Chapter Summaries

Shi Ji suspected Wei was using activity around Jiangling to conceal an attack on Jianping and ordered nearby forces to prepare reinforcements. In Jianye, Lu Kang urged Sun Xiu to abandon exposed territory and concentrate Wu’s defenses, leaving the kingdom braced for a possible invasion.

• Shi Ji studied Wang Ji’s movements near Jiangling, suspected a feint against his defensive line, and ordered forces at Jingmen and Yidao to reinforce Jianping.
• Sun Xiu read Lu Kang’s memorial proposing that Wu abandon vulnerable parts of Jingnan and concentrate its troops around Chaisang and key passes.
• Sun Xiu summoned Lu Kang and accused him of urging the surrender of Wu’s territory.
• Lu Kang explained that Wei could soon attack after Shu’s fall and that Jianping’s capture would expose Lexiang to attacks from two sides.
• Lu Kang advised Sun Xiu to evacuate the people from the flatlands, concentrate Wu’s forces, and avoid policies that could further unsettle the kingdom.
• Sun Xiu dismissed Lu Kang to consider his advice, while Lu Kang left calmly.

Sun Xiu appointed Lu Kang to defend the front at Chaisang, while Puyang Xing pushed ahead with his farmland project as fighting spread through Jingnan. Cao Mao traveled toward Luoyang, planning the administration of Shu Kingdom’s former lands, and learned that Sima Zhao had died by suicide.

• Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu opposed Lu Kang’s warnings about Jingnan, but Sun Xiu appointed Lu Kang to the Chaisang Command to defend the front.
• Puyang Xing forced the ministers to approve his land reclamation project, while Wang Ji and Wen Qin attacked Jingnan and Shi Ji scrambled to defend the region.
• Cao Mao traveled toward Luoyang and decided to divide Yi Province into Liang, Yi, and Ning provinces, selecting Mouqiu Dian, Qian Hong, and Huo Yi for key posts.
• Cao Mao received news that Sima Zhao had killed himself and left a letter confessing his clan’s schemes and crimes.

After Wei conquered Shu, Cao Mao returned to Luoyang, sacrificed to his ancestors, and rewarded the campaign’s participants. He allowed Liu Shan to return to his fief and began organizing Shu’s administration, while Luo Xian struggled to accept that he had surrendered and become a Wei official.

• Cao Mao entered Luoyang and led the ministers to the Ancestral Temple, where he reported Shu’s defeat and vowed to conquer Wu.
• At Taiji Hall, Wang Su and Wang Chang praised Cao Mao and presented supposed auspicious omens, but Cao Mao kept the Zhengyuan era name.
• Cao Mao summoned Liu Shan and permitted him to return to his fief with any former ministers who wished to accompany him.
• Cao Mao rewarded the campaign’s generals, promoting Zhuge Dan, Zhong Hui, Ma Long, Wen Yang, and others, while dismissing Deng Ai from office and stripping his noble rank.
• Zheng Mao began outlining appointments and administration for Shu, and Liu Shan recognized Luo Xian among the Wei officials.
• Luo Xian realized that Shu’s surrender had ended his assassination mission, and Cao Mao enfeoffed him for the Mountain Army’s service.

After returning to Luoyang, Cao Mao visited Empress Dowager Guo and considered the coming war against Wu. Liu Shan settled into his new residence, but Zhang Tong reminded him of the Shu loyalists who died resisting Wei, leaving Liu Shan shaken yet still insisting Luoyang's food was delicious.

• Cao Mao asked Luo Xian to oversee rewards for the army, then visited Empress Dowager Guo, who praised his conquest of Shu and urged him to destroy Wu.
• Cao Mao returned to the Western Hall, reflected on the challenges of defeating Wu, and fell asleep exhausted.
• Liu Shan arrived at his luxurious residence, where Huang Hao reunited him with his beauties and served him Luoyang delicacies.
• Zhang Tong refused to eat with Liu Shan and recounted how Jiang Wei, Fu Qian, Hu Ji, Huang Chong, and other Shu loyalists had died resisting Wei.
• Liu Shan trembled as he remembered people from his past, but answered Zhang Tong that Luoyang's food was still delicious.

