Chapter Summaries

Xiahou Xian’s Central Army seized Luoyang and surrounded the Imperial Secretariat, arresting Gao Rou and Wang Xiang while escorting the other ministers to the Imperial Palace. Zhong Hui’s stratagem had restored control of the court, and the ministers were left unaware of the emperor’s role as the procession reached the Imperial City gates.

• Xun Biao surrendered as Xiahou Xian’s Central Army took control of Luoyang’s gates and flooded the city with soldiers.
• Zhang Hua blocked Zhong Yu at his residence with armed men, explaining that he had already subdued Zhong Yu’s agents.
• Xiahou Xian surrounded the Imperial Secretariat, where Gao Rou and the ministers realized they had been outmaneuvered by the General of the Guards.
• Xiahou Xian ordered Gao Rou and Wang Xiang taken into custody and led the other ministers toward the Imperial Palace.
• Zhong Hui refused Xiahou Xian’s suggestion to kill the ministers, while Zheng Xiaotong and Ji Kang joined the procession.
• The ministers were escorted to the gates of the Imperial City as Zheng Chong worried that the ringleaders would blame him for their scheme.

Cao Mao arrived at Zhaoyang Hall in armor and on a war chariot while the ministers knelt outside, expecting them to see him as Sima Zhao’s instrument. Zhong Hui then arrested Sima Gan and the commandants, revealed his allegiance to Cao Mao, and Cao Mao confronted Gao Rou.

• Zhong Hui persuaded Sima Gan to summon the commandants and provisionally fill key court posts, while assigning him a secret task for the Sima Family.
• Xin Chang told the ministers that Cao Mao had declared them guilty and directed them to beg Empress Dowager Guo’s forgiveness.
• Cao Mao rode to Zhaoyang Hall in armor, with Yang Hu beside him, as the ministers knelt before the Empress Dowager.
• Zhong Hui ordered Xiaoxing to act, and Ma Long’s armored guards subdued Sima Gan and the commandants.
• Zhong Hui bowed to Cao Mao and declared that the villains had been brought to justice; Cao Mao pointed his sword at Gao Rou and accused him of holding his sovereign in contempt.

Cao Mao defeated the ministers’ conspiracy and sentenced its chief participants, then secured the court’s approval to govern Great Wei in person. Empress Dowager Guo formally proclaimed his rule, leaving Cao Mao in control of the imperial court.

• Cao Mao confronted the kneeling ministers, and Gao Rou confessed to his guilt after recognizing the emperor.
• Cao Mao dismissed Gao Rou and stripped him of his title, sentenced Sima Fu to the Kūn Punishment and exile, and removed Wang Xiang from office while pardoning Zheng Chong.
• Cao Mao declared that the remaining conspirators would be investigated and asked the ministers to support his personal rule.
• Zheng Chong, Wang Xiang, Cao Yu, and the assembled ministers agreed that Cao Mao should govern in person.
• Cao Mao brought Empress Dowager Guo before the ministers, and she proclaimed that he would govern Great Wei with their assistance.

Cao Mao reshaped the court after Gao Rou’s rebellion, appointing Chen Qian and Hua Biao to key posts and elevating Xun Yi within the Imperial Secretariat. The ministers, seeing opportunities in the vacancies, began openly supporting Cao Mao, while Wang Jing watched them with contempt.

• Cao Mao removed Zhong Yu as Minister of Justice and appointed Chen Qian to take his place.
• Chen Qian named Meng Kang and Wang Guan as accomplices in Gao Rou’s rebellion, and Cao Mao ordered both men arrested and punished.
• Cao Mao appointed Hua Biao Director of the Central Secretariat and tasked him with purging Meng Kang’s followers.
• Cao Mao offered Xun Yi the post of Left Deputy Director of the Secretariat, and Xun Yi eagerly accepted.
• The ministers praised Xun Yi and urged Cao Mao to arrest Gao Rou’s other followers, while Wang Jing silently despised their opportunism.

After Gao Rou's faction was defeated, Cao Mao assigned trusted officials to key posts and organized arrests and replacements across Luoyang and Sili. He then turned to deal with Sima Gan and the Sima Family.

