawu’s personal guards and met the Yuan general face-to-face; Mahawu introduced himself and attacked with his saber.

Zhu Ying killed the Yuan commander Mahawu and led the Ming forces to capture Zhenxia City before sunset. As his exhausted troops rested and counted their losses, he reviewed the battle’s rewards and found he had gained eighty years of lifespan and fifteen treasure chests.

• Zhu Ying dodged Mahawu’s strike, beheaded him, and rallied the Ming troops by announcing the Yuan commander’s death.
• A messenger told Zhu Di and Li Jinglong that Mahawu had fallen and Zhenxia City was close to capture, while Zhu Di privately worried that Zhu Ying might become his enemy.
• Zhu Ying pursued the retreating Yuan troops, and the Ming Army secured Zhenxia City before sunset.
• Zhu Ying ordered food distributed, the battlefield cleared, and the wounded treated while his exhausted soldiers rested.
• Liu Lei reported that none of Zhu Ying’s 708 personal guards had died, though more than half were injured, and the officers praised the guards’ combat strength.
• Zhu Ying counted his battle rewards, including fifteen treasure chests, and saw that his lifespan had risen by eighty years.

After Zhu Ying captured Zhenxia City, Zhu Di questioned him about Northern Yuan and the Crown Prince, while Lan Yu learned of the victory and ordered an all-out assault. Li Jinglong and Guo Ying arranged to send Zhu Yuanzhang an immediate report, leaving Zhu Ying wary of Zhu Di but focused on the campaign.

• Zhu Di praised Zhu Ying’s capture of Zhenxia City as Li Jinglong prepared to report the victory to Zhu Yuanzhang.
• Zhu Di asked Zhu Ying about Northern Yuan’s future and the Crown Prince, and Zhu Ying answered cautiously and respectfully.
• Zhu Ying suspected Zhu Di was testing his loyalty and privately decided to avoid conflict unless Zhu Di provoked him.
• Lan Yu learned that Zhu Ying had taken Zhenxia City and killed Mahawu, then ordered a full assault for the next day.
• Li Jinglong presented the battle report to Guo Ying, who approved an immediate carrier-pigeon message to Zhu Yuanzhang followed by a detailed urgent dispatch.

At court, Zhu Yuanzhang received a victory report saying Zhu Ying had captured Zhenxia City on the first day of the Northern Expedition and slain more than a thousand enemies. The report left the officials stunned, while Zhu Yuanzhang confirmed it was genuine and the court celebrated Ming’s first victory.

• Tang Duo reported that Guo Ying, Lan Yu, and Li Jinglong had reached the Northern Frontier, while Qin Da described the Ministry of Works’ production of new, more destructive cannon shells.
• Jiang Yan brought a carrier pigeon message from the Northern Frontier and announced that it contained tidings of victory.
• Zhu Yuanzhang read Li Jinglong’s report, which said Zhu Ying had breached Zhenxia City, slain more than a thousand enemies and over fifteen generals, killed the Yuan commander Mahawu, and captured the city.
• Yun Qi read the battle’s results aloud after Zhu Yuanzhang ordered him to omit Li Jinglong’s praise of Zhu Ying.
• The officials and Zhu Biao questioned the astonishing kill count, but Zhu Yuanzhang confirmed the report was true and said the full figures were even higher.
• Tang Duo and the other officials congratulated Zhu Yuanzhang on Ming’s capture of a Northern Yuan border city.

After Zhu Ying’s victory at Zhenxia City, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao decided to record his battlefield merit for later rewards and grant his wife a Fifth-Rank Imperial Decree. At the Northern Frontier, Zhu Ying inspected the captured city and learned that the army’s count credited him with more than fifteen hundred kills, leaving Guo Ying and the other generals stunned.

• Zhu Biao asked Zhu Yuanzhang to recognize Zhu Ying’s achievements, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the victory recorded for later rewards while granting Zhu Ying’s wife a Fifth-Rank Imperial Decree.
• Zhu Yuanzhang warned Zhu Biao that Zhu Ying’s strength made him dangerous if he could not be controlled, while Zhu Biao insisted he could win Zhu Ying’s loyalty.
• Zhu Yuanzhang assigned Zhu Biao responsibility for handling Zhu Ying’s honors and instructed him to use favor to secure the general’s allegiance.
• Zhu Ying ordered his guards to smash the insulting Zhenxia City plaque and entered the captured city as the troops cleared the battlefield.
• Guo Ying told Zhu Ying that the army had killed nearly thirty thousand Yuan soldiers and captured more than twenty thousand, then revealed that Zhu Ying alone had killed over fifteen hundred.
• Zhu Ying attributed his extraordinary strength to his parents, leaving Zhu Di and Li Jinglong staring at him in shock.

