Chapter Summaries

Murong Ke returned to Jixian with troops and gathered Murong Jun, Murong Chui, and Murong De to settle the crisis within the Murong Clan. Murong De explained why he had acted independently, and the confrontation ended with Murong Jun laughing as Murong Ke and Murong Chui argued.

• Murong Jun summoned Murong De, who recounted his role in carrying messages and received the palace maid before returning home.
• Murong Ke arrived in Jixian with his attendants, assigned forces to secure the city, and entered the palace while promising to prevent both rebellion and further disorder.
• Murong Ke, Murong Jun, and Murong Chui assembled in the Main Hall, and Murong De joined them carrying the White Pack and the Golden Saber.
• Murong De recounted the events surrounding the Princess Consort of Wu's death and said he had acted independently to protect Yan and the Murong Clan.
• Murong Ke condemned Murong Jun for endangering the state, while Murong Jun defended his actions and accused Murong Chui of refusing a politically necessary marriage.
• Murong Chui threatened Murong Ke for insulting his princess consort, and Murong Jun clapped and laughed at their quarrel.

Murong Ke and Murong Jun settled the crisis over Murong Chui by agreeing to restore him to favor and send him to Liaodong, while Murong Jun planned to lead the next campaign. The chapter then shifted south, where Liu Cheng distributed honors to his troops before learning that Xie Yi had become bedridden again.

• Murong De urged Murong Ke and Murong Jun to end their dispute, protect the Crown Prince's authority, and restore Murong Chui, and Murong Chui struck him before accepting the proposed settlement.
• Murong Jun agreed to send Murong Chui to Liaodong and marry him to the empress's younger sister, while Murong Ke agreed to advise Murong Jun's planned campaign without controlling his military decisions.
• Murong Jun assigned Murong De to govern Yan Province, and Murong Chui agreed to marry his wife's younger sister while forbidding pursuit of the fleeing Duan Clan except for Duan Qin.
• Murong Ke confided to Murong De that he feared the state might fail under Hu rule, and Murong De urged him to wait and see whether Great Yan could prevail.
• Liu Cheng handed out embroidered backpacks with crimson tassels to Shen Jin's troops to mark their honors in the Luoyang Campaign.
• Jiang Gan told Liu Cheng that Xie Yi could no longer get out of bed and asked him to return to Shouchun, but Liu Cheng decided to finish distributing the backpacks first.

Liu Cheng decided that the dying Xie Yi should remain in Shouchun while his relatives came, as the Western Command’s leaders speculated over who would succeed him. Liu Cheng and Jiang Gan concluded that political turmoil left Liu Cheng little chance of gaining command, and the chapter ended with a historical account of Xie Yi’s final days and death.

• Liu Cheng and the others found Xie Yi gravely ill, and Xie Xuan said that Xie Yi had seen ghosts coming through the wall.
• Liu Cheng decided that Xie Yi should stay in Shouchun and ordered fresh invitations for his relatives, while he sent official letters to the relevant authorities.
• After Xie Yi began shouting about bugs, those around him dispersed and privately speculated about who would take charge of the Western Command.
• Jiang Gan asked Liu Cheng whether he could gain the Western Command, and Liu Cheng explained that the emperor, Duke Huan, and the Prince of Kuaiji would determine the appointment.
• Liu Cheng and Jiang Gan judged that Liu Cheng had little chance of securing command and agreed that staying out of the struggle was best.
• The historical account described Xie Yi’s final days: he briefly regained clarity, sent Emperor Taizu away, drank wine, and died that night.

Liu Cheng recognized how the court’s power struggle had entangled the southern military and civil administration, while Xie Wan took command of the Western Command after Xie Yi’s decline and death. Xie An arrived for the funeral and, overwhelmed by grief and pressure, lost his composure in the rain, leaving Liu Cheng and Xi Chao to see how badly straitened circumstances had shaken him.

• Liu Cheng wrote to Huan Wen proposing a face-to-face meeting and inspected Huainan’s autumn harvest as Xie Wan arrived with the court’s appointment to command the Western Command.
• Xie Yi’s condition worsened, and after Xie Wan told him he would not live to see Xie An, Xie Yi stopped waiting, drank wine, and died.
• Xie An arrived with Xi Chao, and the Xie Family decided to bury Xie Yi at Mount Bagong before eventually moving his remains to Jiankang.
• Rain and drunken attendants delayed the funeral procession when Xie An’s carriage became stuck in the mud, and Xie An jumped down to jab a servant with a broken carriage post.
• Liu Cheng and Xi Chao helped Xie An into another carriage, where he wept and confessed that he had never known himself to be so incapable.

