Recaps

Zhang He, Gao Lan, and Huang Zhong attacked Yuan Shao's forces at Ye City, killing Han Meng and driving Qu Yi into a retreat. As Qu Yi's army began to withdraw, Liu Xie ordered Taishi Ci to light a signal torch over the battlefield.

• Zhang He and Gao Lan led the Feathered Forest Guard in a charge that defeated Han Meng's cavalry, then killed Han Meng after a fierce duel.
• Qu Yi's troops were ambushed by arrows outside Ye City's North Gate, and Qu Yi ordered them to retreat.
• Huang Zhong led a small force out of the North Gate and fought Qu Yi, while Zhang He and Gao Lan arrived behind the enemy with the Feathered Forest Cavalrymen.
• Qu Yi broke off the fight and began withdrawing as his army faced attacks from both sides.
• Liu Xie ordered Taishi Ci to light a torch, and its blaze rose over the battlefield.

Liu Xie used himself as bait to draw Qu Yi into a failed charge, then ordered his forces to pursue the retreating Yuan Shao army. Ju Shou abandoned Qu Yi and fled with four thousand troops toward Qu Liang, where Zhang He’s cavalry prepared to attack.

• Qu Yi charged Liu Xie’s position with the Vanguard Camp, but Huang Zhong, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and their troops stopped the advance and inflicted heavy casualties.
• Qu Yi withdrew after Liu Xie urged him to approach, and Liu Xie ordered his forces to pursue him relentlessly.
• Ju Shou learned that Chunyu Qiong had been killed, Han Meng had died, and Qu Yi was under attack by Zhang Liao’s army and the Feathered Forest Cavalry.
• Ju Shou refused Chen Shuang’s plea to reinforce Qu Yi and retreated toward Qu Liang with four thousand troops.
• Zhang He caught up with Ju Shou near Qu Liang and ordered the Feathered Forest Guard to loose a Three-Shot Volley.

Liu Xie’s forces defeated Yuan Shao’s army outside Ye City, while Zhang He and Gao Lan captured Ju Shou near Qu Liang and Yuan Shao fled toward Hejian. After hearing the battle’s casualties, Liu Xie lamented the loss of troops despite the victory.

• Zhang He and Gao Lan led the Feathered Forest Guard in routing Ju Shou’s army outside Qu Liang, and Yuan Shao fled the city for Hejian.
• Ju Shou refused to surrender at first, but Gao Lan ordered him bound and taken back to Ye City for Liu Xie’s judgment.
• The author announced that the Liu Ai plotline had been removed and that Chapters 197 through 199 had been revised.
• Huang Zhong reported that Liu Xie’s forces had killed two thousand enemy troops, captured six thousand, and suffered over three hundred deaths and twenty-four hundred wounded.
• Liu Xie grieved over the casualties, while Zhang Liao asked why he was unhappy and Huang Zhong apologized for failing to destroy the enemy army completely.

Liu Xie mourned the soldiers killed in the war, then received Zhang He and Gao Lan’s victorious cavalry and their prisoner, Ju Shou. After rejecting Ju Shou’s feigned surrender and recalling their past, Liu Xie led him to the river where they had first met and began spearing fish.

• Liu Xie expressed grief that Han soldiers had died fighting one another, and Yang Xiu suggested building a Memorial Mound for the fallen.
• Zhang He and Gao Lan returned with 1,100 prisoners after defeating 2,820 enemy troops, including Ju Shou.
• Ju Shou accused Cui Yan of betraying Yuan Shao, while Liu Xie asked Ju Shou to serve the nation instead.
• Ju Shou pretended to accept Liu Xie’s offer, but Liu Xie exposed the deception and recalled how Ju Shou had helped imprison him.
• Liu Xie brought Ju Shou to the river where they had first met, then waded in and began spearing fish.

Liu Xie used a fishing trip with the captive Ju Shou to reveal how he had secretly engineered Yuan Shao’s setbacks and prepared to hold Ji Province. Ju Shou realized Yuan Shao was being boxed in on several fronts, while Liu Xie’s plans remained underway.

