Chapter Summaries

Lu Su proposed moving the capital to Luoyang and using the great aristocratic clans of Yan and Yu Provinces to rebuild it, earning Liu Xie's approval and a post in the Department of State Affairs. The chapter then turned to Yang Biao's banquet, where he began explaining why the Yang Clan had given up its reclaimed land.

• Lu Su proposed moving the capital to Luoyang and making the great aristocratic clans of Yan and Yu Provinces fund its reconstruction.
• Liu Xie approved Lu Su's proposal in principle, pardoned him, and ordered him to serve under Zhuge Liang.
• Lu Su asked about Zhou Yu, and Liu Xie said Zhou Yu's capital offense had been pardoned but he remained in prison to earn merit.
• Yang Biao hosted the great aristocratic families at a banquet to mend relations after the Yang Clan had donated its reclaimed land.
• Fu Wan and Dong Zhong challenged Yang Biao, who said he had surrendered the land after his son brought him to a sudden awakening.

At Yang Biao’s banquet, the great aristocratic families accepted his warning to surrender most of their reclaimed land, then grew resentful at the prospect of the Zhen and Lü families producing the future empress. The next day, Liu Xie’s ministers approved relocating the capital to Luoyang, but Sima Yi urged a northern campaign against the Wuhuan first.

• Yang Biao explained that Yang Xiu had advised surrendering seventy percent of the family’s land to avoid angering Liu Xie, and the gathered families accepted his counsel.
• Dong Zhong, Fu Wan, Cui Yan, and the other guests set aside their grievances with Yang Biao, though Fu Wan privately resented his own son when comparing him with Yang Xiu.
• Shen Rong said the Zhen and Lü families were likelier than the other aristocratic houses to prosper, prompting resentment and discussion of the future empress and Liu Xie’s lack of an heir.
• Cui Yan pointed out that Liu Xie had no heir, stirring concern among the banquet guests.
• Liu Xie summoned Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, Sima Yi, Jia Xu, and Yang Xiu to discuss Lu Su’s plan, and they endorsed moving the capital to Luoyang.
• Sima Yi urged Liu Xie to send an army against the Wuhuan before relocating the capital.

Liu Xie approved a swift campaign against the Wuhuan and announced plans to rebuild Luoyang before moving the capital there. Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, and Huang Zhong all sought command of the expedition, leaving Lü Bu reconsidering whether Huang Zhong should have the chance to earn a marquisate.

• Sima Yi persuaded Liu Xie and his advisers that the Wuhuan had to be subdued before the court marched south, and Guo Jia proposed using an elite, lightly equipped force to strike quickly.
• Liu Xie approved the northern expedition and told his advisers that he would announce the move back to Luoyang at court.
• Liu Xie announced the capital's return to Luoyang and assigned Yuan Xi to raise funds from the Great Aristocratic Clans of Yan and Yu provinces to rebuild the city.
• Liu Xie called for a commander to lead the Wuhuan campaign, and Lü Bu and Zhang Liao stepped forward together and argued over who should go.
• Huang Zhong asked Lü Bu and Zhang Liao to let him lead so he could earn a marquisate, and Lü Bu began to reconsider competing with him.

Liu Xie appointed Huang Zhong and Guo Jia to lead a campaign against the Wuhuan, then faced a court demand to expand his imperial harem so he could produce an heir. The ministers’ push threatened to open the empress’s position to their daughters, but Lü Bu unexpectedly supported the expansion.

• Lü Bu declined to campaign against the Wuhuan, and Liu Xie appointed Huang Zhong as commander and Guo Jia as army supervisor of ten thousand Bing Province Iron Cavalry.
• Dong Zhong urged Liu Xie to expand the imperial harem because he had no heir, and Yang Biao and other ministers joined the appeal.
• Fu Wan argued that the lack of an heir endangered the state, while Liu Xie recognized that the ministers wanted their daughters to compete for the empress’s throne.
• Zhen Yi opposed the expansion to protect Zhen Mi’s position, but Cui Yan accused him of fearing rivals for her.
• Lü Bu concluded that Liu Xie should have more consorts and urged him to take at least eight hundred or a thousand.

