Chapter Summaries

Sima Yi planned to weaken Jinyang's defenders on New Year's Eve by making them watch the Han Army celebrate instead of launching an assault. The chapter ended with Lü Bu and his commanders preparing to carry out Sima Yi's morale-breaking strategy.

• Ma Chao refused to let Pang De travel to Ye City, fearing he would expose Ma Chao's schemes, and decided to keep reorganizing the Western Liang Army.
• Gao Gan wondered how the Han Army drilled in the bitter cold, ordered his scouts to investigate their clothing, and strengthened Jinyang's defenses for New Year's Eve.
• Lü Bu asked Sima Yi when the Han Army would attack Jinyang, and Sima Yi said they would make their move that night with only a few dozen men.
• Chen Gong explained that Sima Yi intended to use the defenders' New Year's Eve isolation like the Chu songs at Gaixia to damage their morale.
• Sima Yi revealed that the Han Army would not attack but would feast and celebrate noisily where Jinyang's defenders could see them.

On New Year's Eve, the Han Army used food and an appeal to shared loyalty to weaken the defenders of the city. Gao Gan discovered that his soldiers had accepted the gifts and confronted them, leaving their response unresolved.

• Lü Bu left the Drill Platform disappointed, while Chen Gong reassured Sima Yi and they finalized the Heart-Attacking Stratagem.
• Gao Shun brought food and wine to the cold, hungry defenders and urged them to surrender, then departed with his men.
• A short soldier tried the food, briefly choked, and then persuaded the defenders to haul the baskets onto the walls and share the meal.
• Gao Gan dismissed the Han Army's New Year celebration as a ruse and predicted an attack at dawn, but Zhao Rui told him the defenders had accepted the food.
• Gao Gan rushed to the walls, found the soldiers eating, and demanded to know who had accepted and brought back the enemy's food.

Sima Yi’s food-delivery stratagem weakened Jinyang’s defenders, and he prepared Lü Bu to storm the city at dawn on the second day of the Lunar New Year. As the defenders’ morale continued to crumble, a soldier on night watch spotted something outside the city.

• Gao Gan beheaded the fifteen-year-old soldier who admitted accepting food from the Han Army, then ordered the defenders to throw all the food over the wall.
• After hearing the scouts’ report, Sima Yi said his plan had succeeded and set the assault on Jinyang for dawn on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
• Sima Yi explained that the Han Army held advantages in timing and morale, and Lü Bu boasted that he would take Jinyang quickly.
• Gao Gan spent New Year’s Eve waiting for an attack that never came, then ended the heightened watch and allowed some soldiers to visit their families.
• The defenders discussed surrender and mourned Little Mozi’s death, while the old soldier remained quiet; a soldier on the wall then spotted something outside the city.

Lü Bu’s Han Army captured Jinyang City after a surprise assault, forcing Gao Gan to flee north with five thousand cavalry. When the fugitives headed for Lü Bu’s homeland of Wuyuan Commandery, Lü Bu and Zhang Liao both insisted on leading the pursuit and recovering it.

• Jinyang’s night-watch soldiers saw the Han Army approaching but withheld their warning horns until the attackers were near the walls.
• Lü Bu’s forces assaulted Jinyang with arrows, stone shot, siege equipment, and the Vanguard Camp and Dare-to-Die Battalion leading the climb.
• Guo Yuan reported that the East Gate had fallen and Generals Sui and Zhao had been killed, so Gao Gan abandoned the infantry and escaped through the North Gate with five thousand cavalry.
• Sima Yi identified Wuyuan Commandery as Gao Gan’s likely route to seek refuge with the Wuhuan and ordered Huang Zhong to pursue and recover the commandery.
• Lü Bu and Zhang Liao each insisted on leading the pursuit because Wuyuan Commandery was their homeland, leaving Sima Yi and Chen Gong baffled.

