Chapter Summaries

Deng Ai used rumors praising Zhuge Zhan to unsettle Shu and ordered Pang Hui to recruit condemned prisoners to assassinate him. Jiang Wei recognized the trap and wrote to Chengdu, but Liu Shan, encouraged by Huang Hao, appointed Zhuge Zhan General of the Guards and summoned him to receive his command.

• Pang Hui warned Deng Ai that rumors about Zhuge Zhan were weakening Wei's resolve, but Deng Ai dismissed the troops' fear and ordered Pang Hui to arrange an assassination using condemned prisoners.
• Deng Ai's supposed concern about Zhuge Zhan spread through Wei and reached Shu, where Jiang Wei feared the court would send the inexperienced Zhuge Zhan to face Deng Ai.
• Jiang Wei wrote to Zhuge Zhan to explain the Wei stratagem and try to prevent him from accepting a military appointment.
• Huang Hao brought the news to Liu Shan, who rejoiced that Wei feared Zhuge Zhan and ordered him appointed General of the Guards and summoned to the palace.

Liu Shan appointed Zhuge Zhan General of the Guards and Supervisor of the Secretariat, then prepared to send him to command in Hanzhong despite his lack of battlefield experience. Zhuge Zhan’s sudden rise fueled public and court pressure against Jiang Wei, while an attempted Wei assassination made him even more prominent.

• Liu Shan appointed Zhuge Zhan General of the Guards and Supervisor of the Secretariat after praising him and urging him to accept the posts.
• Zhuge Zhan warned Liu Shan that he lacked military experience and that replacing Jiang Wei in Hanzhong could unsettle the troops, but Liu Shan insisted he would prepare him for command.
• Huang Hao considered using Zhuge Zhan to replace Jiang Wei, while officials and common people increasingly praised Zhuge Zhan and called for him to take greater responsibility.
• Huang Hao used the Zhuge Zhan affair to purge officials and persuaded Liu Shan to bar Liu Yong from visiting him.
• Chengdu’s City Gate Commandant captured Wei spies who confessed they had been sent by Deng Ai to assassinate Zhuge Zhan, prompting Liu Shan to assign him armed guards.
• Jiang Wei received news of the assassination plot and sat silently before his documents.

Cao Mao received Huchuquan and discussed using him to manage the Xiongnu, while Zhong Hui outlined a plan to destabilize Shu by turning Huang Hao and Jiang Wei against each other. As Wei prepared for war on several fronts, Huang Hao’s alleged dealings with Wei brought Jiang Wei rushing to Chengdu to confront him.

• Cao Mao welcomed Huchuquan to Luoyang and tasked him with helping reform the Xiongnu through moral instruction.
• Zhong Hui reported that Zhuge Dan had gained power in Shu and proposed provoking a feud between Huang Hao and Jiang Wei before Wei pressured Shu militarily.
• Wei expanded its supplies, weapons production, and army drills, while Deng Ai’s scouts probed Shu’s defenses and urged the garrisons to surrender.
• Fan Jian accused Huang Hao of meeting Wei agents and accepting bribes, but Liu Shan believed Huang Hao’s denial and moved to punish Fan Jian.
• Jiang Wei left his army near the passes and hurried to Chengdu, determined to deal with Huang Hao.

Jiang Wei confronted Liu Shan over Huang Hao, then warned Zhuge Zhan and Dong Jue about the kingdom’s failing administration and the threat from Wei. After Jiang Wei left Chengdu, Liu Shan gave Zhuge Zhan command of the capital’s troops, but veteran generals Liao Hua and Zong Yu declined to pay their respects.

• Jiang Wei demanded that Liu Shan execute Huang Hao, but Liu Shan defended the eunuch and ordered Huang Hao and Jiang Wei to make peace.
• After Jiang Wei departed, Huang Hao reassured Liu Shan, who planned to send Siyuan to Hanzhong to divide Jiang Wei’s command and pardon Yan Yu for service at Yongan.
• Jiang Wei visited Zhuge Zhan and Dong Jue, warned Zhuge Zhan against taking command in Hanzhong, and urged Dong Jue to adapt the Imperial Secretariat’s administration.
• After Jiang Wei left, Dong Jue criticized his campaigns and suggested Zhuge Zhan should command the army in Hanzhong, leaving Zhuge Zhan uncertain he could face Wei.
• Liu Shan appointed Zhuge Zhan to command Chengdu’s troops and summoned the generals to visit him, but Liao Hua and Zong Yu refused to go.

