Chapter Summaries

Xun Kai organized Imperial Secretariat ministers to oppose Cao Mao’s appointments and secretly planned to unite the court against him. He Zeng exposed their discussions to Cao Mao and volunteered to deal with the plotters, leaving the emperor to accept his offer with an ambiguous smile.

• Xun Kai criticized Wang Su’s appointment and Zhuge Dan’s promotion, then decided to secretly unite ministers to pressure Cao Mao.
• Cui Zan left the meeting uneasy, while Xun Kai told the remaining ministers that Cui was secretly colluding with the emperor and said Sima Shi was key to breaking the deadlock.
• He Zeng reported the ministers’ plans to Cao Mao, claiming they meant to challenge the emperor and attack Sima Shi’s legacy.
• Cao Mao recognized that He Zeng had tricked the information out of the ministers but kept him in his service.
• He Zeng offered to eliminate the ministers, and Cao Mao told him to proceed.

Sun Yi and his allies plotted to kill Sun Jun and restore the emperor’s authority, but Sun Jun learned of the conspiracy and raided Sun Yi’s residence. Sun Yi killed himself before Sun Jun could question him, leaving Sun Jun shaken and haunted by his ancestors.

• Sun Yi persuaded Zhang Yi and Lin Xun to help kill Sun Jun, then assigned them roles in a plan to control the court and protect the emperor.
• Sun Jun met with a Shu Han envoy, accepted gifts, and brought Shu brocade to Princess Quan, where he complained about Guanqiu Jian’s grain deception.
• Sun 𬘭 warned Sun Jun that Sun Yi, Zhang Yi, and Lin Xun were plotting against him, prompting Sun Jun to send men to arrest the conspirators.
• Sun Jun’s forces overwhelmed Sun Yi’s followers and captured them at Sun Yi’s residence.
• Sun Yi condemned Sun Jun and cut his own throat, leaving Sun Jun terrified by thoughts of his ancestors as Sun 𬘭 helped him return home.

At a tense court assembly, Guo Zhang accused Zheng Mao of abusing appointments, prompting officials to demand the right to resign in protest. Zhong Hui proposed standardized evaluations and promotions, leaving Xun Yi to consider whether the rules could limit Cao Mao’s power while preserving the great clans’ influence.

• Wang Su and Zhuge Dan arrived at court angry, while Cao Mao calmly assessed the ministers and the great-clan faction.
• Guo Zhang accused Zheng Mao of arbitrary appointments and framed dismissals, implicitly criticizing Cao Mao, who stayed silent after Zhong Hui advised restraint.
• Wang Su challenged Guo Zhang’s qualifications, and Guo Zhang requested permission to resign.
• Yuan Liang and other Secretariat officials, followed by ministers from other offices, collectively asked to resign, while Xun Yi remained seated.
• Zhong Hui proposed evaluating officials by their achievements, abilities, and conduct, with promotions and dismissals following established standards.
• Xun Yi considered supporting the proposal because it could constrain Cao Mao’s appointments while leaving assessments in the great clans’ hands.

Cao Mao accepted Zhong Hui’s proposal to reform official appointments and began planning a new Imperial Secretariat to replace the ministers who had coerced him. He then turned to breaking the Great Clans’ monopoly on knowledge through paper-making and printing, and set out to meet a talented worthy.

• Cao Mao approved Zhong Hui’s proposal for standardized assessments of officials and ordered Guo Zhang punished for disrespecting him.
• Zhuge Dan seized Xun Yi and dragged him away to help investigate the burning of the Grand Granary.
• Cao Mao discussed replacing the current ministers with Zhong Hui, naming candidates for leadership of the Imperial Secretariat and its six ministries.
• Cao Mao asked Zhong Hui for ideas to continue Emperor Wen’s cultural and educational reforms, but Zhong Hui admitted he had no solution yet.
• Cao Mao planned to promote paper-making and printing as ways to spread books beyond the Great Clans, then ordered Zhang Hua to prepare his carriage for a meeting with a talented worthy.

