Chapter Summaries

Fu Wan and Dong Cheng plotted to denounce Cao Cao at court and proclaim their loyalty to the Son of Heaven in Ye City. When Fu Wan confronted Cao Cao, Dong Cheng abandoned him, and Cao Cao imprisoned Fu Wan rather than kill him and grant him a martyr’s reputation.

• Fu Wan persuaded Dong Cheng to join him in accusing Cao Cao of installing a False Son of Heaven at the next court assembly.
• At court, officials condemned Yang Biao for pledging allegiance to the Son of Heaven in Ye City, while the Son of Heaven grieved over what he believed was Yang Biao’s betrayal.
• Fu Wan confronted Cao Cao, cursed him, spat on him, and urged the assembled ministers to help kill him.
• Dong Cheng backed down and lowered his head, leaving Fu Wan to face Cao Cao alone.
• Cao Cao drew his sword, but Xu You warned him that killing Fu Wan would make him a celebrated loyal martyr.
• Cao Cao restrained himself and ordered the guards to throw Fu Wan into prison.

After Fu Wan denounced the Son of Heaven in Xu County as a pretender and acknowledged the emperor in Ye City, the shaken court turned to Liu Ai, Minister of the Imperial Clan, to verify the Xu County ruler’s identity. Liu Ai questioned the Son of Heaven about private childhood events and confirmed him as the legitimate emperor of the Han Dynasty.

• Fu Wan was dragged from court after cursing Cao Cao and calling the Son of Heaven a pretender, while Dong Cheng publicly promised to support the emperor.
• News of Fu Wan’s defection spread through Xu County, causing officials who had believed in the Son of Heaven’s legitimacy to doubt him.
• The Son of Heaven told Empress Fu what had happened and decided to ask Liu Ai to verify his identity before the officials.
• Liu Ai visited the palace and questioned the Son of Heaven about his childhood punishments at the Imperial Clan Court.
• After hearing the answers, Liu Ai confirmed that the Son of Heaven was the legitimate emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Ai decided to support the Son of Heaven in Ye City despite believing he was an impostor, hoping to preserve the Han realm through a Liu-blooded heir. Meanwhile, Yuan Shao prepared to exploit Yuan Xi’s plot against Zhang Liao to retake Ye City, though Ju Shou still suspected a trap.

• The Son of Heaven asked Liu Ai to publicly describe the identity dispute as a misunderstanding and absolve the officials who had been deceived.
• Liu Ai confirmed that the palace Son of Heaven was genuine but chose to back the one in Ye City, reasoning that he could later marry Liu women and secure a Liu-blooded heir.
• Cao Cao vented his anger over Fu Wan’s public insults and learned from Liu Ai that Yang Biao had arranged the identity switch.
• Yuan Shao told Han Meng, Qu Yi, Chunyu Qiong, and Ju Shou to seize Ye City after Yuan Xi lured Zhang Liao into the palace and the city gates were lowered.
• Yuan Shao said Cui Lin would open Ye City’s North Gate, while Ju Shou questioned whether the opportunity was a trap and Yuan Shao urged him to proceed.

Yuan Shao sent fifteen thousand troops toward Ye City to kill Yuan Xi, while Liu Xie prepared to lure them into a trap. Chunyu Qiong reached Ye City’s North Gate with a hundred cavalrymen as the defenders aimed their bows at them.

• Yuan Shao ordered Han Meng, Qu Yi, and Chunyu Qiong to lead fifteen thousand troops toward Ye City and kill Yuan Xi.
• Jia Xu persuaded Gongsun Zan to seize Hejian before Yuan Tan could reinforce it, and Gongsun Zan ordered his army to muster.
• Liu Xie refused Zhang Liao’s request to stay in the palace and prepared to serve as bait while his generals set the trap.
• Zhang Liao entered Ye City, and its four gates were lowered; Ju Shou sent Chunyu Qiong ahead with a hundred men to investigate the North Gate.
• Liu Xie ordered Huang Zhong and Zhang He to ready their troops after scouts reported the detachment approaching.
• Chunyu Qiong led his cavalry to Ye City’s North Gate, where the defenders drew their bows and nocked arrows.

