Recaps

Zhao Yun defeated Huang Zhong in a martial contest and received a poem personally written and sealed by Liu Xie as his reward. The other generals clamored for contests of their own, but Liu Xie postponed them and returned to the palace.

• Zhao Yun outlasted Huang Zhong and defeated him after nearly two hundred exchanges, and Huang Zhong conceded.
• Huang Zhong praised Zhao Yun, who modestly argued that the match should not count because his youth gave him an advantage.
• Liu Xie rewarded Zhao Yun with a personally written poem praising his valor, and Zhao Yun accepted it with overwhelming gratitude.
• Lü Bu protested that Liu Xie was favoring Zhao Yun and demanded permission to fight him, while Huang Zhong regretted losing the chance to earn the poem.
• Zhang Liao and the other generals asked Liu Xie to arrange more matches so they could compete for similar honors.
• Liu Xie declined to hold more contests that day and said he had to return to the palace to attend to state affairs.

Liu Xie addressed the Imperial Academy’s shortage of instructors and reassured Guo Jia while Jia Xu prepared a secret survey of farmland and population. At court, Liu Xie proposed establishing a Grand Secretariat with seven Grand Secretaries to review government business before he made final decisions.

• Guo Jia told Liu Xie that the growing Imperial Academy lacked instructors, and Liu Xie urged him to recruit court officials and imprisoned rebels.
• Liu Xie praised Jia Xu’s secret preparations for a farmland survey and population census targeting the great aristocratic families.
• Liu Xie gave Guo Jia his robe and arranged for tonics to be sent to his home, then said it was time to act.
• At morning court, Kong Rong urged Liu Xie to attend more closely to government affairs, and Liu Xie agreed that the existing arrangement needed reform.
• Liu Xie announced that he would establish the Grand Secretariat, with seven Grand Secretaries reviewing and annotating court business before his final decisions.

Liu Xie formally established the Grand Secretariat and announced a land survey and population census to restore tax revenues after years of war. Yang Biao and Yang Xiu were left isolated at court, and Yang Biao resolved to align the Yang Clan with Liu Xie’s plan.

• Liu Xie established the Grand Secretariat with seven academicians, including Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Yang Xiu, Lu Su, and Fa Zheng, while Xu You was passed over.
• Liu Xie announced that the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys would survey farmland and count the population across the realm, shocking the ministers who feared their families’ hidden land and tenants would be exposed.
• Yang Xiu questioned the sudden decision, but Liu Xie rebuked him and named the Yang Clan as the census’s starting point after Yang Biao pledged its cooperation.
• Cui Yan and Dong Zhong blamed Yang Biao for alienating the scholar-gentry, while the other ministers left him and Yang Xiu isolated.
• Yang Biao told Yang Xiu that he would submit his resignation, but that the Yang Clan had no choice but to stand with Liu Xie and see the decision through.

Liu Xie's land survey exposed extensive concealment by the great clans, while Yang Biao retired after accepting a penalty for the Yang Clan. Lü Bu then visited Liu Xie to request a poem, and Liu Xie began writing one for him.

• Jia Xu and the Tax Bureau investigated the Yang Clan, uncovering concealed land and tenant farmers, and Yang Biao requested retirement after the Son of Heaven imposed a penalty.
• The survey of other major clans uncovered an estimated 270,000 mu of concealed land and more than 40,000 households.
• Jia Xu assured Liu Xie that he could handle resistance to the survey, while Fa Zheng reported that the figures were still being compiled.
• Lü Bu visited Liu Xie and asked him to write a poem, explaining that he envied the honor Zhao Yun had received.
• Liu Xie initially resisted Lü Bu's request, but relented after Lü Bu offered to demonstrate his fighting skills, and began writing while Lü Bu prepared the paper and ink.

Liu Xie gave Lü Bu lyrics for a musical piece honoring him and asked him to send Gao Shun to garrison Ji Province after the New Year’s Banquet. Lü Bu recruited musicians to compose the piece, while Liu Xie’s preparations to protect his reforms from the Great Aristocratic Families continued.

