Recaps

Shen Fa brought Chen Zhenlong’s high-yield sweet potato before Emperor Xiping, only to discover the emperor was gravely ill after a plot inside the Purple Tenuity Palace. Emperor Xiping urged Shen Fa not to act rashly, determined to expose his enemies and pass the throne to the Crown Prince, then collapsed unconscious.

• Shen Fa read Yang Ge’s letter and brought Chen Zhenlong and the sweet potato plant to seek an audience with Emperor Xiping.
• A junior eunuch led Shen Fa to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, where he saw that Emperor Xiping had grown dangerously thin and weak.
• Shen Fa presented the sweet potato’s promised yields, and Emperor Xiping rejected the idea that its discovery was a heavenly omen.
• Emperor Xiping told Shen Fa that he had fallen into a trap within the Purple Tenuity Palace and warned that the conspirators would silence anyone who investigated.
• Shen Fa realized the plot had been a feint east and strike west, while Emperor Xiping insisted he would endure until he could hand the throne to the Crown Prince.
• Emperor Xiping told Shen Fa not to act rashly, then lost consciousness, prompting the attendants and Imperial Secret Guards to rush to his bedside.

Yang Ge urged Zhao Hong to recover from his failed drainage plans and face the hardship of leadership rather than give up. Zhao Hong recommitted to the project and asked Yang Ge to support him if he became a good emperor for life.

• Fang Ke told Yang Ge that Shen had seemed furious after returning from the palace, though he did not know why.
• The Court announced policies establishing a Capital Army, dismissing surplus officials, and reducing land taxes, provoking fierce debate and memorials while Emperor Xiping ignored the protests.
• Yang Ge returned from a visit to the Bright Summit, and torrential rain flooded half of Road Pavilion after Zhao Hong's drainage canals failed.
• Zhao Hong confessed that he had designed the canals incorrectly and feared the wasted labor, money, and time meant the project was lost.
• Yang Ge persuaded Zhao Hong to recruit more workers and extend work hours, and Zhao Hong admitted there was enough time to finish.
• Yang Ge warned Zhao Hong that becoming a good emperor would demand lifelong perseverance, and Zhao Hong asked whether Yang Ge would help him if he achieved it.

Zhang Xuansu visited Yang Ge at the Welcome Inn, where news arrived that Emperor Xiping had died and Yang Ge suspected foul play. Yang Ge took Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong to the Purple Tenuity Palace and vowed to kill whoever had caused the emperor’s death and endangered the people’s hopes.

• Zhang Xuansu came to the Welcome Inn, and Yang Ge warned him to behave himself before inviting him upstairs.
• Zhang Xuansu discussed the inn’s auspicious feng shui and asked what power Yang Ge believed in; Yang Ge declared, “Sacrifice kindles boundless resolve; we dare command sun and moon to remake the heavens!”
• A messenger announced Emperor Xiping’s death, and Zhao Miao rushed to Yang Ge in tears.
• Yang Ge accused Zhang Xuansu of knowing about or causing the emperor’s death, but Zhang Xuansu denied involvement and said he had learned of it by reading the stars.
• Zhao Hong arrived, and Yang Ge warned that whoever had killed the emperor would die before taking Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong to the Capital City.
• Yang Ge brought Zhao Miao and Zhao Hong to the Purple Tenuity Palace, where Tang Xiong received them as Luoyang mourned in white.

Yang Ge entered the palace after Emperor Xiping’s death and learned that Shen Fa suspected him of poisoning the emperor. After examining the body, Yang Ge agreed to investigate independently and made clear that his future support would depend on whether the next emperor cared for the people.

