Chapter Summaries

Jiao Zheng sought Wang Yang’s help to avoid being sent to war, but Wang Yang demanded the evidence Jiao had used to protect himself after the Chen Tianfu case. Jiao finally agreed to hand over everything after Wang Yang promised protection and threatened him with the consequences of refusal.

• Jiao Zheng presented Wang Yang with jade pixiu and asked him to arrange for him to remain in the city instead of marching to war.
• Wang Yang agreed to help Jiao Zheng secure an idle post, then demanded the leverage Jiao had used to survive the Chen Tianfu case.
• Jiao Zheng denied possessing anything and pleaded with Wang Yang to let him live.
• Wang Yang explained that he could protect Jiao and his family, while warning that refusal would leave them exposed.
• Wang Yang told Jiao he could try to assassinate him, but Jiao would die either way and his family would follow.
• Jiao broke down and agreed to hand over everything.

Wang Yang examined the documents Jiao Zheng had kept from the delivery of ten cartloads of valuables and questioned him about the plundering. Jiao Zheng’s account pointed to Chen Tianfu’s order and the Imperial Guard Left Army’s role, while Wang Yang feared the case reached beyond the Prince of Luling.

• Wang Yang reviewed the private receipt and Directorate of Arms dispatch that Jiao Zheng had obtained after demanding proof of delivery at the manor.
• Jiao Zheng explained that he had surrendered Chen Tianfu’s written order but secretly kept the receipt and dispatch as evidence and protection.
• Wang Yang questioned Jiao Zheng and learned that Liu Mingche’s Left Army had received the valuables while Chen Tianfu pursued rebel remnants with the Right Army.
• Jiao Zheng admitted he had heard that Chen Tianfu ordered the plundering through Liu Mingche, though he had not witnessed the order himself.
• Jiao Zheng said the plunder had chiefly targeted wealthy families around Qiantang, Fuyang, and Jiaxing, and Wang Yang suspected the case had deeper political stakes.

Wang Yang was escorted to a Double Ninth Festival banquet aboard the Prince of Badong’s war fleet, where the prince announced his march to war. As the fleet sounded its drums and horns, Xie Xinghan received Wang Yang’s poem, “Ode to the Rabbit.”

• Wang Yang caught A-Wu pretending to have finished her writing and ordered her to copy characters from a primer copybook.
• Wang Yang gave A-Wu a book list for Hongyuan Bookshop, and Jiao Shirong secretly retrieved the pale yellow envelope she delivered.
• On the Double Ninth Festival, the Prince of Badong’s Imperial Guards escorted Wang Yang to a great tower ship at Jinjin Ferry.
• The Prince of Badong told Wang Yang that he intended to march to war and assured him that Kong Changyu would guard the fortifications at Wenyang.
• The Prince of Badong drew his sword and commanded the fleet to march, and the ships answered with drums and horns.
• Black Han delivered Wang Yang’s letter to Xie Xinghan, who opened it and read his poem, “Ode to the Rabbit.”

Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan thanked readers and discussed his approach to historical research, notes, and the book’s interconnected clues. He explained the closing references to Volume Two and announced that Volume Three, titled "Jinling Revelry," would begin updating in three days.

• Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan expressed affection for readers and said he preferred remembering their shared connection through the book.
• Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan described how AI-generated historical analyses often misused evidence and said he would continue correcting misinformation and filling scholarly gaps in Volume Three.
• Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan explained that notes did not count toward the main text and described how readers could infer connections from recurring plot threads and clues.
• Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan traced the opening and closing imagery of Volumes One and Two to Wang Yang’s circumstances and the unresolved siege around Wang Yang and Jingzhou.
• Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan announced that Volume Three was titled "Jinling Revelry" and would begin updating on Monday the sixth, three days later.
• Eastern Zhou Young Master Nan ended Volume Two with a short lyric about writing, hidden clues, and readers who understood his intent.

Xiao Zizhen, the Prince of Jian'an, threatened to kill himself rather than remain in Xiakou as Kong Xiuzhi prepared to resist the Prince of Badong. Kong tried to persuade him that his presence was essential, but Xiao Zizhen still begged to escape by boat.

