Recaps

After Xiang Liang’s death, Luo Ling backed Xiang Yu as the new Duke of Chu, and Xiang Yu rallied Chu’s nobles to prepare for another fight against Zhang Han. Luo Ling coordinated the Feudal Lords’ attacks on Zhang Han’s supply routes to force a decisive battle, while Zhang Han struggled to understand their strategy and began striking back.

• Luo Ling pledged his support to Xiang Yu and urged him to lead the fight against Qin State.
• Luo Ling announced that Xiang Liang had entrusted Xiang Yu with succeeding as Xiang Clan Head, and the Chu nobles bowed to recognize him as Duke of Chu.
• Xiang Yu rallied the grieving nobles, declared that Chu would fight again, and appointed Long Ju as his deputy against Zhang Han.
• Xiang Yu explained that a decisive battle required cutting off Zhang Han’s supplies and reinforcements, while Luo Ling confirmed that the Feudal Lords had begun harassing his routes.
• Zhang Han grew wary as the supply raids mounted, then organized attacks against the Feudal Lords while Luo Ling’s plan continued to advance.

Luo Cai reunited with Luo Yi and introduced Han Xin as an unrivaled military talent, whom Luo Yi tested before agreeing to recommend him to Liu Bang. The chapter left Han Xin poised to join Liu Bang’s faction.

• Luo Cai teased Han Xin during their journey and praised his military talent.
• Luo Cai caught up with Luo Yi’s army, reunited with her brother, and met Liu Bang and his followers.
• Luo Cai explained how she had found Han Xin and urged Luo Yi to recommend him to Liu Bang.
• Luo Yi tested Han Xin, finding his political ability poor but his military insight exceptional.
• Luo Yi praised Han Xin as a worthy who could help Liu Bang destroy Qin and agreed to recommend him.

Luo Yi urged Liu Bang to recognize Han Xin as a peerless commander, and Han Xin warned that a rushed invasion of Guanzhong would exhaust Liu Bang’s army and leave him unable to hold the territory. Liu Bang appointed Han Xin Great General and placed the army under his command.

• Luo Yi praised Han Xin to Liu Bang and said he was indispensable to becoming King of Guanzhong.
• Han Xin told Luo Cai that he had chosen to serve Liu Bang because of the Luo Clan and asked her to take him to Luo Ling if Liu Bang rejected him.
• Luo Cai promised Han Xin that she would help him find a place to use his talents if Liu Bang failed to entrust him with important duties.
• Han Xin warned Liu Bang that his rapidly expanded army was poorly prepared and that fighting through Wu Pass and Lantian would leave him vulnerable to the other feudal lords.
• Liu Bang accepted Han Xin’s analysis, appointed him Great General, and gave him command of the troops outside his personal guard.

Han Xin took command of Liu Bang’s army in Nanyang, trained and expanded its forces, and prepared an ambush for Meng Tian at Xinyang. The Fengpei generals came to accept Han Xin’s authority and pledged to follow his plan as Meng Tian advanced.

• Liu Bang appointed Han Xin commander before the army, prompting resentment among his Fengpei followers until Xiao He and Luo Yi helped secure their acceptance.
• Han Xin reorganized and expanded the army, explaining that his training could make recruits disciplined, and proposed a campaign to defeat or drive off Meng Tian.
• After Liu Bang’s victories in Nanyang, Han Xin studied the region and chose Xinyang as the site for layered ambushes against Meng Tian’s approaching army.
• Han Xin recognized the military talent among Liu Bang’s Pei County followers and welcomed the generals’ ability to command detached forces.
• Xiao He urged Zhou Bo, Fan Kuai, and the other generals to set aside their prejudice, and they visited Han Xin and promised to cooperate.
• Han Xin presented his strategy against Meng Tian, winning the generals’ respect and obedience.

Fusu gave Zhang Han authority over Shandong’s military and state affairs, and Zhang Han drew the feudal armies into a campaign around Handan. Xiang Yu routed the Qin force sent against him and then led his Chu army north to attack Zhang Han.

