Chapter Summaries

After learning that Lady Zheng was pregnant, Cao Mao briefly reflected on becoming a father before turning to the shortage of capable officials and commanders. He consulted Du Yu about rebuilding the war-damaged borderlands, and Du Yu argued that restoring them would help Wei win the hearts of Wu’s people.

• Cao Mao learned that Lady Zheng was pregnant, rewarded the Inner Palace, and ordered gifts to support her health.
• Cao Mao urged Cheng Ji to improve himself and lamented the shortage of trustworthy officials and military commanders.
• Cao Mao visited Du Yu, who described Master Ma’s saber-forging technique before discussing conditions in Jingnan and Jiaozhou.
• Du Yu reported that the Ministry of Works favored turning the remote, damaged territories into military farming settlements rather than rebuilding them.
• Du Yu argued that Wei should rebuild the borderlands because winning the hearts of the common people was part of striking at Wu’s heart.

Cao Mao approved plans to develop Jingnan and Jiaozhou, then turned to restoring the Shu lands as a major grain-producing region. He sought Deng Ai’s advice on agriculture, but the chapter ended as mention of the Shu lands reminded Deng Ai of his past mistakes.

• Cao Mao accepted Du Yu’s proposal to develop Jingnan and Jiaozhou with favorable policies for local residents.
• Cao Mao considered how land seizures by great clans and earlier tax systems had hurt cultivation and government revenue in the Shu lands.
• Cao Mao arrived at Deng Ai’s residence and found Shi Bao visiting him to discuss their prospects.
• Cao Mao examined Deng Ai’s regional records and declined his request to return to military command.
• Deng Ai predicted a future war with the Tuoba and offered to serve, but Cao Mao redirected the discussion to restoring the Shu lands.
• Deng Ai fell silent at the mention of the Shu lands, recalling the regret caused by his past actions there.

Cao Mao restored Deng Ai to service, sending him to govern Shu and develop its agriculture while warning him against repeating his past mistakes. He then visited pregnant Zheng Xian and told her he intended to make her Empress, leaving her hopeful as he hurried back to Taiji Hall.

• Cao Mao told Deng Ai he trusted him and appointed him to oversee agriculture and sericulture in Shu.
• Deng Ai accepted the appointment, and Cao Mao advised him to remember his past mistakes as they discussed reclaiming powerful clans' lands for the people.
• Cao Mao instructed Deng Ai to govern Shu by winning the common people's support and told Shi Bao to visit the Imperial Palace the next day.
• Cao Mao arrived at Zheng Xian's residence and learned she was pregnant with their child.
• Cao Mao told Zheng Xian he intended to make her Empress and instructed her to keep the Inner Palace peaceful and help him govern.
• Zheng Xian invited Cao Mao to rest with her, but he declined because of her pregnancy and returned to Taiji Hall.

Cao Mao read Yang Hu's explanation of his plans to absorb the Murong and build closer ties with the Tuoba, then left northern affairs in Yang Hu's hands. Wen Yang learned that Zu Wu had been sent to accompany him rather than recall him, and the group prepared to travel to the Tuoba Tribe.

• Cao Mao read Yang Hu's letter describing how his administration was progressing in Hebei and why he planned to integrate the Xianbei tribes into Great Wei.
• Yang Hu explained that Wen Yang's capture of the Murong chief had made it easier to relocate the tribe, mix its people with Wei residents, and bring them under the imperial administration.
• Yang Hu said Wen Yang should visit the Tuoba to strengthen trade and contact, while Cao Mao judged the plan sensible and entrusted the northern situation to Yang Hu.
• Wen Yang met Zu Wu and initially thought Yang Hu had sent him to bring Wen Yang home, but Zu Wu clarified that he had orders to accompany him to the Tuoba Tribe.
• Wen Yang introduced Duan Qizhen as a guide familiar with the Tuoba and set out with Zu Wu's cavalry, telling Zu Wu to obey his military orders.

