Recaps

Han Xin swiftly defeated the allied armies of the King of Huainan and the King of Wu, and Liu Heng rejected their pleas for pardon and ordered them judged under Han law. Luo Xin explained why the Lords King had turned against the imperial family, leaving Liu Heng to understand the importance of the Luo Clan’s role in holding the realm together.

• Han Xin led an army into Huainan, where the King of Huainan raised troops and sought an alliance with the King of Wu.
• The King of Wu failed to rally the other Lords King, but he and the King of Huainan gathered a vast army to oppose the court.
• Han Xin routed the allied army by the Huai River, and the two kings surrendered and were brought to Chang'an.
• Liu Heng condemned the kings for rebelling and ordered the Imperial Guards to remove them and apply Han law.
• Liu Heng asked Luo Xin why the Lords King had broken with the imperial family, and Luo Xin answered by contrasting the Zhou State with All Xia.
• Liu Heng realized the Luo Clan had sustained the alliances that held the Zhou Royal House and its allies together, and thanked Luo Xin.

Luo Xin guided Liu Heng through the post-rebellion settlement, and Liu Heng proposed balancing kingdoms, Thorough Marquises, and directly governed territories. They agreed to implement the policy with Liu Heng observing, then turned to rewarding the rebellion’s suppressors, with the Meritorious Officials Group seeking official posts.

• Luo Xin proposed executing the rebellion’s ringleaders and exiling the other criminals to Lingnan to reclaim wasteland and open positions for capable people.
• Liu Heng proposed interlocking kingdoms, Thorough Marquises, commanderies, and counties to balance the Lords King, military nobles, and court officials.
• Luo Xin praised Liu Heng’s plan and explained that its success would depend on careful placement and execution by local officials and nobles.
• Liu Heng asked to accompany Luo Xin during implementation so he could see how policies encountered problems locally, and Luo Xin agreed.
• Luo Xin and Liu Heng discussed rewards for the Imperial Guards and the men of Guanzhong, then noted that the Thorough Marquises wanted official posts.

Luo Xin explained to Liu Heng how he would recruit and later discipline the Meritorious Officials Group while preparing to return power to the young emperor. After the court punished the rebellion and rewarded meritorious families, Luo Xin watched the Shandong kingdoms, ready to divide their territories.

• Luo Xin told Liu Heng that the Meritorious Officials Group wanted positions for their sons and younger relatives, and recommended Zhou Yafu for future command.
• Luo Xin advised dividing Han Xin’s marquisate among his descendants and granting the meritorious officials nominal titles for now.
• Luo Xin said he would drive the thorough marquises from Chang’an after subduing the lords king, then summon them back once they had been humbled; he also promised to return power to Liu Heng when he came of age.
• Liu Heng urged Luo Xin not to sacrifice so much for his succession, and Luo Xin said he acted for the realm and the late emperor’s wishes.
• The court announced that the King of Huainan and the King of Wu had been executed and their guilty officials exiled to Lingnan.
• The court rewarded many thorough marquises and their relatives, while Luo Xin watched the Shandong kingdoms and prepared to partition them.

After the deaths of Lü Cheng and the King of Zhao, Liu Ruyi died in Han State while Luo Yi was at his bedside. Reflecting on his aging friends and family, Luo Yi traveled to Zhao City and then Anyang, where his strength began to fail.

• The court posthumously named Lü Cheng King Wei Guang of Qi, and Luo Yi attended the Lü Clan’s mourning ceremony in Linzi.
• The King of Zhao died, while the court’s extension of grace divided Qi and Zhao into smaller states and fiefs.
• Luo Yi visited the gravely ill Liu Ruyi, who spoke of his regret that Luo Yi had spent years in Han State.
• Liu Ruyi died holding Luo Yi’s hand, and Luo Yi assured the Queen of Han that he would petition for impartial posthumous honors.
• Luo Yi reflected on the many friends he had lost, then visited his aging brother Luo Ling in Zhao City.
• Luo Ling sent Luo Yi to Anyang to see A Cai, where Luo Yi arrived pale and unsteady.

