Chapter Summaries

Lü Bu learned that Xiangyang had fallen, and Cao Cao collapsed after hearing the devastating report. At Swordland, Cao Hong ignored warnings about a fire attack, while Cao Xiu discovered that the composed young deputy general was Lu Xun.

• Chen Gong overheard Lü Bu disparage him, ignored Lü Bu's attempts to apologize, and returned to report that Xiangyang had fallen.
• Cao Cao received Cheng Yu's report that the flood had destroyed the Jing Province navy, swallowed Xiahou Shang's ambush troops, and left Xu Huang's fate unknown; he collapsed in shock.
• Cao Hong ordered his army and reinforcements to camp in the mountain woods, despite a deputy general warning that the dry forest made them vulnerable to fire.
• Cao Hong struck the deputy general with a wine cup and ordered him beaten, but Cao Xiu stopped the guards and supported the warning.
• Cao Xiu asked the deputy general his name and learned that he was Lu Xun of the Lu Clan of Wu Commandery.

Liu Bei welcomed Zhang Liao and Zhang He’s reinforcements at Deyang County and proposed a fire attack against Cao’s army, which had camped in wooded hills. Sima Yi warned that the camp might be bait, while Pang Tong argued that Cao’s commanders would not expect Liu Bei to abandon his defensive posture.

• Cao Xiu recruited Lu Xun to serve under him and ordered the army to camp in the wooded hills as Cao Hong had suggested.
• Zhang Liao, Zhang He, and Sima Yi arrived at Deyang County as civilians evacuated on Liu Bei’s orders.
• Liu Bei praised Zhang Liao’s soldiers for their discipline, and Zhang Liao explained that the Han Army followed military regulations established by Liu Xie.
• Liu Bei told Zhang Liao that Cao’s reinforcements had reached Swordland and revealed that he and Pang Tong had planned to attack the enemy camps with fire.
• Sima Yi suspected the wooded camps were a trap, but Pang Tong argued that Cao’s army would not expect Liu Bei to launch an attack after months of holding Swordland.

Liu Bei led a night raid against the Cao Army camp despite Sima Yi’s warning, while Zhang He positioned the Mo Dao Army to intercept fleeing soldiers. The operation began with Han troops silently eliminating Cao patrols in the mountains, and Liu Bei’s force continued toward the camp.

• Sima Yi advised caution, but Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, and Zhang He agreed to launch a raid on the Cao camp.
• Cao Xiu held a feast to lure the Han forces into an ambush, then withdrew his hidden troops when they did not attack.
• Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei led three thousand soldiers into the mountains while Zhang He waited below with the Mo Dao Army.
• A Cao patrol challenged Liu Bei’s group, and the Han soldiers killed the patrol with repeating crossbows before pressing onward.
• Han troops across the mountains silently eliminated Cao patrols as the raid proceeded.

Liu Bei’s forces set fire to the Cao Army camp and surrounding woods, forcing Cao Xiu’s troops to flee into an ambush. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei led the Han Army into battle, leaving the Cao Army under attack as Zhang Fei charged toward its command banner.

• Liu Bei led more than a thousand Han Army soldiers to set fire to the Cao Army’s supplies and camp while Guan Yu ignited the mountain woods and then retreated.
• After seeing the fires, Zhang Liao marched ten thousand soldiers out of Deyang County to reinforce Liu Bei, leaving Sima Yi in charge of the city.
• Lu Xun woke Cao Xiu and urged him to escape as flames engulfed the camp, and Cao Xiu ordered the army to retreat northwest after learning the Han Army had attacked.
• Liu Bei regrouped with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at the foot of the mountain and prepared an ambush for the fleeing Cao Army.
• The Han Army struck the Cao troops with crossbow bolts, then Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei charged into the ensuing battle.
• Liu Bei fought through the Cao ranks with his twin swords while Zhang Fei charged toward the enemy commander’s banner.