Wen Yang’s army crossed Yuwen territory on its way to the Tuoba Tribe, where Tuoba Liwei prepared to confront the Wei force. The two armies met, and Liwei was shaken by the disciplined cavalry before him.

• Duan Qizhen explained that the Yuwen Tribe was descended from Xiongnu who had adopted Xianbei ways, and described its ambitious eldest son, Yuwen Mohuai.
• Yuwen Pubu met Wen Yang’s army, politely guided it across Yuwen territory, and declined Wen Yang’s request to meet his ailing father.
• After the Wei army entered Tuoba territory, Tuoba Liwei’s nobles urged retaliation, but Liwei chose to ride out and see what Wen Yang intended.
• Wen Yang admired the Tuoba cavalry’s size and experience, while Liwei saw the Wei army’s tightly ordered ranks and began to fear that Wei meant to wage war.

Wen Yang entered Tuoba territory with his army and met Tuoba Liwei, who escorted him to Shengle City while trying to avoid a conflict. At the palace, Wen Yang challenged the Xianbei champion Tuoba Wu and effortlessly threw him, leaving Liwei horrified by Wei’s strength.

• Wen Yang confronted Tuoba Liwei at the head of his troops and insisted he could enter Xianbei territory on Wei’s authority.
• Tuoba Liwei led Wen Yang and his men to Shengle City, then hosted him at the palace and praised his connections with Wei’s court.
• Tuoba Wu challenged Wen Yang for his seat, and Wen Yang agreed to spar with him barehanded.
• Duan Qizhen warned Liwei that Wen Yang was married to the emperor’s niece and was the son of Wei’s General Who Guards the East.
• Tuoba Wu failed to lift Wen Yang, who hoisted him overhead and flung him to the ground as the Xianbei court looked on in shock.

Wen Yang intimidated the Tuoba Xianbei while Yang Hu received Cao Mao’s permission to decide when to recall him. In Luoyang, Cao Mao sent Shi Bao to govern Jiaozhou with a warning and orders to win over its people, while in Lexiang, Lu Kang began reading a letter from Cao Mao.

• Wen Yang defeated Tuoba Wu, cowed Tuoba Liwei’s generals, and spent several days challenging Xianbei warriors and displaying his cavalry.
• Tuoba Liwei decided to ask Yang Hu to take Wen Yang away, but Yang Hu waited until Cao Mao’s reply told him to decide for himself.
• Cao Mao appointed Shi Bao inspector of Jiaozhou, warned him against repeating his past corruption, and ordered him to prosper the region and attract people from Wu.
• Lu Kang remained stationed at Lexiang despite his generals’ concerns, then began reading Lu Kai’s letter, whose latter half was written by Cao Mao.

Lu Kang became engrossed in Cao Mao’s letter on Wang Learning, then secured Sun Xiu’s approval for reforms to strengthen Wu and ease the people’s burdens. He left the story defending his policies and distributing his rewards, while Sun Xiu faced mounting illness and wondered what to do.

• Lu Kang spent several days studying Cao Mao’s serious discussion of Wang Learning and emerged from his quarters after neglecting the emperor’s envoy.
• Sun Xiu approved Lu Kang’s proposals to confiscate property from those who fled, impose collective punishment on clans that later defected, reduce corvée labor and taxes, and reward soldiers according to merit.
• Lu Kang thanked Sun Xiu and warned him against promoting Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing, then ordered his own rewards distributed among the officers and soldiers.
• Sun Xiu rejected accusations that Lu Kang was secretly communicating with Wei or seeking rewards for himself, and had an impeaching minister beaten and expelled.
• Sun Xiu suffered a severe coughing fit, took medicine from the Director of Imperial Physicians, and wondered what he was to do.

The Guo Family of Xiping exploited the court’s campaign to civilize the Qiang and Hu, enslaving captives while claiming to act for the emperor. County Magistrate Yuan warned Guo Feng that an imperial investigation was coming, but Guo Feng dismissed him and remained confident.

