Recaps

After waking from his first true drunken night, Cao Mao received ministers and assigned responsibilities for governing Wu territory. He then entrusted Guanqiu Jian with planning a future campaign against the Xianbei and learned that Lu Kang had been brought to Luoyang as a prisoner.

• Cao Mao met Hu Zun, praised his achievements, and advised him to inspect regional armies and promote capable commanders.
• Chen Tai asked how to govern Wu territory, and Cao Mao gave him three years to resolve local problems and win the people’s allegiance.
• Cao Mao received ministers discussing Wu territory and waited until evening for Guanqiu Jian.
• Guanqiu Jian told Cao Mao that Lu Kang was in Luoyang as a prisoner and warned that he would be difficult to persuade.
• Guanqiu Jian described unrest among Wu’s great clans, but Cao Mao told him to leave Wu’s affairs to its new administrators.
• Cao Mao entrusted Guanqiu Jian with planning the defeat of the Xianbei and pacification of the lands beyond the pass, and Guanqiu Jian accepted.

Zhong Hui visited the captive Lu Kang and traded barbs and compliments with him before Cao Mao warmly welcomed Lu Kang and asked him to remain in Luoyang. Cao Mao then considered how to win Lu Kang’s service and unite the hearts of Wei’s newly conquered territories.

• Zhong Hui entered Lu Kang’s residence despite Wang Hun’s orders and challenged him over surviving the fall of Wu.
• Lu Kang and Zhong Hui exchanged insults and praise, then spent hours discussing classics, politics, military affairs, and famous scholars.
• Zhong Hui left and scolded Wang Hun, who was his grandson-in-law, for failing to stop him.
• Cao Mao arrived, met Lu Kang privately, treated him warmly, and asked him to stay in Luoyang so they could talk.
• Cao Mao returned to Taiji Hall and reflected on using civil officials to win the loyalty of the former Shu and Wu territories.

Cao Mao considered how to govern Wu’s surrendered officials and welcomed Zhang Hua back from Shu, where he had managed tensions between local officials and Central Plains officials. He outlined plans to win over the people of Shu and Wu through lower taxes, clean administration, new technology, and direct access to the throne.

• Hu Guang warned Hu Zun that his daily banquets and drunkenness could bring disaster, but Hu Zun said he had earned the right to enjoy himself.
• Yang Zong told Cao Mao that Wu’s senior ministers were willing to serve, and recommended retaining some at court while assigning the others across the Central Plains.
• Cao Mao reviewed Lu Kai’s account of Wu’s officials and decided how to appoint them, while criticizing court ministers for trying to exclude them.
• Cheng Ji announced Zhang Hua’s return, and Cao Mao hurried to greet him and discuss his work in Shu and the vacancies in the Imperial Secretariat.
• Zhang Hua told Cao Mao that Wei officials looked down on Shu officials and warned that regional tensions could recur in Wu.
• Cao Mao proposed lowering taxes, maintaining clean administration, introducing northern technology, and letting people of Shu and Wu submit grievances directly to him.

After Zhong Hui urged Cao Mao to expand education, Cao Mao tasked the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites with establishing schools, leaving Pei Xiu to confront the shortage of teachers. Pei Xiu recognized the plan’s practical difficulty and considered how to respond without angering the emperor.

• Zheng Mao became Left Senior Secretary, while Cao Mao appointed Hua Yi Minister of Personnel and Zhang Hua as his deputy after ministers objected to Zhang Hua’s youth.
• Zhong Hui argued to Cao Mao that the realm needed schools to cultivate more talent, criticizing officials whose virtue did not match their offices.
• Zhang Hua supported expanding education and told Cao Mao that capable people existed throughout the realm and could be found and cultivated.
• Cao Mao praised Zhang Hua’s response, then took him to visit Awen.
• Hua Yi confronted Pei Xiu about establishing schools, but Pei Xiu pointed out that the plan lacked teachers and that scholars preferred waiting for examinations.
• Pei Xiu resented being burdened with the school plan and wondered whether he could solve the teacher shortage without provoking Cao Mao.