Liu Xie faced growing pressure to choose between Zhen Mi and Lü Lingqi as empress while officials pushed to expand the Imperial Harem. After becoming exhausted and briefly fainting, he summoned Guo Jia and Jia Xu to discuss the succession of the empress.

• Lü Bu supported expanding the Imperial Harem, delighting officials who hoped to send their daughters into the Palace.
• Zhang Liao warned Lü Bu that other women might compete with Lü Lingqi for the Empress's Position, but Lü Bu trusted Liu Xie's promise and went drinking with him.
• Liu Xie worried that his promises to both the Zhen Clan and Lü Bu had created a hidden danger as the realm's unification made choosing an empress harder to postpone.
• Liu Xie briefly fainted from exhaustion and hunger, recovered after eating pastries, and ordered the Attendant Palace Maid to keep the incident secret.
• Guo Jia and Jia Xu arrived at the Xuan Room, where Liu Xie said the empress question had left him unable to sleep.

Liu Xie asked Jia Xu and Guo Jia how to choose an empress without empowering the Zhen Clan or Lü Bu’s military faction. They considered selecting a common woman, but the chapter ended with the problem of appeasing the Zhen Clan, Lü Bu, and the court still unresolved.

• Liu Xie told Jia Xu and Guo Jia that the officials had pressured him to expand the imperial harem and asked whom he should appoint as empress.
• Jia Xu indirectly prompted Liu Xie to consider choosing someone other than Noble Lady Zhen or Noble Lady Lü, and Guo Jia argued that neither was suitable because their families and allies could gain too much power.
• Liu Xie proposed choosing an empress from among the common people to prevent powerful maternal relatives from interfering in government, and Jia Xu approved the idea.
• Guo Jia pointed out that the Zhen Clan and Duke Wen would have to be appeased, leaving Liu Xie and Jia Xu without a solution.

Liu Xie’s advisers could not find a solution to the dispute over appointing an empress. In Xiangyang, Cao Cao arrived to meet Liu Cong and the supposed Emperor Xian of Han, whose emotional reunion and demand to leave with Cao Cao alarmed his hosts.

• Liu Xie asked Jia Xu and Guo Jia for a way to resolve the empress dispute, but neither offered a solution, so he postponed the matter.
• Liu Cong and Cai Mao waited outside Xiangyang to welcome Cao Cao, while Cai Mao explained that they hoped to use his strength against the Pretender Emperor of Ye City.
• Cao Cao arrived with the elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, impressing Liu Cong and the Jing Province advisers.
• Emperor Xian of Han rushed to Cao Cao, wept as he clutched his sleeve, and Cao Cao tearfully recounted his efforts to find him.
• Emperor Xian of Han asked to return to Jiangdong with Cao Cao, alarming Liu Cong and angering Cai Mao, who urged them to discuss it later.

Emperor Xian of Han accused Cai Mao and his allies of murdering Liu Biao and Liu Qi, but Cao Cao dismissed the charge and entered Xiangyang with Liu Cong. In Yi Province, Liu Zhang debated making peace with Liu Bei until Huang Quan proposed a plan to eliminate him.

• Emperor Xian of Han publicly accused Cai Mao and his allies of poisoning Liu Biao and his son, but Cao Cao declared the emperor misled and let Cai Mao’s men escort him back to the city.
• Liu Cong and Cai Mao welcomed Cao Cao into Xiangyang, while Cao Cao told Cao Ren that he had not seized the city because holding it would be difficult.
• Liu Zhang worried that his forces could not defeat Liu Bei after Liu Cong withdrew from the war and asked his advisors whether he should offer Liu Bei half of Yi Province.
• Liu Ba warned Liu Zhang that a truce would give Liu Bei time to recover, and Huang Quan offered a plan to eliminate him.

