Chapter Summaries

Zuwaro’s horse-buying party traveled north along the Heilongjiang, where Ali explained the rivers and the old Ming frontier. After the party captured a herder to question him, the terrified man suspected they had come to conscript soldiers for a southern campaign.

• Ali explained that Mongols called the northeastern river the Jingqili River while Jurchen called it Sahaliyan Ula, and that the rivers marked the meeting place of their tribes.
• Ali told Zuwaro that the Ming had built Huli Ping Fortress by the river, but the Mongols had captured it long ago.
• Zuwaro ordered the party to continue north along the river and search for tribes to trade with.
• Zuwaro spotted sheep and ordered Maha Aguda to send cavalry to bring back a herder for questioning.
• Maha Wuzhu captured a herding slave and brought him to the party, where Ali began questioning him.
• The herder saw the party’s armed warriors and feared that the Tumen Myriarchies were conscripting men for a southern campaign.

Zuwaro’s force reached the Aolahala tribe and decided to pose as a southern Mongol vassal to obtain horses and food. They raised the Mongol Golden Family’s blue Eagle Banner, then encountered the tribe’s assembled cavalry near what Ali recognized as Huli Ping Fortress.

• Amao mistook the armored riders for Mongol lords, and Wu Xiong frightened him into leading them toward his tribe’s stockade.
• Zuwaro proposed pretending to be a Jurchen guard-post under the Three Guards of Duoyan so the northern tribes would accept their trade demands.
• Tiger Slave produced the blue Eagle Banner, and Zuwaro ordered Wu Xiong to carry it while the force continued toward the stockade.
• The tribe’s patrol riders spotted the force and sounded the warning horn as they fled toward the fortress.
• Ali recognized the fortress as Huli Ping Fortress on the Heihe while seventy or eighty tribal cavalry gathered outside.

Zuwaro’s force reached Huli Ping Fortress, where the Hebian Tribe prepared to flee or bargain rather than risk a fight. Chief Aohala sent Bule to offer sable pelts and his daughter to the supposed southern leaders, but the girl’s arrival left Zuwaro stunned when she was presented to Maha Aguda instead.

• Zuwaro’s two hundred armored soldiers halted before Huli Ping Fortress as the Hebian Tribe mustered a hundred lightly equipped horse archers outside its open gates.
• Ali explained that the Mongols relied on mobile archers and might abandon the fortress and its vulnerable inhabitants if the enemy proved too strong.
• Chief Aohala suspected the armored force was a tribute party and told Bule to offer sable pelts and his unmarried daughter, Azhu, to its leader.
• Bule brought Azhu and the pelts to the soldiers, while Zuwaro hesitated over accepting the girl as tribute.
• Bule passed Zuwaro and presented Azhu and the sable pelts to Maha Aguda, calling her Pearl.

Maha Aguda’s party confronted the Hebian Tribe and won entry to Huli Ping Fortress by accepting tribute and offering ironware and salt in return. Aohala cautiously welcomed the armed Jurchen party while planning how to redirect any demands for people, horses, and livestock.

• Bule offered Maha Aguda sable pelts, Pearl, and a fine horse, but Aguda took the horse and claimed Pearl as his new wife.
• Aguda gave Bule a large iron pot and a sack of salt as a betrothal gift, astonishing Bule and Aohala with their value.
• Aohala concluded that the armored strangers were powerful Jurchen allies of a southern ten-thousand-household lord and decided to invite them into the fortress.
• Aohala sent Bule to welcome the party, arrange food and quarters, and find a Jurchen translator while he kept his cavalry outside.
• Bule led the party into Huli Ping Fortress, where the Kingdom’s warriors occupied the guard-post barracks without resistance.

Zuwaro toured the Hebian Tribe’s Huli Ping Fortress and questioned Abo about its sheep-based economy, learning how scarcity shaped nomadic life. Abo explained that winter disasters could drive tribes to slaughter and cannibalism, leaving a southward raid through the Great Wall as their last hope.

• Abo showed Zuwaro the crowded fortress, where the Hebian Tribe kept thousands of sheep and relied on herding and sheep products.
• Abo explained that poor pasture and the difficulty of tending cattle made sheep the small tribe’s main livestock, while horses were kept for war and travel.
• Abo told Zuwaro that ordinary tribespeople rarely ate meat and depended on milk products, with many people facing starvation during winter.
• Abo described how a White Disaster could kill livestock and people, forcing tribes to fight, consume weaker groups, or even resort to cannibalism.
• Abo said that during a White Disaster, the tribes would gather under the Great Khan and raid south across the Great Wall for food, alarming Zuwaro.