Zhang Yi learned that Liu Shan had surrendered and Jiang Wei was dead, then Cao Mao urged him to choose between remaining a prisoner and serving Wei. Cao Mao reviewed court affairs with Wang Chang, including reforms to farming, investigations into seized public fields, and plans to govern the pacified Shu lands; Pei Xiu’s officials were still in Bing Province.

• Zhang Yi met Liu Shan, learned that he had submitted to Cao Mao and that Jiang Wei was dead, and left in shock.
• Cao Mao asked Zhang Yi whether he would remain a war trophy or build a career in Wei, then sent him back to consider his choice.
• Cao Mao summoned Wang Chang, who reported that Wei had abolished military agriculture in favor of tenant farming and was investigating officials who occupied public fields.
• Wang Chang admitted that members of his clan had bought public fields, and Cao Mao accepted their return of the land rather than punish them further.
• Wang Chang reported on official assessments and Pei Xiu’s preparations in Bing Province, where several Secretariat gentlemen had yet to return.

Yang Hu confronted the five Southern Xiongnu division commanders with evidence that Liu Meng had plotted rebellion against Great Wei. Liu Meng’s expression changed as Yang Hu accused him, and his fate remained unresolved.

• Liu Meng urged the other division commanders to reclaim pastures beyond the frontier, but they mocked and dismissed him.
• Yang Hu and Inspector Xianyu Si prepared to act against Liu Meng on Minister Pei’s instructions.
• Yang Hu entered the commanders’ meeting, questioned them about their divisions, and presented letters accusing Liu Meng of plotting rebellion.
• Yang Hu denounced Liu Meng for seeking rebellion despite the Imperial Court’s benevolence, leaving Liu Meng alarmed.

Yang Hu subdued Liu Meng after he tried to attack him, then heard Liu Bao and other tribal commanders request permission to adopt farming, schooling, and Central Plains customs. The commanders’ fear of repeating the fate of the tribes in Yongliang prompted their requests, while Yang Hu continued planning for the growing Xianbei threat.

• Liu Meng accused Wei of breaking its promises, then lunged at Yang Hu and was beaten down by Liu Jing and the other tribal commanders.
• Yang Hu had guards take Liu Meng away and was preparing to leave when Liu Bao asked him to submit proposals for farmland, tenant farming, schooling, and new policies to the emperor.
• Liu Jing asked Yang Hu to submit the same request, and he told two hesitant commanders that tribes in Yongliang had been killed after refusing to accept civilization.
• The two commanders hurried after Yang Hu and insisted they too wished to accept civilization and submit memorials, believing refusal might bring them the same fate.
• Liu Bao explained the misunderstanding to Yang Hu and Xianyu Si, while Yang Hu considered the sharper conflicts in Bing Province and Youzhou and prepared cavalry to counter the Xianbei.

Cao Mao sent Pei Xiu to Yongliang to forcibly integrate the Qiang and Hu into registered households, while Pei Kai received a posting in Shu. On the fronts, Lu Kang reorganized Wu’s defenses against Wei’s advance, while Puyang Xing’s forced labor project sparked growing resentment across Wu.

• Cao Mao approved Pei Xiu’s plan to register Yongliang’s Qiang and Hu as ordinary subjects and ordered him to avoid repeating Deng Ai’s excesses.
• Pei Xiu urged Pei Kai to accept Xun Xu’s recommendation for a post in Shu, where he could gain experience serving as an official.
• Lu Kang advised Shi Ji and Ding Feng to abandon exposed ground, concentrate forces at key junctions, and evacuate the population and resources.
• Wang Ji and Wen Qin captured territory in Jingzhou but were stopped at key routes into Lingling, Hengyang, and Nan Commanderies.
• Puyang Xing launched a vast corvée project around Danyang Lake, and officials forced whole households and soldiers to labor, causing casualties and widespread resentment.

