Chapter Summaries

Wang Xuan ordered Guangdong and Annam to adopt Fujian's tax laws and announced the sale of developed Annamese farmland, but the clan heads initially refused to borrow from his bank because they assumed he charged usurious interest. After Sun Chengzong clarified that the bank offered loans at two percent annual interest, the clan heads eagerly began requesting large sums to buy land.

• Wang Xuan ordered Guangdong and Annam to implement Fujian's tax laws, recheck farmland, and adopt new weights, measures, and currency, while the clan heads stayed silent rather than oppose him.
• Wang Xuan offered the clans developed land in Nanding City and Thang Long Citadel for ten taels of silver per mu, and warned that Fujian clans would get a chance to buy afterward.
• Wang Xuan offered loans from the Huaxia Wang Xuan Bank, but the clan heads refused or requested only small sums because they believed he charged nine in, thirteen out.
• Sun Chengzong told Wang Xuan that the clan heads mistook his bank for a usurer, and Wang Xuan explained that its loans required collateral and charged only two percent annual interest.
• Sun Chengzong challenged the clan heads over their lack of funds, and they began eagerly calling out requests to borrow millions of taels for land purchases.

Wang Xuan explained the bank’s secured land loans and warned Guangdong’s great families against resisting his reforms, while Sun Chengzong learned that their access to develop Annam gave them a reason to cooperate. In Fujian, newly arrived Sun Chuanting saw the province’s prosperity and looked forward to discovering what made it so wealthy.

• Wang Xuan had Fan Wencheng explain secured loans and land financing to the Guangdong families, then threatened severe consequences for anyone who defaulted or secretly obstructed his reforms.
• Wang Xuan told Sun Chengzong that the great families accepted the reforms because they had gained the opportunity to develop Annam.
• Sun Chengzong considered Wang Xuan’s argument that talented people without avenues for advancement could become a danger to the dynasty.
• Sun Chuanting arrived in Fuzhou behind Li Banghua’s convoy, whose attendants ordered his carriage to keep its distance.
• Sun Chuanting observed Fujian’s prosperous roads, farms, traffic, and people and anticipated learning why the province was so wealthy.

Sun Chuanting arrived near Fuzhou and witnessed soldiers arrest Governor Li Banghua’s convoy after Li’s servants threatened them. Learning that Li was supposedly being sacrificed to recruit him, Sun Chuanting suspected the confrontation had been staged as a display of Wang Xuan’s power and asked whether he had to watch it before entering the city.

• Sun Chuanting learned that people were traveling to Wang Xuan’s new port city as his party approached Fuzhou.
• Li Banghua’s servants shouted at soldiers who had stopped his convoy, and Li ordered his steward to silence them.
• Li Banghua panicked while his steward threatened the soldiers, unaware that the governor was expected to keep a low profile in Fujian.
• A bearded general ordered the soldiers to arrest the convoy, and they beat and dragged out Li Banghua’s servants.
• Li Banghua pleaded with the general and blamed his servants, while Sun Chuanting watched in shock.
• An attendant told Sun Chuanting that Li Banghua was merely an extra who probably would not survive, and Sun suspected the scene was staged to recruit him and demonstrate Wang Xuan’s power.

Sun Chuanting reached Fuzhou, where Wang Xuan’s attendant explained his appointment and urged him to focus on his duties. Meanwhile, the Four Parties warned Guangxi officials that Wang Xuan threatened them and tried to organize resistance, but Li Liangbi revealed their troops lacked funding and strength.