Lü Bu pursued Gao Gan’s fleeing forces before diverting to recover his hometown of Wuyuan Commandery. He entered Jiuyuan County with his cavalry and faced the familiar streets as a celebrated commander, feeling nervous about returning home.

• Lü Bu overruled Zhang Liao and led the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry in pursuit of Gao Gan, while Zhang Liao stayed behind to direct the assault on Jinyang.
• Gao Gan rejected Guo Yuan’s suggestion to defend Yanmen and led their dwindling force north to seek the Wuhuan beyond the passes.
• After snow erased the trail, Lü Bu redirected his cavalry toward Wuyuan Commandery and arrived at Jiuyuan County.
• Lü Bu identified himself to the prefect, who opened the gates and arranged grain and fodder for the army.
• Lü Bu ordered his cavalry to enter Jiuyuan without disturbing the residents, then rode through the familiar streets feeling apprehensive about returning home.

Lü Bu returned to Jiuyuan County and Lü Family Village with a grand military procession, relishing his hometown’s admiration. After the villagers learned the rank he held, they celebrated his success and the village head invited him to offer incense to his ancestors and parents.

• Lü Bu had the governor of Wuyuan Commandery lead Red Hare through Jiuyuan County as his soldiers and townspeople gathered to welcome him.
• Lü Bu directed the procession to Lü Family Village, where villagers came out to marvel at his armor, horse, and troops.
• Lü Bu greeted Third Granduncle, but the village head mistook the governor of Wuyuan Commandery for him before villagers corrected him.
• Lü Bu told the villagers he was Grand Commandant and a duke, and the governor of Wuyuan Commandery explained the importance of those titles.
• The villagers praised Lü Bu and proposed honoring him in the Lü Family genealogy, while the village head invited him to offer incense to his ancestors and parents.

Lü Bu reunited with his childhood friend Li Hu in Lü Village before taking three thousand Han troops to Jiuyuan. The Xiongnu court learned that Lü Bu had arrived and feared he might attack them while pursuing Gao Gan’s fleeing forces.

• Lü Bu recognized his old friend Li Hu, but Li Hu addressed him with formal deference, leaving Lü Bu saddened by the distance between them.
• Xiongnu tribal chiefs complained to Huchuquan that Ma Chao’s Western Liang Army was raiding their lands, and Huchuquan said they should avoid fighting it.
• Qubei reported that Gao Gan’s thousand troops had fled into the grasslands toward the Wuhuan after the Han Army captured Jinyang.
• A scout announced that three thousand Han troops had reached Jiuyuan and that Lü Bu commanded them, terrifying the Xiongnu chiefs.
• Huchuquan reasoned that Lü Bu was probably pursuing Gao Gan, but Qubei warned that Lü Bu might also suspect the Xiongnu of aiding him.

Huchuquan ordered Qubei to kill Gao Gan and send his head to Lü Bu to prove the Xiongnu’s loyalty, while Gao Gan’s fleeing army raided the Xiuqu Tribe for supplies. After massacring the tribe, Gao Gan’s men faced a much larger Xiongnu Royal Court army on the snowfield.

• Qubei persuaded Huchuquan to have him intercept Gao Gan and send the plundered people and property from Guanzhong to Ye City.
• The Xiuqu Tribe’s chief mocked Lü Bu’s reputation as Han cavalry approached, and Gao Gan killed the chief with a spear before his troops massacred the tribe.
• Gao Gan ordered his troops to take food and horses, then told Guo Yuan they had to hurry toward Wuhuan territory to escape Lü Bu.
• The captives learned that Gao Gan’s army had been fleeing Lü Bu, and a Royal Court army charged across the snowfield as they regrouped.

Lü Bu celebrated his return to Jiuyuan County by feasting with his villagers and reveling in their admiration. After agreeing to rename Lü Family Village as Fengxian Village, he learned that a force of five thousand Xiongnu was approaching.

