Chapter Summaries

Liu Xie dealt with the strain of expanding his army and the burdens of ruling, while Yuan Shao wrestled with doubts about whether the Son of Heaven in Ye City was genuine. Yuan Shao nearly confided the truth to Tian Feng but concealed it, leaving Tian Feng suspicious after hearing his strange dream.

• Yang Xiu reported that Liu Xie's six thousand captured soldiers had joined the army, but there were not enough weapons and equipment for them.
• Cui Yan told Liu Xie that he had recruited seven hundred men for the Tiger Warriors Battalion and expected it to reach three thousand by year's end.
• Liu Xie endured a lengthy court session and reflected on the financial and administrative burdens of ruling.
• Yuan Shao compared Liu Xie's two letters and suspected that Yuan Xi had forged the letter claiming Liu Xie was the true Son of Heaven.
• Tian Feng brought Yuan Shao reports on logistics and troop arrangements, then urged him to protect his health.
• Yuan Shao asked Tian Feng to interpret a dream about installing a False Son of Heaven who turned out to be genuine, but he backed away from revealing the truth.

As Yuan Shao prepared to attack Yi City, Gongsun Zan faced the choice of defending the city or abandoning it, but Zhao Yun proposed a trap that relied on Yuan Shao and Tian Feng suspecting an ambush. The chapter ended with Zhao Yun volunteering to defend Yi City with the wounded while Gongsun Fan questioned whether the plan was too risky.

• Yuan Shao told Tian Feng that his forces would soon attack Yi City, then privately lamented missing Gongyu.
• Gongsun Zan learned that he had lost seven thousand men in Hejian and that Yuan Shao could attack Yi City within three days with thirty-five thousand troops.
• Jia Xu explained that Yuan Shao had become more effective because he now followed Tian Feng’s counsel, and advised Gongsun Zan to abandon Yi City.
• Gongsun Zan rejected Jia Xu’s advice, but Zhao Yun proposed moving the main force outside the city and opening its gates to make Yuan Shao suspect a trap.
• Jia Xu praised Zhao Yun’s plan to ambush Yuan Shao as he withdrew, and Zhao Yun offered to defend the city with the wounded while Gongsun Fan warned that the scheme could fail.

Zhao Yun persuaded Gongsun Zan to use an empty-city stratagem to protect Yi City, then faced Yuan Shao’s advancing army alone at the gate. Yuan Shao suspected an ambush, and after a probing detachment entered, the gate doors slammed shut, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Jia Xu judged Zhao Yun’s empty-city plan the best chance to turn defeat into victory and resolved to recruit him for His Majesty.
• Gongsun Zan approved Zhao Yun’s plan, promised to care for his family if he died, and ordered the fit troops to leave Yi City while reinforcements were summoned.
• Gongsun Zan led the able soldiers out overnight, leaving about five hundred wounded troops behind as Zhao Yun waited at the open South Gate in a white robe.
• Yuan Shao’s army reached Yi City and found its gates open and walls apparently undefended, with Zhao Yun practicing his spear atop the gate tower.
• Yuan Shao and Tian Feng suspected Jia Xu had hidden troops in the city, so they sent three hundred soldiers to test the gate.
• The gate doors slammed shut as the soldiers entered, crushing several men outside, and Yuan Shao ordered his army to retreat five hundred paces.

Zhao Yun’s bluff drove Yuan Shao’s army away from Yi City, giving Gongsun Zan time to launch a surprise attack with fire horses. Yuan Shao rallied his forces and turned the battle against Gongsun Zan’s formation, then ordered his entire army to attack.

• Zhao Yun kept the wounded soldiers hidden until Yuan Shao’s army retreated, then sent them onto Yi City’s walls to make the city appear well defended.
• Yuan Shao withdrew to camp after scouts reported defenders on the battlements, while Gongsun Zan prepared three thousand fire horses.
• Gongsun Zan released the fire horses and led his army in a charge that scattered Yuan Shao’s formations.
• Yuan Shao issued orders to reorganize his army, protect the rear, and send Qu Yi’s Vanguard Camp and Strong Crossbowmen against the White Horse Volunteers.
• Qu Yi’s crossbowmen killed hundreds of White Horse Volunteers, and the Vanguard Camp helped break Gongsun Zan’s formation.
• Yuan Shao ordered all his troops to attack Gongsun Zan’s army.