• Shen Fa told Yang Ge that Emperor Xiping had died from a slow-acting poison and explained why he suspected Yang Ge, while Yang Ge angrily denied responsibility.
• Yang Ge examined Emperor Xiping’s body with his Supreme Ultimate True Qi and confirmed that the emperor had died from a vicious poison that was difficult to remove.
• Yang Ge told Tang Xiong and the other four elders that Zhao Hong could succeed to the throne, provided Zhao Hong was sent safely back to Road Pavilion if he could not become emperor.
• Yang Ge offered to share his findings with the elders and said he would help the next emperor only if he cared about the common people.
• Yang Ge comforted Zhao Miao, urged Zhao Hong to care for his sister and remember his teachings, then left the palace as a streak of golden light.

After Emperor Xiping’s poisoning was discussed, Zhao Hong became Emperor Gaozong of Wei and began a harsh purge of senior officials. Yang Ge investigated the poisoning and received a new title, while learning that Shen Fa had been ambushed; he agreed to accept the appointment and told Nangong Feiying to report his warning to the emperor.

• Yang Ge told Zhang Xuansu that Emperor Xiping had died from a slow-acting poison and asked the Five Poisons Cult to investigate, while they considered how the plot might have exploited the palace’s weakened defenses.
• After twenty-seven days of mourning, Zhao Hong ascended the throne as Emperor Gaozong of Wei, reduced taxes, declared an amnesty, and arrested the leaders of the Qi and Chu Factions.
• Nangong Feiying visited Yang Ge as the new director of the Western Factory and revealed that an imperial edict would grant Yang Ge the title Duke of Road Pavilion and the rank of Grand Preceptor.
• Nangong Feiying said the authorities were being kept from investigating Emperor Gaozong’s poisoning and that Shen Fa had survived an ambush in which his escort was killed.
• Yang Ge agreed to accept the edict, sent Emperor Gaozong a message about remaining calm under pressure, and offered to intervene if a Peerless Grandmaster or greater caused trouble.

Zhao Hong met with Zhao Miao and Zhao Run to discuss the threat facing Great Wei and offered Zhao Run a choice between remaining in the capital as his potential successor or leaving for a distant fief. The siblings parted with Zhao Hong determined to resist the court’s rebels, while Zhao Run had yet to choose his path.

• Zhao Hong summoned Zhao Run and Zhao Miao to the Waterside Pavilion, where Zhao Miao broke the tension by teasing Zhao Hong and defending their frightened brother.
• Zhao Run told Zhao Hong he had no ambition for the throne and would accept confinement or being made a commoner; Zhao Hong explained that their father had arranged matters to protect both brothers.
• Zhao Hong said he would continue the Late Emperor’s policies and fight the rebels, then offered Zhao Run the choice to stay in the capital and prepare to succeed him or leave for Yunnan or Lingnan.
• Zhao Miao praised Second Brother’s efforts and said she would return to Road Pavilion, while Zhao Hong lamented that he could no longer enjoy hot pot with him.
• Zhao Hong forbade Zhao Run from going to Road Pavilion and declared that if Zhao Run stayed in the capital, he would have to remain at Zhao Hong’s side.

Yang Ge visited Zhao Miao at the Purple Tenuity Palace and asked Tang Xiong to help arrange for her mother to live outside the palace, while the mystery of Emperor Xiping’s death continued to trouble the new reign. Before Xiang Wudi sailed overseas, Yang Ge learned that the Court was pressuring his friends and promised he would not let them endure its mistreatment; he declined to leave with Xiang because an elder at home needed him.

• Yang Ge brought Little Yellow to the Purple Tenuity Palace, where Zhao Miao welcomed him and led him to see her mother; he asked Tang Xiong to discuss letting her mother live outside the palace.
• Yang Ge and his allies failed to uncover who had helped the old monk cause Emperor Xiping’s death, so Yang Ge focused on keeping the Martial World in check while Zhao Hong restored order.
• Yang Ge met Xiang Wudi, Yang Tiansheng, and Li Jincheng at South Sand Bay before Xiang Wudi’s voyage, and learned the Court had been pressuring the Bright Cult, Chain Wharf, and Xiang’s fleet.
• Yang Ge told his friends to resist the Court if it mistreated them, then heard Xiang Wudi planned to sail to Luzon Island to seek useful goods and challenge its customs restrictions.
• Yang Ge refused to join Xiang Wudi’s voyage because an elder at home was unwell, but said he might roam the seas with Xiang in a few years.