Zhu Ying secured command of the attack on Zhentang City after arguing that the Huizhou Guard was not ready for a siege, while Zhu Di grew increasingly wary of his strength. Zhu Ying opened fifteen treasure chests and gained military supplies and advanced technology manuals as the Northern Yuan court learned of Zhenxia City's fall and appointed Guilichi to lead its counterattack.

• Zhu Ying advised Guo Ying to divide the army and attack the Northern Yuan's remaining border cities, and Guo Ying approved a three-route advance with Zhu Ying's Daning Border Army assigned to Zhentang City.
• Zhu Ying persuaded Mu Sheng that the Huizhou Guard's surrendered soldiers risked breaking in a difficult siege, and twenty thousand of them were assigned to reinforce the Daning Border Army instead.
• Zhu Di admitted to Yao Guangxiao that he feared Zhu Ying, and Yao Guangxiao urged him to focus on strategy and the support of armies rather than Zhu Ying's individual strength.
• Zhu Ying opened fifteen treasure chests and received skill points, weapons, armor, and manuals for steel refining, concrete, hot air balloons, and telegraph machines.
• A messenger reported Zhenxia City's fall and Mahawu's death to the Yuan Emperor, who appointed Guilichi Great General and promised him a royal title if he defeated the Ming Army.

Guilichi persuaded the Yuan Emperor to rely on cavalry against the Ming invasion while Manzi warned that the border cities needed to be defended. At Zhentang City, Zhu Ying led the assault, smashed through its sealed gate and seven walls, and faced a barrage of ballista bolts.

• Guilichi convinced the Yuan Emperor to place him in command and prioritize cavalry warfare, while Manzi cautioned that losing the border cities would endanger Great Yuan.
• Dibao Nu refused requests for reinforcements as the Ming Army arrived at Zhentang City under Zhu Ying's command.
• Zhu Ying ordered an artillery barrage and led the infantry charge toward the city, deflecting the Yuan archers' arrows with his shield.
• Zhu Ying shattered the iron gate and seven walls with his saber and repeated shield charges, stunning the Yuan defenders.
• The Yuan soldiers fired three ballistae at Zhu Ying, and he stepped away as their bolts struck the spot where he had stood.

Zhu Ying slaughtered his way through Zhentang City, broke the Yuan Army’s resistance, and pursued its fleeing forces. He killed Dibao Nu with a thrown spear, earning a major reward as the battle reached its decisive end.

• Zhu Ying dodged the Yuan Army’s ballista bolts, killed the commander and soldiers guarding them, then cut through the defenders with his saber and sword.
• Liu Lei and Chen Heng led their troops into the city while Zhang Wu held the cavalry back to block the Yuan Army’s escape route.
• Guo Ying, Zhu Di, and Li Jinglong learned that Zhu Ying had breached the city and discussed the campaign’s progress as the battle continued.
• Dibao Nu ordered a gradual retreat, but Zhang Wu’s cavalry surrounded Zhentang City and showered the fleeing Yuan soldiers with arrows.
• Zhu Ying charged toward the rear gate, spotted Dibao Nu fleeing, and pierced him with a thrown spear, receiving attribute and lifespan rewards along with two Tier 1 treasure chests.

Zhu Ying killed Dibao Nu and captured the city, prompting the Yuan Army to surrender and the Ming commanders to prepare their next advance. Back in Daning, Shen Yu'er received a noble title and lavish rewards, while Bu Wan was told to assist Prince Ning’s upcoming arrival.

• Zhu Ying killed Dibao Nu, whose death broke the Yuan Army’s morale and led many soldiers to surrender as Zhu Ying ordered that surrendering troops be spared.
• Guo Ying, Zhu Di, and Li Jinglong learned that Zhu Ying had captured the city and slain Dibao Nu; Guo Ying ordered the battlefield cleared, prisoners secured, and the granaries inspected.
• Guo Ying planned to continue the campaign against the remaining border cities and advance toward Northern Yuan’s New Capital after the results of the battle were tallied.
• A Crown Prince’s edict arrived at the Zhu Residence, honoring Zhu Ying’s battlefield achievement and granting Shen Yu'er the title of Fourth Rank Imperial Lady, along with gold, brocade, tribute fruit, and one hundred servants.
• The Golden Guard informed Bu Wan that Prince Ning would establish his fief in Daning within the next few months and that Bu Wan should assist him before returning to Yingtian.

