Recaps

Wei Nisheng answered Shen Duan’s summons with faultless courtesy and resisted his efforts to pressure him into gathering Feng’s former followers. He returned to the Ministry of Personnel with his position intact, while Shen Duan was left reflecting on their old exchange.

• Qiu Heng warned Wei Nisheng that Shen Duan’s summons might conceal an ulterior purpose, but Wei Nisheng went to meet him with formal courtesy.
• Shen Duan expressed concern for Wei Nisheng, claimed to have reorganized the Selection Bureau during his absence, and offered to guide the young official.
• Shen Duan suggested Wei Nisheng might gather Feng’s former disciples and subordinates as the new “Wei Half the Court,” but Wei Nisheng said he sought only “the way.”
• Shen Duan dismissed Wei Nisheng and recalled that Wei had once called himself Bao Shu to Shen’s Guan Zhong; Wei clarified that he had only carried his teacher’s words.
• Wei Nisheng returned to the office and told Qiu Heng that Shen Duan had spoken while he listened, leaving no opening for criticism.

Shen Duan reflected on his climb back from exile and wondered whether Wei Zi'an could endure losing his advantages. A Ministry of Personnel order then removed Ji Lang and installed Shen Duan’s ally Zou Mo, leaving Zhang Cheng as the last of Feng Yan’s men in the ministry.

• Shen Duan remembered how he had risen from his demotion to Guilin and questioned whether Wei Zi'an could do the same without his privileges.
• The Ministry of Personnel transferred Ji Lang to Henan and appointed Zou Mo as Left Vice Minister.
• Zhang Cheng challenged Shen Duan over the appointments, but Shen invoked ministry rules and warned him not to interfere beyond his duties.
• Zhang Cheng left the Duty Room, and Zou Mo assumed his post that afternoon as the Ministry of Personnel took on a new alignment.

Emperor Jing of Zhou explained why fifteen-year-old Heng'er was ready to serve as regent and what qualities the role required. He decided to summon Heng'er and Wei Nisheng so he could entrust his trusted minister to the Crown Prince.

• Empress Zhou questioned whether Heng'er was too young to act as regent, and Emperor Jing of Zhou said the burden would help him mature.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou said a regent needed heart, virtue, and caution, and admitted he trusted Heng'er's heart but not yet his governing ability.
• Wang Cheng reported that Heng'er was handling government smoothly, making more decisions himself, and working late in the Imperial Study.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou ordered Wang Cheng to summon Heng'er and Wei Nisheng, saying he would pass his trusted minister to the Crown Prince.

Emperor Jing of Zhou tested Crown Prince Jiang Heng by asking when he would send his younger brothers to their fiefs, while also judging Wei Nisheng’s loyalty. Wei Nisheng argued for enfeoffment, and Jiang Heng defended keeping his brothers near him with appeals to the classics.

• Jiang Heng and Wei Nisheng met outside the Hall of Nurturing Life and entered at Emperor Jing of Zhou’s summons.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked Jiang Heng how the regency was going, and Jiang Heng credited Chancellor Shen and the Grand Secretariat while professing concern for his father’s recovery.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou asked when Jiang Heng would send his three younger brothers to their outer fiefs, and Jiang Heng objected because they were still young.
• Wei Nisheng recognized that the emperor was testing both Jiang Heng’s judgment and his own allegiance, then argued that granting the princes fiefs would preserve kinship and secure the realm.
• Jiang Heng challenged Wei Nisheng’s advice and cited the Analects and the Book of Songs to defend his love for his brothers and his unwillingness to send them away.

Jiang Heng debated Wei Nisheng over how a sovereign should balance affection for his brothers with the safety of All Under Heaven, then recognized that Emperor Jing of Zhou had been testing his understanding. Emperor Jing watched Jiang Heng and Wei Zi together and concluded that the Crown Prince had used Wei Zi to voice the harsh truths while preserving his own benevolent image.

