Chapter Summaries

Luo Yi’s reforms punished powerful gentry and relocated their clans, but an outbreak of Witchcraft and Gu Poison in the palace left Long Qing unconscious and threatened to derail the reforms. After the emperor asked Luo Yi to investigate, Luo Yi began untangling the conspiracy and vowed to find whoever was sabotaging his plans.

• Officials reported that Luo Yi’s campaign had punished fourteen powerful gentry families, uncovered farmland, and begun relocating their people to frontier regions and Jiangdong.
• A palace summons brought Luo Yi to find Long Qing gravely ill and unconscious, while Liu Yang blamed Witchcraft and Gu Poison for his condition.
• Luo Yi argued that the powerful gentry could not have infiltrated the inner court and persuaded Liu Yang to let him investigate and summon physicians from his family.
• Rumors about the affair spread through Chang'an, heightening fear and hostility toward Long Qing while threatening public support for the reforms.
• Luo Yi uncovered a tangled web of motives involving jealousy, imperial family resentment, and the emperor’s lack of an heir, then moved to control public opinion and investigate the plot.

Emperor Liu Yang ordered Luo Yi to crush the witchcraft plot after hostile rumors enraged him and threatened to distract the realm from reforms. Luo Yi uncovered a conspiracy involving imperial relatives and powerful families, and the court’s response ended with three hundred thousand people exiled to Great Xianbei Mountain in Liaodong.

• Rumors accused Liu Yang of abusing his authority, failing to name an heir, and using witchcraft to persecute loyal officials, and he fainted with rage when he heard them.
• Liu Yang vowed to persevere for Long'er and told Luo Yi to exclude anyone connected to imperial relatives involved in the witchcraft case.
• Luo Yi mobilized court officials and Luo Clan resources to investigate the palace, question regional marquises, and pursue denunciations, temporarily putting reforms aside.
• After two or three months, Luo Yi’s investigators captured an old witch from Chu, who named her masterminds and then died suddenly.
• Luo Yi identified the plotters as members of the Imperial Clan and the rear palace, who had sought to curse Liu Yang and Long Qing to death.
• Emperor Dao had the culprits beheaded or exiled, and three hundred thousand people were sent to Great Xianbei Mountain in Liaodong, where many died or scattered.

Luo Yi uncovered the princes behind the Witchcraft and Gu Poison affair, and Liu Yang ordered their exile to Liaodong. After Long Qing died, Liu Yang gave Luo Yi a final edict concerning Great Han’s next emperor, leaving the future of the reforms uncertain.

• Luo Yi presented evidence of the princes’ conspiracy, and Liu Yang ordered the implicated kin exiled to the far north of Liaodong.
• Mounted Inspectors and the Feathered Forest Army spread across the realm as the court announced the case’s outcome and sent the accused into exile.
• Luo Yi received word that Long Qing was dying and hurried to the palace, where he found Liu Yang grieving beside him.
• Long Qing died in Liu Yang’s arms after lamenting that he could not bear Liu Yang Qilin Children.
• Liu Yang gave Luo Yi a final edict about Great Han’s next emperor, and Luo Yi raised it at the Palace Gate with a cold heart.

After Liu Yang died, Luo Yi and the ministers debated his posthumous title and read his final edict barring his brothers from inheriting the throne. Luo Yi chose Emperor Xiaoxuan’s branch as the source of a new heir, leaving the succession to be settled from among its young clan members.

• Luo Yi convened the ministers after Liu Yang’s death and agreed to grant him the posthumous title Dao, without the word filial.
• Luo Yi read Liu Yang’s final edict, which ordered the adoption of an outstanding young man from the Imperial Clan and excluded Liu Yang’s brothers from succession.
• Luo Yi rejected objections that the heir had to come from Emperor Cheng’s children, arguing that an adopted son’s succession followed Great Han tradition.
• The Zongzheng asked which clan branch should provide the heir, and Luo Yi selected Emperor Xiaoxuan’s branch.

After Liu Yang’s testamentary edict ruled out every existing contender, Luo Yi examined descendants of Emperor Xiaoxuan’s Liu Clan Lineage and selected the impoverished but talented Liu Yun as the outstanding scion to succeed Emperor Dao. Liu Yun ascended the throne, honored Liu Yang as his deceased father, and pledged to continue his reforms.

• Liu Yang’s edict ended the ambitions of those seeking to manipulate the succession and made Emperor Xiaoxuan’s descendants new candidates for the throne.
• Officials from Nanyang Commandery found Liu Yun working in the fields and summoned him to Chang'an for examination by Luo Yi.
• Luo Yi rejected candidates who had living fathers and questioned Liu Yun, whose talent and family circumstances impressed him.
• Luo Yi chose Liu Yun as the outstanding scion, and Liu Yun succeeded Emperor Dao and honored him as his deceased father.
• Liu Yun vowed at Gao Temple to carry on Liu Yang’s aspirations and pursue reform and renewal.