Liu Cheng and Xi Chao discussed Huan Wen’s political deadlock and the planned transfer of military authority, then attended Xie Wan’s first Western Command assembly. The meeting nearly erupted after Xie Wan called the generals “elite soldiers,” but Liu Cheng reframed the insult as a call for military pride, and Xie An backed him.

• Liu Cheng explained that he had helped Xi Yin obtain the Central Army Commander post to strengthen his credentials, while warning Xi Chao that Xie Anshi might expose the Xi family’s intentions.
• Xi Chao told Liu Cheng that the emperor’s growing authority had stalled plans to transfer the Northern Command to Huan Wen, and Liu Cheng urged him to consult Xi Yin and his uncle directly.
• Liu Cheng and Xi Chao agreed to seek a clear commitment from Huan Wen and concluded that he would need either to move his headquarters to Chang’an or become a Wang Dun-like rebel if the political deadlock persisted.
• Xi Chao and Liu Cheng attended the Western Command officers’ assembly, where Xie Wan awkwardly praised the gathered generals as “elite soldiers” and provoked indignation among many officers.
• Liu Cheng defended the generals’ martial role and called on Xie Wan to share their hardships, after which Xie An emerged and publicly agreed with Liu Cheng.

Liu Cheng used a banquet to secure the Shouchun generals’ public recognition of Liu Cheng, Xi Chao, the Grand Marshal, and Xie Wan, while Xie An struggled to manage his brother and build support in the Western Command. Xie An and Liu Cheng planned a network of river-mouth fortresses and discussed staffing it, ending with Liu Cheng sending for Zhu Bin to meet Xie An.

• Liu Cheng led the generals in toasting him as an elite soldier, Xi Chao as a general’s scion, the Grand Marshal, and Xie Wan as a hereditary military commander.
• After the banquet, Xie An tried unsuccessfully to persuade Xie Wan to abandon his detached manner, then visited the Shouchun officers and tended to his nephews in mourning.
• Xie An asked Liu Cheng for a project that could earn Xie Wan administrative achievements, and Liu Cheng proposed building fortresses at key Huai River crossings alongside the shipbuilding program.
• Liu Cheng explained the limits on labor, supplies, and clerks, and Xie An agreed to seek more capable personnel while they assigned officers to the planned fortresses.
• Liu Cheng advised Xie An to use Liu Shi and Ding Kuang, warned him against Zhu Xian, and proposed Zhu Bin for a post at Rukou.
• Liu Cheng summoned Zhu Chuo and ordered him to bring Zhu Bin to Shouchun to pay a formal call on Xie An within three days.

After Wang Qia's death and Northern Yan's move to Yecheng unsettled the South and triggered a massive refugee influx, Liu Cheng managed Shouchun's projects and preparations. Xi Chao's letter convinced Liu Cheng to travel to Jiangling and urge Huan Wen to move his headquarters to Chang'an, leaving Xie An in charge of Shouchun.

• Wang Qia died after his health and spirits worsened amid political setbacks, prompting Xie An to return to Jiankang and advise the emperor and Empress Dowager.
• Northern Yan formally moved its capital to Yecheng, alarming commanders and refugees and bringing tens of thousands of refugees toward Huainan.
• Liu Cheng compromised on resettlement, allowing refugee groups into Huainan but barring them from Shao Lake until they accepted reorganization.
• Sima Yu offered additional funds and grain for Shouchun's fortification and shipbuilding projects, while officials elsewhere requested help with refugees and supplies.
• After Xi Chao sent a letter from Xiapi, Liu Cheng decided to go to Jiangling and persuade Huan Wen to move his headquarters to Chang'an.
• Liu Cheng assigned Xie An responsibility for Shouchun's projects and refugees, gave him seven tasks, and prepared to leave.

Liu Cheng traveled from Shouchun to Jiangling and pressed Huan Wen for assurances about their plans as Northern Yan’s expansion threatened the northern front. Huan Wen promised not to abandon Liu Cheng and agreed to send Huan Xin and Zhu Xu to serve on Liu Cheng’s staff, while rejecting Liu Cheng’s proposal to move headquarters to Chang’an.

