Chapter Summaries

Lü Meng secretly brought two thousand elite soldiers across the Yangtze River and launched a surprise attack on Cao Army forces at Tongling Ferry. Meanwhile, Cao Cao learned that Sun Quan had submitted to the Son of Heaven and Zhang Liao was attacking Huainan, threatening his civilian relocation plans.

• Lü Meng disguised his soldiers as civilians and merchants, crossed the Yangtze River in batches, and gathered them near Tongling Ferry.
• Lü Meng learned the Cao Army had about three thousand men at the ferry and ordered his troops to attack at midnight.
• Lü Meng's soldiers ambushed the Cao Army camp with flaming arrows, then charged in and slaughtered the unprepared defenders.
• Cao Cao learned Sun Quan had submitted to the Son of Heaven and Zhang Liao had attacked Huainan Commandery.
• Cao Cao realized he might have to abandon relocating the remaining civilians because Zhang Liao could take Huainan.

Cao Cao sought Xu You’s advice on moving Huainan’s civilians and supplies, but Xu You urged him to abandon territory north of the Yangtze and secure the ferries. Their discussion was interrupted by news that an unknown elite force had seized Tongling Ferry, leaving Cao Cao’s defenses in crisis.

• Cao Cao visited his shackled prisoner Xu You and offered him greater freedom in return for a strategy.
• Xu You said Cao Cao could not relocate the civilians in time and advised him to concentrate his forces and secure the major ferries.
• Cao Cao suspected Xu You of wanting him to abandon the civilians for the Son of Heaven’s benefit.
• Xun You rushed in and reported that Tongling Ferry had fallen to an unidentified enemy force after a surprise night attack that nearly wiped out its defenders.

Cao Cao learned that Sun Quan’s troops had seized Tongling Ferry by secretly crossing among the relocating commoners, and he rushed there with his fleet and army. Lü Meng chose to defend the ferry, leaving both forces poised for a desperate battle.

• Xu You deduced that Sun Quan’s soldiers had crossed the Yangtze River disguised as commoners, and Yue Jin reported that Sun Quan’s fleet was heading for Tongling Ferry.
• Cao Cao ordered warships and requisitioned boats to intercept Sun Quan’s forces, then set out to retake the ferry himself.
• Lü Meng worried that Cao Cao’s army might arrive before reinforcements and asked Xu Sheng to recruit local men to defend Tongling Ferry.
• Xu Sheng spotted Cao Cao’s fleet arriving first, and Lü Meng chose to hold the ferry rather than flee.
• Cao Cao ordered his fleet to seal off the river while Yue Jin and Li Dian led ten thousand troops in an assault from the rear.
• The Sun soldiers, trapped with the river behind them, rallied to fight the Cao Army to the death.

After the Sun Army lost Tongling Ferry and Lü Meng died, Cao Cao ordered the prisoners killed and sealed the river crossings. Sun Quan learned the ferry had fallen, abandoned his plan to reach it, and faced the choice of continuing onward or withdrawing to Xiapi.

• Yue Jin defeated Lü Meng’s remaining troops at Tongling Ferry, and Lü Meng took his own life rather than be captured.
• Cao Cao ordered Yue Jin to kill the surrendered Sun soldiers and commanded that the crossings be sealed and civilian passage stopped.
• Unable to break through Cao Cao’s river blockade, Sun Quan ordered his army to advance overland toward Tongling Ferry.
• Han Dang told Sun Quan that the Cao Army had retaken the ferry and that Lü Meng and Xu Sheng’s force had been routed.
• Sun Quan called for Zhou Yu, remembered that he was in Xiapi, and resolved to find a way forward without him.
• Han Dang asked Sun Quan whether to keep marching toward Tongling Ferry or withdraw to Xiapi.

Sun Quan decided to attack Zhang Liao and seize Huainan Commandery, while Zhang Liao learned of the threat and prepared to defend Hefei despite being vastly outnumbered. The chapter left Zhang Liao calling for reinforcements and choosing to stand his ground rather than abandon his scattered troops and the civilians.

