Recaps

Cao Cao negotiated an alliance with Sun Quan and Zhou Yu against the Son of Heaven, agreeing that Sun Quan could take Xu Province if Cao Cao led the alliance. Afterward, Cao Cao asked Zhou Yu to name the realm’s heroes.

• Cao Cao argued that he could submit to the Son of Heaven, while Sun Quan and Zhou Yu could not escape the consequences of the Sun family’s past actions.
• Cao Cao proposed abandoning Yan Province and joining Sun Quan to capture Xu Province as a defensive line against the Son of Heaven’s forces.
• Sun Quan demanded that all of Xu Province belong to Jiangdong, and he and Cao Cao nearly came to blows over the terms.
• Cao Cao yielded Xu Province to Sun Quan on the condition that Jiangdong conquer it without his troops and that Cao Cao lead the alliance.
• Cao Cao asked Zhou Yu how many men in the realm could be called heroes.

Cao Cao secured an alliance with Sun Quan while trying to sow distrust between him and Zhou Yu, prompting Sun Quan to plan a secret alliance with Liu Biao as a safeguard. In Hejian, Liu Xie accepted three counties from the Dong Family, used Dong Cheng’s legacy to bolster his claim, and threatened the captured Yuan Shao, who refused to surrender.

• Cao Cao rejected Zhou Yu’s candidates for heroes, then named the Son of Heaven, Zhou Yu, and himself as the only heroes under heaven before leaving after settling the alliance.
• Zhou Yu warned Sun Quan that Cao Cao’s praise was meant to sow discord, and Sun Quan proposed secretly allying with Liu Biao in case Cao Cao submitted to the Son of Heaven.
• Dong Zhong offered Liu Xie the seals of Wusui, Houjing, and Gonggao after the Dong Family and local clans killed their magistrates.
• Liu Xie honored Dong Cheng’s supposed service and promised rewards to the Dong Family, then privately recognized the clans’ power and decided to use Dong Cheng’s story to strengthen his identity.
• Liu Xie summoned Yuan Shao and asked him to persuade Guo Yuan and Gao Gan to surrender, but Yuan Shao refused and challenged Liu Xie to risk condemning the Yuan Clan.

Liu Xie ordered Yuan Shao taken to Ye City as a prisoner, while Guo Yuan learned that Yuan Shao’s youngest son, Yuan Mai, had arrived in Bing Province and pledged to protect him. As Liu Xie’s army slowly escorted Yuan Shao through the heavy snow, Tian Feng began planning how to keep Bing Province from being attacked on two fronts.

• Liu Xie rejected Yuan Shao’s demand for death and ordered him escorted to Ye City for public humiliation in three days.
• Guo Yuan, blaming himself for Yuan Shao’s capture, nearly killed himself before his deputy general told him that Tian Feng had brought Yuan Mai to Jinyang.
• Guo Yuan pledged loyalty to Yuan Mai, and Tian Feng warned him not to launch a rescue that might endanger Yuan Shao and the remaining troops.
• Tian Feng told Guo Yuan to recall Gao Gan from Yi Province and said he had a plan to break Bing Province’s deadlock.
• Liu Xie left three thousand troops to garrison Lecheng County and slowly escorted Yuan Shao toward Ye City through heavy snow.

Liu Xie returned to Ye City victorious with Yuan Shao as his prisoner, after inspiring his followers with a grand poem during the journey. The court and commoners welcomed him, and Yuan Shao was escorted to the palace for a public trial.

• Gao Lan freed the carriage wheel from the snow, and Liu Xie ordered the army to rest while the weather cleared.
• Liu Xie recited a poem about the snowy landscape, impressing his companions and prompting Guo Jia to vow to abandon women, wine, and Five-Stone Powder.
• Liu Xie and his army reached Ye City, where Kong Rong, Yang Biao, and the court officials welcomed them outside the city.
• Liu Xie announced that he had captured Yuan Shao and ordered the officials to escort the prisoner to the palace for a public trial.
• Yuan Xi drove Yuan Shao's prison cart through the crowds as the commoners mocked Yuan Shao and praised Yuan Xi's loyalty.

