Chapter Summaries

Yang Zhengshan took charge of Linguan Fortress and realized its refugees needed food, shelter, and livelihoods before they could become soldiers. After surveying the fortress and its households, he set a plan in motion to rebuild it.

• Yang Zhengshan formed one hundred refugees into a company, ordered them to eat, clean themselves, and clean Linguan Fortress, then distributed three pecks of grain to each person.
• Yang Zhengshan examined the Yellow Register and Fish Scale Register, then ordered Yang Mingzhi, Yang Mingwu, and the others to investigate every household's members, skills, and circumstances.
• Yang Zhengshan concluded that the refugees needed stable livelihoods and warm clothing as well as food before they could train and fight.
• Yang Zhengshan surveyed Linguan Fortress with Old Li and Yang Minghao, drew a plan to rebuild its homes and add facilities, and had Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingwu begin construction on the third day.

Yang Zhengshan organized a contest to rebuild Linguan Fortress’s houses and arranged meals for the workers, bringing new energy to the settlement. He then traveled to Chongshan Pass City to find work for its military households and began seeking a small cloth shop to partner with.

• Yang Zhengshan ordered the fortress houses rebuilt by squad, offering grain and silver to the top finishers and assigning the last-place squad to wash his clothes.
• Yang Zhengshan told Old Li to hire ten cooks and provide meals during construction, and the fortress residents eagerly joined the work.
• After houses began rising, Yang Zhengshan considered ways for Linguan Fortress residents to earn income beyond its barren land.
• Yang Zhengshan went to Chongshan Pass City with Yang Minghao and visited Baifu Grain Shop to ask Shopkeeper Lu for help finding a cloth-shop owner.
• Shopkeeper Lu took Yang Zhengshan to meet the owner of Luo's Cloth Shop across the street.

Yang Zhengshan arranged for Luo Shang to sell cloth shoes and buy old clothes for a Needlework Workshop that would give Linguan Fortress’s women a way to earn a living. After the workshop opened and its first shoes were delivered, Yang Zhengshan turned his attention to training the soldiers, leaving the business in Old Li and Yang Minghao’s hands.

• Yang Zhengshan asked Luo Shang to sell cloth shoes for twenty cash per pair and purchase old clothes by the jin, explaining that the workshop would help the Military Households earn a living.
• Luo Shang agreed to help and, after Yang Zhengshan promised him and Shopkeeper Lu a favor, arranged to collect the old clothes in five days and receive the first shoes in ten days.
• Yang Zhengshan gave Luo Shang three taels of silver for buying old clothes and continued rebuilding Linguan Fortress without receiving any news from Zhou Lan.
• By the beginning of the fifth month, the workshop was complete, women were washing old clothes and sewing shoes, and the first batch had been delivered to Luo's Cloth Shop.
• Yang Zhengshan began training the soldiers while Yang Chengze, Yang Chengxu, and the Squad Leaders formed their ranks; Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingwu reported that both banners had all fifty-six men present.

Yang Zhengshan began a month of strict basic training for the soldiers at Linguan Fortress while news from home made him a grandfather. He learned that Yang Yunyan had given birth to a son and that Li was pregnant again, and he left the story considering his family’s growing future.

• Yang Zhengshan ordered the soldiers to begin basic training and demanded that they obey orders without hesitation.
• Yang Zhengshan organized the soldiers’ daily routine around training, reading, and keeping their homes orderly.
• Yang Minghao told Yang Zhengshan that Yang Yunyan had given birth five days earlier and handed him Yang Mingcheng’s letter.
• Yang Zhengshan read that Li was more than two months pregnant and told Yang Minghao to inform Yang Mingcheng that everyone was well and Yang Minghao’s sister-in-law to care for Li.
• Yang Zhengshan reflected on the newborn grandson, Yang Mingcheng’s upcoming Prefectural Examination trip with Lu Wenyuan, and the possibility of cultivating Lin Zhan for officialdom.

Yang Zhengshan finished the soldiers’ basic conditioning and began preparing them for weapons and battle training while expanding his efforts to improve life at Linguan Fortress. After arranging new livestock and planning to secure more grain, he rode out to inspect the fortress’s struggling wheat fields.

• Yang Zhengshan pushed a hundred soldiers through morning runs and announced that their more advanced training would begin.
• Yang Zhengshan and his assistants distributed weapons and equipment, and Yang Zhengshan assigned soldiers weapons suited to their strengths.
• Old Li reported that the cloth-shoe business had earned nearly three taels of silver for Yang Zhengshan and provided income to the women who made the shoes.
• Yang Zhengshan told Old Li to buy piglets and chicks, hire children to raise them, and ask Zhao Yuan for another batch of grain; Old Li returned with ten piglets and over a hundred chicks.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered a sheepfold built, then rode Red Cloud out to inspect the poor wheat growth around Linguan Fortress.