Liu Bei considered Liu Zhang’s offer of half of Yi Province and, on Xu Shu’s advice, agreed to travel to Shu Commandery for peace negotiations. He arrived with Guan Yu and guards, where Liu Zhang welcomed him warmly and led him toward a feast, while concealing his alarm at Guan Yu’s presence.

• Huang Quan urged Liu Zhang to lure Liu Bei to a banquet and have concealed soldiers kill him, and Liu Zhang sent an emissary to invite Liu Bei to peace talks.
• Liu Bei rejected the initial offer of peace, but reconsidered after the emissary offered half of Yi Province and asked Xu Shu and Pang Tong for advice.
• Xu Shu argued that Liu Bei’s army needed supplies and rest, so Liu Bei agreed to negotiate for half the province despite Zhang Fei and Guan Yu favoring continued war.
• Liu Bei decided to attend the talks in person and took Guan Yu and five hundred guards, leaving Zhang Fei to guard Ba Commandery.
• Liu Zhang greeted Liu Bei at the Shu Commandery landing, apologized for the war, and invited him and Guan Yu into the city for a welcoming feast.

Liu Bei attended a banquet hosted by Liu Zhang, who planned to kill him, but Guan Yu sensed the danger before the attack began. Fa Zheng warned Liu Bei and Guan Yu that the West Gate was unguarded, leaving them a possible escape route.

• Liu Bei demanded that Liu Zhang confirm his promise to cede half of Yi Province, and Liu Zhang agreed to discuss the boundaries the next day.
• Guan Yu recognized that the dancers were disguised soldiers and watched Liu Zhang, who lost his nerve and did not give the signal to attack.
• After Liu Bei and Guan Yu left the banquet hall, Huang Quan and Wang Lian urged Liu Zhang to proceed with the ambush, and Liu Zhang agreed to leave before they attacked.
• Guan Yu told Liu Bei that Liu Zhang seemed suspicious and proposed taking him hostage to escape the city.
• Fa Zheng introduced himself to Liu Bei and revealed that swordsmen and axemen were waiting outside the residence, advising the two men to flee through the unguarded West Gate.

Fa Zheng warned Liu Bei that Liu Zhang planned to kill him, allowing Liu Bei and Guan Yu to flee Chengdu. Pursued by Liu Zhang’s forces, Liu Bei escaped across a stream when his horse Dilu leaped to the opposite bank, while Guan Yu stayed behind to face the pursuers.

• Fa Zheng revealed Liu Zhang’s plot to Liu Bei and urged him to leave Chengdu, then said he planned to resign and serve the Son of Heaven in Ye City.
• Liu Bei and Guan Yu escaped through the West Gate, but Huang Quan told Liu Zhang they had fled, and Liu Zhang sent Zhang Ren and Wu Lan after them.
• When a force of several thousand caught up, Guan Yu stayed behind with five hundred soldiers while Liu Bei rode south alone.
• Wu Lan’s cavalry pursued Liu Bei, who became trapped in a stream when Dilu carried him into the water.
• Dilu leaped across the stream with Liu Bei, and Liu Bei escaped after warning Wu Lan that he would report Liu Zhang’s betrayal to the Son of Heaven.

Liu Xie directed the court’s preparations for rebuilding Luoyang and future campaigns while Zhen Mi learned that her clan had profited from land seized under the reclamation policy. The chapter left Zhen Mi accusing Zhen Yi of understating the clan’s wealth as she pointed out its enormous profits.

• Liu Xie ordered Empress Fu to choose among portraits of potential consorts and directed Zhuge Liang to oversee Luoyang’s reconstruction with donations from the great clans.
• Liu Xie told Sima Yi to monitor the campaign against the Wuhuan, prepare for a future campaign against Jing Province, and watch Cao Cao’s alliance with Liu Cong.
• Zhen Yi brought treasures to Zhen Mi and explained that the Zhen Clan had seized tens of thousands of mu under the land reclamation policy.
• Zhen Mi rebuked Zhen Yi for competing with commoners for land and reminded him that Liu Xie had warned her about the great clans’ seizures.
• Zhen Mi rejected Zhen Yi’s claim that the clan had acted mainly to support the state, citing its extensive trade and profits from salt, iron, and military spoils.