As a winter grain shortage deepened, Yang Ge tended the gravely ill Old Shopkeeper and directed Liu Mang to ration grain and feed the poor. In the capital, Zhao Hong learned that officials had drained Hanjia Granary and secretly diverted grain, leaving him to face their challenge.

• Yang Ge comforted the dying Old Shopkeeper by promising he would marry Miaomiao, then learned from Liu Mang that the Liu Family Grain House's supply had been cut off.
• Yang Ge ordered Liu Mang to keep the shop open, restrict purchases to half a jin per person per day, establish gruel kitchens, and seek help from Hu Qiang and Fang Ke.
• Zhao Hong confronted his senior ministers over Hanjia Granary's dwindling reserves, gave them three days to address the shortage, and dismissed them.
• Shen Fa told Zhao Hong that the Twenty-Six Imperial Guard Units had received far less grain than official ledgers claimed and that grain had not left the Ministry of Revenue for two years.
• Zhao Hong concluded that corrupt officials had secretly accumulated grain as leverage in their contest with him.

Yang Ge learned that the grain shortage was likely being exploited by ministers to undermine the newly enthroned Zhao Hong, while a Capital City merchant offered grain at an inflated price to silence him. He arranged for Fang Ke to investigate grain reserves and routes in Jiangzhe, then returned to caring for the Old Shopkeeper.

• Fang Ke reported that grain shortages were temporary but that rumors blamed Zhao Hong and the new policies for depleted state reserves.
• Yang Ge concluded that officials had let Zhao Hong overspend and were using the shortage to trap him, and suspected the scheme had further aims.
• Liu Mang reported that a Capital City grain merchant had offered a shipment at a price ten percent below the Capital City market rate, and Yang Ge ordered him to demand the usual price and full supply.
• Yang Ge sent Fang Ke to investigate grain reserves and routes in Jiangzhe, instructing him to seek help from the Chain Wharf and other groups if obstructed.
• Yang Ge reassured Liu Mang that he would help those facing the shortage, then checked the Old Shopkeeper's pulse and vitality.

Emperor Bright Virtue accepted Wang Jiangling’s advice to resolve the court crisis by splitting the opposing factions rather than resorting to executions. Meanwhile, Fang Ke and Shen Fa searched for the hidden cause of the grain shortage, and Shen Fa began to suspect a northern plot involving the Tartars.

• Wang Jiangling warned Emperor Bright Virtue that the grain shortage was part of a wider political crisis and urged him to divide the opposing factions as the Late Emperor had done.
• Emperor Bright Virtue considered using the Embroidered Uniform Guard against his enemies but agreed to proceed cautiously and follow Wang Jiangling’s counsel.
• In Hangzhou, Fang Ke investigated grain warehouses and the Jianghuai waterways with Wu Eryong, but they found no evidence of disruption and could not locate the problem.
• Shen Fa discovered that Ministry of Revenue officials had concealed their grain dealings so thoroughly that the buyers, firms, and destinations could not be traced.
• Shen Fa dismissed Jiangzhe as the likely location of the plot, suspected the northern provinces and the Grasslands, and demanded that a prisoner confess who had ordered him to collude with the Tartars.

Yang Ge brought Zhao Miao home to visit the gravely ill Old Shopkeeper, then prepared a reunion dinner surrounded by family. As they shared the meal, Liu Degui peacefully died with his loved ones beside him.

• Yang Ge checked the Old Shopkeeper and kept him indoors, then promised to fetch Zhao Miao and cook him sizzling pork kidney.
• Yang Ge flew to Luoyang and returned with Zhao Miao a little over two hours later.
• Yang Ge cooked a reunion dinner, and the Old Shopkeeper praised his sizzling pork kidney as the family gathered around the table.
• Yang Ge and Liu Mang discussed the grain market and possible news from Fang Ke while the family ate.
• Liu Degui stopped responding during dinner, and Yang Ge and the family realized he had died peacefully among them.