• Cao Mao ended the court session and kept several officials behind while the other ministers departed.
• Cao Mao proposed Zhong Hui, Pei Xiu, and Wei Shu as ministers and Zheng Mao as Minister of Personnel, and Xun Yi approved.
• Cao Mao ordered Chen Qian to purge rebels from the Ministry of Justice and arrest Gao Rou's accomplices, while Zheng Mao assessed replacements for officials.
• Cao Mao asked Zheng Mao to recommend an aide for Hua Biao, and Zheng Mao named Wei Guan.
• Cao Mao ordered Wang Jing to investigate officials throughout Sili and arranged for Zheng Mao to recommend their replacements.
• Cao Mao concluded the court's affairs and set out with the ministers to deal with Sima Gan and the Sima Family.

Cao Mao defeated the ministers’ plot, secured control of Luoyang, and began arranging military and political support while trying to keep Sima Gan and Sima Zhao from becoming enemies. After everyone left him alone in the Western Hall, Cao Mao collapsed to the floor and wept.

• Cui Zan and the other ministers left the palace shaken by Cao Mao’s victory, while Cao Mao thanked Xiahou Xian, Ma Long, Jiao Bo, and Li Zhao for their support and rewarded Jiao Bo and Li Zhao with marquis titles.
• Cao Mao ordered Xiahou Xian to reorganize the Central Army, then released Sima Gan and assured him that he would not use him against Sima Zhao.
• Cao Mao brought Sima Gan and Sima Xun to Sima Yue, shared a meal with them, and left Sima Gan in her care while he returned to court business.
• Cao Mao and his advisers planned to seek support from the General Who Guards the East, Guanqiu Jian, and Zhuge Dan, while withholding news from Chen Tai to avoid harming the western army’s morale.
• After sending his advisers and attendants away, Cao Mao lay alone on the Western Hall floor and sobbed silently.

Zhong Hui took pride in helping Cao Mao seize control of the court, while Zhong Yu warned him that governing the realm would be harder than purging its officials. Zhong Hui then pressured Gao Rou into writing confessions that he could use against other ministers, while promising to spare Gao Rou’s grandson.

• Zhong Yu credited Hua Yi, Zhang Hua, and others for the court’s success, then warned Zhong Hui about the dangers of resisting the outer generals and governing without the ministers.
• Zhong Hui assured Zhong Yu that Cao Mao would spare him, but Zhong Yu told him to stop visiting and left him with a warning about the realm’s instability.
• Zhong Hui inspected the Court of the Commandant of Justice, where officials were being replaced and ministers were imprisoned amid Cao Mao’s purge.
• Zhong Hui offered to save Gao Rou’s grandson if Gao Rou named those involved in the rebellion, and Gao Rou agreed to write a confession.
• Zhong Hui directed Gao Rou to write the names of Xun Yi, Cui Zan, and Xin Chang, revealing that he intended to use the confessions to threaten the ministers.

Zhong Hui pressed Sima Fu to write his son a warning against defecting to Shu, while Xin Chang tried to regain Cao Mao’s favor with a jade gift. Cao Mao accepted the gift, appointed Xin Chang’s nephews to court positions, and asked Xin Chang to watch for hidden rebels; Cui Zan then arrived to seek an audience.

• Zhong Hui warned Sima Fu that Sima Wang might defect to Shu and persuaded him to write his son a letter.
• Xin Chang presented Cao Mao with a treasured jade carving and renewed his claim that they were family.
• Cao Mao accepted the jade and appointed Yang Jin to the Imperial Secretariat and Yang Xiu as a Yellow Gate attendant.
• Cao Mao asked Xin Chang to identify ministers who harbored disloyal intentions.
• Zhang Hua announced Cui Zan’s arrival, and Xin Chang left Taiji Hall as Cui Zan entered.

Cao Mao accepted Cui Zan’s allegiance and considered appointments for his ministers, then rewarded Zhong Hui with the office of Attendant after Zhong Hui brought confessions and letters that could help secure the court and pacify Yongliang. Zhong Hui urged Cao Mao to proceed cautiously against the great clans and regional generals.