• Wang Xuan’s attendant revealed to Sun Chuanting that the Four Parties had sent him to Fuzhou Prefecture as part of a political bargain, while Li Banghua was taken to prison and his servants were sent to forced labor.
• The attendant delivered Wang Xuan’s advice that Sun should exercise his authority as prefect, learn Fujian’s laws, and avoid meddling in court struggles.
• Sun Chuanting arrived at the Fuzhou Prefecture government office, thanked the attendant, and wondered about Wang Xuan’s relationship with the imperial court.
• In Guilin, envoys from the Qi, Chu, Zhe, and Donglin factions warned Yao Xiude and Li Liangbi that Wang Xuan planned to threaten Guangxi and urged them to gather forces and defend the passes.
• Li Liangbi agreed to contact the garrisons but said Guangxi lacked the money, equipment, supplies, and capable soldiers needed to prepare for war.

Li Liangbi confronted Yao Xiude over embezzled army funds and asserted control of Guangxi’s troops, forcing the Four Parties to prioritize keeping the army on his side. The Four Parties ordered Yao to repay the stolen silver and promised to transfer him, while Li prepared to strengthen his hold over the soldiers.

• Yao Xiude lectured Li Liangbi about loyalty and sacrifice, but Li mocked him and accused him of embezzling army pay.
• Li Liangbi drew his saber and threatened Yao Xiude, then demanded that the Four Parties address the soldiers’ anger over shortages.
• Yao Xiude offered one thousand taels to appease the soldiers, and Li Liangbi rejected the sum and left the meeting.
• The next morning, Li Liangbi assembled and drilled the troops to demonstrate his control, while Yao Xiude yielded to the Four Parties.
• The Four Parties told Yao Xiude to repay the silver he had embezzled and agreed to transfer him elsewhere.

Wang Xuan responded to Guangxi’s military mobilization by planning a newspaper to shape public opinion and promote his policies. As he strengthened his administration and watched the great clans smuggle recruits across provincial borders, he prepared to let their maneuvers gather into a resistance he could crush.

• Li Liangbi and four visitors mobilized Guangxi’s prefectures while strengthening ties with local commanders, and Wang Xuan learned of their efforts too late to stop them.
• Wang Xuan proposed a low-cost weekly newspaper with local reporters, submissions, and printing plants, and assigned Sun Chengzong to establish it.
• Wang Xuan gave Fan Wencheng responsibility for land sales in Annam and assigned Qi Hongliang to manage the bank while noting his growing need for officials.
• Wang Xuan tightened anti-corruption rules by punishing people who bribed officials, while continuing military preparations and monitoring Guangxi.
• Fujian’s great clans recruited large numbers of people and bribed checkpoint troops to move them across borders, while stationing thousands of men to block Wang Xuan’s army.
• The Chu Faction could not stop the clans’ border crossings because personal connections implicated people throughout Guangdong, and Wang Xuan dismissed the threat with confidence.

Wang Xuan launched the Ming Dynasty’s first newspaper, News Weekly, in Fujian, where its vernacular reports quickly drew readers and listeners. As the paper spread, Wang Xuan turned to Guangxi, where Li Liangbi reorganized the army and began gathering local forces for the coming war.

• Li Yan sorted old Imperial Guard intelligence for News Weekly after Wang Xuan assigned the Guard to gather material and report news.
• News Weekly’s first issue reached towns and villages across Fujian, and Master Shan read its report about Wang Xuan’s campaign against Annam before telling it to a packed teahouse.
• Readers across Fujian embraced the newspaper’s varied vernacular articles, while Wang Xuan accelerated Guangdong’s development using slaves transferred from Annam.
• Wang Xuan shifted his attention to Guangxi as local great households funded the army and troops assembled near the front line.
• Li Liangbi reorganized the garrisons into a smaller, stronger fighting force and worked with the Four Parties to recruit Tusi troops and enlist the Five Poisons Cult.

The Four Parties tried to undermine Li Liangbi by winning over his Guard Commanders, prompting him to launch a war before his army could splinter. Li Liangbi secured the Five Poisons Cult’s support for the coming decisive battle, and Shen Zhengqing left to make preparations.

