Chapter Summaries

After Wang rejected a servant family with a pretty maid, Yang Zhengshan established rules limiting concubinage and requiring women to be at least sixteen before marriage. Liang settled into the Yang household and began learning martial arts as the family’s growing number of practitioners strengthened its faith in Yang Zhengshan.

• Liang grew close to Wang, who sent away a newly purchased servant family because its teenage daughter was too pretty and could threaten marital harmony.
• Yang Zhengshan praised Wang’s decision and established rules forbidding concubines and bedchamber maids unless a man had no son by thirty, and barring women under sixteen from marrying.
• Wang, Li, and Liang welcomed the new rules, while Yang Mingcheng and the other Yang family men accepted them calmly.
• Li told Liang that Yang family women read and practiced martial arts, and explained that Wang had already become a martial artist while Li’s progress had been delayed by pregnancy and childbirth.
• The chapter described how Spirit Spring Water helped dozens of Yang Clan members and soldiers become martial artists, leading people to credit Yang Zhengshan’s guidance.
• Yang Yunxue took Liang to begin practicing the Yang Family Spear Technique.

Yang Zhengshan arranged for Yang Mingwu and Yang Chengxu to leave Yinghe Fortress, expanding the Yang Family’s influence into nearby cities. Zhou Lan redirected the appointments, offering Yang Mingzhi a pacification officer post and Yang Mingwu command of Tianhe Fortress, which Yang Zhengshan accepted.

• Yang Zhengshan learned that Yang Zhengxiang wanted more Yang Family martial artists to join the army and planned to make room for them by sending Yang Mingwu and Yang Chengxu away from Yinghe Fortress.
• Yang Zhengshan proposed that Yang Chengxu assist Zhao Yuan and that Yang Mingwu serve as pacification officer in Jianning Guard, and both men agreed.
• Yang Zhengshan brought Yang Mingwu to meet Zhou Lan, who chose Yang Mingzhi for the pacification officer position instead.
• Zhou Lan offered Yang Mingwu the defense officer post at Tianhe Fortress with the rank of a thousand-man commander, and Yang Zhengshan agreed to the arrangement.

Yang Zhengshan arranged promotions and transfers for his officers, then welcomed Third Master Liang and more than ten Yang Family Disciples to Yinghe Fortress. The new arrivals were eager to serve, but he assigned them to Yang Qinwu for further training before giving them posts.

• Yang Zhengshan sent Yang Mingwu, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Chengxu to their new positions, then promoted Yang Chengze, Lu Wenchun, Ren Sheng, and Yang Minghao to fill vacancies.
• Yang Zhengshan gave Third Master Liang the deed to a shop in Ning Prefecture City, while Liang Lin learned from Liang that the Yang family treated her well and forbade men from taking concubines before age thirty if they had no sons.
• Yang Mingcheng and Lu Wenchun arranged lodgings for the arriving Yang Family Disciples and showed them around Yinghe Fortress.
• Yang Zhengshan met the Yang Family Disciples and assigned them to Yang Qinwu to learn military skills, literacy, and other requirements before receiving official posts.

Yang Zhengshan visited Zhou Lan and presented the Military Training Records he had compiled, including ideas for organizing special forces. After Zhou Lan revealed the dangerous history of the Blood Blade, Yang Zhengshan burned the volume about special forces, leaving the rest of his military manual with Zhou Lan.

• Yang Zhengshan visited Yang Mingzhi at the Assistant General's Shogunate, and Yang Mingzhi said he missed his family.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Zhou Lan about the East Sea Hu Tribe and military pay, and Zhou Lan said the tribe was unlikely to raid in force and that he could collect the pay.
• Yang Zhengshan gave Zhou Lan his three-volume Military Training Records, and she read it and praised its ideas about special forces, military doctors, and agents.
• Yang Zhengshan explained that his proposed special forces would be small units of martial artists trained for missions such as infiltration and assassination.
• Zhou Lan connected the proposal to the Blood Blade, an organization founded by the Grand Ancestor that she said had hidden within the Secret Martial Guard.
• Yang Zhengshan tore out and burned the special-forces volume, and Zhou Lan said she still liked the remaining book.