Yuan Shao refused to confess or help Liu Xie secure the surrender of You and Bing Provinces, provoking the emperor to threaten the extermination of his clan. The ministers pleaded against the mass executions, and Yuan Shao revealed that their ties to his family reflected the power of the great aristocratic clans.

• Yuan Xi drove Yuan Shao through the streets as commoners praised him and mocked his father.
• At court, Yuan Shao denied his guilt, insulted Liu Xie and the ministers, and blamed his defeat on his subordinates’ betrayals.
• Yuan Shao refused to persuade You and Bing Provinces to surrender, and Liu Xie threatened to exterminate his ten clans.
• Kong Rong, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Yang Biao, and other ministers warned Liu Xie that exterminating the clans would kill many innocents and damage his reputation.
• Liu Xie ordered the Yuan Clan’s nine clans exterminated, but the ministers continued pleading for mercy.
• Yuan Shao laughed at the kneeling ministers and said they had to defend him because they were connected to the Yuan Clan and the great aristocratic families.

Liu Xie rejected the ministers’ pleas to spare Yuan Shao’s family and ordered the Yuan Clan exterminated, sparing only Yuan Xi. The order left Yuan Shao and Yuan Xi stunned, while Lü Bu prepared to enforce it.

• Yuan Shao openly defied Liu Xie and claimed the Yuan Clan’s ties to the great houses made its extermination impossible.
• Lü Bu condemned the ministers for defending Yuan Shao, then ordered Zhang He and Gao Lan to break Yuan Shao’s legs and force him to kneel.
• Liu Xie dismissed the idea of exterminating Yuan Shao’s nine degrees of kin, then ordered every member of the Yuan Clan killed except Yuan Xi.
• Yuan Shao protested the decree, while Yuan Xi disowned his rebellion and begged Liu Xie to spare the clan.
• Liu Xie ordered Lü Bu to execute anyone else who pleaded for mercy, and Yuan Xi fell silent under Lü Bu’s threat.

Liu Xie used Yuan Shao’s trial to expose and crush anyone who challenged his authority, executing Xun Chen when he pleaded for the Yuan Clan and ordering the clan’s extermination. He spared Yuan Xi and appointed him Minister of Works, while Guo Jia and Jia Xu left court together and Jia Xu invited him to dinner.

• Yang Xiu stopped Yang Biao from pleading for the Yuan Clan, warning that Liu Xie was testing the court and would kill those who spoke up.
• Xun Chen pleaded with Liu Xie to spare innocent members of the Yuan Clan, and Lü Bu beheaded him with the Son of Heaven Sword.
• Liu Xie ordered Lü Bu to arrest the Yuan Clan and have its members executed in ten days, while keeping Yuan Shao alive to witness it.
• Yuan Xi blamed Yuan Shao for bringing ruin on the clan, and Liu Xie appointed Yuan Xi Minister of Works as the start of a new Yuan Clan.
• Guo Jia said Yuan Shao had brought the extermination upon himself, and Jia Xu invited Guo Jia to his home for hot pot and wine.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu discussed the emperor’s decision to exterminate the Yuan Clan, and Jia Xu argued that the move would strengthen imperial authority and prevent aristocratic clans from growing beyond control. After warning Guo Jia not to probe the emperor’s thoughts, Jia Xu ordered a servant to watch Cui Yan and his associates; meanwhile, Yuan Xi visited his mother and told her that the Yuan Clan would be exterminated except for him.

• Guo Jia asked Jia Xu about the emperor’s decision to exterminate the Yuan Clan, and Jia Xu explained that it would cow the aristocratic clans and secure imperial power.
• Jia Xu reassured Guo Jia that the emperor had chosen the right moment to act, and the two shared lamb and wine until nightfall.
• Jia Xu warned Guo Jia never to try to fathom the emperor’s thoughts, and Guo Jia promised he understood.
• After Guo Jia left, Jia Xu ordered a servant to keep a close eye on Cui Yan and his associates.
• Yuan Xi sat in the main hall until dark, then knelt before his mother, Madam Liu, and told her that the emperor had ordered the Yuan Clan exterminated except for him.

Yuan Xi prepared to sacrifice himself to save Madam Liu, but Lü Bu delivered an imperial pardon that spared her while the Yuan Clan faced extermination. As arrests spread through Ye City, Cui Yan’s banquet brought together frightened aristocratic families, whose representatives argued over how to respond to Liu Xie.

