Chapter Summaries

Yang Biao sent Yang Xiu to Ye City to determine whether its ruler represented the Great Han Orthodoxy, while Cao Cao’s court debated Zhou Yu’s offer of an alliance against Lü Bu. Cao Cao’s advisers proposed drawing Yuan Shao’s forces away by encouraging Ma Teng to attack Bing Province, clearing the way to strike Lü Bu.

• Yang Biao ordered Yang Xiu to ride to Ye City and investigate the Son of Heaven, and Yang Xiu agreed to stay if he proved genuine.
• Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, Chen Qun, and Fu De left Xu County in disguise as Cao Cao received Zhou Yu’s letter proposing an alliance.
• Cao Cao gathered his advisers to discuss attacking Lü Bu, and Xu You warned that Lü Bu was too strong and Yuan Tan threatened Yan Province.
• Xun Yu argued that Cao Cao should join Zhou Yu to defeat Lü Bu and seize Yang Province, while Xu You opposed risking war with Yuan Tan nearby.
• Cheng Yu and Xun You supported attacking Yang Province and proposed having Ma Teng threaten Yuan Shao’s Bing Province to draw away Yuan Tan’s forces.

Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, and Fu De secretly traveled toward Ye City and discovered one another at a melon stand, each suspecting the others’ fathers had concealed the Son of Heaven’s whereabouts. Chen Qun arrived on Cao Cao’s orders and realized the three young men may have been sent by their fathers to investigate which of the two Sons of Heaven was genuine.

• Cao Cao decided to write separately to Ma Teng and Zhou Yu to form alliances while his forces dealt with Lü Bu.
• Yang Xiu stopped at a roadside melon patch and recognized Dong Xi, then concluded that Dong Xi was also traveling to Ye City to see the Son of Heaven.
• Fu De arrived at the melon patch, and Yang Xiu and Dong Xi hid their faces before recognizing him.
• Chen Qun arrived, noticed Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, and Fu De, and suspected their fathers had sent them to determine which Son of Heaven was genuine.

Chen Qun inferred that Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, and Fu De were secretly traveling to Ye City, though each tried to conceal his purpose. The three eventually reached the city separately and ran into one another at an inn, where they traded accusations while guarding their intentions.

• Chen Qun suspected the Son of Heaven in Ye City was real after Fu De revealed he and the others were heading there, but Yang Xiu and Dong Xi claimed they had come to buy melons.
• Chen Qun denied traveling to Ye City and rode east, while Fu De claimed he was returning to Langya and rode west; Dong Xi returned the way he had come, and Yang Xiu continued toward Ye City.
• Yang Xiu arrived at the Fortune Comes Inn the next day and ordered chilled honey water and food.
• Dong Xi and then Fu De arrived at the same inn, and all three recognized one another.
• Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, and Fu De challenged one another over their supposed reasons for coming to Ye City.

Liu Xie studied the art of governing from Sima Yi and ordered Zhang Liao to prepare a military exhibition to select soldiers for the Feathered Forest Guard. Three days later, Liu Xie and his officials gathered at the Northern City Drill Ground as nine thousand troops assembled for inspection.

• Chen Qun, Dong Xi, and Fu De left the inn after recognizing one another, while Yang Xiu discovered they had left their bills for him to pay.
• Liu Xie asked Sima Yi about governing, and Sima Yi argued that a sovereign should select worthy ministers and excel at managing officials.
• Zhang Liao reported that the City Defense Army and Tiger Army had improved, so Liu Xie ordered a military exhibition and offered places in the Feathered Forest Guard to the best soldiers.
• The City Defense Army and Tiger Army eagerly prepared for the exhibition, while Zhang Liao rejected requests from the Xu Province Army to participate.
• Liu Xie, Zhang Liao, and the officials watched as nine thousand troops stood assembled at the Northern City Drill Ground.

Liu Xie reviewed Zhang Liao’s newly trained army in Ye City, impressing the gathered crowd and several visitors from Xu County who suspected he was the true Son of Heaven. Yang Xiu decided to seek an audience through the Edict to Recruit the Worthy, while Dong Xi remained uncertain and chose to wait.

