Chapter Summaries

Liu Cheng secured Quan Yi’s cooperation after capturing him and laid out careful steps to consolidate his gains around Xingyang. As the army prepared for a possible attack by Yao Xiang during the garrison change, Liu Cheng called for wood ash to help plan their defenses.

• Liu Cheng refused to release Quan Yi and urged him to stay, warning that Yao Xiang’s position in Luoyang was likely doomed.
• Quan Yi agreed to remain and asked Liu Cheng to include his advice in a letter to Yao Jingguo.
• Liu Cheng’s forces secured Dasuo, returned prisoners and supplies, and arranged for Zhou Cheng’s troops to move away from Xingyang as negotiations continued.
• Huan Yi and Xie Xuan examined Liu Cheng’s fire-resistant palisades, and Quan Yi discussed the strategic weaknesses of the Three Terraces and Guanggu.
• Liu Cheng asked Quan Yi how to respond if Yao Xiang attacked during the Xingyang garrison change, then ordered someone to bring wood ash from the hillside.

Liu Cheng and his commanders weighed how to meet a possible Qiang attack on Xingyang and decided to seek battle rather than avoid it, while requesting reinforcements and building Zhou Cheng’s trust. Liu Cheng sent Xie Xuan to Zhou Cheng and planned to take Wang Guannu to Xuchang, as Quan Yi prepared another attempt to persuade the Great Chanyu.

• Huan Yi proposed requesting reinforcements from Xuchang, delaying the garrison change until they heard from Huan Wen, and using deception to unsettle Yao Xiang’s army.
• Shen Jin urged the commanders to test their troops in battle, and Liu Cheng agreed that the army should seek a fight while still requesting reinforcements and winning Zhou Cheng’s trust.
• Liu Cheng ordered Xie Xuan to join Zhou Cheng as an army supervisor and told him to observe the fighting rather than take the field.
• Liu Cheng assigned Wang Guannu to accompany him to the rear to meet General Mao and asked Huan Yi to bring Jiang Gan to him quickly.
• Quan Yi asked Liu Cheng for time to write another letter to persuade the Great Chanyu, while an appended account described Wang Xizhi’s grief over the desecration of his family’s ancestral graves and his hope that Guannu would offer sacrifices.

Liu Cheng secured Jiang Gan’s cooperation while insisting on preparing to fight Yao Xiang, then traveled south to arrange reinforcements with Mao Muzhi. The chapter ended with Mao Muzhi agreeing to send five thousand men north, with Wang Guannu left as collateral for ten days.

• Liu Cheng told Jiang Gan to follow his commands, but Jiang Gan said his veteran troops would fight only if the Imperial Army could stand against the Qiang.
• Liu Cheng assigned Xie Xuan as an army supervisor to accompany Jiang Gan back, and Jiang Gan reluctantly accepted.
• Liu Cheng refused Quan Yi’s request to return to the Shetou Qiang with military intelligence, arguing that doing so would endanger his own soldiers.
• Liu Cheng traveled south with a small escort and met Mao Muzhi near the Wei River after Mao moved his station forward.
• Liu Cheng offered to leave Wang Guannu with Mao Muzhi as collateral in exchange for five thousand troops who would obey orders.
• Mao Muzhi agreed to muster the troops under Mao Qiu, Hu Lü, and Chen Wu and send them north with Liu Cheng.

Yao Xiang settled on facing Liu Cheng’s army in the field rather than abandoning Luoyang or assaulting Xingyang, while Liu Cheng’s side finalized plans to defend the city and coordinate reinforcements. Both sides spent the night preparing for the coming battle.

• Wang Liang burned the letters and helped Yao Xiang commit to fighting Liu Cheng’s force while leaving Xingyang’s walls untouched.
• Yao Xiang ordered his commanders to meet the enemy on the plain between the Si and Zhanran Rivers if reinforcements came, and assigned Yao Chang to cut off the enemy’s route by water.
• Shi Dao'an admitted his divination was flattery and asked to return to the mountains, so Yao Xiang told Yao Chang to hide him on the way.
• Liu Cheng had Huan Yi review six orders covering the Zhanran River, Xingyang’s garrison, Shen Jin’s defense, Zhou Cheng’s movements, and the army’s formation.

Yao Xiang’s army reached Xingyang and found that the shallow Zhanran River had disrupted plans to isolate the city and intercept Zhou Cheng’s troops. Yao Xiang ordered a surrender demand and a nighttime surprise attack, while the defenders invoked Xie An’s connection to the Huai River region and left him shaken by his betrayal of Xie Shang.

