Chapter Summaries

Cao Mao reviewed Zhong Hui’s proposals and reorganized Great Wei’s forces after unification, while Liu Yuan returned to Bing Province and reunited with his family. When the Southern Xiongnu chieftains tested Liu Yuan’s learning, his confident answers revealed that he knew none of the classics.

• Cao Mao considered Zhong Hui’s proposals to distribute farmland, restrict great clans, and seize wealth above set limits, and decided to review them further.
• Great Wei reassigned generals, dissolved several military theaters, retained the Wu navy, and began planning a nationwide troop reduction.
• Guanqiu Jian traveled toward Youzhou to meet Yang Hu and understand his future opponents.
• Liu Yuan returned to Bing Province and observed that the Xiongnu had become more integrated into local life.
• Liu Bao and Liu Yuan’s mother welcomed Liu Yuan home, and he told them about his studies in Luoyang.
• The Southern Xiongnu chieftains questioned Liu Yuan about the classics, and he confidently admitted he knew none of them.

Chen Tai and Wang Jing discussed how to govern the newly recovered Wu territory and weaken its powerful great clans. Chen Tai proposed relocating their leaders and asked Wang Jing to help find grounds for doing so as they continued toward Jianye.

• Traveling toward Jianye, Chen Tai and his convoy buried the dead and cleared dangerous beasts and roadblocks along the war-damaged route.
• Chen Tai asked Wang Jing how to govern Wu, and Wang Jing described the great clans’ vast estates, private soldiers, and local power.
• Chen Tai proposed that he win over the clans while Wang Jing took a firmer stance, and Wang Jing agreed to cooperate.
• Chen Tai explained how Sun Hao had weakened great clans through administrative changes, exile, and executions, prompting Wang Jing to wonder whether Sun Hao had feigned madness.
• Chen Tai proposed relocating Wu’s great clans as Yang Zong had done in Yongliang, and Wang Jing agreed to find suitable charges against them.

Wang Jing reached Jianye ahead of Chen Tai and joined Wang Ji in a harsh crackdown on Wu’s great clans, ordering searches and executions. Chen Tai arrived and tried to stop the purge, but Wang Jing renewed the arrests, leaving the conflict between Chen Tai and Wang Ji underway.

• Chen Tai learned that Wang Jing had left for Jianye early and angrily prepared to impeach him for insulting him.
• Wang Jing hurried to Jianye, where Wang Ji welcomed him and the local Wu officials paid their respects.
• Wang Jing told Wang Ji to investigate clans suspected of keeping private troops, weapons, grain, and iron, and Wang Ji ordered searches across Wu territory.
• Wang Jing ordered executions, and more than sixty people were put to death within three days as the great clans panicked.
• Chen Tai arrived, quarreled with Wang Jing, halted the investigations, and ordered the release of the arrested clansmen.
• Wang Jing requested further arrests after accusing some clans of slandering the emperor and conspiring against the court, beginning a struggle between Chen Tai and Wang Ji.

Deng Ai took charge of Shu and ordered officials to restore the region’s neglected irrigation works, following Zhuge Liang’s plans. He left Chengdu to inspect the work as officials across Ba-Shu set aside factional struggles and began rebuilding.

• Deng Ai returned to Chengdu after touring Shu, including Nanzhong, and dismissed the court’s advice about governing the region.
• Deng Ai showed officials a map of Ba-Shu’s extensive but abandoned waterworks and explained how Zhuge Liang had developed them.
• Deng Ai ordered officials throughout Shu to prioritize repairing the weirs, channels, reservoirs, and other waterworks.
• Deng Ai told Mouqiu Dian that restoring production mattered most and planned to use the work to assess officials.
• Deng Ai left Chengdu to inspect the regions, and officials across Ba-Shu began working together to restore the waterworks.

Cao Mao met the Buddhist monk Zhu Fahu in Luoyang to learn about his travels and knowledge of the Western Regions and Tianzhu. After questioning Zhu Fahu about his followers, Cao Mao heard him deny that he had ever taken disciples.