Liu Yun shared his fears about Great Han’s decline with Luo Yi and pledged to suppress revolt while carrying out the Reform. Seeing Liu Yun as a chance to save the dynasty, Luo Yi resolved to challenge Heaven’s Mandate once more.

• Liu Yun told Luo Yi that powerful officials and nobles were draining Great Han, while desperate commoners were already fleeing into the mountains and might rise against the dynasty.
• Liu Yun declared that he would suppress the commoners without hesitation, even though he understood their desperation.
• Luo Yi urged Liu Yun to complete the Reform and improve the people’s lives, saying he wanted to save Great Han and prevent an age of chaos.
• Luo Yi reflected that Liu Yang had failed Heaven’s test after Long Qing died, leaving him uncertain whether he could reverse the dynasty’s decline alone.
• Luo Yi decided to work with Liu Yun and challenge Heaven’s Mandate to save Great Han.

After an official condemned the reforms as too brutal, Liu Yun defended them and gained public support, while Luo Yi began planning their revival. Liu Yun then died suddenly from overwork, and Luo Yi, overwhelmed by the loss of a second emperor, collapsed as he wondered how his ancestor had reversed Heaven’s Mandate.

• An official who had once supported reform submitted a memorial calling for the reforms to stop and exiled gentry clans to return, provoking furious abuse from scholars in Chang'an City.
• Liu Yun issued a forceful edict defending the reforms, restoring land to the people, and warning the imperial clan not to destroy the foundations of the realm.
• The memorial’s author killed himself, public support for reform surged, and Luo Yi began revising his plans as Liu Yun worked and studied late into the night.
• Liu Yun collapsed while reading in Changle Palace and died before he could leave final words; Luo Yi summoned the ministers to the palace.
• The ministers arranged Liu Yun’s posthumous title as Shao, and Luo Yi left the palace overcome with grief, blood trickling from his mouth.

After Emperor Xiaoshao’s death, Luo Yi left Chang'an, lamenting his failures to protect his companions and save the Han Dynasty. He died beside the Yi-Luo River, while the New Emperor abandoned reforms and calls for change continued to spread across the realm.

• Luo Yi blamed himself for failing to prevent Liu Yang and Liu Yun’s deaths, while Ji Zhao refused to intervene directly in the Han Dynasty’s decline.
• After arranging Emperor Xiaoshao’s funeral, Luo Yi resigned and left Chang’an despite the people’s pleas for him to stay.
• Luo Yi reached the Yi-Luo River, reflected on his ancestors and the uncertain future of the Luo Clan, and died as a star vanished from the sky.
• The Dare-to-Fight Warriors carried Luo Yi’s coffin to Zhao City as people mourned and offered sacrifices to him.
• The New Emperor took the throne, rejected reform, and vowed to follow ancestral laws after attributing the previous emperors’ deaths to angering Heaven.
• Scholars continued calling for institutional reform, and their demand for someone to save the Great Han intensified after Luo Yi’s death.

After the Han Empire expansion pack began and mandates of heaven spread across the realm, Wang Mang decided to accept a summons to Chang'an and pursue sweeping reforms. He left his friend after losing a game of go, while the friend reflected on Wang Mang’s plans.

• Ji Lingjun sensed that the scattered mandates of heaven resembled the Phoenix mandate, and Ji Zhao recognized the change as the beginning of the Han Empire’s end.
• Wang Mang criticized the court for ignoring popular suffering and allowing the Powerful Gentry and corrupt officials to prey on the people.
• Wang Mang told his friend he would go to Chang'an, seek the highest rank a subject could attain, and reform society toward an age of Great Harmony.
• Wang Mang’s friend warned that his plans were too radical, but Wang Mang defended the need for drastic measures and said he would lead by example.
• Wang Mang lost their game of go, offered his respects, and left as his friend reconsidered his words.

Wang Mang returned to Chang'an to seek reinstatement, drawing on his network of friends and the support of the Wang Clan. He entered the imperial palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and apologized to the emperor for their past clashes.

• Wang Mang traveled toward Chang'an and sent more than a hundred letters to friends, disciples, and clan members asking them to assist him.
• Wang Mang recalled his earlier failure at court and resolved to build strength quietly rather than act rashly.
• Wang Mang arrived in Chang'an, where members of the Wang Clan welcomed him as their leading successor candidate.
• Wang Mang entered Weiyang Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and greeted the emperor with an apology for his past behavior.
• The emperor looked at Wang Mang with surprise after hearing his apology.

Wang Mang returned to Chang'an and received prestigious, powerful appointments from the emperor, becoming a central figure for scholars calling for institutional reform. He cultivated support at the Imperial Academy and resolved to gain military authority so he could restore Great Han, confident that Heaven’s mandate favored him.