• Cui Zan presented a list of Gao Rou’s confidants in the Central Secretariat and explained that the Cui clan’s losses had driven him to seek Cao Mao’s protection.
• Cao Mao accepted Cui Zan’s allegiance and considered appointing him Attendant while planning roles for Wang Jing, Guanqiu Jian, Zheng Xiaotong, and Zhong Hui.
• Zhong Hui presented confessions in Gao Rou’s handwriting and said he had obtained them by promising to protect Gao Rou’s grandson.
• Cao Mao rewarded Zhong Hui by appointing him Attendant and directing him to focus on the Imperial Secretariat.
• Zhong Hui presented Sima Fu’s letter to Sima Wang and proposed using it, with Xun Yi’s help, to pacify Yongliang and persuade Chen Tai to join Cao Mao.
• Zhong Hui delivered Sima Zhou’s family letter for Zhuge Dan and advised Cao Mao to avoid provoking the outer generals while acting cautiously against the great clans.

Mouqiu Dian, Wen Yang, and Liu Lu rode toward Luoyang with a thousand cavalrymen sent by Guanqiu Jian to support the emperor. They learned from Jiao Bo that Cao Mao had already reclaimed supreme authority, and Mouqiu Dian hurried on to offer his service against Sima Zhao.

• Mouqiu Dian led Wen Yang, Liu Lu, and a thousand cavalrymen through Yu Province while avoiding Zhuge Dan's forces.
• Mouqiu Dian recalled that Guanqiu Jian had sent him to Luoyang with prisoners and spoils, hoping to provide the emperor with troops of his own.
• Jiao Bo's Central Army stopped the cavalry on the road, but Jiao Bo recognized Mouqiu Dian and lowered the guards' crossbows.
• Jiao Bo told Mouqiu Dian, Wen Yang, and Liu Lu that Cao Mao had reclaimed supreme authority and was ruling personally.
• Mouqiu Dian resolved to reach Luoyang quickly and serve Cao Mao in eliminating Sima Zhao, while Jiao Bo sent escorts and messengers ahead.

Cao Mao welcomed Mouqiu Dian, Liu Lu, and Wen Yang to Luoyang and appointed Mouqiu Dian Imperial Censor to prevent ministers from uniting against him. He then considered how education could weaken the great clans’ monopoly on government, leaving that reform as a longer-term goal.

• Cao Mao eagerly greeted Mouqiu Dian, Liu Lu, and Wen Yang outside Luoyang, praising Wen Yang’s valor and welcoming the three into his service.
• Cao Mao brought the newcomers into Luoyang and told Mouqiu Dian that he had appointed Chen Qian Minister of Justice.
• Cao Mao asked Mouqiu Dian to become Imperial Censor and monitor officials, especially the Three Excellencies, the Nine Ministers, and the Three Offices, for signs of faction-building.
• Mouqiu Dian recognized the weight of the appointment as Cao Mao explained that ministers would likely unite again to force concessions.
• Cao Mao reflected that examinations alone could not break the great clans’ control of official posts and concluded that education had to expand first.

At a banquet, Wen Yang defeated Cheng Ji in a single blow, impressing Cao Mao and the court. Cao Mao appointed Wen Yang to command a newly reestablished Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and arranged for him to marry into the Imperial Clan, leaving Wen Yang eager to lead the elite force.

• Cao Mao appointed Mouqiu Dian Chief Imperial Censor and praised Wen Yang before challenging Cheng Ji to spar with him.
• Cheng Ji accepted Wen Yang’s challenge, but Wen Yang knocked him unconscious with one strike from a wooden club.
• Cao Mao appointed Wen Yang Commandant of the Tiger Cavalry and ordered him to form the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, beginning with three thousand men and horses.
• Zhang Hua objected that the command traditionally belonged to the Imperial Clan, then proposed that Wen Yang marry a woman of the clan.
• Cao Mao agreed to arrange Wen Yang’s marriage, and Wen Yang accepted the appointment, excited to command the cavalry.