After completing the ceremony celebrating the unification of the realm, Cao Mao approved Pei Xiu’s plan to staff local schools with Imperial Academy students and urged Zhang Hua to help the ministries cooperate. He then met secretly with Liu Lu to hear about unrest beyond the pass and shared a toast to unification.

• Cao Mao presided over a grand ancestral sacrifice, where Cao Ju announced his achievements and Liu Shan and Sun Hao declared their loyalty to Wei.
• Pei Xiu proposed sending Imperial Academy students to serve as local Academic Clerks before taking assessments, and Cao Mao asked him to prepare a concrete plan.
• Cao Mao told Zhang Hua to help Minister Hua work with Pei Xiu and warned that the realm lacked enough officials to govern further conquests.
• Liu Lu reported that Wen Yang’s raids had angered Goguryeo and the Tuoba Tribe, while Cao Mao said Wei would not launch another campaign before domestic affairs were settled.
• Cao Mao and Liu Lu recalled their time in Yuan City and raised a cup to unification.

Cao Mao hosted Wu’s ministers and won their trust by praising them and assigning them posts in Great Wei. After the banquet, he discussed his unsuccessful effort to recruit Lu Kang and asked Zhang Hua about Pei Xiu.

• Cao Mao reassured the wary Wu ministers that he would not confine or mistreat them, then appointed Wan Yu to serve in the Censorate.
• Cao Mao praised Meng Zong’s filial reputation and appointed him as an Attendant Cavalry officer.
• Cao Mao distributed rewards and posts among the Wu ministers and generals, changing the banquet’s mood and vexing Sun Hao.
• Zhang Hua told Cao Mao that Wu’s ministers now regarded him as a benevolent ruler compared with Sun Hao.
• Cao Mao lamented that Lu Kang still refused to serve him, and Zhang Hua suggested Lu Kang might yet be persuaded.
• Cao Mao asked Zhang Hua how matters were progressing with Pei Xiu.

Cao Mao weighed proposals to redraw Great Wei’s administrative divisions while Pei Xiu sought Wang Chang’s advice on a new education policy. Pei Xiu left determined to require a year of service as an academic clerk from anyone seeking office or an assessment, and Wang Chang urgently summoned the Secretariat ministers to respond.

• Cao Mao considered proposals to subdivide provinces and commanderies, favoring more provinces but worrying that extra commanderies would strain the court’s finances.
• Pei Xiu told Wang Chang that Cao Mao had asked him to take charge of education and that his original plan would require Imperial Academy students to teach locally for a year.
• After hearing that the Imperial Academy opposed singling out its students, Pei Xiu proposed requiring everyone seeking office or an assessment to serve a year as an academic clerk.
• Wang Chang warned Pei Xiu that the broader policy could have even worse repercussions, but Pei Xiu accused him of failing to relieve Cao Mao’s burdens and departed to pursue the plan.
• Wang Chang ordered a servant to stop Pei Xiu and summoned the Imperial Secretariat ministers for an urgent discussion.

Pei Xiu reported reforms to Imperial Academy assessments, and Cao Mao entrusted him with developing local education despite Lu Zhi’s concerns about his ties to great clans. Cao Mao then returned to Changqiu Hall, where Zheng Xian urged him to visit Sima Yue and the Empress Dowager more often.

• Pei Xiu told Cao Mao that Imperial Academy students would serve a year as local academic clerks before taking assessments, with exceptional service earning direct appointments to county offices.
• Cao Mao approved the plan and told Pei Xiu to oversee the broader development of local schools.
• After Pei Xiu left, Lu Zhi warned Cao Mao that Pei Xiu favored great clans and might neglect education for people of humble origins.
• Cao Mao defended his choice of Pei Xiu and reminded Lu Zhi to consider their plans to abolish the military agriculture system.
• At Changqiu Hall, Cao Mao held Awen while Zheng Xian lamented that the child would not speak and Sima Yue delivered new clothes.
• Zheng Xian urged Cao Mao to visit Sima Yue and the Empress Dowager more often, and Cao Mao agreed.