Zhen Mi rejected Zhen Yi’s plan to send more Zhen Clan women into the palace, while Empress Fu weighed how many candidates to admit to the imperial harem. In You Province, Huang Zhong’s army defeated the Wuhuan in Right Beiping Commandery, and Gongsun Fan urged them to press on and retake all three commanderies.

• Zhen Yi warned Zhen Mi that the imperial heir could determine the empress’s position and proposed sending Zhen Clan women into the palace, but Zhen Mi angrily refused.
• Empress Fu received portraits and registers of women from Great Aristocratic Clans and, after considering whether to admit them all, decided to follow Liu Xie’s instruction to choose carefully.
• Huang Zhong’s army marched rapidly into Right Beiping Commandery and defeated the Wuhuan by striking before they could prepare.
• Gongsun Xu praised Huang Zhong, who credited Guo Jia’s advice to attack immediately.
• Gongsun Fan called on Huang Zhong and Guo Jia to use the victory to drive the Wuhuan out of Right Beiping, West Liaoning, and Liaodong.

After recovering Right Beiping Commandery, Guo Jia and Huang Zhong chose a difficult detour to surprise the Wuhuan at Liucheng. Chanyu Tadun learned of the Han Army’s victory and ordered the Wuhuan to abandon central West Liaoning and retreat north.

• Gongsun Xu identified Tadun’s main camp at Liucheng and warned that the rainy season made a direct advance through West Liaoning dangerous.
• Gongsun Fan described an abandoned route over Mount Xuwu and through Lulong Pass that would take the army more than seven hundred li to reach Liucheng.
• Huang Zhong agreed to lead the exhausting detour, and Guo Jia ordered the army to rest overnight and set out the next day.
• Supuyan woke from his wounds, recounted how the Han Army had crushed his forces, and warned Nanlou not to underestimate its old general.
• Tadun ordered the Wuhuan to abandon central West Liaoning Commandery and retreat north toward Liucheng.

Chanyu Tadun withdrew his forces toward Liucheng while Huang Zhong secretly led ten thousand Han troops around the Wuhuan defenses and reached White Wolf Mountain. Tadun gathered the troops remaining in Liucheng and rode out to confront Huang Zhong’s army, leaving the battle about to begin.

• Chanyu Tadun overruled Nanlou and ordered the Wuhuan forces to withdraw toward Liucheng and prepare their defenses.
• Huang Zhong’s ten thousand troops crossed the White Wolf Mountain Range, and he ordered them to rest before marching on Liucheng.
• Chanyu Tadun heard that the Han Army had not advanced and grew uneasy, but Nanlou believed the Wuhuan defenses were secure.
• A guard reported that more than ten thousand Han troops had reached White Wolf Mountain, prompting Chanyu Tadun to gather Liucheng’s troops and march out.
• Chanyu Tadun encountered Huang Zhong’s iron cavalry and rallied his Wuhuan warriors to fight for their tribes and families.

Huang Zhong’s cavalry shattered the Wuhuan army at Liucheng, and Huang Zhong killed Chanyu Tadun, securing victory. Back in Tuyin City, Guo Jia learned that the expedition had succeeded and that Wuhuan leaders and royal clansmen had been captured.

• Huang Zhong, Gongsun Xu, and Gongsun Fan led the Han cavalry into the Wuhuan army and broke its formation.
• Chanyu Tadun rallied his warriors and charged the Han troops, briefly restoring their morale.
• Huang Zhong shot Chanyu Tadun through the eye, killing him and sending the Han army’s morale soaring.
• Guo Jia worried that Huang Zhong’s troops might be lost behind enemy lines and prepared to request reinforcements.
• Cui Lin told Guo Jia that Huang Zhong had routed the Wuhuan army, captured its leaders and royal clansmen, and killed Chanyu Tadun.