• After defeating Xiang Liang, Zhang Han urged Fusu to let him subdue Shandong, and Fusu appointed him Grand Commandant with the Qin Emperor Sword and authority over the region.
• When Lü Qian, King of Jiaodong, was defeated, Luo Ling ordered Cheng, King of Qi, to take in his scattered troops and chose him to bait Zhang Han into Handan Commandery.
• Zhang Han besieged Lü Cheng, King of Qi, near Handan while Luo Ling sent Xiang Yu and thirty thousand Chu troops to relieve him.
• Xiang Yu led the Chu Army across the Zhang River, routed Bai Li’s force, killed Bai Li and Ziying, King of Xingyang, and drove Wang Li to suicide.
• After defeating the Qin army, Xiang Yu led his troops north toward Handan to attack Zhang Han.

Xiang Yu routed Zhang Han’s Qin army at Handan, killing commanders and breaking the camps until Zhang Han withdrew toward Xingyang. After the Feudal Lords witnessed Xiang Yu’s victory, they knelt and acclaimed him their common sovereign.

• Xiang Yu defeated Wang Li’s forces, and Luo Ling mobilized the Feudal Lords to encircle Zhang Han.
• Zhang Han regrouped his army and defeated the Qi forces and King Jiu of Wei, while the Feudal Lords struggled to carry out Luo Ling’s plan.
• Xiang Yu led the Chu Army into battle, broke through Zhang Han’s linked camps, and killed the King of Pingyao and other Qin commanders.
• The Feudal Lords joined the fighting as Zhang Han withdrew his central army toward Xingyang, leaving the Qin forces devastated.
• The Feudal Lords knelt before Xiang Yu and acclaimed him their common sovereign.

After Xiang Yu crushed the Qin armies, Liu Bang’s forces used Han Xin’s strategy to seize Wu Pass and enter Guanzhong. They then prepared to strike the Lantian Camp, leaving Fusu’s rule close to its decisive confrontation.

• Luo Ling recognized Xiang Yu’s ambition and compared his domineering nature to the First Emperor after Xiang Yu refused to consider the war finished.
• Han Xin defeated Meng Tian’s army, and Liu Bang’s commanders praised his victory while discussing the threat posed by Xiang Yu’s advance.
• Fusu received reports of Zhang Han’s and Meng Tian’s defeats, mourned Qin’s decline, and ordered his generals to hold or retreat to Hangu Pass.
• Han Xin sent a feint toward Luoyang and led Liu Bang’s elite troops in a secret attack that captured Wu Pass at heavy cost.
• Liu Bang decided to move quickly toward Xianyang and confront the Lantian Camp before news of Wu Pass’s fall could reach Fusu.

Han Xin defeated the Qin army at Lantian, allowing Liu Bang to enter Xianyang after Fusu surrendered Guanzhong. Fusu later died by suicide, while Liu Bang prepared to secure his rule as Xiang Yu and Luo Ling approached.

• Han Xin routed the Qin forces at Lantian, and Liu Bang’s generals urged him to enter Xianyang and become king.
• Xiao He argued that Liu Bang should spare Fusu, and Zhang Liang advised that a gentleman could be deceived through principle.
• Fusu rejected calls to defend Xianyang and surrendered the Qin seal, records, and registers to Liu Bang’s officials.
• Liu Bang refrained from taking the jade seal and told Fusu he would spare him, while warning that they might meet as enemies later.
• Liu Bang’s advisers warned him against indulging in Xianyang, and he returned his attention to the struggle for power.
• Fusu killed himself after asking Liu Bang to treat the people of Guanzhong well, and Liu Bang learned that Xiang Yu and Luo Ling were nearing the region.

Xiang Yu led the allied army through Hangu Pass and entered Guanzhong, where he maneuvered to deny Liu Bang control of the region and divide the feudal lords’ lands. Liu Bang attended Xiang Yu’s banquet cautiously as Xiang Yu laid out a plan to weaken the kings by redistributing their territories.