Yuan Shao’s army turned the battle against Gongsun Zan after Qu Yi’s Vanguard Camp broke the enemy formation and rescued Yuan Shao from Gongsun Fan’s attack. Gongsun Zan’s final counterattack ended in defeat, and he died on the battlefield as Yuan Shao approached his body.

• Gongsun Fan led a thousand White Horse Volunteers toward Yuan Shao’s Great Standard, but Yuan Shao refused to take shelter and his crossbowmen shot Gongsun Fan from his horse.
• Qu Yi arrived with the Vanguard Camp, forcing Gongsun Fan to retreat and saving Yuan Shao from the cavalry attack.
• Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang and Yuan Tan to attack Gongsun Zan’s Central Army Camp while Jiang Qi prevented the enemy from rallying.
• Gongsun Zan sent Gongsun Xu away with the unconscious Gongsun Fan, then charged Yan Liang and Yuan Tan himself.
• Gongsun Zan’s final counterattack ended in defeat, and he died pinned to the ground by a spear as Yuan Shao approached his body.

After Gongsun Zan died and his ambush force was destroyed, Zhao Yun tried to escape Yi City with Jia Xu and five hundred wounded soldiers, but Yuan Shao's army intercepted them. Zhao Yun broke through the encirclement and fled south, while Yuan Shao chose to capture Yi City rather than pursue Jia Xu.

• Yuan Shao killed Gongsun Zan, ordered his army to march on Yi City, and postponed punishing Tian Feng.
• Jia Xu warned Zhao Yun that Gongsun Zan had died and the ambush had failed, persuading him to abandon Yi City and seek refuge with Liu Xie.
• Yuan Shao's army intercepted Zhao Yun and Jia Xu shortly after they left the city, and Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang, Qu Yi, and Yuan Tan to attack them.
• Zhao Yun led the White Horse Volunteers and the battered soldiers against the weaker left flank, defeated Yan Liang in fewer than twenty exchanges, and broke through to flee south.
• Yuan Shao refused to pursue Jia Xu and ordered his army to take Yi City before Zhang Yan and the Black Mountain Army could arrive.

After Zhao Yun escaped Yuan Shao’s forces with Jia Xu, he mourned Gongsun Zan and vowed to serve the Han Dynasty before bringing his troops to Ye City. Liu Xie welcomed Jia Xu and learned of Yuan Shao’s conquest of You Province, leaving the court to face a strengthened rival even as Zhao Yun joined Liu Xie’s cause.

• Zhao Yun found Gongsun Zan’s headless body, mourned him, and swore to uphold the Han Dynasty and fight traitors.
• Liu Xie read Xu You’s report about the rival claims surrounding the true Son of Heaven and struggled to understand the situation.
• Guo Jia informed Liu Xie that Gongsun Zan had died, Yuan Shao had taken Yi City, and Jia Xu had returned safely with Zhao Yun.
• Liu Xie welcomed Jia Xu, dismissed his guilt over Gongsun Zan’s defeat, and offered him the post of Director of the Secretariat.
• Jia Xu praised Zhao Yun and boasted about fighting Yuan Shao’s army, prompting Guo Jia to silently recall that Jia Xu had only shouted encouragement.

Liu Xie welcomed Zhao Yun, praised his potential, and posthumously honored Gongsun Zan as the Marquis of Loyalty and Martyrdom. At court, news of Gongsun Zan’s death and You Province’s impending fall alarmed the officials, while Fu De arrived claiming Cao Cao had imprisoned his father and deposed his sister, Empress Fu.

• Jia Xu suggested that Liu Xie compare worthy officials and generals to famous Han figures, and Liu Xie used the idea to praise Zhao Yun as a future Wei Qing or Huo Qubing.
• Liu Xie honored Gongsun Zan posthumously with the title Marquis of Loyalty and Martyrdom, and Zhao Yun thanked him on the general’s behalf.
• At Tai’an Hall, Liu Xie announced that Yuan Shao had killed Gongsun Zan and taken Yi City, prompting alarm among the officials about the threat to Wei Commandery.
• Sima Yi urged Liu Xie to seize Yangping and Guangping commanderies and call Lü Bu back from Yang Province, leaving Liu Xie to weigh the costs.
• Fu De entered court disguised as a beggar and claimed Cao Cao had imprisoned Fu Wan and deposed Empress Fu, asking Liu Xie to rescue them; Yang Xiu privately doubted his story and admired his performance.