• Wei Nisheng warned Jiang Heng that brotherly affection could not prevent political strife and cited the rebellions of Guan and Cai, the Seven Kingdoms, and the Eight Princes.
• Jiang Heng asked how a ruler could balance the Imperial Clan’s strength against the danger of rebellion, and Wei Nisheng proposed dividing the feudal lands through the Policy of Promoting Grace.
• Jiang Heng declared that he would choose his younger brothers’ fiefs when they came of age, preserving their safety while securing lasting peace for All Under Heaven.
• Jiang Heng kowtowed to Emperor Jing of Zhou and said that he understood his father’s intent.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou imagined Jiang Heng as a tiger and Wei Zi as a crane, and judged that the Crown Prince had let Wei Zi bear the debate’s harshness while guiding him toward growth.

Wei Nisheng spoke privately with Emperor Jing of Zhou, who explained why he had given Shen Duan control of the Ministry of Personnel and praised Wei’s restraint. As Wei left the palace, he comforted Wang Cheng with sincere gratitude, and Wang Cheng urged him to face the future without fear or sorrow.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou dismissed the Crown Prince and Wang Cheng, then spoke with Wei Nisheng alone.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou acknowledged Shen Duan’s growing influence and explained that he had entrusted him with the Ministry of Personnel to stabilize the Court and keep him occupied.
• Wei Nisheng recognized that his position in the Selection Bureau served as a counterweight to Shen Duan, and the emperor praised his patience and composure.
• Wang Cheng escorted Wei Nisheng from the hall, and Wei thanked him for his years of help and offered to care for him in the future.
• Wang Cheng called after Wei Nisheng, reminding him that Feng was gone but Wang Cheng remained and telling him to let his heart know neither fear nor sorrow; Wei said he would remember.

Shen Duan tried to win Wang Cheng’s support with a gift, but Wang Cheng refused and warned him not to target Vice Director Wei, whose position was protected by the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Shen Duan left furious, realizing that Feng Yan’s respectful dealings had secured an influence his own authority could not command.

• Shen Duan visited Wang Cheng and offered him a Blackwood Box in hopes of receiving warnings about rumors reaching the Emperor.
• Wang Cheng refused the gift and criticized Shen Duan’s rapid reshuffling of the Selection Bureau after Feng Yan’s death.
• Wang Cheng warned Shen Duan that Vice Director Wei held the Emperor’s wish and the Crown Prince’s will, and threatened to obstruct Shen Duan’s access to the Emperor if he targeted Wei.
• Wang Cheng left to attend the Emperor, and Shen Duan took back the box and departed in anger.
• Shen Duan wondered how Feng Yan had earned Wang Cheng’s respect, while the autumn wind swept fallen leaves along the palace walls.

Zhang Zai returned to the Capital after putting the Suzhou Granary Depot in order and reunited with Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan. The three agreed to follow a shared path serving the Nine Frontiers, Gansu, and the common people, despite the court’s likely accusations that they had formed the Wei Faction.

• Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan waited at the Tongji Gate wharf for Zhang Zai to return from Suzhou.
• Zhang Zai bowed toward the Feng Residence to honor Lord Feng, whose funeral he had missed while away.
• Zhang Zai told Wei Nisheng that he had secured the Suzhou Granary Depot and promised to safeguard frontier provisions and pave Wei Nisheng’s road through Shaanxi.
• Wang Kan warned Wei Nisheng and Zhang Zai that their roles could make the court accuse them of forming a faction.
• Wei Nisheng declared that the three shared a path serving the Nine Frontiers, Gansu, and the common people, and they walked into the city together.

On the night before Wei Shouzheng’s mission to the Tanguts, he confronted his parents over their neglect of Ni Sheng and insisted that his dangerous journey was his way of repaying his younger brother. He left to spend the night at the Ministry of Rites, while his family remained in grief and remorse.