Luo Yi collapsed shortly after arriving at Han Xin’s residence in Anyang and, believing his lifespan had ended after seeing the Sage King, died beside Luo Cai. The court honored him as Marquis Wenxian, while the chapter then introduced Lin Yun’s reincarnation journey in the Cultivation Realm.

• Luo Cai worried about Luo Yi’s health as they traveled to the Marquis of Anyang’s Residence, where Han Xin welcomed them.
• Luo Yi suddenly collapsed, and Han Xin carried him inside while Luo Cai summoned help.
• After waking, Luo Yi said he had seen the Sage King and asked to bathe before his death; he soon fell silent, and Luo Cai arranged his funeral and informed the court.
• News of Luo Yi’s death reached Chang'an, and the court suspended its sessions for seven days and granted him the posthumous title Marquis Wenxian.
• Luo Yi’s funeral was held with the honors given to Xiao He, and his coffin was sent from Chang'an to Zhao City.
• Lin Yun began a cultivation-world reincarnation journey using the Art of Hundred-Life Reincarnation, accumulating legends and shaping the lives of those he encountered.

After Luo Yi’s death, Luo Cai fell gravely ill from grief, and Han Xin died soon after her, leaving Luo Xin to mourn the loss of another pillar of the court. The chapter ended with Luo Xin preparing to address the realm’s remaining affairs after the court honored Han Xin with a grand burial and the posthumous title Martial and Reverent.

• Luo Xin learned that Luo Cai was bedridden with grief over Luo Yi’s death and sent Luo Chen with his son and more than a hundred Dare-to-Fight Warriors to Anyang.
• Luo Cai warned Han Xin to protect himself and the Han Clan, obey the law, avoid political entanglements, and preserve his integrity so he could be buried beside her in Zhao City.
• Han Xin, overcome by grief and feeling unable to live without Luo Cai, found his skin had turned bright red and said he would go with her.
• A messenger told Luo Xin that the Marquis of Anyang and the Marquis of Huaiyin had both died, and Luo Xin summoned the ministers to discuss the news.
• The court buried Han Xin with the rites due a Lord King, placed six of the Nine Bestowments in his tomb, and granted him the posthumous title Martial and Reverent.
• After arranging Han Xin and Luo Cai’s funerals, Luo Xin rallied himself and turned to the realm’s remaining affairs.

Luo Xin used a staged breach of court decorum to expel the Thorough Marquises from Chang'an, while Liu Heng appeared to support the punishment. The marquises left believing Luo Xin feared they might threaten the emperor, and an edict barred them from returning without imperial permission.

• As storms battered Chang'an, the Thorough Marquises worried that Luo Xin had become harsher and discussed the coming-of-age ceremony after which he might return power to Liu Heng.
• Luo Xin told Liu Heng that he planned to send the best of the Thorough Marquises back to their fiefs and deal with troublesome noble scions.
• Luo Xin's guards summoned the Marquis of Wuyang and the other marquises to the palace, refusing to let them wash or change after their night of drinking.
• Luo Xin condemned the marquises for appearing before Liu Heng in disarray and proposed sending them to their Shandong fiefs; Liu Heng questioned the severity but then had them thank Luo Xin for his favor.
• After leaving the palace, the marquises suspected Luo Xin was removing potential threats to Liu Heng and hoped they could regain his trust and return to Chang'an.
• The palace issued an edict ordering the Marquis of Wuyang and the others to return to their fiefs and forbidding them from coming back without imperial permission.

Luo Xin advised Liu Heng on the northern grasslands, future wars, and reclaiming coinage authority as he prepared to return power to the emperor. He also urged Zhang Yan to counsel Marquis Liu’s Residence to act modestly, then the chapter recounted his legacy before ending with an author’s event notice.