Yang Zhengshan showed Zhou Lan and officers from Yinghe Fortress how he had organized Linguan Fortress and trained its soldiers, while seeking support for the settlers' livelihoods. Zhou Lan declared the soldiers part of the Zhenbiao Left Battalion, but Zhang Zhongxiang argued that Linguan Fortress belonged under Yinghe Fortress, leaving its allegiance unresolved.

• Yang Zhengshan waited at Linguan Fortress for Zhou Lan, who arrived with Zhang Zhongxiang, Xu Zhen, Qian Wanshu, and other officers from Yinghe Fortress.
• Yang Zhengshan showed the officers the orderly fortress and its training soldiers, then explained that the poor land could not sustain the Military Households.
• Yang Zhengshan showed Zhou Lan the Needlework Workshop and asked her to provide sewing work; Zhou Lan agreed to have her residence's clothing sewn there.
• Yang Zhengshan told Zhou Lan the soldiers needed another month of training before battle and would need to see blood to become elite troops.
• Zhou Lan declared the soldiers part of the Zhenbiao Left Battalion, while Zhang Zhongxiang objected that Linguan Fortress belonged under Yinghe Fortress's jurisdiction.

Zhou Lan kept Linguan Fortress under the Zhenbiao Left Battalion’s control, rewarded Yang Zhengshan with a cultivation method, and told him the battalion would march in June. Yang Zhengshan accepted his new role overseeing logistics alongside Zhao Yuan.

• Zhou Lan declared Linguan Fortress a Zhenbiao Left Battalion camp and had Zhao Yuan smash its gate plaque, forcing Zhang Zhongxiang and the Regional Military Commission’s representatives to leave.
• Zhou Lan praised Yang Zhengshan’s work and gave him Kui Ox Strength after learning he had recently entered the Postnatal Realm.
• Zhou Lan announced that the Zhenbiao Left Battalion would march in June and appointed Yang Zhengshan Vice Battalion Commander to handle logistics with Zhao Yuan.
• After Zhou Lan departed, Zhao Yuan stayed behind and spoke with Yang Zhengshan about their new partnership and his lack of battlefield experience.

Yang Zhengshan learned why Zhou Lan’s unmarried status was a taboo, then received provisions and military pay for Linguan Fortress. He distributed the soldiers’ pay and intensified their training, while drawing strength from the Kui Ox Strength Zhou Lan had given him.

• Zhao Yuan told Yang Zhengshan that Zhou Lan had been betrothed twice, but both fiancés had died before the weddings, and warned him not to mention the rumor that she brought death to husbands.
• Zhao Yuan arranged ten cartloads of grain and three months of military pay for Linguan Fortress, explaining that Zhou Lan protected the Zhenbiao Left Battalion from embezzlement.
• Yang Zhengshan practiced with his spear and felt the gains from reaching the Post-Heaven Realm and cultivating Kui Ox Strength.
• Yang Zhengshan distributed military pay to the soldiers, reminded them that they would risk their lives in battle, and saw their gratitude and enthusiasm grow.
• Yang Zhengshan shifted the soldiers’ training toward practical combat drills and had Yang Minghao record the process for future reference.

Yang Zhengshan escorted supplies to Heiyun Mountain as Chongshan Town’s army waited in vain for the East Sea Hu Tribe to engage. Pressured by the emperor’s demand for a swift victory, Zhang Shouwang ordered the army to march on Fushan City in three days.

• Zhang Shouwang led sixty thousand troops to Heiyun Mountain, while Yang Zhengshan followed with the Zhenbiao Left Battalion’s baggage train and recalled the original body’s brutal battle there twenty years earlier.
• The East Sea Hu Tribe avoided a decisive battle, sending only scouts and elite cavalry to harass Chongshan Town’s forces.
• Zhang Shouwang and his commanders debated attacking Fushan City or withdrawing, but none offered a clear solution.
• Zhang Yude reminded Zhang Shouwang that the emperor awaited a victory report and would not tolerate a prolonged campaign.
• Zhang Shouwang ordered the army to march on Fushan City in three days.

Yang Zhengshan escorted grain and fodder toward Fushan City while struggling with a growing sense of danger. As the convoy rested near the river, urgent hoofbeats sounded from the west.

• Yang Zhengshan warned Zhao Yuan that the Zhenbiao Left Battalion was running low on grain, and Zhao Yuan ordered Zhao Desheng to accompany him back to Chongshan Pass for supplies.
• Yang Zhengshan left camp with soldiers and laborers, told Yang Mingzhi to stay close if they encountered enemies, and reached Chongshan Pass without incident.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that the Zhenbiao Left Battalion had moved to Fushan City, so he redirected the grain convoy along the supply route toward the city.
• As the convoy approached Fushan City, Yang Zhengshan's unease grew, and he urged Zhao Desheng to stay alert while they rested by a river.
• Several urgent sounds of horse hooves came from the west as Yang Zhengshan and Zhao Desheng spoke.