Fu De won Liu Xie's sympathy by claiming his family had remained loyal to the Han, and Yang Xiu later concluded that Empress Fu had secretly helped protect the true Son of Heaven. The chapter left Fu De worried that Cao Cao would harm his father and sister, who remained in Xu County.

• Liu Xie condemned Cao Cao and the Pretender Emperor for deposing Empress Fu and promised Fu De he would find a way to rescue her and Fu Wan.
• Fu De declared that his father’s final words had been “Revive the Great Han,” winning the court officials’ praise for the Fu Family’s loyalty.
• Yang Xiu accused Fu De of fabricating his escape story, but Fu De insisted that his hardships on the road to Ye City had been real.
• Fu De told Yang Xiu that Fu Wan had been imprisoned and Empress Fu deposed after Fu Wan denounced Cao Cao for installing a False Son of Heaven.
• Yang Xiu reasoned that Empress Fu had known Liu Xie’s identity and helped conceal it, leading Fu De to believe his family had truly served the Han.
• Fu De worried that Cao Cao would not spare Fu Wan and Empress Fu while they remained in Xu County.

Liu Xie rejected plans to bring Lü Bu’s army to Ye City and ordered Ma Teng and Han Sui to attack Yuan Shao, while sending Cao Cao an edict demanding the return of Fu Wan, Yang Biao, and Empress Fu. In Xu County, Empress Fu visited her imprisoned father, who accused her of conspiring to replace the Son of Heaven, and news of Gongsun Zan’s defeat left Cao Cao alarmed.

• Yang Xiu comforted Fu De over their fathers’ sacrifices and urged him to eat.
• Liu Xie, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu discussed how to counter Yuan Shao, and Liu Xie rejected sending Lü Bu’s troops through Cao Cao’s or Yuan Shao’s territory.
• Jia Xu proposed ordering Ma Teng and Han Sui to attack Bing Province, and Liu Xie approved the plan.
• Liu Xie sent edicts to Ma Teng and Han Sui and challenged Cao Cao to send Fu Wan, Yang Biao, and Empress Fu to Ye City.
• Empress Fu visited Fu Wan in prison, but he accused her of helping switch the Son of Heaven, prompting her to leave determined to see the ruler in Ye City.
• Cao Cao was alarmed when he heard that Gongsun Zan had been defeated and killed and Yi City had fallen.

After learning that Yuan Shao had defeated Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao rejected Xu You’s proposal to pledge allegiance to the Son of Heaven in Ye City and planned to expand south instead. A Ye City envoy delivered an edict demanding that Cao Cao send key loyalists to the capital, forcing him toward a public choice between the rival emperors.

• Cao Cao and Xu You discussed Gongsun Zan’s defeat, and Xu You urged Cao Cao to aid the Son of Heaven in Ye City.
• Cao Cao rejected Xu You’s proposal and said he intended to join Zhou Yu against Lü Bu and seize Yang Province.
• Xu Chu reported that an imperial envoy from Ye City had arrived with an edict for Cao Cao.
• Cao Cao had the envoy, Cui Lin, seized, denounced the Ye City emperor as a pretender, and ordered Cui Lin driven out rather than killed.
• Cao Cao read the edict and learned that the Son of Heaven in Ye City had ordered him to send Fu Wan, Yang Biao, and the empress to Ye City.

After Cao Cao received an edict from the Son of Heaven in Ye City, Xu You urged him to surrender, but Cao Cao delayed his decision. Emperor Xian of Han then agreed to join Dong Cheng in a coup against Cao Cao, and Dong Cheng set the attack for that night.

• Xu You urged Cao Cao to submit to the Son of Heaven in Ye City, but Cao Cao said he needed time to consider it.
• Cui Lin denounced Cao Cao outside Xu County, and Dong Cheng warned Emperor Xian of Han that the edict threatened his claim to the throne.
• Dong Cheng proposed killing Cao Cao and seizing his forces with the palace's eight hundred Tiger Guards.
• Emperor Xian of Han overcame his fear and agreed to take part in the assault himself.
• Dong Cheng went to gather the Tiger Guards and planned to attack Cao Cao's residence that night, but Emperor Xian of Han called him back.