Cao Mao reunited with Liu Lu and sent him to contact Guo in the mountains, while Sima Zhao learned that Luoyang had fallen under the Ministers’ control and prepared to seek a way to protect his family and avoid civil war. Du Yu volunteered to go to Luoyang to persuade the Ministers, leaving Sima Zhao to rally his allies and contact Guanqiu Jian.

• Cao Mao welcomed Liu Lu, heard how he had served him, and appointed him Yellow Gate Gentleman to remain at his side.
• Cao Mao explained that Guo could aid him from the mountains, and Liu Lu agreed to seek him out when Cao Mao was ready to send him.
• Du Yu warned Sima Zhao that the Ministers had likely subdued the Central Army and seized control of Luoyang because no reports had arrived.
• Sima Zhao considered leading troops back to Luoyang but realized He Zeng and Chen Ben might turn against him if the Ministers held the city.
• Du Yu urged Sima Zhao to contact Guanqiu Jian and other trusted commanders while he went to Luoyang to persuade the Three Excellencies to stop.

Cao Mao visited the Grand General’s Residence after defeating the Central Army and tried to secure the Sima family’s submission while reassuring Sima Yan of their friendship. He left Sima Yan in charge of the residence and promised to bring him along on the campaign against Shu, while Sima Yan remained uncertain about the emperor’s intentions.

• Cao Mao arrived at the Grand General’s Residence, greeted Sima Yan and Sima You, and brought the captured Central Army officers into the residence.
• Cao Mao met Wang Yuanji and offered terms for the Sima family, warning that he would destroy the family if the General of the Guards resisted.
• Cao Mao told Wang Yuanji that he wanted the Sima family’s former followers and her father to serve the court rather than die in civil war.
• Cao Mao told Sima Yan that he had once considered killing him but had come to regard him as his best friend and wanted him to become Marquis Wu.
• Cao Mao said he had appointed Sima Yan military adviser so he could take him on the campaign against Shu and entrust him with unifying the realm.
• Cao Mao left Sima Yan to guard the residence and his mother, reminding him to attend the East Hall Banquet in two days.

Cui Zan urged Cui Hong to attend the East Hall Banquet and understand the young emperor, while Xun Yi sought Cui Zan’s support in challenging the emperor’s appointments. Cui Zan refused to join him, and Xun Yi faced pressure from ministers through Feng Zhan.

• Cui Zan persuaded Cui Hong to attend the East Hall Banquet so he could understand the emperor’s intentions and remonstrate if needed.
• Xun Yi told Cui Zan that the emperor had appointed Mouqiu Dian Chief Imperial Censor and planned to reorganize the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, then argued that ministers should reclaim a role in appointments.
• Cui Zan feared Xun Yi’s criticism would provoke the emperor and advised him to leave appointments alone while Gao Rou remained imprisoned.
• Xun Yi left after Cui Zan declined to support him, then Feng Zhan arrived to ask about the appointments on behalf of the ministers.
• Xun Yi rebuked Feng Zhan for meddling in court affairs and said he would speak to the emperor himself.

Feng Zhan gathered disgraced officials to scheme against Zheng Mao and Chen Qian, while Chen Qian arrested his younger brother for trying to persuade him to go easy on them. Chen Qian reported the arrest to Cao Mao, who ordered Chen Zhi dismissed and the officials who misled him punished.

• Feng Zhan told former officials that they should target Zheng Mao and Chen Qian rather than oppose Cao Mao directly, and they began discussing control of appointments.
• Chen Zhi urged Chen Qian to show leniency toward officials he had punished, but Chen Qian had him arrested and ordered guards to question him about his accomplices.
• Chen Qian traveled to the palace convinced that Cao Mao would prevail and that supporting the emperor would bring him lasting power.
• Cui Zan told Cao Mao that Xun Yi had approached him about the Ministers' discontent, and Cao Mao suspected they were planning a major move.
• Chen Qian asked Cao Mao to punish him for his younger brother's misconduct and revealed that he had imprisoned Chen Zhi.
• Cao Mao told Chen Qian not to torture Chen Zhi, ordered him dismissed from office, and called for the officials who had misled him to be punished.