• Lü Bu hosted lavish banquets for the people of Lü Family Village and promised to seek tax relief for Jiuyuan County.
• The Wuyuan Commandery governor and local officials praised Lü Bu’s achievements and revealed that his daughter had become a Noble Lady.
• The governor proposed renaming Lü Family Village as Fengxian Village and erecting a commemorative stele, and Lü Bu accepted after the villagers urged him to agree.
• Cheng Lian reported to Lü Bu that a Xiongnu army of around five thousand had been spotted thirty li away.

Lü Bu led three thousand armored cavalry to meet a five-thousand-strong Xiongnu force threatening Jiuyuan County, only to learn that the Xiongnu Left Wise King Qubei had come to present Gao Gan’s head. Lü Bu accepted the explanation for now but warned Qubei to return the people and goods taken in raids or face his retaliation.

• After hearing the Xiongnu were approaching Jiuyuan County, Lü Bu rejected the Wuyuan Commandery Governor’s advice to retreat and assembled his troops.
• Lü Bu led three thousand armored cavalry toward the five-thousand-strong Xiongnu army, which the governor recognized as the Royal Court army of the Left Wise King.
• Qubei ordered his troops to halt, dismounted, and announced that he had come on the Chanyu’s orders to present Gao Gan’s head.
• Lü Bu stopped his charge, confronted Qubei, and saw Gao Gan’s and Guo Yuan’s heads among those the Xiongnu soldiers laid down.
• Qubei said the Xiongnu had executed Yuan Shao’s remaining rebels and promised to return plundered goods and Han captives and send the Chanyu’s offspring as hostages.
• Lü Bu warned Qubei that he would come collect what was owed if the Xiongnu failed to keep their promises.

Lü Bu returned to Jinyang after retaking Wuyuan Commandery and killing Gao Gan, while Sima Yi and the others prepared defenses against Ma Chao. In Ye City, Liu Xie received alarming news from Yi Province and angrily slammed down the secret memorial.

• Lü Bu let the Xiongnu Royal Court troops leave after they delivered Gao Gan and the other rebels’ heads, then returned to Jiuyuan County and departed without attending the banquet.
• Cui Lin told Sima Yi, Chen Gong, and the others that Ma Chao had likely conspired with Tian Feng to kill Han Sui and seize control of the Western Liang Army.
• Sima Yi ordered the passes in Bing Province strengthened to guard against Ma Chao.
• Lü Bu returned to Jinyang with Gao Gan’s head, and Zhang Liao noticed the heads had been cut by Xiongnu blades.
• Lü Bu explained his encounter with the Xiongnu, and the others marveled at his fearsome reputation among them.
• Liu Xie read a secret memorial from Yi Province, angrily slammed it onto his desk, and condemned a Han House clansman.

Liu Xie learned that Liu Biao had allied with Liu Zhang against Liu Bei and welcomed Emperor Xian of Han into Xiangyang, while the court lacked resources to support Liu Bei. He ordered Jia Xu to find Zhuge Liang, then Cao Cao received news that Jinyang had fallen and Gao Gan had fled.

• Liu Xie revealed that Liu Zhang and Liu Biao planned to attack Liu Bei and that Liu Biao had welcomed Emperor Xian of Han into Xiangyang.
• Zhen Yi reported that resettling displaced people had exhausted the court’s surplus, so Liu Xie agreed to send whatever weapons and equipment remained to Liu Bei.
• Liu Xie decided to recruit Zhuge Liang for his administrative talent and ordered Jia Xu to send the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys to find him in Jing Province.
• Cao Cao received a dispatch reporting that Jinyang City had fallen twenty days earlier and Gao Gan had fled north with a few surviving troops.

After Bing Province fell to the Son of Heaven, Cao Cao confronted his imprisoned former friend Xu You, who had secretly served as an imperial agent. Cao Cao asked Xu You to assess his plan to seize Jiangdong, but Xu You warned that its gentry clans could just as easily surrender to the Son of Heaven and urged Cao Cao to give up resisting.

