Recaps

Lu Xiangsheng’s outnumbered forces fought the Jurchens at Changping as Wang Pu fled and reinforcements failed to arrive. Chen Guowei eventually led the Heavenly Hero Army to the battlefield, forcing Yoto to retreat, and found Lu Xiangsheng alive among the exhausted survivors.

• Lu Xiangsheng learned that Chen Guowei had not returned and that Wang Pu had fled after encountering Oboi, leaving Yang Guozhu’s forces under heavier pressure.
• Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei rallied their exhausted soldiers to keep fighting despite Wang Pu’s flight.
• Lu Xiangsheng ordered the army to withdraw in small groups, but Yoto rallied the Jurchens to block their retreat and Lu charged at him.
• Chen Guowei arrived with the Heavenly Hero Army and led a charge that turned the battle, prompting Yoto to order a retreat.
• After the fighting ended, Chen Guowei found Lu Xiangsheng sitting with Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, alive but drenched in blood.

Zhu Youjian received Empress Zhou’s jewelry donation and learned from Lu Xiangsheng’s bloodstained dispatch that the battle had gone badly and Wang Pu had fled. He replaced Lu with Sun Chuanting and ordered Lu back to the capital to face trial in the Imperial Prison.

• Empress Zhou sent jewelry to help reward the soldiers, and Zhu Youjian decided to dine with her.
• Zhu Youjian read Lu Xiangsheng’s dispatch and learned that Yoto had raided the camp, Chen Guowei had sought reinforcements, and Wang Pu had fled.
• Zhu Youjian summoned Yang Sichang and Sun Chuanting, while Yang urged him to dismiss Lu Xiangsheng.
• Sun Chuanting defended Lu Xiangsheng and suggested Hong Chengchou take command, but Zhu Youjian appointed Sun instead.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Lu Xiangsheng to return to the capital and enter the Imperial Prison for trial.

Zhu Youjian appointed Sun Chuanting to command the relief effort while ordering Lu Xiangsheng imprisoned, and reflected on Sun’s future role in the fall of the Ming. The chapter ended when a panicked young eunuch rushed in with news of a disaster.

• Zhu Youjian appointed Sun Chuanting and gave him an Imperial Sword, warning him against reckless warfare.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Luo Yangxing to take Lu Xiangsheng to the Imperial Prison, bring back anyone who resisted, and ensure no one was harmed or tortured.
• Zhu Youjian considered why he had chosen Sun Chuanting over Hong Chengchou and recalled Sun’s history and eventual death before the Ming fell.
• A young eunuch rushed into the hall shouting that something terrible had happened, and Zhu Youjian demanded to know what it was.

Zhu Youjian ordered Luo Yangxing to bring the officials kneeling at Huangji Gate into the Imperial Prison, where they would be treated well and their choices recorded. After spending the day reviewing memorials, he remembered his appointment with the empress and headed to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility with a box of Acacia Incense, leaving their meeting yet to come.

• A young eunuch reported that Fan Fucui, Liu, Huang, and other officials were kneeling at Huangji Gate to protest Sun Chuanting's appointment and plead for Lu Xiangsheng.
• Zhu Youjian told Luo Yangxing to offer the officials shelter and food, send home those who chose to leave, and take the rest to the Imperial Prison without torturing them.
• Zhu Youjian pardoned the young eunuch for interrupting the hall, while Wang Cheng'en scolded him outside and urged him to serve more carefully.
• After reviewing memorials until nightfall, Zhu Youjian remembered his appointment with the empress and ordered a box of Acacia Incense from the Imperial Treasury.
• Zhu Youjian walked to the entrance of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility with Wang Cheng'en carrying the incense.

Zhu Youjian visited Empress Zhou in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, gave her Acacia Incense, and spent the night with her. The chapter ended with an envoy calling Lu Xiangsheng away from his army camp outside Changping.

