Chapter Summaries

Yang Zhengshan’s Tenglong Guard reached Qinghua Prefecture City and prepared to besiege it, while Prince Qing’s advisers planned to exploit Yang Zhengshan’s concern for his family and lure his forces away. The chapter left both sides preparing their schemes as Yang Zhengshan ordered siege equipment built.

• Yang Zhengshan inspected Qinghua Prefecture City and learned from Yang Mingzhi that its walls were intact and heavily guarded.
• Prince Qing, Xu Maocai, and Duan Heng discussed how to defend the city until Ji Feiyu arrived, and Xu Maocai proposed attacking the Tenglong Guard’s home base to draw Yang Zhengshan away.
• Yang Zhengshan told his officers they had roughly twenty days to capture the city before Ji Feiyu could reinforce it, and rejected a costly frontal assault.
• Wei Cen reported that Prince Qing likely had about four thousand cavalry hidden nearby, and Xie Yuan concluded they were probably concealed in Daqing Mountain.
• Yang Zhengshan reasoned that Xu Maocai might leave the city to attack and ordered his troops to begin manufacturing siege equipment while preparing for a cavalry ambush.

Yang Zhengshan’s engineers rapidly built siege equipment as his troops prepared to attack Qinghua Prefecture City. Pang Tang and Cui Langzhong arrived with Yang Zhengshan’s appointment as assistant governor of the Central Military Governor’s Office and regional commander of Chongshan Town, while Pang Tang was appointed governor.

• Yang Zhengshan inspected the siege equipment built by Tenglong Guard’s Engineering Corps and told Xie Yuan they could attempt an assault in two days.
• A scout reported that more than a hundred riders were approaching the camp from the south.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized Pang Tang among the riders and welcomed him and Cui Langzhong into the camp.
• Cui Langzhong presented Yang Zhengshan’s promotion documents, official seals, flags, and command tokens appointing him regional commander of Chongshan Town.
• Pang Tang told Yang Zhengshan that he had been appointed governor.

Yang Zhengshan was appointed Regional Commander of Chongshan Town and issued orders to gather reinforcements and defend the cities, while learning that Crown Prince’s eunuch Li was coming to supervise the army. A force of three thousand unidentified cavalry reached Tenglong Guard, and Yu Qingyi prepared the Yang Family to defend the city.

• Yang Zhengshan accepted the Regional Commander post, learned Pang Tang would arrange grain and civilian labor, and heard that Eunuch Li was on his way as supervising army.
• Yang Zhengshan issued orders for Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang to bring the Reinforcement Battalion and for the cities and guard posts to hold their positions.
• Three thousand cavalry without banners galloped toward Tenglong Guard, prompting the West City gate soldiers to shut the gates and sound the alarm.
• Han Fei summoned Yang Mingcheng to the West City gate, where Yu Qingyi joined him and learned the cavalry numbered about three thousand.
• Yu Qingyi ordered Yang Mingcheng to arm the Yang Family’s servants and maids and prepare them for battle.

Yu Qingyi took command of Tenglong Guard’s defense when three thousand unknown cavalry attacked, despite Pang Tang’s doubts and the limited number of soldiers in the city. As the enemy moved against the Women’s Training Camp, Yu Qingyi led a force out to meet them, joined by Yang Mingcheng and her daughters-in-law Wang, Li, and Liang.

• Yang Mingcheng hurried to make arrangements as Pang Tang and Cui Langzhong arrived and learned Yu Qingyi intended to fight the enemy.
• Yu Qingyi explained that Yang Zhengshan would not return to reinforce the guard against an enemy force of fewer than ten thousand, and Pang Tang accepted her command.
• Yu Qingyi and Yang Mingcheng saw the cavalry charge toward the Women’s Training Camp and decided to leave the city before reinforcements arrived.
• Wang, Li, and Liang joined Yu Qingyi, while Yang Mingcheng worried about their safety and the children were reported settled.
• Han Fei reported that one thousand soldiers had assembled, and Yu Qingyi led them through the opened city gates to meet the enemy.

Yu Qingyi, Wang, Li, Liang, and the Women's Training Camp fought the three thousand enemy cavalry outside Guard City until reinforcements from across Tenglong Guard surrounded them. Pang Tang watched the people rally to defend the city and recognized the strength of their will.