Cao Mao visited the inventor Ma Jun in disguise and urged him to help the court spread useful technologies. Ma Jun discovered afterward that his guest was the emperor, while Cao Mao ordered him protected and saw him as vital to restoring Wei.

• Cao Mao traveled to Ma Jun’s home with Zhang Hua and introduced himself as a descendant of Cao Xi.
• Cao Mao showed Ma Jun designs for the New Plow and argued that inventions such as improved looms and repeating crossbows could benefit the realm.
• Ma Jun examined Cao Mao’s designs, explained ways to reduce paper costs, and enthusiastically showed him his workshop and unfinished inventions.
• Cao Mao invited Ma Jun to a private banquet and left without revealing his identity, saying his name was Mao and he could be called Yanshi.
• Ma Jun’s servant told him that Mao had become a taboo name after the era-name change, and Ma Jun realized his visitor had been Cao Mao.
• Cao Mao told Zhang Hua he had concealed his identity to learn Ma Jun’s true character and ordered men to protect him, declaring that Wei’s restoration would depend on him.

After the ministers secured limits on the emperor’s power, Xun Yi refused to protect Guo Zhang from punishment. Cao Mao then celebrated Deng Ai’s victory over Jiang Wei and ordered Guo Zhang’s property confiscated to reward the returning troops, leaving the conflict with the ministers poised to escalate.

• Guo Zhang demanded Xun Yi’s protection, but Xun Yi blamed him for volunteering to lead the ministers’ gamble and sent him away with a promise to handle the matter.
• After Guo Zhang left, Xun Yi ordered his steward never to let him enter the residence again.
• Jiao Bo reported that Deng Ai had routed Jiang Wei and captured the Shu general Zhang Yi alive, and Cao Mao celebrated the victory.
• Cao Mao ordered the victory publicized and considered using the respite from Shu attacks to reform Wei’s administration and army.
• Cao Mao sent Old Eunuch Xu to confiscate Guo Zhang’s household and deliver him to the Minister of Justice, threatening severe punishment for anyone who obstructed the order or stole the property.

Guo Zhang expected his arrest by eunuchs to make him a celebrated martyr, but the realm focused instead on Deng Ai’s victory and the capture of a Shu general. As Guo Zhang continued to deny his offense and insult his questioners, Xun Yu gave up on helping him, while the ministers grew furious over the trouble he had caused.

• Old Eunuch Xu’s eunuchs raided the Guo Residence, beat Guo Zhang and his servants, and hauled the family away to be arrested.
• Chen Qian ordered Guo Zhang and his followers taken into custody, while Guo Zhang cursed him and assumed the scholars would rally to his defense.
• News that Deng Ai had captured Shu’s General Who Conquers the West overshadowed Guo Zhang’s arrest and brought widespread celebration and praise.
• Xun Yu questioned Guo Zhang about disrespecting His Majesty, but Guo Zhang denied wrongdoing and insulted him, prompting Xun Yu to abandon efforts to help him.
• Xun Yu told the Inner Chamber officials to sentence Guo Zhang for disrespecting His Majesty, while Cao Mao and the ministers handled the flood of victory memorials and complained about Guo Zhang.

Cao Mao welcomed the returning army and praised its commanders, but Deng Ai stayed in Yong Province instead of attending court. The reception ended with Zhang Yi, a captured Shu general, taken into custody after Cao Mao denounced Shu Han in front of him.

• Cao Mao and his ministers waited to welcome the victorious army, while Zhong Hui resented Deng Ai’s success and considered taking command of a campaign against Shu.
• Chen Tai arrived without Deng Ai and explained that Deng Ai had remained in Yong Province to reorganize the army and guard against Shu; Cao Mao publicly praised his loyalty and shifted attention to Chen Tai’s achievements.
• Cao Mao praised the returning commandants, learned that Sima Jun had captured Zhang Yi, and brought Sima Zhao forward to commend his younger brother.
• Cao Mao greeted Sima Wang and arranged for him to see his family, then examined Zhang Yi, who had been captured alive and gagged.
• Cao Mao condemned Shu Han’s ruler and ministers before ordering Zhang Yi taken away and held in custody.

