Recaps

Sima Shi coerced Gao Rou into keeping his son from serving under Guanqiu Jian and reporting anyone who tried to recruit him, while concealing the encounter. At the General's Residence, Sima Zhao considered marrying Cao Mao to Sima Yue, and Zhong Hui endorsed the plan as a way to sever the emperor's ties with the Guo Family.

• Sima Shi confronted Gao Rou in his residence and threatened to kill Gao Guang to force him to choose between compliance and death.
• Gao Rou agreed to live, remain Minister over the Masses, prevent his son from going to Huainan, and report anyone who approached him with a plot.
• Sima Shi said he had no intention of harming the Gao Family and asked Gao Rou to watch for conspirators while his son was kept from leaving.
• Sima Zhao told Du Yu and Zhong Hui that he wanted Cao Mao to marry Sima Yue, the widow of Guo De.
• Zhong Hui supported the marriage as a way to alienate Cao Mao from the Guo Family, while Du Yu objected to its impropriety and political risks.
• Du Yu asked Zhong Hui why he supported the plan despite admiring Cao Mao, and Zhong Hui replied that his respect for the emperor was why he had to give it his all.

Sima Zhao forced Sima Yue to accept a marriage to the young Emperor, threatening her son’s future if she refused. Meanwhile, Cao Mao stirred Empress Dowager Guo’s anger against Guo Li and his relatives by falsely claiming they had joined Sima Shi, deepening the rift within her alliance.

• Sima Zhao visited Sima Yue and her son Zhen Ping, then told her he intended to marry her to the Emperor.
• Sima Yue refused at first, but Sima Zhao threatened Zhen Ping’s safety and future, and she reluctantly agreed.
• Sima Yue wept after Sima Zhao left, and Zhen Ping began crying when he found her.
• Cao Mao met Empress Dowager Guo and falsely claimed that General Xuande and his clansmen had sided with Sima Shi and planned to help him against her.
• Empress Dowager Guo flew into a rage, while Cao Mao was pleased that his lies would estrange her from the Guo Family.

Cao Mao and Empress Dowager Guo turned Guo Li and Guo Zhi’s attempt to probe them into an opportunity to feed the Sima Family false information. Sima Yan then announced that Cao Mao was to marry Sima Yue, and Cao Mao was shocked to learn she had previously been Guo De’s wife.

• Cao Mao persuaded Empress Dowager Guo to receive Guo Li and Guo Zhi so they could learn what the Sima Family was planning.
• Guo Li and Guo Zhi tried to reconcile with Empress Dowager Guo and asked what she had been planning, but she claimed she was merely weary and sent them away.
• Cao Mao suggested misleading the Sima Family by pretending to reconcile with Guo Li and Guo Zhi, and Empress Dowager Guo agreed.
• Sima Yan arrived to congratulate Cao Mao on his impending marriage and said his bride would be his cousin, Sima Yue.
• Cao Mao learned that Sima Yue had previously been Guo De’s wife and reacted with shock.

Cao Mao learned that Sima Zhao planned to marry Sima Yan’s sister, Guo De’s widow, to him and feared the Sima family was tightening its control over the court. Sima Shi wrongly suspected Wang Xiang of helping the Empress Dowager, while Cao Mao warned Wang Xiang that the Guo Family might betray them and urged him to protect their plans.

• Cao Mao reacted with alarm to the proposed marriage to Guo De’s widow and suspected Sima Shi had planned to control him through her.
• Sima Yan told Cao Mao that Sima Zhao had announced the match, and Cao Mao worried that Sima Shi had noticed the Empress Dowager’s political activity.
• Sima Shi confronted Wang Xiang over suspected collusion with the Empress Dowager, but Wang Xiang denied it and offered to resign; Sima Shi chose to keep watching him.
• Wang Xiang went to the palace, where Cao Mao warned that Sima Shi might test him and advised him not to admit to supporting the Empress Dowager.
• Wang Xiang cautioned Cao Mao that the Guo Family might side with the Sima Family and urged him to warn the Empress Dowager not to reveal their plans.