• Yuan Xi told Madam Liu he would plead with Liu Xie to spare her, and she forgave him and urged him to survive as the Yuan Family’s last bloodline.
• Lü Bu arrived with an imperial edict sparing Madam Liu from execution and confining her to the residence, then ordered a citywide hunt for Yuan clansmen.
• Troops arrested more than five hundred Yuan clansmen in Ye City, while the great aristocratic families grew fearful and cooperative.
• Cui Yan hosted representatives of the great families, but Yang Biao, Fu Wan, Sima Yi, the Dong Family, and the Zhen Clan declined to attend.
• Ju Zong criticized those who stayed away and warned that Liu Xie’s campaign against the Yuan Clan threatened all aristocratic families.
• Cui Yan defended Liu Xie’s execution of Xun Chen, while Shen Rong demanded that the gathered families consider how to protect themselves.

Cui Yan warned Ji Province’s aristocratic clans against challenging Liu Xie, while Jia Xu reported their discussion to the emperor. Liu Xie explained his policy of balancing aristocratic clans against common-born officials, then planned a public execution of the Yuan Clan and inventions that would benefit the people and strengthen his reputation.

• Cui Yan rebuked the aristocratic clan representatives, reminding them that the Yuan Clan had been exterminated and Xun Chen executed for resisting Liu Xie.
• Jia Xu presented Liu Xie with a secret report about Cui Yan’s banquet and the clans’ conversation, and Liu Xie praised the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys’ progress.
• Jia Xu advised Liu Xie to win the people’s support through benevolent acts and tangible benefits, and Liu Xie explained that he intended to balance aristocratic clans and common-born officials.
• Liu Xie told Jia Xu that he valued their loyalty, then ordered him to prepare for the Yuan Clan’s public execution in the Southern Suburbs two days later.
• Liu Xie resolved to develop a curved-shaft plow and an improved loom, naming them after himself or the Jian’an era so the people would associate their benefits with him.

Yuan Shao was taken from prison to the Southern Suburbs execution ground, believing Liu Xie intended to execute him alone. Hearing the crowd say the entire Yuan Clan had been condemned, he demanded that Yuan Xi tell him who was being executed.

• Yuan Shao dismissed the guards’ reports that Liu Xie planned to execute the Yuan Clan and assumed the great clans would force him to relent.
• Zhang He and Gao Lan shackled Yuan Shao and escorted him from the Northern Office prison, where he saw Yuan Xi waiting beside a prisoner cart.
• Yuan Xi drove Yuan Shao toward the execution ground while Zhang He addressed him as Minister of Works and offered condolences, leaving Yuan Shao confused.
• Yuan Shao accused Yuan Xi of rising in rank over his bones, but Yuan Xi remained silent as the crowd condemned Yuan Shao and pitied Yuan Xi.
• Yuan Shao heard the crowd say the whole Yuan Clan was to be exterminated, seized the cage bars, and demanded that Yuan Xi identify who was being executed.

Liu Xie ordered the execution of the Yuan Clan, sparing only Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shao collapsed after watching his clan die. As the officials reeled from the massacre, Taishi Ci reported an army entering Ji Province, and Liu Xie revealed that it was Zhang Yan’s force bringing people from the Taihang Mountains.

• Yuan Xi brought Yuan Shao to the Execution Ground, where Liu Xie ordered Lü Bu to carry out the sentence against the Yuan Clan.
• Lü Bu read the imperial edict, which spared Yuan Xi but ordered the execution of the rest of the Yuan Clan.
• Yuan Shao pleaded for the executions to stop and begged Yuan Xi to intervene, but the soldiers killed the final row of prisoners.
• Yuan Shao laughed, spat blood, and passed out after the Yuan Clan was exterminated.
• Taishi Ci reported that thirty thousand troops and hundreds of thousands of common people were entering Ji Province, and Liu Xie identified them as Zhang Yan’s forces from the Taihang Mountains.

After the Yuan Clan’s extermination, Liu Xie struggled to find support for settling the hundreds of thousands of commoners who had arrived with Zhang Yan’s Black Mountain Army. Yuan Xi asked whether he could employ the Yuan Clan’s former disciples and subordinates, leaving Liu Xie to decide how to handle them.

