Chapter Summaries

As Zhang Jue’s Taiping Army prepared to charge, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan planned to withdraw if the Han forces were defeated, while Liu Bei considered gathering other lords to preserve the cause of the Han. Lü Bu feigned an injury and began retreating as Zhang Jue entered the battle.

• Liu Bei asked Gongsun Zan what he would do if the Han army lost, then urged him to withdraw to Youzhou and preserve their strength.
• Liu Bei condemned the Han court and vowed to seek allies to restore the Han, persuading Gongsun Zan to leave with him if the battle turned against them.
• Zhang Jue’s Taiping Cavalry accelerated into a charge as their soldiers shouted acclaim for the Dao Master.
• Zhao Yun urged Luo Kong to preserve himself, and Luo Kong’s attacks slowed as he realized he was surrounded mainly by his own soldiers.
• Lü Bu chose to retreat rather than face Luo Xiao, feigned an arrow wound, and told Zhang Liao to withdraw when Zhang Jue entered the field.

Lü Bu and Zhang Liao abandoned the Han coalition, triggering a collapse that allowed Luo Xiao and the Taiping Army to overwhelm Huangfu Song’s forces. As the surviving lords fled, Liu Bei returned toward Youzhou, while Luo Kong set out for Luoyang to secure the imperial heirs; Luo Xiao brought down Huangfu Song and began shooting at the fleeing lords.

• Lü Bu persuaded Zhang Liao to leave the battlefield, and their departure exposed the Han army’s flank to the Taiping Army.
• The coalition’s lords fled with their elite troops, leaving the remaining soldiers leaderless as Luo Xiao committed his reserves to the attack.
• Liu Bei urged Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to escape, then led Gongsun Zan and the White Horse troops away from the battlefield.
• Liu Bei and Luo Kong parted ways: Liu Bei headed for Youzhou, while Luo Kong planned to return to Luoyang and take the Crown Prince and other Imperial Princes to Chang’an.
• Luo Xiao charged through Huangfu Song’s defenses, killed him, cut down the Grand Banner, and began firing arrows at the fleeing lords.

After the Taiping Army crushed the Han coalition at Gong County, Luo Xiao explained that the Han lords’ flight showed the Han Court had lost the people’s confidence, but his exhausted troops could not march on Luoyang immediately. Luo Kong reached Luoyang ahead of the Taiping Army and urged the emperor to flee to Chang’an, while privately resolving not to take most of the court with him.

• Luo Xiao told the Canal Commanders that the Han coalition had collapsed because its lords had lost faith in the Han Court, but he ruled out an immediate assault on Luoyang because his soldiers were exhausted.
• Lü Bu and Zhang Liao saw Ding Yuan among the lords killed by Zhang Jue, then led the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry back toward Bingzhou.
• Luo Kong reached Luoyang with more than ten thousand Western Regions Iron Cavalry, reported the defeat and Huangfu Song’s death to the emperor, and entered the palace to meet the court.
• Luo Kong urged the emperor and ministers to leave Luoyang for Chang’an before the Taiping Army arrived and asked that the Crown Prince and other Imperial Princes be summoned.
• The emperor agreed that fleeing to Chang’an might be necessary, while Luo Kong privately decided he would not take most of the court with him.

Luo Kong persuaded the court to let him escort the young princes out of Luoyang, then secretly escaped with Liu Bian, Liu Xie, Tang Ji, and Cai Yan while leaving the emperor and ministers behind. The Western Regions Army headed toward Guanzhong as the abandoned court realized Luo Kong had deceived them.

• Luo Kong took Liu Bian, Liu Xie, and Tang Ji from the palace, while Liu He stayed with Empress He.
• Cai Yong asked Luo Kong to take his daughter Cai Yan to safety, and Luo Kong agreed to protect her.
• Luo Kong gathered Cai Yan and the imperial children, then hurried out of Luoyang with the Western Regions Army.
• Luo Kong told Liu Xie that the Son of Heaven could not abandon his subjects and fled without waiting for the emperor or ministers.
• The emperor and ministers learned that Luo Kong had taken the crown prince and cursed him as the Western Regions Army marched toward Guanzhong.