• Wei Mingde, Cui Shi, and Wei Shoucheng pleaded with Wei Shouzheng not to leave for the Tangut territory.
• Wei Mingde offered to beg Ni Sheng to ask the Emperor to send someone else, and Wei Shouzheng angrily forbade him from seeking Ni Sheng’s help.
• Wei Shouzheng accused his parents and himself of neglecting Ni Sheng for ten years and said he wanted to do one honorable thing for his younger brother.
• Wei Shouzheng knelt before his parents, asked them not to beg Ni Sheng, and entrusted Wei Shoucheng with caring for their parents.
• Wei Shouzheng said he would leave for the Tanguts the next morning and departed for the Ministry of Rites offices without returning home.

Wei Shouzheng departed the Capital on a mission to the Tangut, carrying Great Zhou’s honor as its envoy. As Wei Nisheng watched his half-estranged brother leave, he admitted that Wei Shouzheng still seemed cold and distant to him.

• The Crown Prince gave Wei Shouzheng a farewell cup and reminded him to uphold Great Zhou’s honor in the Tangut.
• Wei Shouzheng knelt before Qin Yan, received his teacher’s counsel, and promised to return without dishonoring his commission.
• Wei Mingde broke through the crowd to beg Wei Shouzheng to come home safely, then collapsed as the procession departed.
• Wei Shoucheng called after his brother, but Wei Shouzheng kept walking without turning around.
• The Crown Prince comforted Wei Nisheng and compared the brothers’ separate paths of striving for Great Zhou.
• Wei Nisheng watched the procession recede and softly called Wei Shouzheng cold and distant.

Zhou Quan trapped a Tangut cavalry force at Jingtai and led a decisive battle that nearly annihilated it, preserving Jingyuan and demonstrating his strength before a Zhou envoy traveled abroad. The few Tangut survivors fled, leaving the frontier shaken by Zhou Quan’s victory.

• Zhou Quan learned that three thousand Tangut cavalry had bypassed Lanzhou and advanced toward Jingyuan, then recognized that the receded Yellow River would help trap them.
• Zhou Quan marched from Zhongwei to Jingtai and rejected the vice commander’s suggestion to frighten the Tanguts into retreat without fighting.
• Zhou Quan positioned crossbowmen and armored long-axe troops at the river valley, then charged the Tangut formation alone and cut down several riders.
• The vice commander at Jingyuan opened the gates and attacked the Tanguts from behind as Zhou Quan blocked their escape through the valley.
• Zhou Quan’s troops used crossbows and long axes to destroy most of the Tangut cavalry at Jingtai, killing their general Wobo and forcing a dozen survivors to flee.

Emperor Jing of Zhou returned to court and received news that Zhou Quan had defeated three thousand Tangut cavalry at Jingtai, preserving Jingyuan. He rewarded Zhou Quan and ordered the frontier secured without rash advances, while the court awaited the safe return of Great Zhou's Emissary Holding the Tally.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou resumed court after more than a month of illness and heard a victory report from Ningxia.
• The Director of Transmission reported that Zhou Quan had ambushed and nearly annihilated three thousand Tangut cavalry at Jingtai.
• Song Yue praised Zhou Quan, and Emperor Jing of Zhou credited Shen Duan and Kou Yuan for their contributions.
• Wei Nisheng and Wang Kan urged the court to secure the frontier, train troops, and plan gradually for Gansu.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou restored Zhou Quan's title of Marquis of Dongning, granted him five hundred taels of gold, and ordered that the army avoid rash advances.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou and Wei Nisheng expressed hope that the Emissary Holding the Tally would return safely.

Wei Nisheng persuaded Crown Prince Jiang Heng to abandon his plan for a swift campaign to reclaim Gansu and instead prepare carefully for war. Jiang Heng accepted that patient preparation was essential and pledged to lead the campaign when the time came.

