Recaps

After taking Lu Prefecture Market, Aaron dismissed the wealthy households’ reluctance to join him and discussed his plans with the recovering Poison Dragon. Poison Dragon warned that becoming a ruler would damage a Daoist’s practice, and Aaron decided to conceal his true fortune and let puppets attract attention while he pursued power from the shadows.

• Aaron ignored the wealthy households’ hesitation to join the rebels and went to visit the recovering Poison Dragon.
• Poison Dragon urged Aaron to attack the county seat and offered to locate a dragon acupoint for his chosen lord, but Aaron refused and asked why he could not rule himself.
• Poison Dragon explained that a Daoist who became a regional ruler would harm his Dao practice, prompting Aaron to consider backing a puppet while remaining within the established struggle for the throne.
• Poison Dragon read Aaron’s features and saw a king’s aura, then a ruinous fate, imperial canopy, flood dragon, and crimson carp as Aaron’s fortune appeared to change.
• Aaron revealed that he had used an illusion and the authority of Secrecy to disguise his fate aura, and he resolved to conceal his true fortune and keep puppets in the spotlight.

Aaron prepared six hundred disciplined troops to face Li Tie’s three-thousand-man army outside Lu Prefecture Market. The Daoist children’s explosives shattered the Phoenix Soaring Army’s formation, and the rebel charge overwhelmed Li Tie’s personal guards.

• Aaron warned the Daoist children that he was rebelling, then sent Tai Chong, Tai He, and Tai Yin to make thunder packets for the battle.
• Chen Zitong joined Li Tie’s command council as the court army prepared to attack Lu Prefecture Market, while Azure Pine and his senior Daoist brother discussed the Hidden Dragon’s rising fortune.
• Aaron formed his six hundred Six Jia Divine Soldiers on the plain and told Poison Dragon that the Daoist children’s explosives would begin the attack.
• Li Tie ordered his archers to fire at the rebels’ charging vanguard, but the soldiers pressed onward despite their wounds.
• The rebels hurled explosives into the Phoenix Soaring Army’s ranks, scattering its formation and allowing Zhan Da to lead a charge toward the central army.
• Li Tie sent his personal guards to stop the advance, but the rebel soldiers fought without regard for their lives and killed their captain.

Aaron’s Six Jia Divine Soldiers routed Li Tie’s Phoenix Soaring Army, while Poison Dragon marveled at Aaron’s weapons and troops. Li Tie died, Chen Zitong escaped, and Aaron prepared to turn captured soldiers into a new force.

• Aaron described using Supreme Thunder against sects that defied royal law, terrifying Poison Dragon with the prospect of arming an officially ranked death warrior.
• Aaron asked Poison Dragon to recommend an enlightened lord, leaving the Daoist priest stunned that Aaron had raised troops and rebelled without finding a Hidden Dragon.
• Black Two killed Li Tie after losing an arm, and Zhan Da raised the commander’s head as the Phoenix Soaring Army broke and surrendered.
• Chen Zitong escaped the battlefield and decided to seize control of the Phoenix Soaring Army’s remaining troops.
• Azure Pine and another Daoist planned to report Aaron to their sect, while recognizing that Chen Zitong’s survival offered a chance to contend for the army.
• Aaron counted the battle’s casualties and ordered the creation of a Preaching Camp to handle the wounded, corpses, and prisoners.

Aaron used his Bean-Sowing Soldier Summoning ability to revive hundreds of battlefield dead as Six Jia Divine Soldiers, then organized the prisoners into mixed units with them. The prisoners were forced to choose between ten years of slavery and three years of military service, while Aaron arranged for the empty burial pit to be guarded.

• The Phoenix Soaring Army prisoners received porridge and were put to work clearing the battlefield, where one prisoner recognized a Six Jia Divine Soldier he had seen die the day before.
• Aaron revived more than five hundred corpses as Six Jia Divine Soldiers and planned to mix them with the prisoners so veterans could guide the new troops.
• Three days later, Zhan Da offered the prisoners ten years of slavery or three years of military service, and most chose to enlist.
• Zhan Da assigned each new soldier to a Six Jia Divine Soldier, while Zhang San warned Zheng Wu that he would kill him if he strayed more than ten paces away.
• Aaron told Poison Dragon that they had to test the mixed-unit plan and ordered sacrifices and guards at the empty cemetery for the fallen.

