Chapter Summaries

Qin Yangming's sixty-four-thousand-man force surrounded Eastern Liang Commandery while Liu Yuncai discovered that the exchanged prisoners had been poisoned. As the Yong Army prepared to attack, Hu Xiaotian led a thousand elite warriors through a drainage culvert into Eastern Luo Granary, where Zhu Ba's catapult assault had drawn the defenders out.

• Qin Yangming, Huang Xincheng, Fu Cong, and Liu Yuncai completed a four-pronged encirclement of Eastern Liang Commandery, while Liu Yuncai found the exchanged prisoners sick from poisoned food and drink.
• Yu Tianxing and Hu Zhongyang prepared Eastern Liang Commandery's catapults and siege crossbows as enemy troops gathered outside its gates and at Xiasha Port.
• Zhu Ba's catapults bombarded Eastern Luo Granary, killing and injuring defenders and prompting Chang Fanqi to order three thousand troops outside to destroy the siege weapons.
• Hu Xiaotian, Zhan Peng, and Liang Yinghao led a thousand elite warriors through the canal and drainage culvert toward Eastern Luo Granary, and Hu Xiaotian cut through an iron grate blocking their way.
• Qin Yangming ordered the Yong Army to beat its war drums before the assault on Eastern Liang Commandery, and Yu Tianxing's defenders answered with a unified shout.

Qin Yangming diverted troops to reinforce Eastern Luo Granary after learning the Kang Army had attacked it, weakening the siege of Eastern Liang Commandery. Inside the granary, Hu Xiaotian’s infiltrators began a coordinated fire-and-assault plan while Chang Fanqi marched out to confront the attackers.

• Qin Yangming confirmed that the Kang Army had attacked Eastern Luo Granary and ordered Huang Chengxin to return with fifteen thousand troops, reducing the force besieging Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Yu Tianxing recognized that the retreat from the east gate showed Hu Xiaotian’s plan was working and that the defenders faced fewer attackers.
• Liang Yinghao led Hu Xiaotian’s men out of an underground passage and assigned a hundred soldiers to set fires while Zhan Peng’s teams prepared to seize the arrow towers.
• Chang Fanqi led three thousand troops toward the western hills as Zhu Ba ordered his beggars to withdraw and set fires in the mountain woods.
• A fire broke out in a hay warehouse in the northeastern part of Eastern Luo Granary, drawing defenders away as Hu Xiaotian’s men prepared to act.

Hu Xiaotian’s forces captured the Eastern Luo Granary after setting fires and seizing its Arrow Towers and west gate, while Chang Fanqi returned too late to retake it. The Kang forces accepted Yong surrenders and prepared to use Chang Fanqi’s mother as leverage after Jiang Yunfu revealed she remained inside.

• Hu Xiaotian ambushed five hundred Yong soldiers as Liang Yinghao’s squad set fires and Zhan Peng’s men attacked the Arrow Towers.
• Zhan Peng’s forces captured six Arrow Towers, and Hu Xiaotian climbed the last one and killed its defenders.
• Liang Yinghao seized the west gate and raised the drawbridge, while Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng secured the walls and sent troops into the city.
• Chang Fanqi returned with three thousand exhausted soldiers, found the granary gates shut, and watched Zhan Peng kill his deputy with an arrow.
• Twelve hundred Yong soldiers surrendered, and Zhu Ba led two thousand Beggar Gang disciples into the granary through the east gate.
• Jiang Yunfu offered to help Hu Xiaotian by revealing that Chang Fanqi’s mother was inside, and Hu Xiaotian ordered him to bring her in without mistreating her.

After Hu Xiaotian captured Eastern Luo Granary, Zhao Wusheng sent Xiong Tianba to hold Baila Pass while the rest of the troops withdrew. Xiong Tianba killed Fu Ping and used the darkness, snow, and a bluff to rout Huang Chengxin’s exhausted Yong Army, leaving them regrouping after heavy losses.