The Crown Prince summoned Shen Yu'er to Yingtian, and Bu Wan and Lin Fu explained the political reasons for her move and helped arrange the household’s affairs. In Yingtian, Shen Wansan learned that skilled attackers had massacred eighteen Shen Family caravans in Beiping, and he struggled to identify who was behind the attacks.

• The Golden Guard centurion delivered the Crown Prince’s personal invitation for Shen Yu'er to travel to Yingtian, and Shen Yu'er arranged to leave after settling the residence’s affairs.
• Bu Wan explained that Shen Yu'er’s move would reassure the court about Zhu Ying’s military authority and prepare for his return, while Lin Fu promised to accompany her and oversee the household’s businesses.
• Shen Wansan reviewed the Shen Family’s accounts in Yingtian before Shen Rong and Shen Mao brought news of eighteen caravans attacked in Beiping, with over three hundred servants killed and nearly three thousand gold lost.
• Shen Rong reported that only Shen Family caravans had been targeted and that Shen Wang’s investigation had found no leads.
• Shen Mao described the attackers as trained elites, and Shen Wansan considered how to respond to the unexplained massacre.

Shen Wansan’s family learned that Shen Yu’er had been granted a noble title, while the Shen family debated how to respond to Zhu Ying and the raids on their caravans. On the Northern Yuan front, the Ming army captured all ten border fortresses and approached the capital as Yuan officials argued over whether the emperor should withdraw.

• Shen Wansan ordered stronger protection for Shen family caravans and plans to report the bandit raids to Beiping Prefecture, while his sons warned that local authorities might be ineffective.
• Shen Wansan suspected Zhu Ying was behind the attacks, rejected reporting him without evidence, and proposed contacting him while considering how Shen Yu’er’s background could be used.
• A steward told Shen Wansan and his sons that Zhu Ying had won new merits and that Shen Yu’er had been granted the Fourth Rank Imperial Lady title, prompting regret and anger.
• The Ming army captured all ten Northern Yuan fortified cities after Zhu Ying’s first-day breakthrough and advanced toward the Northern Yuan capital.
• Grand Commandant Manzi urged the Yuan Emperor to withdraw to the Northern Frontier, but court officials argued that his departure would damage morale and insisted the capital could withstand the Ming army.

As Great Yuan prepared to face the Ming army, Zhu Ying learned that Shen Yu'er and her son had been summoned to Yingtian and judged that the move would secure his future promotions. At the Prince of Yan’s camp, Zhu Ying received an imperial decree honoring his wife, and his system rewarded him with an ordinary treasure chest.

• Manzi urged the Yuan Emperor to retreat to the Northern Frontier, but the emperor trusted his assembled forces and ordered Guilichi to destroy the Ming army.
• Zhu Ying’s Daning cavalry defeated more than a thousand Yuan soldiers and gathered their horses to strengthen the border army.
• Liu Lei told Zhu Ying that Shen Yu'er and her son had been summoned to Yingtian after Shen Yu'er received a fourth-rank honorary title; Zhu Ying accepted the move as useful for his career.
• Liu Lei reported that Uncle Lin had opened a trade route with Beiping and planned restaurants there, while Zhu Ying proposed expanding into Liaodong and Yingtian.
• Zhu Ying joined Zhu Di, Li Jinglong, and the other generals in the command tent, where Li Jinglong presented an imperial decree honoring Shen Yu'er.
• Zhu Ying accepted the decree, triggering a system reward of one ordinary treasure chest, and the generals congratulated him.

Zhu Ying proposed using the Dragon Gate Formation to trap Northern Yuan’s 100,000 cavalry, and Li Jinglong ordered the army to advance according to his plan. After the war council, Zhu Di questioned Zhu Ying about attacks on the Shen Family’s caravans but remained uncertain whether he was responsible.

