Recaps

After the Ten Crows retreat, Shen Tang’s forces return to Longwu, where she rewards allies, faces old rivalries, and tackles concealed taxes and land. Meanwhile, Xu Xie takes in Ning Yan, and news that Shen Tang is a woman sets off new plans and rumors.

• Kang Shi broke the Ten Crows’ morale formation, and Xun Zhen’s Heroic Spirits helped force the enemy to retreat from Yonggu Pass.
• Shen Tang returned to the pass, thanked Xun Zhen for helping defend it, and learned that Chu Yao had promised him five thousand taels of gold.
• At a memorial for the fallen, Chu Jie and his officers pledged loyalty to Shen Tang, who then led her forces toward Ruyáo.
• Qi Shan admitted that he had deceived Xun Zhen and encouraged his son to run away, but revealed that the son was alive, easing Xun Zhen’s anger.
• Gongxi Chou rescued Gongxi Lai, returned to his Clan Land, and confirmed that Jimo Can and his elder brother were alive.
• Qi Shan and Gu Chi investigated villages and found that powerful families had hidden residents to evade taxes, while Chu Yao discovered that Zhao Feng’s troops were listed on Shen Tang’s National Seal roster.
• Xu Xie welcomed Ning Yan and her daughter, and Ning Yan offered to serve him before Wen Shi’s letter revealed that Shen Tang was supposedly a woman.
• Ning Yan decided to visit Shen Tang, while Shen Tang tried on a red dress and visited the government offices as her staff worked to register hidden tenant farmers and reorganize confiscated fields.

Shen Tang organized a quiet effort to find women who could cultivate and established an academy for them, while Ning Yan joined her and Xu Xie arranged support. Meanwhile, Zhao Feng’s daughter fled an arranged marriage and traveled toward Longwu, where she and a young scholar encountered Qi Shan, whose former enemy accused him of destroying a kingdom.

• Shen Tang learned that Shen Zhi could cultivate and directed her officials to identify other talented women discreetly, using commandery-wide free medical checkups.
• Ning Yan arrived with seed grain from Xu Xie, pledged herself to Shen Tang, and later accepted responsibility for leading an academy for female students.
• Shen Tang appointed Ning Yan to organize the school, while Xu Xie arranged funds and female teachers despite growing tensions with Wu Xian over Heyin.
• Zhao Feng’s daughter ran away to escape an arranged marriage, and Xu Xie helped search for her before returning to Heyin with recruited teachers.
• Zhao Feng’s daughter joined a merchant caravan and traveled toward Longwu with a red-robed scholar after he helped protect the caravan from bandits.
• In Longwu, the scholar and Zhao Feng’s daughter met Young Lady Lu, who recognized him as Qi Shan’s prospective recruit, and then visited her household.
• Qi Shan encountered the red-robed scholar, who seized Su Shang and demanded repayment, then accused Qi Shan of owing him an entire kingdom.
• The scholar explained that Qi Yuanliang’s trade schemes had ruined his country, and admitted that he had let the plan unfold hoping to rebuild the country afterward.

Shen Tang judged a false accusation, welcomed Liao Jia, and built plans to profit from salt and textiles while preparing Longwu Commandery for the future. As Huang Lie’s coalition formed against Zheng Qiao, Shen Tang declined to join, while trade with Ten Crows continued amid signs of unrest among its slaves.

• Shen Tang punished the old woman, her daughter-in-law, and the husband for falsely accusing Widow Zhuo, and an auspicious sign appeared as she gained a vision of Mountain Sea Sacred Land.
• Liao Jia joined Shen Tang’s service, and Shen Tang proposed using techniques from Tian Gong Kai Wu to weaken Ten Crows through trade.
• Shen Tang organized salt fields, recruited Bai Su’s women soldiers for the work, and used her Word Spirits to supply seawater as the workers produced salt.
• Shen Tang arranged salt sales through a merchant and a partnership with Xu Xie, while she and her staff developed silkworm farming, mulberry cultivation, and weaving.
• Xun Zhen and Shen Tang’s advisers warned that Huang Lie had raised ten thousand Heavy Shield Warriors and was organizing a coalition against Zheng Qiao, but Shen Tang refused to join the campaign.
• Shen Tang warned the coalition’s leaders, ordered scouts to follow its progress, and told Gu Chi she planned to expand across the northwest in two years.
• Xu Xie’s attendant signed a salt contract with Shen Tang, and Longwu’s merchants brought supplies into Ten Crows despite the Yonggu Pass blockade.
• Wei Heng sold scarce goods to the Tatamuer Tribe, while Lü Jue learned that a female slave’s teachings had spread among the slaves and foresaw upheaval in Ten Crows.

Shen Tang’s forces exposed Qiu Cheng’s raid on Longwu Commandery as they ambushed his troops and prepared to invade Sibao Prefecture. Qiu Cheng chose to raise taxes and seek allies, while Miao Shu proposed a plan to turn the alliance against Shen Tang.

• Yu Zi and Lü Jue reported that their ancestral-commandment movement had spread among slaves in eleven Ten Crows tribes, where unrest and escapes were already underway.
• The Ten Crows Great King grew suspicious after more princes died, while Shen Tang sent Chu Jie and Gu Chi to stir up the slaves and received word that Xun Ding was alive and working as a hired fighter.
• Gongxi Chou told Xun Ding he would serve small powers for pay while seeking to make a name for himself and find his older brother, then began training Yang Ying.
• After Qiu Cheng’s cavalry raided Nanyu County, Shen Tang prepared to retaliate and set a trap at Granary One, suspecting a leak and predicting Beishang County would be targeted next.
• Shu Niang joined Qiu Cheng’s household to gain his protection and pursue revenge against Shen Tang, while Bai Su’s forces hurriedly harvested Beishang County’s grain and prepared the ambush.
• Qiu Cheng’s troops attacked Granary One, but Bai Su, Ning Yan, Gongshu Wu, and Lu Ji fought them off, and Shen Tang later killed the Ninth-Rank Wudafu as Xu Quan engaged another enemy commander.
• Qiu Cheng’s expedition suffered heavy losses, and Shen Tang threatened him with an arrow-borne message before asking Lord Yang to map routes and troop positions in Sibao Prefecture.
• Qiu Cheng’s advisers agreed to increase taxes and prepare for war, while Miao Shu proposed borrowing troops from Huang Lie and portraying Shen Tang as Zheng Qiao’s supporter.