Chapter Summaries

After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao at Guandu, Xu You attempted to secure Zhao State’s survival but was exposed and executed. Yuan Shao’s illness worsened, and just as Luo Yan returned with reinforcements, Yuan Shao died after naming Yuan Tan his heir and entrusting Luo Yan with guiding Zhao State.

• Yuan Shao sent Xu You to Cao Cao’s camp to negotiate, but Xu You urged Cao Cao to let Zhao State survive and was executed for his covert intentions.
• A letter from Luo Yan reported the situation in Jizhou, and Yuan Shao told his army that reinforcements were coming while ordering it to hold its position.
• Yuan Shao’s illness worsened, so he named Yuan Tan as his successor and appointed Luo Yan to lead those supporting the new ruler.
• Luo Yan arrived at the camp and learned that Yuan Shao was gravely ill, then reached his bedside just as Yuan Shao died.

After Yuan Shao’s death, Luo Yan prepared Zhao State to survive by retreating to Handan and seeking time, while Cao Cao ambushed Liu Bei and a coalition of lords struck Cao’s forces across the Great River. The chapter ended with Luo Qi and Zhao Yun returning wounded to Liu Bei, who chose to press on toward Qingzhou.

• Luo Yan urged Yuan Tan to move Zhao State’s capital from Ye City to Handan, while he and the other commanders remained behind to defend Zhao State.
• Liu Bei began withdrawing toward Mount Tai, but Cao Cao ambushed his army and poisoned its grain and fodder, forcing Liu Bei to flee while Luo Qi and Zhao Yun covered the retreat.
• Fa Zheng persuaded Ma Chao to attack Cao Cao’s forces, and Ma Chao led the Western Liang Iron Cavalry across the Great River, setting fire to supplies and devastating Cao Cao’s rear army.
• Luo Yan and Lü Bu attacked Cao Cao on the northern bank, while Ma Chao halted his assault and turned toward securing Guanzhong.
• Luo Qi and Zhao Yun returned to Liu Bei badly bloodied, and Liu Bei agreed to recover Qingzhou before arranging further treatment for Luo Qi.

Luo Yan forced Cao Cao to end the war by accepting a settlement that required him to recognize Zhao and Yan and claim kingship within a year. Cao Cao became King of Wei, the feudal lords followed suit, and the Han emperor’s authority collapsed as the chapter ended with Xun Yu’s suicide and the Zhang River Agreement.

• Luo Yan’s army faced exhaustion, and he offered Cao Cao peace on the condition that Cao Cao recognize Zhao’s royal title and Yan’s imperial title and swear to claim kingship within a year.
• Cao Cao accepted the terms, ending the fighting along the Zhang River and agreeing to a boundary and mutual nonaggression.
• Liu Xie challenged Cao Cao during a troop review, and Cao Cao crushed the imperial loyalists’ conspiracy and tightened his control over the emperor.
• Cao Cao was enfeoffed as King of Wei, while Liu Bei became King of Chu, Ma Chao and Han Sui claimed the Kingship of Qin, and Lü Bu proclaimed himself King of Jin.
• Xun Yu opposed Cao Cao’s claim to kingship and later killed himself, while the Zhang River Agreement formally ended the Second All-Xia War and left the Han emperor without authority over the feudal lords.

Ji Zhao discovered that the Mandate of Heaven he had canceled was the Central Plains’ mandate to decline, while the Grasslands’ mandate would drive their rise and forceful ethnic integration. To prevent future civilizational collapses, he entered the Heavenly Pillar and became the new support for the world, leaving his descendants to shape what came next.

• Ji Zhao explored the Rule World and learned that the Mandate of Heaven he had canceled would have brought devastating natural disasters and the decline of the Central Plains.
• Ji Zhao discovered that the Grasslands’ Mandate of Heaven would make the Hu people rise through a surge of talented leaders and rapid development, and he rejected its forced ethnic integration.
• Ji Zhao decided to remove the rule governing the Grasslands’ rise instead of spending another Heaven-Tier Divine Artifact.
• Heaven warned Ji Zhao that destroying the Heavenly Pillar would collapse the developing world, then revealed that a new support could take its place.
• Ji Zhao plunged into the Heavenly Pillar, becoming the world’s new support as Heaven’s will dissipated and the system declared that he had united himself with the Way.