Chunyu Qiong led a small force into Ye City and fell into Cui Lin’s trap, while Ju Shou sent Han Meng to pursue Yuan Xi and Qu Yi to enter through the North Gate. Zhang He then led the Feathered Forest Cavalry out to ambush Han Meng, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Cui Lin lured Chunyu Qiong and his hundred cavalrymen into Wengcheng, where archers killed or wounded nearly all of them and gravely injured Chunyu Qiong.
• A messenger told Ju Shou that Chunyu Qiong had entered Ye City after hearing Zhang Liao was dead, so Ju Shou ordered Han Meng toward the South Gate and Qu Yi toward the North Gate.
• Yuan Xi rode toward the Southern Suburbs Military Camp as bait, nervously preparing himself to face the enemy.
• Han Meng spotted Yuan Xi and pursued him with a thousand cavalrymen, determined to intercept him before he reached the camp.
• Zhang He led three thousand Feathered Forest Cavalry out of the camp to attack Han Meng, who realized he had ridden into an ambush.

Zhang He, Gao Lan, and Huang Zhong attacked Yuan Shao's forces at Ye City, killing Han Meng and driving Qu Yi into a retreat. As Qu Yi's army began to withdraw, Liu Xie ordered Taishi Ci to light a signal torch over the battlefield.

• Zhang He and Gao Lan led the Feathered Forest Guard in a charge that defeated Han Meng's cavalry, then killed Han Meng after a fierce duel.
• Qu Yi's troops were ambushed by arrows outside Ye City's North Gate, and Qu Yi ordered them to retreat.
• Huang Zhong led a small force out of the North Gate and fought Qu Yi, while Zhang He and Gao Lan arrived behind the enemy with the Feathered Forest Cavalrymen.
• Qu Yi broke off the fight and began withdrawing as his army faced attacks from both sides.
• Liu Xie ordered Taishi Ci to light a torch, and its blaze rose over the battlefield.

Liu Xie used himself as bait to draw Qu Yi into a failed charge, then ordered his forces to pursue the retreating Yuan Shao army. Ju Shou abandoned Qu Yi and fled with four thousand troops toward Qu Liang, where Zhang He’s cavalry prepared to attack.

• Qu Yi charged Liu Xie’s position with the Vanguard Camp, but Huang Zhong, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and their troops stopped the advance and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Qu Yi withdrew after Liu Xie urged him to approach, and Liu Xie ordered his forces to pursue him relentlessly.
• Ju Shou learned that Chunyu Qiong had been killed, Han Meng had died, and Qu Yi was under attack by Zhang Liao’s army and the Feathered Forest Cavalry.
• Ju Shou refused Chen Shuang’s plea to reinforce Qu Yi and retreated toward Qu Liang with four thousand troops.
• Zhang He caught up with Ju Shou near Qu Liang and ordered the Feathered Forest Guard to loose a Three-Shot Volley.

Liu Xie’s forces defeated Yuan Shao’s army outside Ye City, while Zhang He and Gao Lan captured Ju Shou near Qu Liang and Yuan Shao fled toward Hejian. After hearing the battle’s casualties, Liu Xie lamented the loss of troops despite the victory.

• Zhang He and Gao Lan led the Feathered Forest Guard in routing Ju Shou’s army outside Qu Liang, and Yuan Shao fled the city for Hejian.
• Ju Shou refused to surrender at first, but Gao Lan ordered him bound and taken back to Ye City for Liu Xie’s judgment.
• The author announced that the Liu Ai plotline had been removed and that Chapters 197 through 199 had been revised.
• Huang Zhong reported that Liu Xie’s forces had killed two thousand enemy troops, captured six thousand, and suffered over three hundred deaths and twenty-four hundred wounded.
• Liu Xie grieved over the casualties, while Zhang Liao asked why he was unhappy and Huang Zhong apologized for failing to destroy the enemy army completely.

Liu Xie mourned the soldiers killed in the war, then received Zhang He and Gao Lan’s victorious cavalry and their prisoner, Ju Shou. After rejecting Ju Shou’s feigned surrender and recalling their past, Liu Xie led him to the river where they had first met and began spearing fish.