• Wang Mang reflected that he had changed after his setbacks, while the court remained much as it had been.
• The emperor appointed Wang Mang Libationer of the Imperial Academy, Chamberlain for Ceremonials, Director of the Repository of Classics, and Attendant-in-Chief, and enfeoffed him as Marquis Changren.
• Scholars flocked to Wang Mang and urged reform, while some radicals declared that Great Han’s mandate of Heaven was declining.
• Wang Mang identified powerful conservatives as obstacles and set his sights on becoming Grand Marshal and Great General.
• Wang Mang visited the Imperial Academy, listened to scholars, and cultivated supporters by arguing that moral renewal was essential to saving All Under Heaven.

Wang Mang told Wang Cheng, Liu Qin, and Meng Lin that he would use moral authority and control of public opinion to remove his opponents, claiming to carry out Heaven’s will. The others approved of his decisive approach as he set his sights on consolidating power.

• Liu Qin warned Wang Mang that hidden enemies might try to harm him, and Wang Cheng urged him to punish them.
• Wang Mang compared his faction to lotus flowers rising from mud and said they would present themselves as virtuous while concealing their darker methods.
• Wang Mang declared that he would use public opinion to justify removing opponents and offer them a chance to resign before resorting to force.
• Meng Lin asked how Wang Mang would deal with opponents who had committed no crimes, and Wang Mang branded opposition to him as defiance of Heaven’s will.
• Wang Cheng applauded Wang Mang’s answer, and Meng Lin also welcomed his decisiveness.

Wang Mang sought support from the Garrisoning High-ranking Marquises for institutional reform, but Marquis Ying and Marquis Lü remained cautious as unrest spread. The chapter ends with a record of uprisings that overwhelmed the feudal lords east of the passes, costing many their domains and lives.

• Lü Chang told Luo Zhong that Wang Mang’s warning had convinced him the realm needed change, as unrest and attacks threatened the marquis clans.
• Luo Zhong urged caution, arguing that Marquis Ying and Marquis Lü should first stabilize their territories rather than risk being branded traitors.
• Wang Mang remained undeterred by the founding marquises’ ambiguous responses and believed control of the court and central forces would let him dominate the realm.
• Luo Fu’s advisers reported that Wang Mang had become Censor-in-Chief and might soon become Chancellor, while Luo Fu judged that mounting pressure was forcing the emperor toward reform.
• In the seventeenth year of Divine Phoenix, uprisings and banditry overwhelmed the feudal lords east of the passes; eleven died, four domains were overrun, and seven lords lost their titles.

Luo Fu discussed the political crisis and the rise of Wang Mang with the Luo Clan, whose younger members debated whether to support his institutional reforms. Luo Qi won permission to leave Zhao City and serve Wang Mang, while Luo Yi predicted Wang Mang's likely promotion and warned that his ambitions might exceed what he could achieve.

• Luo Fu explained that reports from the eastern feudal lords showed the region was failing and that pressure for institutional reform was growing.
• Luo Fu described the reform faction supporting Wang Mang and explained why powerful gentry, imperial relatives, and eunuchs opposed it.
• Luo Qi admitted that Wang Ju Jun had invited him to serve and argued that he should help restore peace, even if Wang Mang proved unable to save All Under Heaven.
• Luo Yi urged Luo Fu to let Luo Qi and other young clan members pursue their ideals, and Luo Fu gave his blessing.
• After the others left, Luo Yi predicted Wang Mang would soon become chancellor and discussed the limits of his plans for land reform.

Wang Mang arranged for Zhao Feiyan to enter the palace and distract the emperor from government, secretly expecting his unchecked indulgence to destroy his health. Wang Cheng presented her and received a general's rank, while Zhao Feiyan captivated the emperor and became his favored consort.

• Wang Mang told his allies that he would offer Zhao Feiyan to the emperor to keep him from interfering with their reforms.
• Wang Mang privately assured Wang Cheng that Zhao Feiyan would consume the emperor's attention, while concealing his expectation that indulgence would exhaust the emperor's vitality.
• Wang Cheng presented Zhao Feiyan without revealing her connection to Wang Mang, and the delighted emperor promised him the rank of general.
• Zhao Feiyan recalled Wang Mang's promise to care for her family and friends in exchange for her bewitching the emperor.
• Zhao Feiyan performed the Swallow in the Palm Dance and seduced the emperor.
• The biographical account recorded that the emperor favored Zhao Feiyan and abandoned his other consorts and his empress.

Luo Qi and Wang Mang used accusations of witchcraft in the palace to turn suspicion against Zhao Feiyan’s rivals and strengthen her bid to become Empress. After Zhao Feiyan described symptoms of poisoning, Emperor Liu Chi ordered the palace searched, especially the halls of the noble ladies.