• Liu Heng praised Luo Xin’s contributions, and Luo Xin explained that Great Han needed horse pastures and cavalry to contend with the Xiongnu.
• Luo Xin advised Liu Heng to wage swift, limited campaigns against the Xiongnu and to reclaim coinage authority while preserving the quality of Han coins.
• Luo Xin told Zhang Yan that Marquis Liu’s Residence should remain cautious and modest to avoid clashing with Liu Heng.
• Zhang Yan accepted Luo Xin’s advice, and Luo Xin left Weiyang Palace.
• The chapter described Luo Xin’s service and reputation, then included a themed book recommendation event notice.

As Liu Heng’s capping ceremony approached, Luo Xin announced at the New Year’s Grand Court Audience that he would return power to the emperor after the ceremony. His decision sent shockwaves through Great Han as the Luo Clan prepared to withdraw from the center of power.

• Liu Heng asked Luo Xin to remain and help him, and Luo Xin recalled the Sage King’s departure after returning power to King Kang.
• Luo Xin announced before the court that he would return power to Liu Heng after the emperor’s capping ceremony.
• Luo Xin ordered the ministers to prepare the necessary ceremonies, and news of his decision spread across Great Han.
• Luo Xin continued managing state affairs while Luo Chen prepared to resign and the Marquis of Shouguang’s Residence prepared to return to its fief.
• Liu Heng’s capping ceremony arrived, and Luo Xin was set to preside over it at the emperor’s request.

Liu Heng came of age and received imperial authority from Luo Xin, who left Chang'an to govern in Luoyang. Luo Xin died there in September, and the chapter ended with a historical account of his service and loyalty.

• Luo Xin conducted Liu Heng’s capping ceremony, and Liu Heng raised the imperial jade seal as he began his personal rule.
• The court appointed Luo Xin Grand Chancellor in Luoyang to oversee military and state affairs east of Shan.
• Liu Heng saw Luo Xin and Liu Le off from Chang'an, and Luo Xin said he wished to be buried beside the Sage King.
• Luo Xin arrived in Luoyang and received visits from the King of Han, the King of Hengshan, and others.
• Luo Xin died in Luoyang in September, and a messenger brought the news to Liu Heng in Changle Palace.
• The Book of Han praised Luo Xin’s long service as regent and his willingness to relinquish power.

After Luo Xin died, Liu Heng convened his ministers to arrange his burial and posthumous honors. Jia Yi proposed clarifying the Sage King's mortal title as Son of Heaven, allowing Liu Heng to posthumously honor Luo Xin as King Wen.

• Liu Heng and Jia Yi learned that Luo Xin had died in Luoyang and summoned the ministers to court.
• Liu Heng ordered Luo Xin's coffin returned to Chang'an, arranged his burial and ancestral offerings, and asked the ministers to determine his posthumous honors.
• Jia Yi argued that the Sage King had held the mortal status of a Son of Heaven, so the court should formally establish that title.
• Liu Heng accepted Jia Yi's proposal and ordered the Sage King's Son of Heaven's Honorific Title established.
• Liu Heng posthumously granted Luo Xin the title of king and named him King Wen.

Ji Zhao reflected on Luo Xin’s achievements, received the Sea-Calming Needle, and watched the late Qin and early Han era end before going back to sleep. In Chang'an, Luo Jing remained close to Emperor Liu Heng, and the chapter left them together as a new story began.

• Ji Zhao received 4,000 Fortune Points and the Earth-Tier Sea-Calming Needle after Luo Xin was posthumously honored as King.
• Ji Zhao realized Ancestors' Blessing strengthened the Luo Clan’s shared ethos and helped guard against internal conflict and decline.
• Liu Heng’s additional title for Ji Zhao raised the Luo Clan’s standing, and Ji Zhao prepared to sleep until war with the Xiongnu returned.
• After Luo Xin and other Luo Clan figures died or left Chang'an, Luo Jing remained as a palace attendant and inherited the Marquis of Dong'e title.
• Luo Jing entered the palace, and Liu Heng called him over to ask him something.

