Chapter Summaries

Cang Ni seized control of the horse bandits through threats and murder, but a Han Army attack caught his weakened force off guard. Jiang Hao escaped the dungeon, opened the stronghold gate for Su Mu, and the surviving bandits surrendered.

• Cang Ni had the bandit leaders brought before him, killed Rouzi when he refused to submit, and forced the others to accept his leadership.
• A subordinate reported that Han troops had arrived, so Cang Ni gathered the few horse bandits still able to fight and led them to the gate.
• Jiang Hao heard the battle, led Pang Xiong and the others out of the dungeon, and found the main hall unguarded.
• Jiang Hao's group killed the gate guards and opened the stronghold gate, allowing Su Mu and his riders to charge inside.
• The horse bandits surrendered, and Jiang Hao ordered his men to secure them and count the survivors, slaves, and maidservants.

Jiang Hao learned that his men had defeated White Wolf's bandits and seized abundant supplies, horses, and enslaved people, including Han captives. After ordering the spoils inventoried and his troops equipped, he agreed to recruit any bandits who surrendered and was about to meet the Princess of Kucha.

• Su Mu reported that Cang Ni had killed White Wolf during a rebellion while the bandits were unconscious from Jiang Hao's powder.
• Su Mu told Jiang Hao that fifty or sixty Han people had been enslaved, and Jiang Hao condemned the bandits for it.
• Su Mu reported that the bandits had plentiful grain and goods, more than a thousand horses, camels, and sheep.
• Jiang Hao ordered Su Mu to inventory the supplies, arm the men, turn them into cavalry, and offer the bandits a chance to surrender, with refusal punishable by death.
• Su Mu told Jiang Hao that the Princess of Kucha wished to see him, and Jin Damao later announced her arrival.
• A woman dressed in black entered Jiang Hao's room.

Jiang Hao examined Dilina Zha, Princess of Kucha, and diagnosed her unusual sensitivity and fear of light and wind. After she asked him to help restore Kucha, he explained that the Xin Dynasty could not assist, but hinted that another possibility remained.

• Dilina Zha introduced herself as the Princess of Kucha and explained that she feared light and wind and had an unusually sensitive body.
• Jiang Hao examined Dilina Zha and concluded that her symptoms came from a neurological problem and a sensitive constitution.
• Jiang Hao offered Dilina Zha a spiritual pill for ten thousand taels of gold, but she said she could not afford it.
• Dilina Zha asked Jiang Hao and the Protectorate General's Headquarters to help Kucha regain its kingdom after the Shache Kingdom invaded.
• Jiang Hao explained that the Western Regions Protectorate had fallen and the Xin Dynasty could neither help Kucha nor spare resources.
• Jiang Hao told Dilina Zha that there might still be a chance to restore Kucha, and she asked whether he had a way to help.

Jiang Hao explained how Kucha could be restored by rallying its people and surrendered generals while an outside force applied pressure. Dilina Zha offered herself to win his help, but he turned her down and agreed to help if she married him after Kucha was restored.

• Jiang Hao proposed inciting the surrendered Kucha generals and mobilizing the people while an external army of more than five thousand men pressured Shache.
• Dilina Zha asked Jiang Hao to help restore Kucha and offered herself as payment.
• Jiang Hao reminded Dilina Zha that she was already his spoils of war and still owed him ten thousand taels of gold.
• Dilina Zha removed her veil and robe, but Jiang Hao covered her again and said they could discuss the matter without her sacrificing herself.
• Jiang Hao agreed to help restore Kucha on the condition that Dilina Zha marry him afterward.

Jiang Hao treated Princess Dina’s illness and promised to help her reclaim Qiuci, then faced the surrendered horse bandits and forced them to submit. He left Cang Ni to their vengeance, strengthening Dina’s confidence that Jiang Hao could restore her kingdom.

• Princess Dina agreed to become Jiang Hao’s fiancée if he helped destroy Shache and restore Qiuci, and Jiang Hao cured her illness with an Illness Dispelling Talisman.
• Su Mu told Jiang Hao that the horse bandit leaders demanded Cang Ni’s death, and Jiang Hao decided to use Cang Ni to secure their submission.
• Jiang Hao confronted the horse bandits in the square and intimidated them into surrendering without conditions.
• Jiang Hao gave the horse bandits the antidote to Ten Fragrance Soft Tendon Powder and then handed the bound Cang Ni over to them.
• The horse bandits beat Cang Ni to death, while Princess Dina watched and became more confident that Jiang Hao could reclaim Qiuci.

Jiang Hao reorganized his growing force into the Hanyang Army, appointed Luo Weina as a Commander, and began developing portable military rations. He then drew Princess Dina into the army’s planning, outlined a campaign to restore Kucha, and appointed her his office secretary.

