Chapter Summaries

Zhong Hui’s deception pushed Sun Xiu to resume the lake-field construction, while Lu Kang failed to persuade the emperor to reverse course. Lu Kang recognized that Zhong Hui had used two different authors’ letters to manipulate events, then found Shi Ji had lost the will to resist, leaving Lu Kang determined to keep fighting alone.

• Zhong Hui learned that Sun Xiu had restarted the lake-field construction and believed his plan was succeeding.
• Lu Kang returned to Jianye and warned Sun Xiu that the policy had driven four counties to defect and was fomenting unrest among the troops and commoners.
• Sun Xiu read Lu Kang’s letter from Zhong Hui, rebuked Lu Kang for interfering in court affairs, and ordered him back to Jingzhou.
• Lu Kang compared the letter with the one Sun Xiu had circulated and realized Zhong Hui had used letters written by two different people.
• Lu Kang visited Shi Ji and learned that the general had abandoned plans to recruit shipwrights and design new ships.
• Lu Kang left Shi Ji’s residence and resolved to keep fighting despite feeling increasingly powerless.

Wang Ji welcomed four Wu county magistrates who defected over orders to conscript laborers, then sent Wang Jun to harass Wu forces and encourage further surrenders. Meanwhile, Puyang Xing ordered young officers to transport civilians to Jianye under threat of death, and their leader tried to bribe Puyang Duan for more ships and troops.

• Wang Ji received four county magistrates who defected from Wu and promised to recommend them for rewards and an audience with the emperor.
• Wang Jun urged Wang Ji to launch small attacks to worsen Wu's conscription problems and prompt more officials to surrender, and Wang Ji authorized him to command his detached contingent.
• Puyang Xing ordered young officers to bring civilians to Jianye within three months and threatened to execute them if they failed.
• Puyang Duan scorned the officers, whose leader persuaded him to seek more warships and men by offering him property deeds.
• Puyang Duan agreed to the arrangement but demanded that the officers hand over the deeds first.

Yan Cong defected to Wei with a Wu fleet and Puyang Duan as his prisoner, provoking a crisis in Wu after Sun Xiu collapsed. Sun Xiu regained consciousness and named his eldest son, Sun Meng, crown prince.

• Yan Cong persuaded Yan Zheng and Zhu Mai to join his plan to defect to Wei, then changed course after the fleet left Jianye.
• Yan Cong seized Puyang Duan, cut off his ear, and persuaded the fleet’s officers and soldiers to defect with him.
• Yan Cong led six tower ships and more than fifty fast boats on a detour toward Qingxu, bringing Puyang Duan as a prisoner.
• Hu Zun welcomed the defectors and rewarded them, while news of Puyang Duan’s capture threw Wu into turmoil.
• Sun Xiu fainted, and Wu’s factions argued over succession before he woke and named Sun Meng crown prince.

As Sun Xiu’s illness worsened, he entrusted the young crown prince to Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing and ordered them to control the court on his behalf. After doubting their ability to hold power, the two ministers met Wan Yu, who proposed Sun Hao as a better successor to the throne.

• Sun Xiu told Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing that he was near death and entrusted Sun Meng to their care.
• Sun Xiu appointed Puyang Xing chancellor and gave Zhang Bu a Central Secretariat post, ordering them to assist Sun Meng and restrain the ministers.
• At Zhang Bu’s mansion, Zhang Bu warned Puyang Xing that the great clans would oppose them, and they considered whether to ally with Fan Shen.
• Wan Yu visited Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing, argued that the young crown prince was unfit to rule, and recommended Sun Hao, Marquis of Wucheng, as successor.

Wan Yu secured Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing’s interest in meeting Sun Hao as a possible successor to Sun Xiu. After Sun Xiu suddenly died, he pointed to the crown prince and sought Puyang Xing’s promise, but Puyang Xing sent the child away and ordered the inner hall sealed with Zhang Bu.

