Chapter Summaries

The Dare-to-Die Battalion and Lü Bu’s cavalry struck the Cao army, and Lü Bu drove Xiahou Dun from their duel. Cao Chun then led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry into battle, breaking through Gao Shun’s formation before clashing with Lü Bu.

• Gao Shun led the Dare-to-Die Battalion into the Cao army and held its ground while fighting deep within enemy ranks.
• Xiahou Dun led cavalry against the battalion, prompting Gao Shun to tighten its formation as Zhang Liao signaled Lü Bu to attack.
• Lü Bu and the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry struck the Cao army’s flank, and Lü Bu charged Xiahou Dun, who fled after a dozen exchanges.
• Cao Chun arrived with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and broke through the Dare-to-Die Battalion’s formation.
• Lü Bu met Cao Chun’s charge with his Sky-Piercer Halberd, badly numbing Cao Chun’s arms, and Xiahou Dun ordered him to retreat.

After Lü Bu routed Xiahou Dun's army, he shot out Xiahou Dun's eye, while Xiahou Dun tore it out and ate it before retreating. In Ye City, Guo Jia and Jia Xu reported their victories to Liu Xie and revealed that their schemes had turned Shen Pei and Xu You against each other, creating a chance to disrupt Yuan Shao's campaign.

• Cao Chun withdrew after Lü Bu wounded his hand, and Xiahou Dun ordered the army to retreat as Lü Bu pressed the attack.
• Lü Bu shot Xiahou Dun in the left eye; Xiahou Dun pulled out the ruined eye, ate it, bound the wound, and retreated with Cao Chun.
• Gao Shun relayed Zhang Liao's signal against pursuing too far, so Lü Bu withdrew and ordered his men to collect the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's armor.
• Guo Jia told Liu Xie that Lü Bu had routed Xiahou Dun's army and that Lü Bu and Liu Bei now controlled five of Yang Province's nine commanderies.
• Jia Xu and Guo Jia explained that Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan remained stalemated, then reported that Shen Pei had arrested Xu You's son, worsening the feud between Shen Pei and Xu You.

Liu Xie and his advisers discussed how Jia Xu had engineered a scandal to deepen the divide between Yuan Shao’s Runan and Ji Province factions and make Xu You easier to recruit. After Yuan Shao sided with Shen Pei and ordered Xu You’s son punished, Xu You left the government residence heartbroken, where a familiar man called out to him from a carriage.

• Liu Xie asked Guo Jia and Jia Xu whether they could win Xu You over, and Jia Xu argued that Yuan Shao’s favoritism toward Shen Pei could turn Xu You against him.
• Jia Xu revealed that he had arranged the embezzlement scandal and led Xu You to believe Shen Pei had framed his son.
• Guo Jia explained that a harsh punishment would inflame Xu You’s resentment and deepen divisions between Yuan Shao’s factions, while Jia Xu promised to approach Xu You.
• Xu You confronted Shen Pei with a written confession, but Shen Pei showed him Yuan Shao’s order to punish his son severely.
• Xu You learned that Yuan Shao had answered Shen Pei but not his own plea, and he left grieving that their friendship had not earned his trust.
• A carriage stopped beside Xu You, and a pale, plump man lifted its curtain and addressed him as Ziyuan.

Jia Xu deepened Xu You’s resentment toward Yuan Shao after Shen Pei executed Xu You’s family, while Zhen Mi returned to Ye City with the Zhen Clan’s secret pledge to support Liu Xie. Liu Xie began preparing to act on the alliance, but Guo Jia brought alarming news that Yuan Shao planned to send the emperor to oversee the fighting at the You-Ji front.

• Jia Xu encouraged Xu You to blame Yuan Shao for failing to intervene in his son’s case, nurturing Xu You’s hatred.
• Shen Pei executed Xu You’s son and wife, and Xu You returned to his duties only after Yuan Shao reprimanded him.
• Zhen Mi returned to Ye City and gave Liu Xie a letter pledging the Zhen Clan’s secret support.
• Liu Xie summoned Guo Jia and Jia Xu to discuss plans that could use the Zhen Clan’s support.
• Guo Jia told Liu Xie that Yuan Shao had decided to send him to oversee the fighting at the You-Ji front, shocking the emperor.