As Liu Degui’s funeral drew Road Pavilion’s residents and powerful figures together, Yang Ge struggled with his grief and rejected attempts to draw him back into politics. The chapter ended when news arrived that Yang Zaixian and thirty-two Southwest chieftains had rebelled, prompting Yang Ge to order Zhao Hong, Shen Fa, and Nangong Feiying out.

• Road Pavilion residents gathered at the Old Liu Family home for Liu Degui’s funeral, while Yang Ge remembered how the Old Shopkeeper had welcomed him seven years earlier.
• Zhao Miao stayed beside Yang Ge as he mourned, and Tang Xiong arrived with an Imperial Edict granting Liu Degui a hereditary viscount title and full funeral honors.
• Tang Xiong told Yang Ge that the Sovereign was coming, but Yang Ge ordered him to turn back and leave Road Pavilion’s affairs alone.
• Zhao Hong, Shen Fa, and Nangong Feiying arrived in disguise to pay their respects, and Yang Ge allowed them to offer incense and kowtow.
• Flea reported that Yang Zaixian had raised troops in rebellion and that thirty-two Southwest chieftains supported him; Yang Ge told Zhao Hong, Shen Fa, and Nangong Feiying to leave at once.

After Old Shopkeeper’s death, Yang Ge urged the rebel chieftain Yang Zaixian to remember why he had risen and protect the people, while Zhao Miao accepted that Yang Ge would not help her family without seeing them prove themselves. As the Court prepared a major campaign in the Southwest, Yang Ge and his friends worried the Tartars might exploit the war, and Yang Ge left open whether he would support the Zhao family or let them be replaced.

• Yang Ge asked Flea to tell Yang Zaixian to rebel properly and avoid harming the people, and Flea promised to pass on the message and watch the chieftain.
• Zhao Miao told Yang Ge she understood his position and accepted him as her fate.
• Yang Ge and the mourners buried Old Shopkeeper, while Little Yellow mourned the old man who had always brought it an egg.
• Yang Ge, Yang Tiansheng, and Li Jincheng discussed the Court’s announced 400,000-man campaign and the possibility that the Grasslands might unite and invade while the Court was occupied in the Southwest.
• Yang Ge said he would wait to see whether the Zhao family could rise to the occasion, and that he would help them once more if they could; otherwise, he would accept replacing them.
• Zhao Miao called the men to dinner, and Yang Ge eagerly followed her while Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng teased him.

The Gold Envoy of Tower Beyond Towers visited Yang Zaixian to deliver Yang Erlang’s warning that the Southwest rebellion must punish its true oppressors and spare ordinary people. Yang Zaixian resolved to summon the lineage chiefs, while Deng Wuxie decided he had to leave the doomed rebellion.

• The Gold Envoy entered Yang Zaixian’s room, displayed his skill to stop the guards, and summoned Deng Wuxie to join their conversation.
• The Gold Envoy told Yang Zaixian that Yang Erlang expected him to control the rebellion and punish chieftains who harmed common people, warning that Tower Beyond Towers was watching him.
• Deng Wuxie explained Tower Beyond Towers’ reach and warned Yang Zaixian against trying to use Yang Erlang as a weapon, comparing the gap between Yang Erlang and himself to the gap between Yang Zaixian and Great Wei’s entire court.
• Yang Zaixian abandoned the idea of recruiting Yang Erlang, thanked Deng Wuxie for his warning, and ordered that all the lineage chiefs be invited to a banquet.
• Deng Wuxie privately decided to leave the rebellion before it led him into disaster.