• Yao Xiang and Wang Liang led nine thousand troops out of Sishui Pass toward Xingyang, while Liu Cheng ordered Shen Jin to hold the city and Zhou Cheng to cross the Zhanran River toward Yangwu and Juan County.
• Liu Cheng inspected Huan Yi’s low dams, which raised the water in Dasuo City’s moat while keeping the Zhanran River flowing.
• Yao Xiang’s generals discovered that the shallow river would disrupt their plan to send boats and cut off Zhou Cheng’s force, so Yao Xiang decided to attack Xingyang to draw Liu Cheng into battle.
• Yao Xiang ordered a surrender demand, secret reconnaissance of the defenses, and two nighttime surprise attacks by elite detachments.
• Shen Jin’s defenders shot an arrow into the surrender party’s shield and shouted that it repaid General Xie An’s old kindred spirit, leaving Yao Xiang dwelling on his betrayal of Xie Shang.

Yao Xiang’s forces failed to take Xingyang in two night assaults, and She Yuepang was wounded after leading a small group over the walls. As the Qiang besieged the city, Liu Cheng’s Imperial Army crossed the Zhanran River and prepared to attack at dawn, while Huan Yi began a plan to release the water.

• Yao Xiang sent She Yuepang and Yao Yinmai to launch separate night assaults on Xingyang, but Shen Jin’s defenders detected both attacks and repelled them.
• She Yuepang’s group climbed the wall during the distraction caused by Yao Yinmai’s assault, but defenders targeted their torchlight; She Yuepang escaped wounded with help from She Yuan and the others.
• Yao Xiang visited She Yuepang, praised Shen Jin’s well-equipped troops, and decided to surround Xingyang rather than waste more men attacking its walls.
• The Qiang sealed Xingyang and gathered forces as Liu Cheng’s Imperial Army crossed the Zhanran River and assembled near the city.
• Yao Xiang ordered forces from Sishui Pass to outflank the Imperial Army at dawn, while recalling the Qiang contingent from the river’s eastern bank.
• Liu Cheng assigned his forces to an oblique formation for a dawn attack, ordered his left wing to delay engagement, and sent Huan Yi to release the water overnight.

Yao Xiang and Liu Cheng prepared their armies for a decisive battle west of the Zhanran River, each trying to keep his forces steady despite his own doubts. Their armies began clashing, and the chapter ended with a historical account explaining why Emperor Taizu left no battle formation diagrams.

• Yao Xiang and Xue Zan concluded that Liu Cheng had released the water both to cut off the Qiang camps and to force his own army to fight with its back to the river.
• Yao Xiang assigned Amai to lead the vanguard, took command of the broad formation himself, and ordered Yao Yisheng to command the center.
• Yao Xiang admitted to Xue Zan that anxiety over Huan Wen and the situation in Luoyang had unsettled him, then went to put on his armor.
• Liu Cheng sounded successive horns and drums to move out his units, then rode from camp with his army as Shen Yong stayed behind to summon Xie Xuan and direct the reinforcements.
• Yao Xiang ordered Yao Yinmai to keep advancing, while Liu Cheng ordered Liu Jian not to divide his force to engage the Qiang vanguard.
• Liu Jian's troops struck the Qiang left wing, and Yao Yinmai's troops collided with Zhou Cheng's force, beginning the battle.

Liu Cheng and Jiang Gan watched the battle unfold as their forces pressed the Qiang left wing, while Yao Xiang committed his personal guard and the Qiang rear army moved to reinforce. The Imperial Army’s attacks drove Yang Liang back, and its cavalry broke through toward Xingyang City as Dai Shi and He Rong finally engaged on the opposite flank.

• Yao Yinmai’s vanguard withdrew under Zhou Cheng and Gao Heng’s attack, confirming Liu Cheng’s oblique deployment was working.
• Liu Cheng asked Jiang Gan to advise him, and Jiang Gan urged him to hold position and wait for a decisive change on the battlefield.
• Yao Xiang sent his personal guard to the left wing while Xue Zan and Yao Yisheng ordered the Qiang rear army to reinforce it.
• Liu Huzi and Gao Heng launched successive assaults, prompting Liu Cheng to order the pooled cavalry to support their attack.
• Liu Huzi directed the cavalry under Huan’s Red Banner to ride along the river toward Xingyang City and attack the Qiang main camp.
• Dai Shi and He Rong’s thousand men engaged the Qiang right wing as the cavalry raced past the Qiang rear army.