• A Guo Family household slave terrorized captured Hu people in Xiping and reported their obedience to a young nobleman.
• The Guo Family’s elders, led by Guo Feng, planned to buy more Hu captives and expand their claimed fields under the pretense of supporting the emperor.
• County Magistrate Yuan privately warned Guo Feng that the court opposed his methods and that an imperial investigator would arrive.
• Guo Feng rejected the warning, accused Yuan’s clan of wanting a share of the profits, and boasted to his clansmen after Yuan left.

Yang Zong and Ma Long joined forces to investigate suspected rebellion in Xiping, where Yuan Xian implicated the Guo Family in enslaving Hu people and gathering troops and supplies. After collecting evidence and surrounding the town, they confronted Guo Feng with an overwhelming force.

• Yang Zong warmly presented Ma Long as a man favored by the emperor, then privately ordered him to help confiscate property and arrest rebels.
• Yang Zong and Ma Long led troops to Xiping, where County Magistrate Yuan Xian blocked their road and accused the Guo Family of crimes against relocated Qiang and Hu people.
• Yang Zong revealed that he sought evidence of rebellion, and Yuan Xian reported the Guo Family’s Hu cavalrymen, iron purchases, and warhorses.
• Yuan Xian led Yang Zong’s officers to gather witnesses and physical evidence while Ma Long’s cavalry surrounded the county town.
• Guo Feng’s messengers failed to return, and Yuan Xian arrived at the Guo Family with Yang Zong, Ma Long, and four thousand cavalrymen.

Yang Zong arrested Guo Feng and other Liangzhou clan leaders for recruiting Hu people and acquiring weapons and horses, then began pursuing Cao Mao’s plan to relocate the guilty clans. Guo Feng remained defiant in custody and tried to bargain with Yang Zong, who demanded the names of his accomplices and warned that his former allies had already betrayed him.

• Yang Zong confronted Guo Feng with evidence of his illegal recruitment and purchases, and struck him when he attacked Yuan Xian.
• Yang Zong ordered Guo Feng arrested as Ma Long’s forces detained the Guo Family and other people involved in the operation.
• Yang Zong moved through Yongliang arresting implicated great clans, while some clans fled or were spared because of their influence and military connections.
• Yang Zong pursued Cao Mao’s plan to relocate the convicted clans to Jiaozhou, Jingnan, and Nanzhong, despite resistance and assassination attempts.
• Guo Feng asked Yang Zong to release him and offered to share profits from the Hu people, but Yang Zong demanded that he name his accomplices.
• Yang Zong told Guo Feng that his former allies had already testified against him and gone home, leaving Guo Feng stunned.

Yang Zong used Guo Feng’s false confidence and the Great Clans’ unrest to consolidate his crackdown in Liangzhou, while Cao Mao kept the Empress Dowager from hearing about it. After reading a friendly letter from Lu Kang, Cao Mao discussed plans against Wu with Zhong Hui, who revealed his contempt for Lu Kang and predicted Wu would resume its lake-field project.

• Yang Zong exploited Guo Feng’s belief in his ties to the Empress Dowager to obtain lists of Great Clan members as unrest spread through Liangzhou.
• Cao Mao instructed Eunuch Guo to keep the Empress Dowager unaware of the crackdown and said he would leave her undisturbed in the palace.
• Cao Mao read Lu Kang’s letter about Wang Learning and hoped to preserve Lu Kang’s life and perhaps gain his friendship.
• Zhong Hui presented Cao Mao with his strategy for a campaign against Wu and reported that Yang Hu had resisted Wen Yang’s provocations in Tuoba Liwei’s territory.
• Cao Mao told Zhong Hui that Wu had stopped building its lake fields, but Zhong Hui predicted Wu would resume construction within three months and promote Puyang Xing.
• Zhong Hui dismissed Lu Kang as no more than a dog or pig, surprising Cao Mao.