• Liu Xie gave Lü Bu the lyrics for “Duke Wen’s Battle-Formation-Breaking Music” and told him to have musicians set them to music for the New Year’s Banquet.
• Liu Xie asked Lü Bu to send Gao Shun to garrison Ji Province after the banquet to guard against trouble during the farmland survey and census.
• Liu Xie relied on Lü Bu and other trusted commanders, along with the army’s strengthened benefits and pensions, to support his reforms.
• Lü Bu returned home and had Wei Yue bring Chang’an’s finest musical masters to the Grand General’s Residence, where the soldiers had bound them.
• Lü Bu gave the musicians the lyrics and ordered them to compose the piece within a month, threatening them until they agreed.

Cui Yan gathered leaders of the Great Aristocratic Families to discuss the Imperial Court’s land survey, population census, Imperial Academy, and new book production. The clans considered yielding on confiscated land but worried that the Imperial Academy and cheap printed books threatened their influence.

• Lü Bu concluded that the aristocrats needed to be intimidated and went to the military camp to show off to Zhang Liao.
• Dou Fu arrived late at Cui Yan’s secret meeting, objected to the danger of gathering under the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys’ watch, then stayed after Cui Yan challenged him.
• Cui Yan told the gathered clan leaders that his family had lost sixty thousand mu of farmland to the survey and urged them to consider how to respond to the Imperial Court’s reforms.
• Ju Zong, Xun Hong, and Shen Rong argued that the clans should endure the losses and avoid provoking the Son of Heaven, while Cui Yan agreed they could pay to buy land back later.
• Cui Yan warned that the Imperial Academy threatened the clans’ control of official appointments, and Dong Zhong added that cheap paper and books from the Foundry Bureau could also change matters.

The aristocratic clan heads learned that cheap printed books and the Imperial Academy threatened their control of education and advancement. Chen Lin proposed using a student petition and Confucian scholars to pressure the Son of Heaven, while Cui Yan planned to enlist his teacher Zheng Xuan; the group ended hopeful that Zheng Xuan could help them restore Confucian learning’s primacy.

• Dong Zhong showed the clan heads a beautifully bound Book of Songs that cost only a hundred coins and explained how printing and cheaper paper made books affordable.
• Cui Yan warned that the Imperial Academy could undermine the recommendation system, while Dou Fu argued that the clans could neither close it nor control its practical subjects.
• Cui Yan sarcastically challenged the clan heads to let their children compete fairly at the academy, and Chen Lin proposed a joint student petition demanding that Confucian learning become the academy’s primary subject.
• Shen Rong worried that a joint petition might provoke the unyielding Son of Heaven, but Cui Yan said he would ask his teacher Zheng Xuan to remonstrate with him.
• Cui Yan identified Zheng Xuan as a preeminent Confucian scholar, and the clan heads welcomed the plan as their chance to oppose the Imperial Academy’s direction.

Liu Xie learned that Cui Yan had secretly gathered aristocratic clan leaders, but ordered Jia Xu to monitor them rather than arrest them. He also explained his plan to send Zhou Yu’s fleet overseas to find sweet potatoes, then welcomed Lü Lingqi with the soup she had prepared.

• Jia Xu reported that Cui Yan had secretly hosted the clan leaders of the Great Aristocratic Families, and Liu Xie ordered him to keep watch without interfering.
• Jia Xu asked whether Liu Xie was building a navy, and Liu Xie explained that he wanted a fleet to search for sweet potatoes on Luzon Island.
• Liu Xie told Jia Xu that Zhou Yu was assembling an ocean-going fleet to sail after spring began next year.
• Lü Lingqi brought Liu Xie a pot of soup, and Jia Xu tactfully left the Wen Room.
• Lü Lingqi worried that she had interrupted official business, but Liu Xie reassured her and said he was hungry.

Liu Xie shared soup with Lü Lingqi, who urged him to visit the other consorts more often and have more children. As Chang'an debated the Imperial Academy and prepared for the New Year's banquet, Zhang Liao, Huang Zhong, and Zhao Yun ambushed Lü Bu in Chengming Hall.