Liu Cheng’s forces held against Yao Xiang’s attack while Shen Jin led Xingyang’s defenders in a surprise sortie that destroyed Yao Lan’s camp and killed him. After learning that Liu Cheng’s reinforcements had arrived and his camp was under assault, Yao Xiang ordered his army to retreat toward Sishui Pass.

• Liu Cheng celebrated the cavalry’s breakthrough, while Yao Xiang redirected his rear army to attack Liu Jian and Gao Heng and sent reinforcements toward his camp.
• Shen Jin ordered Xingyang’s troops to sortie through the gates and flank the Qiang camp as cavalry charged into it.
• Shen Jin’s forces broke through the northern defenses, set fires in the camp, and fought Yao Lan’s troops on multiple fronts.
• Shen Jin and his black-armored retainers attacked Yao Lan’s force, and Shen Jin killed Yao Lan in the fighting.
• Yao Xiang learned that Liu Cheng’s reinforcements had arrived and ordered his army to withdraw toward Sishui Pass.

Liu Cheng watched the Qiang withdraw from the Zhanran River while Huan Yi played the flute, then helped him infer that Yao Chang might be leading a fleet toward Li City. He ordered Huan Yi to coordinate a move toward Aocang, aiming to trap the fleet and secure the northern route.

• Liu Cheng recognized that the Qiang's fierce assault was meant to cover their retreat and sent Xie Xuan to rally routed soldiers and restrain Liu and Gao from pursuing too far.
• Huan Yi admitted his impatience, and Liu Cheng encouraged him by asking him to play his flute as the Qiang withdrew.
• Liu and Gao halted their pursuit, while Zhou Cheng's troops maintained pressure and the Imperial Army reinforcements attacked the Qiang on the western front.
• Liu Cheng and Huan Yi deduced that limited Qiang reinforcements might have split between covering the retreat and relieving the troops near Xingyang, while a fleet threatened Li City.
• Huan Yi proposed that Liu and Gao feign a rescue at Xingyang, then join Shen Jin and take Aocang to trap the fleet on the Bian River.
• Liu Cheng gave Huan Yi his banner and ordered him to coordinate with Liu, Gao, and Shen Jin so that the banner would reach Aocang that night.

Yao Xiang organized the Qiang retreat after their defeat, but mounting losses and news of advancing enemy forces left his position increasingly desperate. After learning that General Jingmao had taken half their boats, he ordered Wang Heina to rush to Aocang, then collapsed from exhaustion and grief.

• Xue Zan reported that the retreat was unraveling, but Yao Xiang rode out to cover his troops and help them withdraw in order.
• Liu Jian and Gao Heng left the battle for Xingyang, easing pressure on the Qiang as their remaining forces covered the retreat toward Sishui Pass.
• Yao Xiang sent Yang Liang back to Hongnong after Yang's contingent suffered devastating losses, and found Wang Liang gravely ill at the pass.
• Wang Liang revealed that Huan Wen's forces had reached Hongnong and urged Yao Xiang to retreat toward the Three Jin with the main force.
• Yao Yinmai and Wang Heina told Yao Xiang that Brother Alan had fallen and that General She was likely captured or dead.
• After Xue Zan warned that General Jingmao had taken half their boats, Yao Xiang ordered Wang Heina to send troops to Aocang, then struggled until his strength gave out.

After Shen Jin’s victory at Xingyang, Liu Cheng arranged reinforcements and spoke with his wounded brother-in-law She Yuepang about the battle and the possibility of exchanging prisoners for the Lueyang Di people. Liu Cheng left for Dasuo City to discuss the matter with Mr. Ziliang, while She Yuepang’s later fate was noted in a historical account.

• Liu Cheng stationed the reinforcements, sent Dai Shi to reinforce Aocang, and arranged for He Rong to return to Li City the next morning.
• Liu Cheng visited the wounded She Yuepang and reassured him that he would be sent to Shouchun to recover with A She.
• Liu Cheng asked She Yuepang whether Yao Xiang would exchange prisoners and one of his younger brothers for the Lueyang Di people, and She Yuepang explained why the Great Chanyu could not openly agree.
• Liu Cheng resolved to pursue the exchange privately and ordered Zhang Zhong and Xie Xuan to summon Mr. Jiang while he returned to Dasuo City to consult Mr. Ziliang.
• A historical account stated that She Yuepang was wounded by Shen Jin at Xingyang, captured after the defeat, and later became one of Emperor Taizu’s close followers.

Liu Cheng and Quan Yi discussed an alliance that could rescue Quan Yi’s family and the Di of Lueyang while bringing Quan Yi into Liu Cheng’s service. After agreeing on a secret approach to Wang Liang, Quan Yi weighed the Qiang’s desperate position as Liu Cheng received news that Yao Chang was trapped near the Bian River.