Aaron named Xiao Liang as the future ruler of his faction and ordered an immediate assault on Jiangzhou Prefecture City, while Chen Zitong sought command of the Phoenix Soaring Army. The Five Nights Sect discovered that the hidden dragon faced a rival force, and Chen Zitong found Aaron's army already surrounding the city before he could secure military authority.

• Gu Yue and Scholar Gu learned that the Phoenix Soaring Army had been crushed and feared Jiangnan would soon descend into chaos.
• Aaron recognized Xiao Liang's inherited dragon aura, declared him the future King of Liang, and ordered Poison Dragon to prepare an attack on Jiangzhou Prefecture City.
• Chen Zitong's advisers urged him to petition for temporary command of the Phoenix Soaring Army, and he agreed to spend his wealth to secure it.
• Azure Pine and the Five Nights Sect elders saw Chen Zitong's rising fortunes threatened by Xiao Liang's rival dragon qi and heard thunder that signaled Heaven's punishment.
• Chen Zitong hurried to the city wall and saw Aaron's army surrounding Jiangzhou Prefecture City under Liang banners, arriving before he could gain command of the Phoenix Soaring Army.

Jiangzhou Prefect Song Ci put Chen Zitong in charge of the city's defense, and Chen used the families of surrendered Phoenix Soaring Army soldiers to weaken the assault. Aaron sent Black Two and the Six Jia Divine Soldiers back into battle, and the siege ended with Jiangzhou's city gate broken.

• Song Ci arrived on the city wall, learned the rebels had brought two thousand former Phoenix Soaring Army soldiers, and ordered Chen Zitong to take charge of the defense.
• Chen Zitong proposed bringing the soldiers' families onto the walls to call to them, and Song Ci approved the plan.
• Zhang San ordered Zheng Wu and the surrendered soldiers to attack first, while the defenders' calls caused some to flee and Zhan Da's archers shot them down.
• Aaron sent Black Two and the Six Jia Divine Soldiers into another assault, and they climbed the walls and seized a foothold despite the defenders' resistance.
• Chen Zitong sent for reserves after the eastern wall and gate tower fell, but a blast broke the city gate and the defenders' morale collapsed.

Aaron captured Jiangzhou Prefecture after breaching its gates and crushing the defenders’ last stand at the government office. He killed prisoners who refused to serve, accepted Fan Jin and Tang Xun’s allegiance, and began planning how to staff his new regime.

• Aaron explained that death-sworn men had blown open the city gates, then ordered his troops to secure key locations as they entered.
• Aaron entered the city with Poison Dragon, ordered the government office destroyed, and learned that Chen Zitong had led the final resistance there.
• Poison Dragon identified Chen Zitong among the dead and urged Aaron to recruit the talents around him; Aaron executed Jiang Tui and an unnamed general when they refused to surrender.
• Fan Jin pledged allegiance in exchange for permission to gather Chen Zitong’s remains and protect his surviving clansmen, while Tang Xun silently agreed to serve.
• Aaron released Fan Jin and Tang Xun, then ordered that the former county officials not be employed and that licentiates and provincial graduates be excluded from his new administration.

Aaron recruited Cao Man from prison to destroy the Wang Family, organized Great Liang’s army, and prepared to proclaim the King of Liang. He also opened the Imperial Academy to new students while excluding scholars with False Song xiucai credentials or higher.

• Aaron questioned the prison jailer, revived Cao Man with a Pear-and-Fire Jujube, and offered him a troop to take revenge on the Wang Family.
• Cao Man led soldiers into the Wang residence, killed the Wang Family head, and ordered the household slaughtered.
• Aaron established Great Liang’s military ranks and sent six elite battalion commanders to attack separate counties.
• Poison Dragon confirmed the Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony would take place in three days, while Aaron dismissed the need for many Confucian scholars to oversee it.
• Fan Jin arrived at the prefectural school and read the Imperial Academy notice, which welcomed applicants broadly but rejected holders of False Song xiucai credentials or higher.

Xiao Liang proclaimed himself King Liang and established the state of Liang, while observers read his fortune in conflicting ways. Aaron understood that Heaven’s favor for Xiao Liang came from the opposition Aaron’s reforms would provoke, and he reaffirmed his resolve to pursue his chosen path.