• Jiang Heng summoned Wei Nisheng and proposed clearing military farmland, rebuilding the ranks, and invading Gansu the following spring.
• Wei Nisheng questioned whether Jiang Heng understood the Tanguts’ forces, defenses, and supplies, and warned that victory at Jingtai Valley had not defeated their state.
• Wei Nisheng argued that clearing veterans’ land too quickly could provoke unrest and that insecure grain routes made a long campaign impossible.
• Wei Nisheng contrasted failed campaigns driven by haste with victories won through patience, warning that a rushed defeat could leave Great Zhou unable to fight or make peace.
• Jiang Heng acknowledged the risks and thanked Wei Nisheng for teaching him to prioritize stability over quick success.
• Wei Nisheng said the recovery of Gansu would follow once the fields, ranks, and grain supplies were prepared, and Jiang Heng vowed to perform the sacrifice to the battle standard when that day came.

Wei Nisheng discovered that Cui Fu had fallen for Miss Chen, a silk seller in West City, and encouraged him to pursue her. After discussing it with Fu Niang, Wei Nisheng agreed to help Cui Fu propose marriage if he was serious.

• Wei Nisheng questioned Cui Fu about his frequent trips through West City, and Cui Fu confessed that he loved Miss Chen.
• Wei Nisheng advised Cui Fu to buy silk from Miss Chen and show her his feelings, and Cui Fu headed toward West City in high spirits.
• Fu Niang asked Wei Nisheng why Cui Fu was so cheerful, and Wei Nisheng told her he had found a wife.
• Fu Niang urged Wei Nisheng to help Cui Fu establish a home, and Wei Nisheng agreed to take him to propose if he truly meant it.

Shen Duan considered how to counter Wei Zi'an’s growing influence in the Northwest when Kou Yuan unexpectedly visited and proposed an alliance. They agreed to cooperate over Kou Yuan’s request for an imperial audience and to use their offices to challenge Wei’s Gansu plans.

• Shen Duan studied the Ningxia victory and concluded that Wei Zi'an’s coordinated plans were strengthening the Wei Faction, while the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Personnel offered ways to intervene.
• Shen Duan learned that Kou Yuan had come to his residence and went out to welcome his longtime rival.
• Kou Yuan told Shen Duan that the Upright Officials had been weakened and asked him to support his request for an imperial audience by urging the emperor to uncover the truth.
• Kou Yuan proposed that he and Shen Duan use control over military pay and frontier appointments to keep Wei Zi'an’s Gansu project from bearing only Wei’s name.
• Shen Duan laughed at Kou Yuan’s proposal, signaling that he was willing to consider their alliance.

Kou Yuan and Shen Duan negotiated an alliance over the Court Examination case and the Gansu affair, trading access and safeguards while each kept leverage over the other. They agreed to share the Gansu gains later, but both left convinced they could still control the deal.

• Shen Duan offered help with the Court Examination case in exchange for Kou Yuan’s support for the military farmland policy and its draft endorsements.
• Kou Yuan insisted that the Ministry of Revenue audit the veterans’ provisions and explained that his Accounting Officer in Shaanxi would guard the grain route from Wei Zi.
• Shen Duan demanded access to the Ministry of Revenue’s dossier on Wu Daoqing’s case, warning that its exposure could harm them both.
• Kou Yuan threatened to negotiate with Wei Zi if Shen Duan claimed all the Gansu gains, forcing Shen Duan to offer him a share.
• Shen Duan and Kou Yuan agreed that Zhou Quan would handle the troops, Zhang Zai the grain, and they would divide the Gansu gains after the two men paved the way.
• After toasting their agreement, Shen Duan thought he could keep Kou Yuan only partly satisfied, while Kou Yuan trusted that the dossier still gave him leverage.

Wei Nisheng confronted Zou Mo over the Shaanxi Office of Clear Accounts’ three unauthorized Department Secretary posts and demanded their records. He left the Ministry of Personnel intending to bring the matter before the Censorate.