• Liu Cheng left Shouchun without authorization and traveled through Xiangyang to Jiangling, where Zhu Tao sent Zhu Xu along to learn what was happening.
• At Qixia Tower, Liu Cheng put travel-worn Grass Sandals on Huan Wen and recited lines about the Yangtze River, prompting Huan Wen to ask the others to leave so they could speak privately.
• Liu Cheng challenged Huan Wen to clarify how he would handle a possible Northern Command expedition, political upheaval in Jiankang, and setbacks against the Murong Clan.
• Huan Wen explained his plan to concentrate troops in Shaan-Luo and eventually strike Yecheng, but admitted he lacked the resources to launch a decisive campaign into the Three Jin.
• Huan Wen assured Liu Cheng that he would not punish him for victories, defeats, or trouble caused while acting on his behalf, and promised not to force Xi Chao to betray his family.
• Liu Cheng proposed moving headquarters to Chang’an, but Huan Wen refused; he agreed instead to appoint Huan Xin as Chief Clerk and Zhu Xu as Army Advisor on Liu Cheng’s staff.

Liu Cheng forced Lady Kong and Huan Xiu to recognize Huan Qian’s achievements and enter him in the Huan Clan Genealogy, then considered Luo You’s warning that his actions might earn Huan Wen’s resentment. He left Jiangling determined to make himself indispensable as the coming political storms grew.

• Huan Xin agreed to move to Shouchun, and Liu Cheng learned that Huan Qian had still not been entered in the Huan Clan Genealogy.
• Liu Cheng gathered Jingzhou dignitaries and led them to Huan Huo’s residence, where he confronted Huan Xiu over his devotion to pure conversation and pursued him into the women’s quarters.
• Liu Cheng accused Lady Kong of suppressing Huan Qian and warned that the family matter would become a public judgment on her and Huan Xiu.
• Huan Xiu urged Lady Kong to yield, and Liu Cheng entered the ancestral shrine, added Huan Qian and his siblings to the Clan Genealogy, and sent the updated record to Huan Wen’s residence.
• Luo You warned Liu Cheng that Huan Wen might resent his two recent interventions and could take out future setbacks on him, but Liu Cheng resolved to make himself indispensable.

After returning to Shouchun, Liu Cheng learned that the Northern Command was preparing to attack Mount Tai and would need Western Command reinforcements. Though he judged the campaign premature and Shouchun unready, he agreed to send six or seven thousand troops under Xie Wan, with himself as deputy commander.

• Liu Cheng returned to Shouchun, inspected Shao Lake, and assigned Fang Chen and Lang Jian to enforce temporary winter controls.
• Xie An reported that the Mount Tai Yang Clan wanted a marriage connection with Gao Shiyuan and that the Northern Command had refused to investigate private coinage, but had agreed to establish a military information network.
• Liu Cheng told Xie An that he expected the Northern Command to move north and explained that he would support it despite opposing the campaign and judging Shouchun unprepared.
• Huan Xin arrived in Shouchun with Han Kang Bo, who delivered the court's decree ordering Xie Wan to support the Northern Command's attack on Mount Tai.
• Liu Cheng agreed at the military council to send six or seven thousand troops to rendezvous at Pengcheng, with Xie Wan commanding and Liu Cheng as deputy commander.

Liu Cheng led Western Command reinforcements to Pengcheng, where he met Northern Command leader Xun Xian and challenged the need for the campaign. Xun Xian declared that the expedition was meant to strengthen the emperor’s authority and restrain the Grand Marshal, leaving Liu Cheng to accept the political purpose despite opposing the war.

• The war council assigned Gao Heng to hold Feikou while Liu Cheng assembled more than six thousand troops, laborers, boats, and supplies for the march to Pengcheng.
• Liu Cheng’s forces reached Pengcheng, where Xi Tan welcomed the prominent visitors and eagerly reunited with Wang Guannu.
• Liu Cheng inspected the Si River defenses and camp preparations while Xun Xian arrived and confronted Xie Wan over the small number of reinforcements and his failure to manage affairs.
• Liu Cheng asked whether Xun Xian had authority to execute him, then explained that the Western Command had sent only enough troops to support the Northern Command’s planned advance.
• Xun Xian said the campaign was necessary to bolster the emperor’s authority and curb the Grand Marshal’s ambitions, and Liu Cheng acknowledged the explanation.

Liu Cheng reunited with the Pengcheng Liu clan’s main branch, learned his ancestry, and arranged favors between the families. At the army camp, he and Xi Chao discussed Xun Xian’s motives and the pointless campaign, while Xi Chao’s stay at headquarters was followed by the disappearance of a frightening creature.

• Liu Cheng visited the Pengcheng Liu clan’s main branch, where its elders traced his ancestry to Liu Zhun, who had served as magistrate of Zan County.
• Liu Cheng agreed to help the main branch restore its descendants’ careers south of the Yangtze, and asked it to identify relatives suitable for military service.
• The main branch presented the newborn Liu Gai, and Liu Cheng gave him the childhood name Black Gate before returning to the army camp.
• Xi Chao told Liu Cheng that Xun Xian had kept him under house arrest and warned that Xun might act recklessly to secure control of the Northern Command Army.
• Liu Cheng and Xi Chao debated the motives behind the deployment and whether Xun Xian or the Grand Marshal was acting against reason.
• A supernatural tale recounted that Xi Chao stayed at Xi Tan’s headquarters for ten days, after which a lizard-like creature that had frightened the children stopped appearing.