After Lü Hua secured an imperial transfer for Yang Zhengshan to serve as Garrison Commander of Anyuan Prefecture City, Zhou Lan reluctantly delivered the promotion and warned him to act cautiously. Yang Zhengshan was left uncertain about the reason for the transfer but prepared to report to the Songzhou Guard within a month.

• Yang Zhengshan left Zhou Lan’s shogunate relieved that she had allowed him to burn his dangerous written volume, then visited Yang Mingzhi’s courtyard and Third Master Liang’s shop before returning to Yinghe Fortress.
• Lü Hua asked Zhou Lan to transfer Yang Zhengshan to Anyuan Prefecture City for use in the Secret Martial Guard’s mission, and promised not to abandon him if danger arose.
• Zhou Lan reluctantly agreed to Lü Hua’s request, then visited Yinghe Fortress and inspected Yang Zhengshan’s prosperous defenses and commercial street.
• Zhou Lan gave Yang Zhengshan an order promoting him two substantive ranks to Assistant Commander of the Songzhou Guard and appointing him Garrison Commander of Anyuan Prefecture City.
• Zhou Lan warned Yang Zhengshan to be cautious, gave him a letter for Assistant General Wang Bin, and told him to report to the Songzhou Guard within a month.

Yang Zhengshan prepared to leave Yinghe Fortress after being promoted to Songzhou Guard Vice Commander and assigned to Anyuan Prefecture City. He arranged for Yang Chengze to take over and reassured the worried military households, while Yang Mingcheng headed ahead to learn about the city.

• Zhou Lan agreed that Yang Chengze would temporarily serve as Defense Officer of Yinghe Fortress and offered Yang Zhengshan help with his move.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to keep the Horse Farm, wrote letters to Yang Mingwu, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Chengxu, and told Yang Mingcheng to go ahead to Anyuan Prefecture City with Ding Qiu and several men.
• Yang Mingcheng announced Yang Zhengshan’s promotion to the Yang Family, and news of the promotion spread through Yinghe Fortress.
• Worried military households gathered outside the official office, and Yang Zhengshan went out to tell them Yang Chengze would take over and that their lives would continue to improve.

Yang Zhengshan prepared to leave Yinghe Fortress for Anyuan Prefecture City, reassuring Yang Chengze and deciding who would accompany him. He left Yang Chengze in charge of the fortress with Lu Wenchun to support him, while Song Dashan was approved to join the move.

• Yang Zhengshan encouraged the anxious seventeen-year-old Yang Chengze to take charge after he left, and Yang Chengze promised to do well.
• Yang Zhengshan rebuked Yang Mingcheng at dinner, then learned that Yang Minghao and Liang planned to ask whether they could move to Anyuan Prefecture City with him.
• Yang Mingcheng, Ding Qiu, Yang Chengzhen, and others went ahead to Anyuan Prefecture City as Yang Zhengshan began arranging the handover and selecting his traveling party.
• Yang Zhengshan advised Lu Wenchun to stay in Yinghe Fortress and help Yang Chengze, and Lu Wenchun agreed.
• Song Dashan asked to follow Yang Zhengshan to Anyuan Prefecture City, and Yang Zhengshan approved his request.

Yang Zhengshan left Yinghe Fortress and traveled to Anyuan Prefecture City to take up his new post, receiving guarded welcomes from his superiors along the way. He arrived to find his unfamiliar subordinates greeting him with conspicuous silence.

• Several thousand people saw Yang Zhengshan off from Yinghe Fortress, and Liu Yuanfu gave him a copy of the Doctrine of the Mean as a parting gift.
• Yang Zhengshan led his family and attendants to Songzhou Guard, where Sha Pingchuan urged him to take up the vacant garrison commander post in Anyuan Prefecture City.
• Sha Pingchuan brought Yang Zhengshan to meet Wang Bin, who read Zhou Lan's letter and told Yang Zhengshan to report to Anyuan Prefecture City promptly.
• Yang Zhengshan reached Anyuan Prefecture City with his family and attendants and met the military officials waiting at the south gate.
• The officials greeted Yang Zhengshan without speaking further, and he suspected they were trying to intimidate him.