Du Yu struggled to manage construction projects across the newly pacified southern lands, while Lu Zhi warned him that great clans were buying up farmland and eroding Great Wei’s tax revenues. Du Yu agreed that land concentration was the real problem and named Zhong Hui as someone who could help, despite Lu Zhi’s reluctance to involve him.

• Du Yu visited Ma Jun at the Good Works Office, where Ma Jun learned of his worries about rebuilding the Southern Lands and rallied the artisans to assist him.
• Lu Zhi waited four hours to meet Du Yu and explained that great clans were purchasing farmland, turning farmers into untaxed tenants and reducing Imperial Court revenues.
• Du Yu connected the decline in grain revenues to land concentration and realized that many construction projects chiefly benefited local officials and great clans.
• Du Yu condemned the unchecked concentration of farmland and asked Lu Zhi whether he had a solution.
• Du Yu proposed involving Zhong Hui, but Lu Zhi objected to letting him know about the matter.

Lu Zhi and Du Yu sought Zhong Hui’s advice on resolving the land and tax problems caused by the great clans, and Zhong Hui outlined a solution he had already prepared. Zhong Hui brought his memorial to Cao Mao, who remained wary of how radical Zhong Hui’s policies might be.

• Zhong Hui proposed guaranteeing farmers a minimum amount of land, limiting the holdings and tenant farmers of great clans, and doubling taxes on land above a set threshold.
• Lu Zhi and Du Yu left Zhong Hui’s residence, taking confidence from his proposals while Lu Zhi questioned how difficult they would be to implement.
• Zhong Hui told Liu Yuan not to imitate Du Yu’s timid conduct and arranged for him to visit his family in Bing Province.
• Cao Mao played a board game with Sima Yan until Zhong Hui arrived, prompting Sima Yan to take his leave.
• Zhong Hui gave Cao Mao a memorial on the land reforms, and Cao Mao worried that Zhong Hui’s radical methods could cause trouble.

Cao Mao reviewed Zhong Hui’s proposals and reorganized Great Wei’s forces after unification, while Liu Yuan returned to Bing Province and reunited with his family. When the Southern Xiongnu chieftains tested Liu Yuan’s learning, his confident answers revealed that he knew none of the classics.

• Cao Mao considered Zhong Hui’s proposals to distribute farmland, restrict great clans, and seize wealth above set limits, and decided to review them further.
• Great Wei reassigned generals, dissolved several military theaters, retained the Wu navy, and began planning a nationwide troop reduction.
• Guanqiu Jian traveled toward Youzhou to meet Yang Hu and understand his future opponents.
• Liu Yuan returned to Bing Province and observed that the Xiongnu had become more integrated into local life.
• Liu Bao and Liu Yuan’s mother welcomed Liu Yuan home, and he told them about his studies in Luoyang.
• The Southern Xiongnu chieftains questioned Liu Yuan about the classics, and he confidently admitted he knew none of them.

Chen Tai and Wang Jing discussed how to govern the newly recovered Wu territory and weaken its powerful great clans. Chen Tai proposed relocating their leaders and asked Wang Jing to help find grounds for doing so as they continued toward Jianye.

• Traveling toward Jianye, Chen Tai and his convoy buried the dead and cleared dangerous beasts and roadblocks along the war-damaged route.
• Chen Tai asked Wang Jing how to govern Wu, and Wang Jing described the great clans’ vast estates, private soldiers, and local power.
• Chen Tai proposed that he win over the clans while Wang Jing took a firmer stance, and Wang Jing agreed to cooperate.
• Chen Tai explained how Sun Hao had weakened great clans through administrative changes, exile, and executions, prompting Wang Jing to wonder whether Sun Hao had feigned madness.
• Chen Tai proposed relocating Wu’s great clans as Yang Zong had done in Yongliang, and Wang Jing agreed to find suitable charges against them.

Wang Jing reached Jianye ahead of Chen Tai and joined Wang Ji in a harsh crackdown on Wu’s great clans, ordering searches and executions. Chen Tai arrived and tried to stop the purge, but Wang Jing renewed the arrests, leaving the conflict between Chen Tai and Wang Ji underway.