• Zhu Youjian found Empress Zhou asleep in the inner chamber and gently covered her with a cloak.
• Zhu Youjian gave Empress Zhou Acacia Incense and explained its romantic name, prompting her to embrace him.
• Zhu Youjian reflected on his new appearance and identity as Chongzhen, then told Empress Zhou he would stay with her for the night.
• Zhu Youjian and Empress Zhou shared an intimate evening, ate their reheated meal, and he promised to visit her whenever he could.
• Luo Yangxing corrected himself after almost addressing Lu Xiangsheng by his former title, then ordered him to come with the envoy.

Lu Xiangsheng was escorted from his army to Beijing and imprisoned despite his commanders’ protests. In the Imperial Prison, he met officials jailed for defending him, while Zhu Youjian prepared to interrogate him personally.

• Chen Guowei and Hu Dawei tried to resist Luo Yangxing’s order to take Lu Xiangsheng to the capital, but Lu stopped them and submitted to the decree.
• Luo Yangxing escorted Lu Xiangsheng to Beijing, where Zhu Neng struck him and Luo punished Zhu for his disrespect.
• Lu Xiangsheng entered the Imperial Prison and found Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou imprisoned for pleading on his behalf.
• Huang Daozhou urged Fan Fucui to resist disgrace and give their lives for Great Ming, and Fan took heart from his words.
• Luo Yangxing reported to Zhu Youjian, who ordered preparations to interrogate Lu Xiangsheng himself that night.

Zhu Youjian visited the Imperial Prison and privately reassured Lu Xiangsheng that he still trusted him and needed him to fight the Jurchen. He left the prison preparing to bring Lu Xiangsheng back into service.

• Zhu Youjian traveled to the Imperial Prison with Luo Yangxing and Wang Cheng'en, then noticed Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou sleeping beneath a brocade quilt.
• Zhu Youjian ordered the others away and entered Lu Xiangsheng's cell to speak with him privately.
• Lu Xiangsheng confessed that his failed strategy had nearly cost twenty thousand soldiers their lives and said he deserved punishment.
• Zhu Youjian urged Lu Xiangsheng to redeem himself through service and help Great Ming drive out the Jurchen.
• Lu Xiangsheng promised not to betray Zhu Youjian's trust, and Zhu Youjian ordered Wang Cheng'en to bring him Embroidered Uniform Guard clothes.

Zhu Youjian secretly freed Lu Xiangsheng from the Imperial Prison and warned Luo Yangxing and Wang Cheng'en to keep it quiet. On his way back, he learned Empress Zhou had fallen ill; after tending to her, he saw her identify something in her chamber as the cause.

• Lu Xiangsheng asked Zhu Youjian to spare Fan, Elder Huang, and the other officials who had pleaded for him, and Zhu Youjian cautioned him against appearing to collude with them.
• Zhu Youjian gave Lu Xiangsheng clothes and secretly let him leave the Imperial Prison, while Luo Yangxing and Wang Cheng'en promised to conceal what had happened.
• A eunuch from the Palace of Earthly Tranquility reported that Empress Zhou was ill and would not admit physicians, so Zhu Youjian hurried to her.
• Zhu Youjian found Empress Zhou feverish and distressed; she clung to him and asked for intimacy, and he stayed with her until she regained her senses.
• Empress Zhou feared Zhu Youjian would punish her for her behavior, but he comforted her and suspected someone had tampered with something in the palace.
• Empress Zhou examined the chamber and suddenly said she knew what had caused her illness.

Zhu Youjian realized Acacia Incense had caused Empress Zhou’s alarming reaction, then ordered Wang Cheng'en to trace and retrieve all of it. Meanwhile, Sun Chengzong returned to Beijing after Yang Tinglin drugged him and resolved to confront the emperor.