Liu Bei’s forces defeated Cao Hong’s army after Zhang He and Zhang Liao arrived with reinforcements, while Ma Chao gathered Qiang tribal leaders to discuss the Han court’s campaign against Cao Cao. The chapter ended with Ma Chao trying to explain why the Pretender Emperor’s personal expedition presented good news for them.

• Zhang He led the Mo Dao Army into the battle, helping Guan Yu kill Cao Xiu, Zhang Fei kill Cao Hong, and Liu Bei kill Lu Xun.
• Zhang Liao arrived with reinforcements, and the encircled Cao soldiers were killed or surrendered.
• Zhang Liao praised Liu Bei’s role in the victory and promised to report the contributions of his brothers and Pang to the Son of Heaven.
• Zhang Fei asked whether their deeds could earn them places in Lingyun Pavilion, and Liu Bei promised to present their achievements to the Son of Heaven.
• Ma Chao told the Qiang tribal leaders that the Pretender Emperor had personally led a large army south against Cao Cao, then asked whether they understood the significance of an imperial expedition.

Ma Chao forced the Qiang tribal chiefs to commit their warriors and slaves to an attack on Chang'an, and the tribes marched under his command. In Chang'an, Jia Xu teased the overworked Fa Zheng about his diligence and reflected on growing court infighting.

• Ma Chao told the tribal chiefs that the Emperor had taken his army south and urged them to seize the chance to capture Chang'an.
• The chiefs hesitated because their thirty thousand warriors were too few, but Ma Chao threatened them and proposed using their slaves to storm the passes.
• The Zhongqiang Tribe's chief and the other chiefs agreed to obey Ma Chao, who ordered them to mobilize every warrior and slave and march in three days.
• The Qiang tribes assembled their forces and slaves and set out toward Chang'an with Ma Chao.
• In the Xuan Room, Jia Xu sipped chilled plum soup while Fa Zheng worked through memorials, and Fa Zheng reproached him for leaving the workload to him.
• After Fa Zheng finished, Jia Xu praised his diligence and warned that officials were beginning to pursue power and profit as the realm grew stable.

Jia Xu and Fa Zheng received news that Ma Chao was invading Yong Province with more than a hundred thousand men while Chang'an was poorly defended. Jia Xu ordered the city prepared for a siege and kept the invasion secret, and Fa Zheng pledged to stand with him.

• A eunuch reported that Liu Bei and the Marquis of Champion had destroyed the Cao army invading Yi Province, killing Cao Xiu and Cao Hong.
• An Embroidered-Clothes Envoy reported that Ma Chao had entered Yong Province with more than a hundred thousand men and would reach Xiaoguan within five days.
• Gao Lan warned Jia Xu and Fa Zheng that Chang'an had only five thousand defenders, while most of the empire’s forces were with the Son of Heaven in the south.
• Jia Xu ordered word sent to the Son of Heaven and the Luoyang garrison, and told Gao Lan to keep Ma Chao’s invasion secret.
• Jia Xu insisted that Chang'an must be held to protect the Son of Heaven’s army and prevent the court officials from fleeing.
• Fa Zheng pledged to follow Jia Xu and live or die defending Chang'an.

Jia Xu warned Lü Lingqi that Ma Chao was advancing on Chang'an with an army of one hundred thousand and urged her to flee with the Eldest Princess. Lü Lingqi refused to abandon the city, but agreed to send her daughter south to join His Majesty and Duke Wen, leaving herself behind to face the danger.

• Jia Xu visited Lü Lingqi at Jade Hall Palace and told her to take the Eldest Princess out of Chang'an because Ma Chao was approaching with one hundred thousand troops.
• Lü Lingqi rejected Jia Xu's plan to evacuate her, insisting she would stay and defend Chang'an rather than dishonor her military family.
• Jia Xu warned Lü Lingqi that Ma Chao might capture her daughter and use her to threaten His Majesty and Duke Wen.
• Lü Lingqi agreed to send the Eldest Princess away but resolved to remain in Chang'an herself.
• That night, Lü Lingqi entrusted Liu Ying to a maid and watched the carriage carry her daughter away into the night.

