Chapter Summaries

Liu Cheng and Xi Chao helped Zhuge You overcome opposition to mourn Xun Lingze, then discussed how to stabilize the Northern Command and defend Xuzhou. Liu Cheng proposed that the command could defend first and later focus on taking Qing Province, while the region’s political future remained uncertain.

• Liu Cheng arranged for Zhuge Heng to collect signatures on a memorial and sent Xi Chao to explain matters to General Liu at Yang Pass.
• Zhuge You said he wanted to offer sacrifices before Xun Lingze’s spirit, and Liu Cheng and Xi Chao escorted him to the mourning hall.
• Zhuge You mourned sincerely, recounted his history with Xun Lingze, and pledged to carry out his military orders; Zheng Xi and the others let him complete the rites and saw him out.
• After returning to Liu Cheng’s courtyard, Xi Chao and Liu Cheng discussed the Northern Command’s factional tensions and the threat from the Murong Xianbei.
• Liu Cheng suggested that Xi Chao persuade his uncle to defend Pengcheng while Zhuge You and Liu Zhuang held the mountain country around Langya and Mount Tai.
• Liu Cheng outlined a possible strategy of defending Xuzhou before contesting Qing Province, and Xi Chao noted that Xun Xian’s earlier decisions had also reflected the court’s concerns.

Han Bo reached Jiankang and reported Xun Xian’s death, the Northern Command’s crisis, and the events surrounding Liu Cheng. The court agreed to support Mount Tai and approve the Northern Command’s requested appointments, while settling on a compromise to reward Liu Cheng without appointing him commander of the Northern Command.

• Han Bo left the party carrying Xun Xian’s coffin, reached Pengcheng, then hurried onward to Jiankang, where he reported to the emperor and ministers.
• Sima Yu proposed sending envoys to Shouchun and Pengcheng with supplies and troops, and the court agreed to support Mount Tai.
• The emperor hesitated over the joint memorial, but Sima Yu and Wang Biaozhi urged him to approve it to reassure the Northern Command.
• Sima Yu argued that Liu Cheng had the ability and achievements to lead the Northern Command, but Wang Biaozhi defended Xi Tan’s appointment as Military Secretary of Xuzhou.
• Wang Biaozhi proposed granting Liu Cheng the title of General of the Guards instead of making him a Bearer of the Staff, and Wang Shu agreed to yield the title.

Han Bo told the emperor about Xun Xian’s criticism of the court and the soldiers’ suffering, then warned him that relying on incompetent maternal relatives would leave him with no capable ministers. In Yecheng, Sun Xing nearly threw himself from a terrace while protesting Murong Jun’s mass conscription, and Murong Jun later woke from a nightmare about Shi Hu.

• Han Bo explained Xun Xian’s disputes with Liu Cheng, Xi Chao, and Xie Wan, and recounted Liu Cheng’s remonstrance about Jia Jian and the soldiers’ misery in the winter rain.
• Han Bo urged the emperor to appoint men for their ability and warned that his reliance on maternal relatives would ruin the state; the emperor watched him leave, realizing he had lost another trusted adviser.
• Murong Jun accused Sun Xing of serving Murong Ke, but Sun Xing described villagers fleeing conscription and condemned the emperor’s demands for soldiers and local treasures.
• Sun Xing ran toward the railing in an attempt to die in protest, but Murong De caught him; Murong Jun agreed to stop sending envoys to demand local goods but remained unwilling to abandon the proposed levy of one and a half million men.
• Murong Jun renamed the Dragon-Riding Monastery Changning Temple, then woke from a nightmare shouting that Shi Hu had frightened him and ordering that Shi Hu’s grave be dug up.

Murong Ke persuaded Murong Jun to reduce his proposed levy of one million five hundred thousand men, warning that it could destroy Great Yan. Murong Jun agreed to a three-five levy and planned to approve the change after a local remonstrance, while Murong Ke prepared to stabilize the provinces and consider future campaigns.