Wang Su presented his new annotations on the Supreme Mystery at the Imperial Academy, using Wang Learning to explain how classical principles could support unification and address the crises of the age. His lecture left the scholars absorbed rather than debating, while Sima Yan found it incomprehensible and noticed Cao Mao had slipped away.

• Wang Su arrived at the Imperial Academy to give an internal lecture, and Sima Yan held back from greeting him to avoid suspicions of favoritism toward his maternal grandfather.
• Zhong Hui barged into the academy and persuaded Zhong Yu to let him stay despite the rule barring outsiders from the debate.
• Wang Su expounded the Supreme Mystery and his annotations for two hours, impressing the Erudites and clarifying the case for unification to the gathered scholars.
• Zhong Yu considered the risks of Wang Su's approach to combining schools of thought, while Zhong Hui listened with excitement.
• Sima Yan wondered why no debate had begun, then saw that Cao Mao had left the lecture.

At a restaurant, Cao Mao confronted Tufa Xianbei merchants and insisted their leader submit to Great Wei, prompting him to consider sharper policies for distinguishing subjects from outsiders. Meanwhile, Wang Su’s teachings spread through Luoyang and provoked sharply divided reactions among the Bamboo Grove scholars.

• Zhang Hua and Guo Ze praised Wang Su’s learning as Cao Mao observed the prosperity of the Gao Family Restaurant.
• Five Tufa Xianbei merchants arrived, and Cao Mao invited their leader to dine with him despite the restaurant staff’s reluctance to host them.
• Cao Mao warned the merchant that the Tufa Xianbei must submit to Great Wei before trading there, and sent him away with a message for his leader.
• Cao Mao considered policies that would welcome assimilated groups while expelling or blockading outsiders who refused cultural instruction.
• Wang Su’s teachings spread through Luoyang, stirring debate about unification among scholars and ordinary people.
• The Bamboo Grove scholars disagreed over Wang Su’s ideas, with Ruan Ji supporting them, Liu Ling dismissing them, Ji Kang reconsidering his opposition, and Ruan Xian condemning them.

Cao Mao ordered Shi Bao and Pei Xiu to pacify the Qiang and Hu tribes of Yongliang and bring them under Wei rule before the campaign against Shu. Shi Bao accepted the dangerous appointment, while Deng Ai was to assist him and Pei Xiu was assigned to coordinate the mission.

• Cao Mao told Pei Xiu and Shi Bao that he intended to expel Hu groups that refused to submit and use civilizing instruction to integrate those who did.
• Cao Mao appointed Shi Bao Protector-General of the Qiang and tasked him with bringing Yongliang’s tribes to submission before Wei marched against Shu.
• Shi Bao accepted the appointment and pledged to pacify Yongliang within a year, while Cao Mao promised him a county marquis and a monument if he brought lasting peace.
• Cao Mao assigned Pei Xiu to assist Shi Bao and said Deng Ai would provide support, but declined to send the Central Army.
• Cao Mao told Zhang Hua that Deng Ai should resolve the problem he had first identified and might someday earn a place in the Martial Temple.

Cao Mao accepted Wei Shu’s argument that Wang Rong should be punished according to the law, then learned that Cao Zhi, the Prince of Jibei, had clashed with a local great clan. Cao Mao backed the prince and ordered Cao Yan to ensure the clans faced hardship, leaving the conflict poised to deepen.