• Zhu Youjian and Empress Zhou concluded that Acacia Incense had caused her symptoms, and he left with the box after assuring her he would visit again.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Wang Cheng'en to identify the incense’s source and distribution and retrieve every remaining portion.
• The imperial physicians left puzzled about Empress Zhou’s condition and chose not to pursue the matter.
• Yang Tinglin escorted Sun Chengzong and his family back to Beijing after drugging Sun Chengzong, who angrily vowed to impeach him.
• Sun Chengzong asked for a blank memorial so he could question the emperor about Yang Tinglin’s actions.

Dorgon entered the evacuated Gaoyang after cautiously watching the city for several days, and his army looted its empty homes. Though Yoto urged him to move on to Jinan, Dorgon remained wary and ordered the scouts to investigate first.

• Dorgon dismissed his officers’ concerns about entering Gaoyang and ordered the army to enter at daybreak.
• The Jurchen entered the empty city and ransacked wealthy homes, while Dorgon settled in the Sun Residence.
• Yoto asked Dorgon when they would march on evacuated Jinan, but Dorgon ordered the mounted scouts to investigate before deciding.

Zhu Youjian met with Sun Chengzong, who confronted him about being drugged and brought to the capital but then dropped the complaint. Sun Chengzong tried to argue against peace negotiations, but Zhu Youjian refused to reconsider and asked about his sons instead.

• Zhu Youjian fought off his sleepiness and received Sun Chengzong in Wuying Hall.
• Sun Chengzong asked whether Zhu Youjian knew that Yang Tinglin had drugged him and brought his family to the capital; Zhu Youjian feigned outrage and ordered Yang Tinglin arrested.
• Sun Chengzong stopped the order, saying Yang Tinglin was needed for the war effort, and let the matter go.
• Sun Chengzong raised the issue of peace negotiations, but Zhu Youjian said his decision was final.
• Zhu Youjian asked about Sun Chengzong's sons and their scholarly achievements, and Sun Chengzong said only Sun Yue had passed the provincial examination.

Zhu Youjian heard Sun Chengzong’s concerns and then kept the Prince of De waiting, while ordering secret surveillance of him. Zhu Youshu returned to his cramped lodgings without learning when he could go back to Jinan and asked his consort to approach the Empress and Noble Consort for information.

• Zhu Youjian reassured Sun Chengzong, promised compensation for the Sun family’s lost property, and sent him away before receiving the Prince of De.
• Zhu Youshu grew impatient outside Wuying Hall and kicked young eunuch Wang Jiadong when he believed the eunuch had failed to announce him.
• Wang Cheng'en told Zhu Youshu that Zhu Youjian was too busy to see him, then gave the silver ingot Zhu Youshu had offered to Wang Jiadong.
• Zhu Youjian dismissed Zhu Youshu’s apparent poverty as a pretense and ordered Luo Yangxing to assign two Embroidered Uniform Guard men to watch the prince and record his words and actions.
• Zhu Youshu returned to his lodgings, told his consort that Zhu Youjian had refused to see him, and asked her to sound out the Empress and Noble Consort.

Luo Yangxing struggled to understand the emperor’s intentions as he guarded the imprisoned officials and treated them well, while Lu Xiangsheng’s army hid in the mountains near Jinan under a plan devised by His Majesty. The Heavenly Hero Army wondered whether their emperor was truly as capable as the operation suggested.

• Luo Yangxing refused Yang Sichang entry to the Imperial Prison and warned that anyone who disobeyed the restriction would answer with his head.
• Luo Yangxing visited Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou, then arranged warm bedding, braziers, food, and tea for them despite their confusion about his behavior.
• Luo Yangxing reconsidered whether the emperor’s apparent support for peace negotiations was a deception intended to mislead the Jurchens.
• Lu Xiangsheng’s Heavenly Hero Army stayed in small groups in the mountains ten li outside Jinan, avoiding fires to conceal themselves from the Tatars.
• Chen Guowei, Hu Dawei, and Li Zhongzhen questioned whether His Majesty had devised the plan and wondered if the emperor was truly capable.