• Wan Yu visited Zhang Bu and later coached Sun Hao to approach powerful ministers as a candidate for the throne.
• Wan Yu brought Sun Hao to meet Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing, who decided the young marquis suited their requirements for a future emperor.
• Sun Xiu fell gravely ill, and Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu hurried to the imperial palace as the emperor neared death.
• Sun Xiu pointed to the crown prince and received Puyang Xing’s assurance before dying.
• Puyang Xing handed the crown prince to a guard and, with Zhang Bu, ordered the inner hall sealed and Sun Xiu’s death kept secret for the moment.

After Sun Xiu died, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu secured Empress Zhu’s consent to enthrone Sun Hao instead of the young crown prince. Sun Hao took the throne and issued popular relief measures, while Cao Mao learned of his accession and questioned how events differed from his memories.

• Puyang Xing told Empress Zhu that the young crown prince could not handle the realm’s crises, and she reluctantly agreed to a change of successor.
• Puyang Xing arranged Sun Xiu’s funeral and persuaded the ministers to choose Sun Hao, who was summoned to Jianye and enthroned.
• Sun Hao changed the era name to Yuanxing, rewarded officials, and ordered lake-field construction stopped, grain distributed to the poor, and palace expenses reduced.
• Wan Yu advised Sun Hao to appoint officials for their character rather than personal closeness, while the Wu people welcomed the new policies.
• Cao Mao learned of Sun Xiu’s death and Sun Hao’s accession, wondered why Sun Hao’s actions differed from his memories, and remained confident that Wei would unify the realm.

Within a month of taking the throne, Sun Hao displayed escalating cruelty, beating Empress Teng, deposing Empress Dowager Zhu, and torturing a court attendant. After accusing Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing of plotting against him, he exiled them, seized Zhang Bu’s daughter, and then ordered the two ministers killed.

• Wan Yu urged Sun Hao to reward Puyang Xing, but Sun Hao only agreed to consider it after Empress Teng supported the advice.
• Sun Hao beat Empress Teng nearly to death after accusing her of favoring Wan Yu, then ordered the eunuchs to take her away.
• Sun Hao demoted Empress Dowager Zhu, elevated his mother He Ji, and posthumously honored Sun He as Emperor Wen, prompting Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing to protest.
• Sun Hao cut the face of an attendant who rebuked Puyang Xing, then presented the bloody skin to Puyang Xing as an apology.
• Wan Yu reported that Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing were stirring up trouble, and Sun Hao arrested them and their household retainers.
• Sun Hao exiled Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing, seized Zhang Bu’s daughter, and later ordered the ministers killed and dismembered.

In Luoyang, Cao Mao and his ministers discussed Sun Hao’s atrocities and planned to publicize them while building up Wei’s fleet for a future campaign against Wu. Cao Mao then learned that Wang Su was gravely ill, and Wang Su confessed his family’s crimes to Sima Yan while trying to secure Wang Yuanji’s family’s safety.

• Zhong Hui described Sun Hao’s torture and killings, and Cao Mao’s ministers agreed to publicize his atrocities and prepare for a campaign against Wu.
• Cao Mao told Zhong Hui that Wei would wait until its warships were ready, since Wu could no longer resist for long.
• Cheng Ji reported that Wang Su was gravely ill, and Cao Mao reacted with alarm.
• At Wang Su’s residence, Wang Su asked Kong Chao to finish his unfinished work and sent the others away, keeping Wang Yuanji and Sima Yan with him.
• Wang Su reassured Wang Yuanji that he could still protect her family, then told Sima Yan that his father and their other male relatives, including Wang Su himself, had been evil men.

Wang Su gave Cao Mao advice on governing and asked him to spare Wang Yuanji and her sons from the Sima Family’s crimes before passing away. Cao Mao punished Wang Kai for seizing farmland, then spoke with Sima Yan about his impending child and Sima Yan’s prospective marriage to General Hu’s granddaughter.