• Jiang Hao freed the Han slaves, offered them a chance to return home or join the army, and assigned the remaining slaves to logistics.
• Jiang Hao named his force the Hanyang Army, promoted his subordinates to Commanders, and appointed Luo Weina to command a unit to reassure the surrendered bandits.
• Jiang Hao tasked cooks with making compressed marching rations, and the Hanyang Army finished reorganizing into more than six hundred cavalry and over three hundred logistics personnel.
• Princess Dina thanked Jiang Hao for curing her condition, tried one of his rock-hard ration cakes, and accepted his task of refining the recipe and compression level.
• Jiang Hao asked Dina for royal documents bearing Kucha’s jade seal and planned to use them to recruit dissatisfied Kucha generals while seeking five thousand troops from neighboring kingdoms.
• Jiang Hao appointed Princess Dina as his office secretary, leaving her curious about what the position entailed.

Jiang Hao reviewed the Hanyang Army’s strength and supplies before learning about a prized stallion king at the ranch. He used his Animal Communication Ability to tame the horse and rode it across the grassland, leaving Princess Dina amazed by his abilities.

• Su Mu reported that the Hanyang Army had 986 men, sufficient supplies, and a valuable meteorite iron that Kuqa’s blacksmiths might be able to forge.
• Jiang Hao learned about a Wusun stallion king with Blood-Sweating Horse bloodline and decided to visit it with Princess Dina.
• Yu Xian led Jiang Hao, Princess Dina, and their guards to the herd grazing beside the river.
• Jiang Hao approached the stallion king alone and used his Animal Communication Ability to tame it.
• Jiang Hao rode the stallion king across the grassland and returned to cheers from his men, while Princess Dina marveled at what she had witnessed.

Jiang Hao set out to restore Han influence in the Western Regions and reached Yanqi, where he claimed the title of Grand Protector and sought an audience with its king. The king challenged his authority and accused the Xin Dynasty of abandoning the region, leaving Jiang Hao to answer for his claim.

• Jiang Hao finished preparing the army and sent Samoyed and his men toward Qiuci in disguise to gather support for its restoration.
• Jiang Hao departed for Yanqi with Princess Dina and five hundred soldiers, then led his force to a crossing of the Liusha River.
• Jiang Hao announced himself as the Grand Protector of the Western Regions and camped outside Yanqi City after its soldiers allowed his force to cross.
• Jiang Hao entered the city with ten companions, including Princess Dilina Zha disguised as a guard, and went to meet the King of Yanqi.
• The King of Yanqi recognized Jiang Hao and challenged his claim to the title, arguing that the Xin Dynasty had abolished the Protectorate and abandoned the Western Regions.

Jiang Hao persuaded the Yanqi King to lend him two thousand troops for a coalition against the Xiongnu. After leaving the palace, he teased Dilina Zha as they rode back to camp.

• Jiang Hao defended the Western Regions Protectorate’s legitimacy and warned the Yanqi King that the Xiongnu threatened Yanqi’s survival.
• Jiang Hao proposed uniting the Western Regions kingdoms against the Xiongnu and asked the Yanqi King for two thousand troops.
• After weighing the risks, the Yanqi King agreed to lend Jiang Hao two thousand soldiers and said he wanted to end Yanqi’s oppression.
• Dilina Zha watched Jiang Hao on their ride back, and he teased her about her eyes and suggested she visit his room.

Jiang Hao secured Yanqi's two thousand soldiers and brought them to the Amu River to pressure Yuli and Shan Kingdom into ending their war and lending troops. He persuaded both kings to unite against the Xiongnu, and the chapter ended with them signing a peace agreement.

• Jiang Hao arranged for Mo Rao to lead two thousand Yanqi soldiers to Yuli, then explained to Princess Dina how he planned to use the rival kingdoms' conflict to gain troops.
• Jiang Hao confessed that he wanted Dina and Kucha Kingdom, and Dina agreed to remain by his side.
• After five days, Jiang Hao marched with Yanqi's troops and threatened Yuli and Shan Kingdom with support for whichever side agreed to his demands.
• The King of Shan Kingdom and the King of Yuli met Jiang Hao by the Amu River and each offered troops in exchange for his support against the other.
• Jiang Hao urged the kings to unite against the Xiongnu, and both agreed to lend troops and signed a peace agreement witnessed by him.

Jiang Hao’s allied army grew as he gathered troops and provisions from Loulan and the smaller kingdoms along the southern Silk Road, while he considered how to expand his influence across the Western Regions. The army reached Yutian, where its king entrusted the decision to join Jiang Hao’s campaign to his eldest prince.