Liu Cheng questioned Xun Xian’s campaign plan before leading the Western Command north toward Mount Tai. The campaign began badly when Jia Jian abandoned most of the commandery’s strongholds and winter rain soaked the army, leaving Xun Xian to press on toward Shanchi and set a New Year deadline.

• Liu Cheng and Xi Chao discussed their concerns about Xun Xian, the Northern Command, and the risks of the coming campaign.
• At the war council, Liu Cheng questioned Xun Xian’s supply route and contingencies, and Xun Xian said he would withdraw if the enemy abandoned Mount Tai without fighting.
• On the twenty-ninth day of the eleventh month, Liu Cheng led the Western Command north, and the army reached Lu County on the seventh day of the twelfth month.
• Zhuge You reported that Jia Jian had abandoned most of Mount Tai Commandery and withdrawn to Shanchi, with no sign of reinforcements.
• Winter rain soaked the army at Tuqiu Settlement, and Xun Xian proposed that Liu Cheng guard the foothills while he and Xie Wan besieged Shanchi until the New Year.

Liu Cheng’s expedition at Mount Tai struggled with winter rain, illness, and a defeat at Shanchi City while the Murong Clan sent no reinforcements. With another storm approaching and retreat no longer viable, Xun Xian ordered the Northern Command Army to storm the city.

• Zhu Chuo and Wang Xianzhi prepared food at the damp Mount Tai camp as Zhu Xu reminded them to boil everything to prevent disease.
• Zhu Xu reported that Jia Jian’s sudden charge at Shanchi City had inflicted heavy casualties on Xun Xian’s army before the defenders withdrew behind the walls.
• Liu Cheng and his officers questioned why the Murong Clan had not sent reinforcements, while Jiang Gan explained that their communications with Yan Province remained blocked.
• Liu Cheng learned that more than a thousand men had been killed or wounded at Shanchi, and several hundred more were sick from the rain.
• As another winter storm gathered, Dai Sui, Xiao Zhong, Liu Zhuang, and Zheng Xi urged Xun Xian to take the city so the army could shelter inside.
• On the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, Xun Xian ordered the Northern Command Army to attack Shanchi City from all four sides and scale its walls.

The Northern Command Army captured Shanchi after its defenders fled, but Jia Jian’s defiant capture and scathing rebuke unsettled the Jin commanders. Liu Cheng urged Han Bo to report Jia Jian’s words and his own warning about the Northern Expedition to the emperor before returning to the mountain camp.

• Nearly ten thousand Northern Command soldiers attacked Shanchi, and its defenders broke out as sections of the walls fell.
• Liu Cheng sent She Yuan after the fleeing defenders, while Jia Jian held the eastern drawbridge until the attackers raised it and captured him.
• Jia Jian refused Xun Xian’s offer to untie him and denounced Jin for abandoning China, insisting that his service to Zhao and Yan reflected loyalty rather than betrayal.
• After Jia Jian was taken outside, Liu Cheng told Han Bo to report the old general’s words and warned that Jin needed either overwhelming strength or sustained proof of its sincerity to win the North.
• Liu Cheng left Shanchi to inspect the mountain camp, asking Xun Xian to investigate the missing Xianbei reinforcements and inform him about the withdrawal.

Winter rain battered Liu Cheng’s camp, causing illness and deaths while making retreat dangerous. A letter revealed that Murong Jun planned to conscript 1.5 million men, leaving Liu Cheng to send a pile of letters as he feared the consequences for the North and Great Jin.

• Liu Cheng isolated coughing soldiers, brought them hot meals, and performed public rituals to ward off the Mountain Lord as deaths from pneumonia mounted.
• After the rain eased, Liu Cheng learned that Xun Xian had fallen seriously ill and Jia Jian had died from exposure.
• A letter from Han Gao reported that Murong Jun planned to conscript nearly every adult male in Yan and assemble an army of 1.5 million.
• Jiang Gan, Quan Yi, and Fu Jian explained to Liu Cheng that Murong Jun’s plan followed northern regimes’ established practices of mobilizing household populations.
• Liu Cheng realized the mass conscription could destabilize the North and leave Great Jin vulnerable, then called Wang Guannu and began writing many letters.