Yang Zhengshan’s force was ambushed by Hu Cavalry beside the Songyuan River and formed a defensive circle using its wagons. As the battle intensified and a powerful Hu warrior broke through, Yang Zhengshan leapt beyond the formation to fight.

• Yang Mingwu reported that about two hundred Hu Cavalry were charging, and Yang Zhengshan ordered his soldiers to form a circle behind the wagons.
• The Hu Cavalry attacked with mounted archers, suppressing the defenders while Yang Zhengshan killed riders with thrown short spears.
• Hu cavalrymen leapt onto the wagons, where Linguan Fortress soldiers met them with their spears.
• A burly Hu warrior flipped an ox cart and sent Yang Mingzhi and nearby soldiers flying, but Yang Mingwu confronted him.
• Yang Zhengshan jumped out of the formation and advanced with his Flying Fish Spear.

Yang Zhengshan charged through the Hu Cavalry formation twice to disrupt their attack, then joined the fighting inside the circle and killed their commander. With the Hu forces thrown into disorder, he rallied his soldiers to counterattack.

• Yang Zhengshan charged into the Hu Cavalry ranks, broke through, and rode off on an enemy horse to prepare another charge.
• Yang Zhengshan charged back through the enemy formation, sowing disorder before returning to the circular formation and reuniting with Red Cloud.
• Yang Zhengshan saw that Zhao Desheng, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Mingwu were still fighting, then charged toward Yang Mingwu and killed the burly Hu commander.
• Yang Zhengshan shouted for the soldiers to form ranks, and Yang Chengze and the other core followers gathered the troops.
• Yang Zhengshan led the soldiers out of the circular formation in a counterattack against the Hu Cavalry.

Zhang Shouwang ordered Zhou Lan and Tang Feihu to protect the army's grain route after Hu Cavalry raids threatened the eastern army's supplies. Yang Zhengshan defeated a Hu Cavalry attack on the Songyuan River, counted the spoils and casualties, and moved his men north to camp.

• Liu Nanbo and Wang Bin urged Zhang Shouwang to secure the grain route before their soldiers ran out of food.
• Zhang Shouwang ordered Zhou Lan and Tang Feihu to lead the Zhenbiao Left and Right Battalions against the raiding Hu Cavalry.
• Yang Zhengshan and his troops wiped out more than two hundred attacking Hu Cavalry, while Yang Mingzhi sustained a shallow chest wound.
• Yang Zhengshan counted the casualties and had the wounded drink diluted Spirit Spring Water; the civilian laborers suffered the heaviest losses.
• Yang Mingwu reported the captured horses, weapons, armor, and silver, and Yang Zhengshan led the group ten li north to rest.

Yang Zhengshan’s grain convoy survived a Hu cavalry attack, but his unease persisted as they continued toward Fushan City. When Zhou Lan’s Zhenbiao Left Battalion arrived, she learned of their victory, praised their discipline, and ordered their merits recorded.

• Yang Zhengshan’s column camped without fires overnight, then resumed its journey while he remained wary of another attack.
• Yang Chengze reported a large cavalry force ahead, and Yang Zhengshan ordered the convoy to stop and form a defensive circle.
• Yang Zhengshan recognized the approaching force as Zhou Lan’s Zhenbiao Left Battalion and told her the convoy had fought off Hu cavalry.
• Zhou Lan saw the 283 captured heads and recognized how the grain carts and soldiers’ discipline had helped the convoy withstand the assault.
• Zhou Lan praised Yang Zhengshan’s soldiers, ordered a clerk to record the convoy’s merits, and decided to promote Yang Zhengshan after the battle.

Yang Zhengshan returned to transporting grain and began to suspect a severe drought would worsen the war and threaten the people beyond the pass. The chapter ended with Yang Qinwu reporting that Hu Cavalry had attacked the main camp and Yang Zhengshan riding toward a group of routed soldiers.

• Yang Zhengshan delivered grain and spoils to Zhao Yuan, then received orders from the main general's headquarters to transport grain again.
• On his fourth trip to Chongshan Pass, Yang Zhengshan noticed the Songyuan River had fallen and worried that drought would drive the East Sea Hu Tribe to invade.
• Yang Qinwu galloped back from scouting and reported that Hu Cavalry had attacked the main camp, leaving it in chaos.
• Yang Zhengshan hurried forward and saw soldiers fleeing toward the convoy without their helmets and armor.

Yang Zhengshan learned that the main camp had been overrun and moved the grain convoy across the Songyuan River while trying to locate Zhou Lan. The convoy formed a defensive camp, where Cao Han arrived and demanded command, but Yang Zhengshan refused to follow his orders.