• Lü Lingqi fed Liu Xie the soup she had made, and he praised her despite its ordinary taste.
• Liu Xie learned that Ying'er and Jue were at Zhen Mi's palace and promised to visit them that night.
• Lü Lingqi encouraged Liu Xie to visit the other consorts and father more children, leaving him coughing in surprise before he agreed to visit them when he had time.
• Jia Xu continued surveilling Cui Yan, Dong Zhong, and the others as public debate over the Imperial Academy intensified ahead of New Year's Day.
• Zhang Liao went to Lü Bu's residence and learned that Lü Bu had already left for the palace; he later entered Chengming Hall with Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun.
• Zhang Liao, Huang Zhong, and Zhao Yun seized Lü Bu at his seat in the banquet hall.

At the New Year's Banquet, Lü Bu presented Liu Xie with a grand performance of the Battle-Formation-Breaking Music, using a thousand soldiers to honor the emperor and the Great Han. Liu Xie rewarded the soldiers and praised Lü Bu, while the officials learned that the music had been composed by the Son of Heaven.

• Zhang Liao tried to uncover Lü Bu's secret plans, but Lü Bu kept quiet and promised everyone would see at the banquet.
• Liu Xie entered Chengming Hall with Empress Lü Lingqi and Zhen Mi, who carried the crown prince, and opened the New Year's Banquet.
• Lü Bu announced a gift for Liu Xie, and Gao Shun led a thousand torch-bearing soldiers into the square outside Chengming Hall.
• The soldiers performed the Battle-Formation-Breaking Music and knelt to wish Liu Xie and the Great Han lasting prosperity.
• Lü Bu explained that he had arranged the performance as a congratulatory gift, and Liu Xie ordered rewards for the soldiers and praised Lü Bu.
• The officials learned that Liu Xie had composed the music, and Lü Bu basked in the court's attention.

At the New Year’s Banquet, Lü Bu showed off the Battle-Formation-Breaking Music Liu Xie had composed for him, while Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei met and found themselves drawn to each other. Liu Xie honored his grandmother and the people who had helped reunify Great Han, then began a toast to his mortal enemies.

• Lü Bu presented the Battle-Formation-Breaking Music Liu Xie had written for him, provoking Zhang Liao’s envy and anger.
• Zhuge Liang explained that he had not summoned the east wind at Red Cliffs and had only staged a ritual to raise morale.
• Liu Bei met Zhuge Liang, praised his abilities, and spoke with him until Zhang Fei came to fetch Liu Bei.
• Lü Lingqi urged Liu Xie to drink less, but Zhen Mi supported his wish to celebrate with his ministers.
• Liu Xie toasted Empress Xiaoren and the ancestors of Great Han, then honored his ministers, the people, and fallen soldiers for helping reunify the nation.
• Liu Xie began a third toast to his mortal enemies, naming Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Sun Ce, Ma Chao, and Cao Cao.

At a banquet, Liu Xie spoke emotionally about the burdens of ruling and warned the court that Great Han belonged to its people as well as its ministers. The aristocratic clan leaders later argued over whether he knew of their opposition to the Imperial Academy, while the chapter ended with a rare Pixiu arriving from Yi Province as tribute.

• Liu Xie praised the ministers’ sacrifices, explained the purpose of his policies, and left Chengming Hall supported by Lü Lingqi and Zhen Mi.
• The clan leaders gathered at the Cui Residence and debated whether Liu Xie’s banquet speech had been a warning about their plans against the Imperial Academy.
• Dou Fu tried to withdraw from the scheme, but Cui Yan threatened to treat his departure as siding with the Son of Heaven.
• Cui Yan urged the clan leaders to intensify public criticism of the Imperial Academy and revealed that he had invited his teacher to Chang'an after spring began.
• After a peaceful winter and Spring Festival, tribute arrived from across Great Han, including a rare Pixiu from Yi Province.