• A scout told Zhao Wusheng that Hu Xiaotian had captured Eastern Luo Granary as more than ten thousand Yong Army troops approached Baila Pass.
• Zhao Wusheng withdrew toward Eastern Luo Granary and left Xiong Tianba with a hundred light cavalrymen to delay the Yong Army.
• Xiong Tianba announced that Eastern Luo Granary had fallen and challenged the advancing Yong Army at Baila Pass.
• Fu Ping charged Xiong Tianba, but Xiong Tianba crushed Fu Ping’s hammers and killed him with a single blow.
• Xiong Tianba and his hundred soldiers bluffed a large-scale charge, sending Huang Chengxin’s Yong Army fleeing in panic.
• Huang Chengxin regained control after the pursuit slowed and realized Xiong Tianba had deceived them; dozens of soldiers had died and about a thousand were injured.

Qin Yangming withdrew from Eastern Liang Commandery after Hu Xiaotian captured the Eastern Luo Granary, leaving the Yong Army short on supplies and facing reinforcements. Hu Xiaotian secured the granary and used Chang Fanqi’s captured mother to pressure him to betray Qin Yangming, while the Kang forces prepared to defend against the coming assault.

• After three failed attacks on Eastern Liang Commandery, Qin Yangming learned that Hu Xiaotian had captured the Eastern Luo Granary and that Wuxing Commandery was sending reinforcements.
• Zhai Yuan advised Qin Yangming to concentrate his forces on retaking the granary, and Qin ordered the Yong Army to withdraw from Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Yu Tianxing explained to Hu Zhongyang and Tang Tiehan that Qin had no choice but to retreat because his army was running out of supplies.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Chang Fanqi that his blind mother was safe, then sent him a note demanding Qin Yangming's life in exchange for her.
• Zhao Wusheng entered the Eastern Luo Granary with five thousand soldiers, bringing Hu Xiaotian's force there to nearly eight thousand as they organized its defenses.
• Chang Fanqi and the arriving Huang Chengxin held back from attacking the granary because Hu Xiaotian held Chang Fanqi's mother.

Chang Fanqi seized Qin Yangming after Qin blamed him for losing the Eastern Luo Granary, then forced Qin into the granary and surrendered to Hu Xiaotian to protect his captured mother. The Yong Army abandoned the siege, while Hu Xiaotian thanked Chang Fanqi for his efforts.

• Qin Yangming accused Chang Fanqi of losing the Eastern Luo Granary and ordered him arrested, but Huang Chengxin and the other officers pleaded for Chang to redeem himself in battle.
• After accepting Qin Yangming's command arrow, Chang Fanqi attacked him, took him hostage, and accused him of shifting the blame for the failed campaign.
• Chang Fanqi forced Qin Yangming through the Yong Army and into the Eastern Luo Granary, where Hu Xiaotian lowered the drawbridge to let them enter.
• With Qin Yangming captured and the army exhausted, Zhai Yuan, Yang Xian, and Fu Cong agreed to retreat and regroup rather than continue the siege.
• Zhan Peng's men bound Qin Yangming and moved to bind Chang Fanqi, who demanded that Hu Xiaotian honor his promise to spare Chang's mother.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped the warriors from binding Chang Fanqi and thanked him for his efforts.

Hu Xiaotian defeated Qin Yangming’s army and captured Eastern Luo Granary, while Chang Fanqi left after learning his mother was safe. After the freezing rain ended, Hu Xiaotian returned to Eastern Liang Commandery and was greeted at Zhu Guanqi’s home by the blonde girl.

• Hu Xiaotian taunted Qin Yangming over his defeat, then had Zhan Peng take him away.
• Hu Xiaotian told Chang Fanqi that his mother was unharmed and let him leave.
• Hu Xiaotian watched the Yong Army retreat and ordered his forces to move the provisions out of Eastern Luo Granary.
• Hu Xiaotian left Zhao Wusheng and Xiong Tianba to garrison Eastern Luo Granary, then returned to Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Hu Xiaotian visited Zhu Guanqi’s home, where a blonde girl ran out of the kitchen to greet him before noticing the others.

Hu Xiaotian celebrated his victory with Zhuge Guanqi, then sought advice on how to face Great Yong’s likely retaliation. Zhuge argued that Hu should pursue peace by exploiting Xue Daohong’s political weakness, and explained how Great Yong’s reliance on force had helped create resistance.

