Chapter Summaries

Suritu used techniques learned from the Han Tribe to build up his forces and riches, then considered seeking metal tools from the Xin Tribe. Meanwhile, the Xin Tribe’s Great Leader punished a failed trade expedition and discovered that combining iron with red gold produced a useful alloy.

• Suritu completed a high-backed saddle with his steel dagger and reflected on the Han Tribe’s wealth and refusal to sell weapons.
• Suritu equipped three to four hundred warriors with simple ox-leather armor, raided nearby tribes through the winter, and captured thousands of people and more than twenty thousand animals.
• Suritu decided to seek metal goods from the Xin Tribe after concluding he could not obtain weapons from the Han Tribe.
• The Xin Tribe’s Great Leader executed the Elder of Trade after a disastrous expedition returned without goods or mounts and failed to obtain a vehicle from the Han Tribe.
• The Great Leader inspected the Xin Tribe’s vehicle experiments, including a crude wooden cart made with new alloy tools.
• The Xin Tribe’s metallurgists explained that mixing iron with red gold created an axe nearly as sharp as an iron one.

The Great Leader approved Niu Wei’s mission to seek contact with the Han Tribe and appointed him the new Elder of Trade. Meanwhile, Luo Chong prepared to implement reforms in the Han Tribe and completed the first section of Han Rites, defining the first ten ranks of merit.

• The Xin Tribe’s metalworking elders presented a copper-iron axe and tools made from an alloy of White-Red Gold and red gold, which the Great Leader named White-Red Gold.
• After testing the ox cart, Niu Wei asked to lead a new mission to the Han Tribe, arguing that contact could bring the Xin Tribe valuable goods and knowledge.
• The Great Leader appointed Niu Wei the new Elder of Trade and authorized him to organize a mission to the Han Tribe.
• Niu Wei offered compensation to the families of willing recruits and assembled a team of forty people.
• On the final day of the first month, Niu Wei led his team toward the mainland and the Han Tribe.
• After completing spring plowing, Luo Chong finalized the first section of Han Rites, outlining the first ten ranks of merit and their benefits.

Luo Chong established the Han Tribe’s twenty-rank nobility system, including rules for offices, land, fiefdoms, and inheritance. At Hanyang City’s spring gathering, the County Magistrate announced incentives for three hundred households to relocate to Ruyang Commandery and Horse Binding Pass, and residents began weighing the benefits of moving.

• Luo Chong’s merit-rank system set out the titles and duties for ranks eleven through twenty, limits on fiefs, and rules for granting and inheriting noble ranks.
• Luo Chong attended a gathering where the County Magistrate explained the new ranks, private land ownership, citizens’ duties, and a migration order for three hundred households.
• The County Magistrate offered a noble rank, half-rate Agricultural Tax for three years, and free use of Government Office oxen and horses to households moving to Ruyang Commandery or Horse Binding Pass.
• Residents initially objected to leaving Hanyang City, but Luo Chong’s agents explained how noble ranks, extra land, tax relief, and private grain could benefit them.
• Some residents registered to move as others discussed saving grain to buy livestock, tools, and household goods under the Private Ownership System.

Luo Chong redistributed migrants and soldiers to establish four new counties around Hanyang, strengthening the Han Tribe’s territory and defenses. When northern tribal alliances arrived with news that the Cannibal Tribe might be pursuing them, Luo Chong ordered defensive preparations and sent You Ye north to scout and lure the enemy toward Horse Binding Pass.

• Luo Chong assigned military leaders and craftsmen new ranks and posts, then directed migrant households to build Horse Binding Pass, Ruyang, Danshan, Matian, and Sitong.
• Luo Chong positioned Hu Mancang and Chai Duoduo to oversee Matian and Sitong Counties, leaving Hanyang City protected by the surrounding settlements.
• Nearly 20,000 people moved to their assigned sites during spring, where they began building towns and reclaiming farmland.
• The northern tribal alliances arrived with more than 4,000 people and warned Luo Chong that over a thousand Cannibal Tribe warriors had attacked them and might follow south.
• Luo Chong sent warnings to every commandery and county, ordered patrols, and dispatched You Ye with cavalry to scout north and draw the Cannibal Tribe toward Horse Binding Pass.