• Xiang Yu entered Hangu Pass after its Qin defenders surrendered, then led the allied army toward Xianyang while Luo Ling deferred to him.
• Xiang Yu resented Liu Bang for taking Xianyang and resolved to prevent him from ruling Guanzhong, while planning to reduce the power of his allies after distributing fiefs.
• Liu Bang brought Luo Yi and others to pay respects to Xiang Yu at a banquet, remaining wary of the feudal lords who opposed his becoming King of Guanzhong.
• Xiang Yu praised Liu Bang’s conquest of Guanzhong, then argued that restoring the old states would leave other heroes without land and proposed rebuilding Zhao City as Luo Ling’s fief.
• Xiang Yu privately planned to divide the states’ territories to set the kings against one another, while Liu Bang noticed several guests’ murderous hostility and grew more cautious.

Luo Ling explained that the Luo Clan would allow a struggle for power to produce a ruler while protecting All Xia, then crowned Xiang Yu as Sovereign of All Under Heaven. The chapter ended as Luo Ling and Xiang Yu arrived before the gathered schools and leaders in Xianyang for the Luo Clan’s next major undertaking.

• Luo Ling told Luo Yi that Liu Bang would become king in Guanzhong, but war would follow, and warned him to watch Liu Bang for any threat to the Luo Clan’s principles.
• After the Coalition of the Lords entered Xianyang, Xiang Yu and the Feudal Lords plundered the city and surrounding areas, while Liu Bang protected the population and gained renown.
• Luo Ling crowned Xiang Yu at the Heaven-Worship Ceremony, and Xiang Yu declared himself the Hegemon-King with the support of the assembled lords.
• Luo Ling gained 5,000 Fortune Points and increased Clan Prestige for placing the crown on Xiang Yu.
• Luo Ling and Xiang Yu arrived before the gathered leaders of the Hundred Schools, who awaited the Luo Clan’s purpose for convening them in Xianyang.

Luo Ling addressed Xiang Yu and the Hundred Schools, arguing that Qin Law had ruined the Qin Dynasty and that the School of Punishment threatened All Xia. He laid out four crimes of the school and left the assembly considering his case against it.

• Luo Ling summoned the Hundred Schools and explained that Qin Law’s harshness had turned the people against the Qin Dynasty.
• Luo Ling asked Xiang Yu whether he would govern with the School of Punishment, and Xiang Yu rejected it.
• Luo Ling warned that later rulers might revive the School of Punishment under another school’s name, prompting the Hundred Schools to grasp his purpose.
• When the Xunzi-lineage Confucians asked how the School of Punishment would be identified, Luo Ling declared that Qin Law endangered All Xia.
• Luo Ling accused the School of Punishment of keeping people ignorant, impoverishing them, destroying social bonds, and restricting their movement and loyalty to their states.

Luo Ling condemned the School of Punishment and rallied the Hundred Schools and feudal lords behind rejecting its coercive doctrines. He then announced that rebuilding Zhao City would bring back the Hall of Sages, leaving its restoration as the next step.

• Luo Ling called for the School of Punishment to be discarded and framed it as a threat to the people.
• The Mengzi School praised Luo Ling, and the Huang-Lao Daoist and Confucian schools joined in as the hall’s scholars and historians recorded the gathering.
• Luo Ling’s speech stirred the feudal lords, while Xiang Yu struggled to grasp its political meaning.
• Luo Ling waited for the hall to quiet, then announced that the sages’ statues had been preserved and that rebuilding Zhao City would revive the Hall of Sages.

Luo Ling secured Xiang Yu’s support to rebuild the Hall of Sages and abolish the School of Punishment, then went to Zhao City to formalize the covenant. During a sacrifice to the Sage King, divine stone steles appeared bearing his words, and the gathered lords and scholars witnessed the miracle.

• Luo Ling proposed rebuilding the Hall of Sages, recording the covenant against the School of Punishment on a stele in Zhao City, and remaining there in seclusion.
• Xiang Yu agreed to bear witness and offered Qin’s treasures to support the reconstruction, then asked to enfeoff the Feudal Lords in Zhao City, which Luo Ling permitted.
• Luo Ling and the assembled leaders traveled to Zhao City, where Liu Bang reflected on the difference between the Luo Clan’s aims and his own.
• At Zhao City’s Ancestral Temple, Luo Ling sacrificed to the Sage King and asked for divine stone to preserve the deeds of tyrants and worthy rulers.
• Steles descended around the altar bearing the words Luo Ling had spoken, and Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, and the gathered crowd knelt and acclaimed the Sage King as Luo Ling declared the School of Punishment extinguished.