Liu Heng asked Luo Jing how to recall ministers whom Luo Xin had banished, and Luo Jing advised him to forgive them through two edicts. After Jia Yi praised Luo Jing’s writing, Liu Heng entrusted him with the edict and declared that his future reputation would depend on Luo Jing and Jia Yi.

• Liu Heng asked Luo Jing whether recalling the banished ministers would dishonor Luo Xin, and Luo Jing said Liu Heng could forgive them after they acknowledged their past mistakes.
• Luo Jing wrote two edicts for Liu Heng, who admired the writing and invited Jia Yi to appraise it.
• Jia Yi praised Luo Jing’s literary talent, while Luo Jing praised Jia Yi’s political ability and writing.
• Liu Heng realized that publicizing his deeds could help preserve his reputation and told Luo Jing that his future fame depended on him and Jia Yi.
• Luo Jing carried the edict to the chancellor’s offices, where he entered without being stopped because of the Sacred Mark between his brows.

Luo Jing delivered Liu Heng’s decree recalling the Thorough Marquises, and the Chancellor approved it before the nobles returned to Chang’an. After welcoming them into the palace, Liu Heng considered how he could use them to strengthen his rule.

• Luo Jing brought Liu Heng’s decree to the Chancellor, who reviewed and sealed it before sending it to the lords.
• The recalled Thorough Marquises submitted letters professing loyalty and asking Liu Heng for another chance to serve.
• Liu Heng ordered Luo Jing to summon the marquises to Chang’an so he could meet them and judge their loyalty.
• Luo Jing escorted the marquises into the palace, where they fawned over him after learning he was Luo Xin’s son.
• Liu Heng received the marquises and resolved to employ those who proved useful and send the rest back to their fiefs.

Liu Heng set his sights on becoming a sage king and began consolidating control over the court and military. He prepared to reclaim coinage authority from private hands, leaving Jia Yi and Luo Jing to arrange for the proposal to be raised at court.

• Liu Heng told the assembled Thorough Marquises that he intended to become a sage king, and they pledged to obey him.
• After returning to Chang'an, the Thorough Marquises drew a flood of visitors, and Liu Heng sent Luo Jing to assess their renewed influence.
• Liu Heng rewarded the Thorough Marquises and appointed nearly all of them back into the army.
• Liu Heng discussed reclaiming coinage authority with Jia Yi and Luo Jing, who argued that powerful gentry and Lords King—not ordinary people—would lose the profits.
• Liu Heng ordered Jia Yi and Luo Jing to arrange for a minister to raise the coinage issue at the next court assembly, and Jia Yi declined Luo Jing's offer to recommend a candidate.

Liu Heng’s proposal to reclaim coin-minting authority from private hands sparked a fierce court debate. He convened leading scholars to hear the policy’s drawbacks, and the discussion continued as an opponent of the Huang-Lao argument prepared to respond.

• A minor official urged Liu Heng to end private coinage, prompting ministers to argue and even come to blows before Luo Jing silenced them with a bronze hammer.
• Liu Heng adjourned court and reviewed the memorials, explaining to Luo Jing that he wanted to hear objections even though he had decided the Court should reclaim coinage authority.
• The debate spread among the schools of thought, with Huang-Lao scholars opposing the change and most Legalists supporting it.
• At a meeting in Changle Palace, a Huang-Lao Erudite argued that private coinage had produced high-quality coins and that centralized minting would revive counterfeiting and force the people to accept inferior currency.
• Liu Heng considered the Erudite’s case, and another speaker prepared to oppose it from a different angle.

Luo Jing persuaded the court to reclaim coin-minting authority by arguing that unity and uniform rule mattered more than copper cash quality. Though the ministers approved the policy, he feared its consequences and planned to ask Emperor Liu Heng to let him monitor its effects on the people.