• Cao Mao and Ji Kang discussed how Great Wei’s prosperity had changed the tone of poetry as a crowd gathered outside the restaurant.
• Cheng Ji reported that a Buddhist monk from Chang'an had arrived, and Ji Kang identified him as Zhu Fahu, a renowned translator from the Western Regions.
• Cao Mao asked Ji Kang to bring Zhu Fahu to meet him, while Cheng Ji urged Cao Mao to arrest and execute the monk.
• Zhu Fahu recognized Cao Mao through Ji Kang and explained that the Buddha should yield to the emperor because of Cao Mao’s achievements and benevolent rule.
• Cao Mao asked Zhu Fahu how many disciples he had, and Zhu Fahu insisted that he had never taken disciples or broken the law.

Cao Mao questioned Zhu Fahu about the Western Regions and considered using monks to help restore Great Wei’s influence along the Silk Road. Meanwhile, Yang Hu pursued an aggressive campaign against Goguryeo, and the chapter ended with Gao Chiran recognizing the newly arrived Grand Marshal Guanqiu Jian.

• Cao Mao heard Zhu Fahu describe the Western Regions and told him he would be safer staying at the residence.
• Cao Mao considered how monks and renewed Silk Road trade could strengthen Great Wei’s control beyond the passes.
• Cao Mao read reports that Deng Ai was restoring waterworks in Ba-Shu while Chen Tai and Wang Jing had forcibly relocated Wu’s great clans to Liaodong.
• Yang Hu defended Wen Yang’s raids into Goguryeo as protection for merchants, while Gao Chiran demanded that the incursions stop.
• Guanqiu Jian arrived at Yang Hu’s camp and rebuked him for failing to detect his approach; Gao Chiran then recognized the Grand Marshal and was left speechless.

Guanqiu Jian rebuked Gao Chiran’s claim to Goguryeo’s territory and advised Yang Hu to secure Goguryeo’s people rather than focus on capturing its king. After Wen Yang arrived and shared intelligence about Goguryeo, Guanqiu Jian declared that he would campaign against Goguryeo and Tuoba.

• Gao Chiran trembled when he recognized Guanqiu Jian, then claimed he had come to thank Yang Hu for sending Wen Yang to suppress bandits.
• Guanqiu Jian rejected Goguryeo’s claim to the territory, declared it belonged to Great Wei, and had guards escort Gao Chiran away.
• Yang Hu said he planned to invade Goguryeo and capture its king, but Guanqiu Jian explained that securing and relocating its people mattered more than seizing its ruler or capital.
• Guanqiu Jian welcomed Wen Yang, delivered a letter from Wen Yang’s father, and examined Wen Yang’s map and report on Goguryeo’s cities, roads, and forces.
• Guanqiu Jian told Yang Hu and Wen Yang not to underestimate their enemies and announced that he would campaign against Goguryeo and Tuoba.

Guanqiu Jian arrived in Youzhou and prepared a campaign against Goguryeo and other peoples beyond the passes while arranging for the Duan and Murong tribes to become subjects of Great Wei. His arrival spread panic, and the king of Goguryeo abandoned his newly rebuilt capital.

• Guanqiu Jian told Yang Hu and Wen Yang that he would wait for elite Huaiyang troops before marching against Goguryeo and the other disobedient peoples.
• Guanqiu Jian reunited with Duan Qizhen, recalled his past campaigns against Goguryeo, and arranged for Duan's clan to move to Luoyang and send an heir to the Imperial Academy.
• Guanqiu Jian and Duan Qizhen visited Murong Muyan, who agreed to move his family to Luoyang and bring the Murong Tribe under direct Great Wei administration.
• News of Guanqiu Jian's arrival spread across the lands beyond the passes, prompting the Goguryeo people to gather their forces and prepare to retreat.
• The king of Goguryeo decided to relocate his capital and left the newly rebuilt royal city.