Liu Xie learned that Yuan Shao was sending him to the You Province front to hasten the war against Gongsun Zan, leaving him angry and fearful of being used as a battlefield shield. He told Zhen Mi about the danger and revealed money-making and iron-smelting methods he claimed to have received from Emperor Gaozu in a dream.

• Guo Jia told Liu Xie that Yuan Shao had accepted Ju Shou's plan to send him to the front, and that he would leave the next day with Chunyu Qiong and five thousand soldiers.
• Liu Xie asked Guo Jia to summon Jia Xu and discussed the Zhen Clan's secret support, then vowed to gain control of Ji Province and Ye City.
• Liu Xie visited Zhen Mi and told her he had to oversee the fighting in You Province in person; she feared for his safety and grieved at Yuan Shao's treatment of him.
• Liu Xie comforted Zhen Mi and explained that he had devised ways to make money and smelt iron so the Zhen Clan could support Lü Bu without exhausting its wealth.
• Liu Xie said Emperor Gaozu had taught him techniques from The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, including making colored glass, refining salt, improving iron production, and designing military equipment.

Liu Xie gave Zhen Mi techniques for glassmaking, refining salt, improving ironwork, and producing military equipment, then refused her request to accompany him to the You Province front. He told Jia Xu and Guo Jia that he had a way to help Gongsun Zan resist Yuan Shao, and Jia Xu guessed that Liu Xie might provide him with stirrups, horseshoes, and weapons.

• Liu Xie explained several profitable crafts and military innovations to Zhen Mi, who recorded the techniques for the Zhen Clan to test in secret.
• Zhen Mi asked to accompany Liu Xie to the front, but he refused because of the danger and her fragile health.
• Jia Xu warned Zhang He and Gao Lan to protect Liu Xie during the journey to You Province, while Guo Jia and Jia Xu worried that Yuan Shao’s growing power would leave Liu Xie a puppet.
• Liu Xie said he had a way to help Gongsun Zan resist Yuan Shao, prompting Jia Xu to ask whether he planned to sell Gongsun Zan stirrups, horseshoes, and weapons.

Liu Xie backed efforts to strengthen Gongsun Zan against Yuan Shao while Sun Ce and Zhou Yu discussed their plans in Yang Province and sought to marry the Two Qiaos. An imperial decree selected Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao to enter Liu Xie's palace, and Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were enraged when they learned the sisters were already leaving for Ye City.

• Liu Xie told Jia Xu and Guo Jia that their efforts and the Zhen Clan's support might help Gongsun Zan challenge Yuan Shao.
• Sun Ce asked Zhou Yu whether Gongsun Zan could resist Yuan Shao, and Zhou Yu predicted Gongsun Zan would eventually fall while advising Sun Ce to wait and expand into Jing and Yi Provinces.
• Sun Ce and Zhou Yu agreed to seek the Two Qiaos in marriage after seeing them in Wan City.
• An imperial emissary delivered Liu Xie's decree naming Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao Beauties and summoning them to Ye City; Qiao Gong accepted the decree.
• As Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao departed for Ye City, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu learned they had been chosen for the palace, and Zhou Yu stopped Sun Ce from rushing to intercept them.

Liu Xie arrived at Yuan Shao’s camp near Yi City, where Yuan Shao tasked him with rallying the army before an assault on Gongsun Zan’s stronghold. Liu Xie saw Ju Yi as a potential recruit, while Ju Shou worried that letting him address the troops could backfire.

• Sun Ce, grieving that the Two Qiaos were being taken to Ye City, accepted Zhou Yu’s advice to seek a marriage alliance with Lü Bu by asking for his daughter’s hand.
• Liu Xie traveled from Ye City toward the You Province battlefield under the close protection of Zhang He and Gao Lan, and learned that Yi City was less than thirty li away.
• Ju Yi met Liu Xie’s procession with a disciplined cavalry unit and escorted him into Yuan Shao’s camp, where Liu Xie considered recruiting him.
• Yuan Shao welcomed Liu Xie and ordered him to review the army and give a morale-raising speech before the planned assault on Yi City.
• Ju Shou warned Yuan Shao that Liu Xie might lose his nerve before the troops and damage the army’s morale.