After Luo Kong fled Luoyang with the Crown Prince and Imperial Prince, panic and lawlessness spread through the city as the emperor and his ministers prepared to face the Taiping Army. The emperor appointed Dong Zhuo to powerful posts and stripped Luo Kong of his titles, while Cai Yong’s objections ended with him being dragged from the palace.

• Luo Kong’s departure convinced the court and Luoyang’s residents that the Taiping Army was near, prompting prominent families to flee and ordinary people to fear a siege.
• As public order collapsed, thugs murdered and robbed wealthy households while the emperor’s ministers debated holding Luoyang until aid arrived.
• The emperor ordered Dong Zhuo appointed Commandant of Sili and given authority over Liangzhou and the Western Regions, while stripping Luo Kong of his military rank and title.
• Ministers objected to granting Dong Zhuo such power, and Cai Yong warned that the emperor’s decree could destabilize Great Han.
• The emperor accused Cai Yong of treachery, ordered guards to remove him from the palace, and demanded that his decrees be carried out.

Cai Yong was humiliated and the Han court sealed Luoyang as the Taiping Army arrived in force. Luo Xiao gathered his commanders outside the city and proclaimed that they would challenge the Han’s Mandate of Heaven, while the emperor heard the army’s denunciation and faced the siege.

• Cai Yong recovered from being thrown out of the palace, and Qiao Xuan explained that the emperor had acted from fear and that the court’s messengers had already been dispatched.
• The court sent more than a hundred messengers away, shut Luoyang’s gates, and placed the city under strict military control.
• Taiping cavalry reached Luoyang and intercepted people fleeing the city; as more troops arrived, tens of thousands encamped around its walls.
• Luo Xiao arrived, learned what Luo Kong had done, and told his canal commanders not to storm Luoyang but to proclaim the Han court’s loss of Heaven’s Mandate.
• A courier read the Taiping Army’s denunciation to the emperor, demanding surrender and declaring that the Han dynasty’s mandate had ended.

Luo Kong led the Western Regions Army and the young imperial family toward Chang'an while the Han court remained under siege in Luoyang. After rejecting the emperor’s edict, Luo Kong continued the journey, and Dong Zhuo headed toward Luoyang.

• Luo Kong marched toward Chang'an with Crown Prince Liu Bian, Imperial Prince Liu Xie, Tang Ji, and Cai Wenji, while scouts watched for the Taiping Army.
• A messenger delivered an imperial edict to Luo Kong, who denounced it as a lawless command, stamped on it, and demanded that the messenger return to Luoyang for a replacement.
• Luo Kong refused to surrender his title of Marquis of Unshuang, believing his family had to bear the destiny attached to it.
• Liu Xie called the edict forged and urged Luo Kong to escort the imperial princes to Chang'an, and Luo Kong agreed to continue.
• Dong Zhuo set out from Chang'an toward Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo received an imperial appointment and intercepted Luo Kong, seeking to seize Crown Prince Bian and Imperial Prince Xie. After Luo Kong countered Dong Zhuo and Li Ru’s arguments about class and legitimacy, he rejected the emperor’s decree as reckless, leaving the two armies facing a likely clash.

• Li Ru advised Dong Zhuo to avoid Luoyang, secure Guanzhong, and rally support around an imperial relative after the Taiping Army destroyed the Court’s forces.
• Dong Zhuo received an edict appointing him to powerful offices, then killed its messenger and took the separate edict ordering Luo Kong’s removal from office.
• Dong Zhuo and Luo Kong’s forces met, and Jia Xu warned Luo Kong that Dong Zhuo wanted Crown Prince Bian and Imperial Prince Xie.
• Luo Kong met Dong Zhuo between the armies and rebutted his criticism of the Luo Clan by describing its efforts to preserve paths for humble families across generations.
• Li Ru was shaken by Luo Kong’s challenge about whether his descendants would uphold his ideals, while Dong Zhuo demanded that Luo Kong surrender Crown Prince Bian.
• Luo Kong dismissed the emperor’s order as a reckless command and invoked the primacy of the state and ancestral temple over the sovereign.

Luo Kong refused Dong Zhuo’s demand to surrender Crown Prince Bian and Imperial Prince Xie, insisting that he would defend the Han Dynasty’s altars of state. As the Western Liang Army prepared to attack his outnumbered forces, Luo Kong sent Jia Xu and Cai Yan toward Zhao City and readied himself for battle.