• The Ministry of Revenue’s request added three Department Secretary posts to the Shaanxi Office of Clear Accounts, dividing Zhang Zai’s authority while bypassing the Selection Bureau.
• Wei Nisheng barged into the Minister of Personnel’s Duty Room and challenged Zou Mo, who admitted signing the authorization.
• Wei Nisheng warned that bypassing the Selection Bureau threatened Personnel Administration and demanded copies of the order and the three officials’ service records.
• Wei Nisheng threatened to send an impeachment memorial to the emperor if the documents or records proved irregular.
• As snow fell, Wei Nisheng ordered Qiu Heng to invite Assistant Censor-in-Chief Wang Kan to the Ministry.

Wei Nisheng responded to the Ministry of Revenue’s bypassing of the Selection Bureau by prompting Wang Kan to challenge the act through an impeachment memorial. He then presented Crown Prince Jiang Heng with his ten-year Pacify the Rong Strategy for Gansu and the Western Frontier.

• Wei Nisheng told Wang Kan that three Department Secretaries had been added to the Shaanxi Bureau without the Selection Bureau’s approval and said he planned to resign.
• Wang Kan recognized Wei Nisheng’s unspoken intent and agreed to impeach the bypassing of personnel administration and the creation of bureau posts, while keeping Wei’s involvement hidden.
• Wang Kan left to draw the Censorate’s blade, promising that Wei Nisheng’s hands would remain clean.
• Wei Nisheng met Crown Prince Jiang Heng and presented his Pacify the Rong Strategy, which addressed Gansu, the nine frontiers, and Great Zhou’s Western Frontier over the next ten years.

Wei Nisheng explained that his Pacify the Rong Strategy depended on securing grain supplies through Shaanxi, while Chancellor Shen’s bypassing of the Selection Office threatened Jiang Heng’s authority over his future ministers. Jiang Heng declared Wei his “old sword” and vowed to address Shen Duan’s actions, leaving Wei ready to present his strategy the next day.

• Wei Nisheng told Jiang Heng that grain supplies through Shaanxi were essential to recovering Gansu and that Zhang Zai should oversee the Shaanxi Office of Clear Accounts.
• Wei Nisheng recounted how officials had bypassed the Selection Office to create three Department Secretary posts in the Shaanxi Bureau, weakening his authority.
• Jiang Heng concluded that Chancellor Shen Duan’s actions targeted both Wei and Jiang, and declared that he would not accept being an emperor whose ministers were controlled by Shen.
• Jiang Heng invoked Emperor Xuan’s “Old Sword Affection,” telling Wei that he was Jiang’s old sword and that Jiang would decide who served him.
• Wei Nisheng affirmed his trust in Jiang Heng and said Jiang would not repeat the Five Dynasties’ pattern of rulers being enthroned and deposed by the army.
• Jiang Heng said he would speak to his imperial father about Shen Duan, and Wei Nisheng promised to present his strategy the next day.

Wei Nisheng wrote a memorial outlining eight strategies for pacifying the Tangut through sustained preparation rather than a swift campaign. After completing it, he reviewed the memorial and awaited the imperial response.

• Wei Nisheng returned home, and Fu Niang told him about meeting the future brides of Wang Kan and Zhang Zai.
• After supper, Wei Nisheng told Fu Niang he planned to write about the Northwest, and she prepared tea while he went to his study.
• Wei Nisheng wrote a memorial arguing that Great Zhou should patiently strengthen its frontier defenses, supplies, troops, spies, and people before seeking victory over the Tangut.
• Wei Nisheng finished the eight-part memorial and read it over beneath the falling snow.

Crown Prince Jiang Heng urged Emperor Jing of Zhou to counterbalance Chancellor Shen Duan, but the emperor explained that Shen had to be tolerated until the Crown Prince was ready to challenge him. The emperor warned Shen about his growing closeness with Kou Ge and demanded stability, leaving Jiang Heng troubled as he watched Shen depart.