Zuwaro considered converting the Mongol tribes to the Main God’s faith by bringing them potatoes, while Ali warned that extra food could drive population growth and lead to a larger invasion south. The chapter ended with Ali predicting that a future White Disaster could send hundreds of thousands of Mongol cavalry against the Great Ming and Jurchen Tribes.

• Zuwaro and Ali surveyed the Hebian Tribe and learned about its ovoo, sacrifices, and worship of Tengri Eternal Heaven and other spirits.
• Zuwaro recognized similarities between Mongol beliefs and the Main God’s faith, but Ali warned that Tibetan Buddhist Lamas would violently oppose a rival priest.
• Zuwaro proposed introducing cultivable potatoes to the Mongol tribes, reasoning that stored food could protect them when livestock died in a White Disaster.
• Ali explained that livestock losses had historically caused famine and population collapse among Mongols, while potatoes could let their population grow beyond the grasslands’ limits.
• Ali warned that a doubled Mongol population facing another White Disaster could ride south in overwhelming numbers, threatening the Great Ming and Jurchen Tribes.

Ali urged Zuwaro to keep potatoes from spreading until their people were strong enough to control the consequences, and Zuwaro agreed to build their strength first. At the autumn sacrifice, Maha Aguda and Aohala formed an alliance to raid the Forest Tribe so their people could secure food and survive the winter.

• Ali warned Zuwaro that spreading potatoes among powerful neighbors could strengthen them and urged him to use the crop to build their own power first.
• Maha Aguda took Abo, a Jurchen interpreter, into his service and learned that Aohala had arranged the sacrifice to discuss his demands.
• At the ovoo, Aguda and Aohala exchanged respect by using Aguda's saber to sacrifice sheep and drinking mare's-milk wine together.
• Aohala offered fifty herding slaves and one hundred horses but refused to provide grain, explaining that doing so would starve his people.
• Aohala proposed raiding the Forest Tribe, and Aguda agreed to the terms, swearing an oath before the Tree Spirit.
• Aohala announced that the Hebian Tribe would celebrate for two days and march to war on the third day.

Aohala and Maha Aguda prepared their forces and launched a dawn raid on the Forest Tribe’s camp. Their cavalry broke through the fence as the camp scrambled to respond, leaving the battle just beginning.

• Aohala and Maha Aguda agreed to attack the Forest Tribe with ninety armored cavalry and one hundred and ten mounted archers.
• Maha Aguda left Zuwaro in charge of Huli Ping Fortress and led the allied force out to hunt for the Forest Tribe.
• The cavalry advanced under cover of darkness, and scouts captured a herdsman who revealed that the Forest Tribe’s main force was gathered in its camp.
• Aohala and Maha Aguda led a surprise charge at dawn, killing herdsmen as the Forest Tribe raised the alarm and tried to mount up.
• Bule and his scouts pulled down part of the camp’s fence, opening a path for the attackers to charge inside.

The Hebian Tribe and Maha Aguda’s Jurchen armored cavalry raided and defeated the Forest Tribe, capturing its chieftain, Taigun. After learning Taigun’s people had Jurchen ancestry, Aguda offered him a choice between swearing allegiance and becoming a sacrifice, and Taigun silently considered his answer.

• Maha Aguda led the armored charge through the Forest Tribe camp while Hebian Tribe mounted archers surrounded it and blocked escape.
• Taigun tried to flee and fight back, but Aguda’s men knocked him from his horse and captured him as the Forest Tribe’s forces collapsed.
• Aohala ordered the victors to count prisoners and livestock, kill wounded captives unable to walk, and drive the women and children from the camp.
• Aguda questioned Taigun and learned that the Forest Tribe had Mongol and Northern Mountain Wildmen ancestry, including Jurchen blood.
• Aguda offered Taigun the choice of swearing a blood oath and joining his tribe or dying as a sacrifice; Taigun saw his wife and children among the prisoners and silently weighed the decision.

After the Forest Tribe was defeated, Maha Aguda and Aohala divided its horses, captives, and supplies, strengthening both allied tribes. The survivors celebrated their victory with a Dunta Dance as the story left the grasslands under the shadow of further tribal conflict.

• Bule’s riders captured the Forest Tribe mounted archers who had fled the battle.
• Aohala and Maha Aguda counted the raid’s spoils, including thousands of sheep, hundreds of horses and cattle, and 250 prisoners.
• Aohala praised Wuzhu’s prowess, while Maha Aguda clarified that Taigun had become his war slave.
• Maha Aguda secured 260 horses and 150 captives for his side, agreeing to give Aohala two sets of Iron Armor in exchange for better horses.
• Aohala arranged six months of provisions, and Maha Aguda added Salt and pots for preserving meat.
• The allied Hebian and Jurchen tribes feasted and sang and danced the Dunta Dance around their campfires.