• Sun Quan studied the map, decided to take Huainan, Lujiang, and Jiujiang, and ordered his forces to attack Zhang Liao at Hefei.
• Zhang Liao learned that Sun Quan had secretly used Tongling Ferry and concluded that Sun Quan had only feigned surrender to buy time.
• Huang Zhong reported that Sun Quan had entered Huainan with thirty thousand troops and was heading for Hefei.
• Zhang Liao refused to retreat because civilians and seven thousand scattered soldiers remained outside the city.
• Zhang Liao ordered his units and the civilians to return to Hefei and sent word to General Taishi to bring the main army to his aid.

Sun Quan’s thirty-thousand-man army reached Xiaoyao Ford and prepared to besiege Hefei, defended by Zhang Liao and roughly four thousand troops. Zhang Liao chose a risky counterattack: Huang Zhong would destroy Xiaoshi Bridge while Zhang Liao led a charge against Sun Quan, and Qu Yi defended the city.

• Sun Quan seized Xiaoyao Ford and ordered his army to begin the siege of Hefei the next day, aiming to take the city within ten days.
• Zhang Liao learned that reinforcements from Xu Province would need at least seven days to arrive and discussed how to defend Hefei with Huang Zhong and Qu Yi.
• Zhang Liao proposed ambushing Xiaoshi Bridge, destroying it after Sun Quan crossed, then attacking the separated enemy force from front and rear.
• Huang Zhong and Qu Yi agreed to follow Zhang Liao’s plan despite its danger.
• Zhang Liao ordered Huang Zhong to lead two hundred Vanguard Camp Death Warriors to Xiaoshi Bridge, Qu Yi to defend the city, and declared that he would lead eight hundred Vanguard Death Warriors into battle.

Sun Quan’s army repeatedly failed to take Hefei, where Zhang Liao and Qu Yi led a determined defense. When Sun Quan finally marched toward the city in person, Huang Zhong’s ambush at Xiaoshi Bridge sprang into action, leaving the story with the bridge being set alight.

• Han Dang led Sun Quan’s vanguard in a brutal assault on Hefei, but Zhang Liao, Qu Yi, and the city’s people repelled the attackers.
• Zhang Liao chose to keep waiting for a chance to capture Sun Quan rather than call Huang Zhong back from his ambush.
• After four days of failed assaults, Sun Quan ordered the whole army to march and declared he would lead the next attack himself.
• Huang Zhong and his two hundred Vanguard Death Warriors spotted Sun Quan’s command banner among the troops crossing Xiaoshi Bridge.
• Huang Zhong ordered his men to destroy Xiaoshi Bridge, and the warriors began pouring fire oil over the wooden structure and setting it alight.

Huang Zhong led two hundred Vanguard Camp Death Warriors in a surprise assault on Sun Quan’s army while Zhang Liao waited for the chance to sortie from Hefei. After Huang Zhong killed Jiang Qin and Sun Quan’s troops began to encircle him, Zhang Liao led eight hundred elite warriors out of the city and charged into the enemy formation.

• Huang Zhong rallied the Vanguard Camp Death Warriors before they set fire to Xiaoshi Bridge and attacked Sun Quan’s rear.
• Sun Quan launched a full assault on Hefei, and Zhang Liao held the city walls while waiting for Huang Zhong’s attack.
• Huang Zhong led two hundred warriors into Sun Quan’s formation and killed Jiang Qin with a thrown spear.
• Zhou Tai ordered Sun Quan’s men to surround Huang Zhong and stop the Vanguard Camp warriors.
• Zhang Liao handed command of the walls to Qu Yi, then led eight hundred Vanguard Camp warriors out of Hefei’s western gate.
• Zhang Liao charged into Sun Quan’s army, cutting down enemy soldiers with his spear.

Zhang Liao led the Vanguard Camp in a charge that routed Sun Quan’s forces and captured Sun Quan at the burned Xiaoshi Bridge. He returned with Sun Quan as the battle continued, while Huang Zhong held off Zhou Tai, Han Dang, and Cheng Pu.