Cao Cao decided to resolve the crisis over the rival Han emperors by letting Emperor Xian of Han and Dong Cheng escape Xu County, then sent Xiahou Dun to confront them. At the Minister of Works' Residence, Emperor Xian and Dong Cheng faced the City Defense Army, and Dong Cheng accused Cao Cao of holding the Son of Heaven hostage.

• Emperor Xian of Han asked Dong Cheng whether they would win, and Dong Cheng assured him they would.
• Cao Cao learned that Dong Cheng and Emperor Xian were approaching his residence with eight hundred Tiger Guards after killing the palace guards he had stationed there.
• Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun to pursue them and drive them out of Xu County, while opening the city gates so they could escape.
• Dong Cheng led Emperor Xian and the Tiger Guards to the Minister of Works' Residence, where Xiahou Dun and over a thousand City Defense Army soldiers blocked their way.
• Emperor Xian ordered the soldiers to stand aside, and Dong Cheng accused Cao Cao of holding the Son of Heaven hostage and plunging the court into chaos.

Dong Cheng’s coup failed when Xiahou Dun’s City Defense Army overwhelmed the Tiger Guards, forcing Dong Cheng to flee Xu County with Emperor Xian of Han. Cao Cao used the escape to clear himself of the charge of holding the Son of Heaven hostage and ordered Xu You to help Yang Biao, Fu, and the Empress leave the city; Yang Biao was left stunned by Cao Cao’s intentions.

• Emperor Xian of Han rallied the Tiger Guards against Xiahou Dun’s City Defense Army, then charged into battle before Dong Cheng pulled him back.
• When more City Defense Army troops arrived, Dong Cheng retreated with Emperor Xian of Han and escaped Xu County through the undefended West Gate.
• Xiahou Dun watched the Dragon Carriage escape and asked Xu Chu why Cao Cao had let Dong Cheng and the Son of Heaven go.
• Xu You woke Yang Biao and explained that Cao Cao had deliberately allowed Dong Cheng to escape and planned to send Yang Biao, Imperial Father-in-Law Fu, and the Empress out of the city.
• Yang Biao learned the reason for Cao Cao’s plan and was left bewildered and troubled.

Fu Wan and Yang Biao brought Empress Fu out of Xu County to seek the Son of Heaven in Ye City, while Cao Cao let Dong Cheng and Emperor Xian of Han escape and planned to blame Dong Cheng for the flight. Dong Cheng and Emperor Xian fled more than a hundred li before stopping to rest.

• Yang Biao left his residence with Xu You, rescued Fu Wan from the dungeon, and went with him to find Empress Fu.
• Fu Wan told Empress Fu that the coup had failed and urged her to go to Ye City; after resisting, she agreed to leave with him.
• Xiahou Dun reported that Dong Cheng and Emperor Xian of Han had escaped through the West Gate, and Cao Cao ordered that no one pursue them.
• Cao Cao told Xu You that he would accuse Dong Cheng of taking the Son of Heaven hostage and fleeing, then guessed they would seek refuge with Liu Biao.
• Dong Cheng and Emperor Xian of Han fled more than a hundred li from Xu County before stopping to rest.

Emperor Xian of Han fled Xu County and rejected Dong Cheng’s suggestion to seek Liu Biao, choosing instead to travel to Yang Province and find Lü Bu. In Liang Province, Ma Teng discussed an imperial appointment with Ma Chao, Pang De, and his other relatives and officers, but remained wary of the court’s motives.

• Emperor Xian of Han complained of thirst and despair while Dong Cheng urged him to keep moving and proposed seeking Liu Biao in Jing Province.
• Emperor Xian of Han refused to go to Jing Province, suspecting Liu Biao might seize the throne and recognizing that Dong Cheng might support such a move.
• Emperor Xian of Han decided Lü Bu was loyal to him and ordered the Tiger Guards to depart for Shou County.
• Ma Teng summoned Ma Chao, Ma Xiu, Ma Tie, Ma Dai, and Pang De to read an Imperial Edict appointing him General of the Vanguard and Marquis of Huaili.
• Ma Teng explained his history of rebellion and submission to the court, while Ma Chao argued that the Son of Heaven needed Ma Teng to tie down Yuan Shao’s forces.