Yang Zhengshan took up his post as garrison commander in Anyuan Prefecture City, inspected his lavish new residence, and began assessing the people and risks around him. He left the waiting military officials to wait until the next day and grew suspicious of the long-serving clerk Zhou Ren.

• Yang Zhengshan bypassed the military officials who had left him waiting and ordered clerk Zhou Ren to lead him to the Garrison Commander's Office.
• Xu Wanfu told Tian Gui and the other officials to return to the office and await Yang Zhengshan's orders.
• Yang Zhengshan entered Anyuan Prefecture City, observed its streets and residents, and arrived at the Garrison Commander's Office.
• Yang Zhengshan inspected the enormous rear compound, assigned residences to his family and companions, and ordered Song Dashan to guard him and search the grounds.
• Yang Zhengshan learned Zhou Ren had served as clerk for twelve years, suspected he knew about Cao Han's embezzlement, and sent him to tell the waiting officials to return tomorrow.

Yang Zhengshan settled into the rear courtyard of the Anyuan Prefecture City garrison office, where he discovered a vast underground chamber connected to a collapsed tunnel. Suspecting trouble in the city, he learned that martial artists were watching the office and sent Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu to investigate key officials.

• Yang Zhengshan admired the courtyard’s fine furniture but told Wu Hai to sell it secretly and replace the bedroom’s bed with a heated kang.
• Song Dashan led Yang Zhengshan to a huge underground chamber hidden beneath the garden, where they found a tunnel that had collapsed inside an unoccupied house.
• Yang Zhengshan warned his family to avoid going out while he tried to understand the dangers surrounding Anyuan Prefecture City.
• Ding Qiu reported that at least a dozen martial artists were watching the garrison office and its rear courtyard.
• Yang Mingcheng gave Yang Zhengshan a booklet of information about local officials and wealthy households, though it revealed no clear irregularities.
• Yang Zhengshan told Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu to stay hidden and investigate Qianzong Xu Wanfu, garrison-farm officer Tian Gui, and clerk Zhou Ren.

Yang Zhengshan assessed the officials and resources of the Garrison Commander's Office, deciding to wait for his opponents to act while preparing to take control of the office. He then gave Zhou Ren a booklet containing details about his life and family, leaving Zhou Ren shaken as he read it.

• Yang Zhengshan questioned Xu Wanfu and Tian Gui, learned that the officials and troops were not under his control, and told them to continue as before.
• Yang Zhengshan chose to avoid acting against Xu Wanfu until he understood the situation, then began inspecting the Garrison Commander's Office with Zhou Ren.
• Yang Zhengshan spent six days reviewing the office and found adequate supplies, disorderly accounts, and a dispirited atmosphere.
• Yang Zhengshan handed Zhou Ren a booklet about his past and family, and Zhou Ren grew pale and broke into a cold sweat as he read it.

Yang Zhengshan interrogated Zhou Ren about Anyuan Prefecture City and learned that Cao Han had secretly sent grain outside the city with unknown soldiers, possibly supplying the East Sea Hu Tribe. Zhou Ren’s account deepened Yang Zhengshan’s suspicions about a hidden force, and the chapter left him questioning whether Xu Wanfu knew about it.

• Yang Zhengshan threatened Zhou Ren with his power and persuaded him to reveal everything he knew about Anyuan Prefecture City.
• Zhou Ren said Cao Han had been convicted of embezzling army grain and withholding provisions and pay, but suspected Cao Han had also secretly dealt with the East Sea Hu Tribe.
• Zhou Ren told Yang Zhengshan that Cao Han sent grain outside the city using soldiers Zhou Ren did not recognize.
• Yang Zhengshan suspected that people in Anyuan Prefecture City had been selling supplies to the East Sea Hu Tribe and wondered whether Lü Hua had arranged his transfer to stir up the situation.
• Yang Zhengshan learned that Xu Wanfu had served as Qianzong for ten years and wondered whether he knew about the hidden soldiers and Cao Han’s dealings.