• Liu Xie expressed grief that Han soldiers had died fighting one another, and Yang Xiu suggested building a Memorial Mound for the fallen.
• Zhang He and Gao Lan returned with 1,100 prisoners after defeating 2,820 enemy troops, including Ju Shou.
• Ju Shou accused Cui Yan of betraying Yuan Shao, while Liu Xie asked Ju Shou to serve the nation instead.
• Ju Shou pretended to accept Liu Xie’s offer, but Liu Xie exposed the deception and recalled how Ju Shou had helped imprison him.
• Liu Xie brought Ju Shou to the river where they had first met, then waded in and began spearing fish.

Liu Xie used a fishing trip with the captive Ju Shou to reveal how he had secretly engineered Yuan Shao’s setbacks and prepared to hold Ji Province. Ju Shou realized Yuan Shao was being boxed in on several fronts, while Liu Xie’s plans remained underway.

• Liu Xie fell into the river while trying to spear fish, then had Ju Shou untied and ordered him to catch one with a fishing rod.
• After Ju Shou caught a crucian carp, Liu Xie had him bound and sent the others away before roasting the fish and dismissing Ju Shou’s accusation that he was trying to recruit him.
• Ju Shou warned that Yuan Shao would eventually crush Liu Xie in Ye City, but Liu Xie asked whether Ju Shou would allow Yuan Shao to attack so easily.
• Liu Xie revealed that he had sent Jia Xu to encourage Gongsun Zan to attack Ji Province and had secretly funded Gongsun Zan through the Zhen Clan and Mi Family.
• Liu Xie explained that he had helped set up Yuan Xi’s killing and imprisonment of Yuan Shao, and had arranged Xu You’s move to Cao Cao’s side and Liu Bei’s presence in Yi Province to restrain Yuan Shao’s forces.
• Ju Shou pieced together how Liu Xie’s schemes were keeping Yuan Shao’s armies divided and preventing him from quickly defeating Gongsun Zan or attacking Ye City.

Liu Xie revealed to Ju Shou that he was the true Son of Heaven and persuaded him to write Yuan Shao a letter urging surrender. Ju Shou accepted Liu Xie's identity, ate the grilled fish, and took his own life, leaving Liu Xie to watch as his former enemy and unlikely benefactor died.

• Liu Xie told Ju Shou that his false identity and ugly handwriting had been disguises, then recounted how he had secretly planned to restore the Han Dynasty.
• Liu Xie asked Ju Shou to urge Yuan Shao to surrender, promising to spare the Yuan Clan and give Yuan Xi an important role.
• Ju Shou agreed to write the letter, and Liu Xie read the finished appeal urging Yuan Shao to surrender.
• Ju Shou ate Liu Xie's grilled fish, accepted Liu Xie's promise to care for his family, and called him Your Majesty before killing himself with a dagger.
• Liu Xie watched Ju Shou's blood drift into the river and reflected on how Ju Shou had been both his enemy and the man who changed his fate.

After Ju Shou killed himself, Liu Xie concealed the details of their conversation and returned to the palace with his ministers. There, Sima Yi advised securing Guangping and Yangping before Yuan Shao could recover, and Liu Xie ordered the campaign to begin.

• Liu Xie ordered Zhang He to give Ju Shou an honorable burial beside the Ye River after Ju Shou wrote a letter urging Yuan Shao to surrender and took his own life.
• Liu Xie told his ministers that Ju Shou had died from shame and invited them to eat grilled fish, but they avoided the meal and postponed the victory feast.
• Back at the palace, Liu Xie asked his ministers whether to occupy Wei Commandery or hold Ye City, and Sima Yi urged him to seize Guangping and Yangping as Ye City's defensive barrier.
• Guo Jia, Xun Chen, and Cui Yan agreed with Sima Yi, so Liu Xie ordered troops to occupy Qu Liang and Guantao and issued an edict demanding Wei Commandery's cities welcome the Royal Army.
• Liu Xie praised Sima Yi and resolved to make further use of his talents.

After losing Ye City, Yuan Shao regrouped under Tian Feng’s counsel and fought Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao, where his forces gained the upper hand. The chapter ended with Tian Feng troubled despite the army’s success.