• Luo Jing returned to the Great Hall and argued that unchecked private coin minting could let local powers grow wealthy enough to threaten the Court.
• Luo Jing asked the ministers to choose between stable rule throughout the realm and the quality of copper cash, and the ministers endorsed reclaiming coinage authority.
• An Erudite who had opposed the policy conceded that uniform decrees mattered most and admitted his argument had been mistaken.
• Liu Heng ended the debate, and the ministers left the palace after affirming their support.
• Luo Jing told Jia Yi he feared the policy could cause future turmoil, and Jia Yi advised him to ask Liu Heng to assign him oversight.
• Luo Jing agreed to request the monitoring assignment from Liu Heng the next day.

Liu Heng’s edict returned coin minting to the Court, provoking anger among Shandong’s nobles and merchants as counterfeiters prepared to profit. After Tianhan Coins began circulating in Chang’an, Luo Jing offered to travel east to investigate the brewing resistance, and Liu Heng reluctantly considered the danger.

• Liu Heng issued the Han Coin Statute and established a Censorate to enforce the Court’s control over coin minting.
• Shandong’s Lords King, powerful gentry, and former coin makers condemned the edict, while counterfeiters planned to melt down the Court’s coins and make inferior ones.
• The Court circulated carefully made Tianhan Coins in Chang’an, where the people welcomed them and praised the emperor.
• Luo Jing warned Liu Heng that Shandong would likely resist and asked to travel there on the emperor’s behalf.
• Liu Heng worried that Shandong’s rulers might harm Luo Jing, but Luo Jing said the Dare-to-Fight Warriors would protect him.

Luo Jing led a heavily guarded embassy to Luoyang, where he honored the Luo Clan’s ancestral ties to the Luo River and asserted strict control over his reception. After entering the city, he headed to the Luo Clan residence while weighing the state of local officialdom.

• Luo Jing traveled through the Xiaohan Corridor toward Luoyang and ordered his party to rest there and gather commoners for questioning.
• Luo Jing recounted his ancestors’ connections to Luoyang and threatened anyone who showed disrespect before ordering a sacrifice to Ji Lingjun beside the Yi and Luo rivers.
• Luo Jing’s embassy reached Luoyang, whose wealthy trade and strategic defenses impressed the accompanying officials.
• Luo Jing’s Dare-to-Fight Warriors required the Henan commandery troops to disarm, and the Imperial Guards took control of the area around him.
• Luo Jing entered Luoyang with the commandery officials following and went directly to the Luo Clan residence.

Luo Jing received the Luo Clan’s evidence against Shandong’s lords and powerful gentry, then arrested the governor of Henan Commandery and officials implicated in circulating inferior coins. He used Liu Heng’s Tiger Tally to order the assembly of fifty thousand troops and preparations for war.

• Luo Chen delivered the Luo Clan’s evidence to Luo Jing and warned him against taking on such dangerous affairs.
• Luo Jing reviewed the documents and ordered the officials of Henan Commandery to gather at the Luo Clan Residence.
• Luo Jing accused the governor of Henan Commandery and his collaborators of aiding the lords, profiting from inferior coins, and suppressing complaints, then had them imprisoned.
• Luo Jing showed the officials Liu Heng’s Tiger Tally and ordered them to assemble fifty thousand men, issue weapons, and open the granaries.

Luo Jing had most of the Liu Clan Lords King brought to Luoyang to answer for breaking the law, where they challenged his authority and demanded a trial by the Zongzheng Office. He mocked their rank and invoked his own family’s standing before producing a jade token and seal that left them terrified.

• Luo Jing sent court envoys into the feudal states to arrest Lords King and Thorough Marquises who had broken the law, and most of the Liu Clan rulers surrendered after their ministers urged them not to rebel.
• The Lords King gathered in Luoyang and claimed their imperial lineage and clan laws put their cases beyond Luo Jing’s authority.
• Luo Jing laughed at their threats and rebuked them by comparing his family’s standing with theirs.
• When the Lords King again demanded that the Zongzheng Office try them, Luo Jing produced a fine jade token and a small jade seal, terrifying them.