• Sun Quan sent his elite Lujiang Upper Armor Army to stop Zhang Liao, but Zhang Liao and the Vanguard Camp broke through toward his command banner.
• Sun Quan ordered a retreat, and Zhang Liao joined Huang Zhong before pursuing him; Huang Zhong stayed behind with three hundred men to engage Zhou Tai, Han Dang, and Cheng Pu.
• Sun Quan found Xiaoshi Bridge burned and was trapped between the river and Zhang Liao’s pursuing force.
• Zhang Liao routed Sun Quan’s two thousand troops, killed Sun He, and knocked Sun Quan from his horse.
• Zhang Liao captured Sun Quan and compelled the remaining Sun soldiers to surrender, then ordered him taken back toward the battlefield.
• Huang Zhong continued fighting Zhou Tai, Han Dang, and Cheng Pu, holding them off despite his fatigue.

Zhang Liao captured Sun Quan during the siege of Hefei, but Sun Quan refused to surrender and threatened the city’s inhabitants. Taishi Ci’s reinforcements arrived, forcing Sun Quan’s army to withdraw and surrender; at Tongling Ferry, Cao Cao was stunned to hear that Sun Quan had been defeated and surrendered.

• Huang Zhong and his Vanguard soldiers held Zhou Tai, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang in battle while Zhang Liao returned with Sun Quan captured.
• Cheng Pu offered to withdraw from Huainan Commandery in exchange for Sun Quan, but Zhang Liao demanded the enemy army surrender and threatened Sun Quan’s life.
• Sun Quan refused to surrender and threatened that Hefei’s soldiers and civilians would die if Zhang Liao killed him.
• Taishi Ci arrived with Imperial Court troops, destroying Sun Quan’s hopes; Cheng Pu and the others laid down their weapons and ordered their army to withdraw.
• Zhang Liao handed Sun Quan to the Vanguard soldiers and cut down the enemy banner as the Han Army celebrated victory.
• Cao Cao learned from Xu Chu that Hefei had held and Sun Quan had been defeated and surrendered, leaving him incredulous.

After Sun Quan was captured at Hefei, Cao Cao decided to invade Jing Province from two directions, while Zhou Yu reluctantly agreed to Lu Su’s plan to surrender Xu Province to the Imperial Court. In Ye City, Liu Xie remained frustrated by the Land Reclamation Policy and waited for news from the front.

• Xu Chu reported that Zhang Liao had captured Sun Quan after charging with eight hundred men, and Cao Cao grew furious and worried about the Imperial Court’s advance.
• Cao Cao decided to have Cao Ren attack Jing Province from Guandu while he sent troops west from Jiangdong.
• Zhou Yu learned of Sun Quan’s defeat and capture, and Lu Su urged him to surrender Xu Province to seek a pardon.
• Zhou Yu initially rejected Lu Su’s proposal as betrayal, but eventually agreed after Lu Su warned that resisting would leave him facing Zhang Liao’s forces.
• Liu Xie reviewed Jia Xu and Guo Jia’s inadequate proposals on the Land Reclamation Policy, delayed morning court, and asked whether new battle reports had arrived.

Yang Xiu exposed his clan’s illegal land reclamation, surrendered the fields, and won promotion to Attendant Gentleman while Liu Xie warned other officials to investigate their own clans. Gao Lan then reported that Zhang Liao had captured Sun Quan and defeated his army at Hefei, leaving the court stunned as Zhang Liao returned to Ye City with the prisoners.

• Yang Xiu admitted that members of the Yang Clan had evaded the land reclamation limit, surrendered their reclaimed fields, and asked Liu Xie to punish him.
• Yang Biao confessed that he had known about the land appropriation, and he and Yang Xiu argued over who should bear the blame.
• Liu Xie withheld Yang Biao’s salary for a year, ordered the Yang Clan to surrender seventy percent of its reclaimed land, and promoted Yang Xiu to Attendant Gentleman.
• Liu Xie ordered the other officials to inspect their clans or face an investigation by the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys.
• Gao Lan announced that Zhang Liao had captured Sun Quan after defeating his thirty-thousand-man army at Hefei, and that Xu Province and the Three Commanderies North of the Yangtze had been recovered.
• The court officials were stunned to hear that Zhang Liao’s eight hundred elite warriors had defeated Sun Quan’s army and captured its leader.