Xiang Yu enfeoffed the Feudal Lords in Zhao City, prompting protests over his division of territory, while Luo Ling advised Lü Cheng and Liu Bang on the dangers and politics ahead. After explaining that he would withdraw from public view without abandoning his influence, Luo Ling heard that Luo Yi had an official matter about Han Xin and Luo Cai to report.

• Xiang Yu claimed Heaven's sanction for his rule and began granting lands and noble ranks to the Feudal Lords.
• Lü Cheng protested that Xiang Yu had denied Qi State land south of Linzi, but Xiang Yu defended the division and Lü Cheng sat down.
• Lü Cheng told Luo Ling he would not obey Xiang Yu, and Luo Ling urged him to send his eldest legitimate son to Zhao City and protect his life.
• Luo Ling told Liu Bang that a King was an ally of the Son of Heaven, while a Duke was a guest and a Marquis a subject, clarifying when Liu Bang could oppose Xiang Yu.
• Luo Ling told Luo Yi he would remain in Zhao City but leave if events affecting all under heaven demanded it, and Luo Yi prepared to report on Han Xin and Luo Cai.

Luo Ling questioned Han Xin about his relationship with Luo Cai and tested his character before accepting him into the Luo Clan. He gave Han Xin the courtesy name Han Zimu as Luo Cai and Luo Yi prepared to leave Zhao City.

• Luo Yi told Luo Ling that Han Xin and Luo Cai were close, prompting Luo Ling to summon Han Xin and ask about his looks and character.
• Luo Cai joined Luo Yi and Han Xin on their visit to Luo Ling, and Han Xin arrived worried that he had brought no gifts.
• Luo Ling questioned Han Xin about his past and warned him that he must remain faithful to Luo Cai, even as she grew older.
• Han Xin vowed he would never betray Luo Cai, and Luo Ling accepted him by bestowing the courtesy name Mu, making him Han Zimu.
• As Luo Cai and Luo Yi prepared to leave Zhao City with Liu Bang's army, Luo Ling gave Han Xin a military strategy scroll and encouraged him to study and pass on his military knowledge.

Luo Yi helped Liu Bang and Lü Ze settle a dispute over Lü Zhi’s place in the family and the succession, persuading Liu Bang to publicly uphold the rites and grant Lü Zhi and her children titles while leaving them in Pei County. Meanwhile, Luo Xin returned from Qi Land after finding the Lü Clan’s strength diminished and its new king at odds with Qi’s powerful gentry, then met a changed Lü Zhi.

• Lü Ze worried that Liu Bang’s devotion to his concubines threatened Lü Zhi’s position, and Luo Yi urged him to seek official titles for her and her children.
• At a banquet, Lü Ze invoked the Sage King’s teachings on wives and legitimate heirs, making Liu Bang’s ministers support his argument.
• Liu Bang privately asked Luo Yi why the ministers backed Lü Ze, and Luo Yi explained that rites protected Liu Bang’s family as well as binding the ruler.
• Liu Bang agreed to invest Lü Zhi as queen, Liu Ying as crown prince, and Liu Le as elder princess, but said they would remain in Pei County for safety.
• Lü Ze accepted Liu Bang’s response, and the dispute within Liu Bang’s faction subsided.
• Luo Xin returned from Qi Land after finding the Lü Clan weakened and tension rising between Lü Cheng and Qi’s powerful gentry, then met Lü Zhi in Pei County.

Luo Xin agreed to stay in Pei County and teach Liu Le after Lü Zhi asked for his help and showed him an ancient Bronze Plaque linking the Luo and Qi clans. Lü Zhi hoped to win his trust and secure support for her children, while Luo Xin sensed that his connection to her and Liu Bang was bound to the Luo Clan's history.

• Luo Xin learned from Liu Le that Liu Bang had visited Zhao City without returning home, leaving Lü Zhi hurt and resentful.
• Lü Zhi asked Luo Xin about Qi and considered seeking support from her relatives to protect Liu Ying's position as Crown Prince.
• Luo Xin told Lü Zhi that he had no fixed plans or home and traveled wherever his family needed him.
• Lü Zhi showed Luo Xin a Bronze Plaque inherited from her branch of the Luo Clan and asked him to teach Liu Le, and possibly Liu Ying in the future.
• Luo Xin accepted Lü Zhi's request and agreed to begin teaching Liu Le the next day.
• Luo Xin sensed that the Bronze Plaque connected Lü Zhi and Liu Bang to the Luo Clan through fate.