• Xiao Zizhen stood on a table with a sword at his neck and demanded that Kong Xiuzhi come to him.
• Kong Xiuzhi confirmed that an attack was imminent, and Xiao accused him of trying to get him killed by leaving him to face his elder brother.
• Xiao Zizhen refused to surrender and demanded a fast boat so he could return home, offering to praise Kong Xiuzhi to his father.
• Kong Xiuzhi cleared the servants from the room, then argued that Xiao Zizhen's rank and command were vital to keeping Yingzhou's soldiers from losing heart.
• Kong Xiuzhi explained that abandoning Xiakou would let the Prince of Badong sail downstream and threaten the southeast, while Xiao Zizhen pleaded to be allowed to leave.

Xiao Little Nine panicked over the threat to Yingzhou and demanded to flee, while Kong Xiuzhi tried to persuade him to stay and defend the province. Li Dang intervened, disarmed Xiao Little Nine, and had the Imperial Guards carry him away, leaving Kong Xiuzhi and Li Dang to discuss the blame.

• Kong Xiuzhi told Xiao Little Nine that an unknown extraordinary man had predicted the Prince of Badong’s movements and supplied a defensive strategy through Baoyue, who had already returned to Jiankang.
• Xiao Little Nine refused to trust the strategy or remain in Yingzhou, and Kong Xiuzhi insisted that Baoyue had left because she knew Xiao Little Nine lacked resolve.
• Li Dang entered and joked that Xiao Little Nine could be killed to unite the army against the Prince of Badong, then seized his sword and lifted him off the table.
• Li Dang ordered the Imperial Guards to take Xiao Little Nine away as he shouted threats and called for his parents.
• Kong Xiuzhi and Li Dang joked that Li Dang, as the lower-ranking official, would be blamed for the incident.

Kong Xiuzhi and Li Dang discussed plans to defend Yingzhou against the Jingzhou army, including holding Lu Mountain and the Crescent Rampart. Li Dang agreed to command at Lu Mountain, endorsed Zhang Ji for the Crescent Rampart, and bargained for eight hundred strong crossbows.

• Kong Xiuzhi told Li Dang that he planned to abandon the Outer City and defend the Inner City, while Li Dang inferred that he would be assigned to Lu Mountain.
• Li Dang objected to defending the Crescent Rampart and risking Yingzhou's fleet, but Kong Xiuzhi explained that the plans accounted for changing battle conditions and quoted the order to obey the strategist.
• Inspired by the strategist's words, Li Dang agreed to defend Lu Mountain and recommended Zhang Ji to command the Crescent Rampart.
• Li Dang explained that Zhang Ji's filial devotion and hopes for his mother's reburial would keep him loyal, and urged Kong Xiuzhi to arrange the honor through the Marquis of Xichang.
• Kong Xiuzhi refused to transfer the Wuling troops, and Li Dang negotiated for strong crossbows until they settled on eight hundred.

Wang Yang issued detailed orders for the army’s advance, consolidating his authority as Military Commander while the Prince of Badong kept him under close watch. The Prince tolerated Wang Yang’s command but grew resentful that Wang Yang’s unarmored appearance and decisive orders made him seem more powerful than the Prince himself.

• Wang Yang ordered Zhang Guo, Li Tao, He Nanqing, Yang Fu, Zhou Meng, and other generals to secure river crossings and coordinate their advance, warning that anyone who advanced rashly would be beheaded even if victorious.
• Li Jingxuan and the other advisers recognized that Wang Yang had turned his nominal authority into effective command, and the Prince of Badong continued entrusting him with military decisions.
• The Prince of Badong restricted Wang Yang’s authority to his presence, required urgent orders to receive his seal, placed six Imperial Guards outside Wang Yang’s quarters, and secretly reviewed his military orders.
• The Prince of Badong grew displeased that Wang Yang wore casual robes while commanding the army and issued forceful orders without asking for approval.
• The Prince of Badong resented that Wang Yang had given him only one memorable command to issue, and suspected Wang Yang wanted to keep the glory of command for himself.

Wang Yang halted Feng Quanzu’s rapid advance after recognizing that the Jiang'an Army risked being isolated, while the Prince of Badong reluctantly agreed to send a personal order. An urgent report of enemy forces gathering then led Wang Yang and Li Jingxuan to suspect Feng Quanzu had been defeated by a diversion and ambush near Chicken Wing Mountain and Runan.

