Recaps

Liu Xie’s forces defeated Ma Chao at Chang’an, while Zhuge Liang’s alliance destroyed Cao Cao’s fleet at Red Cliffs and drove his army into retreat. The story left Cao Cao sick and cornered near Changsha as the Imperial Court’s army approached, while his advisers faced the possible collapse of the rebellion.

• Jia Xu stopped Fu Wan’s plan to surrender Empress Fu, and Chang’an’s defenders killed Ma Chao in an ambush before Liu Xie arrived with reinforcements.
• Liu Xie thanked Chang’an’s defenders, learned how Guo Nüwang had helped foil Fu Wan’s scheme, and Jia Xu arranged Fu Wan’s death on the road home.
• Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu used a staged defection to deceive Cao Cao, then sent fire ships into his fleet at Red Cliffs after Zhuge Liang’s camp gained a favorable wind.
• Cao Cao’s army retreated overland, but Lü Bu ambushed it near Huarong Trail and killed Cao Zhen, Xu Chu, and Yue Jin before Cao Cao escaped.
• Zhuge Liang spared Lü Bu for disobeying his orders and said the army would rest before marching on Changsha.
• Liu Xie learned that Zhen Mi had given birth to a son, named the child Liu Jue, and made him King of Bohai while warning Jia Xu against further disguised assassinations.
• Cao Cao returned to Changsha ill as defections and defeats mounted, and he told Xun Yu and Xun You they could surrender and place the blame on him alone.

Liu Xie reunified the realm after Cao Cao’s surrender and death, then consolidated his rule and began reforms to weaken aristocratic control of education, appointments, and land. The stretch ends with Liu Xie backing military examinations and Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong beginning a duel.

• Chen Gong entered Changsha to urge Cao Cao to surrender, and Cao Cao agreed to hand over Emperor Xian while arranging for Xu You to protect his family.
• Cao Cao killed Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhi, then died in Cao Chong’s arms, and Xu You took Cao Cao’s head and led Cao Chong and Emperor Xian out as Changsha surrendered.
• The Han army occupied Changsha, and Liu Xie celebrated the victory, rewarded his commanders, and restored Liu Bei as King of Zhongshan.
• Liu Xie met Emperor Xian and Empress Fu in secret, then poisoned them and burned the Waterside Pavilion before publicly mourning their deaths.
• Liu Xie spared Cao Chong from execution but secretly ordered Jia Xu to have him killed, while Zhen Mi arrived in Chang’an with Liu Jue and accepted Liu Xie’s decision to make Lü Lingqi empress and Jue crown prince.
• Liu Xie appointed Lü Lingqi Empress and Liu Jue Crown Prince, then outlined gradual reforms to examinations, education, taxation, and the measurement of land and population.
• Liu Xie reopened the Hongdu School as the Imperial Academy, and Guo Jia and Zhuge Liang began preparing to teach while Yang Biao and Yang Xiu recognized the threat to aristocratic influence.
• Liu Xie approved Jia Xu’s military examination proposal, watched Liao Hua and Wei Yan fight, and then saw Zhao Yun charge Huang Zhong in the tournament.

Liu Xie pursued reforms to land surveys, government, and education while aristocratic families resisted the Imperial Academy. After Zheng Xuan conceded defeat in a public debate, New Learning gained political legitimacy and Liu Xie set its scholars to work shaping education and appointments.

• Zhao Yun defeated Huang Zhong in a long duel, and Liu Xie rewarded him with a poem, prompting Lü Bu and other generals to seek similar honors.
• Liu Xie established the Grand Secretariat and ordered the Embroidered-Clothes Envoys to survey farmland and count the population, exposing concealed holdings among the great clans.
• Cui Yan gathered clan leaders to oppose the Imperial Academy’s influence, while Liu Xie and Jia Xu monitored their plans and prepared reforms.
• Lü Bu presented Liu Xie’s Battle-Formation-Breaking Music at the New Year’s Banquet, where Liu Xie praised his ministers, the people, and fallen soldiers before naming his enemies.
• As rumors blamed the drought on Liu Xie’s educational reforms, he refused to suppress them by force and prepared to confront the aristocratic families openly.
• Guo Jia, Pang Tong, and Zhuge Liang argued for New Learning at the public debate, and Zheng Xuan ultimately endorsed it and conceded defeat.
• Liu Xie appointed Pang Tong to the Grand Secretariat, assigned Zhuge Liang to compile standardized teaching materials, and sent Imperial Academy graduates to teach in local schools.