Cao Mao asked Qiao Zhou to help reshape official learning by challenging the belief that Heaven’s omens governed human affairs. When Qiao Zhou warned that he would face widespread opposition, Cao Mao brought in Xun Yi and presented the proposal as a way to elevate Xunzi’s teachings.

• Qiao Zhou arrived at Taiji Hall early and waited while Cao Mao finished reading.
• Cao Mao explained that he wanted official learning to reject omens and the idea that Heaven’s mandate determined political events.
• Qiao Zhou warned Cao Mao that the proposal would provoke fierce resistance and said Shu officials already faced contempt in Luoyang.
• Cao Mao summoned Zhang Hua to bring in Xun Yi, whom he introduced as Qiao Zhou’s powerful ally.
• Cao Mao told Xun Yi that Qiao Zhou had proposed teaching Xunzi at the Imperial Academy and including it in student assessments.
• Xun Yi was surprised by the proposal, then welcomed Cao Mao’s interest in Xunzi because the Xun Family could benefit from its ancestor’s renewed prominence.

Cao Mao worked to curb mystical beliefs and advance new learning, while preparing reforms to farmland, taxation, and the great clans. He sent Cheng Ji to serve in Youzhou and turned to Zhang Hua to refine land policies, favoring Du Yu’s proposals on officials and Zhong Hui’s on protecting farming households.

• Cao Mao sent Qiao Zhou and Xun Yi out after discussing the promotion of Xunzi and new official learning.
• Xun Yi took Qiao Zhou into his carriage and pledged to help advance the study of Xunzi.
• Cao Mao agreed to Cheng Ji’s wish to pursue military merit and sent him to serve under the Grand Marshal in Youzhou.
• Cao Mao appointed Man Changwu to replace Cheng Ji as Palace Commandant and reviewed the many affairs facing the court with Zhang Hua.
• Cao Mao and Zhang Hua discussed limits on officials’ land, tenant farmers, and tax exemptions, choosing Du Yu’s proposals for officials and Zhong Hui’s ideas for protecting farming households.

Wei Guan received Cao Mao’s Land Reward Edict and recognized that it would curb the great clans’ vast landholdings. After Wei Guan helped expand the policy into limits on farmland ownership across the realm, Cao Mao assigned him and Maoxian to carry it out together.

• Zhang Hua pressed Wei Guan to issue Cao Mao’s Land Reward Edict, and Wei Guan agreed despite realizing it threatened his own family’s wealth.
• Wei Guan drafted and promulgated the edict, then went to Taiji Hall to meet Cao Mao.
• Cao Mao asked Wei Guan for his opinion, and Wei Guan proposed farmland limits for everyone in the realm to prevent officials from evading the rules through relatives.
• Wei Guan outlined strict measures against land annexation and added regulations for retired officials.
• Cao Mao praised Wei Guan and Maoxian and made them jointly responsible for the policy.

After the rewarded fields edict met silent resentment from the ministers, Cao Mao summoned Hu Zun to help confront their opposition at court. Deng Dun publicly criticized the edict, but Hu Zun branded him a rebel and had him seized, leaving Chen Qian pleading for punishment and Cao Mao confident in his imperial power.

• Cao Mao, surprised that no ministers had thanked him for the rewarded fields edict, summoned Zhang Hua and Wei Guan and ordered a court assembly.
• Cao Mao privately told Hu Zun that the ministers seemed displeased with the edict, and Hu Zun promised to speak up at the assembly.
• At court, Cao Mao invited the ministers to criticize the edict, but they remained silent until Deng Dun stood and objected that the land limits would make it hard to support officials' households.
• Hu Zun accused Deng Dun of opposing the emperor and plotting rebellion, seized him, and ordered Wei Shu to take him for questioning.
• Chen Qian apologized to Cao Mao for failing to discipline Deng Dun, while Cao Mao watched the ministers and reflected on the power of an emperor.

Guanqiu Jian's veteran troops arrived at Lelang Commandery aboard a formidable fleet, where Yang Hu and Wen Yang welcomed them. Guanqiu Jian showed Yang Hu and Zhang Te a map of water sources and announced that his campaign strategy was ready.