• Luo Qi advised Wang Mang to watch for palace jealousy and use an opportunity to help Zhao Feiyan become Empress.
• Wang Mang questioned how Outer Ministers had learned inner-palace secrets, hinting at collusion within the court.
• Zhao Feiyan entered the hall, saw the memorials, and performed distress at being blamed as a scourge upon the realm.
• Zhao Feiyan said she suffered stabbing pains in her chest and head, and Liu Chi concluded that Witchcraft and Gu Poison Arts were being used.
• Liu Chi ordered the Regular Attendant to search the Imperial Palace, especially the halls of the noble ladies.

After Liu Chi died, Zhao Feiyan installed a child emperor, and Wang Mang gained control of the Great Han's military and government. Amid demands to elevate him to Duke, Wang Mang followed Luo Qi's advice and publicly denied seeking the throne, after which Zhao Feiyan summoned Luo Qi.

• Liu Chi died after taking an occult practitioner's drug, and the ministers gave him the posthumous title Xi.
• Zhao Feiyan installed a two-year-old Imperial Prince as emperor, while Wang Mang became Grand Marshal and Great General with the additional title of Assistant Regent.
• Luo Qi confronted Wang Mang over calls to elevate him to Duke and persuaded him to follow his advice.
• An official challenged Wang Mang in court and accused him of potentially seeking kingship and the imperial throne.
• Wang Mang rejected elevation to Duke, expressed a desire to become Acting Son of Heaven, and declared that he sought peace rather than usurpation before leaving the hall.
• Zhao Feiyan summoned Luo Qi after court dispersed.

Zhao Feiyan questioned Luo Qi about Wang Mang’s claim to the throne, and Luo Qi assured her that Wang Mang would honor his oath. Seeking to secure Luo Qi’s support, Zhao Feiyan proposed that he marry her sister Hede; he agreed to seek his father’s approval, while the closing passage framed Luo Qi as an influential figure missing from official histories.

• Zhao Feiyan asked Luo Qi what Wang Mang meant by saying the people could give him the Crown, and warned that she might stop him from governing.
• Luo Qi told Zhao Feiyan that Wang Mang’s words had been spoken at his direction and swore he would personally deal with any betrayal.
• Zhao Feiyan considered how to secure Luo Qi’s support and offered him her sister Hede as a wife.
• Luo Qi accepted the proposed marriage in principle, saying he would write to his father so the Luo Clan could formally arrange it.
• The closing passage described Luo Qi as a significant adviser in Wang Mang’s administration whose life was absent from official historical records.

After the marriage alliance signaled Luo Qi’s support for the imperial family, Wang Mang’s reform faction moved to implement its plans. Wang Mang proposed extending the Luo Clan’s land system across the realm, and Luo Qi warned that the system could not work elsewhere, leaving the reformers divided over how far to go.

• The Empress Dowager arranged Luo Qi’s marriage alliance, and scholars and officials took it as a sign that he would safeguard the imperial family during the reforms.
• Luo Qi and the others met at Wang Mang’s residence and agreed that the time had come to begin reforming the realm.
• Wang Mang argued that land sales and private ownership had caused land annexation and proposed returning to a Well-Fields-style system.
• Luo Qi questioned whether the ancient system could be restored, and Wang Mang suggested extending the Luo Clan’s land-distribution system throughout the realm.
• Luo Qi warned that the Luo Clan’s methods depended on exceptional rulers and abundant capable officials, and said they must not be imposed on the realm.
• Wang Mang said the proposal was a benchmark rather than a promise to match Zhao City, but Luo Qi remained concerned that officials might try to implement it and cause disaster.

Luo Qi advised Wang Mang to pursue visible reforms, especially abolishing slavery, while warning that moral appeals alone would not overcome the powerful gentry. As Wang Mang prepared his first decree, the Luo Clan delivered lavish betrothal gifts for Luo Qi and Zhao Hede, including priceless historical relics.

• Wang Mang accepted Luo Qi's advice to prioritize frugality and abolishing slavery, while Luo Qi worried that Wang Mang underestimated the resistance reform would face.
• Zhao Hede entered Chang'an and moved into the Imperial Palace, while Luo Qi began planning how to use abolition of slavery to weaken the powerful gentry.
• The Luo Clan's marriage proposal mission arrived in Chang'an and presented Zhao Feiyan with gifts for Luo Qi's marriage to Zhao Hede.
• The Luo envoy listed rare treasures, including a Shang bronze ding, Zhou imperial relics, Duke Huan of Qi's chime bells, and a volume of Spring and Autumn Exegesis in Confucius's hand.
• Zhao Feiyan spread news of the gifts, which people interpreted as the Luo Clan's support for the Empress Dowager and the survival of Great Han.
• The author identified the ancient tomb's likely occupant as Zhao Feiyan's younger full brother, Marquis Chenlu.