• Wang Yang promoted Li Zaifu and assigned him to protect the fleet’s left flank.
• Chen Wu reported that Feng Quanzu’s Jiang'an Army had advanced to Tuchengpu and was marching on Chicken Wing Mountain at more than a hundred li per day.
• Wang Yang ordered Feng Quanzu to halt, rest, and limit his march to fifty li a day, and Li Jingxuan urged the Prince of Badong to issue a personal order to ensure Feng obeyed.
• The Prince of Badong agreed to write the order after Li Jingxuan warned that the army had advanced too deeply and could be left isolated.
• An officer reported enemy forces massing north of Dragon-Hole Islet and Yangkou, prompting the Prince of Badong to call for an attack.
• Wang Yang declared that Feng Quanzu had been defeated, and Li Jingxuan identified the enemy buildup as a diversion masking an ambush along the Chicken Wing Mountain–Runan line.

Wang Yang confirmed Feng Quanzu had been defeated and issued orders to secure routes and regroup the troops. He enforced military law by executing Chen Qiming despite the Prince of Badong’s pleas, then fixed his attention on Li Jingxuan, who was struck with fear.

• Wang Yang confirmed Feng Quanzu’s defeat and ordered Liu Chaozhi and Zhang Guo to secure Niezhou, search for Feng’s retreating troops, and avoid a reckless pursuit.
• Wang Yang discovered that Chen Qiming had failed to reconcile military supply records and ordered him beheaded for neglecting his duties.
• Li Jingxuan and the Prince of Badong pleaded for Chen Qiming’s life, but Wang Yang insisted that military law could not be set aside.
• The Prince of Badong ultimately ordered the guards to carry out Wang Yang’s sentence, and they returned to report that Chen Qiming had been executed.
• The Prince of Badong angrily left the hall, and Wang Yang looked at Li Jingxuan, leaving him chilled with fear.

Li Jingxuan tried to persuade the Prince of Badong that Wang Yang’s punishment of Chen Qiming was justified but that his growing authority threatened the prince’s control. The prince decided to strip Wang Yang of his powers while preserving appearances, and Li Jingxuan realized he was being brought in to replace him as the campaign’s demands changed.

• Li Jingxuan survived Wang Yang’s disciplinary proceedings, then asked to see the Prince of Badong and defended Wang Yang’s punishment of Chen Qiming as necessary to enforce military law.
• Li Jingxuan warned that Wang Yang’s control over rewards and punishments could make the army answer to its commander rather than its prince.
• The Prince of Badong refused to kill Wang Yang but decided to remove his authority and leave him only the title of Military Commander.
• Li Jingxuan advised the prince to make Wang Yang request his own dismissal, allowing the prince to sideline him without openly humiliating him.
• The Prince of Badong praised Li Jingxuan’s advice, and Li Jingxuan concluded that Wang Yang was no longer indispensable now that the campaign had reached a slower stage.

Wang Yang offered Li Jingxuan a daring plan to destroy Yingzhou’s navy, leaving Li Jingxuan to weigh its risks and the blame it might bring. Elsewhere, Wenyang’s defenders clung to their trust in Wang Yang, Sun Jingrong and Xie Xinghan organized an uprising in Jingzhou, and Chen Qing Shan led three Barbarian Tribes toward the city.

• Li Jingxuan celebrated his appointment as chief Military Advisor while Wang Yang dined alone aboard a tower ship.
• Wang Yang proposed that Li Jingxuan send swift boats and elite soldiers downstream to attack Yingzhou’s navy near Parrot Islet, and Li Jingxuan suspected the risky plan was a trap.
• At Wenyang, Wang Yi asked Liu Tan whether Wang Yang had invented the promised reinforcements, and Liu Tan said he trusted him.
• Sun Jingrong and Xie Xinghan prepared Jingzhou residents to seize the city gates when the army arrived, then had Sun Yan bound after he questioned their plans.
• Chen Qing Shan led the united armies of the Yidu, Wenyang, and Yongning Barbarian Tribes out of the mountains toward Jingzhou.

The Prince of Badong’s council rejected Wang Yang’s risky plan and put Li Jingxuan in command of a cautious, coordinated assault on Yingzhou’s three strongholds. While Li Jingxuan finally received the authority he wanted, Wang Yang spent the day resting and brushed off He Ji’s increasingly suggestive gifts.