• Liu Xie watched Zhang Liao drill nine thousand soldiers, whose disciplined formations and synchronized combat exercises impressed the people of Ye City.
• Xun Chen praised Zhang Liao’s training, while Zhang Liao credited good provisions, the soldiers’ experience, and their hope of joining the Feathered Forest Guard.
• Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, Fu De, and Chen Qun watched Liu Xie and concluded that his appearance matched the Son of Heaven in Xu County, though Chen Qun feared the emperor had been switched.
• Yang Xiu resolved to use the Edict to Recruit the Worthy to meet Liu Xie and explain his family’s position, then serve him in Ye City.
• Dong Xi remained unsure which emperor was genuine and decided to wait before taking action.

Chen Qun and the other envoys failed to meet Liu Xie in Ye City, while Yang Xiu stayed to seek an audience. In Lecheng, Yuan Shao began to believe that the Son of Heaven in Ye City was genuine, and Ju Shou desperately tried to convince him otherwise.

• Chen Qun, Dong Xi, and Fu De left Ye City without meeting Liu Xie, while Yang Xiu stayed to seek an audience through the Edict to Recruit the Worthy.
• Yuan Shao learned that Xu You had fled to Xu County and joined Cao Cao, then read reports that Cao Cao and several Han officials were investigating the Son of Heaven's identity.
• Ju Shou explained that Xu You's defection had fueled suspicion, but Yuan Shao questioned how a supposed refugee could have Liu Xie's learning, bearing, and delicate skin.
• Yuan Shao concluded that Liu Xie was the true Son of Heaven, secretly sent to Ye City to protect him from Cao Cao.
• Ju Shou seized Yuan Shao's shoulders and insisted that Liu Xie was a fake who had initially refused to impersonate the emperor and knew nothing of court ceremony.

Yuan Shao and Ju Shou grew increasingly convinced that Liu Xie might be the true Son of Heaven, and Ju Shou feared his clan would be punished for installing a pretender. A secret letter from Ye City then warned Yuan Shao that Yuan Xi planned to seize Zhang Liao’s troops, but Ju Shou seized on the letter’s crude handwriting as proof that its author was not the emperor.

• Ju Shou recalled how the refugee Liu Xie had known the emperor’s personal name and Yuan Shao’s courtesy name, and feared his clan would face extermination if Liu Xie was the true Son of Heaven.
• Yuan Shao argued that Liu Xie’s behavior made him seem like a commoner, but Ju Shou countered that a descendant of Emperor Gaozu might act deceptively to achieve his aims.
• Ju Shou urged Yuan Shao to recall Gao Gan and gather troops from Bing and Qing Provinces to retake Ye City, but Yuan Shao hesitated because of the military risks and his campaign in Hanzhong.
• Tian Feng delivered a secret letter from Ye City, and Yuan Shao read that Yuan Xi had recruited volunteers and placed loyalists in the Imperial Guard to ambush Zhang Liao and seize his troops.
• Ju Shou read the letter and argued that its crude handwriting proved its author could not be the emperor, who had received an imperial education.

Yuan Shao and Ju Shou dismissed the possibility that Liu Xie was the Son of Heaven and planned to exploit a dispute between Yuan Xi and Zhang Liao to retake Ye City. After Chen Qun reported that the Son of Heaven in Ye City seemed genuine, Cao Cao ordered him to investigate the families of Fu Wan and Dong Cheng, then prepared to confront the emperor in Xu County.

• Ju Shou advised Yuan Shao to ask Cui Yan whether Yuan Xi planned to strip Zhang Liao of command and seize Ye City during their conflict.
• Cao Cao grew angry over Yang Xiu's prolonged absence, but a guard's message redirected him to meet Chen Qun.
• Chen Qun told Cao Cao that the Son of Heaven in Ye City looked exactly like the one in Xu County and seemed more like the genuine emperor.
• Chen Qun reported that Yang Xiu, Dong Xi, and Fu De had also traveled toward Ye City, leading Cao Cao to suspect Yang Biao, Fu Wan, or Dong Cheng had arranged the switch.
• Cao Cao ordered Chen Qun to check whether the sons of Fu Wan and Dong Cheng had returned, then told Xu Chu to prepare a carriage so he could enter the palace and confront the emperor.