• Yu Qingyi led a hundred Yang family riders into the enemy cavalry, while Wang, Li, Liang, and Yang Mingcheng fought their way through the formation.
• Han Fei reached Yang Mingcheng and urged him to regroup instead of charging farther into the enemy.
• Wang Yunqiao led three hundred women soldiers out of the Women's Training Camp and carved through a weak point in the enemy formation.
• Pang Tang and Cui Langzhong watched from the city wall as reinforcements began arriving from nearby military offices and forts.
• Lin Zhan explained that Tenglong Guard had tens of thousands of adult men, while Pang Tang saw old men, youths, and women joining the defense.

Yang Zhengshan anticipated that Prince Qing would lure the Five Army Battalion away and leave the Tenglong Guard camp vulnerable, so he prepared an ambush instead. When Prince Qing’s forces attacked the empty camp, Yang Zhengshan returned with his cavalry, and the chapter ended as his troops charged toward the camp and the open city gate.

• After hearing that Prince Qing’s cavalry had appeared near Guard City, Yang Zhengshan guessed the enemy wanted the Five Army Battalion to leave and ordered his six thousand cavalry to march away while the camp held its defenses.
• Prince Qing and Xu Maocai believed their plan had worked and prepared to attack the Tenglong Guard camp with more than ten thousand soldiers.
• Xie Yuan and Song Dashan waited at the camp, while Yang Zhengshan and his troops hid near a village and watched for Prince Qing’s army to leave the city.
• Duan Heng led the assault on the apparently empty camp, but Tenglong Guard soldiers sprang from hiding and trapped his forces in a fierce battle.
• Duan Heng ordered a retreat and saw Yang Zhengshan’s cavalry approaching; Yang Zhengshan sent Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingzhen toward the open city gate while leading the rest against the enemy at the camp.

Yang Zhengshan’s cavalry crushed Duan Heng’s forces at Qinghua Prefecture, while Prince Qing and Xu Maocai fled the city. The battle ended with Yang Zhengshan killing Duan Heng and calling on the remaining soldiers to surrender.

• Xie Yuan’s ambush trapped the enemy at the camp gate as Yang Zhengshan led the cavalry into their ranks and struck Duan Heng with a short spear.
• Prince Qing blamed Xu Maocai for the disaster, then fled Qinghua Prefecture with Zhang Yu as cavalry approached; Xu Maocai followed behind.
• Yang Zhengshan regrouped and charged back into the battle, where Song Dashan and Xie Yuan’s troops routed Duan Heng’s demoralized soldiers.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized Duan Heng and pursued him as he fled, then ran him through with his spear.
• Yang Zhengshan raised Duan Heng’s body on his spear and urged the defeated troops to surrender.

After capturing Qinghua Prefecture, Yang Zhengshan learned that Prince Qing had fled with his family and prepared to stabilize the city before marching toward Chongshan Pass. He discovered Prince Qing's silver vault beneath Xiuchun Courtyard, took a portion of its treasure, and left the rest to be handled by Pang Tang.

• Yang Mingzhi reported that Prince Qing and his family had fled Qinghua City to seek Ji Feiyu, and Yang Zhengshan concluded their cause had lost its chance after their defeat.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the city's officials released to resume their duties, summoned Pang Tang to manage the aftermath, and arranged to store siege engines for transport to Chongshan Pass.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered reinforcements to guard nearly six thousand captives and demanded that the Liaoyuan Regional Military Commission take responsibility for them.
• Ding Qiu told Yang Zhengshan that Prince Qing's silver vault was hidden in Xiuchun Courtyard, where Yang Zhengshan found roughly a thousand chests containing a million taels of silver.
• Yang Zhengshan moved one-third of the silver into the Spirit Spring Space, ordered the vault sealed for Pang Tang, and commanded that the madam be killed while the other women were spared for now.

Yang Zhengshan captured Qinghua Prefecture and brought his army together with Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu at Anyuan City. Prince Qing fled to Chongshan Pass, where Ji Feiyu learned that the three armies had converged against them.

