Chapter Summaries

Yang Yunxue challenged Liang Jinyan to a martial arts match at the Marquis Mansion and defeated him with a single spear strike. She then accepted Liang Chu's invitation to spar, showing off the Yang Family Spear Technique as their fight began.

• Yang Yunxue admired the peonies but declined Liang Jinyan's offer to give her one, then told him he was too weak.
• Yang Yunxue challenged Liang Jinyan to a match and led him to the Martial Arts Training Ground, where the Marchioness, Lady Han, and Yu Qingyi watched.
• Yang Yunxue disarmed Liang Jinyan with one spear strike, revealing that she had reached the Strength Refining level.
• Liang Chu praised Yang Yunxue's skill, scolded Liang Jinyan, and invited her to spar with him.
• Yang Yunxue eagerly fought Liang Chu, using the Yang Family Spear Technique as she dodged and counterattacked.

Yang Yunxue impressed the Marquis Mansion with her martial skill, while Su Shanyu learned his assassination attempt had failed and prepared to leave Chongshan Town. Yang Zhengshan followed him to a post station and began a covert approach, intending to kill him.

• Yang Yunxue sparred with Liang Chu, impressing him, the Marchioness, and Lady Han, while Liang Jinyan worried about marrying someone stronger than himself.
• Su Shanyu learned Su Bai and his men had been killed, then ordered his attendants to return to the capital and collect Su Shansi from Anyuan City.
• Ding Qiu told Yang Zhengshan that Su Shanyu was staying at Guangju Pavilion, and Yang Zhengshan ordered him to watch for Su Shanyu leaving town.
• Su Shanyu rode out of Chongshan Town with more than twenty attendants, and Yang Zhengshan followed alone on Red Cloud.
• Liang Chu learned Yang Zhengshan had left alone and ordered his people to act as if they had not seen him.
• Yang Zhengshan followed Su Shanyu to Panshan Post Station, left Red Cloud outside, concealed his identity, and crept into the courtyard at night.

Yang Zhengshan assassinated Su Shanyu at Panshan Post Station and returned safely to Chongshan Pass. He warned his family to beware of Jingyuan Marquis Mansion’s retaliation, then learned Yang Yunxue was willing to leave her marriage to Liang Jinyan to her parents.

• Yang Zhengshan broke into Su Shanyu’s room, killed one attendant with a thrown short sword, and snapped Su Shanyu’s neck before escaping.
• Yang Zhengshan rode back to Chongshan Pass before dawn and entered the city after the gates opened.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi discussed possible retaliation by Jingyuan Marquis Mansion, and Yang Zhengshan sent Zhou Lan a warning about his family’s safety.
• Yu Qingyi told Yang Zhengshan that Yang Yunxue’s only concern about Liang Jinyan was his weak martial strength.
• Yang Yunxue agreed to leave the decision about marrying Liang Jinyan to Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi.

After Su Shanyu's murder, Liang Chu and Zhou Lan judged that the Crown Prince would not intervene, while Yang Zhengshan returned to Anyuan City and gathered resources for the coming campaign. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan punishing a stableman who had leaked information about his family.

• Liang Chu decided to send men to check the murder case, intending to help Yang Zhengshan cover any loose ends rather than investigate against him.
• Zhou Lan reassured Yang Mingzhi that the Crown Prince would not risk provoking Emperor Chengping over Su Shanyu.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Wang Bin for warhorses and silver, securing 150 horses and 3,000 taels, then received 500 dan of grain and fodder from Tan Jingtai.
• Yang Minghao and Yang Mingcheng told Yang Zhengshan that a stableman had taken 100 taels to leak news of his family.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the stableman disposed of and his family sold, and Yang Minghao carried out the orders.

