Chapter Summaries

Aaron trained the children he had taken in and warned the county magistrate through a nighttime intrusion. Meanwhile, Song Gongbao accepted imperial amnesty and a minor general’s appointment, abandoning his chance to build an independent power as his strategist Wu Xing recognized that his ambition had faded.

• Aaron organized the children’s schooling and martial training, then decided it was time to confront County Magistrate Wei Zun.
• Wei Zun planned to report Aaron to the prefect, but woke with his head shaved and realized Aaron had entered his guarded bedroom as a warning.
• Song Gongbao accepted the imperial amnesty and the title of Tiger Might General, while a Daoist observed his dragon fate collapse into the destiny of a subject.
• Song Gongbao celebrated his appointment and told Wu Xing that he would commit all his elite forces to fighting Tian Ruhua.
• Wu Xing concluded that Song Gongbao had lost his ambition, then wondered whether Great Song truly possessed Heaven’s mandate.

Aaron decided that the Supreme Way Sect must enter the coming upheaval, so he taught its young disciples to make gunpowder-based Palm Thunder. In Jiangzhou, Poison Dragon persuaded Xiao Yang, a county commandant facing arrest, to rebel, and Xiao Yang agreed.

• Aaron judged that Song Gongbao's victory had only delayed the unrest and resolved to involve the Supreme Way Sect in the struggle for power.
• Aaron summoned Tai Chong, Tai He, and Tai Yin, established the Supreme Way Sect, and taught them to make and use Palm Thunder.
• Aaron reflected that gunpowder could bypass the restraints of dragon aura and that the sect's involvement in the coming turmoil could gain it influence and destiny.
• In Jiangzhou, Poison Dragon predicted that Great Song would fall into chaos around the third year of Taiping and met with Xiao Yang at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
• Xiao Yang said the prefectural government planned to move against him and agreed to rebel, while Poison Dragon pledged himself to Xiao Yang.

Poison Dragon urged Xiao Yang to kill Chen Zitong and his family so Xiao Yang could seize River Prefecture’s dragon aura. Meanwhile, Chen Zitong learned that the Phoenix Soaring Army was preparing to attack Void Spirit Master, and Daoist Azure Pine sensed the army’s fate turning ominous as the hidden dragon began to rise.

• Poison Dragon told Xiao Yang that Chen Zitong bore River Prefecture’s dragon aura and had to die for Xiao Yang to contend for the throne.
• Xiao Yang agreed to kill Chen Zitong’s entire family, and Poison Dragon rejoiced at his decisiveness.
• Chen Zitong reviewed reports about Fang La and Void Spirit Master, learning that the Phoenix Soaring Army planned to surround him with two thousand elite troops.
• Chen Zitong received a letter from his father asking him to return home and promised to visit in two days, though an unexplained dread seized him.
• Daoist Azure Pine saw the Phoenix Soaring Army’s military qi surge and foresaw a devastating blow to the army, while sensing that hidden changes remained.

Aaron led his Six Jia Divine Soldiers in capturing Black Wind Stronghold, revived the fallen soldiers and bandit chief, and gained supplies for his growing army. As he planned to establish a regime to fund his troops, he encountered Poison Dragon again after rescuing him from imperial cavalry.

• Zhan Da led Aaron’s five hundred men in an assault on Black Wind Stronghold, where the fearless Six Jia Divine Soldiers overwhelmed the bandits’ defenses.
• Aaron ordered the wounded and prisoners dealt with, killed the surrendered chief, then revived him as Black Two and restored the fallen soldiers with red beans.
• Aaron left one hundred men to occupy the stronghold and took the rest, along with its supplies, while considering how to establish a regime and tax territory to support his growing army.
• Zhan Da’s scouts spotted trouble on the road, and Aaron saw imperial cavalry pursuing Poison Dragon and two companions.
• Aaron used the Iron Hairpin Sword to kill the pursuing cavalry commander and his men, collected their warhorses, and greeted Poison Dragon, who said fate had treated him cruelly.

After Poison Dragon's rebellion failed, Aaron saved him from dying of backlash and brought him and the surviving Xiao family members to Lu Prefecture Market. Aaron seized control of the town, summoned his hidden forces, and took local prominent households hostage for grain, leaving Gu Yue hoping this would help prove his family's innocence.

• Poison Dragon recounted how Xiao Yang's rebellion failed, leaving him with Xiao Zi and Xiao Liang, and explained that the backlash from the failed cause was killing him.
• Aaron gave Poison Dragon a Fire Jujube that temporarily revived him and invited him to return to Lu Prefecture Market.
• Aaron led his disciplined soldiers into Lu Prefecture Market, took over the Patrol Inspectorate, and ordered Black Two to end the disguise and bring in all personnel and supplies.
• Zhan Da brought the town's prominent householders before Aaron, including the astonished Gu Yue.
• Aaron demanded a hundred shi of grain from each household and held the householders hostage, while Gu Yue privately hoped Aaron's treatment of him would clear the Gu Family of supporting the rebels.

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.