Ma Teng decided to accept Liu Xie's amnesty and go to Ye City with two of his sons, while Ma Chao remained to command the army. In Shou County, Lü Bu learned that Emperor Xian of Han had arrived, though Dong Cheng worried that the emperor would be exposed as a pretender.

• Pang De warned Ma Teng that Han Sui might gain the advantage by accepting Liu Xie's amnesty, and Ma Teng resolved to serve the Son of Heaven in Ye City.
• Ma Teng chose Ma Xiu and Ma Tie to accompany him as hostages, leaving Ma Chao in command of Liang Province and Guanzhong.
• Lü Bu complained that Zhou Yu had stalled his campaign in Danyang and considered abandoning Yang Province to aid the Son of Heaven, but Chen Gong urged him to await an imperial edict.
• Gao Shun announced that Emperor Xian of Han had arrived outside Shou County, and Lü Bu rushed out to meet him.
• Dong Cheng surveyed Shou County's well-equipped defenders and warned Emperor Xian of Han that they could still leave before the soldiers discovered he was a pretender.

Emperor Xian of Han arrived in Shou County hoping Lü Bu would recognize him, but Lü Bu mistook him for the emperor from Ye City. Dong Cheng persuaded the real emperor to play along and enter the city, while Chen Gong grew suspicious and began investigating.

• Emperor Xian of Han and Dong Cheng were relieved when Lü Bu knelt and greeted the emperor, but Lü Bu called him Marquis of Wen instead of Duke Wen.
• Lü Bu assumed the emperor had fled Ji Province after Yuan Shao attacked Ye City, and Emperor Xian of Han realized Lü Bu had mistaken him for the Pretender Emperor.
• Dong Cheng pulled Emperor Xian of Han aside and warned him to pretend to be the Ye City emperor until they could escape; the emperor reluctantly agreed when Lü Bu asked about Zhang Liao.
• Lü Bu welcomed Emperor Xian of Han into Shou County and invited him to a feast, while Chen Gong noticed something was wrong.
• Chen Gong questioned the story of Yuan Shao attacking Ye City and asked Gao Shun to investigate what had happened to the emperor and his party.

At a banquet in Shou County, Emperor Xian of Han drunkenly pleaded with Lü Bu to believe he was the true Son of Heaven, but Gao Shun exposed him as the Pretender Emperor from Xu County. Lü Bu tried to kill him, and Chen Gong saved him from the saber before arguing that he had to be handed over to the Son of Heaven for judgment.

• Lü Bu held a lavish banquet to welcome Emperor Xian of Han, while the emperor resented the officers’ apparent respect for the Pretender Emperor and Dong Cheng worried about escaping.
• Emperor Xian of Han drunkenly declared that he was the true Son of Heaven and begged Lü Bu to believe him.
• Gao Shun entered with soldiers and revealed that the emperor’s men had escaped from Xu County and had not come from Ji Province.
• Lü Bu took Gao Shun’s saber and swung at Emperor Xian of Han, but Chen Gong kicked the emperor aside, and the blade cut through his crown and a pillar.
• Lü Bu accused Chen Gong of siding with the Pretender Emperor, and Chen Gong urged him to hand the prisoner over to the Son of Heaven for judgment.

Chen Gong persuaded Lü Bu to spare the Pretender Emperor because he might be related to the Han imperial family, though Lü Bu beat him unconscious before sending him into custody. In Yi City, Tian Feng warned Yuan Shao that rushing to attack Ji County would expose his territories to multiple enemies, but Yuan Shao remained determined to march.

• Chen Gong argued that the Pretender Emperor’s identical appearance to Emperor Xian of Han suggested he might be the emperor’s twin or another member of the Han imperial family, and Lü Bu reluctantly agreed not to kill him.
• Lü Bu punched the Pretender Emperor three times for impersonating the Son of Heaven, then ordered Gao Shun to guard him and take him to Ye City for judgment.
• Yuan Shao assigned Yuan Tan to lead the vanguard against Ji County, with Yan Liang commanding, Qu Yi as deputy, and Yuanhao as strategist.
• Tian Feng urged Yuan Shao to secure the rest of You Province and besiege Ji County while guarding Qing Province and Bing Province against Zhang Yan and other enemies.
• Yuan Shao rejected Tian Feng’s warnings and ordered his forces to march on Ji County in three days, leaving Tian Feng’s objections unanswered.