• Poison Dragon and the assembled troops attended Xiao Liang’s makeshift ceremony outside Jiangzhou Prefecture City as Great Liang expanded into nearby counties.
• Xiao Liang recited his proclamation, declared the state of Liang, and ascended the throne as king.
• A disguised Daoist and his scholar junior debated whether Xiao Liang possessed the foundation and fate to rule.
• Poison Dragon saw Xiao Liang’s fortune shift from a snake into a black-backed carp, which gained Heaven’s recognition and a measure of favor.
• Aaron interpreted the carp’s fortune as a sign of the backlash his reforms would create and vowed to continue despite Heaven’s will and opposition from the Three Teachings.

At King Liang's Residence, Aaron took control as Chancellor and laid out a plan to build Great Liang's administration by training clerks and auditing concealed land and households. He accepted the prospect of gentry resistance and left the meeting prepared to crush any rebellion.

• Xiao Liang appointed Void Spirit Master Academic Director and Chancellor, then yielded authority over state affairs to him.
• Void Spirit Master accepted the chancellorship and had Poison Dragon retain sole control of sacrifices.
• Tai Chong reported that Zhan Da and Black Two had captured four counties, while Cao Man inventoried the residence's supplies and presented the prefecture's population and land records.
• Aaron called the Yellow Register unreliable and ordered a field survey, while rejecting a special examination in favor of training Grand Academy students as clerks.
• Fan Jin warned that taxing gentry and auditing land could provoke resistance, but Aaron said rebellious landlords would be crushed and their land turned into military colonies.

As rebellion spread across Great Song, Di You dreamed of a supernatural promise of kingship, while Wanyan Lie seized on an omen to plan a southern invasion. Months later, Song Gongbao learned that another military governor had rebelled and northern forces were advancing, leaving him to fear that the realm was on the brink of chaos.

• Di You considered exploiting the court’s weakness, accepted an invitation to Three Spirits Temple, and dreamed that the Lord of Yinshan promised him a noble destiny in exchange for half the realm as a dowry.
• After Di You awoke, Bai Yunzi sensed kingly qi surrounding him, while Di You secretly plotted to obtain more military supplies, seize the prefectural city, and kill its prefect.
• Wanyan Lie’s strategist urged him to invade Great Song, and after Wanyan Lie dreamed of a glowing Buddha, he resolved to force his father Khan to abdicate and claim a place in the struggle for the realm.
• Months later, Song Gongbao’s government troops defeated a refugee army, but he and Wu Xing worried over mounting losses and the court’s delayed compensation.
• Song Gongbao received word that another military governor had rebelled and killed a prefect while a northern prince had seized power and led troops south, and he feared chaos would engulf the realm.

Aaron built the Imperial Academy into a school for rapidly training clerks and planned to replace classical scholarship with practical examinations. He intended to extend government authority into the countryside, fund more officials through tax reforms and reduced military pay, and left Poison Dragon worried about the consequences.

• Tai Chong taught the new Imperial Academy students arithmetic and geography, while Zhou Ping, a refugee boy given his name by Tai Chong, studied among them and also taught a newer class at night.
• Aaron told Poison Dragon that students who learned basic characters and law could soon serve as clerks, and he planned to train specialists in law and land surveying.
• Aaron said official examinations would test law, arithmetic, and policy instead of the Four Books and Five Classics, prompting Poison Dragon to warn that scholars would resent the change.
• Aaron rejected the idea that he needed scholars' approval and said the government could not surrender authority in the countryside to local clans and gentry.
• Aaron proposed finding hidden households, surveying farmland, taxing officials and gentry, reducing military pay, and establishing a bank to distribute soldiers' wages.

Aaron ordered Poison Dragon to reduce Great Liang’s army and use the court’s distraction to consolidate power, then led the Six Jia Divine Soldiers to destroy the Five Nights Sect. After slaughtering the sect, he took the River-Gazing Mirror and mocked the Underworld spirits who could not interfere with him.