Liu Cheng persuaded the gravely ill Xun Xian to withdraw while he stayed behind with a rearguard, citing news that Northern Yan might field an army of one and a half million. After Xun Xian’s force reached Tuqiu Settlement, Liu Cheng learned that Murong Chen had sent five thousand troops to retake Shanchi City, while Murong De had sent none.

• Liu Cheng visited Shanchi City, found its troops and supplies in disarray, and spoke with Xun Xian through a closed door because Xun Xian was coughing badly.
• Xun Xian agreed to withdraw, and Liu Cheng revealed intelligence that Murong Jun might raise an army of one and a half million and proposed staying behind to watch for an enemy attack.
• Xun Xian transferred the Staff of Authority to Han Bo, and the commanders agreed that Liu Cheng would lead the rearguard with three thousand reinforcements while Zhuge Heng defended Shanchi City.
• Xun Xian and the sick and wounded withdrew south through the muddy roads, and Xun Xian’s illness worsened as his force reached Tuqiu Settlement.
• Liu Cheng received news that Murong Chen had sent Yue Ming and five thousand troops from Jinan to retake Shanchi City, while Murong De sent no troops.

After learning Murong De was likely advancing behind Jia Huo, Liu Cheng sent Han Bo to reopen the Si River route and led 5,800 Western Command troops west to strike Murong De. The chapter left Murong De caught mid-crossing with his forces divided by the Wen River as Shen Jin launched an assault on his southern-bank troops.

• After the victory at Shanchi, Liu Cheng ordered his army to abandon the city and retreat south, then stopped Shen Jin from crossing the Wen River in the rain.
• Xi Chao reported that Jia Huo had reached Xiaqiu with several hundred cavalry, and the officers concluded Murong De was likely advancing behind him.
• Liu Cheng chose to march west along the Wen River, sent Han Bo to urge the Northern Command units to reopen the Si River route, and assigned Liu Zhuang to guard Yang Pass.
• On the morning of the tenth day, Liu Cheng led 5,800 armored troops west with five days of rations, leaving the baggage, laborers, and spoils behind.
• After scouts spotted Murong De's six or seven thousand troops crossing the Wen River, Liu Cheng sent She Yuan and the Di cavalry to attack along the northern bank.
• Murong De's troops pursued the cavalry across the Floating Bridge, leaving his forces split between the riverbanks, and Shen Jin attacked the southern-bank formation with roughly a thousand men.

Liu Cheng’s Imperial Army attacked Murong De’s Xianbei troops beside the Wen River and broke their line by seizing the Floating Bridge and shaking their morale. Murong De fled north, while Liu Cheng ordered a limited pursuit before his army turned south.

• Murong De spread his troops along the river to make room for reinforcements, while Fu Jian ordered the Imperial Army to press forward and break the Yan formation.
• Liu Cheng gathered scattered Imperial troops and sent them under Shen Jin and Liu Jian as their spearheads advanced into the Xianbei line.
• Murong De ordered his riverbank troops to withdraw and proposed using archers across the river, while Gongsun Te led a force toward Liu Cheng’s standard.
• Liu Cheng moved his forces toward Liu Jian and had his cavalry shout that the Imperial Army had won as She Yuan’s cavalry charged the Yan archers across the river.
• Sun Xiao seized the southern end of the Floating Bridge, and Wang Xia’s vanguard appeared behind the hill, causing Murong De’s troops to collapse and flee north.
• Liu Cheng ordered his troops to pursue until nightfall, take no prisoners, and collect ears, armor, livestock, and supplies.

After Xun Xian awakened, he explained why the Northern Command’s officers had stopped obeying Han Bo and summoned them to secure the wounded and sick and stabilize the army. He died the following afternoon after naming Liu Cheng as his preferred successor, leaving the emperor grieving another fallen pillar of the court.

• Liu Cheng drove Jia Huo out of Xiaqiu, and Han Bo received the news just as Xun Xian awoke.
• Xun Xian told Han Bo that the army had hesitated because they feared his death would leave the Northern Command leaderless, then urged Han Bo to summon Liu Cheng before a mutiny broke out.
• Xun Xian ordered the officers to gather and persuaded Zhuge You to transfer the wounded and sick to the Si River, while reassuring the generals about their futures.
• Xun Xian told Han Bo to recommend Liu Cheng as his successor to the emperor, arguing that Liu Cheng could build the Northern Command’s strength and stand against Huan Wen.
• Xun Xian asked whether the wounded and sick resented him, then lost consciousness and died the following afternoon.
• The emperor mourned Xun Xian’s death, and a rhyme circulating South of the Yangtze portrayed the deaths of several court pillars as an ill omen.