You Ye led cavalry north while Luo Chong reinforced Horse Binding Pass and prepared Hanyang and Ruyang for war. Meanwhile, Niu Wei traveled into the grassland, paid tribute to the Snowfield Wolf Tribe, and reached a nomadic tribe where he saw Han Tribe goods and met its young Chieftain, Modun.

• You Ye led a cavalry unit through the northern pass to scout the route taken by the tribal alliances.
• Luo Chong sent weapons and reinforcements to Horse Binding Pass and organized recruits from the two alliances into a garrison unit and a mobile force.
• Niu Wei surrendered salt, cattle, and horses to the Snowfield Wolf Tribe, blamed the conflict on his predecessor, and agreed to pay future tribute.
• Niu Wei returned to the coastal outpost for more goods, then led his convoy inland across the grassland in search of the Han Tribe.
• Niu Wei's convoy found a nomadic tribe near a river, where he saw a tent covered in Han Tribe Woolen Cloth and two Han Tribe carts.
• Niu Wei met the tribe's young Chieftain, Modun, who had recently taken leadership and built a Woolen Cloth tent.

Modun entertained Niu Wei with lavish food and chili powder from the Han Tribe, then revealed that he wanted the Xin Tribe to make steel knives. The chapter ended with Modun offering cattle, sheep, and an alliance in exchange for knives and protection for Xin caravans.

• Modun served Niu Wei mutton dipped in expensive chili powder, and Niu Wei discovered that he enjoyed its intense flavor.
• Niu Wei suspected the Han Tribe was deliberately controlling the chili supply and resolved to reach them rather than return home.
• Modun told Niu Wei that the Han Tribe might take at least a month to reach the northern steppe.
• Modun showed Niu Wei his steel knife and asked whether the Xin Tribe could produce similar ones.
• Modun offered trade, an alliance, and protection for Xin caravans if the Xin Tribe supplied the steppe with iron knives.

Modun and Niu Wei agreed that Modun’s tribe would distribute the Xin Tribe’s salt across the grasslands, while the Xin Tribe supplied him with bronze stirrups. Meanwhile, Luo Chong prepared Horse Binding Pass for the coming war against the Cannibal Tribe.

• Modun tested a Xin Tribe bronze sword against a steel knife and saw how badly the bronze weapon performed.
• Modun asked Niu Wei to make stirrups from bronze, and Niu Wei agreed while proposing that Modun buy and resell all the Xin Tribe’s salt.
• Modun accepted the arrangement, giving the Xin Tribe a way to withdraw from direct trade and leave Modun to face the Han Tribe’s response.
• Luo Chong oversaw the installation of a fast-dropping gate at Horse Binding Pass to trap enemies inside the Walled Enclosure.
• Luo Chong’s workers assembled large bed crossbows on the wall to use against the giant apes.

Luo Chong tested the Han Tribe’s ballista defenses at Horse Binding Pass while preparing for the enemy’s arrival. A message from the east bank of the Ru River revealed that the enemy had crossed the river and appeared north of Sitong County, with no giant apes among them.

• Luo Chong stationed defenders and craftsmen on the walls of Horse Binding Pass and tested the newly assembled ballistae.
• Luo Chong found that the ballista bolts flew more than 300 meters but were inaccurate, and he determined they were most effective against giant apes at 150 meters.
• Luo Chong ordered distance markers placed outside the walls so defenders could choose suitable weapons as enemies approached.
• Luo Chong received a Flying Eagle Message reporting that the enemy had crossed the Ru River and that the Hunting Patrol Team from Liuyang Commandery had found many enemies north of Sitong County.
• Luo Chong learned that migrants from Sitong County had been moved to Hanyang City and that no giant apes had been seen among the enemy.