Cao Mao and Wang Xiang discussed Sima Shi’s plans and the danger of provoking him, while Wang Xiang predicted that the Grand General would die within half a year. Cao Mao relayed the news to Empress Dowager Guo, who urged him to endure Sima Shi’s final counterattack and wait for her chance to act.

• Cao Mao continued studying with Wang Xiang while maintaining ties with Empress Dowager Guo and preparing for the danger he believed Sima Shi still posed.
• Wang Xiang warned that Sima Shi’s plan involving Sima Yue could provoke Empress Dowager Guo into a damaging confrontation and urged Cao Mao to remain patient.
• Wang Xiang told Cao Mao that Sima Shi had grown visibly weak and would die within half a year, after which Sima Zhao would pose little threat.
• Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that Sima Shi would soon die and warned that he might launch a final counterattack before then.
• Empress Dowager Guo cautioned Cao Mao against recklessness and told him to endure hardships until Sima Shi was gone.

Cao Mao kept Cheng Ji’s loyalty secret while enduring his brutal training and considered how to gain control of the imperial guards. When Guo Jian arrived drunk, Cao Mao learned of his fears and urged him to feign a grave illness until the coming struggle over the dying Grand General had passed.

• Cheng Ji struck Cao Mao hard during their sparring, then left after arguing with Sima Hui and threatening to report him to Sima Zhao.
• Old Eunuch Xu urged Cao Mao to use his injuries to turn the Attendant Cavalry against Cheng Ji, but Cao Mao refused because he wanted to recruit him.
• Cao Mao welcomed his drunken uncle Guo Jian into the hall and considered whether he could win over the commander of the imperial guards.
• Cao Mao told Guo Jian that the Grand General was near death and advised him to feign a grave illness to avoid the ensuing turmoil.

Cao Mao persuaded Guo Jian to feign illness and leave his post, then urged Empress Dowager Guo to appoint Yang Hu as General Who Guards and Protects. After she tentatively accepted the proposal, Cao Mao met Gao Guang, who revealed that the Sima faction had humiliated his father, the Minister over the Masses.

• Cao Mao convinced Guo Jian to claim grave illness and ask Empress Dowager Guo to dismiss him from office.
• After Guo Jian stopped attending court, Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that he had feigned illness to avoid serving as General Xuande's inside man.
• Cao Mao proposed Yang Hu as Guo Jian's replacement, and Empress Dowager Guo reluctantly agreed to hear Wang Xiang's case for him.
• Old Eunuch Xu informed Cao Mao that Gao Guang had arrived as a new Attendant Cavalry, and Cao Mao led him to the Western Hall.
• Gao Guang told Cao Mao that the Grand General had blocked his appointment as a governor and that his father had been humiliated and fallen ill.

Cao Mao suspected Gao Guang was lying about his plans for Huainan and tested his supposed offer to help overthrow Sima Shi. After Gao Guang was handed over to Sima Zhao, Sima Zhao wondered whether Cao Mao had seen through the ruse or was acting for reasons he could not understand.

• Cao Mao questioned Gao Guang’s story about going to Huainan and suspected that Sima Shi had sent him to gather information.
• Gao Guang claimed Sima Shi had threatened the Gao Family and offered to secretly help Cao Mao, so Cao Mao had him seized as a rebel.
• Cao Mao ordered Cheng Ji to behead Gao Guang, then stopped him and sent Gao Guang to Sima Zhao instead.
• Cao Mao explained to Old Eunuch Xu that Gao Guang’s cautious nature made his dramatic offer implausible and dangerous to trust.
• Sima Zhao freed Gao Guang, heard what had happened, and wondered why Cao Mao had arrested him after Gao Guang offered to rebel.

Sima Zhao announced a five-rank noble system, winning the ministers’ enthusiastic support, while Wang Xiang privately approached Chen Qian about Cao Mao’s policies. Chen Qian recognized the proposals as the Emperor’s ideas and agreed they were good, leaving his own position on supporting them unresolved.