Yang Zhengshan prepared Anyuan City's defenses while Yuan Qing, a trusted subordinate of Marquis Jingyuan, investigated Su Shanyu's murder and confronted him. After Yuan Qing drew his saber on Yang Zhengshan, Yang Zhengshan kicked him out of the study and ordered his guards to surround the Imperial Guards, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Yang Zhengshan strengthened the Garrison Battalion and arranged for troops from the outer tun fortresses to learn Anyuan City's defenses while Xie Yuan familiarized himself with the office's affairs.
• Yuan Qing examined the scene of Su Shanyu's murder at Panshan Post Station, questioned an attendant, and went to Anyuan City to investigate Yang Zhengshan.
• Yuan Qing challenged Yang Zhengshan about Su Shanyu's death, and Yang Zhengshan criticized the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion and its unauthorized mobilization of Fenwu Battalion soldiers.
• Yuan Qing drew his saber and stopped it above Yang Zhengshan's head, but Yang Zhengshan pushed it aside and denounced him for threatening a frontier official.
• Yang Zhengshan kicked Yuan Qing through a window and ordered his guards to seize the Imperial Guards, surrounding Yuan Qing's men with soldiers.

Yang Zhengshan turned Yuan Qing’s armed attack in the Garrison Commander’s Office into a case against the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion and sought support to bring it before the court. Zheng Xiao’s impeachment memorial reached Emperor Chengping, who recognized Yang Zhengshan’s name from an earlier case.

• Yang Zhengshan had Yuan Qing and his men arrested, reported the incident to General Wang Bin, and sent a letter to Liu Yuanfu asking him to impeach the Jingyuan Marquis.
• Xu Jin heard Yang Zhengshan’s account and declared that he would impeach the Marquis of Jingyuan, then accused Yang Zhengshan of manipulating him.
• Liu Yuanfu inferred that Yang Zhengshan had killed the Jingyuan Marquis’s second son and ordered a memorial drafted for his student Zheng Xiao to submit.
• After early court, Emperor Chengping read Zheng Xiao’s impeachment memorial and asked Eunuch Chen where he had heard of Yang Zhengshan.
• Eunuch Chen reminded Emperor Chengping that Yang Zhengshan had helped resolve the Songzhou Guard treason case more than two years earlier.

Emperor Chengping punished Marquis Jingyuan for secretly sending Imperial Guard troops out of the capital and rewarded Marquis Changping, while reprimanding the Crown Prince for trying to arrange a marriage alliance. In Anyuan City, Yang Zhengshan welcomed Liang Hui and Liang Jinyan, whose visit advanced the marriage discussions with Yang Yunxue.

• Emperor Chengping summoned the Crown Prince and condemned him for arranging a marriage alliance between the Marquis Changping Mansion and Qing'an Earl Mansion.
• Emperor Chengping ordered the Crown Prince confined for one month and demoted Marquis Jingyuan by one rank, fined him three years' salary, and removed him from command of Fenwu Battalion.
• Emperor Chengping rewarded Marquis Changping with one thousand taels of silver and hereditary favor for one son as an Imperial Guard Thousand-Man Commander.
• Yang Zhengshan waited in Anyuan City for news about the memorial against Marquis Jingyuan and focused on Yang Yunxue's marriage.
• Yang Zhengshan welcomed Liang Hui and Liang Jinyan to the city, and Liang Hui showed his approval of the marriage as he spoke warmly with Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan set firm conditions for Liang Jinyan’s marriage to Yang Yunxue, then learned that the Jingyuan Marquis had been punished by the emperor. As the marriage arrangements advanced, Marquis Changping Mansion sent the Yang Family a rare innate cultivation method, which Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi decided to study together.