• Dong Zhuo and Li Ru argued that the Luo Clan had weakened and should concede, but Luo Kong declared he would never surrender the princes or abandon his loyalty to Han.
• Luo Kong ordered Jia Xu to take Cai Yan, the guards, court ladies, and three hundred elite cavalry to Zhao City by way of Hebei, and Jia Xu departed with them.
• Liu Xie asked whether Dong Zhuo wanted the princes handed over, and Luo Kong confirmed that Dong Zhuo intended to hold them hostage.
• Tang Ji cried in fear, and Luo Kong comforted her until she fell asleep before preparing for battle.
• Luo Kong told his generals they could surrender if trapped, while Dong Zhuo led sixty thousand elite cavalry against Luo Kong’s force of a little over ten thousand.

Luo Xiao led the Taiping Army into Luoyang and the Imperial Palace, where he declared that the Han Court had lost the Mandate of Heaven and forced the emperor and Empress He to kneel. Empress He pleaded for her young son’s life and condemned the court’s failures, while Luo Xiao left the palace’s fate in the balance.

• Luo Xiao ordered the Taiping Army to breach Luoyang before sunset, and its northern gate was opened from within.
• Luo Xiao entered Luoyang as the Taiping Army secured the city, then led its commanders toward the Imperial Palace.
• Zhang Yan broke into the Great Hall and waited as Luo Xiao arrived to confront the emperor and the Dukes and Ministers.
• Luo Xiao declared that the Han Court had lost the Mandate of Heaven, ordered the emperor and Empress He to kneel, and knocked the emperor’s crown to the floor.
• Several Dukes and Ministers killed themselves, and Empress He begged Luo Xiao to spare her young son, Liu He.
• The emperor slapped Empress He, who denounced him and the court for bringing the realm to ruin and insisted that she wanted Liu He to live.

Luo Xiao declared that the Han Emperor and culpable officials would be punished, then oversaw the Emperor’s death and the fate of the court ministers. The next morning, he led the Way of Great Peace in proclaiming Great Peace across Luoyang.

• Luo Xiao denounced the Emperor and the Dukes and Ministers, while offering to spare the young Imperial Prince and officials who had served the people.
• A Taiping Army soldier reported that the Imperial Palace and Luoyang were under control, and Luo Xiao ordered the Emperor to die before sunrise.
• Empress He claimed the Emperor wished to hang himself, and Luo Xiao promised that she and her son would be safe before the Emperor was taken to the Rear Hall and hanged.
• Luo Xiao questioned Lu Zhi, who declared he would assist Crown Prince Bian and then slit his own throat; other ministers died, were killed, or survived as Luo Xiao judged their cases.
• Luo Xiao ordered the dead ministers’ heads cut off and told the Canal Commanders to rest in the Imperial Palace before the sacrifice to Supreme Heaven.
• At dawn, Luo Xiao ascended a high platform and proclaimed Great Peace, and the Way of Great Peace disciples echoed his cry throughout Luoyang.

Luo Xiao completed the ceremony offering the Han emperor’s head to Supreme Heaven, while the Taiping Army took control of Luoyang and purged powerful households. When his Canal Commanders urged him to become emperor, Luo Xiao revealed that he would soon die and laid out plans for them to become independent lords after his death.

• Luo Xiao offered the Han emperor’s head to Supreme Heaven and proclaimed the fall of the Han Dynasty’s Mandate of Heaven.
• The Taiping Army paraded the heads of condemned officials through Luoyang, winning popular approval, then began arresting powerful households and accepting reports against their retainers.
• Zhang Yan asked Luo Xiao when he would ascend the throne, and Luo Xiao offered the Canal Commanders wealth and rewards instead of expressing interest in becoming emperor.
• Luo Xiao told the Canal Commanders that his mission was over and revealed that he was going to die, prompting thunder to sound over the Imperial Palace.
• Luo Xiao explained that shattering the Han Dynasty’s Mandate of Heaven had cost him his life and directed the Canal Commanders to marry into reputable gentry families, lead their troops to their territories, and become independent lords after his death.