After the Hebian Tribe defeated and absorbed the Forest Tribe, Aohala and Maha Aguda returned to Huli Ping Fortress with captives, livestock, and about three hundred horses. Zuwaro recognized the vast potential and dangers of trading salt and ironware for livestock on the Mongol grasslands, while Aguda planned to build his growing force around Taigun and other tribal leaders.

• Aohala left forty mounted archers to manage the Forest Tribe’s camp, people, and herds, then rode south with Maha Aguda and the captives.
• Aohala promised Maha Aguda stored food and salt in exchange for ironware, and the Hebian Tribe held a celebratory feast before the group departed.
• Zuwaro welcomed Aguda’s returning force and calculated the enormous profits possible from a salt-and-iron trade route along the Heilongjiang basin, while noting its military dangers.
• Aguda told Zuwaro that he intended to absorb the 150 Forest Tribe captives, make Taigun a Niru arrowhead, and train more leaders to command his expanding force.
• Zuwaro watched the riders, captives, and horses enter Huli Ping Fortress and reflected on how Aguda was becoming a formidable great chieftain.

Zuwaro’s horse-buying party left the Hebian Tribe with horses, livestock, and supplies, while Chief Aohala suspected the newcomers were not connected to the southern tribes. As the party hurried east toward the Maha Tribe, Zuwaro agreed to travel to Great Ming next summer on a tribute mission and explore trade at Kaiyuan.

• Zuwaro and Aguda celebrated their horse-buying success, and Aguda offered to share half the horses and captives in exchange for grain.
• After three days, Zuwaro’s party departed with three hundred horses, forty breeding sheep, and additional food and hides.
• Pearl said goodbye to her father Bule and uncle Aohala, who privately debated the origin of Aguda’s armored riders and decided not to alert the Tumen Myriarchy.
• Zuwaro and his party hurried east, discussing the difficulty of feeding their new horses through winter.
• Ali explained that the next tribute mission to Great Ming’s Kaiyuan market would take place next summer, and Zuwaro agreed to go south to trade and seek artisans.

At the Huitong Hostel, Eunuch Wei instructed the Japanese tribute mission on court ceremonies while accepting gifts and granting it limited freedom to seek medical care. Morino Kiyoshi pressed Shi Wende to join the mission’s letter of thanks, and Shi Wende finally called him back as he was leaving.

• Eunuch Wei explained the upcoming audience, banquets, calendar presentation, and New Year's court assembly rites to Morino Kiyoshi, while warning Shi Wende to translate accurately.
• Eunuch Wei accepted a silver bowl, permitted the mission to visit clinics within two streets, and left after reviewing Shi Wende’s handwritten etiquette notes.
• Morino Kiyoshi told Shi Wende that the letter of thanks left space for his name and urged him to join the mission and profit from maritime trade.
• Shi Wende refused, warning that naming him would endanger his life and the lives of his clan, unlike the other officials and religious figures listed.
• Morino Kiyoshi threatened that without the letter as protection, Shi Wende would remain vulnerable to the Jingchuan Yang Clan, then turned to leave.
• Shi Wende shouted for Morino Kiyoshi to wait, and Morino Kiyoshi turned back with a delighted smile.

Ryuzoji Iehiro met Great Monk Juehui in Ezo, where Juehui secured a Shogunate appointment granting the Shiba Clan authority over Ezo and offered the document and cargo for three hundred catties of gold. Iehiro agreed to the deal and planned further trade, leaving the Kingdom poised to expand its influence among the Wajin.

• Ryuzoji Iehiro praised the Main God’s faith, and Great Monk Juehui listened as Iehiro described its hierarchy and revered prophet.
• Great Monk Juehui explained how he used gold and connections with Lady Tomiko to obtain the Shogunate appointment for Shiba Eido as Ezo Protector.
• Monk Mizhu handed Great Monk Juehui the Shogunate document, and Ryuzoji Iehiro read its grant of authority over Ezo’s soldiers, lawsuits, levies, and forts.
• Great Monk Juehui offered the appointment document, supplies, settlers, and craftsmen to Ryuzoji Iehiro for three hundred catties of gold.
• Ryuzoji Iehiro accepted the price and promised to arrange the gold and continue trading with Great Monk Juehui the following spring.

In Seville Harbor in October 1495, deputy fleet commander Antonio de Torres and Franciscan monk Ramon Pane discussed the Castilian expedition’s mission, its personnel, and their contempt for Columbus and the Holy Roman Empire mercenaries. The eighteen-ship fleet was preparing to sail east to open a new trade route and establish Fort Queen Isabella, with its leaders expecting to use force against anyone who resisted.