• Zhu Di and the generals discussed Northern Yuan’s cavalry advantage, and Li Jinglong asked Zhu Ying how he would counter it.
• Zhu Ying revealed that he knew the Dragon Gate Formation, assigned infantry to form it, and planned to release Ming cavalry against trapped Yuan troops.
• Zhu Di ordered the army to advance steadily toward the royal pastures, where he expected Northern Yuan’s cavalry to attack.
• Zhu Di spoke privately with Zhu Ying about the profitable wine and restaurant businesses, then questioned him about the bandits targeting the Shen Family.
• Zhu Ying denied arranging the attacks and urged Zhu Di to have the authorities hunt down the bandits; Zhu Di let him leave while remaining suspicious.
• Yao Guangxiao warned Zhu Di that Zhu Ying was difficult to read, and Zhu Di admitted he still hoped to bring him under his control.

Zhu Ying rejected the Shen Family’s attempt to buy peace and threatened to destroy them after learning Shen Yu’er was Liu Bowen’s granddaughter. Meanwhile, Shen Yu’er and her son arrived in Ying Tian under Golden Guard escort and were taken to their residence to await the Crown Prince’s summons.

• Zhu Di questioned Yao Guangxiao about whether Zhu Ying had arranged the attack on the Shen Family and ordered Gao Zhi to capture the supposed bandits for evidence.
• Zhu Ying told Liu Lei to keep the Black Guard’s attacks on the Shen Family going while avoiding evidence, then received Shen Cong, who offered fifty thousand taels of gold and threatened to reveal Shen Yu’er’s identity.
• Zhu Ying ordered Liu Lei and Xiao Han to sever Shen Cong’s hands, sent him back with a threat to destroy the Shen Family, and ordered the Black Guard to expand beyond Beiping Prefecture and kill Shen Family members on sight.
• Zhu Ying read the letter and learned that Shen Yu’er was Liu Bowen’s granddaughter, concluding that the Shen Family had forfeited any remaining protection by mistreating her and trying to use her identity against him.
• Shen Yu’er arrived in Ying Tian with her son, Zhu Xi, and the household’s carriages and chests, escorted by more than a hundred Golden Guards.
• Centurion Zhang led Shen Yu’er’s party through a dedicated city entrance and toward their residence, where they would wait for Crown Prince Zhu Biao’s summons.

Zhu Quan agreed to travel north and observe the Northern Expedition before taking up his fief in Daning, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed Zhu Ying’s military prospects and welcomed the safe arrival of Zhu Ying’s wife and child in Yingtian. Zhu Quan prepared to leave the next day, and Consort Yang urged him to serve the court and guard the frontier.

• Shen Yu'er and young Zhu Xi arrived at Zhu Ying’s residence in Yingtian, where the servants welcomed them, and Centurion Zhang returned to the Eastern Palace.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Quan to leave for the Northern Frontier the next day to observe the army before taking up his fief in Daning, and Zhu Biao explained the purpose of the assignment.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed whether Zhu Quan could shoulder Daning’s responsibilities, Zhu Ying’s potential as a future military commander, and the threat posed by the Northern Yuan’s one hundred thousand elite cavalry.
• Luo Yang reported that Zhu Ying’s wife and child had safely reached Yingtian, and Zhu Yuanzhang told Zhu Biao to protect them from the Huai West faction.
• Zhu Quan visited Consort Yang and told her he would first join the Northern Expedition army, and she urged him to fulfill his duties and guard the frontier.

Zhu Biao told Lu clan how the Shen Family had betrayed Zhu Ying, while Shen Wansan learned that Shen Yu'er had gained a title and that Shen Yan'er had been divorced by the Lü Family. Hoping to avert disaster, Shen Wansan sent Shen Rong to seek Shen Yu'er's forgiveness, but she rejected the Shen Family and ordered them driven away.

• Zhu Biao explained that the Shen Family had broken Shen Yu'er's betrothal to Zhu Ying and helped drive him to enlist, prompting Lu clan to decide her brother should cut ties with the family.
• Shen Rong informed Shen Wansan that Shen Yu'er had arrived in Yingtian and become a Fourth Rank Imperial Lady, and Shen Mao reported that the Lü Family had divorced Shen Yan'er.
• Shen Wansan, fearing Zhu Ying's influence, ordered Shen Rong to bring generous gifts to the Zhu Mansion and ask Shen Yu'er to forgive the Shen Family.
• Shen Rong arrived at the Zhu Mansion with gifts, but Shen Yu'er denounced him and denied that the Shen Family was her family.
• Lin Fu ordered the guards to drive away any Shen Family members who came again.