Wang Yun invited Luo Xiao to his mansion and offered his adopted daughter Diao Chan, whose beauty and supernatural gift astonished the gathered guests. Luo Xiao declined to take her for himself and planned to protect her and send word to the Luo Clan, but Diao Chan revealed that she could see through his changing appearance and that her eyes reacted to the moon.

• Wang Yun sought ties with the Taiping Army and invited Luo Xiao to his mansion with the promise of an unparalleled gift.
• Wang Yun introduced Diao Chan, and the guests watched her dance and saw her unveiled face.
• Luo Xiao recognized Diao Chan as an extraordinary woman and declined Wang Yun's offer, arranging to protect her and send her to the Luo Clan.
• Diao Chan asked to speak privately with Luo Xiao and said she saw two versions of him through her burning eye.
• Luo Xiao noticed that Diao Chan's eyes brightened when the moon dimmed and dimmed when the moon appeared.

Luo Xiao arranged for Diao Chan to remain under Wang Yun’s protection, then convened Han officials and scholars to choose a posthumous title for the last Han emperor. The Sage King approved the title Ling, and Luo Xiao declared Emperor Ling of Han a tyrant, leaving the gathered officials silent.

• Diao Chan saw Luo Xiao’s true appearance and asked why he would not be with her, and he told her to seek protection under the Luo Clan.
• Luo Xiao left Diao Chan with Wang Yun, ordered servants and lessons for her, and warned Wang Yun that the Han Court had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
• Luo Xiao summoned Han officials, Imperial Academy scholars, and commoners to discuss a posthumous title for the late emperor as a way to establish the Taiping Army’s legitimacy.
• Wang Yun proposed the middle title Yin, but Luo Xiao rejected it and pressed the gathered officials to agree that the emperor deserved an inauspicious title.
• The officials chose Ling, and Luo Xiao submitted it to the Sage King, whose approval made the dead ruler Emperor Ling of Han.

The author reflected on the novel’s choices, including its historical course, changing style, Luo Clan characters, and reader criticism. The author ended by previewing a more detailed warlord struggle and asking whether readers would accept a popular character’s tragic death.

• The author explained that following the broad course of history was meant to preserve immersion and give historical figures a role, despite weaker results for the Zhou State and Western Regions arcs.
• The author described changing the writing style after controversy over Qin Shi Huang, cutting part of the outline, and returning to characters such as Emperor Hui of Han and Emperor Wen of Han.
• The author explained the Luo Clan Scions’ evolving characterization, including the creation of Luo Xin and Luo Qi, and defended the clan’s growing interference in events.
• The author discussed portrayals of women and historical figures, and said they muted readers who brought arguments and abuse into the comments.
• The author revealed that the original Eastern Han outline involved the Luo Clan losing influence, but was cut because the author feared readers would reject the frustration.
• The author said the coming warlord contest would be a more detailed struggle for supremacy and asked readers whether a popular character’s tragic death would be unacceptable.

After bringing down the Han Dynasty, Luo Xiao gave his Taiping Army commanders counsel on surviving the coming chaos and told the assembled leaders that his mission was complete. He died beneath a brief fall of starlight, leaving the future of the Taiping Army and the realm uncertain.

• Luo Xiao granted posthumous titles to Emperor Ling and selected Han figures, then oversaw the Taiping Army’s departure from Luoyang.
• Luo Xiao advised Guan Hai, Zhang Yan, Bu Cai, Liao Hua, Zhou Cang, and Zhao Hong against becoming independent warlords, and recommended Yizhou or Yangzhou as relatively safe places to serve.
• Luo Xiao asked Cai Yong to play the Luoyang Grand Dance and learned that Cai Yong’s daughter had left with the Marquis of Unshuang.
• Luo Xiao told the assembled leaders that he had fulfilled his mission to strip the Great Han of its Mandate of Heaven and had no reason to remain in the mortal world.
• A brief patch of sky darkened and sent down starlight, after which Cai Yong discovered that Zhang Jue was dead.

After Luo Xiao entered the Hall of Heroes, Ji Zhao dissolved the Heavenly Book’s Mandate of Heaven purple qi, then wove its remnants into the Book of Man. He sent the Luo Clan’s Household Head the new artifact and a modified Divine Striking Talisman as the clan prepared for the coming Three States upheaval.