Liu Xie discovered that the tribute Pixiu was a giant panda and kept it in the Imperial Garden after feeding it bamboo shoots. Guo Jia then warned him that the renowned Confucian scholar Zheng Xuan was coming to Chang'an amid fierce debate over the Imperial Academy, and Guo Jia stopped Jia Xu from suggesting an attack.

• Gao Lan revealed the supposed Pixiu in its cage, and Liu Xie recognized it as a giant panda.
• Liu Xie ordered bamboo shoots for the hungry panda, which eagerly ate them, and decided to keep it in the Imperial Garden.
• Guo Jia reported that Zheng Xuan was coming to Chang'an and might oppose the Imperial Academy.
• Jia Xu began to suggest sending someone after Zheng Xuan, but Guo Jia interrupted him and warned that harming the scholar would provoke outrage among literati across the realm.

Liu Xie and Guo Jia decided that a public debate could defend the Imperial Academy against Zheng Xuan’s opposition and advance future reforms. Liu Xie asked Zhuge Liang to join the debate, and Zhuge Liang was left to decide whether to accept.

• Guo Jia proposed holding a debate modeled on the Shiqu Pavilion Conference to persuade scholars to support the Imperial Academy.
• Liu Xie agreed with the plan, and Guo Jia volunteered to represent the Imperial Academy against Zheng Xuan.
• Liu Xie summoned Zhuge Liang and asked about his view of the Imperial Academy; Zhuge Liang endorsed its practical disciplines and state benefits.
• Liu Xie told Zhuge Liang that Zheng Xuan was coming to Chang'an and explained the proposed debate over selecting officials through Confucian learning or New Learning.
• Liu Xie asked Zhuge Liang to debate Zheng Xuan but said the choice was his and that he would not blame him for declining.

Liu Xie approved a public debate over the Imperial Academy, while officials argued over funds for Yellow River repairs. When Yuan Xi reported that the river had turned clear, Liu Xie warned that it signaled a coming drought, not an auspicious omen.

• Zhuge Liang agreed to represent the Imperial Academy in a debate with Zheng Xuan, citing his debt to Liu Xie and his duty to Great Han.
• Liu Xie ordered Guo Jia to announce a debate on the Imperial Academy, drawing scholars from across the realm to Chang'an for a sixth-month disputation over new and old learning.
• Yuan Xi and Fa Zheng argued over funding for Yellow River repairs until Liu Xie ordered Fa Zheng to release the money and urged both officials to speak respectfully.
• Yuan Xi reported that the Yellow River's waters were unusually low and clear, and Sima Yi praised the change as an auspicious sign of Liu Xie's rule.
• Liu Xie rejected the claim that the clear river was a good omen and warned that it signaled a great drought, explaining that the river's muddy water came from sand carried downstream.

Liu Xie interpreted the Yellow River’s clear waters as a warning of severe drought and ordered an investigation and preparations, though the costly response worried his ministers. Later, he shared his fears with Zhen Mi and gave her a portrait and an ode for her birthday, leaving her delighted and asking him to prepare a gift for the Empress too.

• Liu Xie explained that clear Yellow River waters could mean upstream rivers had dried up, signaling a severe drought, and ordered Yuan Xi to investigate the river’s source.
• Lu Su urged grain stockpiling, while Fa Zheng and Jia Xu warned Liu Xie against costly preparations based on uncertain signs.
• Liu Xie told Zhen Mi about the possible drought and the measures he had ordered, and she comforted him.
• Liu Xie gave Zhen Mi a portrait and his Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River as an early birthday gift.
• Zhen Mi happily kept the gifts and urged Liu Xie to write an ode for the Empress as well.

Liu Xie’s preparations helped the Great Han withstand a severe drought, but rumors blamed the disaster on his Imperial Academy. He refused to suppress the rumors by force, while Jia Xu went to the Southern Office to investigate.

• Liu Xie ordered preparations after learning that the Yellow River’s upper tributaries were drying up, and the drought arrived two months later.
• Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang reported that grain reserves and transfers had left the drought-stricken regions better supplied, and Liu Xie ordered officials to prevent panic and punish grain profiteers.
• Guo Jia revealed rumors claiming Heaven had sent the drought because Liu Xie established the Imperial Academy and violated ancestral laws and the sages’ teachings.
• Liu Xie rejected Fa Zheng’s proposal to ban the rumors, saying force would worsen matters, and chose to watch how they developed.
• Jia Xu left the palace for the Southern Office, where Embroidered-Clothes Envoys awaited him as he headed toward the main hall.