Luo Jing used the Emperor's Seal to cow the assembled Lords King and put Zhou Yafu in command of a campaign against Chu. Zhou Yafu crushed the Chu Army, and the King of Chu surrendered before Luo Jing prepared to take the captives and powerful gentry back to Chang'an.

• Luo Jing revealed the Emperor's Seal and warned the Lords King that the court could strip them of their titles, then ordered Zhou Yafu to lead the campaign against those who resisted.
• Luo Jing placed the Lords King already in Luoyang under house arrest, and Zhou Yafu marched out with the army while Luo Jing accompanied it with the Dare-to-Fight Warriors.
• The King of Chu met the court's army, but Zhou Yafu waited for the disorganized Chu Army to reveal an opening before attacking.
• Zhou Yafu's troops broke through the Chu Army, and the King of Chu surrendered after the Imperial Guards threatened to kill him.
• Luo Jing took the King of Chu, his crown prince, and other captives away, listed Chu's powerful gentry households, and sent the King of Chu back to Chang'an in a prison cart.

Luo Jing helped Liu Heng suppress the Liu Clan lords, and the court stripped several princes of their states while using the affair to strengthen central authority. The King of Chu killed himself, and the chapter ended by describing the event as a landmark in the Han Dynasty’s rise.

• Liu Heng praised Luo Jing and condemned the Liu Clan lords for exploiting the people and threatening the dynasty from within.
• Liu Heng issued an edict abolishing the King of Chu’s state, dividing its lands, and exiling thirty thousand people, while defending his decision to exile the conspirators rather than execute them.
• Luo Jing visited the Former King of Chu and warned him, in gentle but unsettling terms, to take care lest an accident befall him.
• The Former King of Chu killed himself out of fear of punishment, and the court granted him an unfavorable posthumous name while reducing the number of his family members exiled.
• Liu Heng stripped five lords king and thirteen Thorough Marquises of their states, redistributed their territories, and converted part of them into commanderies and counties.

Luo Jing summoned Shandong’s powerful families to explain the emperor’s plan to settle them near Great Han’s imperial mausoleums. He offered them palace positions and access to official recommendations in exchange for relocating to Guanzhong, and one clan agreed.

• Luo Jing traveled through Handan and summoned powerful families from across the realm to meet him.
• Luo Jing told the King of Zhao and the assembled families that the emperor wanted the mausoleums’ surroundings populated, alarming them with the prospect of forced relocation.
• Luo Jing reassured the families that the emperor was offering them a chance to relocate voluntarily rather than issuing an edict to seize their property and move them.
• Luo Jing offered to select talented sons as gentleman attendants and promised that Shandong families who relocated would receive greater access to the recommendation system.
• A member of the Wang Clan volunteered to relocate to Guanzhong.

After Empress Dowager Zhang Yan warned Liu Heng that Luo Jing was being overworked, Liu Heng summoned him back to Chang'an and appointed him to lead a new academy for training Han officials. He then revealed an extravagant plan to select a wife and potential concubines for Luo Jing from noble families across the realm, leaving Luo Jing astonished.

• Zhang Yan urged Liu Heng to keep Luo Jing in Chang'an rather than repeatedly sending him on exhausting journeys to Shandong, and Liu Heng ordered Luo Jing to return.
• Liu Heng welcomed the weary Luo Jing and told him to stay in Chang'an, then appointed him Libationer of a new academy to train officials for Great Han.
• Liu Heng asked Luo Jing to draft a charter for the academy, drawing on the Luo Clan's experience with its former academy.
• Liu Heng told Luo Jing that Luo Ling had given him permission to choose Luo Jing's wife, and that noble ladies from Chang'an and Shandong had been selected for consideration.
• Liu Heng proposed either choosing a wife and marrying her sisters as concubines or making the selected noble ladies all Luo Jing's concubines, while Luo Jing wondered if the emperor was joking.