• Guo Wenyuan proposed concentrating the main attack on Xiakou while the fleet watched Lu Mountain and the Crescent Rampart, but Li Jingxuan questioned the enemy’s deployment.
• Li Jingxuan urged the Prince of Badong to attack all three strongholds, blockade the waterways, secure routes against reinforcements, and avoid dispersing troops to occupy distant territory.
• The Prince of Badong approved Li Jingxuan’s plan and gave him command of all forces in the battle, ordering him to take Xiakou.
• Wang Yang slept late, ate brunch, and strolled on the deck while Imperial Guards stood nearby.
• He Ji brought Wang Yang wine, loquats, and tonic pills, then offered to bring him a woman the next day, prompting Wang Yang to order him to leave.

Li Jingxuan and the Prince of Badong launched a naval assault on Crescent Rampart while attacks on Lu Mountain and Xiakou began. After using Zhang Guo’s Fast Skiffs as bait to disrupt the defenders, Li Jingxuan prepared a fleet to strike as Yingzhou’s warships surged through the gate.

• Wang Yang went fishing under close guard while Li Jingxuan tightened security around the river.
• Li Jingxuan and the Prince of Badong confronted Yingzhou’s heavily fortified naval stockade at Crescent Rampart and agreed that the prince would command from the vanguard flagship.
• The Prince of Badong ordered the forces to begin the battle as assaults on Lu Mountain and Xiakou started.
• Zhang Guo led Fast Skiffs against the water barrier, but Yingzhou’s warships counterattacked and overwhelmed them, leaving Zhang Guo in the river.
• Li Jingxuan used the Fast Skiffs as bait, then sent He Nanqing’s force to ambush and disrupt the Mengchong Warships.
• Yingzhou opened the side gate to rescue its trapped ships, and Li Jingxuan ordered a hundred concealed warships to raise sail and attack.

Li Jingxuan broke the Crescent Rampart’s timber gate and led the Jingzhou fleet into the harbor, only to find Yingzhou’s forces waiting behind underwater spikes and a vast floating battle platform. The ambush devastated the advancing fleet, and Li Jingxuan ordered a retreat as the Prince of Badong narrowly avoided falling overboard.

• Jingzhou and Yingzhou ships collided at the side gate while Zhang Ji’s defenders raised the chain, trapping the passage amid wreckage.
• Li Jingxuan learned Zhang Ji commanded the defense, and the Prince of Badong lent Li Jingxuan his saber and authority over the armies.
• Li Jingxuan’s forces battered the timber gate and sent fire ships through the weakened defenses, burning and collapsing the gate.
• Wang Yang caught a carp and left for lunch while Li Jingxuan’s fleet surged through the opening onto hidden underwater spikes.
• Yingzhou’s forces attacked from a floating platform with siege crossbows and archers as their ships swept around both flanks.
• The Prince of Badong nearly fell from the flagship, and Li Jingxuan, bloodied in the chaos, ordered the fleet to retreat.

Baoyue met with Jia Yuan, a genealogy expert secretly selling forged family records, and commissioned the highest-tier Langya Wang genealogy for Wang Yang, insisting that he was a genuine descendant of Wang Ningzhi’s son Wang Enzhi. Jia Yuan accepted the job and learned that Wang Yang was to become the future son-in-law of the Marquis of Xichang’s Residence.

• Baoyue entered a hidden temple meeting room and paid Jia Yuan to discuss a genealogy transaction.
• Baoyue rejected easier options and commissioned a verifiable Langya Wang genealogy tracing Wang Yang to Wang Ningzhi’s fourth son, Wang Enzhi.
• Baoyue added three million cash for Jia Yuan’s promise not to reveal the client, then passed him Wang Yang’s information.
• Baoyue identified Jia Yuan as the genealogy scholar and threatened him if the transaction went wrong or leaked.
• Jia Yuan asked who Wang Yang was, and Baoyue declared him a noble son of the Langya Wang and the future son-in-law of the Marquis of Xichang’s Residence.

After the Jingzhou navy suffered a crushing defeat at Crescent Rampart, the Prince of Badong kept Li Jingxuan in command while reconsidering his decision to dismiss Wang Yang. News then arrived that Wang and Liu had captured Jiangling after Jingzhou fell, and the Prince of Badong ordered Zhi Yan summoned.