Dong Cheng and Fu Wan learned that another Son of Heaven was in Ye City and suspected they had been deceived about the emperor in Xu County. Cao Cao confronted the Xu County Son of Heaven, accused him of being an impostor, and threatened him with a sword, but the emperor finally stood up to him.

• Dong Xi told Dong Cheng that the Son of Heaven in Ye City looked like the emperor in Xu County and accused Yang Biao and Fu Wan of secretly switching them.
• Fu De revealed the deception to Fu Wan, who feared his family would become a scapegoat and went to confront Yang Biao.
• The Son of Heaven confided to Empress Fu that even Fu Wan had begun to doubt his identity, and she promised to speak with her father.
• Cao Cao brought soldiers into the Imperial Garden, had Empress Fu taken away, and accused the Son of Heaven of impersonating the emperor.
• Cao Cao drew his sword and demanded to know who had sent the Son of Heaven to Ye City, but the emperor faced him and called him a treasonous rebel.

The Son of Heaven stood up to Cao Cao when threatened with a sword, and Cao Cao backed down but grew more suspicious of him. At the Yang Residence, Xu You pressed Yang Biao about his absent son, while Yang Biao privately noted that Yang Xiu had had ample time to travel to Ye City and back.

• The Son of Heaven denounced Cao Cao and dared him to kill him, causing Cao Cao to waver, kneel, apologize, and leave.
• After Cao Cao departed, the Son of Heaven collapsed in the Imperial Garden and begged Empress Fu not to tell her father about the threat.
• Cao Cao watched the Son of Heaven weeping, decided he could not kill him yet, and planned to investigate Yang Biao and the other ministers through their sons.
• Xun Yu, Xun You, and Xu You visited Yang Biao, who claimed Yang Xiu had been taken to a distant Daoist temple for treatment.
• Xu You challenged Yang Biao's explanation and accused him of hiding Yang Xiu, while Xun Yu and Xun You left in anger.
• After Xu You departed, Yang Biao reflected that Yang Xiu had had more than enough time to travel between Xu County and Ye City.

Yang Biao denied secretly sending the Son of Heaven to Ye City while Dong Cheng and Fu Wan begged him to protect their families, and he resolved to accept whatever danger came. In Ye City, Liu Xie summoned Cui Yan and questioned him about his family and the Cavalry Commandant post Yuan Shao had granted him.

• Dong Cheng and Fu Wan accused Yang Biao of secretly arranging for the Son of Heaven to reach Ye City and pleaded with him to secure their families' safety.
• Yang Biao swore that he had not sent the Son of Heaven to Ye City, but Dong Cheng and Fu Wan remained suspicious and left to discuss their next move.
• Yang Biao decided that Yang Xiu's remaining in Ye City would benefit the Yang family, even if Yang Biao himself died.
• Liu Xie summoned Cui Yan to the Xuan Room and asked about his Qinghe Cui Clan origins and his Cavalry Commandant post granted by Yuan Shao.

Liu Xie won Cui Yan’s loyalty by showing him a poem written in his newly devised regular script, then appointed him to rebuild the Tiger Warriors Army. He tasked Cui Yan with misleading Yuan Shao about a supposed plot against Zhang Liao and asked him to bring Zheng Xuan to the palace.

• Liu Xie showed Cui Yan his poem in regular script, and Cui Yan praised the writing and poem before pledging his service to the Han emperor.
• Liu Xie appointed Cui Yan Gentleman of the Household for Tiger Warriors and ordered him to raise an elite force of three thousand soldiers at his own expense.
• Liu Xie asked how Cui Yan would reply to Yuan Shao’s letter, then told him to confirm the false report that Yuan Xi planned to ambush Zhang Liao and to set the date for the eighth day of next month.
• Liu Xie asked Cui Yan to bring his teacher Zheng Xuan to the palace, and Cui Yan agreed.