• The Four Parties discussed Li Liangbi’s growing strength and decided to target his Guard Commanders rather than cut off his supplies.
• After three days, Li Liangbi noticed his subordinates becoming unstable and chose to attack so he could take control of the army.
• Li Liangbi persuaded Shen Zhengqing that Wang Xuan threatened the Five Poisons Cult’s survival and asked the cult to aid his army.
• Shen Zhengqing agreed to make more than ten thousand enemy soldiers lose their combat strength, in exchange for Li Liangbi’s promise not to interfere with the cult and to provide support.
• Li Liangbi and Shen Zhengqing arranged for the Five Poisons Cult to send people to serve in the army before the decisive battle.
• Shen Zhengqing left the camp and silently reflected on how little freedom people in the martial world had to choose their paths.

Five Poisons Cult Leader Shen Zhengqing recalled accepting a hundred thousand taels from the Four Parties to poison Wang Xuan’s forces, then was confronted by Tian Boguang, who demanded that he meet Tian’s master. Shen agreed to go immediately after Tian threatened him with his saber.

• Shen Zhengqing and the five elders discussed the cult’s poverty and the danger of having sided with the Four Parties against Wang Xuan.
• Shen recalled that the Four Parties had paid the Five Poisons Cult a hundred thousand taels to poison Wang Xuan’s men before battle.
• Tian Boguang entered Shen Zhengqing’s room at night, evaded his poison attack, and introduced himself as a messenger for his master.
• When Shen mocked him, Tian appeared behind him and threatened him with his saber.
• Shen Zhengqing promised to meet Tian Boguang’s master immediately, and Tian sheathed his saber.

Wang Xuan confronted Shen Zhengqing about the Five Poisons Cult’s plan to poison his army and persuaded him to join his side. He showed Shen the vast treasure in his warehouse, leaving the newly recruited cult leader overwhelmed by its wealth.

• Tian Boguang brought Shen Zhengqing to Wang Xuan’s command tent in the Annamese camp, which Shen realized was part of Wang Xuan’s operation.
• Wang Xuan asked whether the imperial court had hired the Five Poisons Cult to poison his army, and Shen admitted they had offered ten thousand taels.
• Wang Xuan declared that the Five Poisons Cult would now serve him and led Shen to a warehouse filled with silver, gold, and gemstones.
• Shen Zhengqing lost control at the sight of the treasure, stuffed valuables into his clothes, and tore his bundle while trying to carry them away.
• Wang Xuan helped Shen to his feet and boasted that no one, not even the emperor, could match his wealth.

Wang Xuan recruited Shen Zhengqing and the Five Poisons Cult after recognizing their expertise in poisons, tropical wildlife, and wilderness survival. He tasked them with gathering intelligence and poisoning the Guangxi coalition army, while Tian Boguang questioned their value.

• Wang Xuan revealed that he had seized the wealth of Annam, and Shen Zhengqing was terrified by the scale of his conquest.
• Shen Zhengqing offered the Five Poisons Cult's service to Wang Xuan instead of asking for money, and Wang Xuan considered how to use them.
• Wang Xuan recognized the cult's knowledge of poisons, plants, animals, and wilderness survival as valuable for future expansion.
• Wang Xuan ordered Shen Zhengqing to learn the Guangxi coalition army's deployment time and poison its troops before battle.
• After Shen Zhengqing left, Tian Boguang questioned the cult's usefulness, and Wang Xuan praised its members as exceptionally talented.

Shen Zhengqing arranged for the Five Poisons Cult to poison the Annan army, while Li Liangbi and the four faction representatives prepared for battle against Wang Xuan. The poison was ready, but Li Liangbi insisted the army needed more silver for soldiers’ families and morale before it could march.