Yang Zhengshan questioned Zhou Ren about the Garrison Commander's Office and concluded that removing Xu Wanfu might let him control its soldiers. The next morning, he received Liang Rong of the Jing'an Liang Family, whose lavish gifts made him suspect the visit was a test of his integrity.

• Yang Zhengshan warned Zhou Ren to keep their conversation secret and sent him away after learning that Zhou knew little about the hidden dealings at the Garrison Commander's Office.
• Yang Zhengshan reached the fifth level of the Postnatal Realm and practiced spear techniques in the courtyard.
• Yang Qingwan asked Yang Zhengshan to take her outside, but a visiting card from Liang Rong interrupted their plans.
• Yang Zhengshan welcomed Liang Rong as an in-law and accepted a gift list that included three shops in Jing'an Prefecture City.
• Yang Zhengshan wondered what the Jing'an Liang Family wanted and whether its lavish gift was testing him as an official.

Yang Zhengshan became suspicious that the Liang Family was trying to recruit him to help move grain, while the family’s associates debated how to test him. That night, an intruder slipped into his room and left a booklet on the tea table as Yang Zhengshan watched from hiding.

• Liang Rong asked Yang Zhengshan to help the Liang Family move grain out of the city, and Yang agreed while concealing his doubts.
• The Man in Green Shirt learned that Yang had accepted the gifts and agreed to help, then decided to wait and see whether Yang made any moves before testing him further.
• Yang Zhengshan tended the medicinal herbs in his expanding Spirit Spring Space and estimated that his first harvest would come at the end of the following year.
• After hearing someone approach across the roof, Yang Zhengshan hid in his room with his Gilded Flying Fish Spear.
• An intruder quietly entered Yang Zhengshan’s outer room and placed a booklet on the tea table while Yang watched from hiding.

Yang Zhengshan intercepted Wei Cen, a Secret Martial Guard centurion, who delivered a booklet detailing officials in Anyuan Prefecture and the crimes of Xu Wanfu. The next morning, Yang took Yang Qingwan, Yang Chengye, and Wang Mingzhe to Fu'an Street, where they entered Fuyun Restaurant.

• Yang Zhengshan caught Wei Cen placing a booklet in his room and learned that Wei was a Secret Martial Guard centurion sent by Eunuch Lu.
• Yang Zhengshan read the booklet, which documented Xu Wanfu’s violent crimes, and concluded that the Secret Martial Guard wanted him to remove Xu Wanfu.
• Yang Zhengshan asked Wei Cen to tell Eunuch Lu that he would serve the Secret Martial Guard but wanted to know what it expected of him.
• Yang Zhengshan took Yang Qingwan, Yang Chengye, and Wang Mingzhe to Fu'an Street after promising Yang Qingwan an outing.
• Yang Zhengshan and the children arrived at Fuyun Restaurant, where Wu Hai asked for a private room facing the street.

Yang Zhengshan took the children to Fuyun Restaurant and around Anyuan Prefecture City, where he began preparing a ruby dowry for Yang Yunxue. Meanwhile, Lü Hua ordered Wei Cen to cooperate with Yang Zhengshan and answer his questions within the Secret Martial Guard’s rules.

• Yang Zhengshan took Yang Qingwan, Yang Chengye, and the sleeping Wang Mingzhe to Fuyun Restaurant, where Yang Qingwan ate too much and Yang Chengye bumped into a woman on the stairs.
• The woman had an old maid follow Yang Zhengshan to discover his identity after the maid sensed his powerful bearing and battlefield killing aura.
• Yang Zhengshan bought military and martial arts books, then purchased pearl hair flowers for Yang Qingwan, Yang Yunxue, and Wang Yunqiao.
• Yang Zhengshan decided to start saving a dowry for Yang Yunxue and custom-ordered a ruby headpiece set costing five hundred and eighty taels of silver.
• Wei Cen reported his meeting with Yang Zhengshan to Lü Hua, who acknowledged underestimating him and ordered Wei Cen to cooperate with him while obeying the Secret Martial Guard’s rules.