Lu Xiangsheng's army waited in ambush as Dorgon sent Tatar scouts to inspect Jinan and the surrounding wooded hills. The scouts searched the hills and narrowly passed the hidden Heavenly Hero Army, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lu Xiangsheng ordered his army to remain silent and wait after Night Patrol scouts reported that Tatar scouts had appeared outside Jinan.
• Dorgon's scouts found Jinan empty and returned to camp with stolen valuables, prompting Dorgon to order another search of the wooded hills.
• Yoto arranged the second scouting party, and Oboi led about a hundred men toward the hills after Hao Ge demanded a quick return.
• Oboi's men searched the lower slopes while the Heavenly Hero Army hid nearby, with Lu Xiangsheng and Hu Dawei keeping the soldiers still.
• A severed branch struck a young soldier and nearly gave away the ambush, but a crow's call distracted the Tatars, who left the woods without finding the army.

Lu Xiangsheng’s forces let the Jurchen enter Jinan, where they discovered the city had been stripped of food and its cannons destroyed. Dorgon realized the Ming army had lured him into a trap and found himself surrounded inside the city.

• After the Jurchen scouts passed, Lu Xiangsheng ordered the Night Patrol to monitor their movements, but the enemy did not immediately approach Jinan.
• Dorgon and Yoto discussed Jinan’s defenses, and Dorgon ordered the Jurchen to enter the city and leave after three days.
• Dorgon, Yoto, and Hao Ge entered Prince De's Residence while Oboi went to open the granaries.
• Oboi found the granaries empty and discovered that the people of Jinan had dumped their remaining food into Great Ming Lake.
• Dorgon learned that the city had no food and its Red-Clad Cannons had been destroyed, then ordered the gates closed when Ming troops appeared outside.
• Dorgon saw Ming forces occupying the surrounding high ground and recognized Lu Xiangsheng at their head, realizing the Jurchen had been trapped.

Hao Ge led a charge out of Jinan but Hu Dawei’s Mongolian cavalry defeated his force and drove him back inside. Lu Xiangsheng’s army kept the Jurchens trapped in the city, then prepared to torment them with the smell of a meal.

• Hao Ge dismissed Yoto’s warning, won Dorgon’s permission to attack, and rode out from Jinan with his men.
• Hu Dawei led the Mongolian cavalry against Hao Ge’s force while Lu Xiangsheng’s army surrounded and broke up its formation.
• Hu Dawei taunted Hao Ge, whose fury made him charge recklessly as his troops were scattered.
• Hao Ge retreated into Jinan under his guards’ protection, and Dorgon realized the Ming army meant to keep them trapped.
• Yoto felt his chest pain spread and decided he needed an army physician to examine him.
• Lu Xiangsheng told Hu Dawei to prepare a meal and send its aroma toward the besieged city.

Zhu Youjian summoned his ministers to Wuying Hall and revealed that Lu Xiangsheng had surrounded Dorgon’s Jurchen army in Jinan, then demanded a plan for dealing with them. Yang Sichang proposed using the trapped army as bargaining leverage in negotiations, while warning that the rebel threat could grow again.

• Yang Sichang and other officials read a dispatch reporting that Lu Xiangsheng had surrounded Dorgon and Yoto’s Jurchen forces inside Jinan.
• Zhu Youjian explained the meaning of Wuying Hall and rebuked his ministers for failing to defend Great Ming from its enemies.
• Sun Chengzong proposed killing the Jurchen forces, and Sun Chuanting suggested taking them prisoner, but Zhu Youjian rejected both plans.
• Yang Sichang realized Zhu Youjian and Lu Xiangsheng had secretly arranged Lu’s release and return, while the court had been led to believe peace negotiations were underway.
• Yang Sichang warned that the war against the Jurchen should not drag on, cited the dangers posed by Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, and proposed using Dorgon’s surrounded army as leverage in negotiations.