• Liu Xie fell into the river while trying to spear fish, then had Ju Shou untied and ordered him to catch one with a fishing rod.
• After Ju Shou caught a crucian carp, Liu Xie had him bound and sent the others away before roasting the fish and dismissing Ju Shou’s accusation that he was trying to recruit him.
• Ju Shou warned that Yuan Shao would eventually crush Liu Xie in Ye City, but Liu Xie asked whether Ju Shou would allow Yuan Shao to attack so easily.
• Liu Xie revealed that he had sent Jia Xu to encourage Gongsun Zan to attack Ji Province and had secretly funded Gongsun Zan through the Zhen Clan and Mi Family.
• Liu Xie explained that he had helped set up Yuan Xi’s killing and imprisonment of Yuan Shao, and had arranged Xu You’s move to Cao Cao’s side and Liu Bei’s presence in Yi Province to restrain Yuan Shao’s forces.
• Ju Shou pieced together how Liu Xie’s schemes were keeping Yuan Shao’s armies divided and preventing him from quickly defeating Gongsun Zan or attacking Ye City.

Liu Xie revealed to Ju Shou that he was the true Son of Heaven and persuaded him to write Yuan Shao a letter urging surrender. Ju Shou accepted Liu Xie's identity, ate the grilled fish, and took his own life, leaving Liu Xie to watch as his former enemy and unlikely benefactor died.

• Liu Xie told Ju Shou that his false identity and ugly handwriting had been disguises, then recounted how he had secretly planned to restore the Han Dynasty.
• Liu Xie asked Ju Shou to urge Yuan Shao to surrender, promising to spare the Yuan Clan and give Yuan Xi an important role.
• Ju Shou agreed to write the letter, and Liu Xie read the finished appeal urging Yuan Shao to surrender.
• Ju Shou ate Liu Xie's grilled fish, accepted Liu Xie's promise to care for his family, and called him Your Majesty before killing himself with a dagger.
• Liu Xie watched Ju Shou's blood drift into the river and reflected on how Ju Shou had been both his enemy and the man who changed his fate.

After Ju Shou killed himself, Liu Xie concealed the details of their conversation and returned to the palace with his ministers. There, Sima Yi advised securing Guangping and Yangping before Yuan Shao could recover, and Liu Xie ordered the campaign to begin.

• Liu Xie ordered Zhang He to give Ju Shou an honorable burial beside the Ye River after Ju Shou wrote a letter urging Yuan Shao to surrender and took his own life.
• Liu Xie told his ministers that Ju Shou had died from shame and invited them to eat grilled fish, but they avoided the meal and postponed the victory feast.
• Back at the palace, Liu Xie asked his ministers whether to occupy Wei Commandery or hold Ye City, and Sima Yi urged him to seize Guangping and Yangping as Ye City's defensive barrier.
• Guo Jia, Xun Chen, and Cui Yan agreed with Sima Yi, so Liu Xie ordered troops to occupy Qu Liang and Guantao and issued an edict demanding Wei Commandery's cities welcome the Royal Army.
• Liu Xie praised Sima Yi and resolved to make further use of his talents.

After losing Ye City, Yuan Shao regrouped under Tian Feng’s counsel and fought Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao, where his forces gained the upper hand. The chapter ended with Tian Feng troubled despite the army’s success.

• Liu Xie checked Ju Shou’s surrender letter repeatedly, then sent it to Yuan Shao with a letter of his own.
• Tian Feng told Yuan Shao that Gongsun Zan had advanced to Jieqiao and that Yan Liang had been wounded by Zhao Yun.
• Yuan Shao revealed that Yuan Xi and Zhang Liao had trapped him at Ye City, costing him troops and commanders, while Tian Feng warned that Guangping and Yangping were in danger.
• Yuan Shao accepted Tian Feng’s advice and resolved to drive Gongsun Zan back before his forces could further threaten Ji Province.
• Yuan Shao’s thirty-five-thousand-man force fought Gongsun Zan at Jieqiao, pushed him back thirty li in two days, and celebrated Tian Feng’s strategies.
• Yan Liang and Yuan Tan praised Tian Feng over dinner, but Tian Feng remained troubled by their recent advantage.

Tian Feng suspected that Gongsun Zan was keeping Yuan Shao’s army occupied while the Son of Heaven expanded his power, but Qu Yi’s report that Liu Xie had been on the battlefield left Yuan Shao uncertain who had engineered the trap. After learning that Ju Shou had died, Yuan Shao read Liu Xie’s letter revealing his identity and demanding Yuan Shao surrender, leaving Yuan Shao to confront the emperor’s growing control of Ji Province.