• Liu Xie checked Ju Shou’s surrender letter repeatedly, then sent it to Yuan Shao with a letter of his own.
• Tian Feng told Yuan Shao that Gongsun Zan had advanced to Jieqiao and that Yan Liang had been wounded by Zhao Yun.
• Yuan Shao revealed that Yuan Xi and Zhang Liao had trapped him at Ye City, costing him troops and commanders, while Tian Feng warned that Guangping and Yangping were in danger.
• Yuan Shao accepted Tian Feng’s advice and resolved to drive Gongsun Zan back before his forces could further threaten Ji Province.
• Yuan Shao’s thirty-five-thousand-man force fought Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao, pushed him back thirty li in two days, and celebrated Tian Feng’s strategies.
• Yan Liang and Yuan Tan praised Tian Feng over dinner, but Tian Feng remained troubled by their recent advantage.

Tian Feng suspected that Gongsun Zan was keeping Yuan Shao’s army occupied while the Son of Heaven expanded his power, but Qu Yi’s report that Liu Xie had been on the battlefield left Yuan Shao uncertain who had engineered the trap. After learning that Ju Shou had died, Yuan Shao read Liu Xie’s letter revealing his identity and demanding Yuan Shao surrender, leaving Yuan Shao to confront the emperor’s growing control of Ji Province.

• Tian Feng warned Yuan Shao that Gongsun Zan was deliberately drawing his army into pursuit to hold it back while Zhang Liao seized commanderies in Ji Province.
• Qu Yi returned with only two thousand of his fifteen thousand soldiers and claimed Zhang Liao had held the Son of Heaven in the battle formation.
• Yuan Shao received two confidential letters from Ye City and learned that Ju Shou had died.
• Yuan Shao burned a letter urging him to submit, believing it was a clumsy imitation of Ju Shou’s words.
• Yuan Shao read Liu Xie’s letter, which revealed that Liu Xie was the rightful Han emperor and demanded Yuan Shao surrender in exchange for leniency toward the Yuan Clan.

Yuan Shao learned that the man he had installed as a false Son of Heaven was actually the legitimate Emperor of Han, leaving him terrified and helpless. In Xu County, Emperor Xian suspected Liu Ai had betrayed him and summoned Yang Biao and Fu Wan, while Cao Cao and Xu You headed to the Palace to see what he was planning.

• Yuan Shao read a secret letter revealing that Liu Xie was the legitimate emperor, then collapsed in terror as he recalled how he had mistaken the true Son of Heaven for an impostor.
• Emperor Xian worried that Liu Ai had refused to vindicate him, and Empress Fu suggested sending an imperial physician to check on him.
• The imperial physician reported that Liu Ai had barred visitors, leading Emperor Xian to conclude that Yang Biao and Fu Wan had pressured him into silence.
• Emperor Xian ordered the Tiger Guards to bring Yang Biao and Fu Wan to the Palace.
• Cao Cao and Xu You discussed Liu Ai's disclosure, and Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to let the Tiger Guards take Yang Biao and Fu Wan before heading to the Palace with Xu You.

Emperor Xian of Han confronted Yang Biao and Fu Wan, who insisted he was a pretender plotting to usurp the true emperor. Cao Cao and Xu You overheard their accusations and fled the palace, while Dong Cheng had Yang and Fu bound and removed.

• Emperor Xian of Han accused Yang Biao and Fu Wan of threatening the Director of the Imperial Clan, but Yang denied meeting him and urged the emperor to take his own life.
• Fu Wan accused Emperor Xian of Han of trying to turn the false into the true, and Yang Biao and Dong Cheng accepted his claim.
• Cao Cao realized Fu Wan meant the emperor planned to become the true Son of Heaven, then became afraid and left the palace with Xu You.
• Yang Biao and Fu Wan denounced Emperor Xian of Han as a treacherous pretender and demanded that he kill himself.
• Dong Cheng ordered the guards to bind and gag Yang Biao and Fu Wan, and the Tiger Guard hauled them from the hall.

Dong Cheng tried to recruit Emperor Xian of Han to help him make the Pretender Emperor’s claim real, but Emperor Xian rejected him and drove him out. Cao Cao and Xu You grew suspicious of Xun Yu, while Emperor Xian later told Empress Fu how Yang Biao and Fu Wan had humiliated him.