Zhu Youjian planned a genuine peace negotiation with Huang Taiji while using the Jinan siege to trap the Jurchen and ordering Cao Huachun to eliminate rebel leaders. He announced that he would meet Huang Taiji in person, then tasked Sun Chuanting with commanding the armies around Jinan, leaving Sun Chuanting to ask who would defend the capital.

• Sun Chengzong and Sun Chuanting opposed negotiating peace, while Yang Sichang and Cao Huachun argued that it could help Ming recover its strength.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Yang Sichang to provide provisions for the siege without burdening the people, then sent Cao Huachun to kill Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng and return the Brave Guard Battalion to defend the capital.
• Zhu Youjian told Sun Chengzong and Sun Chuanting that he intended to negotiate peace personally with Huang Taiji, prompting both men to warn him not to leave the capital.
• Zhu Youjian explained that Jinan had been emptied of provisions so Dorgon would have to seek reinforcements or attempt a breakout.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Sun Chuanting to take command of Gao Qiqian's troops, surround Jinan, and stop Jurchen reinforcements, authorizing him to execute disobedient officers.
• Sun Chuanting accepted the command but asked who would guard the capital in his absence.

Zhu Youjian appointed Sun Chengzong to defend the capital and assigned Sun Chuanting to keep Dorgon trapped in Jinan while the emperor prepared to travel to the frontier for peace talks. After remembering that Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou were still imprisoned, Zhu ordered their release, and they immediately asked what had happened to Lu Xiangsheng.

• Zhu Youjian entrusted Sun Chengzong with the capital’s defense and allowed him to promote capable members of the Sun Family.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Sun Chuanting to coordinate with Lu Xiangsheng and prevent Dorgon’s forces from escaping Jinan, even if they surrendered.
• Zhu Youjian said he would take the Brave Guard Battalion to the frontier if Huang Taiji sent peace negotiators, and told Sun Chuanting to take Wu Youguang along.
• Zhu Youjian remembered that Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou remained imprisoned and sent Luo Yangxing a decree to release them.
• Luo Yangxing told Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou they could leave, but they hurried through the prison looking for Lu Xiangsheng.
• Luo Yangxing explained that Lu Xiangsheng was alive and leading the Heavenly Hero Army in the siege of Jinan.

After being released from the Imperial Prison, Fan Fucui learned that the emperor had kept the Grand Secretariat in the dark about the campaign against Jinan. Yang Sichang faced the task of procuring grain and military funds, while Fan Fucui wondered whether the emperor was helping Yang or undermining him.

• Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou left the Imperial Prison, each heading toward the court to learn more about the sudden turn of events.
• Fan Fucui found the grand secretaries gathered at the Wenyuan Pavilion, where Liu Yuliang complained that the emperor had excluded them from his plans.
• Yang Sichang told Fan Fucui that the emperor had ordered him to procure grain for the army surrounding Jinan.
• Liu Yuliang proposed another military levy, and Xue Guoguan suggested asking officials to donate silver, but Yang Sichang rejected both ideas as difficult.
• Fan Fucui reflected on the emperor's changed conduct and wondered whether assigning Yang Sichang the grain task was meant to help him gain merit or cost him the emperor's trust.
• Fan Fucui left the Wenyuan Pavilion to go home, bathe, and rest before attending court the next morning.

Zhu Youjian wandered through the Imperial Garden and encountered his children playing, whose fear of his strict discipline led them to kneel and beg for punishment. He reassured them and helped Empress Zhou up, leaving the family gathered together in the garden.

• Zhu Youjian toured the palace and reached the Imperial Garden, where he saw Princess Kunxing playing.
• Zhu Youjian felt affection for his daughter and approached Princess Kunxing and Crown Prince Zhu Cilang.
• Zhu Cilang and Zhu Meichuo feared punishment and knelt, with Zhu Cilang asking his father to spare his sister.
• Empress Zhou arrived and offered to take responsibility, while Princess Kunyi and Consort Tian followed her.
• Zhu Youjian said he had not intended to punish anyone, helped Empress Zhou up, and told the children to rise.