At the victory banquet, Cao Mao rewarded Chen Tai and other officers, then used Zhong Hui’s proposal to recognize Ma Jun’s inventions and bring him back into imperial service. The banquet continued without Guo Zhang, who remained in his cell imagining that he would soon become one of the Three Excellencies.

• Cao Mao praised Chen Tai’s campaign service and privately invited him to remain in Luoyang as Senior Secretary, while Zhong Hui argued that Chen Tai and Deng Ai should also be punished for their actions.
• Zhong Hui prompted Cheng Cui to explain how Ma Jun’s improved weapons helped defeat the Shu army, then urged Cao Mao to reward Ma Jun.
• Cao Mao summoned Ma Jun to the banquet, promoted him, and had his contributions publicly recognized.
• Cao Mao planned to work with Ma Jun on further inventions as ministers gathered around the craftsman.
• Guo Zhang remained imprisoned, laughing as he imagined being appointed one of the Three Excellencies, while Xun Yu wondered if he had gone mad.

Zhong Hui and Xun Yi drafted standards for appointing and assessing officials while Cao Mao used the work to wear Xun Yi down and make room for Chen Tai in the Imperial Secretariat. Zhong Hui urged Cao Mao to launch a realm-wide investigation of local officials, and Cao Mao considered who should lead it.

• Zhong Hui presented Xun Yi with detailed rules for official promotion, appointment, and dismissal, and they argued over provisions for nearly eight hours.
• After Zhong Hui left, an envoy from the Grand Commandant arrived to ask Xun Yi about the Grand Granary, leaving him overwhelmed by his workload.
• Zhong Hui told Cao Mao that their Wear-the-Old-Man-Down Tactic was exhausting Xun Yi so he would seek Chen Tai's help as Right Senior Secretary.
• Zhong Hui urged Cao Mao to investigate local officials and remove corrupt or unfit men, criticizing an earlier inspection led by Xun Xu for failing to dismiss anyone.
• Zhong Hui proposed that Mouqiu Dian lead a new investigation, with Wei Shu, Man Changwu, Cui Zan's son, and two young men of the Xun Family assisting.

Cao Mao launched a realm-wide investigation into local officials, prompting the Censorate and palace envoys to depart Luoyang. He then proposed mobilizing the Four Conquering and Four Stabilizing Generals to protect the investigation, and Mouqiu Dian agreed.

• Mouqiu Dian urged Zheng Chong and the Censorate to support Cao Mao’s campaign and punish any censors who obstructed it.
• Palace officials and Censorate envoys left Luoyang to investigate the provinces as great clans sent riders to warn their people.
• Cao Mao told Mouqiu Dian that entrenched clan connections would impede the investigation, but that the effort could still protect commoners.
• Cao Mao proposed ordering the Four Conquering and Four Stabilizing Generals to help inspectors and envoys discipline local officials and execute traitors.
• Mouqiu Dian initially worried that mobilizing the generals would cause unrest, then supported the plan and offered to serve as its vanguard.
• Cao Mao revealed that the General of the Guards was already writing a memorial to request the generals’ cooperation.

Sima Fu urged Sima Wang to serve Cao Mao rather than seek revenge, then revealed his lingering regret over failing to see Sima Ziyuan before his death. In the Inner Palace, Sima Yue advised Zheng Xian to win the Empress Dowager’s favor, while hinting that she kept herself from seeking greater influence.

• Sima Wang reunited with Sima Fu and regretted returning too late to spare his father punishment.
• Sima Fu told Sima Wang to follow Du Yuan Kai’s example, accept Cao Mao’s rule, and serve the emperor instead of becoming like Xiahou Ba.
• Sima Fu said he could accept his punishment but regretted failing to see Sima Ziyuan before he died.
• Sima Yue advised Zheng Xian to earn Cao Mao’s favor by helping him manage the Inner Palace and gaining the Empress Dowager’s affection.
• Sima Yue explained how to approach the Empress Dowager, then answered Zheng Xian’s question about her own restraint by saying too much ambition turned people into beasts.