• Yang Zhengshan required Liang Jinyan to take no concubine before thirty and never repudiate Yang Yunxue, demonstrating his strength to make the conditions clear.
• Liang Hui and Liang Jinyan stayed in Anyuan City for three days, and Liang Jinyan and Yang Yunxue grew more comfortable with each other before the visitors departed.
• Yang Zhengshan received word that the Jingyuan Marquis had been fined, dismissed, and demoted, while the Crown Prince had been confined to his residence.
• The Yang Family and Marquis Changping Mansion completed the marriage rites, and the marquis mansion sent more than a hundred carts of betrothal gifts, including the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi decided to keep the innate cultivation method and began studying it together.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi studied the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique and began planning to open their meridians, while their family prepared for the coming year. At a New Year gathering, Wang Bin confirmed that a campaign was expected next year and discussed Songzhou Guard’s role in supplying his forces.

• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi learned that the Yi Wood Everlasting Technique could restore youth, and they resolved to work toward opening their meridians.
• Liang Hui and Lady Han brought Liang Jinyan to Anyuan City, where the families set Yang Yunxue and Liang Jinyan’s wedding for the eighth day of the tenth month next year.
• Yang Mingcheng, Jiang He, and Yang Yunyan returned to Anning County with New Year gifts, while Yang Mingzhi visited Jianning Guard and Yang Zhengshan delivered gifts to his superiors and the Marquis Mansion.
• Yang Zhengshan visited Wang Bin, and the two invited Tan Jingtai to join them for a New Year meal.
• Tan Jingtai asked whether the army would campaign next year, and Wang Bin confirmed it was expected, assigning Tan Jingtai responsibility for preparing Songzhou Guard’s logistical support.

Yang Zhengshan welcomed relatives and clan members during the New Year, reflecting on the Yang Clan’s growing influence and celebrating several family milestones. After the Spring Festival, Chongshan Town began preparing for a major campaign against the Great Ling Dynasty, whose goal was to destroy the East Sea Hu Tribe’s power at its roots.

• Yang Zhengshan read letters from Yang Mingwu and Yang Chengze, and Yu Qingyi praised the rising younger generation of the Yang Clan.
• Yang Minghui visited as the Yang Clan’s new leader, and Yang Zhengshan sent medicinal wine for Yang Zhengxiang; Lu Qi also visited and promised to deliver a jar to Second Master Lu.
• Yang Zhengshan’s family celebrated Wang’s new daughter, Liang’s pregnancy, Yu Qingyi’s pregnancy, Yang Yunxue’s settled marriage, and Li’s return for the New Year.
• After the Spring Festival, Chongshan Town’s forces began mobilizing for a campaign against the Great Ling Dynasty.
• The Governor’s Office and Regional Commander’s Mansion summoned assistant regional commanders to Chongshan Pass to discuss the expedition, which aimed to destroy the East Sea Hu Tribe’s major tribes as well as take Fushan City.

Wang Bin gathered the officials under his command and ordered them to prepare to march at any time. Yang Zhengshan revealed Anyuan City's unusually well-equipped garrison, impressing Wang Bin as the preparations for an expedition began.

• Yang Zhengshan joined the officials at Wang Bin's shogunate and spoke with Tan Jingtai and Nian Luyao.
• Wang Bin ordered everyone to be ready to march and warned that anyone who slackened would face military law.
• The garrison commanders reported their troops and supplies, but most said they could spare only five or six hundred men.
• Wang Bin asked Yang Zhengshan about Anyuan City's garrison, and Yang reported 1,112 battle-ready soldiers, including 300 leather-armored cavalry and 200 iron-armored infantry.
• Wang Bin approved of Anyuan City's strength and assigned preparations and supply arrangements while keeping the expedition plan undisclosed.

Yang Zhengshan balanced campaign preparations with spring plowing while arranging Wang Yunqiao’s marriage to Song Hao. The military order for the campaign arrived with an unexpected plan that delighted him.

• Yang Zhengshan inspected the Garrison Battalion’s training and discussed Wang Yunqiao’s marriage with Song Dashan, who failed to understand his meaning.
• Song Li realized Yang Zhengshan intended Wang Yunqiao to marry Song Hao and brought Song Hao to meet Yu Qingyi; the families quickly agreed to the match, with the wedding to wait until Wang Yunqiao turned sixteen.
• Cavalry from Jia City delivered the military order for Chongshan Town’s campaign against the East Sea Hu Tribe to Yang Zhengshan.
• Yang Zhengshan read the campaign plan drawn up by Lu Chongde and Liang Chu and reacted with excitement at its unexpected approach.