• Wang Xuan mocked Tian Boguang as gold buried beneath dung, leaving Tian unsure whether he had been praised or insulted.
• Shen Zhengqing asked the Five Poisons Cult elders to find an inexpensive poison that could affect tens of thousands, and ordered them to research it without revealing its intended use.
• Seven days later, Shen Zhengqing told Li Liangbi and the four faction representatives that agents had infiltrated the Annan army’s kitchens and that the decisive battle had to begin half an hour after the meal.
• Shen Zhengqing defended the cost of preparing the poison after the Qian Family representative accused him of not doing enough, then left the military meeting.
• Li Liangbi said the troops could deploy but needed marching silver for their families and rewards, and the four representatives accepted that war and morale required money.

The four major factions arranged to fund Li Liangbi’s campaign while scheming to weaken him and seize control of the army afterward. Li Liangbi’s forces marched on the Annamese camp after Shen Zhengqing’s poison was reported to be taking effect, but the faction officials questioned Li’s plan just before the assault.

• The four faction officials decided to demand funds from Guangxi’s wealthy families and planned to blame Li Liangbi for embezzlement so they could undermine his command after the war.
• Li Liangbi displayed one hundred thousand taels of silver to raise the morale of his twenty thousand soldiers, while Qian and the other officials resented the distribution.
• Li Liangbi learned that the faction officials had used his name to collect more money than they delivered, and he silently endured their political pressure.
• Shen Zhengqing’s trusted aide confirmed that the poison would take effect in about an hour, so Li Liangbi assembled the army and marched toward the Annamese camp.
• Li Liangbi ordered two commanders to take five thousand soldiers each around the camp’s flanks, while the faction officials challenged him for leaving the rear open and accused him of nurturing bandits.

Li Liangbi led the Guangxi army in an assault on the Annamese camp while Wang Xuan’s forces staged a retreat to lure them inside. Li Liangbi celebrated the apparent victory, unaware that the battle had gone badly for his troops and the enemy’s retreat was part of Wang Xuan’s plan.

• Li Liangbi accused four officials of misusing relief and reward silver, had them taken away, and urged the commanders to hold their ground against civil officials.
• Wang Xuan ordered Yuan Chonghuan to stage convincing screams in the camp as Li Liangbi’s army approached.
• Li Liangbi advanced on the camp, where Wang Xuan’s archers inflicted heavy casualties before stopping their fire to avoid killing too many Ming soldiers.
• The Guangxi army scaled the walls and smashed open the gate as Wang Xuan’s troops deliberately retreated into and then out of the camp.
• Wang Xuan ordered his army to withdraw through the rear gate, while Li Liangbi celebrated reports of the breach without seeing the battlefield’s true losses.

Li Liangbi pursued the fleeing Annamese army, but more than a thousand of his soldiers suddenly suffered explosive diarrhea, halting the advance. He suspected Shen Zhengqing had poisoned them on Wang Xuan’s orders, just as Wang Xuan’s army approached.

• Li Liangbi ordered his men to pursue the routed Annamese army and soon confirmed that its retreat was genuine.
• As the pursuit accelerated, nearly half of the three thousand soldiers developed severe stomach pain and uncontrollable diarrhea.
• Li Liangbi returned to investigate, saw the soldiers defecating, and vomited from the stench.
• Li Liangbi suspected poisoning and feared Shen Zhengqing had betrayed him as part of Wang Xuan’s plan.
• Li Liangbi heard the synchronized footsteps of an army of more than ten thousand and realized Wang Xuan’s forces were close.

Wang Xuan’s army routed the Guangxi forces after Shen Zhengqing’s Five Poisons Cult used laxatives to disable them. Wang Xuan captured the surviving soldiers and hurried toward the camp, only to realize the poisoned troops there would make it impossible to enter.

• The poisoned Guangxi vanguard collapsed under Wang Xuan’s charge, and Li Liangbi’s guards fled with him as the army scattered.
• Wang Xuan praised Shen Zhengqing’s work, stressed that military credit would be recorded fairly, and promised him an official post.
• After the fighting, Wang Xuan discovered that the surrendering soldiers were squatting because the laxatives had left them with severe diarrhea.
• Shen Zhengqing explained that he had used laxatives to incapacitate the enemy without killing them and shared medicine to block the stench.
• Wang Xuan ordered guards to watch the prisoners and directed the main force toward the camp, then decided they could not enter because thousands of poisoned soldiers were inside.