• Yuan Xi asked Gao Lan to bury the executed members of the Yuan Clan together outside the city, then rode alone toward Ye City.
• Liu Xie asked his ministers for a plan to settle the newcomers and defended his decision to grant amnesty to Zhang Yan’s Black Mountain Army.
• The Zhen Clan offered to settle thirty thousand people, but the other ministers pleaded poverty or stayed silent.
• Liu Xie angrily dismissed the court and, back in the Xuan Room, ordered Zhang He to summon Jia Xu and Guo Jia.
• Yuan Xi asked Liu Xie whether he should accept the Yuan Clan’s former disciples and subordinates into his service.

Liu Xie secured Yuan Xi’s loyalty and his offer to donate the Yuan Clan’s wealth, then devised a public honors scheme to persuade aristocratic families to fund relief for displaced people. Yuan Xi left convinced the Son of Heaven would help restore his family’s reputation, while Liu Xie prepared to put his plan into action.

• Liu Xie told Yuan Xi to gather the Yuan Clan’s scattered followers and allowed him to remain for a private audience with Jia Xu and Guo Jia, deepening Yuan Xi’s trust in him.
• When Liu Xie asked how to make aristocratic families fund resettlement, Yuan Xi offered the Yuan Clan’s properties, grain, and money to the court.
• Liu Xie proposed publicly recording donations and carving a stele at Ye City’s Zhengnan Gate to honor the ten largest contributors, with the top donor named Great Han’s Foremost Benefactor.
• Yuan Xi praised Liu Xie, vowed to serve him, and received Liu Xie’s assurance that the title of Great Han’s Foremost Benefactor belonged to him.

Liu Xie’s court launched a public donation drive to resettle the pardoned Yellow Turban refugees, offering recognition and honors to donors. The campaign quickly inspired commoners to give what they could, and Butcher Fan made a striking donation of cash and pork.

• Liu Xie told Yuan Xi to keep his plan to donate the Yuan Clan’s assets secret until the final day so other clans would continue competing.
• Liu Xie’s officials posted notices inviting donations to resettle hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban refugees and promising donors public recognition and honors.
• An official explained that donations of any size or kind would qualify, prompting Wu Dalang to give three flatbreads for the chance to meet the emperor.
• A fish vendor and other commoners joined in, donating salted fish, cloth, cash, and rice.
• Butcher Fan donated twenty strings of cash and half a pig, saying he wanted to help save lives, and the crowd praised his generosity.

Liu Xie’s offer to name the greatest donor Great Han’s Foremost Benefactor stirred the aristocratic clans into secretly competing to outbid one another. Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Cui Yan each prepared a large last-minute donation, while the Zhen Clan already led in aid for the displaced people.

• Liu Xie announced that donations had raised five thousand shi of grain, three thousand four hundred strings of cash, and other supplies, then dismissed court after the ministers pledged their salaries.
• Fu Wan and Yang Biao pretended to have little to give as they sounded each other out, while the Zhen Clan elder described the Zhen Clan’s commitment to settling thirty thousand displaced people.
• Yang Biao told Yang Xiu that the Yang Clan was secretly gathering twenty thousand shi of grain so it could donate everything on the final day and claim the title.
• Fu Wan told Fu De that one hundred thousand strings of cash were on the way from Qing Province, intending to outdo the Zhen Clan and strengthen the Fu Family’s standing.
• Cui Lin reported that the Cui Clan had assembled twenty thousand shi of grain, five thousand sheep, and housing for displaced people, and Cui Yan planned to surprise the Zhen Clan with a final-day donation.

Liu Xie heard how Shi Delu had donated everything he owned to spare displaced people the horrors of famine, and promised a place in the Feathered Forest Guard for Shi Delu’s grandson, Shi Bao. As the fifteen-day donation drive reached its final day, Butcher Fan visited the Imperial Notice board, where the crowd recognized him as the first day’s top donor.