• Wang Su urged Sima Yan not to seek revenge and entrusted Wang Yuanji with his Luoyang property and the care of her children.
• Cao Mao visited the gravely ill Wang Su, who warned him to curb the great clans’ land acquisitions and to use both kindness and force when dealing with peoples beyond the passes.
• Wang Su asked Cao Mao to spare Wang Yuanji and her two grandsons from the Sima Family’s punishment, and Cao Mao assured him that Sima Yan was already pardoned.
• Cao Mao struck Wang Kai with his sheathed sword and stripped him of his title and office for annexing farmland and breaking the law.
• Cao Mao told Sima Yan that he was going to have a child, and Sima Yan explained his hesitation about marrying General Hu’s granddaughter.

Cao Mao restored Xun Yi to office while receiving reports of Yang Hu’s sweeping campaign against the Yuwen Tribe and nearby powers. Yang Hu captured the Yuwen chieftain, and Wen Yang brought in a Goguryeo prince after killing the fleeing Yuwen heir, leaving Yang Hu to consider Goguryeo’s renewed hostility.

• Cao Mao spoke at length with Sima Yan, then reprimanded Xun Yi and restored him to his former office because he expected Xun Yi to expose more hidden traitors.
• Yang Hu attacked the Yuwen Tribe after it denied harboring refugees, while the Duan, Murong, and Tuoba joined his campaign against it.
• Wen Yang led the Tiger and Leopard troops into Yuwen territory, and Yang Hu captured the tribe’s chieftain and sent its people toward Liaodong.
• Wen Yang reported that he had accidentally killed the fleeing heir Yuwen Mohuai and brought Gao Chiran, King Dongcheon’s son, to Yang Hu instead.
• Wen Yang said Gao Chiran had tried to attack his small force, and Yang Hu turned his attention to Goguryeo’s hostility toward Wei.

Yang Hu questioned Gao Chiran after Wen Yang captured him during an attempted attack, then used the incident to seek leverage and open contact with Goguryeo. In Jianye, Sun Hao proposed taking ministers’ daughters as consorts and forced his officials to drink, though he gave Wei Yao tea instead.

• Yang Hu learned that Gao Chiran was Gao Yeonbul’s younger brother and warned him that his attack on Wen Yang could bring disaster upon Goguryeo’s royal clan.
• Gao Chiran claimed the attack was a misunderstanding, but Duan Qizhen exposed his men’s anti-Wei battle cry, and Wen Yang nearly killed him before Yang Hu intervened.
• Yang Hu suggested Gao Chiran’s fate depended on his elder brother and asked him to arrange a meeting, then wrote to establish contact with Goguryeo.
• Sun Hao proposed that high-ranking ministers send their daughters to the palace so he could choose new consorts, and Shi Ji objected without stopping him.
• Sun Hao ordered his ministers to drink seven sheng, but he gave the alcohol-intolerant Wei Yao tea and counted it toward the required amount.

After Wang Su’s death, Cao Mao struggled to find a scholar who could succeed him and weighed concerns about Goguryeo and the administration of Yi Province. Zhong Hui declined to choose between Deng Ai and Zhang Hua, then reminded Cao Mao that Qiao Zhou could continue promoting Wang Learning.

• Wang Su died peacefully, and Cao Mao arranged his funeral, granted him posthumous honors, and kept Wang Kai imprisoned.
• Cao Mao reviewed reports from Youzhou, especially Yang Hu’s concerns about Goguryeo and the region’s shortage of people.
• Zhong Hui argued that Goguryeo should be weakened and criticized Zhang Hua’s governance in Ba-Shu.
• Cao Mao told Zhong Hui he planned to replace Zhang Hua with Deng Ai, but Zhong Hui refused to recommend either man or propose another candidate.
• Cao Mao lamented the loss of Wang Su, and Zhong Hui suggested Qiao Zhou as a learned successor who could promote Wang Learning.