Yang Zhengshan received orders to lead the Anyuan City Garrison Battalion on an expedition against the East Sea Hu Tribe and arranged for the city and military farmland to be managed in his absence. After saying goodbye to Yu Qingyi and naming their unborn son Yang Mingzhao, he marched north with his troops, hoping to win merit and seize spoils.

• Yang Zhengshan summoned his officers and assigned Xie Yuan to oversee the Garrison Commander's Office, Yang Minghao to defend Anyuan City, and Wu Chongzhe to manage military farmland and spring plowing.
• Yang Zhengshan gave the soldiers a day to visit their families and comforted the anxious Yu Qingyi, promising to return safely from the campaign.
• Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi chose Yang Yunmeng for a daughter and Yang Mingzhao for a son.
• On April twelfth, Yang Zhengshan led more than a thousand soldiers and over a hundred carts out of Anyuan City after receiving farewells from Xu Jin and Lin Shoude.
• Yang Zhengshan's column marched north with supplies and carts prepared for camp defenses and for carrying captured spoils.

Yang Zhengshan chose the Songyuan River and its branches as the likeliest place to find East Sea Hu Tribe settlements, then sent Yang Mingzhen to scout the area. Yang Mingzhen found Hu cavalry and evidence of a nearby settlement, but enemy sentries spotted his party and forced them to retreat.

• Wang Bin learned that the garrison battalions had left the border and ordered scouts to go out first.
• Yang Zhengshan ruled out the coast, Heiyun Mountain, the area around Fushan City, and the distant west, then chose the Songyuan River region for scouting.
• Yang Mingzhen led several dozen riders to search the upper Songyuan River while Yang Zhengshan marched north with the remaining soldiers.
• The Great Ling capital warned the tribes of the approaching war, and Hu tribes began hiding and searching for garrison battalions.
• Yang Mingzhen found over ten Hu cavalry resting near the river and concluded that a Hu Tribe settlement was nearby.
• Hu sentries spotted Yang Mingzhen's small party, so he retreated rather than risk a fight against the larger force.

Yang Zhengshan’s Garrison Battalion discovered Hu cavalry while searching beyond the border, and the Tumege chief Zhayan led more than a thousand riders to attack them. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan’s cavalry formed on a hill and his infantry prepared to defend the camp as the Tumege force arrived.

• Yang Mingzhen found traces of Hu cavalry near the Songyuan River and set out with over a hundred riders to investigate.
• Zhayan learned that Rong troops were nearby and led more than a thousand Tumege cavalry southeast to seize what he believed were easy spoils.
• Yang Mingzhen encountered Hu cavalry, then fled when a much larger force appeared and reported the threat to Yang Zhengshan.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered his cavalry out and his infantry to defend the camp, and the Garrison Battalion quickly formed an orderly battle line.
• Zhayan’s cavalry reached the western hill as Yang Zhengshan watched from the eastern hill with his cavalry assembled.

Yang Zhengshan’s Garrison Battalion faced a Hu Cavalry attack on its camp, and its disciplined troops held firm against the charge. Yang Zhengshan then led his cavalry downhill, smashing into the Hu forces as Zhayan watched in alarm.

• Zhayan ordered more than a thousand Hu Cavalry to attack the Garrison Battalion’s camp, driven by greed for its supplies and armor.
• Song Dashan and two hundred iron-armored soldiers held the camp entrance, repelling the Hu Cavalry despite their numbers.
• Zhayan realized the Garrison Battalion was unlike the Da Rong forces he had fought before when his warriors failed to break through the defenses.
• Yang Zhengshan led three hundred cavalry down the hill in a tight formation, leaving Zhayan and his warriors stunned by the charge.
• Yang Zhengshan urged Red Cloud forward, then struck the Hu Cavalry and swept aside their riders as the Garrison Battalion’s cavalry followed.