• The King of Loulan welcomed Jiang Hao, pledged a thousand troops and provisions, and hosted a banquet for the allied leaders.
• Jiang Hao discussed his plans with Dilina Zha, who advised taking the southern route to gather strength and bring more kingdoms into his cause.
• A Golden Eagle delivered Su Mu’s report that Shache controlled Kucha with six thousand cavalry and twelve thousand surrendered Kucha soldiers.
• Jiang Hao’s army traveled through Ruoqiang, Xiaowan, Qiemo, and Jingjue, collecting troops and provisions as it continued south.
• The King of Yutian worried about provoking the Xiongnu, but his eldest prince argued that Yutian should join Jiang Hao against Shache and resist the Xiongnu.
• The King of Yutian agreed to leave the matter to his eldest prince, who was to meet Jiang Hao the next day.

Jiang Hao formed a ten-thousand-man Western Regions Allied Army with Khotan’s support and began his campaign against Shache. At Yecheng, his forces surrounded and defeated Qina’s two thousand soldiers, while Shache’s king began seeking intelligence and reinforcements.

• Kelim told Jiang Hao that Khotan would support him and provide two thousand soldiers under Bianmu and Demu.
• Jiang Hao convened his commanders and planned to invade Shache, while Shache’s king learned that Qina’s forces at Yecheng had been defeated and ordered scouts and aid from Kucha.
• Jiang Hao led the allied army across the Karvinvas River and divided his forces to lure Qina’s two thousand soldiers out of Yecheng and encircle them.
• Qina realized his troops were trapped and tried to break through toward Jiang Hao’s banner, but Jiang Hao shot him with an arrow.
• Most of Qina’s soldiers surrendered, and Jin Damao’s cavalry defeated the remaining resistance as Jiang Hao declared the battle a great victory.

Jiang Hao used intelligence and carefully planned raids to pressure Shache without attacking its capital directly. When displaced Shache people begged to enter the city, the King refused to open the gates, leaving his people outside and deepening the crisis.

• Dilina Zha gave Jiang Hao intelligence that Shache was urgently seeking aid from Kucha and sending out carrier pigeons.
• Jiang Hao ordered seven thousand allied troops to advance toward Shache City while Bianmu and Demu led raids to seize supplies and drive Shache villagers toward the walls.
• Jiang Hao's cavalry staged brief arrow exchanges before resting outside the city, leaving Shache's officials unsure of his intentions.
• Shache villagers arrived beneath the walls and pleaded with the King to let them in after their supplies had been taken.
• The King of Shache refused to open the gates, despite the prime minister's warning that abandoning the people would damage his reputation.

Jiang Hao turned the King of Shache’s refusal to shelter his people into a public revolt that stripped him of their loyalty. After explaining how the king could once have united the city, Jiang Hao left Dilina Zha seeing him as a ruler with kingly aura.

• Jiang Hao surrounded the Shache civilians outside the city and waited until hunger and fear drove them to demand food from the king.
• The King of Shache refused to open the gates or provide food, and the abandoned civilians decided to surrender to Jiang Hao.
• Jiang Hao offered the civilians freedom if they spent a day cursing the King of Shache, and they returned to the walls to denounce him.
• The King of Shache ordered his soldiers to shoot the civilians, but the general had them aim their arrows away from the crowd, which continued cursing from beyond bow range.
• Jiang Hao told Dilina Zha that Shache had lost its people’s hearts and explained how the king could have united the city to resist the invasion.
• Dilina Zha said she saw kingly aura in Jiang Hao, and he invited her to follow him as he conquered the world.

Jiang Hao used a series of feints to keep Shache’s defenders off guard while the Golden Eagle located Kucha’s approaching reinforcements. He led seven thousand troops into the Taklamakan Desert to ambush them, leaving the story with his army beginning a harsh desert crossing.

• Jiang Hao fed and watered the people of Shache, then withdrew his army and left the city’s people grateful but wary.
• Jiang Hao received Samoyed’s report that thirteen thousand Kucha and Shache troops were crossing the desert, and he sent the Golden Eagle to find them.
• Jiang Hao repeatedly moved his army away from and back toward Shache, keeping the city’s defenders confused and unwilling to venture out.
• The Golden Eagle found the Kucha army east of the Yarkand River, and Jiang Hao estimated that the reinforcements would arrive in four or five days.
• Jiang Hao assigned some troops to guard Ye City and harass Shache, then led seven thousand men into the Taklamakan Desert to prepare an ambush.

Jiang Hao ambushed and captured Ulhai’s Shache reinforcements with help from the Kucha generals, then used leaflets and Ulhai’s capture to weaken Shache City’s defenders. The chapter ended with the King of Shache reading Jiang Hao’s demand that the city hand him over.

• Jiang Hao secretly met General Hachi and arranged for the Kucha generals to turn against the Shache forces during the march.
• Jiang Hao’s army and the Kucha troops trapped Ulhai’s reinforcements, and Jiang Hao captured Ulhai in a brief fight.
• Princess Dilina Zha met the Kucha generals, and the combined forces returned to Yecheng with prisoners and a much larger army.
• Jiang Hao surrounded Shache City and spread leaflets announcing the defeat of its reinforcements.
• Jiang Hao paraded the captive Ulhai beneath the city walls, then sent another leaflet demanding that the King of Shache be handed over.