Wang Xuan’s forces captured Siming Prefecture and routed the Guangxi army, taking Li Liangbi and four officials prisoner. Wang Xuan decided to send the officials back to the imperial court, reasoning that their talent for corruption and intrigue could be put to use.

• Wang Xuan ordered his main force to seize Siming Prefecture and sent Fan Wencheng with two thousand men to capture prisoners at the camp.
• Shen Zhengqing gave Fan Wencheng a valuable odor-removing ointment, then followed Wang Xuan’s army and marveled at the Special Operations Team’s strength.
• The Special Operations Team caught the fleeing Guangxi troops, killed those who resisted, and accepted Li Liangbi’s surrender.
• Li Liangbi argued with four captured members of the Four Factions about Wang Xuan’s power and their chances of being released.
• Wang Xuan confronted the four officials, learned they had embezzled half the march funds, and announced he would send them back to exploit their talent for corruption.

Wang Xuan consolidated his victory in Guangxi and prepared for possible retaliation from the court. In Siming Prefecture, Shen Zhengqing secured the Five Poisons Cult’s allegiance to Wang Xuan, while two elders who chose the court were killed as they left.

• Wang Xuan forced the captured Four Parties leaders to admit their crimes and ordered them to identify the clans that had funded the Guangxi Army.
• Wang Xuan praised Li Liangbi’s military abilities, accepted him, and oversaw the pacification of Guangxi and the arrest of prominent clan members.
• Wang Xuan deployed troops along Guangxi’s borders and prepared for the possibility that the capital would retaliate.
• Shen Zhengqing defended his decision to side with Wang Xuan as the five elders of the Five Poisons Cult challenged him.
• Two elders declared that they would seek refuge with the court, and they were killed by an unseen attacker after leaving Shen Zhengqing’s residence.
• Shen Zhengqing told the remaining three elders to stay and said they would meet their master the next day to receive appointments.

Wang Xuan rewarded Shen Zhengqing and the Five Poisons Cult with rare manuals and appointed them to establish an academy studying poisons, diseases, and the natural world. After they left inspired by their new mission, Wang Xuan turned to the captured prominent families from Guangxi, whose fate would shape how others viewed him.

• Wang Xuan gave Shen Zhengqing and the three elders printed copies of the Medical Scripture and Poison Scripture, astonishing them with both the manuals and his inner power.
• Wang Xuan appointed Shen Zhengqing vice principal and the three elders professors at an academy devoted to teaching people to identify and cure poison.
• Wang Xuan explained that the Five Poisons Cult's expertise could help develop Southeast Asia, promised one million in research funding, and assigned one thousand soldiers to protect the academy.
• Shen Zhengqing and the elders left exhilarated, convinced their work would benefit countless people and earn them recognition.
• Wang Xuan turned his attention to the captured prominent families from Guangxi as the Four Parties watched to see how he would deal with them.

Wang Xuan confronted Guangxi’s clan heads over their support for the Four Parties and imposed relocation to Annam as punishment for those who had donated at least two thousand taels. The clan heads accepted his terms, leaving them set to exchange their Guangxi land for Annamese land and join its development.

• Clan heads gathered at the prefectural government office and heard that Guangdong and Fujian clans were buying land in conquered Annam, where the Annamese had been massacred or enslaved.
• Wang Xuan arrived and announced that he had exterminated seven clans whose crimes had provoked the people, while warning the Yan and Zou clans to maintain their family traditions.
• Wang Xuan ordered clans that had donated at least two thousand taels to relocate to Annam, exchange their Guangxi land for equal areas there, and buy more land at twelve taels per mu.
• The clan heads stayed silent rather than challenge Wang Xuan, then agreed to cooperate with the relocation and Annam’s development.