Qiao Zhou visited Liu Shan before planning to return to the Shu lands, but Cao Mao summoned him and offered him a role completing and teaching Wang Su’s classics. Qiao Zhou eagerly accepted, leaving his plans to retire uncertain.

• Liu Shan enjoyed his life in Luoyang while Qiao Zhou, frustrated by receiving no promotion, came to bid him farewell before returning to the Shu lands.
• Qiao Zhou told Liu Shan that he had stayed only out of concern for him and now intended to live in seclusion and teach the classics.
• Cao Mao’s guards brought Qiao Zhou to the emperor, who questioned why he planned to leave Luoyang.
• Cao Mao asked Qiao Zhou’s opinion of Wang Su’s teachings, and Qiao Zhou praised them at length.
• Cao Mao offered Qiao Zhou the task of completing and teaching Wang Su’s classics, and Qiao Zhou declared that the work was not beneath his talents.

Cao Mao welcomed returning officials, assigned Guo Ze to promote civilization in Yongliang, and arranged for Liu Yuan to study under Zhong Hui. The chapter ended with Zhong Hui accepting Liu Yuan as his disciple after Sima Yan invoked Wang Su’s praise.

• Cao Mao welcomed Zhuge Dan back to Luoyang, heard his reports on Shu, and pardoned Zhuge Zhan’s children.
• Yang Zong reported that he had executed the leaders of troublesome Yongliang clans and exiled their families south with assets intact.
• Cao Mao appointed Guo Ze Protector-General of the Qiang and sent him to Yongliang to continue Wang Su’s work spreading civilization.
• Sima Yan asked Cao Mao to find a teacher for Liu Yuan, and Cao Mao directed him to Zhong Hui.
• Zhong Hui initially refused to teach Liu Yuan, but accepted him after Sima Yan said Wang Su had regarded Zhong Hui as one of the world’s only worthy masters of the classics.

Cao Mao waited anxiously for news of Zheng Xian’s childbirth while considering Guanqiu Jian’s naval preparations. After Zheng Xian safely gave birth to a son, Cao Mao briefly asserted his authority over Empress Dowager Guo, then held his newborn child and felt his lonely world brighten.

• Cao Mao reviewed Guanqiu Jian’s report about Wei’s expanding navy and its preparations to challenge Wu.
• Empress Dowager Guo visited Cao Mao and urged him not to favor Zheng Xian or her child too much.
• A eunuch announced that Zheng Xian had given birth to a healthy son, and Cao Mao dismissed Empress Dowager Guo to go see the child.
• Palace maids stopped Cao Mao from seeing Zheng Xian until seven days had passed, but he went to see their newborn son.
• Cao Mao carefully held the baby, smiled with unrestrained happiness, and felt his life fill with color.

Cao Mao doted on his newborn son while discussing a Wu official’s possible defection and Zhong Hui’s plan to weaken Wu from within. He named the child Cao Wen and took him to visit Zheng Xian, who was recovering in Changqiu Hall.

• Cao Mao spent his days watching over his newborn son and struggled to choose a suitable name for him.
• Zhong Hui told Cao Mao that ministers hoped Wang Chang and Zhuge Dan would remonstrate with the emperor for neglecting state affairs to dote on his child.
• Zhong Hui gave Cao Mao a letter from Xiong Mu’s son, a Wu court gentleman who wished to submit to Great Wei after Sun Hao had Xiong Mu beaten to death for remonstrating.
• Zhong Hui proposed exploiting Sun Hao’s growing persecution of Wu officials to win over the great clans and senior ministers, and Cao Mao put him in charge of the effort.
• Cao Mao chose Wen as his son’s name, and Zhong Hui said it would work as a childhood name.
• Cao Mao carried Cao Wen to visit Zheng Xian, who smiled with relief when she saw their child.

Zhong Hui taught Liu Yuan to cultivate the bearing of a famous scholar while explaining why he had recommended Qiao Zhou to oversee classical studies. Zhong Yu warned that the recommendation had provoked Central Plains scholars, then tried to take Liu Yuan as his own disciple, but Liu Yuan rejected him and remained with Zhong Hui.