• The Prince of Badong took Li Jingxuan’s saber after the defeat, while Li accepted responsibility and persuaded the advisers to defend his handling of the battle.
• The Prince of Badong visited Wang Yang’s quarters at night, learned Wang had expected someone to seek him out, and ordered the guards to keep his visit secret.
• Li Jingxuan’s forces entered a siege campaign, but the assault on Lu Mountain suffered heavy losses when Li Dang’s hidden crossbowmen ambushed them.
• Captured officers revealed that the Yingzhou navy had only recently gathered at Crescent Rampart, leading the Prince of Badong to berate his advisers and regret dismissing Wang Yang.
• Rumors that Jingzhou had fallen spread as its supply fleet and messengers failed to arrive, and the Prince of Badong went to oversee the fighting at Xiakou.
• An express rider reported that the Wenyang garrison and Southern Man army had defeated Kong Changyu’s forces and that Wang and Liu had seized Jiangling; the Prince of Badong collapsed, kicked away Li Jingxuan, and ordered Zhi Yan summoned.

The Prince of Badong brutalized the advisers who had opposed Wang Yang’s plan, then heard Li Jingxuan argue that the army must press on rather than retreat to Jingzhou. When Wang Yang arrived, the Prince blamed the dead Tao Rui for the army’s setbacks and ordered his head displayed, leaving Wang Yang confronted with a public gesture of reconciliation and a warning.

• The Prince of Badong beat Tao Rui to death after Tao Rui failed to recall his exact words opposing Wang Yang’s proposal.
• Guo Wenyuan offered to kill himself, then persuaded the Prince to hear his plan to recover Jingzhou; Li Jingxuan urgently argued that a retreat would collapse the army and urged an immediate attack on the three cities.
• A report announced Wang Yang’s arrival, and the Prince of Badong eagerly welcomed him into the tent.
• The Prince claimed Tao Rui had colluded with Yingzhou and framed Wang Yang, then ordered Tao Rui’s head displayed and threatened anyone who tried to drive a wedge between them.
• Wang Yang recognized that Tao Rui’s execution served as both an attempt at reconciliation and a warning.

Wang Yang reconciled with the Prince of Badong, then learned that Jingzhou had fallen. As the Crown Prince prepared an expedition against the rebels, Hu Xiezhi accepted a lavish gift and agreed to execute several former officials, though he qualified his order concerning Wang Yang.

• Wang Yang assured the Prince of Badong that he held no grudge and remained loyal, but was shocked when the prince revealed that Jingzhou had fallen.
• The Crown Prince issued an edict commanding Hu Xiezhi, Yin Lüe, and Ru Faliang to lead the royal army against the rebels.
• The Crown Prince spoke privately with Yin Lüe about loyalty and the dangers of battle, and Yin Lüe pledged to put loyalty first on the expedition.
• Wang Chen escorted Hu Xiezhi from a manor and presented him with a valuable golden deity statue on the prince's behalf.
• Wang Chen asked Hu Xiezhi to execute Liu Yin and another rebel, and Hu Xiezhi readily agreed to both orders.
• When Wang Chen asked Hu Xiezhi to execute Wang Yang, Hu Xiezhi recognized him and said to execute him only as appropriate.

Baoyue met Hu Xiezhi to urge him to spare Wang Yang during the Jingzhou campaign, while the Prince of Yuzhang confronted Ru Faliang over the Fourth Prince’s fate. Ru said the decision rested with someone else, but did not reveal who.

• Hu Xiezhi learned that Baoyue had invited him for tea and agreed to meet her at the Six Purities Pavilion.
• Baoyue questioned Hu about the emperor’s instructions regarding Wang Yang and warned him against sweeping prosecutions in Jingzhou.
• Baoyue gave Hu a Golden Statue as a farewell gift and asked him to protect Wang Yang; Hu promised he would do his best.
• The Prince of Yuzhang stormed into Ru Faliang’s residence and demanded to know whether the Fourth Prince would live or die.
• Ru Faliang said the Fourth Prince’s fate rested neither with the emperor, the Prince of Yuzhang, nor himself, and the prince demanded to know who held it.