Cao Mao chose to punish Sima Zhao without a formal trial, and He Zeng began dismantling the Sima Family and condemning Sima Yi’s legacy. Cao Mao then turned his attention to the campaign against Wu, deciding to build warships and wait for Wu’s great clans to lose hope and surrender.

• Cao Mao ordered the ailing Wang Su to rest, and Zhang Hua suggested that Wang Su feared being implicated in Sima Zhao’s crimes.
• Cao Mao decided that Sima Zhao should take his own life rather than face a formal trial that could implicate many related clans.
• He Zeng prosecuted members of the Sima Family, and Sima Gan died after being tortured in prison.
• He Zeng accused Sima Yi of usurping power and persecuting loyal ministers, while Cao Mao ordered Sima Yi’s titles and honors stripped and his remains treated as those of a commoner.
• Cao Mao told Zhang Hua to stay out of the purge and focus on affairs in Yongliang with Pei Xiu.
• Cao Mao judged that Wang Ji and Wen Qin’s campaign against Wu would make limited gains, so he planned to build warships until Wu’s great clans chose to surrender.

Cao Mao’s reforms had weakened powder use and restored the authority of the law in Luoyang, where guards arrested a powder user who tried to buy wine. Cao Mao visited Yang Zong in prison and urged him to believe that meaningful change was possible, then continued putting surrendered Shu officials to work according to their abilities.

• A powder-taking old man tried to buy wine, but the shopkeeper refused to serve him and scholars and bystanders rebuked him.
• Armored guards arrived, arrested the old man, and drew cheers from the crowd.
• Cao Mao spoke with Yang Zong in prison, reminding him that his reforms had changed the world and that Sima Yi had suffered retribution for his crimes.
• Yang Zong wept as Cao Mao left, and Cao Mao told Zhang Hua that they would have to wait to learn whether Yang Zong would agree to serve him.
• Cao Mao assigned surrendered Shu officials, including Dong Jue, Fan Jian, and Qiao Zhou, to posts suited to their abilities.

Cao Mao recruited Yang Zong and summoned Ma Jun, who asked him to spare two talented Shu artisans, Li Zhuan and Pu Yuan. As Zhang Hua searched for Pu Yuan, Yang Zong left prison with both wine and an official post, then urged an investigation into another prisoner’s case.

• Cao Mao recruited Yang Zong after arranging to monitor him and brought Zhang Hua back toward the palace.
• Cao Mao welcomed Ma Jun, who pleaded for Pu Yuan and Li Zhuan, and Cao Mao ordered Zhang Hua to find them.
• Zhang Hua brought Li Zhuan to Taiji Hall, where he and Ma Jun eagerly discussed mechanical crafts and their shared scholarly connections.
• Yang Zong left prison after choosing both the Sage Wine and the palace attendant cavalryman’s seal and ribbon.
• Yang Zong asked the prison clerk to investigate whether the prisoner held beside him had been forced to take the blame.

Liu Yin arrived in Hanzhong as its new commandery governor after Emperor Liu Shan pardoned him for criticizing the court. As he restored local administration and found the imprisoned artisan Pu Yuan, Pu Yuan condemned him for serving Wei, and Liu Yin responded in anger.

• Liu Yin arrived in Hanzhong in a prisoner cart, identified himself as the new commandery governor, and explained that he had been pardoned after criticizing the emperor over Jiang Wei’s death.
• Liu Yin ordered Xun Zou to finish registering public fields and began reshaping Hanzhong’s administration and restoring cultivation.
• Liu Yin visited the mining fields and recognized the elderly prisoner Pu Yuan, the famed Shu artisan who had forged him a fine saber.
• Liu Yin forced Pu Yuan into his carriage and brought him to his residence, where he offered to recommend him to Wei’s Ministry of Works.
• Pu Yuan accused Liu Yin of being a spineless Shu man, and Liu Yin slammed down his wine cup and glared at him.

Liu Yin convinced Pu Yuan to serve Wei by explaining why he had surrendered and how Cao Mao treated former Shu officials. Cao Mao appointed Zhang Hua to oversee military and civil affairs in Ba-Shu, leaving both ruler and trusted minister reluctant to part.