Liu Xie prepared to review Yuan Shao’s army, and Yuan Shao dismissed Ju Shou’s doubts about the emperor’s fawning behavior. At the review, Liu Xie stirred the soldiers’ loyalty with a forceful speech, and the chapter ended with the army acclaiming him and the Han.

• Yuan Shao reassured Ju Shou that Liu Xie’s flattery was merely a way to survive and entered the command camp.
• News spread through Yuan Shao’s army that Liu Xie had arrived and would review the troops in three days, exciting the soldiers.
• Liu Xie rode before thirty thousand Ji Province soldiers and ascended the command platform to drums and ceremony.
• Liu Xie praised the soldiers’ sacrifices, denounced the Han’s enemies, and called on them to take Yi City.
• Zhang He, Gao Lan, and the soldiers knelt and vowed to follow Liu Xie, while he called for the Han’s enduring glory.

Liu Xie used a military review and his presence at Yi City to boost Yuan Shao’s army and pressure Gongsun Zan’s defenders into surrender. Gongsun Zan acknowledged Liu Xie, then turned the Son of Heaven’s authority against Yuan Shao by accusing him of endangering the emperor.

• Liu Xie rallied Yuan Shao’s thirty thousand soldiers, while Yuan Shao wondered why the review had gone so well and Ju Shou remained gloomy.
• A scout reported that Yuan Shao’s entire army was marching on Yi City, and Gongsun Zan ordered his forces ready and summoned Tian Kai’s troops.
• Yuan Shao brought Liu Xie to the front and had him demand that Gongsun Zan’s forces submit, leaving the defenders shaken and unwilling to fight the Son of Heaven.
• Tian Yu urged Gongsun Zan to recognize Liu Xie and accuse Yuan Shao of forcing the emperor into danger, so Gongsun Zan could claim to purge villains from the sovereign’s side.
• Gongsun Zan knelt to greet Liu Xie, then denounced Yuan Shao as a villain who endangered the Son of Heaven and compared him to Dong Zhuo.

Gongsun Zan accused Yuan Shao of treason and listed seven crimes before the armies at Yi City. After Wen Chou challenged Gongsun Zan’s forces, Zhao Yun nearly defeated him, but Yuan Shao sent Yan Liang to join the fight, turning the battle against Zhao Yun.

• Gongsun Zan accused Yuan Shao of holding Liu Xie hostage and publicly listed seven crimes against him, then swore to kill him.
• Yuan Shao ordered Wen Chou to challenge Gongsun Zan’s warriors and weaken their morale.
• Gongsun Zan sent Zhao Yun to face Wen Chou, and Zhao Yun identified himself as Zhao Zilong of Changshan.
• Zhao Yun gained the advantage after thirty exchanges, leaving Wen Chou in danger of being killed.
• Yuan Shao sent Yan Liang to assist Wen Chou, and the two generals forced Zhao Yun onto the back foot.

Zhao Yun fought through Yuan Shao’s forces after killing Wen Chou and nearly reached Yuan Shao and Liu Xie, but Ju Yi stopped his attack. Gongsun Fan and Yan Gang’s White Horse Volunteers rescued Zhao Yun with a feint and returned with him to Yi City.

• Gongsun Zan sent Gongsun Fan to aid Zhao Yun, who killed Wen Chou, disarmed Yan Liang, and fought his way through Yuan Shao’s soldiers.
• Zhao Yun charged toward Yuan Shao and Liu Xie, fought Yan Liang, Han Meng, and Chunyu Qiong, and knocked Han Meng and Chunyu Qiong from their horses.
• Zhao Yun broke through to Yuan Shao, but Ju Yi blocked his spear and the surrounding soldiers renewed their attack.
• Gongsun Fan and Yan Gang led the White Horse Volunteers out of Yi City, and Yan Gang’s feint let them rescue Zhao Yun from the encirclement.
• Yuan Shao ordered archers to shoot at the retreating riders, but Zhao Yun and the White Horse Volunteers evaded the arrows and escaped back to Yi City.