• Zhong Hui praised Liu Yuan for adopting an arrogant scholarly bearing and told him that copying Central Secretariat documents would help him become a famous scholar.
• Zhong Yu confronted Zhong Hui for recommending Qiao Zhou, warning that Central Plains scholars were joining forces to obstruct the appointment.
• Zhong Hui defended Qiao Zhou as the right person to assist the emperor, and Zhong Yu revealed that he had persuaded the scholars to relent.
• Zhong Yu learned that Zhong Hui’s disciple was Liu Yuan, the son of Liu Bao, and decided Liu Yuan should study under him instead.
• Liu Yuan refused Zhong Yu’s offer, declaring that he would not trade his teacher for stagnant water, and Zhong Hui delighted in his answer.

Sun Hao reunited with He Ji and discussed marrying his younger sister into Lu Kang’s family and placing his maternal relatives in positions of influence. He then ordered Empress Dowager Zhu’s murder and hired Wang Weng, a face reader who became his confidant; the chapter ended with Xiong Yi visiting Wang Weng’s mansion.

• Sun Hao welcomed He Ji and Empress Teng, then told his mother he wanted his younger sister betrothed to a son of Lu Kang and his maternal uncles brought to court.
• He Ji reassured Empress Teng about Sun Hao’s temper as they left, but Sun Hao grew angry over the Empress’s delay and ordered an attendant to strangle Empress Dowager Zhu.
• Sun Hao received Wang Weng and threatened him into reading his face, then rewarded him after Wang Weng praised his fortune and promised him a glorious future.
• Wang Weng became one of Sun Hao’s trusted diviners and an influential figure in Jianye, though few people visited him.
• Xiong Yi visited Wang Weng’s mansion.

Xiong Yi recruited Wang Weng into a conspiracy against Sun Hao, using the emperor’s fear of omens to persuade him to move the capital to Wuchang. As Sun Hao left Jianye, the Wu great clans’ plot gathered force, and Xiong Yi informed Wei of it through Zhong Hui’s advance contact.

• Xiong Yi warned Wang Weng that Sun Hao would eventually turn on him and urged him to join a plot to bring down the emperor with help from Wu opponents and Wei.
• Wang Weng agreed to cooperate, and the two secretly discussed their plan.
• Wang Weng told Sun Hao that he had observed kingly qi in Jingzhou, prompting Sun Hao to decide that he should move there to benefit from it.
• Bu Chan suggested Wuchang as the new capital, and Sun Hao agreed before leaving Jianye with his ministers.
• The Wu great clans began preparing their revenge against Sun Hao, while Xiong Yi informed Wei of the conspiracy through Zhong Hui’s prior contact.

Zhong Hui informed Cao Mao of a simplistic plot by Wu’s great clans to overthrow Sun Hao, and the two considered how Wei might exploit the resulting unrest. Later, Cao Qi told Cao Mao about promising friends he had made at the Imperial Academy, leaving Cao Mao impressed and gently warning him to be more careful when sneaking out.

• Zhong Hui brought Cao Mao Xiong Yi’s letter describing the clans’ plan to stage a rebellion, capture a suitable emperor, and march on Jianye to depose Sun Hao.
• Zhong Hui urged Cao Mao to alert the generals, assessed the risks facing Wang Ji and Huo Yi, and hinted that he wanted to command a campaign against Lu Kang; Cao Mao persuaded him to stay at court.
• Cao Mao visited Zheng Xian and their son Awen, then received Cao Qi, who had skipped his lesson to see the child.
• Cao Qi told Cao Mao about gifted Imperial Academy students Shu Jinen, Liu Hong, and Liu Tun, and admitted he had sneaked out with his friends.
• Cao Mao praised Cao Qi’s judgment and quietly told him to be more careful next time so he would not get caught.