• Guanqiu Jian's elite veterans from Huaiyang sailed north aboard the Flying Cloud and other warships, which Cao Mao had granted to the eastern and southern military theaters.
• Wen Yang arranged the Army of the General Who Guards the North in formation to welcome Zhang Te and his arriving soldiers, whose veteran discipline impressed Yang Hu.
• Zhang Te gave Wen Yang another letter from Wen Qin, then Yang Hu escorted Zhang Te to meet Guanqiu Jian.
• Guanqiu Jian pointed out water sources on a map of the Yuwen Tribe, the Tuoba Tribe, and Goguryeo, and said his campaign strategy was ready.

Guanqiu Jian prepared to campaign against Goguryeo while coordinating a secret effort to exploit corruption and discontent among the Tuoba. A Great Wei agent urged Wuhuan King Kuxian to help scatter the Tuoba tribes, and Kuxian agreed to consider trying.

• Guanqiu Jian ordered Zhang Te and Yang Hu to prepare for a march against Goguryeo from Lelang Commandery in five days.
• Guanqiu Jian met with Wang Yuan, who reported that many Tuoba chieftains and officials had accepted bribes, and instructed him to find someone willing to help undermine Tuoba Liwei.
• Kuxian warmly welcomed a merchant who had repeatedly brought him gifts, then learned that the man was an Office of Affairs official acting on Guanqiu Jian's orders.
• The official offered Kuxian a generalship, a hereditary marquisate, and further rewards if he caused the Tuoba tribes to scatter and flee.
• Kuxian heard that the chieftains were dissatisfied with Tuoba Liwei's rule and said he could try to persuade them.

Tuoba Liwei tasked Kuxian with resolving opposition to his reforms after tribal leaders killed two officials, while warning him that the killings could not go unpunished. Kuxian secretly manipulated a fellow chieftain into fleeing, then prepared to escape to Wei territory himself.

• Tuoba Liwei told Kuxian to punish those responsible for killing two officials, while urging him to act quickly and avoid provoking rebellion.
• Liwei promised Kuxian that he would become chancellor once their reforms succeeded.
• Kuxian ordered the Wuhuan Tribe to sharpen its axes and iron tools, attracting the attention of suspicious chieftains.
• Kuxian told a visiting friend that Liwei planned to arrest the tribal chieftains at a feast and urged him to confess rather than flee.
• After his friend left, Kuxian revealed that he planned to escape into Wei territory that night with his trusted aides.

The Tuoba alliance collapsed into civil war after its chieftains fled, while Guanqiu Jian revealed that his true target was the Tuoba rather than Goguryeo. He ordered his army to march on Shengle, leaving Wen Yang to lead the vanguard toward the city.

• Kuxian and another chieftain fled the Tuoba, prompting other tribes to leave and the alliance to break apart as Tuoba Liwei prepared to use force to restore it.
• In Lelang Commandery, Wen Yang, Zhang Te, and Yang Hu questioned why Guanqiu Jian had delayed the march while Goguryeo fled toward Sushen.
• Guanqiu Jian introduced Kuxian, King of Wuhuan, who reported that the Tuoba were in civil war and their alliance had crumbled.
• Guanqiu Jian ordered the army to march on Shengle and assigned Yang Hu to aid fleeing tribes, Zhang Te to engage the main force, and Wen Yang to strike at Shengle with elite cavalry.

Guanqiu Jian and Yang Hu led Wei forces into battle against the Tuoba as rebel tribes fled and sought Wei protection. After Tuoba Xilu’s attack was crushed by repeating crossbows, the conflict escalated into full-scale war, with Guanqiu Jian steadily advancing toward Shengle while Tuoba Chuo resorted to guerrilla tactics.