Luo Chong realized the Cannibal Tribe had entered the Dark Forest to hunt for food and ordered cavalry to harass them and lure them toward Horse Binding Pass. Wuyun led the scouts into action, where one attack let rabbits escape and ended with the Cannibal Tribe warriors killing their injured companions for food.

• Luo Chong concluded that the Cannibal Tribe was hunting rabbits in the Dark Forest because it had no supplies or nearby tribes to raid, and he warned Hanyang City, Ruyang Commandery, and Danshan County to prepare for an attack.
• Luo Chong kept the Horse Binding Pass garrison in place and sent more than two hundred cavalrymen, including Wuyun’s troops, to scout, harass the enemy, and draw them toward Hanyang City and the pass.
• Wuyun ordered small cavalry teams to scout the forest’s edge and use flying stones to harass the Cannibal Tribe warriors before retreating.
• A six-man cavalry team struck a group of Cannibal Tribe warriors digging up rabbit burrows, injuring two men and allowing several rabbits to escape.
• The Cannibal Tribe warriors decided their injured companions could no longer hunt and beat them to death, then the squad leader said their meat would make up for the rabbits that escaped.

Wuyun’s cavalry used fire, smoke, drums, and torches to drive the Cannibal Tribe’s Totem Warriors out of the Dark Forest and lead them across the Ruyang River. The exhausted warriors pursued the cavalry toward a small tribe, while Luo Chong’s hidden men dismantled the Floating Bridge and withdrew.

• Han Tribe cavalry hurled flaming, oil-soaked stones into the Cannibal Tribe camp, igniting its dry-grass bedding and filling the Dark Forest with fire and smoke.
• Wuyun ordered his men to beat drums and raise torches, guiding the disoriented Totem Warriors out of the forest and luring them onto the main road.
• Wuyun’s cavalry led the pursuing warriors toward the Ruyang River, where they crossed on a temporary Floating Bridge made from four Wood Boats and planks.
• After the Totem Warriors crossed, hidden men removed the bridge planks, freed the boats, and rowed south toward Ruyang Commandery.
• The cavalry continued leading the exhausted Cannibal Tribe army northwest until the warriors spotted a small tribe ahead and charged toward it.

Luo Chong used a staged settlement and a trail of discarded goods to lure the Cannibal Tribe army toward Horse Binding Pass, while Han Tribe cavalry harassed and scouted the pursuing warriors. As the Cannibal Tribe prepared for a confrontation, its leaders sent messengers to summon reinforcements and the red-haired giant apes hidden in Eucommia Forest.

• Luo Chong arranged a fake settlement stocked with food and supplies so the exhausted Cannibal Tribe warriors would stop, eat, and resume pursuit toward Horse Binding Pass.
• A Han Tribe escort led several hundred people toward Horse Binding Pass, dropping broken household goods along the road as markers for the Cannibal Tribe army.
• After resting and eating, the Cannibal Tribe warriors followed the trail southwest, while some of their fighters split off to scout other directions.
• Han Tribe cavalry met the pursuing warriors, pelted them with slingstones, and withdrew; Wuyun then ordered scouts to spread out and inspect the route and Horse Binding Pass.
• The chapter revealed that more than a thousand Cannibal Tribe warriors and thirty-five red-haired giant apes occupied a hidden base in Eucommia Forest after wiping out a small tribe.
• A Cannibal Tribe minor leader sent swift messengers to Eucommia Forest to summon the other group and all the giant apes as reinforcements.

The Cannibal Tribe gathered more than 1,000 warriors, giant apes, and two enormous Dinophants to attack Horse Binding Pass. After scouts warned Luo Chong about the beasts, he planned to lure the enemy into the city while leaving the Dinophants outside, as the enemy approached the walls.