• Wei Shu argued that Wang Rong’s embezzlement did not meet the legal threshold for execution and explained that sparing him would strengthen trust in the law and demonstrate Cao Mao’s benevolence.
• Cao Mao agreed to let Wei Shu handle Wang Rong’s case according to existing law and left the Ministry of Justice with Zhang Hua.
• Cao Yan arrived recklessly at the Ministry of Justice and told Cao Mao that Cao Zhi, the Prince of Jibei, had fought with a local great clan that planned to accuse him of rebellion.
• Cao Mao recognized the dispute as a likely consequence of princes recovering authority and local clans defending their land and wealth.
• Cao Mao described Cao Zhi as kindhearted, suggested the great clans had humiliated him, and ordered Cao Yan to protect the imperial clan while ensuring the clans suffered hardship.

Cao Zhi was imprisoned after confronting local officials over their abuses, while Gongsha Hong and Liu Jie schemed to silence him before an imperial investigation. The chapter ended with Gongsha Hong urging Liu Jun to get rid of Cao Zhi.

• Liu Jie and other officials accused Cao Zhi of seizing farmland and abusing the people, and Gongsha Hong ordered Cao Zhi confined to his palace.
• After leaving Cao Zhi under guard, Gongsha Hong and Liu Jie discussed how to prevent him from telling the Ministry of Justice the truth.
• Liu Jie proposed framing Cao Zhi for treason, but Gongsha Hong doubted the plan and decided to make Liu Jie share the blame.
• Gongsha Hong summoned Liu Jun and told him the Imperial Court had sent an Attendant to investigate, then urged him to get rid of Cao Zhi.

Cao Zhi was ambushed in his Study by Liu Jun and the Liu Family’s men, who tried to stage his death as a suicide. Hu Zun arrived in time to rescue him, then struck Gongsha Hong and ordered his arrest along with the Liu Family.

• Cao Zhi found the guards missing, then fought off men who broke into the Study to capture him.
• Liu Jun ordered poisoned wine brought to kill Cao Zhi, but Cao Zhi smashed his face against the ground to spoil the plan.
• Liu Jun prepared to burn Cao Zhi in the Study, but Hu Zun’s archers killed the attackers before the fire could reach him.
• Hu Zun stamped out the flames and had Cao Zhi freed while confronting Gongsha Hong.
• Gongsha Hong blamed the Liu Family, but Hu Zun struck him and ordered his arrest and the arrest of the entire Liu Family.

Hu Zun stopped an assassination attempt against Cao Zhi and uncovered a dispute over stolen public fields, leaving the suspects in custody until Cao Yan arrived to handle the case. Cao Yan reached Jibei under Guo Ze’s watch and was immediately summoned by Hu Zun to deal with the remaining suspects.

• Hu Zun questioned Liu Jie about the would-be assassin, and Liu Jie revealed that Gongsha Hong had sent the man to kill Cao Zhi to conceal his sale of imperial public fields.
• Gongsha Hong accused Liu Jie of buying public fields, but Hu Zun had both men taken away while Cao Zhi remained under guard.
• Hu Zun told Cao Zhi that Cao Yan would arrive to handle the murder plot, then seized Hu Lie’s jeweled bow after assigning him to protect the prince.
• Cao Zhi learned that the young general was Hu Lie, Hu Zun’s son, and promised to ask Hu Zun to return the bow.
• Cao Yan arrived in Jibei with Guo Ze accompanying him, and Hu Zun berated him for traveling slowly before ordering him to deal with the two suspects.

Cao Yan and Hu Zun investigated the attempted murder of Cao Zhi and the great clans’ seizure of public land, while Cao Zhi described the mistreatment he had suffered. Hu Zun confronted the implicated clans, who tried to negotiate their way out of the charges.

• Hu Zun told Cao Yan that Gongsha Hong’s men had bound Cao Zhi and nearly burned him alive, and Cao Yan thanked Hu Zun for saving the prince.
• After Gongsha Hong implicated local officials and great clans, Hu Zun arrested them and seized farmland while waiting for Cao Yan to arrive.
• Cao Zhi welcomed Cao Yan and told him how officials and great clans had bullied him, and Guo Ze conveyed Cao Mao’s wishes to the prince.
• Cao Yan explained that Hu Lie was the imperial rider sent to deliver an edict, and Hu Zun ordered his son to stay and help with the investigation.
• Hu Zun confronted the implicated great clans, and Liu Jie admitted fault while asking how they could settle the matter.