Yang Zhengshan's Garrison Battalion routed the Hu Cavalry with almost no casualties and captured hundreds of horses and weapons. That night, Yang Mingzhen discovered a nearby Hu Tribe settlement and its hidden sentry.

• Yang Zhengshan stopped his cavalry from pursuing Zhayan's fleeing Hu Cavalry and ordered Yang Mingzhen to guard the camp.
• Han Cheng and Song Dashan reported that no soldiers had been killed and only a dozen had suffered broken bones.
• Zhou Ren reported the Garrison Battalion had taken 846 heads, 323 warhorses, 780 weapons, and 73 complete sets of Leather Armor.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the wounded treated and the captured horses distributed, then told Song Dashan to prepare the soldiers to rest before another possible battle.
• Yang Mingzhen and three soldiers crept up a hill, killed a hidden Hu sentry, and spotted a Hu Tribe settlement beyond it.

After the Garrison Battalion defeated the Tumege Tribe, Yang Zhengshan prepared to attack its settlement while considering the wider campaign against the East Sea Hu Tribe. He discovered Zhayan was seeking help from the neighboring Zha'erzi Tribe and sent Yang Mingzhen to track the messengers.

• Yang Mingzhen told Yang Zhengshan that scouts had found the Tumege Tribe, and Yang Zhengshan postponed the attack until morning so his soldiers could rest.
• Yang Zhengshan wrote a battle report claiming merit for the Garrison Battalion's victory, then considered how the East Sea Hu Tribe might respond to the campaign.
• Zhayan rejected his subordinates' proposal to relocate and sent messengers overnight to seek reinforcements from the Zha'erzi Tribe.
• Yang Zhengshan left Han Cheng to guard camp and led three hundred cavalry and two hundred iron-armored infantry toward the Tumege settlement.
• Zhayan panicked when Yang Zhengshan's force appeared, and Yang Zhengshan ordered Yang Mingzhen to follow the messengers heading to the Zha'erzi Tribe.

Abatai led Zha'erzi troops to aid Tumege, but Yang Zhengshan’s cavalry met them on the road and smashed through their formation. Abatai was killed, and Yang Zhengshan’s force continued its devastating charge.

• Abatai agreed to send several hundred Zha'erzi riders to help Tumege after hearing their plea for reinforcements.
• Yang Mingzhen reported that a large Hu tribe was approaching, so Yang Zhengshan ordered the infantry to hold position and rode west with three hundred cavalry.
• Yang Zhengshan’s cavalry and Abatai’s force suddenly encountered each other in a narrow mountain pass and charged head-on.
• Yang Zhengshan threw two short spears into the Hu formation, then struck Abatai through his chest and killed him.
• Yang Zhengshan and his cavalry overwhelmed the Zha'erzi riders, and Abatai realized why Tumege had feared them.

Yang Zhengshan led his cavalry away from the defended Tumege and launched a surprise assault on the unprepared Zha'erzi Tribe. After his troops slaughtered their way through the settlement, he was left troubled by the corpses, including children, and tried to justify his actions as part of the war.

• Yang Zhengshan declined to pursue the scattered Hu cavalry, collected their heads as battle merits, and learned that Tumege remained prepared for battle.
• Yang Zhengshan changed targets and led three hundred cavalry west to raid the chaotic Zha'erzi Tribe, unaware that he had already killed its chief, Abatai.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered his cavalry to kill without exception, and the terrified tribe fled in panic as the riders charged through its settlement.
• Song Dashan brought the armored infantry into the settlement, and his troops joined the cavalry in the prolonged slaughter.
• Yang Zhengshan stopped fighting when he could find no enemies left, saw corpses across the settlement, and struggled with guilt over the possibility that he had killed children.