Lü Zhi began considering how she could wield regency power after Liu Bang's death, while Lü Cheng's execution of rebellious Qi nobles sparked a clash with Xiang Yu. The chapter left Chu and Qi on the brink of war as Liu Bang's court learned of the growing upheaval.

• Luo Xin chose to teach Liu Le rites, history, poetry, and verse, while Lü Zhi realized she would need Liu Bang's position and trusted allies to gain power as regent.
• Lü Cheng rejected the Qi nobles' challenge to his rule and ordered their execution in the royal hall, then prepared to suppress rebellion across Qi State.
• Lü Cheng defended his actions to Xiang Yu, who accused him of disobedience and summoned the feudal lords to help punish him.
• The feudal lords struggled to respond because Xiang Yu's divisions had left them entangled in conflicts of their own.
• Liu Bang and his ministers received news of the rising conflict between Qi State and Chu State, and Luo Yi urged Liu Bang to summon his ministers.

Luo Yi persuaded Liu Bang to seize Guanzhong and challenge Xiang Yu by portraying Xiang Yu as an unjust tyrant who had lost the right to rule. Liu Bang approved a plan to attack the Kings of Qin and Yong, secure Guanzhong, and call on the feudal lords to demand Xiang Yu’s abdication.

• Lü Ze argued that the King of Qi had been wronged by Xiang Yu and urged Liu Bang to oppose him.
• Luo Yi told Liu Bang that Xiang Yu’s enfeoffment of the Kings of Qin and Yong threatened Han’s control of Guanzhong and urged him to strike while Xiang Yu was occupied in Qi.
• Luo Yi used precedents from ancient history to argue that Xiang Yu had become a tyrant and no longer deserved to rule.
• Liu Bang agreed to issue a proclamation to the feudal lords, send Zimu to defeat the Kings of Qin and Yong, and have Xiao He secure Guanzhong.
• Han Xin studied Xiang Yu’s record and sensed a possible way to understand him, though his thoughts were not yet clear.

Xiang Yu explained to Consort Yu why he weakened the nobles and planned to make the Sage King the Supreme God, while Luo Ling considered how that worship could restrain rulers without endangering the Luo Clan or the Sage King. The chapter left Xiang Yu and Luo Ling on opposing paths over the Sage King's place in the new dynasty.

• Xiang Yu told Consort Yu that he had weakened the King of Qi because he expected the nobles to betray him, and declared his plan to rule as the Son of Heaven under the Sage King.
• Consort Yu questioned whether making the Sage King the Supreme God would anger the Luo Clan, but Xiang Yu believed his new status entitled him to honor their shared ancestor.
• Luo Ling reflected on the Luo Clan's duty to balance its power with the welfare of All Xia and rejected Xiang Yu's plan to make the Sage King a Supreme God.
• Luo Ling devised a role for the Sage King as a just aspect of Heaven, with Lord Heaven serving as a shield when the Sage King did not answer people's prayers.
• Luo Ling recognized that the Sage King's role was inviolable to the Luo Clan, setting him against Xiang Yu's religious ambitions.

Han Xin prepared to lead Liu Bang’s army in a campaign to subdue the Three Qin while Luo Cai warned him to stay humble and cautious around the other generals. He ended the chapter planning a decisive battle against the Kings of Qin and Yong west of Xianyang.

• Han Xin boasted to Luo Cai that Liu Bang would entrust him with conquering the Three Qin, and Luo Cai recognized his political naivety.
• After Liu Bang appointed Han Xin to the task, Luo Cai urged him to speak humbly and avoid provoking resentment among the other generals.
• Han Xin accepted Luo Cai’s advice and promised to heed her counsel, while she said she would manage such matters after they married.
• Han Xin outlined a strategy to seize three strategic towns, draw the Two Kings of Qin and Yong into battle, and then pacify Guanzhong.
• Han Xin learned that Liu Bang’s army had prepared its supplies in secret and asked Luo Cai to inform her elder brother and Liu Bang that he would fight west of Xianyang.