• Pang Tang learned that Yang Zhengshan had captured Qinghua Prefecture, went there to stabilize the prefecture, and took charge as Yang Zhengshan moved his army toward Songzhou Guard.
• Wang Xie reached Anyuan City, reassured Han Cheng that Qinghua Prefecture had fallen, and told him Yang Zhengshan was on his way.
• Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang arrived at Anyuan City with their forces, and Han Cheng kept them camped outside the walls until Yang Zhengshan arrived.
• Yang Zhengshan reunited with Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu at Anyuan City, entered the city, and met Han Cheng, Lin Shoude, and Ye Fuhai.
• Prince Qing arrived at Chongshan Pass, where Ji Feiyu welcomed him and blamed the defeat at Qinghua Prefecture on Xu Maocai.
• Ji Feiyu received word that Yang Zhengshan, Niu Zhuang, and Tang Feihu had joined forces at Anyuan City.

Ji Feiyu and Prince Qing prepared for Yang Zhengshan’s advance by abandoning Songzhou Guard, seeking Wuliang Hu Tribe support, and arranging an escape for Prince Qing’s children. Yang Zhengshan’s allied army reached Songzhou City, where Liu Zeqing faced wavering officers as the city braced for attack.

• Ji Feiyu told Prince Qing that Songzhou Guard could not be held and urged a decisive battle against Yang Zhengshan at Chongshan Pass.
• Ji Feiyu revealed that he had promised Beiyuan Town to Little Prince Wutuo in exchange for the Wuliang Hu Tribe sending cavalry into Liaoxi.
• Ji Feiyu proposed sending Prince Qing’s three sons and two daughters out to sea from Fuzhou City, and Prince Qing agreed.
• Yang Zhengshan rested his combined forces in Anyuan City while awaiting Pang Tang’s logistical support and reinforcements.
• On the eighth day of the sixth month, Yang Zhengshan’s nearly forty-thousand-strong army arrived beneath Songzhou City.
• Liu Zeqing threatened his silent officers with the extermination of their clans if they failed to help repel Yang Zhengshan.

Zhang Yuanwu and Zhang Chengzhi led the Local Faction in an uprising against Liu Zeqing, while Yang Zhengshan advanced on Songzhou after the south gate was opened. The fighting spread through the city, and Yang Zhengshan charged through the gate to confront Liu Zeqing’s cavalry.

• Liu Zeqing ordered his soldiers to seize Zhang Yuanwu and the other Local Faction officers after they refused to help him resist Yang Zhengshan.
• Reports of fighting at the south gate and inside the headquarters interrupted Liu Zeqing, and Zhang Chengzhi emerged alive to join Zhang Yuanwu in battle against him.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that the south gate was open and led the Five Army Battalion toward Songzhou City.
• Yan Zhengqing and his soldiers fought to hold the south gate as battles between Liu Zeqing’s loyalists and the rebels spread through the city.
• Yang Zhengshan saved Yan Zhengqing from an enemy attack, charged through the city gate, and plunged into Liu Zeqing’s cavalry.

Yang Zhengshan captured Songzhou City, killing Liu Zeqing and subduing his rebels after Zhang Chengzhi and Zhang Yuanwu helped open the city. With the city secured, he prepared to march on Chongshan Pass, where nearly sixty thousand troops were gathered under Ji Feiyu’s control.

• Yan Zhengqing rallied the defenders when Yang Zhengshan arrived, and Yang’s forces crushed Liu Zeqing’s cavalry at the South City gate.
• Yang Zhengshan killed Liu Zeqing with a single spear thrust and ordered the Elite Guard Battalion to capture the remaining rebels.
• Yang Zhengshan praised Zhang Chengzhi and Zhang Yuanwu for resisting Liu Zeqing, then arranged for their wounds to be treated.
• Jianning Guard and Jinzhou Guard troops entered Songzhou City, and by the next day Yang Zhengshan had the city fully under his control.
• Yang Zhengshan announced that Hou Yao had led nearly sixty thousand troops into Chongshan Pass and planned to march there after three days of rest.
• Yang Zhengshan appointed Zhang Chengzhi temporary assistant general of Songzhou Guard and ordered him to pacify the troops and reorganize the army.