Yang Ge emerged from his grief when a famine-stricken mother and son arrived at the inn, then learned that grain prices remained high across the provinces despite the Court’s efforts. After condemning the Court’s failure to relieve the people, he ordered his ceremonial regalia brought to him and prepared to go to the capital.

• Xiao Baoqi worried that Yang Ge had lost his spirit after Old Shopkeeper’s death, while Zhao Miao said he was still finding his way forward.
• Zhao Miao welcomed a hungry mother and son from Zhangde and served them rice; Yang Ge asked about the famine and promised to help them settle in Road Pavilion.
• Yang Ge learned that grain prices in the provinces remained elevated and summoned Fang Ke to explain the situation at Court.
• Fang Ke described the Court’s severe grain shortages and the ministers obstructing the Sovereign, but Yang Ge argued that hungry people could not wait for relief.
• Yang Ge ordered Fang Ke to bring his Duke of Road Pavilion regalia and assemble men to accompany him to the capital.

Zhao Hong agreed to let Yang Ge investigate the soaring grain prices, while Shen Fa and Nangong Feiying tried to limit the coming bloodshed. After arriving in Luoyang, Yang Ge killed Minister of Revenue Meng Ziqian and demanded the whereabouts of Vice Minister Jin Zhihua.

• Zhao Hong learned that Yang Ge was entering the capital and, after hearing Shen Fa and Nangong Feiying's warnings, agreed to welcome him and appoint him Investigating Censor over the grain-price crisis.
• Nangong Feiying welcomed Yang Ge outside Luoyang, but Yang Ge immediately demanded to know where Minister of Revenue Meng Ziqian was hiding.
• Nangong Feiying led Yang Ge and his riders to Meng Ziqian's hideout, where Embroidered Uniform Guards seized the minister.
• Yang Ge beheaded Meng Ziqian despite his plea to redeem himself by persuading powerful families to release grain.
• Yang Ge asked Nangong Feiying where Vice Minister of Revenue Jin Zhihua was, and Nangong Feiying grabbed his saber arm and begged him to stop charging ahead.

Yang Ge launched a brutal purge of corrupt officials and the Prince of Wu, while Nangong Feiying regained his resolve and joined him. As rebel troops entered the capital, Emperor Zhao Hong learned that Yang Ge was pursuing them alone and cutting them down.

• Nangong Feiying led Yang Ge to the Moon-Inviting House, then denounced the Prince of Wu and ordered the city gates and districts sealed.
• Yang Ge identified Jin Zhihua among the officials at the brothel and killed him and the other officials there, then rode to find Wen Renjian.
• Yang Ge killed Wen Renjian, other officials, the Prince of Wu, and guards at their residences before his force was ambushed and wiped out at the Marquis of Guangde's Residence.
• Emperor Zhao Hong received reports of Yang Ge's killings and learned that Xiao Siyi had opened the Upper East Gate to the Five Guards of the Prefectural Army.
• Zhao Hong sent Tang Xiong to the Upper East Gate and rebuked Shen Fa for failing to detect the conspiracy.
• Tang Xiong returned and reported that Yang Ge was chasing twenty or thirty thousand rebels alone and cutting them down.

Yang Ge crushed the Imperial Guard rebellion at Upper East Gate and began a sweeping purge of officials he blamed for the grain famine. By dawn, executions and arrests had left the capital’s court terrified, with Yang Ge preparing for the next stage of his crackdown.

• In the imperial study, Tang Xiong described Yang Erlang as an unprecedented, unrestricted martial genius, and Wang Jiangling declared that sharing an age with him was a blessing.
• Yang Ge defeated the Imperial Guards at Upper East Gate, forced them to surrender, and ordered Nangong Feiying’s forces to secure the battlefield.
• Yang Ge ordered arrests across the court, demanded files on officials implicated in rising grain prices, and summoned every capital official to the next morning’s grand court assembly.
• Yang Ge and Nangong Feiying agreed to work together, and Western Factory agents and Feathered Forest Guards spread through the capital to carry out his orders.
• At the Western Surveillance Bureau, Yang Ge ordered the beheading of several senior officials and sent Nangong Feiying to arrest Shen Shi.
• Officials across the capital spent the night in fear as Yang Ge’s purge continued, while ordinary people slept through the night.