• Hu Xiaotian visited Zhuge Guanqi, where they drank wine and discussed Great Yong’s response to losing the Eastern Luo Granary.
• Hu Xiaotian said he had begun moving supplies and considered retreating to Jiangnan, but Zhuge warned that retreat would leave him vulnerable to the Imperial Court and might not stop Great Yong.
• Zhuge advised Hu to seek peace without sacrificing his interests, noting that Great Yong’s two defeats had weakened Xue Daohong’s standing and given Xue Daoming an opening.
• Zhuge explained that attacking an enemy’s plans and alliances was better than relying on armies or sieges, and said Great Yong’s treatment of Great Kang had helped provoke resistance.

After Hu Xiaotian seized the Eastern Luo Granary, Zhuge Guanqi explained why Great Yong might hesitate to launch another attack, while Xue Daohong erupted in anger over the defeat. Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun left to answer the emperor’s summons as Empress Dowager Jiang quietly ordered an investigation into the disaster.

• Zhuge Guanqi told Hu Xiaotian that Great Yong might reconsider its strategy or seek peace after two defeats, and that another loss could threaten Xue Daohong’s throne.
• Xue Daohong learned that Chang Fanqi had defected to Hu Xiaotian, handed over the Eastern Luo Granary, and taken Qin Yangming hostage before forcing the army to withdraw.
• Xue Shengjing and Empress Dowager Jiang discussed his reluctance to enter government, and Xue Lingjun arrived with news that Hu Xiaotian had captured the Eastern Luo Granary.
• Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun set out to answer Xue Daohong’s summons, while Empress Dowager Jiang ordered Eunuch Dong to investigate what had happened and who was responsible.
• In the carriage, Xue Shengjing asked Xue Lingjun why she had insisted on bringing him along.

Xue Lingjun and Xue Shengjing discussed Great Yong’s military defeats and the emperor’s reliance on Li Chenzhou before joining other officials at Fenghe Palace. There, Xue Daohong confronted them over the loss of the Eastern Luo Granary, and Huang Beishan accepted responsibility for the failed campaign.

• Xue Shengjing criticized Xue Daohong’s military decisions and praised Dao Ming and Li Chenzhou, while Xue Lingjun warned that the emperor’s intentions were difficult to read.
• Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun entered the palace and met Huang Beishan, Xiang Liren, and Xue Daoming on their way to Fenghe Palace.
• Xue Daoming concealed his resentment toward Xue Daohong and hoped the recent defeats would weaken his brother’s standing.
• Xue Daohong questioned the officials about the Eastern Luo Granary, and Huang Beishan bowed and blamed his poor choice of commander for the defeat.

Xue Daohong sought advice after the Eastern Luo Granary fell, but his anger and distrust strained his court. Li Chenzhou returned to the capital and began advising the emperor, warning that he should not have rushed to send troops after Tang Boxi’s defeat.

• Xue Daohong dismissed Huang Beishan as Minister of War for failing to understand how the Eastern Luo Granary had been seized.
• Xue Daohong ordered Xue Daoming to handle the crisis, but Xue Lingjun objected and asked to speak privately with Xue Daohong and Xue Shengjing.
• Xue Lingjun warned Xue Daohong against launching a major offensive and said Hu Xiaotian had not started either recent battle, angering the emperor.
• Li Chenzhou returned from the Northern Frontier and went straight to the palace, where Xue Daohong welcomed him as a trusted adviser.
• Li Chenzhou told Xue Daohong that Tang Boxi’s attack on Eastern Liang Commandery had been rash and that the emperor should not have rushed to deploy troops after Tang Boxi’s defeat.

After Li Chenzhou advised Xue Daohong to use diplomacy rather than risk another costly war against Hu Xiaotian, he volunteered to negotiate with Great Kang. Xue Lingjun traveled to Eastern Liang Commandery to test Hu Xiaotian’s intentions, where she saw displaced residents returning to the city.

• Li Chenzhou warned Xue Daohong that another campaign against Hu Xiaotian could be costly and urged him to pressure Great Kang through diplomacy.
• Li Chenzhou volunteered to travel to the Kang Capital, while Xue Daohong arranged a separate mission to Eastern Liang Commandery to assess Hu Xiaotian.
• When Xue Shengjing feigned a serious illness to avoid the mission, Xue Lingjun volunteered and Xue Daohong accepted.
• Xue Lingjun arrived in Eastern Liang Commandery with five hundred guards and considered how to persuade Hu Xiaotian to submit.
• Xue Lingjun saw displaced residents returning to Eastern Liang Commandery after Hu Xiaotian’s victories and his capture of the Eastern Luo Granary restored confidence and supplies.