• Tian Feng warned Yuan Shao that Gongsun Zan was deliberately drawing his army into pursuit to hold it back while Zhang Liao seized commanderies in Ji Province.
• Qu Yi returned with only two thousand of his fifteen thousand soldiers and claimed Zhang Liao had held the Son of Heaven in the battle formation.
• Yuan Shao received two confidential letters from Ye City and learned that Ju Shou had died.
• Yuan Shao burned a letter urging him to submit, believing it was a clumsy imitation of Ju Shou’s words.
• Yuan Shao read Liu Xie’s letter, which revealed that Liu Xie was the rightful Han emperor and demanded Yuan Shao surrender in exchange for leniency toward the Yuan Clan.

Yuan Shao learned that the man he had installed as a false Son of Heaven was actually the legitimate Emperor of Han, leaving him terrified and helpless. In Xu County, Emperor Xian suspected Liu Ai had betrayed him and summoned Yang Biao and Fu Wan, while Cao Cao and Xu You headed to the Palace to see what he was planning.

• Yuan Shao read a secret letter revealing that Liu Xie was the legitimate emperor, then collapsed in terror as he recalled how he had mistaken the true Son of Heaven for an impostor.
• Emperor Xian worried that Liu Ai had refused to vindicate him, and Empress Fu suggested sending an imperial physician to check on him.
• The imperial physician reported that Liu Ai had barred visitors, leading Emperor Xian to conclude that Yang Biao and Fu Wan had pressured him into silence.
• Emperor Xian ordered the Tiger Guards to bring Yang Biao and Fu Wan to the Palace.
• Cao Cao and Xu You discussed Liu Ai's disclosure, and Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to let the Tiger Guards take Yang Biao and Fu Wan before heading to the Palace with Xu You.

Emperor Xian of Han confronted Yang Biao and Fu Wan, who insisted he was a pretender plotting to usurp the true emperor. Cao Cao and Xu You overheard their accusations and fled the palace, while Dong Cheng had Yang and Fu bound and removed.

• Emperor Xian of Han accused Yang Biao and Fu Wan of threatening the Director of the Imperial Clan, but Yang denied meeting him and urged the emperor to take his own life.
• Fu Wan accused Emperor Xian of Han of trying to turn the false into the true, and Yang Biao and Dong Cheng accepted his claim.
• Cao Cao realized Fu Wan meant the emperor planned to become the true Son of Heaven, then became afraid and left the palace with Xu You.
• Yang Biao and Fu Wan denounced Emperor Xian of Han as a treacherous pretender and demanded that he kill himself.
• Dong Cheng ordered the guards to bind and gag Yang Biao and Fu Wan, and the Tiger Guard hauled them from the hall.

Dong Cheng tried to recruit Emperor Xian of Han to help him make the Pretender Emperor’s claim real, but Emperor Xian rejected him and drove him out. Cao Cao and Xu You grew suspicious of Xun Yu, while Emperor Xian later told Empress Fu how Yang Biao and Fu Wan had humiliated him.

• Dong Cheng decided to back Emperor Xian of Han and offered to help him turn the false claim into a real one, but Emperor Xian insisted that he was Liu Xie and kicked Dong Cheng out at swordpoint.
• Cao Cao and Xu You discussed the Pretender Emperor’s ambitions and became suspicious that Xun Yu might support him.
• Xun Yu entered to ask about Yang Biao and Fu Wan, then left without learning what Cao Cao and Xu You had been discussing.
• Cao Cao agreed to guard against Xun Yu after Xu You warned that he might betray Cao Cao and enthrone the Pretender Emperor.
• Empress Fu found Emperor Xian of Han lying in the Xuan Room and heard that Yang Biao and Fu Wan had accused him of being a Pretender Emperor and urged him to die.

Emperor Xian of Han agreed to work with Dong Cheng after Empress Fu proposed sacrificing her position to win Dong Cheng's trust. Dong Cheng accepted the alliance and demanded high office, while Emperor Xian promised to make Noble Lady Dong Empress and their son Crown Prince.

• Emperor Xian of Han lamented that his ministers rejected him and nearly took his own life, but Empress Fu stopped him.
• Empress Fu urged Emperor Xian of Han to exploit Dong Cheng's ambition and offered to be deposed so Noble Lady Dong could become Empress.
• Emperor Xian of Han accepted Empress Fu's plan and promised to restore her as Empress after regaining power.
• Dong Cheng received Emperor Xian of Han's summons and assumed the emperor had agreed to cooperate.
• Emperor Xian of Han agreed to Dong Cheng's demand for the posts of Grand General and Grand Marshal, and promised Noble Lady Dong's son the succession.
• Dong Cheng celebrated the alliance and resolved to secure the throne for his Dong Family.