• The Cannibal Tribe assembled its scattered forces at Eucommia Forest, bringing together more than 3,000 people, 35 giant apes, and two adult Dinophants.
• A Xiao Qi Commander’s scouts spotted the gathering and fled after a Dinophant emerged from the forest and frightened them.
• The Cannibal Tribe advanced toward Horse Binding Pass, while one wary warrior planned to stay near the rear and surrender if the battle went badly.
• The cavalry scouts reached Luo Chong and warned him that the Dinophants could threaten the city walls.
• Luo Chong explained that he would open the gates to draw the enemy inside, then close them behind the warriors and keep the Dinophants outside.
• The approaching army’s heavy footsteps began shaking the ground beneath the walls.

Luo Chong lured the Cannibal Tribe’s army through Hanyang City’s open north gate and blinded its thirty-five red-haired giant apes with quicklime. He prepared to seal the gate and trap the invading forces inside the city.

• Luo Chong ordered Blood Butcher to prepare the city’s formations and You Ye to circle around the east, then rallied the defenders by promising they could capture prisoners to build their homes.
• The Cannibal Tribe’s forces, including thirty-five giant apes and two adult Dinophants, reached Hanyang City and hesitated when they saw the open gate guarded by Han Tribe warriors.
• Luo Chong signaled the defenders to retreat, drawing the giant apes ahead of the Totem Warriors and into the city.
• Luo Chong’s soldiers dropped hundreds of quicklime bags onto the charging apes, blinding them and throwing them into pain and confusion.
• Luo Chong explained that the blinded apes could cause chaos inside the city and ordered the defenders to prepare to close the gate and trap the enemy.

Luo Chong’s defenders sealed Horse Binding Pass and repelled repeated attacks by the trapped Totem Warriors, using drums and fire to drive off the Dinophants. With more than two thousand Cannibal Tribe members trapped inside the enclosure, Luo Chong sent orders to Dashu and You Ye.

• Blood Butcher and the fleeing Han Tribe warriors escaped through the South Gate, which the defenders sealed with latches and sandbags.
• Totem Warriors gathered at the North Gate but failed to climb the walls, while Luo Chong’s defenders captured and bound those thrown onto the ramparts by the Dinophants.
• The Totem Warriors ordered the Dinophants to ram the wall, but Luo Chong’s defenders drove them away with drums and flaming torches.
• Luo Chong ordered the North Gate closed, trapping more than two thousand Cannibal Tribe members inside Horse Binding Pass.
• Two Azuka Giant Eagles carried Luo Chong’s orders to Dashu and You Ye.

Luo Chong watched the trapped Totem Warriors fight over the blind giant apes and their corpses inside Horse Binding Pass. When the fighting left nearly 120 dead, he realized the survivors needed hope of escape if he wanted living captives and devised a new plan.

• Dashu was ordered to clear the Cannibal Tribe's remnants in the Dark Forest, while You Ye led Rou Rou, Hui Shan, and a hundred cavalrymen after the fleeing Totem Warriors and the two adult dinophants.
• Flying Eagle Messages announced the Han Tribe's victory and lifted the danger alert across its territories.
• Trapped without food or water, the Totem Warriors attacked the blind giant apes, eventually killing them and then fighting over their corpses.
• The Totem Warriors suffered nearly 120 deaths before securing enough meat to pause the fighting.
• Luo Chong realized the siege was killing too many potential captives and sent a new battle plan to the defenders on the walls.

Luo Chong prepared narrow tunnels beneath the northern wall to let the trapped Totem Warriors escape one at a time, intending to capture them and control them as slaves. After the tunnels were opened, white sheep appeared outside the city, renewing the Totem Warriors’ hope of escape.