Hu Xiaotian refused Great Kang’s request for grain while expanding his forces, then welcomed Great Yong’s envoy, Xue Lingjun, to Eastern Liang Commandery. The chapter left Hu Xiaotian alone with Xue Lingjun as her maid Jian Ping entered.

• Hu Xiaotian refused Zu Dacheng’s plea for grain, explaining that his supplies were needed for the people and troops under his command.
• Yu Tianxing reported that more than twenty thousand recruits had arrived and that five thousand had joined the Yong River Navy; Hu Xiaotian planned to build his forces to seventy thousand.
• Liang Dazhuang announced Xue Lingjun’s arrival, and Hu Xiaotian rode out with the Black-Armored Cavalry to welcome her, calling her Sister Jun in front of her escort.
• Hu Xiaotian noticed Deputy Commander Guo Zhenhai among Xue Lingjun’s guards and hinted that they would have a chance to reminisce about their past encounter.
• Hu Xiaotian escorted Xue Lingjun to her residence, where she dismissed her guards; after Jian Ping entered, Hu Xiaotian greeted her warmly.

Hu Xiaotian welcomed Xue Lingjun to the Post Station and received an imperial envoy bearing Long Xuan'en’s verbal recognition of his control over Wuxing Commandery and the Yong River Navy. The edict confirmed a reality Hu Xiaotian already enforced, while the emperor kept the arrangement unofficial.

• Xue Lingjun arrived at the Post Station, teased Hu Xiaotian, and agreed to bathe and rest while he left her to settle in.
• Guo Zhenhai asked to take over security inside the Post Station, and Hu Xiaotian agreed to withdraw his own men.
• Jian Ping brought Hu Xiaotian a marten fur coat from Xue Lingjun, and he wore it before leaving to host her welcoming feast that evening.
• Gao Yuan told Hu Xiaotian that Fan Zongxi had arrived as an imperial envoy to borrow grain, so Hu Xiaotian returned to meet him.
• Fan Zongxi delivered Long Xuan'en’s verbal edict placing Wuxing Commandery and the Yong River Navy under Hu Xiaotian’s administration, but said the arrangement must remain quiet.

Hu Xiaotian negotiated the Imperial Court’s demand for grain while weighing Great Yong’s intentions and preparing for future operations. Xue Lingjun investigated Yu Tianxing, showed suspicion toward Jian Ping, and canceled her banquet with Hu Xiaotian.

• Fan Zongxi told Hu Xiaotian that the emperor wanted one hundred thousand shi of grain, and Hu Xiaotian offered to send half of whatever remained after the Eastern Luo Granary’s provisions were tallied.
• Hu Xiaotian discussed the demand with Zhan Peng and Yu Tianxing, who advised caution toward Great Yong and urged him to learn the purpose of Xue Lingjun’s mission before deciding how to respond.
• Yu Tianxing suggested that Hu Xiaotian could seize the grain back after sending it, and Hu Xiaotian praised him for learning his own tricks.
• Jian Ping reported to Xue Lingjun that Yu Tianxing had commanded Hu Xiaotian’s victories and was a gifted strategist whose brothers lived in the Yong Capital.
• Xue Lingjun rebuked Jian Ping for speaking Hu Xiaotian’s name and questioned whether she had flirted with him, then told her to claim she was unwell and skip the banquet.

Hu Xiaotian negotiated with Fan Zongxi over grain and learned that Great Kang’s Royal Racecourse was short of fodder and horses. Later, Xue Lingjun warned him that Great Yong was preparing to retake the Eastern Luo Granary, and the chapter ended with her cautioning that Hu lacked the emperor’s trust and faced disaster if war came.

• Hu Xiaotian assured Fan Zongxi that he would provide the hundred thousand shi of grain and learned that the Royal Racecourse’s horses were starving and being sold.
• Hu Xiaotian considered trading provisions for horses from the Royal Racecourse to build up his cavalry.
• Xue Lingjun summoned Hu Xiaotian for a snowy-night ride, then took him to the North Gate tower overlooking the direction of the Eastern Luo Granary.
• Xue Lingjun warned Hu Xiaotian that seizing the granary amounted to declaring war on Great Yong and that its new emperor was preparing to retake it.
• Hu Xiaotian insisted he had acted to defend himself, while Xue Lingjun warned that Great Yong’s attack could destroy him and that his own emperor did not trust him.