• Aaron insisted that Great Liang keep only ten thousand soldiers and use the respite to purge hostile gentry and Daoist lineages.
• A Daoist at the Five Nights Sect mourned Azure Pine and reflected on the sect’s losses after the Hidden Dragon’s death.
• Aaron arrived at the Five Nights Sect with Tai Chong, Tai He, and Tai Yin, declaring the sect rebels and ordering its mountain and temple destroyed.
• True Person ordered the sect’s Daoist soldiers to escape through a secret passage while he and the elders stayed behind.
• Aaron invoked the King of Liang’s authority to suppress the Five Nights Sect’s Dao arts, and his Six Jia Divine Soldiers killed the defenders, including True Person.
• Aaron recovered the River-Gazing Mirror from the ruins and taunted the Underworld spirits, who could not reach him in the living world.

In the fourth year of Taiping, Aaron’s government used salt vouchers and land surveys to strengthen its control over Jiangzhou Prefecture, alarming the Exalted Bright Way. After Aaron uncovered widespread land concealment, he ordered the Zhao family and other listed households wiped out, leaving his officials to carry out the purge.

• An Exalted Bright Way intelligence officer learned that Liang was issuing household salt vouchers and surveying land, and warned that the policies could expose hidden households and strengthen Aaron’s administration.
• The Exalted Bright Way discussed the threat posed by Di You’s King of Wu and speculated that Void Spirit Master used Daoist arts to make Liang’s soldiers fearless.
• Zhou Ping surveyed Zhao Family Town’s fields, refused a bribe from the Zhao family steward, and returned a report bearing the family’s seals and signatures.
• Cao Man reported that the land survey and census had uncovered roughly thirty to forty percent more land and people, while Aaron revealed that officials had been deceived, bribed, or killed.
• Aaron ordered Cao Man to eliminate every household on his list and confiscate its land, beginning with the Zhao family, which had concealed two thousand mu.

King Liang’s Army annihilated the Zhao family and transferred its fields to military farms, winning the tenant farmers’ support with debt relief and promises of land ownership. A young scholar praised King Liang’s statecraft but worried about the army’s growing power, while a young Daoist resolved to undermine him.

• Black Two led King Liang’s soldiers in killing the Zhao family’s men and confiscating its wealth, while the women were sentenced to slavery.
• Zhou Ping burned the farmers’ debt contracts and announced that they would keep working their plots under the Six Jia Divine Army, with half their harvest owed as public grain and other taxes and corvée labor waived.
• Zhou Ping promised the farmers ownership of their land after five years of faithful service, prompting the crowd to cheer for King Liang.
• The young Daoist watched the crowd’s reaction and recognized that the policies had won the common people’s support despite the slaughter.
• A young scholar judged King Liang’s harsh measures politically useful but warned that military farms could empower the army too much, and considered writing to King Liang or joining the King of Wu.
• The young Daoist identified the scholar as a promising future minister and resolved to find a way to ruin his chance of joining King Liang.

Aaron rejected Wen Zhengming’s recommendation and promoted Cao Man, prompting Wen Zhengming to leave and spread a coded ballad that stirred fears of conflict. The chapter ended with Wen Zhengming arriving at Di You’s palace with a military map, and Di You rushing to welcome him.

• Aaron rejected Wen Zhengming’s essay and ordered him to leave, then appointed Cao Man Assistant Prefect of Jiangzhou Prefecture.
• Fan Jin visited Wen Zhengming and conveyed Aaron’s refusal; Wen Zhengming took offense at being disregarded and sent his bookboy to spread a cryptic ballad.
• Cao Man reported that officials had seized a hundred thousand mu of land for military colonies, while Fan Jin warned that military expansion could provoke unrest.
• Poison Dragon and Fan Jin warned Aaron that the ballad could make King of Wu suspect an attack on Jinshi, but Aaron dismissed their concerns.
• Wen Zhengming arrived at Di You’s palace with a topographical map of River Prefecture, and Di You hurried out to meet him.

Song Gongbao and Wu Xing learned that the court planned to send them south as expendable vanguard troops, while Aaron entrusted Tang Xun with leading Liang’s army against Di You. At Three Kings Mountain, the battle began with Di You’s Dare-to-Die Camp enduring Liang’s thunder explosives, and Wen Zhengming believed Wu’s army had weathered Liang’s strongest trick.