As Wu State attacked Jingzhou, its leaders debated surrendering to Young Master Chu, while the dying Liu Biao rejected their plans and declared he would die a minister of Han. After Liu Biao died, the Jingzhou elite burned his final message, installed Liu Cong, and prepared to surrender to Wu State.

• Cai Mao argued that Jingzhou should surrender to Wu State to preserve its people and protect the gentry's interests.
• Liu Biao drove Lady Cai from his sickroom and wrote his final declaration on white silk: he would die a minister of Han and never surrender.
• Liu Biao died, and Kuai Yue burned the silk while Cai Mao urged the leaders to install Liu Cong and surrender.
• The chapter recounted that Jingzhou submitted to Wu State and included a historian's account of Liu Biao's life and final resolve.

After Wu State took most of Jingzhou, Luo Chu weighed whether to move the capital and how to secure the Yangtze frontier. He left the capital in Jiangdong for now, appointed Liu Cong Governor of Jingzhou and admitted him to the Regency Council, while the debate over Wu State’s future strategy remained unresolved.

• Luo Chu and the Wu State fleet arrived at Jiangling, where Liu Cong and Jingzhou’s ministers submitted to Wu State.
• Luo Chu appointed Liu Cong Governor of Jingzhou and admitted him to Wu State’s Regency Council, while leaving him without real authority.
• Pang Tong explained that Xiangyang and Yiling were key to defending Jingzhou, and Luo Chu asked about Zhao Hong and a possible route into Shu.
• Lu Su, Gu Yong, and other Wu State ministers opposed moving the capital, citing Jiangdong’s interests and the danger of alerting Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
• Luo Chu decided not to move the capital for the time being, and the ministers pledged to work together to strengthen Wu State.

Liu Bei reclaimed Qingzhou and returned to Linzi, while the gravely ill Luo Chuan died after urging Liu Bei and Luo Qi to continue restoring the Han. The chapter ended with Luo Chu mourning his father in Wu State and unable to attend the funeral.

• Zhang Yan surrendered Qingzhou and its armies to Liu Bei, who celebrated his return to Linzi and promised that the Lü Clan would rise alongside the Liu Clan.
• Luo Chuan ordered the resources of Marquis Ying's Marquisate sent to Luo Qi, then fell gravely ill and later advised Liu Bei to uphold benevolence and Luo Qi to support the Han restoration.
• Luo Chuan died in Luo Qian's arms after asking Luo Qi to inherit his title and carry the marquisate's remaining defenders to Qingzhou.
• Liu Bei requested that the Han court grant Luo Chuan a posthumous title, and the court named him Marquis Ying Zhongyi.
• Luo Chu chose not to travel from Wu State to attend Luo Chuan's funeral, but began mourning his father there with Xiao Qiao's support.

Cao Cao invaded Zhao State and besieged Ye City while Zhao Chancellor Luo Yan tried to rally resistance and secure Chu State's help. Ye City fell after traitors opened its gates, and Shen Pei faced Cao Cao with the resolve to remain loyal to Yuan Tan.

• Luo Yan warned Zhao State's ministers against the Queen Mother's succession plans, then learned Wei State had attacked Ye City.
• Cao Cao's army besieged Ye City, and Yuan Tan agreed to provide grain for Liu Bei's promised intervention as Luo Yan urged Zhao State to keep fighting.
• Liu Bei sent Guan Yu's army toward the front but ordered it to wait until Wei State had been weakened, while Luo Yan led Zhao State's last army to reinforce Ye City.
• Qu Yi met Luo Yan after escaping Ye City with the First-to-Scale Battalion and reported that traitors had opened the gates and that Shen Pei was missing.
• Luo Yan and Qu Yi turned back toward Ye City to try to retake it, while Shen Pei stood before Cao Cao and refused to betray Yuan Tan.

After Ye City fell, Luo Yan and Zhao State’s remaining loyalists resisted Wei State while Cao Cao’s forces tried to exploit Zhao’s weakness and win Luo Yan over. As Cao Ang’s army pressed the front, a coup in Handan ended with Yuan Tan surrendering to Wei State, leaving Zhao State’s defenders facing the collapse of their homeland.