Hu Zun forced the great clans to return public fields and pay for missing land while Cao Yan escorted the Prince of Jibei to court over the plot to murder a prince. After learning from Hu Zun’s letter, Yang Hu prepared to investigate public fields in Hebei and tasked Pei Hui with questioning the local clans.

• Hu Zun demanded that the great clans return public fields and make up the shortfall, then used the King-Killing Case to pressure them into surrendering land and wealth.
• Cao Yan visited the great clans with the Prince of Jibei, denounced them, and persuaded them that returning farmland was safer than seeking his protection.
• Cao Yan took Cao Zhi back toward Luoyang with Hu Lie escorting them, leaving Hu Zun pleased with his victories and eager to boast to Yang Hu.
• Yang Hu read Hu Zun’s letter to Pei Hui and realized that public-field records in Hebei might also be incomplete.
• Yang Hu asked Pei Hui to investigate whether public fields had been sold off, then left the matter to him while preparing to handle affairs in Bing Province.

Cao Mao reviewed the strong harvest and approved expanding tenant farming across Great Wei at a measured pace. Zhang Hua then warned that the great clans’ growing landholdings threatened to turn the common people into bondservants, and Cao Mao recognized Zhang Hua as the likely source of future farmland reforms.

• Cao Mao practiced swordsmanship from Cao Pi’s book while he waited for an approved military instructor.
• Lu Zhi reported that tax revenue in Zhengyuan Year Three had matched the peak recorded in Taihe Year Five, and Cao Mao ordered tenant farming expanded across the regions with attention to local conditions.
• Zhang Hua told Cao Mao that the Prince of Jibei was being brought to Luoyang with the men accused of attempting to kill him, after Hu Lie and Hu Zun had intervened to protect him.
• Zhang Hua warned that the great clans’ farmland was expanding as public fields dwindled, leaving Cao Mao to recall historical reforms and suspect Zhang Hua would propose them.

Cao Mao explained to Zhang Hua why land reform had to wait until unification, then received Ji Kang, who warned that Wang Yi was seeking support to rehabilitate Wang Rong. Cao Mao said Wang Yi’s fate would depend on his own actions.

• Cao Mao told Zhang Hua that the Great Clans’ landholdings could not be challenged before unification, and Zhang Hua resolved to help build a flourishing age.
• Cheng Ji announced Ji Kang’s arrival, and Ji Kang told Cao Mao that Wang Su had changed his views on Xuanxue and the classics.
• Ji Kang revealed that Wang Yi had sent someone to ask him to rally support for Wang Rong’s rehabilitation.
• Ji Kang warned that Wang Yi might collude with foreign enemies and asked Cao Mao to consider Wang Yi’s service in Youzhou.
• Cao Mao said Wang Yi’s fate depended on his own thoughts and actions.

Cao Mao appointed Ji Kang as libationer of the reopened Chongwen Observatory and asked Zhang Hua to investigate the General Who Pacifies the North. In Yongliang, Shi Bao began enforcing Cao Mao’s policy toward the Qiang and Hu with Deng Ai’s support, but most chiefs defied his summons as the tenth-day deadline passed.

• Cao Mao persuaded Ji Kang to accept the post of libationer and discussed the differing views of the Seven Sages.
• Cao Mao ordered Zhang Hua to investigate the General Who Pacifies the North over his dissatisfaction concerning Wang Rong.
• Deng Ai approved Pei Xiu’s plan to distinguish friend from foe among the Qiang and Hu, pledged forty thousand troops to Shi Bao, and backed his appointment.
• Shi Bao summoned the Qiang and Hu chiefs to appear within ten days, threatening punishment for defying an imperial edict.
• The Bailan Qiang chief urged other tribes to arrive together on the eleventh day to defy Shi Bao’s deadline.
• Only the Wuyi Qiang and Western Mountain Qiang chiefs appeared on time, and Shi Bao welcomed them and held a banquet.