Xun Xu established the Preparedness Office with a small group of ambitious young scholars, while Cao Mao arranged an East Hall Banquet to raise Ma Jun’s reputation and promote craftsmanship. The chapter ended with Zhuge Dan and Xun Yi arriving before Cao Mao in a heated dispute over Xun Yi’s duties.

• Xun Xu explained why he had chosen a humble, spacious residence for the Preparedness Office and inspired his young recruits with its mission.
• Xun Xu turned away clan visitors seeking appointments by explaining that the office oversaw disaster prevention rather than controlling grain distribution.
• Cao Mao encouraged Ma Jun to present his moving puppets at the East Hall Banquet so celebrated scholars would help make him famous.
• Du Yu arrived, recognized Cao Mao’s plan to promote Ma Jun, and agreed to support him at the banquet.
• Zhuge Dan brought an exasperated Xun Yi before Cao Mao, accusing the Grand Commandant of demanding that Xun Yi handle granaries and military corruption.

Cao Mao managed court appointments while postponing military reform, then hosted a banquet where Ma Jun’s water-powered puppets won the celebrated scholars’ acclaim. The lively gathering ended with Du Yu quietly remembering the ancients.

• Cao Mao urged Xun Yi to choose a deputy, and Xun Yi recommended Chen Tai for the Imperial Secretariat.
• Cao Mao told Zhuge Dan that he would address military discipline only after reforming official administration, then persuaded him to stay for the banquet.
• Du Yu and Ma Jun became acquainted, and Ji Kang apologized to Cao Mao for misjudging Lü Xun.
• Cao Mao hosted the celebrated scholars and had Ma Jun demonstrate dozens of water-powered puppets, astonishing the guests.
• Cao Mao promoted Ma Jun’s inventions through praise and poetry, while Ji Kang’s music brought the banquet to its height.
• Cao Mao asked Du Yu why he seemed glum, and Du Yu said he was remembering the ancients.

Zheng Xiaotong arrived in Fengqiu on imperial orders to investigate local officials and found County Magistrate Guo and other officials intoxicated on Stone Powder. After Guo’s behavior exposed the county’s corruption, Zheng Xiaotong recognized that such officials were still considered relatively good under Yanzhou’s prevailing standards.

• County Deputy rushed to County Magistrate Guo and forcibly sobered him after warning that Zheng Xiaotong was approaching with the imperial tally.
• County Magistrate Guo prepared to welcome Zheng Xiaotong as his grandfather’s old family friend, but Zheng Xiaotong rebuked him for addressing him as “Second Father.”
• Zheng Xiaotong questioned commoners who had been knocked down by officials galloping through town, then declared that he had come to investigate injustice and official conduct.
• Zheng Xiaotong inspected Fengqiu’s records while County Magistrate Guo grew disoriented again and ran off tearing at his clothes.
• County Deputy defended the officials as practitioners of refined pursuits, and Zheng Xiaotong sorrowfully recognized that they were still regarded as good by Yanzhou’s standards.

Hu Zun and Shi Bao argued over the emperor’s intentions, and Shi Bao persuaded Hu Zun that he might be destined to become Grand General. Hu Zun sent his son Hu Fen to Luoyang to pledge loyalty, but when an imperial edict ordered the generals to cooperate with an Attendant, Hu Zun took it as another test from the emperor.

• Hu Zun asked Shi Bao whether he had received an imperial edict and complained that the emperor had overlooked him while recalling or replacing other generals.
• Shi Bao told Hu Zun that the emperor’s failure to interfere in the east showed trust and might mean he intended to appoint Hu Zun Grand General.
• Shi Bao offered to travel to Luoyang on Hu Zun’s behalf, and Hu Zun agreed to send him to pay respects to the emperor.
• After Shi Bao left, Hu Zun accused him of using their meeting to advance his own career and ordered Hu Fen to go to Luoyang to express the family’s loyalty.
• A swift rider brought an edict requiring the Four Conquering and Four Stabilizing Generals to cooperate with an Attendant, and Hu Zun interpreted it as a test of his obedience.