After the Han Army crushed the Wuhuan and captured Liucheng, Huang Zhong sought another campaign to earn military merit, while Guo Jia insisted they first recover Liaodong. Cui Lin proposed becoming an envoy to Goguryeo and dying there to give the Han a pretext for war, hoping to win lasting fame.

• Guo Jia and Cui Lin joined Huang Zhong in Liucheng and congratulated him for killing Chanyu Tadun and defeating the Wuhuan.
• Huang Zhong asked Guo Jia how to handle the more than one hundred thousand Wuhuan prisoners, and Guo Jia said they should consult the Son of Heaven.
• Guo Jia proposed recovering Liaodong and returning to court, but Huang Zhong urged the army to continue fighting the Xiongnu and Xianbei for more military merit.
• Gongsun Fan suggested conquering Goguryeo, but Guo Jia rejected attacking it without cause.
• Cui Lin volunteered to go to Goguryeo as an envoy, hoping his death would provide a justification for war and earn him a place in history.

Cui Lin set out to provoke Goguryeo into killing him so Great Han could use his death as grounds to conquer it. In Ye City, Liu Xie comforted Zhen Mi over her inability to conceive and welcomed Fa Zheng, who brought Liu Bei’s warning that Liu Zhang intended to rebel.

• Cui Lin told Guo Jia, Huang Zhong, Gongsun Fan, and Gongsun Xu that he would go to Goguryeo with the Tiger Guards and that they should invade once they heard of his death.
• Liu Xie found Zhen Mi preparing an infant’s garment, and she wept over her failure to conceive an heir after more than three years in the palace.
• Liu Xie reassured Zhen Mi that he loved her and claimed she might conceive after he moved the capital back to Luoyang; they retired together for the night.
• Gao Lan announced that Fa Zheng had come to court on Liu Bei’s recommendation, and Liu Xie warmly welcomed him.
• Fa Zheng explained that he had warned Liu Bei of Liu Zhang’s ambush and gave Liu Xie a letter accusing Liu Zhang of treacherous intentions and rebellion.

Liu Xie celebrated Huang Zhong’s swift victory over the Wuhuan and asked his ministers how to deal with more than a hundred thousand prisoners. Fa Zheng saw the strength of Liu Xie’s forces firsthand, while the court’s debate over the prisoners began with Lü Bu calling for their execution.

• Liu Xie condemned Liu Zhang for plotting against Liu Bei and welcomed Fa Zheng into his service with lavish praise.
• Sima Yi reported that Huang Zhong had defeated the Wuhuan at White Wolf Mountain, killed Tadun, and recovered the three occupied commanderies; Cui Lin had also gone to Goguryeo as an envoy.
• Fa Zheng asked about Huang Zhong’s campaign and learned that he had led ten thousand troops, after previously fighting at Hefei alongside Zhang Liao.
• Liu Xie announced Huang Zhong’s victory to the court, where the officials praised the general and Lü Bu and Zhang Liao traded jabs about their past battles.
• Liu Xie asked how the court should handle the more than one hundred thousand Wuhuan prisoners, and Lü Bu immediately urged that they all be killed.

Liu Xie approved Zhuge Liang’s plan to execute Wuhuan leaders and integrate their people, then declared Goguryeo Han territory and resolved to conquer it. Yang Xiu and Kong Rong backed his claim with a supposedly ancient record, while Cui Lin’s mission to Goguryeo became the focus of the court’s debate.

• Zhuge Liang proposed executing Wuhuan leaders and absorbing ordinary prisoners into the Great Han, and Liu Xie approved the plan after hearing support from the court.
• Sima Yi criticized Cui Lin for traveling to Goguryeo as an envoy without imperial authorization, while Cui Yan defended his younger brother’s mission.
• Liu Xie recalled that Goguryeo lay near his former home in Northeast China and declared that it belonged to the Great Han, calling for its conquest.
• Yang Xiu claimed an ancient text proved Goguryeo had belonged to Huaxia since the Qin era, then prompted Kong Rong to confirm the claim.
• Kong Rong understood Yang Xiu’s hint and claimed he had read an ancient scroll recording Goguryeo as ancestral Huaxia territory.