Liu Xie learned that Zheng Xuan was in Ye City but worried he could not persuade the renowned scholar to serve. After planning a trap for Yuan Shao with Guo Jia, Liu Xie summoned Yang Xiu, whose arrival and scrutiny left the emperor facing a delicate first meeting with a close subject of Emperor Xian.

• Guo Jia rejoiced that Zheng Xuan was in Ye City and warned Liu Xie not to use force against him.
• Liu Xie and Guo Jia concluded they would have to rely on Kong Rong to persuade Zheng Xuan to serve.
• Liu Xie and Guo Jia spent hours planning how to use Cui Yan to lure Yuan Shao into a trap.
• Guo Jia recommended Yang Xiu, and Liu Xie summoned him to the palace.
• Yang Xiu paid his respects and covertly studied Liu Xie, while Liu Xie dismissed Guo Jia and asked after Yang Biao in Xu County.

Liu Xie learned from Yang Xiu that Yang Biao had supposedly arranged for him to be secretly sent to Ye City, while Jia Xu proposed a plan to weaken Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. In Xu County, Cao Cao concluded that Yang Biao had switched the emperors and sent the real Son of Heaven to Ye City, shocking Xu You.

• Yang Xiu told Liu Xie that Yang Biao had sent him to Ye City and that Dong Cheng's son, Fu Wan's son, and Chen Qun had come to verify Liu Xie's identity.
• Liu Xie received Jia Xu's proposal to supply Gongsun Zan with Double Stirrups and Horseshoes and coordinate with Zhang Liao to attack Yuan Shao's Ji Province Army, and he judged the plan feasible.
• Chen Qun reported that Fu De and Dong Xi had returned to Xu County, while Cao Cao suspected Yang Biao because Yang Xiu was still missing.
• Xun Yu told Cao Cao that Yang Xiu had gone to a Daoist temple for treatment, but Xu You said the explanation was a cover and Yang Xiu had likely been absent since claiming illness.
• Cao Cao concluded that Yang Biao had switched the Son of Heaven and sent the genuine emperor to Ye City, and Xu You was stunned by the revelation.

Cao Cao confronted Yang Biao, believing he had secretly sent the Son of Heaven to Ye City, while Yang Biao decided to exploit the accusation and present himself as a loyal inside man. Yang Biao tried to make Cao Cao kill him, but Xu You stopped Cao Cao, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Xu You panicked after realizing his disclosure had exposed Yang Biao, and Cao Cao led Xu Chu and armored soldiers to Yang Biao's residence.
• Yang Biao reasoned that accepting the identity of the Son of Heaven's inside man could clear his name and protect Yang Xiu, so he resolved to act as though he had helped the Son of Heaven.
• Cao Cao accused Yang Biao of sending the Son of Heaven to Ye City and demanded the names of his accomplices, but Yang Biao denied knowing anything and urged Cao Cao to kill him.
• Cao Cao put his sword to Yang Biao's neck, but Xu You restrained him and warned that killing Yang Biao would alarm the court and leave Cao Cao with no way back.
• Yang Biao seized Cao Cao's hand and pressed the sword toward his own neck, then loudly berated Xu You and challenged Cao Cao to strike as Cao Cao retreated.

Cao Cao was blamed for the apparent deaths of Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Dong Cheng after a chaotic series of accidents, though he insisted he had harmed none of them. As Xun Yu condemned him, Xu You denounced Xun Yu for claiming loyalty to the Han while continuing to serve Cao Cao.

• Yang Biao rammed his head into a wall after Cao Cao refused to kill him, leaving him bleeding and unconscious.
• Fu Wan fainted after grieving over Yang Biao, and Dong Cheng tripped over Yang Biao and struck his head on a stone.
• Xu You returned with a Court Physician, mistook the scene for three deaths, and ordered coffins prepared before Cao Cao insisted the two men were alive and demanded that Yang Biao be examined.
• Xun Yu and Xun You arrived and accused Cao Cao of killing the three men, but Cao Cao denied it and fell silent.
• Xu You rebuked Xun Yu for staying in Cao Cao's service instead of joining either the Son of Heaven in Ye City or the one in Xu County, and Xu Chu agreed with him.