After the Guo clan was accused of rebellion, Guo Zhi sought help from He Zeng and Wang Chang. Wang Chang advised him to seek leniency from Cao Mao, while the emperor’s plan to relocate the implicated great clans south offered Wang Chang a new approach to the farmland problem.

• Guo Zhi begged He Zeng for help, but He Zeng learned the Empress Dowager would not intervene and had him thrown out.
• Unable to approach Cao Mao, Guo Zhi went to Wang Chang and admitted that the Ministry of Justice had evidence against his clan.
• Wang Chang advised Guo Zhi to present the clan’s actions as an attempt to fraudulently obtain public fields and household slaves, while letting the rebellion’s leader die.
• Wang Chang told Guo Zhi that Cao Mao would likely pardon the rest of the clan and urged him to seek leniency at the palace.
• Wang Chang reflected that sending the implicated great clans to remote southern regions could help develop the south and give him a new way to address farmland concentration.

Cao Mao pardoned Guo Zhi and visited Zheng Xian, who worried that her unborn child might be a daughter. Meanwhile, Zhong Hui persuaded his elder brother Zhong Yu to help compose a letter insulting Sun Quan, then refined it for his own plans against Lu Kang.

• Cao Mao reprimanded Guo Zhi, then ordered the Ministry of Justice to treat him leniently.
• Cao Mao visited Zheng Xian at Changqiu Hall and asked whether the Empress Dowager had said anything; afterward, Zheng Xian confided to Sima Yue that she feared giving birth to a daughter.
• Zhong Hui asked Zhong Yu to help write a denunciation aimed at humiliating Sun Quan and angering the Wu Kingdom.
• Zhong Yu and Zhong Hui spent three days composing the letter, while Zhong Yu warned that it might damage Zhong Hui's reputation and strengthen Wu's resolve.
• Zhong Hui returned home and polished the letter, intending to show the emperor that Lu Kang was no match for him.

Pei Xiu returned to Luoyang and faced Cao Mao’s suspicion over the great clans’ dealings with the Hu people, then resolved to regain the emperor’s trust. In Wu, Lu Kang shared Cao Mao’s letters with Sun Xiu, who replied to Cao Mao before receiving Zhong Hui’s insulting letter and summoning Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing.

• Cheng Ji escorted Pei Xiu to Cao Mao, who questioned whether Pei Xiu had helped the great clans obtain Hu people and warhorses.
• Pei Xiu denied conspiring with the clans, accepted responsibility, and left determined to regain Cao Mao’s trust through the work of civilizing the Hu people.
• Lu Kang ordered his deputy general to copy Cao Mao’s letter and send it to Sun Xiu, showing that he had no intention of betraying Wu.
• Sun Xiu corrected an allusion in Cao Mao’s letter and sent a reply telling Cao Mao that Lu Kang shared every letter with him.
• Sun Xiu read Zhong Hui’s letter criticizing Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing, then angrily ordered them summoned.

Sun Xiu used Zhong Hui’s insulting letter to rally Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing behind resuming the Lake Fields project and securing the succession for his young son. Lu Kang realized Zhong Hui had written to him as well and revealed that the emperor’s letter was a deliberate stratagem to undo Lu Kang’s work.

• Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing pleaded with Sun Xiu, who showed them Zhong Hui’s letter and asked whether the Lake Fields project could be completed.
• Zhang Bu proposed using refugees to finish the Lake Fields, and Puyang Xing pledged to carry out Sun Xiu’s orders.
• Sun Xiu revealed his failing health and fears about his young son’s succession; Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing promised to support the crown prince.
• Sun Xiu ordered Zhong Hui’s letter circulated throughout Wu, while Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing agreed to shoulder responsibility for restarting construction.
• Puyang Xing submitted a memorial to resume the Lake Fields project, and Zhang Bu gathered ministers to support it.
• Lu Kang learned of the renewed project and Zhong Hui’s letter to Sun Xiu, then read Zhong Hui’s letter revealing that the insult had been a stratagem against him.