• Cao Wei’s ministers discussed Chen Zhi’s influence in Shu Han and considered exploiting tensions between him and Jiang Wei.
• Sima Zhao proposed creating five ranks of nobility, and the ministers eagerly praised the plan.
• Wang Xiang told Chen Qian that hereditary noble titles would entrench the great clans and limit new families’ advancement.
• Chen Qian accepted Wang Xiang’s invitation and attended a banquet at his residence.
• Wang Xiang presented Cao Mao’s policies, including the Zhongzheng System, and revealed that they were the Emperor’s and Empress Dowager’s ideas.
• Chen Qian said the policies were very good but had not yet explained whether he would support them.

Wang Xiang recruited Chief Imperial Censor Chen Qian to support Cao Mao and the Empress Dowager, while Chen urged them to act before Sima Shi confronted Guanqiu Jian. The next day, Cao Mao told Wang Xiang that the Empress Dowager wanted to appoint Yang Hu as General Who Guards and Protects, and Wang considered whether Yang Hu could be won over.

• Wang Xiang persuaded Chen Qian to join the alliance with Cao Mao and the Empress Dowager, and Chen proposed winning over ministers before Sima Shi moved against Guanqiu Jian.
• Wang Xiang warned Chen Qian that a sudden revolt could give Sima Shi an excuse to destroy their clans, and Chen agreed to meet the Empress Dowager without acting rashly.
• Wang Xiang told Cao Mao that Chen Qian had joined them and warned him that Chen was wise but rash.
• Cao Mao told Wang Xiang that the Empress Dowager wanted to appoint Yang Hu as General Who Guards and Protects, and Wang said winning Yang Hu over might be possible.

Wang Xiang reassured Cao Mao about approaching the Empress Dowager and appointing Yang Hu, while Sima Zhao arranged to remove Sima Fu from military command as he prepared to confront Guanqiu Jian. Sima Zhao returned home to find eminent scholars visiting his son Sima Yan, who tried to respond as Yanshi would.

• Wang Xiang told Cao Mao to speak honestly with the Empress Dowager and reassured him that he had allies, including Chen Xiuyuan.
• Sima Zhao told Sima Fu he would request his transfer from Grand Commandant to Grand Tutor, and Sima Fu recognized the move as an effort to remove him from military affairs.
• Sima Zhao discussed the coming campaign against Guanqiu Jian, then privately resolved not to let Sima Fu command an army again.
• Sima Zhao returned home and learned that the eminent scholars gathered there had come to visit Sima Yan, not him.
• Sima Yan greeted the scholars from his desk, credited them with persuading the emperor, and promised to visit them after recovering.

Sima Yan won the celebrated scholars’ support for a banquet at the East Hall, while Cao Mao and Empress Dowager Guo navigated the Sima Family’s political maneuvering. Zhong Hui’s visit exposed a supposed marriage scheme involving Sima Yue, and Cao Mao left the Empress Dowager believing he had narrowly avoided a trap.

• Sima Yan invited celebrated scholars to gather with Cao Mao at the East Hall, and they agreed to attend.
• Sima Zhao confronted Sima Yan about his banquet, and Sima Yan credited his success to his father’s guidance.
• Cao Mao persuaded Empress Dowager Guo to delay summoning the Chief Imperial Censor and to recruit Yang Hu before Sima Zhao could.
• Zhong Hui claimed Cao Mao had asked him to arrange a marriage with a Sima daughter, angering Empress Dowager Guo and prompting Cao Mao to challenge him.
• After Zhong Hui left, Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that Sima Shi might intend for him to marry Sima Yue, and she urged him to endure rather than act rashly.

Sima Yue prepared to enter the palace as Sima Shi’s instrument for weakening the Empress Dowager’s influence, while leaving her young son Ping in Yang Huiyu’s care. After Sima Yue formally met Cao Mao and the Empress Dowager, Cao Mao was stunned by how closely she resembled her father.