• Liu Yin defended his surrender to Pu Yuan, describing the hardships he and the people of Shu had endured and declaring that he now served Cao Mao.
• Liu Yin showed Pu Yuan an imperial edict ordering officials to find the artisan and send him to Luoyang, persuading Pu Yuan to reconsider returning home.
• Yang Zong warned Cao Mao that powerful families might exploit appointments in Shu to seize land and recommended sending a trusted official to oversee the region.
• Yang Zong proposed Zhang Hua for the post, and Cao Mao reluctantly appointed him imperial commissioner over Ba-Shu’s military and civil affairs.
• Zhang Hua accepted the appointment after Cao Mao gave him lengthy instructions, and Yang Zong quietly drank wine as they said goodbye.

After Sima Zhao’s death, Cao Mao visited Sima Yan and urged him to find a way to redeem his clan through his own actions rather than mourn helplessly. Cao Mao then discussed sparing some of the Sima family and reviewed preparations for the eventual conquest of Eastern Wu.

• Sima Yan knelt before Sima Zhao’s spirit tablet as the disgraced Sima Family faced a reckoning.
• Cao Mao joined Sima Yan, acknowledged the price the Sima clan had paid for its choices, and encouraged him to prove through his conduct that not every member of the family was wicked.
• Sima Yan asked why the whole clan had to be implicated, and Cao Mao explained that he had spared Sima Yan and his brother because of their friendship.
• Yang Zong suggested sparing some Sima relatives for their usefulness against powerful clans, and Cao Mao agreed to leave the question of revising harsh punishments until the realm was pacified.
• Cao Mao returned to Taiji Hall and reviewed memorials about Ba-Shu and Guanqiu Jian’s shipbuilding preparations for the campaign against Eastern Wu.

Puyang Xing’s forced corvée and construction projects fueled unrest across Eastern Wu, while Sun Xiu ignored Lu Kang’s warning and let the project continue. In Shouchun, Guanqiu Jian learned that Jiaozhi had rebelled against Wu and submitted to Wei, bringing the prospect of conquering Eastern Wu closer.

• Lu Kang blamed Puyang Xing’s forced transport of people for a rebellion that cut his supply route, then sent Sun Xiu a warning about the unrest and its danger to the war effort.
• Sun Xiu told Puyang Xing to involve the great clans in the project without disrupting agriculture, and Puyang Xing sought Zhang Bu’s advice on how to comply.
• Zhang Bu urged Puyang Xing to keep suppressing the great clans, while Puyang Xing feared their private troops and considered continuing to burden commoners.
• Guanqiu Jian rejected conscripting more laborers at Shouchun, saying it would undermine Wei’s effort to defeat Wu, and told Zhang Te that capturing Sun Xiu would bring them merit.
• A scout informed Guanqiu Jian that Jiaozhi had submitted to Wei after Lü Xing and others killed Governor Sun Xu in an uprising against forced conscription.

Cao Mao assigned Ma Long, Wen Yang, and Cheng Cui to new regional posts and received news that Jiaozhi Commandery had risen against Eastern Wu. He ordered forces to support the uprising and summoned Chen Qian and Deng Ai to discuss taking Jiaozhou.

• Cao Mao advised Ma Long on governing Yongliang and warned Wen Yang to obey Yang Hu and avoid provoking the Xianbei.
• Wen Yang joked that Cao Mao valued him more because he had been told not to beat officials, while Ma Long urged him to obey his commanding general.
• Yang Zong reported that officials in Jiaozhi had killed their commandery governor and raised an army after abuses ordered by Puyang Xing.
• Cao Mao ordered Huo Yi to return to Nanzhong and Zhuge Dan to send men to support Wen Qin and take over Jiaozhi Commandery.
• Cao Mao summoned Chen Qian and Deng Ai to discuss the situation in Eastern Wu.