• The system settled the Great Peace Uprising, credited Luo Xiao with destroying the Han Dynasty’s foundations, and awarded Ji Zhao the Heaven-Measuring Ruler as the next expansion began.
• Ji Zhao removed the Heavenly Book’s purple qi and sent it into the unseen beyond, where it collided with another strand and eased the Mandate of Heaven’s pressure on the world.
• Ji Lingjun untangled the Heavenly Book’s remaining threads and helped Ji Zhao weave them into the Earth-Tier Book of Man, which could reveal information about a person’s abilities.
• Ji Zhao sent the Book of Man to the Luo Clan’s Household Head and warned him to prepare carefully for the coming turmoil.
• Ji Zhao used the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to modify a Divine Striking Talisman, confirmed a version that granted long-term potential and command attributes, and sent it to the Household Head.
• The Household Head left the quiet room to begin planning the Luo Clan’s response to the upheaval.

After Zhang Jue’s death, Empress He used arguments about greater righteousness to secure the Taiping Army’s support and take the initiative in Luoyang. Her attempt to place Zhang Jue in the Imperial Mausoleum provoked outrage, and she agreed to prepare a Luo River burial instead.

• After Zhang Jue died, Zhang Yan and the other Taiping Army commanders prepared for a struggle over who would control Luoyang.
• Empress He called for Zhang Jue’s remains to be prepared for burial and publicly defended his actions as service to the realm.
• Empress He condemned Emperor Ling and urged the assembled ministers to honor Zhang Jue, while Zhang Yan and Guan Hai publicly backed her.
• Many people knelt in submission, and Empress He gained the Taiping Army’s protection and influence over Luoyang’s political situation.
• Empress He proposed burying Zhang Jue in the Imperial Mausoleum, prompting angry protests; she had several scholars killed before Zhang Yan explained Zhang Jue’s wish to have his ashes scattered in the Luo River.
• Empress He withdrew her proposal and said she would arrange the sacrificial ceremony for Zhang Jue’s burial in the Luo River.

After Zhang Jue’s death, Wang Yun endured ridicule while hoping to restore the Han Dynasty, and Diao Chan mourned the Dao Master and wondered about her future husband. The six Taiping Army Canal Commanders swore brotherhood and chose different paths, leaving Empress He to seek their support as they weighed the Han court’s future.

• Wang Yun dismissed mockery over his failed attempt to win Zhang Jue’s favor and defended his chance to help restore the Han Dynasty.
• Diao Chan learned from the Spirit Soldiers and Wang Yun that Zhang Jue had died, then wondered who her destined husband would be.
• Empress He resolved to arrange Zhang Jue’s burial and recruit the Canal Commanders to support her son’s claim to the throne.
• Guan Hai, Zhang Yan, Bu Cai, Zhao Hong, Liao Hua, and Zhou Cang swore brotherhood and discussed whether to support Empress He or seek power elsewhere.
• Zhang Yan chose Qingzhou, Guan Hai chose the Huai-Si Lands, Zhao Hong chose Jingzhou, and Bu Cai, Liao Hua, and Zhou Cang stayed in Luoyang.

Yuan Shao accepted the Hebei clans’ invitation to take charge of Jizhou and won over some of its officials. After learning that Zhang Jue had ascended to heaven, he decided to enter Luoyang and personally persuade the Taiping Army’s Canal Commanders to surrender.

• Ju Shou and Jizhou’s officials welcomed Yuan Shao, who took up his post in Ye City and impressed the Hebei and Yingchuan clans.
• Yuan Shao told his officials that Emperor Ling’s posthumous title confirmed him as a Tyrant, then discussed the realm’s lack of a Son of Heaven.
• A messenger brought news that Zhang Jue had ascended to heaven, prompting Xun Chen and others to propose seizing control of Luoyang.
• Ju Shou advised Yuan Shao to bring Empress He and Imperial Prince He to Hebei, but Yuan Shao chose to go to Luoyang with a small force.
• Yuan Shao announced that he would personally persuade the Taiping Army’s Canal Commanders to surrender, while Yan Liang and Wen Chou pledged to protect him.