Lü Bu celebrated his daughter’s appointment as a Noble Lady and rejected Sun Ce’s proposal for a marriage alliance, declaring Sun Ce a rebel. He ended the chapter furious after driving the emissary out, while Liu Bei and Chen Gong privately suspected Lü Lingqi’s rank might rise further.

• Lü Bu hosted a banquet in Runan to celebrate his daughter entering the palace as a Noble Lady.
• Liu Bei stopped Lü Bu from revealing more about Lü Lingqi’s appointment, and Chen Gong inferred that her rise might not end with the Noble Lady title.
• A guard announced that Sun Ce’s emissary had arrived, and Lü Bu reluctantly agreed to hear him at Chen Gong’s urging.
• Sun Ce’s emissary proposed a marriage alliance, but Lü Bu called Sun Ce a dog’s son and ordered the guards to throw the emissary out.
• Lü Bu denounced Sun Ce and his family as rebels, while the banquet guests mocked the proposal and praised Lü Lingqi’s future prospects.

Lü Bu learned that the Zhen Clan would secretly supply him and prepared to attack Sun Ce, but news that Yuan Shao had taken the Son of Heaven to the You Province battlefield enraged him. In Lujiang, Zhou Yu urged Sun Ce to profess loyalty to the Son of Heaven, then suggested sending his younger sister to the palace, prompting Sun Ce to curse him.

• Chen Gong advised Lü Bu to wait two years before attacking Sun Ce, but Liu Bei told Lü Bu that the Zhen Clan would secretly provide money, grain, weapons, and armor.
• Lü Bu celebrated the prospect of attacking Sun Ce next spring, then flew into a rage upon learning Yuan Shao had taken the Son of Heaven to the You Province battlefield.
• Liu Bei and Chen Gong stopped Lü Bu from setting off alone to kill Yuan Shao, while Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, and Gao Shun offered to go with him.
• Sun Ce erupted in anger after learning Lü Bu had refused his marriage alliance, and Zhou Yu argued that professing loyalty to the Son of Heaven could erase the stains on Sun Ce's reputation.
• Zhou Yu suggested that Sun Ce send his younger sister to the palace, and Sun Ce cursed him because she was too young and he could not face their father if he did so.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu cleared up a misunderstanding about sending Sun Ce’s little sister to the palace and settled on finding Bu Lianshi instead. After Yuan Shao’s failed assault on Yi City and Wen Chou’s death, Liu Xie returned to Ye City, while Ju Shou began plotting against him and Yuan Shao ordered him away from the front.

• Zhou Yu rebuked Sun Ce for thinking of sending his underage little sister into the palace, and Sun Ce agreed to seek out Bu Lianshi instead.
• Yuan Shao mourned Wen Chou’s death after Zhao Yun defeated the Ji Province Army at Yi City, while Yan Liang demanded another assault and Ju Shou urged caution.
• Yuan Shao watched Liu Xie tend to wounded soldiers, praised his efforts, then ordered Ju Shou to escort him back to Ye City.
• Ju Shou suspected Liu Xie was winning the soldiers’ loyalty and spent the night trying to devise a way to kill him.
• Liu Xie returned to the Imperial Palace in Ye City five days later and headed inside to see Zhen Mi.

Liu Xie returned to the palace and learned that the Zhen Clan had succeeded in producing horseshoes, stirrups, and refined salt, while ironworking and glassmaking remained under development. Zhen Mi then confronted him about Lü Lingqi becoming his consort, and Liu Xie tried to reassure her as her jealousy persisted.