• Liu Xie learned that Shi Delu had given all his family possessions to help famine refugees because he could not bear to see people resort to eating human flesh again.
• Liu Xie promised that Shi Delu’s ten-year-old grandson, Shi Bao, could join the Feathered Forest Guard in two years, then recognized him as a future historical figure from Nanpi in Bohai.
• Liu Xie reflected on the need to increase productivity and noted that he had entrusted the Zhen Clan’s craftsmen with making the Curved-Beam Plow and the Textile Loom.
• As the donation drive’s final day arrived, Butcher Fan went to the Imperial Notice board and was greeted by commoners who remembered his first-day donation and audience with the Son of Heaven.

Butcher Fan donated another ten strings of cash, praising the emperor and criticizing the Great Aristocratic Clans for not helping the displaced. Yang Biao then donated twenty thousand shi of grain for the Hongnong Yang Clan, but Fu Wan arrived and outbid him with a donation of one hundred thousand strings of cash on behalf of the Fu clan.

• Butcher Fan donated his last ten strings of cash and urged others to help the displaced people.
• Commoners criticized the Great Aristocratic Clans for failing to donate, and Butcher Fan praised the emperor.
• Yang Biao announced that the Hongnong Yang Clan would donate twenty thousand shi of grain, stunning the crowd.
• Yang Biao waited by the Imperial Notice, hoping to secure the title of Great Han's Foremost Benefactor before donations closed.
• Fu Wan confronted Yang Biao for competing for the title and announced a donation of one hundred thousand strings of cash on behalf of the Fu clan.

At the imperial notice site, Yang Biao, Fu Wan, Cui Yan, and the great aristocratic clans competed to become Great Han's Foremost Benefactor by raising their donations. The Zhen Clan Elder asserted that his clan could outbid the others, leaving the rivals silent.

• Fu Wan presented one hundred thousand strings of coins in gold, and Yang Biao confronted him over claiming to be poor.
• Cui Yan arrived and learned that Yang Biao and Fu Wan had secretly prepared donations, then more carriages brought representatives of the great clans.
• The Zhen Clan Elder, Cui Yan, the Dong Clan head, Shen Rong, and Ju Zong announced and raised their clans' offers as they competed for the benefactor title.
• Fu Wan added twenty thousand strings of coins, and Yang Biao countered with grain, firewood, and cloth donations that outdid the other offers.
• The Zhen Clan Elder offered another twenty thousand shi of grain, five thousand jin of salt, and aid for ten thousand more displaced people, then challenged the rivals to keep matching him.

Yuan Xi offered all the Yuan Clan’s assets to win the title of Great Han’s Foremost Benefactor, while Liu Xie revealed that the donation drive had been orchestrated to raise funds and improve Yuan Xi’s reputation. The chapter ended with Liu Xie reading a secret report about Tian Feng’s contacts with Ma Chao and the Wuhuan, leaving Ma Chao’s motives uncertain.

• Yuan Xi announced that he would donate all the Yuan Clan’s assets, winning the crowd’s praise and the title of Great Han’s Foremost Benefactor.
• Liu Xie told Yuan Xi and the Zhen Clan elder that the Zhen Clan had helped drive up donations and that he would secretly return its contribution.
• Liu Xie urged Yuan Xi to use his new reputation to help the displaced people arriving in Ye City.
• Zhang He reported that Gao Gan had withdrawn to Bing Province, Liu Zhang had broken with Liu Bei, and Tian Feng had contacted the Wuhuan and Ma Chao.
• Liu Xie asked Zhang He for the secret report and began reading it, puzzled by Ma Chao’s apparent collusion with Tian Feng.

Liu Xie heard that Ma Chao was sheltering Tian Feng and summoned Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu, who reported on recovering You Province and relocating the Black Mountain Army. At court, Liu Xie praised the officials’ donations and proposed work relief for the hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

• Liu Xie read a report that Ma Chao had let Tian Feng remain in his camp without reporting it, then summoned Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu.
• Gongsun Xu reported that he had recovered Yuan Shao’s occupied commanderies in You Province and asked when Yuan Shao would be executed; Liu Xie said he would kill him after spring began and send his head throughout the realm.
• Zhang Yan reported that the Black Mountain Army’s several hundred thousand people had reached Wei Commandery and offered to surrender command of its thirty thousand troops.
• Liu Xie promised to settle the people, rewarded Zhang Yan with the title Marquis of Zhen Ding Township, gold, and cloth, and accepted his surrender of military authority.
• At court, Liu Xie praised the officials for their donations and proposed distributing food to the displaced people in exchange for labor.