Jia Xu punished the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys for failing to report a rumor about the Son of Heaven and ordered them to uncover its source within three days. Liu Xie revealed that he had ordered the rumor spread, though he kept his reasons to himself.

• Jia Xu beat and threatened the Embroidered-Clothes Central Commandant, giving the Wind Group three days to identify who spread the rumor.
• Jia Xu told Guo Jia that he suspected the families opposing the Imperial Academy, while Guo Jia doubted they would risk besmirching the Son of Heaven so openly.
• Guo Jia urged Jia Xu to share his Green Plum Wine, but Jia Xu refused and left for his residence with Guo Jia following.
• Gao Lan asked Liu Xie whether he should keep spreading the rumor, and Liu Xie ordered him to stop.
• Gao Lan questioned why Liu Xie had initiated the rumor, but Liu Xie said he had his own plans and would not explain them.

Cui Yan and the clan heads argued over rumors blaming the drought on Liu Xie’s disregard for Confucian learning, then prepared for the coming debate against the Imperial Academy. At Shanglin Park, Liu Xie demonstrated his improved archery, and Jia Xu revealed his own skill by killing a roe deer with one arrow.

• Cui Yan angrily demanded to know which clan head had spread rumors accusing Liu Xie of causing the drought by slighting Confucian learning.
• Dou Fu defended the rumors as useful to their cause, while Dong Zhong suggested angry grain merchants might have started them; the clan heads denied involvement.
• Cui Yan listed Hua Xin, Wang Lang, and Bing Yuan among the scholars he had invited and learned the Imperial Academy would field Guo Fengxiao, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu.
• Cui Yan urged the clan heads to investigate the rumors and stop them from spreading while they prepared for the debate a month away.
• Liu Xie went hunting at Shanglin Park and impressed Jia Xu by shooting a rabbit through the head with one arrow.
• Jia Xu demonstrated his own archery by killing a roe deer with a single arrow.

Liu Xie declared that he would use any means necessary to force reform and challenge the aristocratic families, then a month later the public Debate at the Wei River drew scholars, officials, and generals to Chang'an’s outskirts. The debate had not yet begun when Guo Youzhi met Fei Yi and learned more about Jia Xu’s authority and the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys.

• Liu Xie told Jia Xu and Guo Jia that he knew the source of the rumors and intended to confront the aristocratic families openly.
• Liu Xie missed a rabbit with his arrow, and Lü Bu killed a charging wild boar with a shot to its forehead before Liu Xie ordered everyone back to the Palace.
• A month later, officials, scholars, and commoners gathered beside the Wei River for the public debate on the old and the new.
• Guo Youzhi asked about Jia Xu’s reputation, and a fellow scholar explained Jia Xu’s control of the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys and their role in investigating the rumors.
• Guo Youzhi introduced himself to the scholar, Fei Yi, and invited him to share his mat.

Guo Youzhi and Fei Yi discussed the Imperial Academy’s New Learning and its chances in the debate, while Guo Jia and his companions arrived at the crowded grounds. After Zheng Xuan and three other renowned Confucian scholars arrived, an unnamed challenger questioned Guo Jia’s rejection of Confucianism and Legalism.

• Guo Youzhi and Fei Yi agreed that they wanted to study at the Imperial Academy, and Fei Yi predicted that its New Learning had a strong chance of winning because the emperor favored practical work.
• Guo Youzhi and Fei Yi watched as Guo Jia, Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong arrived at the debate grounds and joined Jia Xu’s group.
• Guo Jia admitted that the enormous crowd put pressure on him, while Lü Bu tried to encourage him and Pang Tong exchanged barbs with Sima Yi.
• Zheng Xuan arrived with Hua, Bing, and Wang, prompting the Confucian scholars to celebrate their presence.
• Guo Jia greeted Zheng Xuan respectfully and praised his works, but an unnamed speaker challenged him for abandoning Confucianism and Legalism to support New Learning.