Lü Lingqi left Chang'an’s defense to Jia Xu, while Ma Chao’s invading army besieged Xiaoguan and its defenders sacrificed themselves to evacuate the civilians. Jia Xu fortified Chang'an and expanded its army, drawing the court officials’ scrutiny as Fa Zheng reported that 2,400 recruits had been handed to General Gao for training.

• Lü Lingqi offered to fight for Chang'an, but Jia Xu assured her he had a plan to defend the city.
• Ma Chao ordered the Qiang forces to assault Xiaoguan with waves of slaves, while the defending general rallied his thousand soldiers to hold the pass for two days.
• Xiaoguan’s defenders held out for three days, allowing all civilians to evacuate, but every officer and soldier died, including the defending general.
• Jia Xu sent men to escort Eldest Princess Liu Ying from Chang'an, then sealed the city, fortified its walls, and recruited able-bodied young men into the City Defense Army.
• Fa Zheng told Jia Xu that 2,400 recruits had been gathered over seven days and handed over to General Gao for training.

Jia Xu revealed to Chang'an’s officials that Ma Chao had invaded Yong Province with over a hundred thousand troops and was advancing on the city, explaining why he had sealed Chang'an and recruited soldiers. The ministers panicked and argued over whether to defend the city or flee as the enemy approached.

• Jia Xu ordered Fa Zheng to keep recruiting soldiers and secure enough weapons and armor before Ma Chao’s army arrived.
• Fu Wan, Yang Biao, Cui Yan, and other officials confronted Jia Xu over sealing Chang'an and demanded an explanation.
• Jia Xu assured the officials that the campaign and the Son of Heaven were safe, then disclosed Ma Chao’s invasion and advance through Xiaoguan.
• The ministers panicked at the news, and Cui Yan and Fu Wan berated Jia Xu for withholding it and preparing to defend Chang'an.
• Dong Zhong urged the officials to stop arguing and withdraw before the enemy reached the city.

Jia Xu revealed that Chang'an had to be defended and rallied the officials as Ma Chao and the Qiang army arrived to besiege the city. With enemy forces vastly outnumbering the defenders, Gao Lan prepared to answer their demand for surrender.

• Jia Xu told the officials that Chang'an could not be abandoned and promised that reinforcements would arrive within a month if they held the city.
• Yuan Xi reported enemy troops near Chang'an and pledged to defend the city with the City Defense Army.
• Ma Chao arrived with the Qiang tribes and ordered them to demand Chang'an's surrender, threatening to massacre the city if it resisted.
• Jia Xu learned from Pang De that Ma Chao's army included about forty thousand regular troops and seventy or eighty thousand slaves.
• Gao Lan seized his spear and offered to ride out against the Qiang cavalry, but someone told him to wait.

Jia Xu ordered the Qiang nobles held by Chang'an’s defenders to be tortured and killed, provoking Ma Chao into launching an assault on the city. As the battle began, the story shifted to Jing Province, where Liu Xie accompanied the Han Army’s successful advance against Cao’s forces.

• Jia Xu told Yuan Xi to take the captured Qiang nobles outside Chang'an and kill them brutally rather than answer the Qiang’s provocation with surrender.
• Yuan Xi’s men executed and dragged the prisoners before the Qiang army, and Yuan Xi declared that the rebels would have to cross the Han Army’s bodies to enter Chang'an.
• Ma Chao ordered the enraged Qiang forces to attack, and their archers fired a massive volley at Chang'an’s walls.
• Pang De organized the defenders against the arrow barrage and the slave troops climbing the siege ladders, while Jia Xu and Fa Zheng left the walls for safety.
• In Jing Province, the Han Army continued its successful campaign after taking Xiangyang and Nanyang, while Liu Xie traveled with the army to reassure residents and encourage soldiers.

Liu Xie approved Guo Jia's plan to accept the Jiangdong clans' surrender and learned that Jiangxia would likely fall within two months. When Ma Chao and the Qiang threatened Chang'an with an army of over a hundred thousand, Liu Xie decided to lead thirty thousand elite troops to its relief while Zhuge Liang continued the campaign in Jing Province.