Hu Xiaotian rejected Xue Lingjun’s offer to defect to Great Yong and claimed Chang Fanqi controlled the Eastern Luo Granary. Xue Lingjun then sought Chang Fanqi, whose guilt and fear of punishment left him uncertain about returning to Great Yong.

• Xue Lingjun offered Hu Xiaotian rank, a noble title, and a marriage alliance if he joined Great Yong, but he firmly refused and reaffirmed his loyalty to Great Kang.
• Hu Xiaotian denied controlling the Eastern Luo Granary and said Xue Lingjun would have to negotiate its return with Chang Fanqi.
• Xue Lingjun asked to meet Chang Fanqi and Qin Yangming, and Hu Xiaotian agreed to arrange a meeting with Qin Yangming.
• Chang Fanqi recovered from a serious illness while living under Hu Xiaotian’s watch, and Hu continued to conceal his coercion from Madam Chang.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Chang Fanqi whether he would return to Great Yong, and Chang Fanqi accused him of repeatedly forcing him into dishonorable acts.

Hu Xiaotian negotiated Chang Fanqi’s departure and arranged for Xue Lingjun to meet the captured Qin Yangming, while Li Chenzhou traveled to Great Kang to seek peace after Hu Xiaotian’s victories. The chapter ended with Long Xuan'en considering Great Yong’s proposed truce amid Great Kang’s famine and growing weakness.

• Hu Xiaotian agreed to let Chang Fanqi leave in spring, and Chang refused to join his camp.
• Xue Lingjun questioned Qin Yangming, who blamed Chang Fanqi for his capture and begged for death rather than return to Great Yong.
• Li Chenzhou saw the famine and frozen corpses in the Kang Capital and resolved to meet his father, Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan.
• Long Xuan'en received Li Chenzhou, who proposed ending the conflict, redrawing the border, and signing a new treaty.
• Long Xuan'en accepted that peace was desirable but recognized that Great Yong sought time to prepare for a possible Black Hu invasion.

Li Chenzhou offered Great Kang peace and famine relief in exchange for Eastern Liang Commandery and the Eastern Luo Granary, and Long Xuan'en convened his ministers to consider the deal. Qiqi challenged the ministers’ support for surrendering the cities and left the court debate unresolved.

• Li Chenzhou offered to return Great Kang’s captured officers and soldiers, lift the grain embargo, lend five hundred thousand shi of grain, and make peace if Long Xuan'en returned the Eastern Luo Granary and Eastern Liang Commandery.
• Long Xuan'en summoned his ministers, most of whom supported accepting Great Yong’s terms to relieve the famine.
• Qiqi arrived at the Diligent Governance Hall and heard Long Xuan'en explain the offer.
• Xu Zhengying argued that Great Yong’s offer could save Great Kang’s people, while Qiqi accused him of defending the country that wanted Great Kang’s land.
• Wen Chenghuan urged Qiqi to put the nation’s needs above her fief, and Qiqi angrily challenged his suggestion that she cared only about her own land.

At court, Zhou Ruiyuan warned Long Xuan'en that Great Yong’s offer to exchange grain for Eastern Luo Granary and Eastern Liang Commandery was a scheme to drive a wedge between the emperor and Hu Xiaotian. Long Xuan'en postponed the decision, while Hu Xiaotian learned that Great Yong had sent an envoy to the Kang Capital as well.

• Wen Chenghuan and several ministers supported Great Yong’s proposal, but Zhou Ruiyuan cautioned that Hu Xiaotian controlled the two cities and might refuse to surrender them.
• Zhou Ruiyuan warned that Hu Xiaotian’s army could threaten Long Xuan'en if it withdrew to Wuxing Commandery, and argued that Great Yong sought to provoke conflict between them.
• Long Xuan'en postponed the exchange and kept Zhou Ruiyuan behind, where Zhou urged him not to trust Great Yong’s promises of grain.
• Liang Yinghao delivered Huo Shengnan’s letter to Hu Xiaotian, who recognized that Great Yong had begun a diplomatic offensive.