Deng Ai proposed threatening Jianye with a naval offensive to prevent Wu from reinforcing Jiaozhou, despite Chen Qian’s objections. Cao Mao considered the strategy but decided to consult the General of Chariots and Cavalry, while refusing Deng Ai’s offer to lead the Huainan forces.

• Deng Ai told Deng Zhong that he could return to the Ministry of Personnel, though Deng Zhong remained anxious about his unfinished appointments work.
• Cao Mao summoned Deng Ai and Chen Qian to review news that Jiaozhou had been secured without a fight.
• Deng Ai argued that Wei should threaten Jianye rather than merely send troops to Jiaozhou, forcing Wu to keep its forces near the capital.
• Chen Qian rejected Deng Ai’s plan, warning that Wei’s navy could be defeated and leave its southern territories exposed.
• Deng Ai defended the plan by citing Wei’s naval strength, Wu’s divided forces, and the lack of capable commanders in Jianye.
• Cao Mao decided to consult the General of Chariots and Cavalry but rejected Deng Ai’s offer to go to Huainan and lead the attack himself.

After returning from Shu, Zhong Hui received Cao Mao’s praise and argued that Zhang Hua should only govern Shu temporarily. He then warned Zhong Yu about the court’s coming moves against the Great Clans and asked his brother to give him a son to inherit his title, prompting Zhong Yu to order him out.

• Deng Ai was sent back to his residence while Deng Zhong was summoned to the Imperial Secretariat again.
• Zhong Hui returned to Luoyang early, and Cao Mao praised his military achievements and reviewed the talented Shu figures he had recommended.
• Zhong Hui objected to Zhang Hua governing Shu, but agreed to let him serve until a suitable candidate was found.
• Zhong Hui visited Zhong Yu and Xiahou He, bragged about his new County Marquis title, and drove Xiahou He away with an insulting remark.
• Zhong Hui warned Zhong Yu that Cao Mao would soon move against the Great Clans and urged him to be cautious.
• Zhong Hui asked Zhong Yu to give him one of his sons as an heir, and Zhong Yu angrily ordered him out.

Zhong Hui adopted his nephews Zhong Yi and Zhong Yong, ordering them to stay at his residence and study. Meanwhile, Chen Qian and Wang Chang weighed how to handle Shu’s surrendered troops and struggling population, and Cao Mao summoned Chen Qian after hearing their proposal.

• Zhong Yi and Zhong Yong greeted Zhong Hui, who adopted them and instructed them to study and avoid disreputable company.
• Zhang Hua reported that the Shu lands needed famine relief, not merely tax concessions, and dismissed a County Magistrate who wanted to relocate the local people.
• Chen Qian told Wang Chang that officials disagreed over whether to disband, relocate, or enlist the nearly eighty thousand surrendered Shu soldiers.
• Wang Chang proposed keeping elite troops such as Huo Yi’s Nanzhong forces in Wei service and sending the other soldiers home to replenish the population.
• Cao Mao warmly summoned Chen Qian and heard Wang Chang’s proposal, agreeing that relief was needed for the Shu lands.

Cao Mao appointed Deng Ai as Chen Qian’s deputy in the Ministry of War despite the ministers’ concerns, while Yang Zong proposed strengthening the Imperial Clan through education. Deng Ai accepted the post, and he and Deng Zhong began their official careers anew, with Deng Ai quickly reviewing the Ministry’s work and devising solutions.

• Cao Mao overruled Chen Qian’s objections and ordered Deng Ai to serve as Chen Qian’s deputy, then told Yang Zong to develop a plan for educating Imperial Clan descendants.
• Cao Mao read a report from the Prince of Pei about officials consuming powder and welcomed the princes’ growing role as his eyes and ears in the provinces.
• Chen Qian visited Deng Ai and explained that he would serve as a deputy at the Imperial Secretariat, where he would advise on settling various matters.
• Deng Ai told Deng Zhong that he accepted the post because his plans could not be put into practice without the emperor’s favor.
• Deng Ai and Deng Zhong went to work the next day, and Deng Ai questioned the Ministry of War’s young officials before beginning to devise solutions.