Shi Bao punished the Various Qiang leaders for defying his military order to arrive within ten days, executing them despite their pleas and threats of rebellion. He sent the White Mountain and Wuge leaders away to carry out his orders, leaving them terrified by his resolve.

• The White Mountain and Wuge Qiang leaders explained that the others wanted respect, but Shi Bao insisted that his subjects must obey orders without being bribed.
• The next day, the Various Qiang leaders arrived late and mocked Shi Bao, while the White Mountain and Wuge leaders watched in silence.
• Shi Bao ordered his armored guards to seize the leaders for defying military orders, and the guards overwhelmed them.
• Shi Bao declared that the late leaders must be beheaded, and the guards executed them despite their pleas and threats of rebellion.
• Shi Bao dismissed the White Mountain and Wuge leaders with orders to carry out his instructions, and the shaken Wuge leader called him a Qiang-Exterminating General.

Shi Bao’s campaign against the Qiang and Hu sparked a rebellion in Yongliang, and Deng Ai’s forces crushed the tribes as court officials condemned the policy. Jiang Wei seized the turmoil as a chance to invade Wei, but Wei forces then threatened Yongan, leaving Chengdu scrambling to respond.

• Deng Ai’s troops, reinforced by Zhuge Xu and Sima Wang, attacked the rebelling Qiang tribes and rapidly overran them.
• Zhuge Dan denounced Shi Bao to Cao Mao, while Zhang Hua argued that defeating and resettling the tribes could bring lasting order to Yongliang.
• Cao Mao prepared for Jiang Wei’s intervention and sent Chen Qian with the Central Army toward Yongliang.
• After receiving reports of the rebellion, Jiang Wei ordered his troops to mobilize and secured Liu Shan’s approval to march north.
• Jiang Wei led his army out of Hanzhong to attack Deng Ai alongside the Qiang and Hu, while the Wang Ji Army sent more than thirty thousand men toward Yongan.
• Liu Shan appointed Zhuge Zhan to reinforce Yongan and sent messengers to warn Jiang Wei as panic spread in Chengdu.

Yan Yu prepared Yongan for Wang Ji’s siege while worrying that Jiang Wei would be left to face Deng Ai alone. In Jianye, Sun Xiu’s court split over whether Wu should send troops, and Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing opposed intervention.

• Yan Yu rejected a proposal to attack Wang Ji’s forces and ordered Yongan’s defenses strengthened.
• Yan Yu worried that the Qiang and Hu uprising would soon be suppressed, allowing Wang Ji and other Wei armies to threaten Shu while Jiang Wei was occupied.
• Wang Ji arrived in Xiling and told his generals to pressure Shu and draw its troops into defending Yongan without yet storming the city.
• Shi Ji ordered his army to prepare and keep watch despite receiving no reply to his requests for reinforcements from Jianye.
• Sun Xiu convened a court assembly, where ministers backed by Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing argued against sending troops to help Shu.

Deng Ai’s campaign against the Qiang and Hu tribes escalated until Imperial Envoy Lu Qin ordered him to stop killing those who surrendered and put Zhuge Xu in charge of pacification. Deng Ai secretly used the turmoil to draw Jiang Wei into the open, and learned that Jiang Wei had marched toward Longxi and Jincheng.

• After Deng Ai’s forces defeated several tribes, many Qiang men surrendered to Pang Hui, who detained them and sent a scout to ask Deng Ai what to do.
• Deng Ai said the surrendering tribes were fickle and considered how to kill the prisoners, prompting Zhuge Xu to denounce him and threaten to report him to the emperor.
• Lu Qin arrived with an imperial command ordering Deng Ai to end the suppression quickly, treat surrendering tribes leniently, dismiss Shi Bao, and let Zhuge Xu oversee pacification.
• Under Lu Qin’s supervision, Deng Ai ordered the pursuit stopped and accepted prisoners, while Zhuge Xu began relocating the tribes under the court’s instructions.
• Deng Ai secretly studied a map of possible Shu movements, intending to lure Jiang Wei into a battle and destroy his army.
• A scout reported that Jiang Wei had marched from Tazhong toward Longxi and Jincheng, and Deng Ai welcomed the news.