• After Murong Jun ordered Shi Hu's grave opened, his attendants found an embalmed corpse, which Murong Jun whipped and kicked before having it thrown into the Zhang River.
• Murong Ke confronted Murong Jun over the levy of one million five hundred thousand men and threatened to block it with military orders.
• Murong Ke reported that he had sent Fu Yan with twenty thousand troops to stabilize Yan Province and proposed appointing Sun Xing governor while punishing Yisheng.
• Murong Jun explained that he feared for the Crown Prince and his own failing health, then proposed a three-five levy of five hundred thousand men.
• Murong Ke accepted the reduced levy and set out preparations, while Murong Jun said he would approve it after a Hebei local submitted a remonstrance.
• Murong Ke said that if Fu Yan lost, he would attack Pengcheng with one hundred thousand troops and two hundred thousand civilian laborers.

Liu Cheng considered his promotion to General of the Guards and rejected Jiang Gan’s plan to exploit unrest in Yan Province to attack Fu Yan in Mount Tai. He chose to protect the administrators and avoid provoking a larger Yan response, while Fu Jian agreed to remain with him through the coming war.

• While Fu Jian shaved him, Liu Cheng explained that he would accept the largely ceremonial General of the Guards title despite having submitted a memorial to decline it.
• Jiang Gan proposed bringing in reinforcements and encouraging administrators in Yan Province to rebel so Liu Cheng’s forces could trap Fu Yan in Mount Tai.
• Liu Cheng refused to exploit the administrators, warning that Yan might retaliate and that disrupting Murong Jun’s planned campaign could have serious consequences; he ordered Jiang Gan and Zhou Cheng to reassure them and sent Duan Si to Duke Huan.
• Liu Cheng asked Fu Jian to stay another year or two, and Fu Jian agreed to remain until Murong Jun’s winter campaign had run its course before returning to Guanzhong.
• Liu Cheng and Fu Jian joked about their futures and began shaving one another, but Liu Cheng accidentally cut Fu Jian when his hand shook.

In March, Liu Cheng’s orders intensified the fighting around Mount Tai, while Liu Agan’s daring ambush drove Yan forces from Mou County. Liu Cheng prepared to consider attacking Bo County, but Murong De arrived unarmed, bringing the visitor he had been waiting for.

• Liu Cheng issued the Three March Orders on March 8, opening a supply route along the Yi River, holding the Wen River line, and granting local commanders authority to launch engagements.
• Liu Agan lured Yan troops into a lakeside ambush with help from forces under Liu Zhuang and Zhuge You, and both sides suffered casualties.
• Fu Yan abandoned Mou County on March 24, leaving Liu Cheng reluctant to continue the costly fighting but unable to withdraw while Fu Yan remained.
• Murong De, Governor of Yan Province and commander of its military affairs, arrived unarmed to meet Liu Cheng as April began.

Liu Cheng and Murong De met during a thunderstorm to negotiate an end to their armies’ fighting around Mount Tai. They agreed on terms for a withdrawal, while Liu Cheng urged Murong De to return to Yecheng ahead of possible upheaval in Yan and a major conflict later in the year.

• Liu Cheng welcomed Murong De and questioned him about Yan’s new levy of one soldier from every three or five households.
• Liu Cheng suggested that Murong Ke might kill Murong Jun and urged Murong De to secure a post guarding Yecheng if a crisis came.
• Fu Jian proposed that Yan withdraw to Shanchi while the Imperial Army yielded Rencheng and Gaoping, and Liu Cheng explained the military and trade reasons for the arrangement.
• Murong De accepted the withdrawal terms and asked why Liu Cheng had not taken Xun Xian’s post in the Northern Command.
• Liu Cheng told Murong De that he had become General of the Guards and needed to return to Jiankang to prepare the Imperial Guards to support Duke Huan.
• Murong De asked for a replacement bag, and Liu Cheng promised to send him new ones in Yecheng.

Liu Cheng withdrew from Mount Tai after warning the Northern Command not to provoke Yan, then returned to Shouchun and prepared for the great war expected that winter. The court accepted his requested arrangements and rewards, and Liu Cheng accepted his appointment as General of the Guards on the fourth offer.