• Wu Xing protested that the court’s peace with the Golden King and constant battles had exhausted the amnestied rebels, then collapsed after learning they would be sent south against the King of Liang under the Imperial Guards’ watch.
• Song Gongbao considered the court’s promised title of duke and wondered whether his army was expected to die in the campaign.
• Cao Man reported that Di You was advancing on Jiangzhou, and Aaron promoted Tang Xun to command twelve thousand five hundred soldiers while Aaron kept eight thousand in reserve.
• Bai Yunzi saw Liang’s army hold firm against Wu’s greater numbers and suffered bloody tears as she predicted Di You’s defeat.
• At Three Kings Mountain, Di You sent his deafened Dare-to-Die Camp forward, and Zhang Tie’s troops used Supreme Divine Thunder against them.
• Wen Zhengming concluded that Wu’s soldiers had endured Liang’s explosives and that Di You would win through superior numbers and open battle.

The Liang vanguard’s fearless assault broke the Wu army’s forward ranks despite catastrophic losses. Tang Xun ordered the full Liang army to attack and exploit the disorder, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• A Liang young general killed the Wu commander-in-chief but was overwhelmed when the Wu soldiers continued fighting, and a Liang captain took command.
• Di You ordered Wu archers to shoot their own fleeing dare-to-die soldiers as the Liang vanguard charged onward under successive commanders.
• The Liang vanguard suffered more than fifty percent casualties but shattered the Wu forward formation, while Liang San fought his way into the enemy ranks.
• Tang Xun recognized the Wu army’s disorder and ordered the whole Liang army to attack, sending its cavalry charging first.

Aaron led a cavalry charge toward Di You after the Wu army began losing ground, while Daoists watching the battle saw the King of Wu’s flood dragon injured and feared he might die. As Di You’s troops were thrown into chaos, a sudden headwind blinded Aaron’s riders, and Wen Zhengming called it a divine wind aiding Wu.

• Di You entered the battle with the First Ascenders and Tiger Guard to rally the wavering Wu army.
• Aaron used his goshawk’s view to find a route to Di You and charged with more than a hundred cavalrymen and the Six Jia Divine Soldiers.
• Daoists observing the battlefield saw the King of Wu’s military aura retreat and a black iron plowshare strike his flood dragon, breaking its horn and claws.
• Aaron’s cavalry smashed into the Tiger Guard and pressed toward Di You, whose guards urged him to escape.
• A gust of wind and sand blinded several cavalrymen, and Wen Zhengming rallied the Wu troops by shouting that the divine wind was aiding them.

Aaron helped King of Liang’s army defeat the Wu army and kill Di You, triggering heavenly punishment against Lord of Yinshan in the Underworld. After the victory, Aaron learned that Great Pine’s forces were advancing, but he remained confident that tactics could overcome the enemy’s advantages.

• Aaron sensed Underworld divine power strengthening the Tiger Guards, then used Dragon-Elephant Might to hurl a warhorse into their formation and break their morale.
• Little Jade killed Wen Zhengming, while Void Spirit Master pursued and killed Di You as the Wu army’s royal banner fell and its soldiers surrendered or fled.
• Heavenly punishment struck Lord of Yinshan’s palace after Di You’s death, destroying it and sealing Lord of Yinshan beneath the Underworld; the imperial princess escaped with an imperial seal.
• Bai Yunzi survived the backlash from the Wu dragon’s death but lost decades of cultivation, while an Exalted Bright Way Daoist collapsed after realizing the King of Liang was still a carp.
• Tang Xun reported the battle’s casualties to Aaron, who revealed that Great Pine had sent two hundred thousand Imperial Guards south and urged him to turn strategic advantages into tactical victories.

After the Chancellor defeated King of Wu, the Miao family learned that Great Song’s army had reached Jinshi and was executed for supporting it. Xiao Liang learned of the invasion and chose to remain in Jiangzhou Prefecture and stand with the Chancellor rather than flee.

• A rider announced that the Chancellor had slain King of Wu, and people in Jiangzhou Prefecture celebrated the victory.
• A Miao family landowner and his son welcomed news that Great Song’s army had reached Jinshi and planned to spread it, but Liang soldiers executed their clan for colluding with Great Song.
• Xiao Liang spoke with Xiao Zi about his gratitude to her and showed that he had begun reading orthodox teachings.
• Xiao Liang received a report that Great Song had sent a large army and that Liang’s forces had fewer than ten thousand troops remaining.
• Xiao Liang refused to leave Jiangzhou Prefecture and ordered the execution of anyone who spoke of surrender.