• Liu Xie surprised Zhen Mi in her chambers, teased her about not welcoming him, and promised he would remain in the palace.
• Zhen Mi reported that the Zhen Clan had produced horseshoes, stirrups, and fine salt, while craftsmen were still researching glass and cast steel.
• Liu Xie asked the Zhen Clan to send Lü Bu money, grain, horseshoes, stirrups, and weapons made with the Double-Liquid Quenching Method.
• Zhen Mi told Liu Xie that Lü Lingqi had entered the palace and become a Noble Lady, prompting him to explain that he had taken her as a consort to win over Duke Wen.
• Zhen Mi questioned Liu Xie's reassurances and suggested he visit Lü Lingqi, while Liu Xie admitted he had forgotten to tell her and explained the political need for consorts.

Liu Xie reassured Zhen Mi about taking Lü Lingqi as a consort, then visited Lü Lingqi with her and admired the new consort’s fierce spearwork and martial bearing. Lü Lingqi blushed at his praise, while Zhen Mi offered to learn spear techniques from her.

• Liu Xie comforted Zhen Mi’s jealousy by promising that she alone held his love, and she urged him to visit Lü Lingqi.
• Liu Xie and Zhen Mi walked through the snow to Ziyun Palace, where they found Lü Lingqi practicing spearwork.
• Lü Lingqi greeted Liu Xie with a military salute before correcting herself and using the palace’s consort etiquette.
• Lü Lingqi explained that she practiced martial arts to honor Lü Bu’s instructions and protect Liu Xie.
• Liu Xie praised Lü Lingqi’s martial skills and beauty, and Zhen Mi offered to learn spear techniques from her.

Lü Bu tested the Zhen Clan’s Double Stirrups and learned how greatly they improved cavalry combat and training. He agreed to ask the Zhen Clan for warhorses so he could build a ten-thousand-strong iron cavalry force.

• Lü Bu rode Red Hare to test the Double Stirrups while Chen Gong watched.
• Lü Bu praised the stirrups’ benefits, and Chen Gong tested them himself and agreed they could make the Bing Province Iron Cavalry exceptionally powerful.
• Chen Gong urged Lü Bu to keep the new equipment secret and to have Horseshoes fitted to the army’s horses.
• Lü Bu hesitated to request warhorses from the Zhen Clan, despite his dream of raising ten thousand iron cavalrymen.
• Chen Gong persuaded Lü Bu to seek warhorses for His Majesty’s cause, and Lü Bu grabbed Chen Gong and made him come along.

Cao Cao resolved to seek an alliance with Gongsun Zan against Yuan Shao, while Yuan Shao hosted a New Year’s banquet attended by Liu Xie, Lü Bu, Liu Bei, and Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang asked the emperor to send troops against Zhang Lu, and Liu Xie prepared to hear his case.

• Cao Cao raged over Gongsun Zan’s homage to the Son of Heaven in Ye City and worried that the claim of Liu Xie’s court would lose credibility.
• Xun Yu urged Cao Cao to aid Gongsun Zan against Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao decided to send Gongsun Zan a letter proposing an alliance.
• Cao Cao learned that Xiahou Dun remained despondent after losing his left eye and vowed to take revenge on Lü Bu.
• At Yuan Shao’s New Year’s banquet in Ye City, Liu Zhang asked Liu Xie to send troops against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.
• Liu Xie asked Liu Zhang to explain what had happened in Yi Province, while wondering whether Liu Bei might still gain control of the province.

At the New Year's Eve banquet, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang delayed Yuan Shao's attempt to send Gao Gan against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. Meanwhile, Jia Xu drew out Xu You's plan to defect to Cao Cao, and Liu Bei arranged to speak privately with Lü Bu after the banquet.

• Yuan Shao's advisers backed Gao Gan's request to march on Hanzhong, but Liu Bei also sought command and Liu Zhang postponed the decision until after the New Year.
• Yuan Shao questioned Yuan Tan about Cao Cao's movements and promised Yuan Xi the governorship of You Province, leaving Yuan Shang resentful.
• Jia Xu encouraged Xu You to voice his grievances against Yuan Shao's Ji Province advisers, and Xu You revealed he planned to join Cao Cao in spring and invited Jia Xu to come with him.
• Jia Xu agreed to visit Xu You after the banquet, while Liu Bei asked Lü Bu to stay so they could privately visit Liu Xie.