Guo Jia began the debate by arguing that Confucianism had once helped unify the Han but had become rigid, strengthened aristocratic monopolies, and hindered practical governance and military defense. He called for New Learning to replace it, leaving the humble-born scholars in the audience moved by his defense of their prospects.

• Hua Xin challenged Guo Jia, but Pang Tong attacked Hua Xin over his past service to Cao Cao and forced him to back down.
• Guo Jia apologized for Pang Tong’s discourtesy, and Zheng Xuan arranged for the debate to begin despite the Son of Heaven’s absence.
• Hua Xin volunteered to debate first, but Zheng Xuan instead rose to challenge Guo Jia.
• Guo Jia accepted Zheng Xuan’s challenge and argued that Confucian teachings had grown rigid and served aristocratic families at the expense of capable scholars from humble backgrounds.
• Guo Jia said Confucian ideals could obstruct military action and declared that New Learning must replace Confucianism, drawing admiration from Guo Youzhi, Fei Yi, and other humble-born scholars.

Guo Jia and Pang Tong debated Zheng Xuan over whether Confucianism could guide the Han’s reform and make it wealthy and strong. After Wang Lang accused Pang Tong of attacking the sages and former emperors, Zhuge Liang defended New Learning and argued that ancient teachings should be adapted to changing times.

• Zheng Xuan countered Guo Jia by arguing that Confucianism was the foundation of good government, and Guo Jia fell silent.
• Pang Tong entered the second round and argued that Confucian teachings could not provide food, weapons, or the practical reforms the Han needed.
• Pang Tong called for New Learning to develop technology, improve farming, build waterworks, and strengthen the nation, winning Lü Bu’s loud approval.
• Wang Lang accused Pang Tong of rejecting the sages and defying the Han’s traditional rule through filial piety.
• Zhuge Liang rebuked Wang Lang and said New Learning preserved moral standards while adapting the sages’ principles to changed circumstances.

Zhuge Liang defeated Wang Lang in a heated debate over reform and New Learning, then explained how New Learning combined the strengths of several schools of thought. Guo Jia announced that Confucianism would remain part of the Imperial Academy, and Zheng Xuan accepted the value of reform while acknowledging his defeat.

• Zhuge Liang accused Wang Lang of using Confucian morality to obstruct reform, and Wang Lang spat blood and collapsed.
• Zhuge Liang defended New Learning as a practical blend of Confucian, Legalist, and Mohist ideas, arguing that Great Han had to change to prosper.
• Guo Jia revealed that Confucianism would be included in the Imperial Academy's politics curriculum, easing the scholars' fears that their studies would be discarded.
• Guo Jia invited Zheng Xuan to become the Imperial Academy's Chief Lecturer of Confucianism, but Zheng Xuan declined because of his age.
• Zheng Xuan endorsed New Learning, admitted that he had lost the debate, and exchanged respectful bows with Guo Jia, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu.

After the Debate at the Wei River secured new learning’s position, Liu Xie rewarded Pang Tong with a post in the Grand Secretariat and directed Zhuge Liang and his officials to advance education and prepare reforms. The chapter leaves the Imperial Academy’s teaching materials and local school program underway as the court’s changes begin to take effect.

• The great clan heads left after Zheng Xuan conceded defeat, and the debate’s victory established new learning’s political legitimacy.
• Liu Xie praised Zhuge Liang, Guo Jia, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu, then appointed Pang Tong as an Archivist in the Grand Secretariat.
• Liu Xie assigned Zhuge Liang to lead the compilation of standardized teaching materials and asked him to plan reforms to the recommendation system.
• Xu Shu proposed piloting a new selection system and tightening oversight, but Liu Xie decided to wait before proceeding.
• Pang Tong established himself in the Grand Secretariat, Zhuge Liang organized scholars to compile teaching materials, and Guo Jia sent the Imperial Academy’s first graduates to teach at local schools.