• Cao Cao learned that the Son of Heaven's forces had taken Jinyang and conquered Bing Province, then blamed Gao Gan for the defeat.
• Cao Cao visited Xu You, who was being held under guard, and accused him of betraying their friendship by leaking his plans to the Son of Heaven.
• Xu You defended his actions as an attempt to save Cao Cao and correctly guessed that Bing Province had fallen.
• Cao Cao admitted that he planned to abandon Yan Province and Xu Province, seize Jiangdong with the help of its gentry clans, and build strength against the Son of Heaven.
• Xu You warned that the Jiangdong clans might later surrender to the Son of Heaven and advised Cao Cao to surrender instead of continuing his resistance.

Xu You urged Cao Cao to submit to the Son of Heaven, but Cao Cao refused and grew suspicious of Xun Yu. In Jing Province, Liu Biao discovered that Cai Mao and Kuai Liang had secretly agreed to send troops against Liu Bei, and ordered the plan stopped.

• Xu You told Cao Cao that Fu Wan had approached Xun Yu about a coup and argued that Cao Cao should submit to the Son of Heaven.
• Cao Cao admitted he feared being punished for his past actions, rejected Xu You's offer, and ordered Xu Chu to keep Xu You confined.
• Cao Cao considered whether Xun Yu had secretly submitted to the Son of Heaven and decided to watch him closely.
• Liu Biao berated Cai Mao and the others for agreeing in his name to send troops against Liu Xuande without informing him.
• Liu Biao ordered the movement of troops, grain, and fodder stopped and said he would cancel the alliance with Liu Zhang.
• Kuai Liang accepted Liu Biao's orders, while the advisers waited for Cai Mao and Kuai Liang to decide how to respond.

After realizing that Jing Province’s powerful clans had reduced his authority and threatened Liu Qi’s succession, Liu Biao sought Pang De Gong’s help in finding new allies. Pang De Gong declined his offer to serve, leaving Liu Biao to turn to Sima Hui.

• Cai Mao condemned Liu Biao for refusing to expand into Yi Province, while the other advisers shared his frustration.
• Liu Biao recognized that Jing Province’s great clans controlled his administration and resolved to cultivate new confidants, so he traveled to Mount Lumen to recruit Pang De Gong.
• Pang De Gong and Sima Hui discussed why Pang Tong had chosen to serve Liu Xuande and why Zhuge Liang remained in Nanyang.
• Liu Biao arrived at Pang De Gong’s home and sincerely asked both Pang De Gong and Sima Hui to help govern Jing Province.
• Pang De Gong declined, explaining that he sought peace in his remaining years, and Liu Biao turned to Sima Hui.

Liu Biao took Pang Degong’s recommendation of Zhuge Liang as the Crouching Dragon and sent Liu Qi to recruit him, while Pang Degong explained that the recommendation would build Zhuge Liang’s reputation. In Ye City, Liu Xie rewarded Sima Yi for the victory in Bing Province, then questioned Lü Bu about his return home before hearing that the Xiongnu Chanyu would send envoys to meet him.

• Pang Degong recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Biao as the Crouching Dragon, and Sima Hui confirmed that Zhuge Liang was his student.
• Sima Hui angrily accused Pang Degong of doing Zhuge Liang a disservice, but Pang Degong explained that the recommendation would help build Zhuge Liang’s reputation.
• Liu Biao sent Liu Qi to Nanyang Commandery with a letter and orders to bring Zhuge Liang back, explaining that he needed trusted allies for Liu Qi’s future rule.
• Sima Yi reported the victory in Bing Province to Liu Xie, who awarded him the titles of Regular Mounted Attendant and Marquis of Hejin Pavilion.
• Liu Xie teased Lü Bu about returning home in embroidered robes, and Lü Bu told him that the Xiongnu Chanyu would send envoys and return the Han people and property they had plundered.