Han Xin led the Han army through Guanzhong, turning Qin resentment against the kings of Qin and Yong and defeating their forces with layered defenses and ambushes. Liu Bang entered Xianyang to a welcome from the elders, while Han Xin received a marquis title and continued to aspire to a king’s rank.

• The King of Yong learned of the Han surprise attack, then joined the King of Qin in marching against Han Xin.
• Han Xin’s persuaders urged Qin cities to submit to Liu Bang, and many people rebelled against Chu forces and opened the way for the Han army.
• Han Xin explained his strategy of exhausting Xiang Yu with successive defenses, then tested it against the kings of Qin and Yong and committed his reserves to crush their army.
• The King of Yong broke out eastward, while Qin troops scattered and the King of Qin’s forces collapsed under Han Xin’s assault.
• Han Xin met Liu Bang outside Xianyang, praised his reputation, and received the rank of Thorough Marquis and a fief.
• The elders of Xianyang welcomed Liu Bang with baskets of food and jugs of drink, and Han Xin again credited Liu Bang’s renown.

Liu Bang entered Xianyang, abolished Xiang Yu’s harsh decrees against the Qin people, and promised to build a new Han capital with Luo Yi’s help. Backed by Qin support, he gathered a 250,000-strong army and marched east through the passes to oppose Xiang Yu and join the other Feudal Lords.

• Luo Yi reminded Liu Bang to follow their plan, and Liu Bang publicly abolished Xiang Yu’s decrees in the Qin lands despite the risk of provoking him.
• A planted question let Liu Bang declare that he would protect the Qin people even if King Xiang attacked him, winning the crowd’s cheers.
• Luo Yi advised Liu Bang to build a new capital because Xianyang lay in ruins, and Liu Bang entrusted him with choosing its site.
• Xiao He examined the household registers and maps to assess the state of Three Qin as Han’s new political base.
• Liu Bang assembled 250,000 troops from his army, defeated Qin and Yong forces, and Qin recruits, then prepared to intervene in the war between Qi and Chu.
• The Han Army marched east through the passes as the Qin people raised Han’s banners and supported Liu Bang’s campaign against Xiang Yu.

Luo Xin learned that Lü Zhi and Liu Bang’s children were in danger as the Han Army moved against Qin and Yong, and chose to help them flee. After killing the cavalrymen sent to seize Lü Zhi, he escaped Pei County with Lü Zhi, Liu Le, and Liu Ying on horseback.

• Lü Zhi told Luo Xin that Liu Ji was leading the Han Army through the passes and that her elder brother had warned her to flee Fengpei.
• Luo Xin urged Lü Zhi to leave with him, insisting that he would not abandon a friend and the children.
• Luo Xin armed himself and carried Liu Ying outside when cavalrymen approached Lü Zhi’s home.
• Luo Xin killed the cavalrymen, took their horses, and mounted Lü Zhi and Liu Le with him.
• Luo Xin rode out of Pei County with Lü Zhi, Liu Le, and Liu Ying.

Xiang Yu besieged Linzi but could not bring himself to sacrifice the Sons of Jiangdong in a prolonged assault, while Lü Cheng refused to surrender. When Xiang Yu learned that Liu Bang had swiftly unified Guanzhong and was rallying dissatisfied lords against him, he abandoned the siege and withdrew.

• Xiang Yu learned that Lü Cheng had killed Linzi’s nobles, then ordered his army to surround the city rather than assault it directly.
• Lü Cheng rejected Xiang Yu’s challenges and relied on Linzi’s ample supplies, confident that Xiang Yu would avoid costly attacks.
• After one assault cost over a thousand Chu soldiers, Xiang Yu refused further direct attacks and used captured Qi troops to press the siege.
• Xiang Yu sent Lü Cheng a letter offering him the title of King of Linzi, but Lü Cheng rejected the offer and suspected Liu Bang would not accept Xiang Yu’s rule.
• Xiang Yu learned that Liu Bang had unified Guanzhong and was contacting lords to oppose him, so he ordered his army to withdraw from Linzi.