After Xu You convinced Yang Biao that they were both secretly serving Liu Xie, the two agreed to cooperate in Xu County. The story then shifted to Ye City, where Liu Xie held his first court assembly since Yuan Shao had left.

• Cao Cao learned that Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Dong Cheng had survived, then left Xu You to watch over the Yang Residence.
• Yang Biao awoke, and Xu You claimed that he and Jia Xu were Liu Xie's inside agents who had helped the emperor escape Yuan Shao's control.
• Yang Biao accepted Xu You's proposal to work together, believing their cooperation could secure Liu Xie's recognition and protect the Yang family.
• Xu You left Yang Biao in Xu Chu's care and persuaded Xu Chu to go drinking with him.
• Liu Xie arrived at Tai'an Hall in Ye City and took his seat for his first court assembly since Yuan Shao had left.

Liu Xie strengthened his court’s authority in Ye City, prepared to draw Yuan Shao into a trap, and visited the Southern Suburbs Camp on the eve of the planned ambush. There, he reassured Huang Zhong that Hua Tuo was being sought and learned Zhang Liao had promoted Huang Zhong to deputy general.

• Guo Jia reported that Cao Cao had forced Yang Biao to reveal who helped Liu Xie escape to Ye City, and Yang Biao had nearly killed himself rather than comply.
• Liu Xie publicly credited Yang Biao with aiding his escape and granted him the title Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, while Yang Xiu mistakenly concluded his father had masterminded the escape.
• Liu Xie and his ministers devised plans to govern Ye City and restore Han rule in nearby commanderies and counties.
• Guo Jia told Liu Xie that Gongsun Zan had exchanged ten thousand warhorses for equipment, and Liu Xie ordered the remaining horses used to reinforce the Feathered Forest Guard.
• Liu Xie rode to the Southern Suburbs Camp, where he told Huang Zhong that Hua Tuo might reach Ye City within three months.
• Zhang Liao said Huang Zhong had been promoted to deputy general and praised his martial skill.

Liu Xie inspected the Feathered Forest Guard and prepared Zhang He and Gao Lan to face Yuan Shao’s forces. In Xu County, Fu Wan agreed to Empress Fu’s plan to kill Cao Cao and sought Xun Yu’s help, while Xun Yu struggled with his divided loyalties and received Fu Wan at his residence.

• Liu Xie inspected the three thousand Feathered Forest Guards and charged Zhang He and Gao Lan with defeating Yuan Shao’s approaching army.
• Empress Fu told Fu Wan that Cao Cao had threatened the Son of Heaven and urged him to help eliminate Cao Cao.
• Fu Wan agreed to Empress Fu’s plan, took her prepared edict, and decided to recruit Xun Yu rather than Yang Biao or Dong Cheng.
• Xun Yu brooded over Xu You’s accusations and questioned whether he served the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, or his family’s interests.
• Fu Wan arrived at the Xun Residence, and Xun Yu agreed to receive him.

Fu Wan failed to recruit Xun Yu to help kill Cao Cao, sent his children away to protect them, and went to Dong Cheng seeking allies. Dong Cheng reported that the Son of Heaven had honored Yang Biao as the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, and Fu Wan began proposing a dangerous new plan.

• Fu Wan showed Xun Yu Empress Fu's edict calling for Cao Cao's death, but Xun Yu refused to betray Cao Cao and had Fu Wan thrown out.
• Fu Wan rushed home and ordered Fu De to flee to Ye City while his other children returned to Langya, planning to denounce Cao Cao at court the next morning.
• Fu Wan visited Dong Cheng, who praised him for supposedly pretending to faint during Yang Biao's ordeal.
• Dong Cheng told Fu Wan that the Son of Heaven had granted Yang Biao the title Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, and said they needed another way to save themselves.
• Fu Wan told Dong Cheng that he had a plan, but asked whether Dong Cheng dared to carry it out.