Jiang Hao captured Shache and let Dilina Zha decide the fate of its royal family, then established her as Queen of Shache. With his allied army expanded to thirty thousand, he prepared to retake Kucha and confront the Xiongnu while trying to keep the alliance united.

• The Shache prime minister Yaqixin surrendered the city and its six thousand soldiers to Jiang Hao, who ordered Pang Xiong to capture the king.
• Pang Xiong's troops stormed the palace and seized the King of Shache and his family, but Dilina Zha left their fate to Jiang Hao, who ordered them imprisoned.
• Jiang Hao discovered Shache's treasury, then told Dina he planned to make her Queen of Shache while preserving his role as Grand Protector.
• Jiang Hao announced Dilina Zha as Queen of Shache, and the allied leaders and Shache officials supported her enthronement.
• Jiang Hao incorporated Shache's eleven thousand soldiers into his forces, bringing his army to thirty thousand, and told Dina that he would retake Kucha before facing the Xiongnu.

Jiang Hao consolidated his control over Shache, then led a 26,000-man army across the desert toward Kucha. After organizing his forces and dividing them to attack Kucha’s outlying cities, he left the Kucha King hoping the Xiongnu would intervene.

• Jiang Hao reorganized the surrendered Shache troops, appointed local officials, and left four thousand Kucha soldiers to garrison Shache before marching out with 26,000 troops.
• Jiang Hao absorbed the treasures from Shache’s royal treasury into his expanding space and traveled through the Taklamakan with Princess Dilina Zha, who agreed to wait for him to marry her after he conquered Kucha.
• Jiang Hao met Su Mu and Niu Kaishan near Kucha, appointed Su Mu to oversee logistics, and promoted Niu Kaishan to captain without troops.
• Su Mu reported that the Kucha King had imprisoned the former Kucha generals and sent most Kucha troops to Luntai and Xincheng, leaving only three thousand Shache soldiers in Kucha City.
• Jiang Hao split his army to advance on Luntai and Xincheng while six thousand troops pressured Kucha City, whose king asked his prime minister whether the Xiongnu would come to its aid.

Jiang Hao captured Luntai and Xincheng, tightening his grip on Kucha, while the Xiongnu Right Virtuous King Gule prepared to crush the Western Regions’ resisting kingdoms. Golden Eagle scouts revealed the Xiongnu were advancing along two routes, and Gule ordered his forces to loot and massacre the kingdoms that had defied him.

• Gule rejected Kucha’s envoy’s offer, then ordered his army to march against Kucha and the kingdoms that resisted Xiongnu rule.
• Jiang Hao offered Luntai’s defenders amnesty if they surrendered and promised Kucha soldiers promotions for killing Shache officers; Luntai’s gates opened, and the city surrendered.
• Ke Ji, Luo Weina, Yanqi, Yuli, and Shan Kingdom’s troops stormed Xincheng after its defenders refused to surrender; the Kucha soldiers turned against their Shache officers, and the city fell.
• Dina informed Jiang Hao that the Xiongnu were mustering troops and demanding provisions from Cheshi; Jiang Hao sent two Golden Eagles to scout their advance routes.
• Jiang Hao learned that roughly ten thousand Xiongnu were heading toward Qiemo while Gule advanced toward Yanqi with more than twenty thousand troops.
• Gule ordered his commanders to loot Yanqi, Yuli, and Shan Kingdom and kill their inhabitants for refusing to submit.

Jiang Hao divided his forces to confront the Xiongnu invading the Western Regions, while Pang Xiong led ten thousand troops into the Tianshan Gorge to ambush Gu Bile’s army. A staged landslide devastated the Xiongnu force, and Gu Bile realized the allied army had trapped him as enemy cavalry approached.

• Jiang Hao learned that the Xiongnu had split into two forces targeting Kucha and assigned Pang Xiong ten thousand troops to intercept the western force at the Tianshan Gorge.
• Pang Xiong and seven others pledged themselves to Jiang Hao, and the next day Jiang Hao marched toward Yanqi while Pang Xiong headed for the gorge.
• Gu Bile’s army extorted supplies and ten women from the Qiemo king before continuing through the Tianshan Mountains.
• Pang Xiong’s troops prepared several ambushes, and one sent boulders cascading down onto Gu Bile’s army, killing thousands and destroying many horses.
• Gu Bile ordered his surviving soldiers to find shelter, but a Western Region allied army approached and he spotted enemy banners above the slope.
• Gu Bile recognized that the landslide had been an ambush and ordered his army to retreat.