• Zhuge Liang presented Guo Jia's request for authority to accept the Jiangdong clans' surrender, and Liu Xie agreed to let Guo Jia act as he saw fit.
• Zhuge Liang estimated that the Han Army would capture Jiangxia City within two months, and Liu Xie ordered rewards for the soldiers.
• Yang Xiu reported that Ma Chao had rallied the Qiang and their slaves into an army of over a hundred thousand to attack Chang'an.
• Yang Xiu revealed that Jia Xu had sent the eldest princess toward Xiangyang but planned to defend Chang'an with the garrison, officials, and commoners.
• Lü Bu demanded permission to relieve Chang'an, and Zhuge Liang offered to continue the Jing Province campaign while Liu Xie went north.
• Liu Xie ordered Zhao Yun to select thirty thousand elite troops to accompany him to Chang'an.

Liu Xie led thirty thousand troops with Zhao Yun to relieve Chang’an while Lü Bu stayed behind in Jing Province and entrusted his daughter’s rescue to Zhao Yun. In Changsha, news that Ma Chao had besieged Chang’an lifted Cao Cao’s spirits and prompted him to march on Red Cliffs to rescue Jiangxia.

• Liu Xie rejected Lü Bu’s offer to lead the relief force, left him in Jing Province, and entrusted Zhuge Liang with its defense.
• Lü Bu told Zhao Yun to rescue Lü Lingqi and kill Ma Chao, and Zhao Yun pledged to protect Liu Xie and defeat Ma Chao.
• Liu Xie set out for Chang’an with thirty thousand troops, accompanied by Yang Xiu, Chen Gong, Zhao Yun, and Gao Shun.
• Xun You told Cao Cao that Ma Chao had reached Chang’an and that the Han army had withdrawn nearly half its forces from the siege of Jiangxia.
• Cao Cao ordered his armies to advance toward Red Cliffs and decided to lead the expedition himself after his headache suddenly vanished.

With Chang’an under siege, Jia Xu rallied the city’s defenders while concealing how dire their losses were, and learned that the Han reinforcements were still seven days away. The chapter left Yuan Xi and Gao Lan facing an enemy assault expected within two days, with Chang’an’s survival hanging in the balance.

• Jia Xu’s announcement that the Son of Heaven was returning inspired Chang’an’s civilians and wounded veterans to join the defense, and the city repelled more than ten attacks over thirteen days.
• At court, Jia Xu reassured worried officials that Chang’an could hold until the reinforcements arrived, though he privately admitted to Fa Zheng that only a few thousand defenders remained.
• Jia Xu ordered Fa Zheng to release the prisoners to help defend the city and refused to let Lü Lingqi fight on the walls because she was the emperor’s consort.
• On the western wall, a girl brought Yuan Xi wine, and her praise of him over Gao Lan amused the soldiers and briefly lifted their spirits.
• Jia Xu told Yuan Xi and Gao Lan that the reinforcements needed about seven more days, while Ma Chao’s all-out assault was likely to begin within two, leaving Chang’an’s fate dependent on the coming defense.

Ma Chao launched a fierce assault on Chang'an City, sending elite troops up the walls among the slave army. As Gao Lan fought to stop them, he shielded the little girl who had been handing out food from incoming crossbow bolts.

• Jia Xu ordered the defenders to prepare for another assault, while Gao Lan and Yuan Xi urged each other to stay alive.
• Ma Chao resolved to capture Chang'an before Imperial Court reinforcements arrived and began an all-out attack.
• Yuan Xi and Gao Lan defended the western wall as the Han Army used donated cooking and lamp oil to set siege ladders ablaze.
• Ma Chao's elite troops reached the wall and established a foothold, forcing the exhausted Han soldiers into desperate, life-for-life fighting.
• Gao Lan charged at the rebels and stepped in front of the little girl as crossbowmen fired at him.

