Chapter Summaries

The chapter surveyed the military commanders and civil officials who helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty, listing their achievements, titles, and eventual fates. It concluded with accounts of founding officials who died, lost their titles, or were executed in political cases.

• Xu Da and Chang Yuchun won major military victories and received founding noble titles.
• Li Wenzhong campaigned against the remaining Yuan forces and received the title Duke of Cao.
• Li Shanchang served Zhu Yuanzhang as a senior official but was executed with his family after implication in the Hu Weiyong case.
• Liu Ji helped plan Zhu Yuanzhang's campaigns, lost his stipend after accusations by Hu Weiyong, and died after traveling to the capital to plead his case.
• Feng Sheng led Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and others against Naghachu in Liaodong before later being granted death.
• Lan Yu was executed for treason, and numerous other founding officials or their heirs lost their lives or titles through the Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu cases.

The chapter reviewed Tang marriage alliances and their effects on relations with Tibet, then described the Tibetan Empire’s rise and decline before the 821–822 alliance with the Tang. It also discussed claims of Xianbei ancestry in the Li clan and several scandals involving Tang emperors and princes.

• Princess Honghua, Princess Wencheng, Princess Jincheng, and Princess Xian'an entered marriage alliances that strengthened Tang relations with neighboring powers and encouraged cultural and economic exchange.
• Songtsen Gampo unified the Tibetan Plateau, and Princess Wencheng’s marriage alliance with him strengthened Tang-Tibetan ties and brought Han culture to Tibet.
• The Tibetan Empire expanded into Tang territory during the An Lushan Rebellion and briefly captured Chang'an in 763, but prolonged wars and changing Tang alliances later weakened Tibet.
• Tang and Tibetan envoys concluded alliances in Chang'an and Lhasa in 821–822, and the Tang-Tibet Alliance Stele was erected in Lhasa in 823.
• The chapter cited Empress Dou and Li Yuan’s mother as evidence in claims that the Li imperial clan had Xianbei ancestry.
• Li Chengqian, Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Xuanzong, and Li Yuan were described in accounts of scandals and improper conduct within the Tang imperial house.