Recaps

Liu Xie used Kong Rong’s visit to keep the rival claims to the throne unresolved while strengthening his secret position against Yuan Shao. As battles and factional plots reshaped the north, Yuan Shao ordered Liu Xie to the You-Ji front, where Liu Xie planned to use the Zhen Clan’s support and his own industrial schemes.

• Liu Xie, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu anticipated Kong Rong’s journey to judge the rival emperors, while Lü Bu dismissed the Xu County claimant and vowed to support Liu Xie.
• Kong Rong visited Xu County and Ye City, found the emperors identical in appearance, and told Liu Xie he could not determine which was genuine.
• Liu Xie revealed his suspicions of Yuan Shao and his secret supporters to Kong Rong, but Kong Rong publicly refused to choose between the claimants and returned to Beihai.
• Yuan Shao and Cao Cao reacted to Kong Rong’s declaration, while Zhen Mi secretly gained Lady Zhang’s consideration for backing Liu Xie.
• Gongsun Zan prepared to resist Yuan Shao’s advance, while Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, and Gao Shun defeated Xiahou Dun’s army near Runan and captured its cavalry armor.
• Jia Xu manipulated Xu You’s resentment toward Yuan Shao after Shen Pei executed Xu You’s son and wife, while Zhen Mi delivered the Zhen Clan’s pledge of secret support to Liu Xie.
• Yuan Shao ordered Liu Xie to oversee the fighting on the You-Ji front, and Liu Xie told Zhen Mi he would use his industrial plans to fund support for Lü Bu.

Liu Xie strengthened his secret network, recruited Xu You, and maneuvered amid Yuan Shao’s succession struggle while preparing to expand Han influence into Yi Province. The arc ended with Yuan Xi’s troops entering Ye City and surrounding Yuan Shao’s residence.

• Liu Xie rallied Yuan Shao’s soldiers before Yi City, but Gongsun Zan denounced Yuan Shao and Zhao Yun fought his way back to the city.
• Liu Xie returned to Ye City, where Zhen Mi reported the Zhen Clan’s progress on new military equipment and he arranged support for Lü Bu.
• Liu Bei warned Liu Xie that Yuan Shao meant to seize Yi Province, and Liu Xie secretly ordered Liu Bei to lead four thousand elite troops there.
• Jia Xu convinced Xu You to serve Liu Xie, and Xu You entered the palace to pledge loyalty to the Han Dynasty.
• Yuan Shao appointed Yuan Shang acting Governor of Bing Province, and Jia Xu told Yuan Xi that his father had chosen Yuan Shang as heir.
• Jia Xu persuaded Yuan Xi to attack the Yuan Residence and arranged for Xu You to help Liu Xie take control if the uprising succeeded.
• Yuan Xi’s five hundred Tiger Character Battalion soldiers entered Ye City, surrounded the Grand General’s residence, and faced Shen Pei’s offer of reconciliation.

Yuan Xi seized control of Ye City, killed Yuan Shang, and drove Yuan Shao into flight while Liu Xie exploited the Yuan family’s crisis to consolidate power. The conflict spread across the realm, and Liu Xie ordered Xu You to kill Ju Shou as rival armies mobilized.

• Yuan Xi killed Yuan Shang and several of his supporters, confined Yuan Shao, and took control of Ye City with the help of Shen Pei and Tian Feng.
• After Yuan Xi refused Liu Xie’s request for an appointment, Jia Xu fled to Gongsun Zan with a Girdle Edict and urged him to invade Ji Province.
• Yuan Xi purged the Xin, Feng, and Guo families as rumors spread, while Ye City’s clans sought the Son of Heaven’s protection.
• Madam Liu helped Ju Shou, Shen Pei, and Tian Feng alert the City Defense Army, but Yuan Xi seized the Imperial Guards’ Tiger Tally and turned them against Yuan Shao.
• Yuan Shao escaped Ye City after the armies clashed, and Yuan Xi publicly declared him an enemy as Liu Xie took control of the capital’s forces.
• Liu Xie revealed to Xun Chen that he had engineered the crisis and pursued plans to expand his power, while Yuan Shao joined Yan Liang to prepare a return to Ye City.
• Liu Xie coordinated military moves with Lü Bu and Kong Rong as Gongsun Zan negotiated a horse deal with the Mi Family to finance his war against Yuan Shao.
• Zhang He and Gao Lan brought Ye City’s defenses under Liu Xie’s control, Taishi Ci seized cities for Kong Rong, and Liu Xie ordered Xu You to kill Ju Shou.

Liu Xie strengthened his rule in Ye City with a Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony, new appointments, and an edict recruiting talent, while Lü Bu’s campaign against Sun Ce ended in Sun Ce’s death. In Xu County, Cao Cao’s investigation into whether its emperor had been replaced left the truth unresolved, and Dong Cheng sent Dong Xi to Ye City to investigate.

• Taishi Ci harried Yuan Tan’s retreat, killed Cen Bi, and continued pursuing him as Zhang Liao entered Ye City and Yuan Xi accepted that Yuan Shao’s rule there had ended.
• Liu Xie held the Heaven-Sacrifice Ceremony, produced a purple-smoke omen, and issued an edict recruiting worthy people regardless of birth or reputation.
• Liu Xie appointed Zhang He, Gao Lan, Xun Chen, Guo Jia, and Kong Rong to court posts, then made Sima Yi a Palace Attendant Censor while ordering Guo Jia to watch him.
• Lü Bu attacked Sun Ce’s supply convoy, defeated his army, killed Huang Gai and Sun Ce, and escaped with Sun Ce’s head as Zhou Yu arrived.
• Liu Xie summoned Huang Zhong to serve him and promised to find treatment for Huang Xu, while Xu You killed Shen Pei and fled to Cao Cao.
• Xu You visited the emperors in Xu County and Ye City, then told Cao Cao that the Ye City emperor was genuine, prompting Cao Cao to question Yang Biao, Fu Wan, and Dong Cheng about a possible switch.
• Cao Cao learned Empress Fu was not pregnant and decided to spare the three men, while Xun Yu and Xun You remained uncertain about which emperor was legitimate.
• Fu Wan and Yang Biao questioned Dong Cheng, and Dong Cheng secretly sent Dong Xi to Ye City to investigate its emperor’s identity.