• Luo Yan rallied Zhao State’s ministers after Ye City fell, and Qu Yi declared that he would remain loyal to the Yuan Clan rather than surrender.
• Cao Cao divided Wei State’s forces, leading forty thousand troops to intercept Liu Bei while Cao Ang continued the campaign against Zhao State.
• Guo Jia’s trap isolated Ju Shou’s army, and Ju Shou refused repeated offers to surrender before Cao Ang ordered his men killed; Ju Shou died defending Zhao State.
• Cao Ang invited Luo Yan to surrender and hinted that Cao Cao had plans to exploit the people and things Luo Yan cared about, making Luo Yan fear that Handan was in danger.
• The Queen Mother and Yuan Shang deposed Yuan Tan and killed Tian Feng, but Yuan Tan offered to surrender to Cao Cao in exchange for Yuan Shang’s death, and the conspirators killed Yuan Shang.

After Yuan Tan killed Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi stopped him from killing Lady Liu, and he ordered Zhao State to surrender to Cao Cao. Luo Yan and Xun Chen chose to preserve Hebei’s people and families by submitting, then began planning an alliance among Hebei’s gentry.

• Yuan Tan killed Yuan Shang and nearly attacked Lady Liu, but Yuan Xi pleaded with him to spare their mother.
• Zhen Mi condemned Lady Liu’s role in the coup, and Yuan Tan set aside his anger and ordered Zhao State to surrender.
• Luo Yan and Xun Chen received Yuan Tan’s surrender decree and recognized that keeping their forces alive could protect the Yuan descendants and Hebei families.
• Luo Yan persuaded Xun Chen to remain in Hebei and help establish a new alliance among its gentry.
• Xun Chen agreed to Luo Yan’s plan to unite the former ministers and clans of Hebei under Cao Cao’s rule.

Liu Bei faced Cao Cao’s superior army in Yanzhou, abandoned a direct battle, and approved Luo Qi’s plan to supply Yan State so it would clash with Cao Cao and delay his control of Jizhou. After ordering a retreat, Liu Bei heard Luo Qi’s guarded proposal for what to do next.

• Liu Bei confronted Cao Cao and vowed to avenge his earlier defeat, while Cao Cao declared that his forces would defeat Liu Bei’s army.
• Liu Ye argued that Cao Cao’s political troubles could weaken Wei, but news of Zhao State’s surrender revealed that Liu Bei’s plan to trap Cao Cao had failed.
• Liu Bei briefly considered fighting Cao Cao, but after hearing his generals’ eagerness to charge, he chose to retreat rather than risk a head-on battle.
• Luo Qi urged Liu Bei to keep pressuring Cao Cao by selling grain and supplies to Yan State, encouraging it to fight Wei and delay Cao Cao’s control of Jizhou.
• Liu Bei ordered his army to withdraw from Yanzhou and hold the passage to Qingzhou, then asked Luo Qi to explain his further proposal in private.

Liu Yan sent Zhang Song to persuade Luo Chu not to attack Shu while Shu fought the Southwestern Yi, and Luo Chu held Wu State back despite pressure from his ministers. Liu Yan then died during an epidemic in the campaign, leaving Zhang Song to wonder whether he should seek a new lord.

• Zhang Lu attacked Shu without Wu State's support and was driven back into Hanzhong, while the Southwestern Yi gathered under a capable leader and threatened Liu Yan's control of Yizhou.
• Zhang Song persuaded Liu Yan to send an envoy to Luo Chu, and Luo Chu promised to hold Wu State's army back while warning Shu not to use the campaign as a pretext to provoke him.
• Luo Chu refused his ministers' calls to exploit Shu's vulnerability, declaring that Wu State would wait until the fighting ended before attacking.
• Zhang Song advised Liu Yan to draw the Southwestern Yi onto the plains, and Liu Yan agreed after Zhang Song warned that Shu might otherwise be unable to resist Wu State or Zhang Lu.
• Zhang Song privately considered leaving Liu Yan's service and weighed whether Wu State could offer him a place of influence.
• An epidemic struck the armies during the campaign, and Liu Yan died after arranging Shu State's succession and delivering the words he wanted recorded in history.

After Liu Zhang’s succession threw Shu into turmoil, Ma Chao and Fa Zheng lured Han Sui’s coalition into a battle on the Wei River Plain and crushed it with the help of Qiang cavalry. As they pursued Han Sui, new information arrived that forced them to reconsider their plans.