• Jiang Heng questioned why Shen Duan controlled the year-end promotions and transfers and warned that the Grand Secretariat lacked anyone able to balance him.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou told Jiang Heng that Shen was necessary to hold the Court together and that he was keeping the old tiger in check until the Crown Prince's young tiger had grown.
• Emperor Jing summoned Shen Duan and privately warned him that the emperor knew of his growing closeness with Kou Ge and would not tolerate anyone forgetting the Imperial Throne.
• Emperor Jing ordered Shen Duan to perform his duties properly and maintain stability, and Jiang Heng watched him leave, unsettled.

In the Hall of Literary Splendor, Crown Prince Jiang Heng examined Wei Nisheng’s Pacify the Rong Strategy and questioned him about its military, economic, and political plans. Convinced by Wei Nisheng’s analysis of Tangut and Liao court divisions, Jiang Heng vowed to present the strategy to his imperial father and pursue its implementation in the Northwest.

• Jiang Heng praised Wei Nisheng’s strategy and insisted that he remain seated to answer questions.
• Wei Nisheng explained how to withstand an enemy attack, reorganize military landholdings, expand frontier trade, and gather intelligence in Gansu.
• Wei Nisheng said the campaign should begin only after land reform and grain supplies were ready and the Tangut state faced internal upheaval.
• Wei Nisheng described how he inferred Tangut factional conflict from the envoys’ behavior and merchants fleeing south with their wealth.
• Jiang Heng promised to present the strategy to his imperial father and said he and Wei Nisheng would one day celebrate the recovery of Gansu together.

Emperor Jing of Zhou compared Wei Zi'an's analysis of the enemy state with Secret Guard reports and found it largely credible. Delighted by Wei's insight, he hailed him as the warrior who would guard Zhou's borders.

• Emperor Jing of Zhou read the confidential record of Wei Zi'an's conversation with the Crown Prince and wondered how Wei knew so much about the enemy state.
• Wang Cheng compared Wei's deductions with Secret Guard reports and judged them eight parts in ten credible.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou praised Wei Zi'an as a rare strategist and said he could bring prosperity to Zhou.
• Emperor Jing of Zhou opened the hall doors in the snow, recited the Great Wind Hymn, and called Wei Zi'an his warrior and Eagle's Might.
• The historian recorded that Emperor Jing stayed up reading the scroll until midnight and that the palace rejoiced at his rare display of happiness.

Shen Duan told Shen Yi how their ancestor Shen Yue rose to prominence, fell from imperial favor, and died amid suspicion, warning him that the Shen Family must now retreat from power. Shen Yi promised to remember and protect the family through his position in the Director of Palace Affairs Office.

• Shen Duan drank alone in the snow, reflecting on the emperor's rebuke and the political balance lost after Feng Yan's departure.
• Shen Duan welcomed Shen Yi and recounted Shen Yue's scholarship, impartial historical writing, and role in the change from Qi to Liang.
• Shen Duan described how Shen Yue's ambition and strained relations with Emperor Wu of Liang led to fear, illness, and death under the posthumous name Yin.
• Shen Duan explained that Shen Yue's wasting waist came from fear of imperial suspicion and warned that the Shen Family must not repeat his mistakes.
• Shen Duan urged Shen Yi to draw back from political danger, and Shen Yi promised to remember as Shen Duan raised his cup to the snow.

Zhang Zai fought obstruction in the Shaanxi Office of Clear Accounts as officials repeatedly delayed funds and policies for the frontier. After the Ningxia winter provisions request was returned for the fifth time, he confronted his colleagues, stamped it with his official seal, and insisted it be approved.

• Director Zhou returned Zhang Zai's winter provisions document for reconsideration despite its completed joint review and supporting directives.
• A department secretary stalled Zhang Zai's tea-horse proposal by citing precedent and alleged instructions from Lord Kou.
• Department Secretary Li set aside Zhang Zai's grain allocation request for military farmland until the following year.
• After the winter provisions document was returned for the fifth time, Zhang Zai confronted Director Zhou and the department secretaries over their repeated delays.
• Zhang Zai stamped the Ningxia winter provisions document with his official seal and declared that he would bear responsibility for pushing the work through.