Emperor Xian of Han resolved to become the Son of Heaven everyone expected, then stripped Yang Biao and Fu Wan of their posts and deposed Empress Fu. Cao Cao, Xu You, Yang Biao, and Fu Wan each misread the decree as part of a hidden scheme, leaving Xu You to confront Fu Wan about whether he had helped substitute the Son of Heaven.

• Dong Cheng criticized Emperor Xian of Han for lacking imperial bearing, and Emperor Xian resolved to learn from the Pretender Emperor and become a true Son of Heaven.
• At court, Emperor Xian stripped Yang Biao and Fu Wan of their offices and titles and deposed Empress Fu.
• Cao Cao avoided court and mistakenly concluded that Empress Fu had arranged her own deposition to escape after the Pretender Emperor's identity was exposed.
• Xu You told Yang Biao that he suspected the Pretender Emperor was gathering supporters and that Xun Yu might have joined him.
• Yang Biao learned that Fu Wan was imprisoned and inferred that Fu Wan had known the Pretender Emperor's identity all along.
• Fu Wan rejoiced at Empress Fu's deposition, believing she had escaped and proved her loyalty, until Xu You asked whether he had helped substitute the Son of Heaven.

Liu Xie learned that Liu Bei had gained Liu Zhang’s trust in Yi Province and considered how to strengthen his own position while the Zhen Clan struggled to fund his armies. At court, he ordered a campaign to recover Guangping and Yangping Commanderies and sent Taishi Ci to attack Anyang and Puyang.

• Fu Wan claimed responsibility for the plot, and Xu You left without revealing that he was an inside agent.
• Liu Xie read Liu Bei’s memorial reporting that Gao Gan was bogged down fighting Zhang Lu while Liu Bei steadily gained influence in Yi Province.
• Zhen Mi told Liu Xie that the Zhen Clan could no longer easily afford the army’s weapons, armor, and other expenses, and he promised to find a solution.
• Sima Yi reported that Anyang and Puyang still resisted the imperial edict, so Liu Xie ordered Taishi Ci to take the cities and punish their leaders.
• Guo Jia confirmed the supplies were ready, and Zhang Liao reported that his troops were prepared to march.
• Liu Xie appointed Zhang Liao commander, Zhang He deputy, and Huang Zhong vanguard for a twelve-thousand-man campaign to recover Guangping and Yangping Commanderies.

Liu Xie dealt with the strain of expanding his army and the burdens of ruling, while Yuan Shao wrestled with doubts about whether the Son of Heaven in Ye City was genuine. Yuan Shao nearly confided the truth to Tian Feng but concealed it, leaving Tian Feng suspicious after hearing his strange dream.

• Yang Xiu reported that Liu Xie's six thousand captured soldiers had joined the army, but there were not enough weapons and equipment for them.
• Cui Yan told Liu Xie that he had recruited seven hundred men for the Tiger Warriors Battalion and expected it to reach three thousand by year's end.
• Liu Xie endured a lengthy court session and reflected on the financial and administrative burdens of ruling.
• Yuan Shao compared Liu Xie's two letters and suspected that Yuan Xi had forged the letter claiming Liu Xie was the true Son of Heaven.
• Tian Feng brought Yuan Shao reports on logistics and troop arrangements, then urged him to protect his health.
• Yuan Shao asked Tian Feng to interpret a dream about installing a False Son of Heaven who turned out to be genuine, but he backed away from revealing the truth.

As Yuan Shao prepared to attack Yi City, Gongsun Zan faced the choice of defending the city or abandoning it, but Zhao Yun proposed a trap that relied on Yuan Shao and Tian Feng suspecting an ambush. The chapter ended with Zhao Yun volunteering to defend Yi City with the wounded while Gongsun Fan questioned whether the plan was too risky.

• Yuan Shao told Tian Feng that his forces would soon attack Yi City, then privately lamented missing Gongyu.
• Gongsun Zan learned that he had lost seven thousand men in Hejian and that Yuan Shao could attack Yi City within three days with thirty-five thousand troops.
• Jia Xu explained that Yuan Shao had become more effective because he now followed Tian Feng’s counsel, and advised Gongsun Zan to abandon Yi City.
• Gongsun Zan rejected Jia Xu’s advice, but Zhao Yun proposed moving the main force outside the city and opening its gates to make Yuan Shao suspect a trap.
• Jia Xu praised Zhao Yun’s plan to ambush Yuan Shao as he withdrew, and Zhao Yun offered to defend the city with the wounded while Gongsun Fan warned that the scheme could fail.