Lu Kang weighed Zhong Hui’s letter and sent it to the Lord of Wei while preparing to oppose the lake-fields project. Zhong Hui explained his scheme to Cao Mao, claiming it would push Sun Xiu toward completing the project, turn him against Lu Kang, and secure Zhong Hui’s own superiority.

• Lu Kang decided the lake-fields construction must not resume and sent Zhong Hui’s letter to the Lord of Wei.
• Lu Kang wrote to Shi Ji and the other generals to discuss how to respond as Zhang Bu gathered support for the project.
• Zhong Hui went to Taiji Hall and told Cao Mao he had sent Sun Xiu a provocative letter.
• Zhong Hui explained that he expected Sun Xiu to rely on Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing, using the lake-fields project to reward them and protect his heirs.
• Zhong Hui revealed that his letter to Lu Kang was designed to make Sun Xiu distrust him and keep him away from Jianye.

Cao Mao praised Zhong Hui after realizing Sun Xiu’s criticism of his letter might reveal a crisis in Wu, and Zhong Hui predicted that Wu would soon face major upheaval. Meanwhile, Yang Hu secured an agreement with Tuoba Liwei on trade and cultural exchange, then ordered Wen Yang recalled from the Tuoba territory.

• Cao Mao recognized that Sun Xiu’s letter might contain clues about Wu’s problems and praised Zhong Hui’s insight.
• Zhong Hui predicted that Wu would see changes within a month as internal conflicts worsened and Lu Kang lost influence.
• Yang Hu arrived in Yunzhong with a large army, alarming Tuoba Liwei, and explained that he was heading to Liaodong and Liaoxi to restore order.
• Tuoba Liwei agreed to mutual trade and to send learners to Great Wei, while Yang Hu promised open trade with few restrictions.
• Yang Hu and Tuoba Liwei exchanged oaths on their agreements, and Yang Hu ordered Wen Yang recalled.

Wen Yang joined Yang Hu’s army, where Duan Qizhen chose to remain at his side as Yang Hu prepared to govern Liaodong. In Luoyang, Cao Mao investigated Pei Xiu’s sudden diligence and found him drafting standards to improve cultural instruction and curb corruption.

• Wen Yang left the Xianbei and joined Yang Hu, who told him the army would depart for Liaodong the next day.
• Yang Hu offered to recommend Duan Qizhen for a post, but Duan Qizhen declined and chose to stay with Wen Yang.
• Yang Hu told Duan Qizhen that he intended to govern Liaodong by punishing corrupt officials, powerful clans, and bandits, and asked for his help.
• Cao Mao told Wang Yuan to leave Hebei affairs to Liu Lu and learned that Pei Xiu had been working at the Ministry of Rites on cultural instruction policies.
• Cao Mao visited Pei Xiu, who explained his plans to set clear standards for land, rations, and local assignments to reduce corruption.
• Cao Mao approved Pei Xiu’s work, and Pei Xiu realized he had regained the emperor’s trust.

At court, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu secured approval to resume construction of the lake fields despite Shi Ji’s objections. Sun Xiu privately heard Shi Ji’s warning that Zhong Hui had provoked Wu into the project and that exhausted people were fleeing to Wei, but the court issued an order forbidding further opposition, leaving Shi Ji devastated.

• Shi Ji opposed restarting the lake fields, but Puyang Xing argued for them and Zhang Bu promised to oversee the project, persuading the court to approve it.
• Shi Ji privately warned Sun Xiu that Zhong Hui’s letters were a provocation and that renewed corvée would drive more people to flee into Wei.
• Sun Xiu questioned why Lu Kang had told Shi Ji about Zhong Hui’s letters instead of informing him directly, then assured Shi Ji he would consider the matter carefully.
• Shi Ji returned to his work, training troops and consulting shipwrights about new ships, until Shi Fang reported that the court had ordered construction to proceed and barred further objections.
• Shi Ji fell silent, told Shi Fang to send the shipwrights home, and went to his bedchamber.