Yang Zhengshan prepared to purge suspected spies from the Garrison Commander's Office and set out with his men for Chengguan Fortress to confront Xu Wanfu. Yu Qingyi also began watching him, while Xu Wanfu plotted to lure him out of the city and kill him; the chapter ended as spies hurried to report Yang Zhengshan's departure.

• Yang Zhengshan ordered Yang Minghao and Lu Wenhua to arrest the scribes and runners on their list the next day, and told them to have Yang Mingcheng join them.
• Yu Qingyi learned that Yang Zhengshan was the newly appointed garrison commander and told her old maid to investigate whether he had ties to Black Cliff Stronghold.
• Xu Wanfu heard that Yang Zhengshan had spent the previous day shopping and decided he needed to lure him out of the city to kill him.
• Yang Zhengshan armed himself and rode out toward Chengguan Fortress with Song Dashan, Ding Qiu, Zhou Ren, and twenty soldiers.
• Spies watching Yang Zhengshan scattered to report his departure to their masters.

Yang Zhengshan confronted Xu Wanfu at Chengguan Fortress and accused him of crimes, while Xu Wanfu tried to use his assembled soldiers to drive him away. The chapter ended with Yang Zhengshan holding a spear to Xu Wanfu’s shoulder and reminding the soldiers that they served the court, not Xu Wanfu.

• Xu Wanfu learned that Yang Zhengshan was approaching Chengguan Fortress and ordered the soldiers inside to assemble.
• Yang Zhengshan arrived with his mounted men and accepted Xu Wanfu’s invitation to inspect the troops.
• Yang Zhengshan questioned Xu Lu and then told Xu Wanfu that he would punish him for his crimes.
• Xu Wanfu and Xu Lu called on Yang Zhengshan to leave, and several squad officers echoed them.
• Yang Zhengshan placed his spear against Xu Wanfu’s shoulder and asked the soldiers whether they dared attack a court-appointed garrison commander.

Yang Zhengshan used his authority and superior strength to arrest Xu Wanfu and begin taking control of the garrison battalion. Meanwhile, the men behind Xu Wanfu accepted him as a lost cause and planned to watch and recruit Yang Zhengshan.

• Yang Zhengshan exposed Xu Wanfu's attempt to turn the soldiers against him, then overpowered and arrested Xu when he attacked.
• Yang Zhengshan questioned Xu Lu, who admitted Xu Wanfu was guilty, but could not explain the crime before Han Cheng arrived with soldiers.
• Yang Zhengshan ordered soldiers from across the city to assemble, while he waited in the hall to screen the garrison battalion and secure control of it.
• Liang Rong told the man in the green shirt that Yang Zhengshan had arrested Xu Wanfu, and they concluded the Garrison Commander's Office had not been implicated.
• The man in the green shirt decided to abandon Xu Wanfu, keep Yang Zhengshan under surveillance, and have Liang Rong offer him a share of up to twenty percent to recruit him.

Yang Zhengshan purged Xu Wanfu and Xu Lu’s faction from Chengguan Fortress and recruited Han Cheng to help take control of the Garrison Battalion. After Han Cheng exposed Xu Lu’s murder of Ning Chao and identified their allies, Yang appointed him acting Qianzong while arranging for Song Dashan and his own men to fill the vacant posts.

• Yang Zhengshan ordered the fortress gate closed and questioned Xu Lu and Han Cheng about their crimes.
• Han Cheng revealed that Xu Lu had ambushed and killed Ning Chao to gain his post, with Xu Wanfu’s help, and said he wanted revenge.
• Yang Zhengshan offered Han Cheng a chance to earn merit by identifying Xu Wanfu and Xu Lu’s trusted men, then severely injured Xu Lu with a thrown teacup when he tried to interrupt.
• Han Cheng identified more than a dozen squad officers loyal to Xu Wanfu and Xu Lu, and Yang Zhengshan ordered them and the two leaders taken away.
• Yang Zhengshan appointed Han Cheng acting Qianzong, named Song Dashan a Centurion and Bazong, and instructed Han Cheng to maintain the garrison and help his own men take over.