Zhao Yun persuaded Gongsun Zan to use an empty-city stratagem to protect Yi City, then faced Yuan Shao’s advancing army alone at the gate. Yuan Shao suspected an ambush, and after a probing detachment entered, the gate doors slammed shut, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Jia Xu judged Zhao Yun’s empty-city plan the best chance to turn defeat into victory and resolved to recruit him for His Majesty.
• Gongsun Zan approved Zhao Yun’s plan, promised to care for his family if he died, and ordered the fit troops to leave Yi City while reinforcements were summoned.
• Gongsun Zan led the able soldiers out overnight, leaving about five hundred wounded troops behind as Zhao Yun waited at the open South Gate in a white robe.
• Yuan Shao’s army reached Yi City and found its gates open and walls apparently undefended, with Zhao Yun practicing his spear atop the gate tower.
• Yuan Shao and Tian Feng suspected Jia Xu had hidden troops in the city, so they sent three hundred soldiers to test the gate.
• The gate doors slammed shut as the soldiers entered, crushing several men outside, and Yuan Shao ordered his army to retreat five hundred paces.

Zhao Yun’s bluff drove Yuan Shao’s army away from Yi City, giving Gongsun Zan time to launch a surprise attack with fire horses. Yuan Shao rallied his forces and turned the battle against Gongsun Zan’s formation, then ordered his entire army to attack.

• Zhao Yun kept the wounded soldiers hidden until Yuan Shao’s army retreated, then sent them onto Yi City’s walls to make the city appear well defended.
• Yuan Shao withdrew to camp after scouts reported defenders on the battlements, while Gongsun Zan prepared three thousand fire horses.
• Gongsun Zan released the fire horses and led his army in a charge that scattered Yuan Shao’s formations.
• Yuan Shao issued orders to reorganize his army, protect the rear, and send Qu Yi’s Vanguard Camp and Strong Crossbowmen against the White Horse Volunteers.
• Qu Yi’s crossbowmen killed hundreds of White Horse Volunteers, and the Vanguard Camp helped break Gongsun Zan’s formation.
• Yuan Shao ordered all his troops to attack Gongsun Zan’s army.

Yuan Shao’s army turned the battle against Gongsun Zan after Qu Yi’s Vanguard Camp broke the enemy formation and rescued Yuan Shao from Gongsun Fan’s attack. Gongsun Zan’s final counterattack ended in defeat, and he died on the battlefield as Yuan Shao approached his body.

• Gongsun Fan led a thousand White Horse Volunteers toward Yuan Shao’s Great Standard, but Yuan Shao refused to take shelter and his crossbowmen shot Gongsun Fan from his horse.
• Qu Yi arrived with the Vanguard Camp, forcing Gongsun Fan to retreat and saving Yuan Shao from the cavalry attack.
• Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang and Yuan Tan to attack Gongsun Zan’s Central Army Camp while Jiang Qi prevented the enemy from rallying.
• Gongsun Zan sent Gongsun Xu away with the unconscious Gongsun Fan, then charged Yan Liang and Yuan Tan himself.
• Gongsun Zan’s final counterattack ended in defeat, and he died pinned to the ground by a spear as Yuan Shao approached his body.

After Gongsun Zan died and his ambush force was destroyed, Zhao Yun tried to escape Yi City with Jia Xu and five hundred wounded soldiers, but Yuan Shao's army intercepted them. Zhao Yun broke through the encirclement and fled south, while Yuan Shao chose to capture Yi City rather than pursue Jia Xu.

• Yuan Shao killed Gongsun Zan, ordered his army to march on Yi City, and postponed punishing Tian Feng.
• Jia Xu warned Zhao Yun that Gongsun Zan had died and the ambush had failed, persuading him to abandon Yi City and seek refuge with Liu Xie.
• Yuan Shao's army intercepted Zhao Yun and Jia Xu shortly after they left the city, and Yuan Shao ordered Yan Liang, Qu Yi, and Yuan Tan to attack them.
• Zhao Yun led the White Horse Volunteers and the battered soldiers against the weaker left flank, defeated Yan Liang in fewer than twenty exchanges, and broke through to flee south.
• Yuan Shao refused to pursue Jia Xu and ordered his army to take Yi City before Zhang Yan and the Black Mountain Army could arrive.