• Liu Cheng asked Quan Yi to negotiate with the Qiang while they were in disarray, offering a chance to save Quan Yi’s family and the Di of Lueyang.
• Quan Yi questioned Liu Cheng about his ambitions, and Liu Cheng said he sought to drive out the Five Hu, restore China, and continue Duke Huan’s undertaking if Duke Huan failed.
• Quan Yi advised offering Yao Lan’s body for his family and secretly contacting Wang Liang, whose help could arrange an exchange before the situation settled.
• Liu Cheng chose Jiang Gan to carry out the mission discreetly, then left to rest while Quan Yi wrote letters to Wang Liang.
• Quan Yi reflected on why the Shetou Qiang had stayed in Henan and feared the losses they would face if they crossed north in winter.
• Liu Cheng received news that Yao Chang was trapped near the Bian River and that Qiang troops attempting to aid him had fought Zhou Cheng’s exhausted force.

After Huan Wen’s arrival shifted the strategic balance, Liu Cheng rejected Wang Liang’s proposed gradual exchange and demanded that the Qiang surrender Sishui Pass within five days. Shi Dao'an persuaded the sick Wang Liang to accept, then carried his official seal to meet Liu Cheng, who wondered whether the seal could be used in a deception against Yao Chang.

• Huan Wen arrived, and Wang Liang agreed to negotiate with Liu Cheng through Jiang Gan while preparing a plan to exchange prisoners and surrender Sishui Pass.
• Jiang Gan relayed Liu Cheng’s rejection of Wang Liang’s plan and demanded that the boats, Yao Chang’s surrender, and the pass be handed over within five days.
• Shi Dao'an questioned Wang Liang about the boats, Jingmao, and the safety of the Qiang elite, then comforted him with Fotucheng’s prophecy about the Yao family.
• Wang Liang gave Shi Dao'an his official seal and asked him to accept Liu Cheng’s terms and contact Jingmao.
• Shi Dao'an met Liu Cheng in Xingyang that night, and Liu Cheng considered how a stolen official seal might mislead Yao Chang.

Liu Cheng secured Sishui Pass and reorganized his forces while arranging for the Lueyang Di to be resettled and pressuring Yao Chang to move. As his army advanced toward Luoyang under Huan Wen’s orders, Liu Cheng secretly enabled Yao Chang’s soldiers to escape into Mangshan, then was summoned to a military council.

• Liu Cheng entered Sishui Pass, occupied Chenggao, assigned Zhou Cheng to Xingyang, and sent Dai Shi and Zhuge Heng of the Southern Peak toward Goushi.
• Liu Cheng sent Liu Jian south with the Lueyang Di and wounded soldiers, while Gao Heng detached another column to Dasuo City.
• Huan Yi warned Liu Cheng that Yao Chang’s troops at Aocang posed a danger, and Liu Cheng pressed Wang Liang to arrange their departure.
• Shi Dao'an agreed to go to Aocang and speak with Yao Chang, while Liu Cheng discussed Wang Liang’s declining health and offered Shi Dao'an an advisory post.
• After Huan Wen ordered Liu Cheng to advance toward Luoyang, Yao Chang surrendered fifteen hundred men for the march, and Liu Cheng’s forces reached Shixiang.
• Liu Cheng quietly told Yao Chang to let his soldiers escape in small groups; some were captured by Gao Heng’s troops, and Huan Wen summoned Liu Cheng to a military council.

Liu Acheng went to Huan Wen’s camp after releasing Yao Chang and argued that the Qiang should be offered a path to surrender. He took Xie An’s folding stool to confront Huan Wen over the treatment of his achievements, and Huan Wen laughed before inviting the gathered officials to discuss military strategy.

• Liu Acheng rode to Huan Wen’s camp and learned from Wang Meng that famine had fueled unrest across Guanzhong, the Di people had submitted, and Yao Xiang’s forces were trapped by the destruction of their river crossings.
• Wang Meng identified Fu Jian, the Di leader Fu Xiong’s legitimate son, as the young chief secretary who had been accompanying them.
• Liu Acheng arrived as Shen Jin was being mocked for his family’s standing, then congratulated him on having escaped the stigma of a convicted family through his achievements at Xingyang.
• Fu Jian told Liu Acheng that Shen Jin had clashed with General Chen, and Xi Chao summoned Liu Acheng to Huan Wen.
• Liu Acheng told Huan Wen he had released Yao Chang in exchange for Sishui Pass and argued that accepting the Qiang’s surrender was the best course.
• Liu Acheng took Xie An’s folding stool and defended his military record and his proposal to conciliate the Qiang; Xie An joked about his guilty conscience, and Huan Wen laughed and called the officials in to discuss strategy.

