Recaps

Ji Zhao built the Zhou order, then watched Luo Su try to preserve it after Ji Wan’s disastrous invasion of Chu. Luo Su’s reforms strengthened the realm but met resistance, and after his death Zhou continued to decline as Luo Cheng took up his family’s duties.

• Ji Zhao founded Luo State, established the lineage system and Zhou rites, defeated the eastern rebellion, and helped King Kang build Luoyi before dying with royal honors.
• Ji Zhao returned as a guardian spirit and gave Luo Su divine artifacts to protect Zhou’s mandate as Ji Wan prepared to invade Chu.
• Ji Wan ignored warnings and was killed after Xiong Dun routed his army, so Luo Su led a coalition that forced Chu to surrender territory and enthroned Ji Xi.
• Luo Su formed a Regency Council, rebuilt the royal forces, and sent the Marquis of Qi west to investigate the Dog Rong crisis and restore order among the western lords.
• Luo Su arranged new fiefs for twelve clans to strengthen the route between Luoyi and Haojing, but the system warned Ji Zhao that history’s corrective forces were growing stronger.
• Luo Su punished negligent western lords and tried to restore royal authority, but resistance from the nobles forced him to abandon his most radical reforms.
• Before dying, Luo Su urged Ji Xi to preserve Zhou’s institutions, and Ji Zhao received Luo Su’s Heroic Spirit Card as Luo Li succeeded him in the Luo Clan.
• King Xuan died after defeats against the Rong, and Luo Lin passed the patriarch’s ring to Luo Cheng, who left for Haojing after settling Luo State’s affairs.

Luo Cheng helped restore Ji Fu to the throne and strengthen the Zhou alliance, but his death was followed by another royal coup and the weakening of the Royal House. Later, Luo State helped Lü Xiao Bai return to Qi, where Guan Zhong and Zhang Qi led Qi to destroy Lai Yi and prepare for a bid for hegemony.

• Luo Cheng challenged Ji Nie’s treatment of the Lineage System and warned that the Royal Domain’s damaged rivers and lands threatened its survival.
• Ji Nie deposed Shen Jiang and Crown Prince Yi, prompting Marquis Shen to ally with the Dog Rong and attack Haojing while Luo Cheng rallied support for the king.
• Marquis Shen’s forces captured Haojing and killed Ji Nie and Bao Si, but Luo Cheng rescued Crown Prince Fu and gathered lords to support his claim.
• The allied lords defeated Marquis Shen’s army, and Luo Cheng crowned Ji Fu before helping him move the royal seat east and rebuild Zhou’s alliances.
• Luo Cheng helped Ji Fu respond to attacks across the realm, secure Chu’s alliance, and rally the lords, then died after warning Ji Fu about Prince An.
• Prince An seized the throne and killed Crown Prince Jin, while Luo Ren rejected his legitimacy and Luo State, Jin, Qi, and Qin halted their tributes.
• Luo Xiu helped Lü Xiao Bai return to Qi and become ruler, and Guan Zhong joined him as chief minister despite Qi’s initial defeat at Qu.
• Zhang Qi led Qi to defeat and destroy Lai Yi, and Luo Xiu prepared for Lü Xiao Bai to pursue hegemony under the Son of Heaven’s name.

As Luo State cultivated scholars and shaped alliances, Jin and Wu rose through succession struggles and military campaigns. The arc leaves Qingji recognized as Marquis of Wu, with expanded authority that unsettles the other states.

• Luo Xi helped Lü Xiao Bai secure an alliance at Cangyi, and the allied states later campaigned against Chu under Qi’s leadership.
• Luo Xiu completed the Luo Discourses and died, while Lü Xiao Bai’s coalition defeated Chu at Yanling before its leading figures also passed away.
• Luo Yan and Luo Ci intervened in Jin’s succession struggle, helping Chong’er become Marquis of Jin and later securing peace between Jin, Qin, and Chu.
• Prince Shu killed Ji Tai and claimed the Zhou throne with Chong’er’s help, while Jin’s later defeat forced Chong’er to seek Luo State’s aid.
• Luo Yan brought Li Er to the Academy, where Li Er and Kong Qiu debated their different Ways and the Luo Clan recorded their ideas.
• Luo Yan lent Qingji ten thousand soldiers and sent him with Sun Wu to reclaim Wu’s throne, and Qingji’s forces defeated Helü and seized the capital.
• Qingji renounced Helü’s royal title and pledged loyalty to Zhou, and the Son of Heaven invested Wu State with a marquisate and broad authority to campaign south of the Huai River.

Luo Yu strengthened the Ji-Jiang Alliance, protected Qi’s ruling house, and mediated Wu’s conquests before his death. Later, Zheng’s war against Chen drew in the Zhou Royal House and neighboring states, while Chu mobilized and Qi and Wu clashed over captured spoils.

• Qingji conquered Yue State, made Goujian Lord of Kuaiji, and sent Xishi to Luo State, where she became betrothed to Luo Yu.
• Luo Ci commissioned Confucius to continue Duke Ming’s history before dying, and Luo Yan succeeded him and cultivated Luo Yu as his heir.
• Luo Yu secured Lü Jing’s allegiance and helped Qi and Yan trap Tian Chang’s army, and Duke Yi killed Tian Chang.
• Sun Wu captured Yingdu, and Luo Yu later mediated a settlement that preserved Wu State’s territorial gains against Qin State and Chu State.
• Luo Yan and Confucius died, and Luo Yu maintained the alliance among Jin, Qi, Wu, and Luo until his own death alongside Xishi.
• Zheng Chan declared war on Chen after the struggle over Lady Zheng, and Ji Lingjun died after advising Luo Zhi about the wider danger.
• Ji Bai accepted Zheng State’s appeal for intervention, Qi mobilized against Song, and the King of Chu ordered armies to advance against Zheng and Wu.
• The Duke of Song chose to attack Ji Bai and Zheng Chan before joining Chu, while Luo Zhi captured Song cities and Qi and Wu soldiers killed one another over loot in Xiao.