• Tuoba Xilu captured fleeing tribesmen, then attacked Yang Hu’s Wei troops when they arrived to protect another tribe seeking refuge.
• Wei soldiers used Repeating Strong Crossbows to rout Xilu’s cavalry and kill Xilu, marking the start of open war between Wei and the Xianbei.
• Yang Hu protected defecting tribes while Guanqiu Jian defeated Tuoba forces and captured several forts and their supplies.
• Liwei ordered Tuoba Luguan to reinforce Tuoba Chuo and abandon him if the fighting went badly.
• Wen Yang changed course when he encountered Luguan and continued north toward Shengle, forcing Luguan to divide his attention between the threat to the city and his brother’s battle.
• Guanqiu Jian advanced toward Shengle as Tuoba Chuo dispersed his forces and harassed the Wei army with guerrilla attacks.

Guanqiu Jian and Wen Yang steadily weakened the Tuoba Tribe while Yang Hu captured its people and cut off its supply network. Facing defeat, Tuoba Chuo agreed with Tuoba Luguan that they should abandon their territory and withdraw toward Goguryeo.

• Guanqiu Jian held his army together against Tuoba guerrilla tactics while Wen Yang bypassed Shengle City and gathered captives and materials to prepare a siege.
• Yang Hu captured Tuoba tribespeople and supply stations, leaving the Tuoba cavalry with mounting logistical problems as Guanqiu Jian advanced toward Shengle.
• Tuoba Chuo's forces failed to defeat Yang Hu's smaller logistics army, and Guanqiu Jian continued taking cities along his route.
• Tuoba Luguan urged Tuoba Chuo and the generals to leave their territory, and Tuoba Chuo proposed occupying lands abandoned by Goguryeo.
• Tuoba Chuo's generals agreed to follow his command and withdraw.

Guanqiu Jian pursued the retreating Tuoba forces to Shengle City, where Wen Yang captured Tuoba Liwei after leading the assault. Guanqiu Jian explained that Wei’s campaign was an act of Unification and ordered Liwei taken to Luoyang alive, while the remaining Tuoba forces threatened to regroup in Goguryeo.

• Guanqiu Jian concluded that the Tuoba forces were abandoning their territory for Goguryeo and ordered the Wei army to attack Shengle City.
• Wen Yang told Guanqiu Jian that he had resisted Tuoba Chuo’s attempts to lure him away from Tuoba Liwei, and Guanqiu Jian praised his restraint.
• Wen Yang led the assault on Shengle City, breached its walls, and found Tuoba Liwei waiting in his hall.
• Guanqiu Jian and Tuoba Liwei debated whether Wei’s conquest of the Tuoba lands could be called Unification, with Guanqiu Jian arguing that Liwei’s people had become subjects by studying the Classics.
• Guanqiu Jian refused to execute Liwei and ordered him escorted to Luoyang, instructing that physicians help keep him alive.

Cao Mao investigated Guo Ping’s fight with Wang Ji and discovered that Wang Ji and members of the Guo family had bullied scholar Guo Qi over his horse. Wang Chang’s account of Wang Ji’s extravagant excesses led Cao Mao to condemn the young men’s conduct, while Guo Ping was sent home to reflect and barred from going out.

• Sima Yue pleaded with Cao Mao to spare Guo Ping after he summoned his adopted son for beating Wang Ji.
• Guo Ping explained that he and Chen Zhi had intervened when Wang Ji and Guo Qi’s relatives tried to take Guo Qi’s cherished horse, and Cao Mao sent an attendant to verify the story.
• After the attendant confirmed the account, Cao Mao chastised Guo Ping for fighting instead of using his identity to stop the bullying or reporting it to him.
• Cao Mao met with Wang Chang, Chen Qian, and Guo Yi, and Wang Chang disclosed Wang Ji’s extravagant horse grounds, paved with coins, and other excesses.
• Cao Mao condemned Wang Ji’s conduct and the Guo relatives’ treatment of Guo Qi, then ordered the elders to discipline their families and told Guo Ping to stay home and reflect.
• Sima Yue reassured Cao Mao that she was glad he had disciplined Guo Ping and worried only that anger might harm his health.