Liu Xie ordered winter preparations for an immediate campaign to seize Bing Province after learning that Tian Feng might be plotting with Ma Chao and the Wuhuan. He placed Ma Teng under house arrest and insisted that the army’s needs take priority over winter relief for the displaced, leaving the ministers to prepare for war.

• Liu Xie announced plans to build shelters and a textile workshop, then revealed that he intended to attack Bing Province during winter.
• Liu Xie disclosed intelligence that Tian Feng had met Ma Chao and contacted the Wuhuan, and said Bing Province had to be taken before they threatened Ji Province.
• Ma Teng protested his family’s loyalty, but Liu Xie ordered Zhang He to escort him home and keep him under guard.
• Liu Xie rejected the ministers’ doubts about the campaign and declared that Bing Province had to be captured before spring.
• Sima Yi warned that prioritizing army clothing could leave displaced people to freeze, but Liu Xie rebuked him and chose to prioritize the army.

Liu Xie outfitted his forces for winter with wool clothing, confirmed a campaign against Bing Province, and placed the Black Mountain Army under Lü Bu’s command. Lü Bu welcomed the trust but soon worried about how to equip the thirty thousand new troops.

• Liu Xie revealed wool sweaters and other garments, and the ministers tested them as Zhang Liao praised their usefulness for winter warfare.
• Liu Xie ordered the Zhen Clan elder to establish a Textile Workshop and produce winter clothing for the soldiers before the campaign against Bing Province.
• Liu Xie assigned the thirty thousand Black Mountain Army troops to Lü Bu, who accepted the command.
• Liu Xie announced a stone stele honoring the ten leading donors, prompting Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Cui Yan to conceal their disappointment.
• Lü Bu returned to camp and told Chen Gong that he was worried about finding equipment for the Black Mountain Army.

Lü Bu struggled to equip the thirty thousand Black Mountain troops and tried to pass the problem to Zhang Liao, who agreed to train them but refused responsibility for their equipment. The next day, officials and commoners gathered at Ye City's Zhengnan Gate for the Good Deeds Stele ceremony, where Yuan Xi was praised for donating the Yuan Clan's assets.

• Lü Bu balked at asking the Zhen Clan for more equipment, while Chen Gong said his own funds and connections were exhausted.
• When Zhang Liao arrived with Zhang Yan's question about taking over the Black Mountain Army, Lü Bu tried to assign him twenty thousand troops to train.
• Zhang Liao agreed to train the troops but refused to procure their weapons and equipment, and Lü Bu sent him away in frustration.
• After leaving Lü Bu's tent, Chen Gong wondered whether the Zhen Clan's support for the Son of Heaven came from promises they could not refuse, then concluded it was too early to judge.
• Officials and commoners gathered at Ye City's Zhengnan Gate for the Good Deeds Stele ceremony, and the crowd praised Yuan Xi for donating the Yuan Clan's assets.

Liu Xie unveiled the Good Deeds Stele and praised the donors who helped resettle the pardoned Yellow Turbans, presenting plaques to the leading contributors. He also honored the humble blacksmith Shi Delu, who had donated his meager savings, and personally helped him rise before the crowd.

• Liu Xie addressed the crowd, accepted responsibility for the suffering across the realm, and praised those who donated to resettle the Yellow Turbans.
• Liu Xie unveiled the Good Deeds Stele as the eunuch read out the ten leading donors and their contributions, with Yuan Xi ranked first for giving the Yuan Clan's assets.
• Displaced Yellow Turbans in the crowd were moved by Liu Xie's words and the donations, and they thanked him and the benefactors.
• Liu Xie awarded plaques to Fu Wan, Yang Biao, Cui Yan, and Zhen Yi, then gave Yuan Xi the plaque titled "Great Han's Foremost Benefactor."
• Liu Xie revealed that he had prepared an additional plaque for the poor blacksmith Shi Delu, who had donated his savings to help the people.
• Shi Delu knelt with his grandson and protested that his donation was too small to merit the honor, but Liu Xie helped him up.