• Liu Zhang recalled the troops campaigning against the Southwestern Yi to face Zhang Lu, but Zhang Song and others persuaded him to keep them in the field.
• Han Sui gathered Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, and other Guanzhong lords to attack Ma Chao, while Ma Chao and Fa Zheng prepared to seize the region.
• Ma Chao confronted Han Sui, defended his status as Ma Teng’s legitimate son, and challenged Zhang Xiu when he rode out to fight.
• Ma Chao overcame Zhang Xiu’s spear technique and offered him a place in his service, but Zhang Xiu refused.
• Ma Chao revealed that Qiang cavalry had joined him, and their charge routed Han Sui’s coalition as Ma Chao’s forces pursued the defeated army.
• A sudden report arrived while Ma Chao and Fa Zheng pursued Han Sui, forcing them to adjust their plans.

Ma Chao and Fa Zheng confronted the unexpectedly powerful Western Regions army as the King of Central Xia invaded Liangzhou, and their war in the Hexi Corridor became a four-month stalemate. With Ma Chao considering retreating into Guanzhong, Fa Zheng warned that the Central Plains lords might know how badly Yong State’s army had been weakened.

• After receiving reports that the Western Regions army was advancing through Liangzhou, Ma Chao abandoned the pursuit of the defeated coalition and led his forces west.
• Ma Chao and Fa Zheng discovered that the King of Central Xia had brought tens of thousands of elite troops, and Ma Chao rejected the king’s offer to make him a subordinate.
• Ma Chao and the King of Central Xia committed their armies to battle across the Hexi Corridor, where the Western Liang Iron Cavalry met the Western Regions Iron Cavalry.
• After four months of fighting and severe losses on both sides, Ma Chao drew reinforcements from the Qiang tribes and Guanzhong while his plans to expand elsewhere collapsed.
• Ma Chao considered abandoning Liangzhou and defending Guanzhong’s passes, but Fa Zheng asked whether the Central Plains lords knew Yong State’s army had suffered grievous casualties.

Cao Cao seized the chance created by Ma Chao’s war with Han Sui and the Western Liang lords to launch an invasion of Guanzhong, while Luo Yan advised him on the region’s forces and refused an offer to marry into the Cao family. Cao Cao’s armies advanced with little resistance as the Western Liang commanders surrendered, and he left Cao Ang in charge of the eastern front.

• Fa Zheng warned Ma Chao that Cao Cao would exploit the war in Guanzhong, prompting them to seek help from a group of men.
• Xun You urged Cao Cao to invade Guanzhong, and Cao Cao ordered his armies to advance by the Hangu Pass and across the river.
• Cao Cao summoned Luo Yan and Qu Yi to Luoyang, where Luo Yan advised him to watch Ma Chao and take in the Western Liang lords after their armies were weakened.
• Cao Cao expressed regret that Luo Yan had not married his daughter, but Luo Yan declined and Cao Cao decided he could be used but not trusted.
• Cao Cao declared Cao Ang his future successor and tasked him with holding the eastern front against Liu Bei.
• Cao Cao marched into Guanzhong, where Zhang Xiu and most of the defeated Western Liang lords surrendered to him.

Cao Cao invaded Guanzhong while Ma Chao fought the Western Regions, then Ma Chao ceded the Hexi Corridor to secure an alliance and turned to resist Wei. During a surprise attack on a detached Wei army, Cao Pi was killed, leaving Ma Chao and Fa Zheng to consider surrendering to Cao Cao despite the danger.

• Cao Cao entered Guanzhong and prepared to advance against Ma Chao, while Ma Chao and Fa Zheng concluded that they needed to choose between fighting and surrendering.
• Fa Zheng advised Ma Chao to cede the Hexi Corridor to the King of the Western Regions in return for an alliance against Cao Cao, and the king accepted the offer.
• Ma Chao withdrew Yong State's forces from the Four Hexi Commanderies, then led his army east after assessing the heavy losses from the war.
• Cao Cao divided his forces to attack Ma Chao, who ambushed a detached Wei army and routed it with a sudden cavalry charge.
• Xiahou Yuan discovered that Cao Pi was missing, and Cao Pi was killed by an arrow while surrounded by soldiers on the battlefield.
• Ma Chao and Fa Zheng realized Cao Cao might seek vengeance for Cao Pi's death, and Ma Chao chose to surrender while Fa Zheng began considering his own escape.