• Chen Tai learned that Wang Jing had left for Jianye early and angrily prepared to impeach him for insulting him.
• Wang Jing hurried to Jianye, where Wang Ji welcomed him and the local Wu officials paid their respects.
• Wang Jing told Wang Ji to investigate clans suspected of keeping private troops, weapons, grain, and iron, and Wang Ji ordered searches across Wu territory.
• Wang Jing ordered executions, and more than sixty people were put to death within three days as the great clans panicked.
• Chen Tai arrived, quarreled with Wang Jing, halted the investigations, and ordered the release of the arrested clansmen.
• Wang Jing requested further arrests after accusing some clans of slandering the emperor and conspiring against the court, beginning a struggle between Chen Tai and Wang Ji.

Deng Ai took charge of Shu and ordered officials to restore the region’s neglected irrigation works, following Zhuge Liang’s plans. He left Chengdu to inspect the work as officials across Ba-Shu set aside factional struggles and began rebuilding.

• Deng Ai returned to Chengdu after touring Shu, including Nanzhong, and dismissed the court’s advice about governing the region.
• Deng Ai showed officials a map of Ba-Shu’s extensive but abandoned waterworks and explained how Zhuge Liang had developed them.
• Deng Ai ordered officials throughout Shu to prioritize repairing the weirs, channels, reservoirs, and other waterworks.
• Deng Ai told Mouqiu Dian that restoring production mattered most and planned to use the work to assess officials.
• Deng Ai left Chengdu to inspect the regions, and officials across Ba-Shu began working together to restore the waterworks.

Cao Mao met the Buddhist monk Zhu Fahu in Luoyang to learn about his travels and knowledge of the Western Regions and Tianzhu. After questioning Zhu Fahu about his followers, Cao Mao heard him deny that he had ever taken disciples.

• Cao Mao and Ji Kang discussed how Great Wei’s prosperity had changed the tone of poetry as a crowd gathered outside the restaurant.
• Cheng Ji reported that a Buddhist monk from Chang'an had arrived, and Ji Kang identified him as Zhu Fahu, a renowned translator from the Western Regions.
• Cao Mao asked Ji Kang to bring Zhu Fahu to meet him, while Cheng Ji urged Cao Mao to arrest and execute the monk.
• Zhu Fahu recognized Cao Mao through Ji Kang and explained that the Buddha should yield to the emperor because of Cao Mao’s achievements and benevolent rule.
• Cao Mao asked Zhu Fahu how many disciples he had, and Zhu Fahu insisted that he had never taken disciples or broken the law.

Cao Mao questioned Zhu Fahu about the Western Regions and considered using monks to help restore Great Wei’s influence along the Silk Road. Meanwhile, Yang Hu pursued an aggressive campaign against Goguryeo, and the chapter ended with Gao Chiran recognizing the newly arrived Grand Marshal Guanqiu Jian.

• Cao Mao heard Zhu Fahu describe the Western Regions and told him he would be safer staying at the residence.
• Cao Mao considered how monks and renewed Silk Road trade could strengthen Great Wei’s control beyond the passes.
• Cao Mao read reports that Deng Ai was restoring waterworks in Ba-Shu while Chen Tai and Wang Jing had forcibly relocated Wu’s great clans to Liaodong.
• Yang Hu defended Wen Yang’s raids into Goguryeo as protection for merchants, while Gao Chiran demanded that the incursions stop.
• Guanqiu Jian arrived at Yang Hu’s camp and rebuked him for failing to detect his approach; Gao Chiran then recognized the Grand Marshal and was left speechless.

Guanqiu Jian rebuked Gao Chiran’s claim to Goguryeo’s territory and advised Yang Hu to secure Goguryeo’s people rather than focus on capturing its king. After Wen Yang arrived and shared intelligence about Goguryeo, Guanqiu Jian declared that he would campaign against Goguryeo and Tuoba.