• Luo Chong ordered ten narrow tunnels dug beneath the northern wall and requested rope, wound medicine, and blue Poisonous Mushrooms from Hanyang City.
• Luo Chong devised a plan to cut captured slaves’ big toes so they could not run away, since shackles and earlier methods could not control such a large number of prisoners.
• Three days later, the requested supplies arrived, and the tunnels were completed under cover of darkness.
• The next morning, Luo Chong’s warriors beat drums and displayed white sheep outside the city wall, drawing the Totem Warriors’ attention.
• The trapped Totem Warriors saw the sheep and began thinking again about escaping to freedom.

Luo Chong’s plan lured the Totem Warriors through hidden tunnels, where the Han Tribe captured them all. As the captives heard elephant trumpets and hoped for rescue, Hui Shan and Rou Rou returned with two adult Dinophants.

• The Totem Warriors saw sheep flee into burrows beneath the city wall and followed them, believing the tunnels led to escape.
• Han Tribe members seized each warrior who climbed out of the tunnels, bound them, and took them prisoner.
• More Totem Warriors found the other burrows and met the same fate, until Luo Chong’s plan captured everyone inside the city.
• Hui Shan and Rou Rou returned from the north with two adult Dinophants.
• The captured warriors heard the elephant trumpets and mistook them for the arrival of reinforcements.

After Luo Chong's forces captured more than two thousand enemies and brought two adult Dinophants back to Hanyang City, the newcomers witnessed the Han Tribe's strength and Zhan Mao gave up hopes of bargaining for influence. Luo Chong established harsh rules to mark and manage the growing slave population, then turned to preparations for private trade as the rice harvest approached.

• Hui Shan and Rou Rou led You Ye's cavalry to the hidden remnants by following the adult Dinophants' scent, and the cavalry captured the remnants alive.
• Luo Chong sent You Ye to help Dashu in Sitong County, handed Horse Binding Pass's aftermath to Blood Butcher and Ying Rui, and returned to Hanyang City with the captives and Dinophants.
• Luo Chong's return with more than two thousand captives convinced Zhan Mao that the Han Tribe's power far exceeded his own, while the new residents grew more secure under Han Tribe rule.
• Luo Chong assigned the Snake Tribe's former chieftain to oversee amputation surgery and decreed that slaves would have their toes cut off, their heads shaved, and the character for slave tattooed on their faces.
• As spring rice neared ripeness, Luo Chong began preparing Hanyang County for the Private Ownership System by working on currency reserves and scales.

Luo Chong established standardized weights and developed a steelyard and measuring vessels for the Han Tribe. With weighing and volume measurement in place, he turned to the unresolved problems of storing currency and setting prices.

• Luo Chong used water and gold dust to create standardized gold weights.
• Luo Chong designed and tested steelyard beams, then marked them with copper graduations to produce a scale measuring up to ten kilograms.
• Luo Chong decided that grain taxes would be collected by volume so wet grain would not distort taxes or spoil stored reserves.
• Luo Chong designed sheng and dou measures, including a hopper-like dou for dispensing grain into bags.
• Luo Chong began considering how the Han Tribe should store currency and set prices.

Luo Chong planned to introduce currency in the Han Tribe by tying its value to actual goods and using state-owned enterprises and paid public work to put money into circulation. He outlined how the system would replace tribal distributions and corvée labor, leaving implementation to local officials.

• Luo Chong concluded that the Han Tribe needed an in-kind currency standard backed by goods such as grain and cloth rather than a gold, silver, or copper standard.
• Luo Chong planned to pay state-owned enterprise workers wages in currency and have those enterprises buy raw materials from private individuals.
• The Han Tribe’s workshops were to become state-owned enterprises, while people began selling timber, oil crops, hemp fiber, and papermaking materials to them.
• Luo Chong decided to replace compulsory corvée labor with taxes that could be offset by money and publicly recruited, paid workers for government projects.
• Luo Chong expected wages and enterprise purchases to spread currency throughout the Han Tribe, while the sale of manufactured goods would return money to circulation.