After Ma Chao surrendered and Zhao Hong joined him, Cao Cao consolidated his control over Guanzhong and Nanyang and returned east in triumph. Liu Xie was forced to approve Cao Cao’s demands for further rewards, leaving him convinced that the Han Dynasty was nearing its end.

• Ma Chao surrendered to Cao Cao, who appointed him Marquis of Fufeng and General Who Guards the East, while the King of the Western Regions retreated to Hexi.
• Cao Cao left Xiahou Dun and Sima Yi to hold Chang'an, then returned east with Ma Chao and nearly twenty thousand Western Liang Iron Cavalry.
• Zhao Hong surrendered Nanyang to Cao Cao, giving Wei control of another strategic commandery.
• Cao Cao’s messengers announced the victories in Guanzhong and Nanyang at Xuchang, and Liu Xie was shaken by the news.
• Xi Zhicai presented Liu Xie with Cao Cao’s demands for rewards, and Liu Xie approved them despite his despair.

Fa Zheng joined Liu Bei’s court and proposed a strategy to reverse Cao Cao’s expansion by winning a decisive victory in Jizhou, with Lü Bu striking Cao Cao’s rear through the Taihang passes. Luo Qi said he would try to secure Lü Bu’s support, and Fa Zheng recognized that the plan depended on Luo Qi.

• Liu Bei grieved that Cao Cao was closing in on taking the Han realm, and Luo Qi reassured him that Cao Cao’s newly conquered territories and widespread opposition left him vulnerable.
• Liu Ye announced that Fa Zheng had arrived from Guanzhong, and Liu Bei warmly welcomed the famed strategist into his service.
• Fa Zheng explained that Cao Cao’s brutality and his own enmity with the Cao clan had led him to reject Cao Cao and seek Liu Bei instead.
• Fa Zheng argued that an alliance of feudal lords would not suffice, and that Chu State and Wu State could cooperate only temporarily because they would ultimately clash over territory.
• Fa Zheng proposed that Liu Bei first drive Wei forces from Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou, then push them out of Shandong, with Lü Bu’s forces striking Cao Cao’s rear through the Taihang passes during a major battle in Jizhou.
• Luo Qi said he would try to secure Lü Bu’s support, and Fa Zheng realized that Luo Qi made the strategy possible.

Luo Qi and Lü Shen persuaded Lü Bu to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao by revealing Lü Bu’s ancestral genealogy and urging him to choose his own legacy. Back in Chu, Liu Bei thanked his ministers and declared that he was ready to fight Cao Cao for the Han Dynasty.

• Luo Qi and Lü Shen traveled secretly to Jin State with Zhao Yun to seek Lü Bu’s support against Cao Cao.
• Lü Qiling urged Lü Bu to hear the Chu envoys and make his own choices.
• Luo Qi and Lü Shen recited Lü Bu’s genealogy, revealing his ancestral ties to the ancient Jiang-surnamed Lü Clan.
• Lü Bu agreed to join Liu Bei’s alliance against Cao Cao, and Luo Qi and Lü Shen sealed the pact with a palm strike.
• Luo Qi and Lü Shen left Jin State and planned to enlist the Emperor of Yan and the Commandery Duke of Wu.
• Liu Bei thanked his ministers for restoring hope and declared that he would fight Cao Cao for the Han Dynasty.

Luo Qi summoned Zhuge Liang to entrust him with Chu’s affairs before accompanying the army to attack Jizhou. He warned Zhuge Liang about Wu, cautioned him against abusing Legalist methods, and handed him authority over audits of official governance and powerful clans.

• Luo Qi told Zhuge Liang that he would join the campaign against Jizhou while Zhuge Liang remained in Linzi to oversee logistics.
• Luo Qi warned Zhuge Liang that a Chu victory could lead to war with Wu and ordered him to prepare Xiapi City’s supplies and defenses.
• Luo Qi cautioned Zhuge Liang against relying too heavily on Legalist methods and reminded him to use statecraft with restraint.
• Luo Qi explained that lawless great clans and concealed households weakened the realm and said clean government was necessary to address them.
• Luo Qi entrusted Zhuge Liang with the Official Governance Audit so he could gradually gather evidence against Chu’s powerful clans.
• Zhuge Liang recognized that Wu’s great clans would hinder its unification and listened as Luo Qi named him Chu’s finest legacy.