• Gao Chiran trembled when he recognized Guanqiu Jian, then claimed he had come to thank Yang Hu for sending Wen Yang to suppress bandits.
• Guanqiu Jian rejected Goguryeo’s claim to the territory, declared it belonged to Great Wei, and had guards escort Gao Chiran away.
• Yang Hu said he planned to invade Goguryeo and capture its king, but Guanqiu Jian explained that securing and relocating its people mattered more than seizing its ruler or capital.
• Guanqiu Jian welcomed Wen Yang, delivered a letter from Wen Yang’s father, and examined Wen Yang’s map and report on Goguryeo’s cities, roads, and forces.
• Guanqiu Jian told Yang Hu and Wen Yang not to underestimate their enemies and announced that he would campaign against Goguryeo and Tuoba.

Guanqiu Jian arrived in Youzhou and prepared a campaign against Goguryeo and other peoples beyond the passes while arranging for the Duan and Murong tribes to become subjects of Great Wei. His arrival spread panic, and the king of Goguryeo abandoned his newly rebuilt capital.

• Guanqiu Jian told Yang Hu and Wen Yang that he would wait for elite Huaiyang troops before marching against Goguryeo and the other disobedient peoples.
• Guanqiu Jian reunited with Duan Qizhen, recalled his past campaigns against Goguryeo, and arranged for Duan's clan to move to Luoyang and send an heir to the Imperial Academy.
• Guanqiu Jian and Duan Qizhen visited Murong Muyan, who agreed to move his family to Luoyang and bring the Murong Tribe under direct Great Wei administration.
• News of Guanqiu Jian's arrival spread across the lands beyond the passes, prompting the Goguryeo people to gather their forces and prepare to retreat.
• The king of Goguryeo decided to relocate his capital and left the newly rebuilt royal city.

Cao Mao asked Qiao Zhou to help reshape official learning by challenging the belief that Heaven’s omens governed human affairs. When Qiao Zhou warned that he would face widespread opposition, Cao Mao brought in Xun Yi and presented the proposal as a way to elevate Xunzi’s teachings.

• Qiao Zhou arrived at Taiji Hall early and waited while Cao Mao finished reading.
• Cao Mao explained that he wanted official learning to reject omens and the idea that Heaven’s mandate determined political events.
• Qiao Zhou warned Cao Mao that the proposal would provoke fierce resistance and said Shu officials already faced contempt in Luoyang.
• Cao Mao summoned Zhang Hua to bring in Xun Yi, whom he introduced as Qiao Zhou’s powerful ally.
• Cao Mao told Xun Yi that Qiao Zhou had proposed teaching Xunzi at the Imperial Academy and including it in student assessments.
• Xun Yi was surprised by the proposal, then welcomed Cao Mao’s interest in Xunzi because the Xun Family could benefit from its ancestor’s renewed prominence.

Cao Mao worked to curb mystical beliefs and advance new learning, while preparing reforms to farmland, taxation, and the great clans. He sent Cheng Ji to serve in Youzhou and turned to Zhang Hua to refine land policies, favoring Du Yu’s proposals on officials and Zhong Hui’s on protecting farming households.

• Cao Mao sent Qiao Zhou and Xun Yi out after discussing the promotion of Xunzi and new official learning.
• Xun Yi took Qiao Zhou into his carriage and pledged to help advance the study of Xunzi.
• Cao Mao agreed to Cheng Ji’s wish to pursue military merit and sent him to serve under the Grand Marshal in Youzhou.
• Cao Mao appointed Man Changwu to replace Cheng Ji as Palace Commandant and reviewed the many affairs facing the court with Zhang Hua.
• Cao Mao and Zhang Hua discussed limits on officials’ land, tenant farmers, and tax exemptions, choosing Du Yu’s proposals for officials and Zhong Hui’s ideas for protecting farming households.

Wei Guan received Cao Mao’s Land Reward Edict and recognized that it would curb the great clans’ vast landholdings. After Wei Guan helped expand the policy into limits on farmland ownership across the realm, Cao Mao assigned him and Maoxian to carry it out together.