Yang Ge executed more than twenty officials and gave the rest half a month to bring grain prices under control, while Zhao Hong used the killings to consolidate his authority at court. Yang Ge then asked Nangong Feiying to help spare the families of Southwest chieftains and arrange for the chieftains to die fighting at the Northern Frontier, explaining that he did not feel burdened by helping others.

• Yang Ge ordered more than twenty officials beheaded and warned the surviving ministers to normalize grain prices within half a month.
• Zhao Hong addressed the court after Yang Ge left, claimed credit for protecting the ministers, and took control of appointing the next Minister of Revenue.
• Yang Ge told Nangong Feiying to distribute the executed officials’ case files and asked about the campaign in the Southwest.
• Yang Ge asked that corrupt Southwest officials be handed over to him and that the chieftains be given a chance to die fighting at the Northern Frontier while their families were spared.
• Nangong Feiying reluctantly agreed to petition Zhao Hong, and Yang Ge said helping others did not feel like hardship.

Yang Ge reflected on the soldiers killed while stopping the mutiny and told Zhao Hong that the emperor had to handle the remaining court reforms. He offered to help for another half month and urged Zhao Hong to make a decision about the Southwest chieftains before the chapter ended with their policy dispute unresolved.

• Fang Ke arrived in the Capital City, heard conflicting rumors about Yang Ge's actions, and learned that Yang Ge was at the Western Surveillance Bureau.
• Yang Ge ordered the files on corrupt officials returned to them, explaining to Nangong Feiying that he wanted them to fix the grain crisis and leave the remaining punishments to the emperor.
• Yang Ge mourned the thousands of soldiers killed under his blade and declined Nangong Feiying's suggestion that he retreat to the Eastern Isles, saying he planned to return home and farm.
• Zhao Hong visited Yang Ge at the Western Surveillance Bureau, and Yang Ge told him to inspect the files and gradually replace the corrupt officials while he remained in the capital for half a month.
• Zhao Hong questioned Yang Ge's proposal to offer the Southwest chieftains a way out, but Yang Ge argued that prolonged conflict there would drain resources needed against a possible Tartar invasion.

Yang Ge’s intervention brought grain prices back down across the Fourteen Provinces, and he left Capital City after the half-month deadline. In the Southwest, a Tower Beyond Towers envoy urged Yang Zaixian to surrender to Second Master, but agreed to delay the message so Yang Zaixian could attempt a final victory first.

• Junior officials cleared grain routes and forced grain prices down, bringing relief to the common people across the Fourteen Provinces.
• Yang Ge stayed in the Western Factory compound while Zhao Hong reorganized the Imperial Guards and officials worked to stabilize grain prices.
• After reports confirmed that grain prices had fallen, Yang Ge left Capital City with Fang Ke and the others.
• The Gold Envoy visited Yang Zaixian, whose eight thousand troops were surrounded, and offered the generals a path to surrender while protecting their families.
• Yang Zaixian agreed to attempt a planned reversal within ten days before considering surrender, and promised that Second Master's word would carry great weight in the Southwestern Three Provinces.
• The Gold Envoy urged Yang Zaixian to demonstrate his respect for Second Master through concrete action, citing the Erlang Temples in Jiangzhe.

Yang Ge left Fang Ke and the Welcome Inn behind and traveled home, where familiar sights and memories eased his grief. He reached his childhood courtyard and met a boy named Yang Erchui, then decided to wait for the boy’s parents.