Liu Xie celebrated Zhang Liao’s victory over Sun Quan and ordered Lü Bu and his advisers back to court after the campaign in Yu Province. Lü Bu, frustrated by the empty cities he had taken, learned that Zhang Liao had won a spectacular victory and cursed Cao Cao and Sun Quan for leaving him without a battle.

• Cui Yan congratulated Liu Xie after news arrived that Zhang Liao had captured Sun Quan and recovered Xu Province and the Three Commanderies North of the Yangtze.
• Gao Lan reported that Cao Cao’s army had withdrawn from Guandu toward Jing Province, and Liu Xie ordered Lü Bu to station troops in Yu Province before returning to court.
• Yang Xiu worried that the Yang Clan’s public offer to donate reclaimed land had made enemies among the aristocratic families, but Yang Biao urged him to stand by his own convictions.
• Lü Bu entered Xu County with little resistance, found Cao Cao’s residence empty, and complained to Zhao Yun that he had gained no real victories in Yan and Yu Provinces.
• Sima Yi told Lü Bu that Zhang Liao had routed Sun Quan’s thirty thousand men with eight hundred, captured Sun Quan, and recovered Xu Province and the Three Commanderies North of the Yangtze.
• Lü Bu was stunned by Zhang Liao’s victory and cursed Cao Cao and Sun Quan for ruining his chance to fight.

Lü Bu returned from Yu Province while Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi weighed Cao Cao’s retreat toward Jing Province. In Xiangyang, Liu Cong’s advisers debated Cao Cao’s alliance proposal, and Cai Mao went to speak with Emperor Xian of Han, whom he found playing blindfolded chase with beauties.

• Lü Bu reluctantly left Yu Province after Zhuge Liang reminded him that the emperor had ordered his return.
• Zhuge Liang warned Sima Yi that Cao Cao might use an alliance with Liu Cong as cover to seize Jing Province, but they decided to consult the emperor before acting.
• Liu Cong’s advisers debated Cao Cao’s offer: Pang Ji and Liu Xian opposed it, while Cai Mao advised accepting it cautiously and Kuai Liang urged reconsidering the war in Yi Province.
• Cai Mao went to Emperor Xian of Han’s residence and found him playing blindfolded chase with several beauties.
• Emperor Xian of Han released Cai Mao after mistaking him for a beauty, dismissed the women, and prepared to discuss matters with his minister.

Cai Mao questioned Emperor Xian of Han and learned that Cao Cao genuinely believed him to be the true emperor, then dismissed his hopes of returning to Cao Cao. Zhang Liao brought Sun Quan and the other prisoners to Ye City, where the crowd jeered at them, and he spotted a troop bearing Lü’s banner ahead.

• Cai Mao asked Emperor Xian of Han whether Cao Cao knew he was a pretender, and the emperor insisted Cao Cao had always believed him genuine.
• Cai Mao concluded that Cao Cao opposed the Son of Heaven in Ye City out of loyalty to the Han Dynasty and rejected Emperor Xian of Han’s suggestion that they trust Cao Cao.
• Emperor Xian of Han longed to return to Cao Cao, but Cai Mao left him behind, calling him the real pretender emperor.
• Zhang Liao arrived at Ye City with Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and the other prisoners after defeating Sun Quan’s forces.
• The people of Ye City cursed and pelted the prisoners, while Sun Quan endured the humiliation to protect his family.
• Zhang Liao noticed a troop approaching under a white banner bearing the character Lü.

Liu Xie welcomed the returning armies and rewarded their commanders for the southern campaign. After Zhang Liao and Lü Bu argued over their wager, Liu Xie praised the generals in court, with Zhuge Liang's reward still to come.

• Zhang Liao chased Lü Bu into Ye City and demanded that he honor their wager, but Lü Bu denied it and refused to listen.
• Liu Xie and the court officials arrived at the palace gates and laughed as Lü Bu pretended not to see or hear them.
• Liu Xie praised the campaign's victories and promoted Zhang Liao to General Who Conquers the South, enfeoffing him as Duxiang Marquis.
• Liu Xie promoted Huang Zhong to General Who Displays Might and raised Qu Yi's noble rank, granting him the title Marquis Within the Pass.
• Liu Xie promoted Zhao Yun to Central Pillar General and granted him the rank of Chief Minister of the Masses, then began addressing Zhuge Liang.