Gao Lan helped the Han defenders repel a major assault on Chang'an, then learned Jia Xu had been wounded and hurried with Yuan Xi to visit him. Outside the city, Ma Chao argued with the tribal chieftains over their failed attack and offered to withdraw if Chang'an surrendered the Empress and paid them.

• Gao Lan fought through the assault despite taking three crossbow bolts in the back, helping the defenders drive the rebels from the walls.
• After a little girl thanked Gao Lan for saving her, Yuan Xi told him Jia Xu had been struck by an enemy arrow, and the two hurried to Jia Xu's residence.
• Ma Chao berated the tribal chieftains for losing three thousand warriors without taking Chang'an, while the Shaohe Tribe Chieftain urged withdrawal.
• Ma Chao threatened the Shaohe Tribe Chieftain with his sword, then relented when the Zhongqiang Chieftain warned that the Han Army might trap them.
• Ma Chao ordered a message sent to Chang'an, offering to withdraw in exchange for the Empress and large quantities of money, silk, and grain.

With Jia Xu unconscious, Fa Zheng revealed that Chang'an was close to falling unless reinforcements arrived. Ma Chao offered to withdraw if Chang'an handed over Empress Fu and three thousand cartloads of supplies, leaving the officials to face his demand.

• Fa Zheng told the officials that Jia Xu had survived his arrow wound but was unconscious and had entrusted him with overseeing affairs.
• Cui Yan challenged Fa Zheng’s assurances, and Fa Zheng admitted that Chang’an’s defenses were severely depleted and might fail if Ma Chao attacked again.
• Cui Yan vowed to bring his clansmen to defend the walls, while Yang Biao urged the officials to unite and buy time for reinforcements.
• Pang De reported that Ma Chao demanded Empress Fu as a hostage and three thousand cartloads of grain, money, and valuables in exchange for withdrawing.

As Chang'an faced Ma Chao's demand for the Empress as a hostage, Fu Wan argued that surrendering his daughter could save the city, while secretly hoping to advance the Fu Family's claim to the Empress's Position. Cui Yan and the other ministers opposed him, and Fu Wan invoked Empress Lü's past endurance of humiliation; the debate remained unresolved, with Lü Lingqi's objection foreshadowed by the chapter title.

• Fa Zheng and the ministers rejected Ma Chao's demand for the Empress as a hostage, but Fu Wan argued that accepting it could preserve Chang'an and its people.
• Cui Lin challenged Fu Wan, who claimed he was willing to sacrifice his daughter for the city while privately plotting to win prestige and the Empress's Position for the Fu Family.
• Fu Wan proposed asking the Empress whether she would leave Chang'an as a hostage, and Yang Biao recognized his political motives but could not publicly expose them.
• Cui Yan and other ministers objected, fearing that surrendering the Empress would bring disgrace upon them and the Han court.
• Fu Wan cited Empress Lü's decision to endure a humiliating proposal from Modu Chanyu to protect the Great Han, arguing that Chang'an should likewise accept temporary humiliation.

Fu Wan pressed Empress Fu to volunteer as a hostage to Ma Chao, hoping to win glory for the Fu Family, while Fa Zheng sought Lü Lingqi’s help to stop him. Lü Lingqi arrived at the Pepper Chamber Palace and rejected the plan, revealing that the Eldest Princess had already been escorted out of Chang'an.

• After Fu Wan argued that Empress Fu should leave Chang'an as a hostage, Fa Zheng sent for Noble Lady Lü to intervene.
• Lü Lingqi practiced with her spear, determined to prepare for Chang'an’s defense, until a palace maid summoned her to meet Fa Zheng and the court officials.
• At the Pepper Chamber Palace, Fu Wan urged Empress Fu to volunteer as a hostage and told her to claim she was saving Chang'an.
• Empress Fu agreed in despair, believing her father wanted her to die for the Fu Family’s prosperity.
• Lü Lingqi arrived before the court officials and declared that she would never agree to sending Empress Fu out as a hostage.
• Fu Wan invoked the Eldest Princess, but Lü Lingqi replied that the Director of the Secretariat had already arranged for her to leave Chang'an.