• Yang Ge changed out of his python robe, told Fang Ke to return to the city, and flew south while Fang Ke watched him go.
• Yang Ge followed the Yangtze upstream, recognized Ten-Yuan Note, and reached Linjiang, where he ate yin rice porridge and wandered through the old town.
• Yang Ge found the slopes and trail near his childhood home, remembered his family and youth, and walked toward the courtyard.
• Yang Ge met a herdboy at the courtyard gate, gave him a pastry, and learned his name was Yang Erchui.
• Yang Ge told Yang Erchui not to accept food from strangers, called himself the boy’s big brother, and asked him to bring a chair while he waited for the boy’s parents.

Yang Ge settled into village life, built his courtyard with his extraordinary strength, and then learned that Yang Zaixian had defeated the Court’s troops in Guizhou. He confronted the Gold Envoy and Yang Zaixian, sparing the envoy but ordering Yang Zaixian to remain on the Northern Frontier for life.

• Yang Ge leveled a large foundation overnight, showed Yang Dashan his strength, and offered to help renovate the Yang family’s courtyard.
• Yang Ge built his own house and Yang Dashan’s courtyard, then went into Linjiang County after his neighbor urged him to find work or buy land.
• Yang Ge overheard scholars discussing Yang Zaixian’s victory over the Court’s army and flew to the rebel camp in Guizhou.
• Yang Ge struck the Gold Envoy for disobeying his order to end the fighting, and the envoy explained that he had let Yang Zaixian negotiate and resist the Court to protect his troops.
• Yang Zaixian accepted responsibility for the decision, and Yang Ge spared the Gold Envoy but ordered Yang Zaixian to remain on the Northern Frontier for the rest of his life.

Lei Heng and Liu Meng learned that the Tartars and Oirat had united to invade south, while Zhao Hong received reports about the Duke of Road Pavilion and the threat to the passes. The chapter ended with Zhao Hong summoning Shen Fa to explain the Northern Frontier’s defenses.

• Lei Heng and Liu Meng saw more than two hundred thousand Tartar troops gathering and decided the grassland tribes had chosen to raid south for survival.
• Lei Heng told Liu Meng to take their mountain brothers inside the pass and warn their second brother, while he planned to lead thirty thousand Eastern Isles Auxiliary Army troops into the grasslands so they would not join the Tartars.
• Nangong Feiying demonstrated his martial skill for Zhao Hong, and Tang Xiong revealed that he ranked among the strongest experts in the Inner Court Three Offices.
• Nangong Feiying reported that the Duke of Road Pavilion had reprimanded Yang Zaixian and warned Zhao Hong against using the Liu Family to persuade the duke to stay near the capital.
• Nangong Feiying reported that the Tartars and Oirat had united and were preparing to attack the passes, explaining that the snow disaster had driven them south and that the Duke had predicted the invasion.
• Zhao Hong ordered the Junior Eunuch to summon Shen Fa so he could learn about the Northern Frontier’s defenses.

Yang Ge returned to the Welcome Inn, reunited with Zhao Miao, and appointed Xun Shi to take charge of the inn. After hearing reports about Emperor Xiping’s suspected murder and a massive Tartar-Oirat invasion, Yang Ge prepared to make his old home a confidential base, but remained uncertain how to defeat the Tartar Earthly Immortal.

• Yang Ge finished renovating his courtyard and returned to the Welcome Inn, where Zhao Miao embraced him and Little Yellow greeted him.
• Yang Ge warned Xiao Baoqi to tell Tang Qing that the Eastern Isles could not become an independent country, and told Flea and Hooligan to pass messages to their respective leaders.
• Yang Ge asked Xun Shi to take over the Welcome Inn, and Xun Shi accepted the responsibility.
• Flea reported that Cheng Dingjiang might have been involved in Emperor Xiping’s death, and Yang Ge ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Shen Fa to verify the accusation.
• Flea reported that more than two hundred thousand Tartars and Oirats were marching toward Datong, and Yang Ge asked him to establish a confidential outpost near his old home in Linjiang County.
• Yang Ge considered that defeating the invading army would require him to overcome its Earthly Immortal, a foe he believed he could at best fight to a draw without risking his life.