Zhu Youjian learned that Zhu Meichuo had secretly studied riding and archery with Consort Tian Lifen, but instead of punishing her, he asked what she wanted to do when she grew up. Zhu Meichuo said she wanted to become a general and drive away her father’s enemies.

• Zhu Youjian welcomed Zhu Cilang, Zhu Meichuo, and Princess Kunyi to the pavilion and told the Crown Prince to balance study with exercise.
• Zhu Cilang revealed that Zhu Meichuo was learning riding and archery from Consort Tian Lifen, prompting Consort Tian and Empress Zhou to kneel and accept blame.
• Zhu Youjian asked Zhu Meichuo how she had come to learn the skills, and the family explained that she had secretly begged Consort Tian to teach her.
• Zhu Youjian gently asked Zhu Meichuo what she wanted to do when she grew up, and she declared that she wanted to become a general and drive away his enemies.

Zhu Youjian encouraged Zhu Meichuo to pursue her ambition of becoming a female general and ordered her and Zhu Cilang to begin intensive studies. Later, he selected Li Ruolian for a dangerous intelligence mission in Jurchen territory, but Li Ruolian noticed a problem with the plan.

• Zhu Meichuo declared that she wanted to become a general, and Zhu Youjian promised her riding, archery, and military studies, with a test in six months.
• Zhu Youjian ordered Zhu Cilang to study alongside his sister and report to Wuying Hall daily for instruction.
• Empress Zhou and Consort Tian Lifen left the pavilion after Luo Yangxing requested an audience with Zhu Youjian.
• Luo Yangxing presented regulations and Embroidered Uniform Guards for his assignment, and Zhu Youjian chose Li Ruolian to remain.
• Zhu Youjian approved a plan for Li Ruolian to establish a merchant caravan and infiltrate Jurchen territory to gather intelligence.
• Li Ruolian listened to the plan with excitement, then noticed something amiss, and Zhu Youjian asked him what the problem was.

Zhu Youjian arranged for Li Ruolian to fake a public break with the court so he could later contact the Jurchens as a merchant. He then admired Consort Tian Lifen’s painting and added a love poem, leaving her astonished by his poetic talent.

• Zhu Youjian told Li Ruolian to leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard in disgrace and pretend to hate the court so he could approach the Jurchens safely.
• Luo Yangxing publicly accused Li Ruolian of enraging Zhu Youjian and sent him to the Imperial Prison, while Li Ruolian staged an exaggerated protest.
• Zhu Youjian considered summoning Fang Zhenghua to teach Princess Kunxing riding and archery but decided to wait.
• Pingxi brought Zhu Youjian a lotus painting from Consort Tian Lifen, and Zhu Youjian wrote a poem on its blank space before sending it back with word that he would visit her.
• Consort Tian Lifen read Zhu Youjian’s poem and wondered how he had acquired such a gift for poetry.

Zhu Youjian found that his children with Consort Tian Lifen were eating meager meals and resolved to improve food in the palace. Meanwhile, Dorgon’s forces in besieged Jinan faced dwindling provisions and a new crisis when Yoto fell ill with smallpox, leaving Dorgon determined to break out and seek reinforcements.

• Zhu Youjian visited Consort Tian Lifen and warmly greeted their sons in Chengqian Palace.
• Zhu Youjian saw that the princes’ meal was meager and decided the palace’s food needed improving.
• Dorgon asked his commanders about provisions in Jinan, and they reported finding little food.
• Dorgon ordered men to catch fish in Great Ming Lake, then argued with Hao Ge over the siege.
• Yoto collapsed and the army physician diagnosed him with smallpox.
• Dorgon ordered the illness kept secret and said they had to escape Jinan and call for reinforcements.