• Yang Huiyu visited Sima Yue, promised to care for Ping, and reassured her that he would receive proper attention and medicine.
• Sima Shi instructed Sima Yue on her palace role and told her that he, not her Second Father, had ordered her sent there.
• Sima Shi and Zhong Hui discussed the uncertain prospect of Guanqiu Jian’s appointment and the risks of a military conflict.
• Sima Yue paid her respects to the Empress Dowager and Cao Mao, who accepted her arrival without resistance.
• Cao Mao escorted Sima Yue from Zhaoyang Hall and privately lamented her startling resemblance to Sima Shi.

Cao Mao learned that Sima Yue was despairing because Sima Shi had kept her young son, Zhen Ping, with him, and he recognized how cruel his rival could be. He called a banquet of renowned scholars, insisting it was not a move against Sima Shi, and Sima Yan arrived limping before revealing his injury was real.

• Cao Mao questioned Sima Yue about her son, and she said Zhen Ping was living with the Grand General.
• Cao Mao realized Sima Shi might be using his grandson to control Sima Yue and left without saying more.
• Cao Mao asked Old Eunuch Xu whether Sima Shi could feel pain and despair, then ordered a banquet for Luoyang's worthies and summoned officials and scholars.
• Sima Zhao left the banquet preparations to Zhong Hui, while Sima Shi paid them no attention.
• Sima Yan arrived limping, and Cao Mao praised him for convincingly feigning illness before Sima Yan said his injury was a gift from his father.

Cao Mao hosted a banquet for celebrated scholars, where Zhong Hui defended his past conduct and Sima Yan repeatedly unsettled him with questions about mineral powder. Lü An criticized Cao Mao for holding banquets instead of governing, leaving the gathering tense.

• Cao Mao told Sima Yan that famous officials would lend prestige to the East Hall banquet, and Zhong Hui arrived to attend.
• Zhong Hui argued that his earlier actions had protected Cao Mao, while Sima Yan asked whether he took mineral powder and darkened his mood.
• The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove arrived, and Ji Kang introduced Lü An, whom Cao Mao recognized as an outspoken opponent of Sima rule.
• Lü An rebuked Cao Mao for holding banquets while the state remained unsettled, and Cao Mao challenged his blunt criticism.
• Sima Yan asked Lü An whether he took mineral powder, leaving the scholars silent.

Cao Mao impressed the scholars at his banquet by debating Xuanxue, then secretly asked Ji Kang whether he would face death alongside him to set the realm right. Ji Kang shared the message with Lü An, who rebuked him for treating Cao Mao’s trust carelessly.

• Lü An advised Cao Mao to focus on learning, then fell silent as the banquet’s scholars changed the subject.
• Cao Mao debated the scholars using the Supreme Mystery Classic, drawing astonishment from Zhong Hui, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, and Zheng Xiaotong.
• Cao Mao awarded Ji Kang first place and Zhong Hui second; Zhong Hui left lamenting what Cao Mao might have become.
• Cao Mao slipped Ji Kang a note asking whether he had the resolve to face death alongside him to save the realm.
• On the way home, Ji Kang showed Lü An the note, and Lü An angrily accused him of casually betraying Cao Mao’s trust.

Cao Mao planned to use trusted scholars to connect with allies and accelerate his preparations against the Sima Family. After finding Sima Yue alone in his room, he let her share his bed without taking advantage of her, resolving that he was not Sima Shi.

• Ji Kang accepted Lü An's warning, then burned Cao Mao's letter and decided to wait for a chance to ask the emperor what he wanted.
• Cao Mao planned to use Ji Kang, Lü An, and Ruan Ji to contact allies, send advice and practical designs to Guanqiu Jian, and advance supporters at court.
• Cao Mao found Sima Yue sitting in his room and learned that a palace maid had brought her there.
• Cao Mao decided to accelerate his preparations against Sima Shi while keeping his strategy of waiting for Sima Shi to die of illness.
• When Sima Yue began to undress, Cao Mao stopped her and let her lie beside him without touching her, hearing her sob as he kept his eyes shut.

