Recaps

Zi Shou challenged heavenly authority while managing the threat from King Pingling and the Caozhou floods. Shen Gongbao crushed Pingling’s rebellion, Ao Bing organized flood relief, and Zi Shou turned to reforming his officials.

• Ji Fa and Ji Dan spread rumors about Ji Fa proclaiming himself king, but Zi Shou heeded Wen Zhong’s warning and held back from attacking Xiqi.
• Zi Shou hosted a banquet for immortals, denounced reliance on heavenly gods, and declared that human ancestors deserved divine titles as the Kongtong Seal appeared before him.
• After Wuzhiqi caused floods in Caozhou, Zi Shou sent Li Bing to evacuate residents and secretly dispatched Shen Gongbao to reprimand King Pingling.
• King Pingling seized power in Pingling and imprisoned Shen Gongbao, who escaped and gathered Jiang Huanchu’s troops, Northern Tribes, and Bird Yi soldiers to oppose him.
• Shen Gongbao’s forces entered Pingling after Cheng Yuan and Song Xu seized the North Gate, and Shen Gongbao captured King Pingling after surviving beheading.
• Ao Bing stopped the Witch and the Three Elders from sacrificing a young woman to the River Earl, then made them help build embankments with the people of Caozhou.
• Zi Shou received reports of King Pingling’s defeat and Ao Bing’s flood-relief work, then investigated salt reforms and considered changes to official posts.
• Fei Zhong told Zi Shou that Zhang Da had admitted San Yisheng and Hong Yao through the Hall of Worthies, and Zi Shou ordered him to investigate Zhang Da.

Zi Shou used the Medical Academy crisis, a public execution, extravagant charcoal purchases, and a tiger’s funeral to strengthen his authority and advance his plans. As the Bank and Hall of Worthies grew, he redirected Luo Xuan and prepared to hear reports on the roadbuilding before the Laji Festival.

• Zi Shou put Zhang Da in charge of the Hall of Worthies and told him to recruit specialists without letting court officials interfere.
• After a woman and her stillborn child died during a cesarean operation, Zi Shou protected the female physicians, exposed the plot against the Medical Academy, and appointed Chong Yingbiao to lead the Dark Phoenix Guard.
• Chong Yingbiao’s guards captured Pockmark and his accomplices, and Zi Shou ordered Pockmark executed by a thousand cuts before declaring that Great Shang’s laws would be enforced.
• Zi Shou bought charcoal at an enormous price and staged a lavish funeral for a tiger, while Chong Houhu and Wen Zhong suspected the spectacle concealed political aims and revealed new laws.
• Zhao Gongming opened a Bank in Chaoge, and residents began depositing their coins in exchange for magical wooden tokens.
• Zi Shou raised Hall of Worthies salaries and ordered Zhang Da to give poor candidates a monthly allowance, then rebuked Luo Xuan for neglecting charcoal production.
• Zi Shou ordered You Hun to find Bo Yi and Shu Qi before the Laji Festival, while Wugu heard a refugee woman’s request to join the road crew and learned that Bo Yi, General Chao, and Lord Wan had returned.

Zi Shou’s policies reshaped farming, trade, paper, and mining while exposing resistance from nobles and officials. The arc ended with Zi Shou ordering the execution of the Si Family Head and his accomplices.

• Bo Yi reported that the Northern Di and Eastern Yi had submitted to Great Shang, while Shen Gongbao revealed he had stirred Eastern Yi infighting with treasure.
• Zi Shou held the Laji Feast, sent senior ministers on extended leave through its rewards, and encouraged nobles to trade goods amid Chaoge’s shortages.
• Huang Ming discovered coal deposits, and Xin Jia recognized that mining them could provide cheaper fuel and bring trade to northern settlements.
• Bi Gan invented paper, but Jizi presented it to the court as his own invention, and Zi Shou named it Jizi Paper.
• Yang Xian and Lü Yue developed manure fertilizer and discovered biogas, prompting Zi Shou to order controlled tests in Shanglin Garden.
• Ji Gao failed to recruit Mei De for Xiqi and instead joined the Si Family Head in planning trouble while court officials were away.
• Zi Shou ordered a brutal investigation after Lu Xiong uncovered the loss of nearly all the weapons in the arsenal, while Huang Ming helped expand northern mining.
• Nobles hoarded bronze as the palace sought materials for weapons, and Zi Shou confronted the Si Family Head at a banquet before ordering the Royal Guards to kill him and his accomplices.

Zi Shou pushed reforms that weakened noble power, protected women and commoners, and challenged shamanic teachings while Li Jing returned to Chaoge. The feudal lords rallied against the planned book burning, and Zi Shou went to face the protesters as Bo Yi sensed a trap.

• Zi Shou spared the uninvolved members of the Si family, confiscated their property, and revoked their noble status after the Peng Family Head abandoned Si Lan’s defense.
• Zi Shou appointed Gao San to lead the Women's Federation under Daji and ordered nobles to fund its work seeking justice for women.
• Zi Shou punished Zeng Bing for abusing women and selling his daughter, then decreed penalties for those who sold children or caused a wife or concubine’s death.
• Zi Shou introduced taxes on trade and minerals, ordered the release of meritorious slaves who built the Great Wall, and directed the Dark Phoenix Guard to collect shamans’ books.
• Luo Xuan developed a method to smelt iron, and Zi Shou ordered him to document it for the feudal lords rather than keep it secret.
• Li Jing killed Yue Sheng after Yue Sheng murdered a commoner and his pregnant wife, then declared that reform’s bloodshed should begin with him.
• Zi Shou distributed the Chaoge Daily, rejected restrictions on publishing, and announced that he would burn books preserving shamanic teachings.
• The Marquis of Yue and about a hundred feudal lords stirred protests against the book burning, and Zi Shou went to reassure the crowd as Bo Yi sensed something was amiss.