Liu Xie questioned the Xiongnu delegation about its plundering of Guanzhong and rejected its offer of livestock and treasure as compensation. He demanded a Xiongnu head for every Han person killed, threatening to send Lü Bu to collect them if the delegation did not comply.

• Lü Bu reported that he had not killed Gao Gan, while Cui Lin warned that Ma Chao might harbor disloyal intentions.
• Ma Teng pleaded for a chance to write to Ma Chao and urge him to come to Ye City, and Liu Xie granted the request.
• Liu Xie summoned the Xiongnu delegation, led by Qubei, to Tai'an Hall for an audience.
• Qubei apologized for the Xiongnu plundering of Guanzhong and offered to return the stolen people and wealth along with sheep, horses, and treasure.
• Liu Xie rejected the offer and demanded a head for every Han person killed, threatening to send Lü Bu to obtain them.

Liu Xie forced the Xiongnu delegation to accept punishment for the Guanzhong raid, then rewarded their submission with permission to trade in refined salt, porcelain, and silk. In Jing Province, Liu Qi found Zhuge Liang’s thatched cottage, but the chapter ended before he met him.

• Liu Xie rejected Qubei’s offer of compensation and demanded the heads of those involved in the Guanzhong raid.
• Qubei agreed to deliver the raiders’ heads and said the Chanyu would send two children to Ye City as hostages.
• Liu Xie granted the Xiongnu permission to buy refined salt, porcelain, and silk, then tasked Zhen Yi with receiving their tribute and summoned Jia Xu.
• Jia Xu told Liu Xie that the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys had reached Jing Province to find Zhuge Liang, and Liu Xie ordered them to treat him respectfully.
• Liu Qi traveled to Longzhong and learned from a tea master how to find Zhuge Liang’s cottage, while three disguised Embroidered-Clothes Envoys followed him.
• Liu Qi reached Zhuge Liang’s cottage and introduced himself to a young servant, who said his master was napping.

Liu Qi waited outside Zhuge Liang’s cottage until he fainted, but Zhuge Liang admitted he had been awake and refused to meet him because he rejected serving Liu Biao. When Jia Xu’s Embroidered-Clothes Envoys arrived with the Son of Heaven’s summons, Zhuge Liang again pretended to be asleep, and Qingzhu ordered Wutong to set the cottage on fire to wake him.

• Liu Qi waited beneath the sun for hours while Qingzhu, Wutong, and Silver Needle watched from the woods.
• Liu Qi fainted, recovered, apologized for his servant’s outburst, and left after promising to visit again the next day.
• Zhuge Liang revealed that he had been awake all along and told the boy to turn Liu Qi away while he was gone visiting friends.
• Zhuge Liang explained that he had no interest in serving Liu Biao and privately considered building his reputation before seeking a greater opportunity.
• Qingzhu and the other Embroidered-Clothes Envoys arrived and claimed they had come by the Son of Heaven’s command, but the boy shut the gate on them.
• Qingzhu gave Wutong a fire-folding tube and ordered him to burn the cottage to wake Zhuge Liang, prompting Wutong to question the order.

Qingzhu and the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys forced Zhuge Liang to leave for Ye City by setting fire to his cottage and threatening his brothers. The next day, Liu Qi found the burned ruins and set out to pursue Zhuge Liang.

• Qingzhu ordered Wutong and Silver Needle to set fire to Zhuge Liang's cottage when Zhuge Liang refused to meet them.
• Qingzhu revealed that he was an Embroidered-Clothes Central Commandant carrying the Son of Heaven's summons for Zhuge Liang to go to Ye City.
• Zhuge Liang refused to go until Qingzhu threatened his brothers, Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Jun, so he agreed to accompany the envoys.
• Zhuge Liang left the burning cottage with the boy and the three envoys.
• Liu Qi returned the next day, found the cottage reduced to ruins, and ordered his servants to pursue Zhuge Liang after they spotted carriage tracks.