Yang Hu received an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager recruiting him as General Who Guards and Protects, putting him in command of the Palace Guards. Though wary of the turmoil at court, he decided to accept and prepare to travel to Luoyang.

• Yang Hu explained to Lady Xiahou that Guo Zhi’s appointment as General of the Guards signaled that a major court upheaval was approaching.
• Attendant Hua Biao arrived with an imperial edict directly recruiting Yang Hu to command the Palace Guards.
• Hua Biao told Yang Hu that the Empress Dowager had issued the edict and that her relationship with the Guo Family had recently worsened.
• Yang Hu considered the court’s shifting alliances and discussed the recruitment with Lady Xiahou.
• Yang Hu resolved to accept the summons and told Lady Xiahou they would set out for Luoyang the next day.

Cao Mao soothed Wang Xiang’s anger by turning a scholars’ debate into a way to bolster Wang Xiang’s reputation in Classical Studies, then persuaded him to seek the post of Grand Minister of Ceremonies. With that appointment, Cao Mao planned to open the Inspector of the Capital position for Wang Jing and further weaken the Sima Family’s hold on power.

• Wang Xiang scolded Cao Mao for summoning ministers without explaining his intentions, fearing the emperor’s recklessness would ruin their plans.
• Cao Mao explained that the scholars’ debate had spread Wang Xiang’s supposed teachings and earned him praise from renowned scholars.
• Wang Xiang accepted the credit for Cao Mao’s classical scholarship and agreed to consider seeking the vacant post of Grand Minister of Ceremonies.
• Cao Mao and Wang Xiang planned how to win the court’s support for Wang Xiang’s appointment.
• Cao Mao anticipated that Wang Xiang’s promotion would let Wang Jing become Inspector of the Capital a year early, and hoped to strip the Grand General of power.

Cao Mao intercepted Chen Qian at Zhaoyang Hall and won his support by praising his abilities and asking him to promote Ma Long. He then urged Empress Dowager Guo to strengthen the Cao Family against the Sima Family, ending with a revelation about his gratitude to Sima Shi.

• Cao Mao hurried to Zhaoyang Hall after learning Chen Qian had arrived, intending to meet him without relying on Wang Xiang.
• Cao Mao warmly greeted Chen Qian, praised his judgment before Empress Dowager Guo, and asked him to promote Ma Long from Yanzhou.
• Chen Qian accepted Cao Mao's request and left with greater confidence in the emperor and the coming great undertaking.
• Cao Mao told Empress Dowager Guo that the Cao Family, rather than her Guo Family, should receive important posts and grow stronger to oppose the Sima Family.
• Cao Mao recalled that when the Sima Family had sent him to Hebei, he had felt overwhelming gratitude toward Sima Shi for believing he had escaped a life of suffering.

Cao Mao sought to strengthen the Imperial Clan as a counterweight to the Sima Family, then proposed consolidating the Classics despite his attendants’ objections. Sima Shi learned of the proposal and recognized that Cao Mao could provoke a realm-wide scholarly dispute without gaining anyone’s consent.

• Cao Mao persuaded Empress Dowager Guo that restoring the Imperial Clan’s power could help them reclaim authority from the Sima Family, and she advised him to consult his teacher.
• Cao Mao summoned Zheng Xiaotong, Ruan Ji, Wang Shen, Pei Xiu, Sima Yan, and Gao Guang, then proposed compiling the Classics and establishing orthodox interpretations.
• Zheng Xiaotong warned that the plan would trigger disputes, while Ruan Ji and others questioned whether the schools could be consolidated; Cao Mao abandoned the proposal for the time being.
• Cao Mao privately asked Ruan Ji why he would not consult Ji Shuye, then offered Sima Yan an opportunity to earn great merit.
• Sima Shi heard that Cao Mao had proposed unifying the Classics and concluded that the emperor could ignite a scholarly conflict even without the scholars’ agreement.