Wang Su returned to Luoyang and discovered that Cao Mao had assumed personal rule, leaving the Wang family under the emperor’s power. After Cao Mao welcomed him, Wang Su vowed to challenge Wang Xiang over the alleged theft of his scholarship.

• Wang Su traveled toward Luoyang with his son Wang Kai, scolding him throughout the journey for his indulgent habits.
• Wang Xun met them under the emperor’s edict and escorted Wang Su to Luoyang with armored guards watching closely.
• Cao Mao personally welcomed Wang Su, and Wang Xun treated the emperor with such deference that Wang Su realized Cao Mao had assumed personal rule.
• Wang Kai spoke disrespectfully about Cao Mao and was rebuked by Wang Xun and Wang Su.
• Cao Mao asked about Wang Su’s studies and Wang Xiang, prompting Wang Su to accuse Wang Xiang of stealing his scholarship and challenge him to a debate.
• Cao Mao promised to investigate the alleged scholarly fraud, and Wang Su approved of his words.

Cao Mao used Wang Su’s return and his dispute with Wang Xiang over the Supreme Mystery Classic to pursue a larger goal: bringing the authority to define classical learning under the Imperial Court. Wang Xiang realized the danger in Cao Mao’s plan and warned that challenging the classics could unsettle the court and frighten scholars.

• Cao Mao brought Wang Su to the Grand General's Residence, where Wang Su reunited with Sima Yan, Sima You, and Wang Yuanji and privately questioned his daughter about events at court.
• Cao Mao visited the guarded Wang Xiang and told him that Wang Su had returned to Luoyang.
• Wang Xiang recognized that Wang Su’s accusation could ruin his reputation and asked Cao Mao what he wanted from him.
• Cao Mao asked whether Wang Xiang had stolen Wang Su’s scholarship, and Wang Xiang denied it, arguing that no family could claim exclusive rights to annotate the Supreme Mystery Classic.
• Cao Mao saw Wang Xiang’s rebuttal as an opportunity to challenge the Great Clans’ control of classical interpretation and give the Imperial Court authority over official learning.
• Wang Xiang realized Cao Mao’s intentions and warned that damaging the classics over the dispute could throw the court into turmoil and alarm scholars.

Cao Mao pressured Wang Xiang over Wang Su’s coming accusation and headed to the Central Army Camp after considering how to draw political and military figures to his side. At the camp, Xiahou Xian continued reforming the badly weakened Central Army.

• Cao Mao told Wang Xiang that he would defend him against Wang Su but suggested the East Hall Banquet as a place to debate the Classics, leaving Wang Xiang to realize the emperor wanted influence over their interpretation.
• Cao Mao considered recruiting the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and traveled toward the Central Army Camp after the army returned from Luoyang.
• Zhuge Chong guarded Luoyang’s gate and reflected on how his mistaken cooperation during the coup had made him the emperor’s trusted aide and City Gate Commandant.
• Cao Mao considered rewarding Zhuge Dan with a high court position to persuade him to surrender command of his troops, and regarded Zhuge Chong’s appointment as a gesture to the Zhuge Family.
• Xiahou Xian inspected the Central Army’s drills, judged its condition far below its former strength, and continued reforms by expanding Ma Long’s training methods and promoting capable soldiers and officers.

Cao Mao visited the Central Army to encourage soldiers and reward those who excelled in Ma Long’s reorganized drills. He promised better pay and care for the troops, but Xiahou Xian objected that an emperor should govern through benevolence and righteousness rather than harsh discipline and material rewards.

• Ma Long explained to Xiahou Xian that the Central Army’s contests rewarded excellent soldiers and punished poor performance as part of its reorganization.
• Cao Mao arrived at the camp, spoke with an armored soldier, and told him he would remember him.
• Cao Mao praised Ma Long’s battalion and awarded its best-performing soldiers gold, silk, and fine swords.
• Cao Mao watched the drills and promised higher pay, better meals, leave to visit home, and support for veterans and wounded soldiers.
• Xiahou Xian urged Cao Mao not to entice the army with rewards, citing the sage’s teaching on benevolent and righteous rule.