• Antonio de Torres and Ramon Pane stood aboard the Santa Clarida and praised the voyage as a mission to spread Christianity in the East.
• Ramon mocked Columbus’s authority and praised Juan de la Cosa as a more devout captain.
• Ramon objected to the Holy Roman Empire mercenaries, and Antonio said the fleet would use them as expendable fighters while Church knights watched them.
• Antonio and Ramon described the expedition’s eighteen ships and roughly 1,300 personnel, then vowed to conquer those who refused conversion or tribute.

Castilian holy-war veterans challenged Columbus’s authority in Seville, but Bartolomeo redirected their fervor toward Queen Isabella, allowing Columbus to assert his royal appointment. The Queen’s knights arrived to a thunderous welcome, leaving Columbus triumphant and Antonio silenced.

• Antonio de Torres and Pedro Margarit led the veterans in holy-war chants, undermining Columbus’s authority as fleet commander.
• Reinhard realized that his mercenaries might be treated as expendable fighters once the fleet sailed.
• Bartolomeo stopped Columbus from confronting Antonio and rallied the soldiers and sailors to praise Queen Isabella.
• Columbus displayed the queen’s appointment document and commander's sword, then declared himself the fleet’s chief.
• Royal Knight Alvaro arrived with the Queen’s banner, prompting the crowd to erupt in cheers and leaving Antonio livid.

Royal Knight Alvaro displayed the Castilian veteran companies’ formation, alarming Columbus and Reinhard with their strength. He then delivered Fernando’s secret letter to Antonio, warning that the Portuguese had reached the East Indies and authorizing decisive action against them if encountered beyond their sovereign’s oversight.

• Alvaro led the royal banner before Pedro Margarit’s eighty veterans, who formed their line-wedge-axe array.
• Antonio and Friar Ramon praised Castile’s military strength, while Columbus asked Reinhard whether his mercenaries could protect him from the veteran companies.
• Reinhard admitted that his men could hold off only one company if they had twice their numbers, and Bartolomeo urged Columbus to stay calm and seek ties with the company captains.
• Alvaro brought Antonio a secret letter from Fernando warning that Portugal had established a foothold in the East Indies and was preparing to preach among the Natives.
• Antonio read the royal order authorizing him to seize beneficial Portuguese cargo and eliminate witnesses and evidence if circumstances allowed.

As Castile’s fleet prepared to sail from Seville to establish a colony across the Atlantic, Old Juan worked while suffering a feverish cough. Smallpox had hidden in his weakened body and aboard the ships, poised to spread during the voyage and threaten the people at their destination.

• The narrator described Seville’s filthy harbor and explained how smallpox and other plagues afflicted European cities.
• Old Juan coughed and retched as he and Lope carried supplies aboard the fleet, while Lope worried about his health.
• Old Juan and Lope spoke of their home in Arevalo and hoped to farm in the rich lands across the sea.
• The ships’ holds filled with provisions, livestock, seeds, and tools for establishing a colony.
• Smallpox remained concealed in Old Juan and among the sailors’ blankets as the fleet prepared to depart.

Knights discussed the devastating French Ordinance Knights’ charges at Seminara and Fornovo as Castile prepared for a deeper war with France. Alvaro relayed Queen Isabella’s prediction that King Charles would invade Italy again, and Antonio planned to summon Gonzalo to discuss how to stop the French cavalry.

• Young knight Este heard that French Ordinance Knights had routed the Calabria troops at Seminara, forcing Gonzalo’s forces to retreat and costing them heavy casualties.
• Aboard the Holy Light, Alvaro explained to Antonio how the French army had broken through the Holy League’s forces at Fornovo and escaped north.
• Alvaro said the Italian city-state troops had abandoned the battle plan to seize the French baggage train instead of pursuing King Charles.
• Alvaro reported Queen Isabella’s view that Charles would return to Italy because he could not restrain his desires.
• Antonio resolved to write Gonzalo and ask for his ideas on defeating the French knights’ charge.

Antonio and Alvaro discussed France’s Compagnie knights and King Fernando’s strategy for exploiting the French invasion of Italy. The next morning, Columbus led Castile’s eighteen-ship expedition fleet west toward the East Indies.

• Antonio and Alvaro ate in Seville and discussed the French force of roughly three thousand Compagnie knights and its strength in Italy.
• Alvaro explained that King Fernando expected France’s many enemies and lack of Italian support to prevent it from holding territory south of the Alps.
• Antonio and Alvaro praised the Queen and worried that King Fernando would use them for his own advantage.
• Columbus addressed the expedition aboard the Santa Cristobal, promising wealth and honor to those who followed him.
• Columbus ordered the sails raised, and the eighteen ships departed west as the Royal Knights watched from shore.