Sima Zhao feared Cao Mao’s campaign over the classics would strengthen imperial authority and threaten the Sima family, but Zhong Hui advised him to take charge of the project and use it for his own ends. Du Yu privately concluded that Cao Mao was deliberately exposing Great Wei’s existing crises and sacrificing himself to prepare the realm for a wiser ruler.

• Sima Zhao raged to Du Yu and Zhong Hui about Cao Mao’s actions and asked how to respond to the dispute over Classical Studies.
• Zhong Hui argued that Cao Mao sought control over the interpretation of the classics and could use it to cultivate officials hostile to powerful ministers.
• Sima Zhao said Cao Mao could no longer be allowed to live, but Zhong Hui warned that killing or deposing him would provoke rebellion and urged Sima Zhao to protect him.
• Zhong Hui proposed that Sima Zhao take charge of the classical project and later shape the realm’s orthodoxy himself, and Sima Zhao eagerly accepted the plan.
• Du Yu reflected that Cao Mao was bringing existing dangers to light and concluded that the emperor was sacrificing himself to save the realm and prepare Sima Yan to rule wisely.

Du Yu left Sima Zhao’s court troubled after Zhong Hui warned Sima Zhao that Du Yu might turn against the Sima family. Ruan Ji confronted Ji Kang about conspiring with the emperor, but Ji Kang refused to abandon the cause and taught Ruan Ji his treasured piece, Guangling San, leaving him in tears.

• Sima Zhao sent Du Yu home to rest, while Zhong Hui warned that Du Yu might ally with the emperor because of his father’s death; Sima Zhao agreed to watch him but inwardly resented Zhong Hui’s accusation.
• Ruan Ji visited Ji Kang and accused him of secretly plotting with the emperor, learning that Lü An was involved too.
• Ruan Ji urged Ji Kang to withdraw from the dangerous undertaking, but Ji Kang declared that he would serve as a pillar of the nation and refuse to help a tyrant commit atrocities.
• Ji Kang asked Ruan Ji to preserve Guangling San by learning it and passing it on, then played the piece with fierce passion.
• Ruan Ji listened to Ji Kang’s performance and wept.

Wang Yuan expanded his mountain rebellion by appointing Qi Lai to a grand military title, while Guo Ze warned that the growing band would be difficult to manage and would attract the Imperial Court’s forces. With heavy snow halting the campaign, Yin Damu prepared to return to Luoyang and seek command of the effort against them so Guo Ze might survive.

• Wang Yuan brought Qi Lai, a former Pavilion Chief with over sixty followers, before Guo Ze to join the rebels.
• Guo Ze appointed Qi Lai General Who Pacifies the West and Marquis Who Pacifies the South, granting him authority to form his own headquarters.
• Wang Yuan predicted that his forces would grow and planned to strike Heyin and Luoyang if the realm fell into upheaval.
• Guo Ze warned Wang Yuan that a large, poorly equipped force would be hard to supply and would provoke the Imperial Court.
• Yin Damu, having suppressed rebellions around Henan Commandery, prepared to return to Luoyang and volunteer to lead the campaign against Wang Yuan and Guo Ze.

Sima Shi intervened as Sima Zhao hesitated over punishing officials who had massacred commoners, executing Sima Ban and ordering the others beheaded. After rebuking Sima Zhao and praising Fu Gu, Sima Shi watched Fu Gu collapse and was left bewildered.

• Sima Zhao confronted officials who had slaughtered nearly ten thousand commoners, while Xun Xu urged leniency and Fu Gu demanded punishment according to law.
• Sima Zhao proposed executing the worst offenders and sending the others to the Minister of Justice, prompting Sima Ban and the prisoners to think they had been spared.
• Sima Shi arrived, killed Sima Ban with Sima Zhao's sword, and ordered the remaining officials taken away and beheaded.
• Sima Shi condemned Sima Zhao for allowing powerful clans to mistreat the people and warned that popular anger could threaten Great Wei.
• Sima Shi praised Fu Gu as a wise minister, but Fu Gu collapsed, leaving Sima Shi staring at the sky and thinking that Heaven helped the villains, not him.