Yang Zhengshan secured Songzhou City and marched toward Chongshan Pass, while Pang Tang drove Chen Zuchang away after accusing him of embezzling military pay and trying to sow discord. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan encamped outside the towering pass, struggling to find a way to capture it.

• Yang Zhengshan reassured Zhang Chengzhi and the Songzhou Guard officials, then arranged the army’s affairs and sent a battle report to Pang Tang.
• Pang Tang rejected Chen Zuchang’s attempt to persuade him to claim credit for Songzhou City’s capture and confronted him over taking silver from the treasury.
• Pang Tang beat Chen Zuchang and ordered him out of the yamen, then sent the battle report and an impeachment memorial to the capital.
• After resting in Songzhou City for three days, Yang Zhengshan led the army to Chongshan Pass on June thirteenth.
• Niu Zhuang reported that the Zhenbiao Left Battalion and Zhenbiao Right Battalion camps were empty, and Yang Zhengshan ordered his troops to inspect the camps and set up around the left camp.
• Yang Zhengshan considered the pass’s towering walls and concluded that capturing Chongshan Pass would take time and effort.

Yang Zhengshan advised Yang Qinyong on governing Yinghe Fortress and kept him nearby as a clerk, while Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu assessed the threat his army posed at Chongshan Pass. In the capital, ministers debated whether Yang Zhengshan should be sent to Liaoxi as the Wuliang army advanced.

• Yang Zhengshan praised Yang Qinyong’s work at Yinghe Fortress, urged him to adapt outdated policies, and asked him to serve nearby as a clerk.
• Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu discussed Yang Zhengshan’s record of turning ordinary troops into powerful forces, and Ji Feiyu resolved to defend Chongshan Pass rather than meet him in open battle.
• Yang Zhengshan delayed his assault while his engineers built siege equipment, then requisitioned more than eight thousand arriving laborers to help prepare it.
• Yang Zhengshan’s battle report and Pang Tang’s memorial reached the capital, where Li Siyuan predicted Chongshan Pass would soon fall and Zhou Mao warned that it would be difficult to take.
• The Crown Prince urged that Yang Zhengshan be sent to reinforce Liaoxi, but Zhou Mao opposed transferring him before Chongshan Pass fell, and Wang Lu reported that the Ministry of War had dispatched three hundred thousand troops to Dongsheng Prefecture.

Liu Yuanfu forced the Crown Prince to execute Chen Zuchang, then resigned from court and warned Yang Zhengshan that the Crown Prince was displeased with him. Yang Zhengshan considered the danger as he prepared to inspect Chongshan Pass, where his army remained locked in a stalemate with Ji Feiyu.

• Liu Yuanfu demanded Chen Zuchang's execution, and Prince Cheng and Prince Gong joined his request until the Crown Prince agreed.
• Liu Yuanfu submitted three requests to resign, received permission, and left the Capital with his family.
• Liu Yuanfu wrote Yang Zhengshan that court rivalries were worsening and warned him to be cautious of the Crown Prince's displeasure.
• Yang Zhengshan wondered whether the Crown Prince might target him but judged that the court still needed him to deal with Ji Feiyu.
• Yang Zhengshan rode with Niu Zhuang, Tang Feihu, and Xie Yuan to inspect Chongshan Pass as both sides continued their standoff.

Yang Zhengshan prepared to break Chongshan Pass by striking at its defenders’ morale rather than immediately storming its walls. As his crossbow bolts scattered papers over the city, Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu waited behind the walls, unaware of what message the papers carried.

• Yang Zhengshan learned that his allies knew little about Chongshan Pass’s current defenses and decided to attack the defenders’ morale instead of relying on a direct assault.
• Yang Zhengshan assembled tens of thousands of troops beneath Chongshan Pass as a fierce southeast wind blew, while Ji Feiyu, Prince Qing, and Hou Yao watched from the walls.
• Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu rejected Hou Yao’s suggestion to charge out and chose to defend the city and wait for Yang Zhengshan to make a mistake.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered more than three hundred Tenglong Guard stationary crossbows to fire bolts wrapped in paper toward Chongshan Pass.
• The bolts flew over the city, and their paper coverings fluttered down across Chongshan Pass like snow.