After Zhao Yun escaped Yuan Shao’s forces with Jia Xu, he mourned Gongsun Zan and vowed to serve the Han Dynasty before bringing his troops to Ye City. Liu Xie welcomed Jia Xu and learned of Yuan Shao’s conquest of You Province, leaving the court to face a strengthened rival even as Zhao Yun joined Liu Xie’s cause.

• Zhao Yun found Gongsun Zan’s headless body, mourned him, and swore to uphold the Han Dynasty and fight traitors.
• Liu Xie read Xu You’s report about the rival claims surrounding the true Son of Heaven and struggled to understand the situation.
• Guo Jia informed Liu Xie that Gongsun Zan had died, Yuan Shao had taken Yi City, and Jia Xu had returned safely with Zhao Yun.
• Liu Xie welcomed Jia Xu, dismissed his guilt over Gongsun Zan’s defeat, and offered him the post of Director of the Secretariat.
• Jia Xu praised Zhao Yun and boasted about fighting Yuan Shao’s army, prompting Guo Jia to silently recall that Jia Xu had only shouted encouragement.

Liu Xie welcomed Zhao Yun, praised his potential, and posthumously honored Gongsun Zan as the Marquis of Loyalty and Martyrdom. At court, news of Gongsun Zan’s death and You Province’s impending fall alarmed the officials, while Fu De arrived claiming Cao Cao had imprisoned his father and deposed his sister, Empress Fu.

• Jia Xu suggested that Liu Xie compare worthy officials and generals to famous Han figures, and Liu Xie used the idea to praise Zhao Yun as a future Wei Qing or Huo Qubing.
• Liu Xie honored Gongsun Zan posthumously with the title Marquis of Loyalty and Martyrdom, and Zhao Yun thanked him on the general’s behalf.
• At Tai’an Hall, Liu Xie announced that Yuan Shao had killed Gongsun Zan and taken Yi City, prompting alarm among the officials about the threat to Wei Commandery.
• Sima Yi urged Liu Xie to seize Yangping and Guangping commanderies and call Lü Bu back from Yang Province, leaving Liu Xie to weigh the costs.
• Fu De entered court disguised as a beggar and claimed Cao Cao had imprisoned Fu Wan and deposed Empress Fu, asking Liu Xie to rescue them; Yang Xiu privately doubted his story and admired his performance.

Fu De won Liu Xie's sympathy by claiming his family had remained loyal to the Han, and Yang Xiu later concluded that Empress Fu had secretly helped protect the true Son of Heaven. The chapter left Fu De worried that Cao Cao would harm his father and sister, who remained in Xu County.

• Liu Xie condemned Cao Cao and the Pretender Emperor for deposing Empress Fu and promised Fu De he would find a way to rescue her and Fu Wan.
• Fu De declared that his father’s final words had been “Revive the Great Han,” winning the court officials’ praise for the Fu Family’s loyalty.
• Yang Xiu accused Fu De of fabricating his escape story, but Fu De insisted that his hardships on the road to Ye City had been real.
• Fu De told Yang Xiu that Fu Wan had been imprisoned and Empress Fu deposed after Fu Wan denounced Cao Cao for installing a False Son of Heaven.
• Yang Xiu reasoned that Empress Fu had known Liu Xie’s identity and helped conceal it, leading Fu De to believe his family had truly served the Han.
• Fu De worried that Cao Cao would not spare Fu Wan and Empress Fu while they remained in Xu County.

Liu Xie rejected plans to bring Lü Bu’s army to Ye City and ordered Ma Teng and Han Sui to attack Yuan Shao, while sending Cao Cao an edict demanding the return of Fu Wan, Yang Biao, and Empress Fu. In Xu County, Empress Fu visited her imprisoned father, who accused her of conspiring to replace the Son of Heaven, and news of Gongsun Zan’s defeat left Cao Cao alarmed.

• Yang Xiu comforted Fu De over their fathers’ sacrifices and urged him to eat.
• Liu Xie, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu discussed how to counter Yuan Shao, and Liu Xie rejected sending Lü Bu’s troops through Cao Cao’s or Yuan Shao’s territory.
• Jia Xu proposed ordering Ma Teng and Han Sui to attack Bing Province, and Liu Xie approved the plan.
• Liu Xie sent edicts to Ma Teng and Han Sui and challenged Cao Cao to send Fu Wan, Yang Biao, and Empress Fu to Ye City.
• Empress Fu visited Fu Wan in prison, but he accused her of helping switch the Son of Heaven, prompting her to leave determined to see the ruler in Ye City.
• Cao Cao was alarmed when he heard that Gongsun Zan had been defeated and killed and Yi City had fallen.