Cao Mao welcomed Chen Tai to the Imperial Secretariat and privately discussed replacing corrupt officials, while Chen Tai warned him about the growing Hu presence on the frontier. After Cao Mao showed Chen Tai his trust, He Zeng met Yuan Liang and secretly considered how the emperor was preparing to bring him down.

• Cao Mao visited the Imperial Secretariat to welcome Chen Tai as Right Senior Secretary and praised the officials there.
• Cao Mao privately told Chen Tai that the secretariat was full of corrupt men and planned to replace Yuan Liang with Wei Shu.
• Chen Tai warned Cao Mao that Hu influence was growing in Yongliang, Bing, and You, and urged the court to address the frontier situation.
• Cao Mao trusted Chen Tai to handle the matter according to his judgment, and Chen Tai thanked him for his confidence.
• He Zeng visited Yuan Liang, who mistook Cao Mao's attention for a sign of promotion, while He Zeng knew the emperor was gathering evidence against him.

After Jiang Wei’s disastrous campaign, Liu Shan considered punishing him, but Chen Zhi and Huang Hao helped secure his pardon. Jiang Wei warned that Shu Han faced ruin if it did not act, and proposed approaching Wu Kingdom’s Grand General about another campaign.

• Liu Shan angrily confronted Jiang Wei over the defeat and Zhang Yi’s capture, while Huang Hao hoped to use the moment to strip Jiang Wei of power.
• Chen Zhi defended Jiang Wei, explained that Zhang Yi had volunteered to cover the retreat, and urged Liu Shan to weigh Jiang Wei’s losses against his past achievements.
• Huang Hao supported Chen Zhi’s proposal to investigate Jiang Wei’s case, and Liu Shan pardoned Jiang Wei while ordering him not to fail again.
• After leaving the hall, Jiang Wei bitterly said that being spared through Huang Hao’s influence was humiliating, while Chen Zhi explained through his silence that he had to court the eunuch circle to influence Liu Shan.
• Jiang Wei described the Cao army’s improved strength and coordination, warned that Shu Han might not survive three years, and suggested sending another envoy to discuss a campaign with Wu Kingdom’s Grand General.

Cao Mao reviewed reports of provincial corruption and realized that a shortage of capable replacements made sweeping dismissals impossible. He resolved to reform the Zhongzheng System with examinations and enforce change more forcefully, leaving Zheng Mao to understand the emperor’s determination.

• Cao Mao grew furious over reports of corrupt and incompetent officials, but Zhang Hua warned that dismissing County Magistrate Guo of Fengqiu could leave the county with an even worse successor.
• Cao Mao ordered Guo’s salary docked and directed him to resume neglected duties, then concluded that inspections had exposed problems and could gradually improve officials’ conduct.
• Cao Mao sorted the reports into piles for execution, dismissal, admonition, and promotion, then repeatedly rearranged them until the piles were more even.
• Cao Mao told Zheng Mao that the Zhongzheng System needed examinations to assess officials’ learning and ability, and Zheng Mao supported the proposal.
• Cao Mao rejected the idea of yielding to the great clans and declared that he would impose the examinations and use harsher measures to address the realm’s deep administrative corruption.

Wang Chang and Wang Ji traveled to Luoyang, observing that the emperor’s inspection policies had begun improving local administration. After deciding to support Cao Mao, Wang Chang arrived at court and considered raising his long-standing proposals for reform, while Cao Mao focused on Wang Ji’s military ability.

• Wang Chang and Wang Ji saw local officials fulfilling their duties more diligently and discussed whether Wang Chang should align himself with Cao Mao or the ministers.
• Wang Ji asked Wang Chang to compare Cao Mao with the Grand General, and Wang Chang concluded that he should choose Cao Mao’s side.
• Wang Chang reflected on his five proposals for improving governance and resolved to raise them with Cao Mao despite doubts that the ministers would support them.
• Wang Chang and Wang Ji reached Luoyang, where Cao Mao welcomed Wang Chang and asked after his health.
• Cao Mao studied Wang Chang’s political loyalties and recognized Wang Ji as a formidable strategist who could defend Great Wei against Wu.