Yang Zhengshan tried to weaken Chongshan Pass’s defenders by scattering surrender offers across the city, while Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu struggled to contain the resulting fear and unrest. Three days later, Yang Zhengshan’s army assembled beneath the walls and began its promised assault.

• Yang Zhengshan fired paper-wrapped crossbow bolts into Chongshan Pass, scattering a message that offered mercy to soldiers who surrendered during the attack.
• Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu realized they could not retrieve every paper, so Ji Feiyu ordered the troops to collect them and arranged three months of pay to bolster morale.
• Yang Zhengshan withdrew his army to camp and assessed the forces led by Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu, finding many of their soldiers well trained.
• That night, rumors about Yang Zhengshan spread among the defenders, and the surrender offer fueled fear, resentment, and unease throughout Chongshan Pass.
• On the sixth day of the seventh month, Yang Zhengshan led his army beneath Chongshan Pass’s walls to begin the promised attack.

Yang Zhengshan launched an all-out assault on Chongshan Pass, while Prince Qing and the defenders prepared to fight to the death. The attackers suffered heavy losses against the formidable walls, and Yang Zhengshan ordered Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingzhen to begin their surprise attacks on the flanks.

• Yang Zhengshan deployed his forces for a decisive assault, assigning Song Dashan to attack the gate and Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingzhen to strike from the mountain sides.
• Prince Qing rejected Ji Feiyu’s offer to help him escape, declaring that he would rather die defending Chongshan Pass than live like a fugitive.
• Yang Zhengshan’s army charged the walls under heavy fire, while the defenders repelled climbers with molten metal, stones, logs, and spears.
• Zhang Hu climbed onto the battlements, killed two defenders, and jumped back down to avoid a spear attack before charging up the ladder again.
• Song Dashan and his soldiers repeatedly rammed the city gate, but it barely shook as the assault continued to take heavy casualties.
• Yang Zhengshan saw that the defenses on both sides had thinned and ordered Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingzhen to launch their attacks.

Yang Mingzhi led the royal army onto Chongshan Pass’s east wall, where Lin Anguo and many Zhenbiao Rear Battalion soldiers defected and joined the attack. As fighting spread to the west wall, Ji Feiyu ordered reinforcements, while imprisoned Lu Chongde and Ji He realized the royal army had arrived.

• Yang Mingzhi and his soldiers climbed the east wall, where Lin Anguo identified them as the royal army and offered to switch sides with his men.
• Yang Mingzhi accepted Lin Anguo’s surrender, and Lin led his soldiers against Ji Feiyu’s trusted Qianzong as the east wall descended into fighting.
• Yang Mingzhi left Lin Anguo in command of the east wall and led his men toward the south city gate.
• Yang Mingzhen fought and killed a trusted Qianzong on the west wall, after which soldiers of the Zhenbiao Left Battalion began defecting.
• Ji Feiyu received reports of defections on the east wall and an enemy assault on the west wall, then ordered Hou Yao to commit the Reinforcement Battalion.
• In prison, Lu Chongde and Ji He heard the fighting and concluded that Yang Zhengshan’s royal army had arrived to attack Chongshan Pass.

Lu Chongde was freed from prison and rallied the defecting troops with his authority as Governor of Chongshan Town, while Yang Zhengshan prepared to storm Chongshan Pass. The chapter left Yang Zhengshan vaulting onto the city wall as the final battle began.

• Zuo Wan rescued Ji He and Lu Chongde from prison after the soldiers of the Zhenbiao battalions turned against Ji Feiyu.
• Lu Chongde ordered Zuo Wan to help Yang Zhengshan seize the city gate, then retrieved his Imperial Command Flag and Token and official seal from the Governor's Office.
• Zuo Wan raised Lu Chongde's Imperial Command Flag and Token and led the soldiers against Hou Yao's Reinforcement Battalion, while Lu Chongde donned his official robe and rallied more defectors.
• Yang Mingzhi fought his way toward the city gate as Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu secured a foothold on the wall, and Yang Zhengshan ordered the Elite Guard Battalion and Five Army Battalion to charge.
• Yang Zhengshan hurled short spears at Ji Feiyu, then leaped from Red Cloud onto the city wall as the Elite Guard Battalion followed using scaling ladders.