Huan Wen rejected proposals to spare Yao Xiang and accept the Qiang's surrender before battle, insisting on defeating them and absorbing their followers. Liu Cheng advanced the next morning, discovered Yao Xiang's main force assembling at Jiashan, and requested support.

• Huan Wen and his advisers assessed Yao Xiang's options and expected him to fight near Northern Mangshan before retreating into the mountains.
• Xie An proposed sparing Yao Xiang to avoid casualties and use the Qiang to counterbalance the surrendered Di, but Huan Wen insisted that a battlefield victory was necessary.
• Liu Cheng urged Huan Wen to consider accepting the Qiang, then yielded when Huan Wen reaffirmed his intention to kill Yao Xiang and absorb his followers.
• Huan Wen questioned Yang Liang about Yao Xiang and Wang Meng about the Di's loyalty, then reassured Fu Jian by lending him his annotated Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• Liu Cheng marched from Shixiang the next morning, learned that Yao Xiang's main force was assembling at Jiashan, and advanced while requesting support from Mao Muzhi and Huan Wen.

After Dai Shi and Chen You were routed by the Qiang, Liu Cheng rallied Imperial troops on Low Ridge and waited as Huan Wen assembled his forces. Huan Wen then ordered a full assault on the Qiang at Shouyang Mountain, with an encircling force appearing from the north as the battle began.

• Dai Shi and Chen You attacked the Qiang without authorization and were routed, while Liu Cheng moved to rally the scattered Imperial soldiers on Low Ridge.
• Liu Cheng and Mao Muzhi held their troops in position as Qiang forces charged uphill and became entangled with the Imperial Army on the ridge.
• Huan Wen arrived with commanders and reinforcements, then rejected Chen You's attempt to blame Liu Cheng for the defeat.
• Xie An reached Low Ridge with help from Fu Jian and Xie Xuan while the Qiang below grew increasingly restless.
• Smoke and dust appeared north of Shouyang Mountain, revealing that Huan Qian's cavalry had circled around the passage.
• Huan Wen ordered the Imperial Army to advance without retreat, and thirty thousand troops descended from Low Ridge as the Qiang prepared to fight.

After Huan Wen’s forces defeated the Qiang at Shouyang Mountain, Liu Cheng learned that Huan Wen’s fury toward Yao Xiang was tied to Yin Hao’s blank reply and failing health. Huan Wen gave Liu Cheng until noon to persuade Yao Xiang to surrender, but Liu Cheng sent Huan Yi with a broken zither and a flute performance; Yao Xiang played along on its snapped strings, made his final arrangements, and killed himself.

• Fu Jian’s brothers led a cavalry attack that broke the Qiang army’s position, and the surviving Qiang fled into Shouyang Mountain as Huan Wen ordered a continued pursuit.
• Liu Cheng warned Xie An that Xie Shang might not survive the winter and agreed not to contend for the Western Command, asking Xie An to keep his brother from interfering with his work.
• After prisoners rioted and escaped to join Yao Xiang, Huan Wen told Liu Cheng that Yin Hao had answered his offer with a blank letter and was likely dying.
• Huan Wen offered to spare the Qiang from further slaughter if Liu Cheng killed Yao Xiang by noon, and Liu Cheng arranged for Huan Yi and Shi Dao'an to visit the mountain.
• Huan Yi played the Song of Burying Flowers on his flute while Yao Xiang accompanied him on a zither whose strings had already been cut.
• Yao Xiang told his followers not to blame themselves for the defeat, then cut his own throat beneath the tree.

After Yao Xiang's death, Liu Cheng organized the settlement of the surrendered Qiang and proposed keeping the army in Luoyang for a winter encampment and joint training. He persuaded Huan Wen and the assembled commanders to seek a Grand Marshal appointment, while the immediate task of resettling the Qiang remained unresolved.

• Liu Cheng organized reports on military merits, rewards, compensation, and the Qiang surrender, then passed the requests to Xi Chao.
• Liu Cheng proposed escorting some Qiang away while the rest of the army wintered in Luoyang for collective training.
• Liu Cheng argued that Huan Wen needed formal authority to reward and command the various forces, and proposed that commanders jointly petition the court to appoint him Grand Marshal.
• Xi Chao and the assembled officials endorsed Huan Wen's promotion, while Xie An joined them without objecting.
• Huan Wen deferred discussion of the appointment and ordered the group to focus first on settling the Qiang people.