• Yang Zhengshan questioned fleeing soldiers and learned that Hu Cavalry had attacked and broken through the main camp.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered the convoy across the Songyuan River, then sent scouts to search for Zhou Lan while the routed soldiers poured past.
• Yang Zhengshan arranged the grain carts in a defensive formation and kept them ready to move.
• Cao Han, the garrison commander of Anyuan Prefecture City, ordered Yang Zhengshan and the convoy to follow his commands.
• Yang Zhengshan identified himself as a Vice Battalion Commander and refused Cao Han's orders because the convoy was carrying out its assigned mission.

Yang Zhengshan refused Cao Han’s demand to take grain and supplies from the Zhenbiao Left Battalion’s convoy, and the two men nearly came to blows. Zhou Lan arrived with cavalry and forced Cao Han to withdraw, leaving the convoy under the battalion’s protection.

• Cao Han demanded that Yang Zhengshan hand over supplies from the grain convoy, but Yang refused and declared the belongings belonged to the Zhenbiao Left Battalion.
• When Cao Han’s attendant insulted Yang’s men, Yang threw a short spear at him, and Cao Han blocked it with his saber.
• Cao Han threatened to enforce military law against Yang, but the arrival of Zhou Lan and nearly a thousand cavalrymen halted the confrontation.
• Zhou Lan mocked Cao Han by calling him Cao Er-Tou, and he angrily raised his saber toward her.
• Zhenbiao Left Battalion’s cavalry aimed their bows at Cao Han, who put away his saber and rode off.

After Chongshan Town’s defeat, Yang Zhengshan returned to Linguan Fortress with the grain, fodder, and livestock, where he learned that the fortress was safe and that Lu Wenyuan had passed the xiucai examination as Top Scholar. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan honoring the family of Li Dazhu, the only soldier from Linguan Fortress killed in the campaign, and ordering Old Li Tou to protect them.

• Zhou Lan acknowledged the defeat and ordered a retreat to Pass City, while Zhang Shouwang and the surviving army withdrew west without needing her support.
• Yang Zhengshan returned to Linguan Fortress with the grain, fodder, three hundred oxen and mules, and carts, handing the civilian laborers over to the Regional Military Commission.
• Yang Minghao assured Yang Zhengshan that Linguan Fortress was safe and showed him letters reporting that Lu Wenyuan had passed the xiucai examination as Top Scholar.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that ninety-nine of Linguan Fortress’s one hundred soldiers had returned and visited the family of the fallen Li Dazhu.
• Yang Zhengshan gave Li Dazhu’s family silver, declared that they deserved honor and protection, and instructed Old Li Tou to look after them.

After returning to Linguan Fortress, Yang Zhengshan kept the needlework workshop running and experimented with growing vegetables in the Spirit Spring Space. He also dealt with the large haul of supplies and livestock from the campaign, ordering grain rewards for the households and new animal pens.

• Yang Zhengshan learned that the needlework workshop's sales had fallen and ordered it to keep operating, store unsold shoes, and pay its workers monthly.
• Yang Zhengshan planted several kinds of vegetable seeds in the Spirit Spring Space, using river water on one section and spring water on another for comparison.
• Yang Zhengshan found the cattle and mules from the campaign had fouled the training ground and realized the grain, carts, and animals belonged to military authorities.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered Old Li to give each household three dan of grain as a battle reward and build additional stables and cattle pens.

Yang Zhengshan managed the chaos after Chongshan Town’s defeat and worried over the missing Zhao Yuan, then considered growing medicinal herbs in his Spirit Spring Space. Zhang Shouwang and the Zhenbiao Five Battalions eventually returned, but the Zhenbiao Left and Right Battalions had suffered heavy casualties.

• Yang Zhengshan sent Yang Mingzhi to deliver grain carts to the Zhenbiao Left Battalion and ask whether Zhao Yuan had returned.
• Rumors of defeat and capture spread through Chongshan Pass, prompting many civilians to flee, while Yang Zhengshan believed the pass was not in immediate danger.
• Zhao Yuan returned wounded after Zhao Desheng found and carried him back, and Yang Zhengshan gave him Spirit Spring Water while he remained unconscious with an infected wound.
• Yang Zhengshan saw that plants grew quickly in the Spirit Spring Space and considered cultivating medicinal herbs, though he lacked seeds and knowledge of the trade.
• Zhang Shouwang returned to Chongshan Pass with the Zhenbiao Five Battalions, and Yang Zhengshan learned that the Zhenbiao Left and Right Battalions had routed eight thousand Hu Cavalry but lost over forty percent of their cavalrymen.
• Zhao Yuan had awakened but needed about two months to recover, while Zhou Lan returned with a somber expression after the Zhenbiao Left Battalion’s severe losses.