• Liu Cheng met Zhuge You and Liu Zhuang at Yang Pass, urged them to hold Xuzhou rather than attack Yan, and promised to argue against reckless orders from the court.
• Murong De’s Xianbei forces withdrew from Bo County and Fenggao, and Liu Cheng waited before sending Liu Zhuang and Zhuge You to take over Mount Tai.
• Liu Cheng warned Xi Tan in Pengcheng that Shouchun would not rescue the Northern Command if it provoked Yan, and Wang Xianzhi explained the expeditionary army’s hardships to Xi Tan.
• Liu Cheng returned to Shouchun, paid and rewarded his troops, and met Xie An, who reported political changes and the looming winter war.
• Liu Cheng ordered Xie An to resume repairing the cities, and Xie An agreed after Liu Cheng explained the need to prepare for any outcome.
• Emperor Chui followed Wang Biaozhi’s advice to approve Liu Cheng’s arrangements and rewards, and Liu Cheng accepted the General of the Guards appointment on its fourth offer.

As Huan Wen mobilized against the Xianbei, Jiankang struggled to retain control of its armies while Liu Cheng rested his troops in Shouchun and watched the northern campaign stall. The chapter ended with Murong Jun facing the prospect of abandoning Yecheng and returning to Longcheng, as uncertainty unsettled both sides.

• Huan Wen warned the court that the Xianbei had mobilized as many as six or seven hundred thousand men and demanded authority to direct the realm’s armies.
• Jiankang debated whether to support Huan Wen, restricted politically charged performances, and kept the Imperial Guards and parts of the Northern and Western Commands under court control.
• Yuan Zhen and Liu Cheng submitted their Western Command forces’ battle records and deployable units to Huan Wen, strengthening his authority despite the court’s silence.
• Liu Cheng enforced regular rest and leave for his troops while monitoring the slow, disorderly mobilization in Hebei.
• Murong Jun, refusing to dismiss the conscripts and face ridicule, said he would abandon Yecheng and return to Longcheng to pasture horses.

Murong Ke and the court tried to rein in Murong Jun’s disastrous mass levy, but the emperor insisted on assembling the men before dismissing them. As the gathering outside Yecheng brought famine, cold, and disorder, Murong Jun’s illness worsened after he repeatedly took Golden Elixirs with wine, and he collapsed before the planned review.

• Murong Ke urged Murong Jun to abandon the campaign and dismiss the Adult Males, but Murong Jun ordered Murong Ping and Muyugen to compel the local officials to assemble them first.
• Murong Ke, Feng Yi, Yang Wu, and Murong De discussed Ding Jin’s Golden Elixirs and concluded that they seemed to relieve Murong Jun’s symptoms temporarily.
• Hundreds of thousands of Adult Males crowded outside Yecheng, where shortages, freezing weather, and disorder forced Murong Ke to organize the camps and distribute cloth for winter clothing.
• Murong Ke sent Murong De to tell Murong Jun to issue an edict dismissing the men, but Murong Jun instead planned to review selected troops the next day.
• Murong Jun took Golden Elixirs with wine despite Ding Jin’s warnings, and Murong De helped him drink; later that night, Murong Jun took still more pills and wine.
• The next morning, Murong Jun tried to rise for the review but could not stand, and he fell back onto the couch.

Murong Jun named regents and urged Murong Ke to take the throne, but Murong Ke refused and vowed to uphold succession by the eldest legitimate son and defend the Murong realm. Murong Jun died after asking to be buried in Longcheng, and the eleven-year-old Murong Wei ascended amid disorder as the troops were disbanded.

• Murong Jun asked Murong Ke to succeed him, but Murong Ke refused and pledged to support Murong Wei and preserve the succession laws.
• Murong Ke promised to disband the troops gathered outside the city, suppress rebellion, and resist both internal rivals and foreign attacks.
• Murong Jun and Murong Ke discussed the regents, including Duke Yang, Duke Feng, Yisheng, Muyugan, and Aludun.
• Murong Jun asked to be buried in Longcheng with his father, then remained with the empress and Crown Prince as his condition worsened.
• Murong Wei asked Murong De to offer Murong Jun another cup of wine, and Murong Jun died.
• Murong Wei ascended the throne at eleven, while the disbanded troops clashed on their way home south of Yecheng.