• Zhang Hua pressed Wei Guan to issue Cao Mao’s Land Reward Edict, and Wei Guan agreed despite realizing it threatened his own family’s wealth.
• Wei Guan drafted and promulgated the edict, then went to Taiji Hall to meet Cao Mao.
• Cao Mao asked Wei Guan for his opinion, and Wei Guan proposed farmland limits for everyone in the realm to prevent officials from evading the rules through relatives.
• Wei Guan outlined strict measures against land annexation and added regulations for retired officials.
• Cao Mao praised Wei Guan and Maoxian and made them jointly responsible for the policy.

After the rewarded fields edict met silent resentment from the ministers, Cao Mao summoned Hu Zun to help confront their opposition at court. Deng Dun publicly criticized the edict, but Hu Zun branded him a rebel and had him seized, leaving Chen Qian pleading for punishment and Cao Mao confident in his imperial power.

• Cao Mao, surprised that no ministers had thanked him for the rewarded fields edict, summoned Zhang Hua and Wei Guan and ordered a court assembly.
• Cao Mao privately told Hu Zun that the ministers seemed displeased with the edict, and Hu Zun promised to speak up at the assembly.
• At court, Cao Mao invited the ministers to criticize the edict, but they remained silent until Deng Dun stood and objected that the land limits would make it hard to support officials' households.
• Hu Zun accused Deng Dun of opposing the emperor and plotting rebellion, seized him, and ordered Wei Shu to take him for questioning.
• Chen Qian apologized to Cao Mao for failing to discipline Deng Dun, while Cao Mao watched the ministers and reflected on the power of an emperor.

Guanqiu Jian's veteran troops arrived at Lelang Commandery aboard a formidable fleet, where Yang Hu and Wen Yang welcomed them. Guanqiu Jian showed Yang Hu and Zhang Te a map of water sources and announced that his campaign strategy was ready.

• Guanqiu Jian's elite veterans from Huaiyang sailed north aboard the Flying Cloud and other warships, which Cao Mao had granted to the eastern and southern military theaters.
• Wen Yang arranged the Army of the General Who Guards the North in formation to welcome Zhang Te and his arriving soldiers, whose veteran discipline impressed Yang Hu.
• Zhang Te gave Wen Yang another letter from Wen Qin, then Yang Hu escorted Zhang Te to meet Guanqiu Jian.
• Guanqiu Jian pointed out water sources on a map of the Yuwen Tribe, the Tuoba Tribe, and Goguryeo, and said his campaign strategy was ready.

Guanqiu Jian prepared to campaign against Goguryeo while coordinating a secret effort to exploit corruption and discontent among the Tuoba. A Great Wei agent urged Wuhuan King Kuxian to help scatter the Tuoba tribes, and Kuxian agreed to consider trying.

• Guanqiu Jian ordered Zhang Te and Yang Hu to prepare for a march against Goguryeo from Lelang Commandery in five days.
• Guanqiu Jian met with Wang Yuan, who reported that many Tuoba chieftains and officials had accepted bribes, and instructed him to find someone willing to help undermine Tuoba Liwei.
• Kuxian warmly welcomed a merchant who had repeatedly brought him gifts, then learned that the man was an Office of Affairs official acting on Guanqiu Jian's orders.
• The official offered Kuxian a generalship, a hereditary marquisate, and further rewards if he caused the Tuoba tribes to scatter and flee.
• Kuxian heard that the chieftains were dissatisfied with Tuoba Liwei's rule and said he could try to persuade them.

Tuoba Liwei tasked Kuxian with resolving opposition to his reforms after tribal leaders killed two officials, while warning him that the killings could not go unpunished. Kuxian secretly manipulated a fellow chieftain into fleeing, then prepared to escape to Wei territory himself.

• Tuoba Liwei told Kuxian to punish those responsible for killing two officials, while urging him to act quickly and avoid provoking rebellion.
• Liwei promised Kuxian that he would become chancellor once their reforms succeeded.
• Kuxian ordered the Wuhuan Tribe to sharpen its axes and iron tools, attracting the attention of suspicious chieftains.
• Kuxian told a visiting friend that Liwei planned to arrest the tribal chieftains at a feast and urged him to confess rather than flee.
• After his friend left, Kuxian revealed that he planned to escape into Wei territory that night with his trusted aides.