• Dong Cheng decided to back Emperor Xian of Han and offered to help him turn the false claim into a real one, but Emperor Xian insisted that he was Liu Xie and kicked Dong Cheng out at swordpoint.
• Cao Cao and Xu You discussed the Pretender Emperor’s ambitions and became suspicious that Xun Yu might support him.
• Xun Yu entered to ask about Yang Biao and Fu Wan, then left without learning what Cao Cao and Xu You had been discussing.
• Cao Cao agreed to guard against Xun Yu after Xu You warned that he might betray Cao Cao and enthrone the Pretender Emperor.
• Empress Fu found Emperor Xian of Han lying in the Xuan Room and heard that Yang Biao and Fu Wan had accused him of being a Pretender Emperor and urged him to die.

Emperor Xian of Han agreed to work with Dong Cheng after Empress Fu proposed sacrificing her position to win Dong Cheng's trust. Dong Cheng accepted the alliance and demanded high office, while Emperor Xian promised to make Noble Lady Dong Empress and their son Crown Prince.

• Emperor Xian of Han lamented that his ministers rejected him and nearly took his own life, but Empress Fu stopped him.
• Empress Fu urged Emperor Xian of Han to exploit Dong Cheng's ambition and offered to be deposed so Noble Lady Dong could become Empress.
• Emperor Xian of Han accepted Empress Fu's plan and promised to restore her as Empress after regaining power.
• Dong Cheng received Emperor Xian of Han's summons and assumed the emperor had agreed to cooperate.
• Emperor Xian of Han agreed to Dong Cheng's demand for the posts of Grand General and Grand Marshal, and promised Noble Lady Dong's son the succession.
• Dong Cheng celebrated the alliance and resolved to secure the throne for his Dong Family.

Emperor Xian of Han resolved to become the Son of Heaven everyone expected, then stripped Yang Biao and Fu Wan of their posts and deposed Empress Fu. Cao Cao, Xu You, Yang Biao, and Fu Wan each misread the decree as part of a hidden scheme, leaving Xu You to confront Fu Wan about whether he had helped substitute the Son of Heaven.

• Dong Cheng criticized Emperor Xian of Han for lacking imperial bearing, and Emperor Xian resolved to learn from the Pretender Emperor and become a true Son of Heaven.
• At court, Emperor Xian stripped Yang Biao and Fu Wan of their offices and titles and deposed Empress Fu.
• Cao Cao avoided court and mistakenly concluded that Empress Fu had arranged her own deposition to escape after the Pretender Emperor's identity was exposed.
• Xu You told Yang Biao that he suspected the Pretender Emperor was gathering supporters and that Xun Yu might have joined him.
• Yang Biao learned that Fu Wan was imprisoned and inferred that Fu Wan had known the Pretender Emperor's identity all along.
• Fu Wan rejoiced at Empress Fu's deposition, believing she had escaped and proved her loyalty, until Xu You asked whether he had helped substitute the Son of Heaven.

Liu Xie learned that Liu Bei had gained Liu Zhang’s trust in Yi Province and considered how to strengthen his own position while the Zhen Clan struggled to fund his armies. At court, he ordered a campaign to recover Guangping and Yangping Commanderies and sent Taishi Ci to attack Anyang and Puyang.

• Fu Wan claimed responsibility for the plot, and Xu You left without revealing that he was an inside agent.
• Liu Xie read Liu Bei’s memorial reporting that Gao Gan was bogged down fighting Zhang Lu while Liu Bei steadily gained influence in Yi Province.
• Zhen Mi told Liu Xie that the Zhen Clan could no longer easily afford the army’s weapons, armor, and other expenses, and he promised to find a solution.
• Sima Yi reported that Anyang and Puyang still resisted the imperial edict, so Liu Xie ordered Taishi Ci to take the cities and punish their leaders.
• Guo Jia confirmed the supplies were ready, and Zhang Liao reported that his troops were prepared to march.
• Liu Xie appointed Zhang Liao commander, Zhang He deputy, and Huang Zhong vanguard for a twelve-thousand-man campaign to recover Guangping and Yangping Commanderies.