Liu Xie rewarded Zhuge Liang with the powerful post of Left Minster of the People, then judged the captured Jiangdong leaders for their rebellion. He condemned Sun Quan and his generals, while Zhou Yu remained before the throne after surrendering and ceding half of Xu Province.

• Liu Xie appointed Zhuge Liang Left Minster of the People and gave Lü Bu and Sima Yi token rewards.
• Liu Xie confronted the captured Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and their men, and Sun Quan admitted that he had lied about Lü Bu holding the emperor hostage.
• Sun Quan confessed that he had rebelled for his own ambition and asked Liu Xie to spare his deceived subordinates and relatives.
• Liu Xie ordered Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Zhou Tai executed with their households, then sentenced Sun Quan to death for his betrayal.
• Zhang Liao explained that Zhou Yu had surrendered voluntarily and handed over half of Xu Province, and Liu Xie studied the kneeling commander.

Liu Xie spared Zhou Yu from execution after Zhou Yu acknowledged his guilt, while Zhou Yu vouched for Lu Su and urged the emperor to recognize his innocence. The court then discussed the recovery of the southern provinces and the threat posed by Cao Cao’s army in Jing Province, with Lü Bu eager to attack.

• Liu Xie questioned Zhou Yu about surrendering Xu Province, and Zhou Yu explained that Lu Su had advised him to surrender and had repeatedly urged him to join the Imperial Court.
• Zhang Liao recognized Lu Su as the strategist who had thwarted his attacks, and Liu Xie offered Zhou Yu a chance to plead for mercy.
• Cui Yan, Lü Bu, and other officials argued that Zhou Yu should be killed, but Liu Xie asked whether Zhou Yu acknowledged his guilt and then sentenced him to prison instead of death.
• Zhang Liao reported that Cao Cao had moved fewer than thirty percent of the people and supplies from the southern provinces, and that Taishi had been left in Yang Province to resettle the people.
• Zhuge Liang warned that Cao Cao’s army had entered Nanyang Commandery and could threaten Jing Province, while Lü Bu volunteered to attack and Guo Jia urged the court to plan before starting another war.

After helping Zhuge Liang receive praise and encouragement for his promotion, Jia Xu discussed how the court should deal with the aristocratic clans that had supported Cao Cao. Guo Jia returned home to find two Yingchuan Guo Clan elders seeking to bring him into the direct lineage, and he rejected their offer as the confrontation continued.

• Liu Xie postponed the campaign against Jing Province and tasked Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi with settling Yan Province and Yu Province.
• Jia Xu and Guo Jia congratulated Zhuge Liang, who vowed to repay Liu Xie’s trust through service.
• Jia Xu asked Zhuge Liang how the court should punish the clans that had supported Cao Cao, and Zhuge Liang recommended a measured approach subject to Liu Xie’s decision.
• Guo Jia refused Jia Xu’s invitation to drink because Hua Tuo’s medicine required him to avoid alcohol, then returned home and found Guo Rou and Guo Hong waiting.
• Guo Rou offered to transfer Guo Jia from the collateral branch into the Yingchuan Guo Clan’s direct line, but Guo Jia refused and angered Guo Hong.
• Guo Rou told Guo Jia that he understood his resentment over the clan’s past failure to support collateral descendants.

Guo Jia refused to help his clan evade punishment for aiding Cao Cao’s rebellion, while Liu Xie tested Lu Su’s judgment by asking how to deal with aristocratic families in Yan and Yu provinces. Lu Su began outlining a solution by asking where the Imperial Court planned to campaign next.

• Guo Jia rejected Guo Rou and Guo Hong’s plea for help and ordered his steward to refuse future visitors from the Guo Clan.
• Guo Jia reflected that he wanted to open a path for impoverished scholars and regarded Liu Xie’s trust as his greatest support.
• Liu Xie confronted Lu Su over his aid to Sun Quan, then offered to spare him if he answered a test question.
• Liu Xie asked Lu Su how to punish the aristocratic clans in Yan and Yu provinces without undermining the Imperial Court.
• Lu Su asked whether Liu Xie planned to campaign against Jiangdong or advance into Jing Province next, and Liu Xie confirmed that he intended to raise troops again.