Aaron prepared to face Great Pine’s 250,000-man imperial army with only 5,000 Six Jia Divine Soldiers, while the Exalted Bright Way’s leaders feared for Great Pine’s failing Mandate of Heaven. The chapter left the decisive battle imminent, with the Grandmaster preparing to use the sect’s supreme treasure to strengthen the dynasty’s dragon qi.

• Cao Man warned Aaron that Great Pine’s army had marched south, but Aaron ordered him and Tang Xun to escort 20,000 prisoners and hold the rear with 7,000 men.
• Aaron planned to lead the remaining 5,000 Six Jia Divine Soldiers against the imperial army, relying on fortifications and a war of attrition.
• Aaron marched to Lishui County and established satellite forts ahead of the approaching imperial army.
• The Exalted Bright Way’s Grandmaster and four True Persons reviewed their preparations and observed that the King of Wu’s star had gone dark.
• The Grandmaster ordered the sect’s supreme treasure brought out so he could awaken Great Song’s remaining Heaven-given fate and fortune, despite the risk of drawing the sect deeper into the war.

Song Gongbao’s army began its assault on Lishui County, while the Exalted Bright Way used a secret art to suppress King of Liang’s dragon aura. The first attack exposed the fierce resistance of the county’s defenders, leaving Song Gongbao and Wu Xing facing a costly campaign.

• Song Gongbao and Wu Xing studied Lishui County’s defenses and considered forcing an assault, while Wu Xing proposed using local civilians as human shields.
• The Grand Master performed a ritual that wounded King of Liang’s dragon aura, causing Xiao Liang to cough blood and collapse; Poison Dragon confirmed the army’s aura remained steady.
• Tang Xun learned that twenty thousand hidden recruits were stationed near Jiangzhou Prefecture City, strengthening its defenses alongside seven thousand soldiers.
• Three days later, Song Gongbao surrounded a stockade and ordered an attack after its defenders refused to surrender.
• Li Xuanfeng captured the stockade after fierce fighting, but the Song forces suffered over a thousand dead and wounded while killing 227 defenders.

Song Gongbao’s army took the ninth stronghold at the cost of Li Xuanfeng’s life, and the rebels withdrew to Lishui County. After waking, Song Gongbao saw through the court’s betrayal and was summoned to Gao Qiu’s camp, where officers credited Gao with the victory.

• Song Gongbao’s exhausted army attacked the ninth stronghold under Gao Qiu’s threat of military punishment, and Li Xuanfeng led a desperate assault.
• Li Xuanfeng seized Supreme Divine Thunder and charged the Liang troops, destroying half the stronghold gate but dying in the explosions.
• A Daoist concluded that Li Xuanfeng’s death and the army’s losses had broken Song Gongbao’s dragon aura and ended its influence over him.
• Song Gongbao awoke to learn that Li Xuanfeng had died and the rebels had withdrawn to Lishui County; he regretted accepting amnesty and entrusted Wu Xing with the brothers’ savings and dependents.
• Song Gongbao went to Gao Qiu’s command tent and heard officers falsely praise Gao for making the Liang troops flee.

Song Gongbao was forced by Gao Qiu to lead his battered troops in repeated assaults on Lishui County, while the Imperial Guards threatened their families and blocked retreat. After seven days of costly fighting, he reached the battlements and was confronted by Li Xuanfeng, leaving his fate uncertain as Li's axe descended.

• Gao Qiu rejected Song Gongbao's request to let his troops recover and ordered him to continue attacking Lishui County for the Fire Jujubes.
• Song Gongbao and Wu Xing realized the Imperial Guards were watching their army and that defecting would endanger their families, so Song ordered an assault.
• For seven days, Song's troops attacked Lishui County and suffered heavy casualties while the defenders continued to hold the walls.
• Song Gongbao led the assault himself, climbed onto the battlements, and cut down Liang soldiers to make room for his men.
• Li Xuanfeng appeared and attacked Song Gongbao; after fewer than three exchanges, he knocked away Song's sword and brought down his axe.