Chapter Summaries

Cao Mao resolved to replace the Imperial Academy and State Schools’ admissions systems with court-supervised, fair assessments, while Zhong Hui supported the plan. Pei Xiu left without challenging him, and Zhong Hui warned Liu Yuan that Wang Chang’s recent praise reflected his family’s political interests.

• Cao Mao told Yang Zong that court-led assessments were necessary to end educational privileges and give humble families a fair chance.
• Pei Xiu visited Zhong Hui to urge him to dissuade Cao Mao from abolishing the old admissions systems, but Zhong Hui said he supported the emperor’s plan.
• Pei Xiu heard Zhong Hui’s explanations, then left without further objection and had Liu Yuan escort him out.
• Zhong Hui told Liu Yuan that Wang Chang had praised him and encouraged his family to associate with him because the Wang and Liu families’ political positions had changed.
• Zhong Hui reflected that Cao Mao’s relocation of the great clans had weakened resistance and reassured people in Shu and Wu that the emperor treated them equally.

Cao Mao inspected successful fertilizer trials, rewarded the people behind them, and recognized the mathematician Liu Hui, whom he urged to focus on completing his commentary on The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Arts. On his return to Luoyang, Cao Mao learned that two more Western Regions kingdoms were willing to become commanderies.

• Cao Mao examined the experimental plots and saw that Fertilizer No. Yi produced the strongest growth.
• Cao Mao rewarded Cao Xi and the other workers, then ordered the alchemists and chemists to remain in Luoyang.
• Cao Mao recognized Liu Hui and urged him to leave the fieldwork and complete his commentary on The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Arts.
• Zhang Hua told Cao Mao that ministers were approaching Wang Chang about intervening in a dispute involving Liu Yuan, but Cao Mao dismissed the idea that Wang Chang would intervene.
• Zhang Hua reported that two more Western Regions kingdoms had contacted the Chief Clerk's Office and were willing to become commanderies.

Zhuge Xu traveled through Sha Province toward the Yuezhi and discussed the province’s governance and the Yuezhi’s decline with Inspector Liu Song. After resting, he continued westward, discovering that the roads and settlements grew sparser beyond Dunhuang.

• Zhuge Xu reached Sha Province with his large party and was welcomed by Inspector Liu Song, who explained that the province’s roads were still under construction.
• Liu Song told Zhuge Xu that his forceful subordinates, including Liu Shi, planned to exploit tensions between Kucha and Karasahr, and asked how he should respond.
• Zhuge Xu advised Liu Song to oversee officials and report their conduct to His Majesty rather than interfere in local administration, and said Liu Shi was unlikely to start a war while the court planned trade with the Yuezhi.
• Liu Song described Vasudeva’s rise and decline and said Greater Yuezhi was losing territory to the powerful Parthians, while Zhuge Xu listened and learned what little was known about the region.
• After resting for two days, Zhuge Xu traveled farther into Sha Province and found the roads and settlements worse than those around Dunhuang.

Yang Zong enforced Cao Mao’s education reforms at the Imperial Academy, dismissing scholars who opposed them. In Taiji Hall, Cao Mao grew suspicious that someone was trying to influence Zheng Xian to make Crown Prince Cao Wen resemble Fusu by arranging a tutor.

• Yang Zong announced new admissions policies at the Imperial Academy while scholars protested the abolition of their privileges.
• Yang Zong had armored guards remove and dismiss the loudest opponents, then continued reading the new requirements as the remaining scholars fell silent.
• Yang Zong outlined a system of spring and autumn admissions, assessments for the Imperial Academy and State School, and centralized control of examinations.
• Zheng Xian urged Cao Mao to find Cao Wen a tutor and suggested Sun Yan.
• Cao Mao asked whether anyone had prompted Zheng Xian to seek a tutor and whether Sun Yan’s family had attended her banquet; Zheng Xian confirmed that they had.

Liu Xuan saw Sun Yan off as the emperor revealed why Sun Yan was being exiled and appointed Liu Xuan to serve in the imperial secretariat. Cao Mao then punished Cao Qi and his companions for riding recklessly before hearing Cao Qi’s report that the Qinghe Commandery Governor had helped powerful clans evade exile.

• Liu Xuan bid farewell to Sun Yan, who urged him to pursue government service and not let Sun Yan’s exile hold him back.
• Cao Mao explained that Sun Yan had tried to secure the Crown Prince’s tutorship to revive Zheng Learning, then appointed Liu Xuan as a Gentleman in the imperial secretariat.
• Cao Mao decided to educate the Crown Prince himself and ordered Zhang Hua to stop a party of riders who were forcing caravans off the road.
• Cao Mao discovered that Cao Qi, King of Donghai, led the riders and ordered him and his companions, including Shu Jinen and Liu Hong, to receive ten strokes of the board.
• Cao Qi reported that the Qinghe Commandery Governor had concealed the assets of great clans and helped those meant for exile escape under changed names.

Cao Mao assigned posts and new identities to Cao Qi’s companions, then discussed the crown prince’s education and the empress dowager’s request to relocate her family. He learned that the relocation had exposed disloyal commandery governors and concluded that he needed to promote more officials from humble backgrounds.

• Cao Mao sent Shu Jinen to serve as Ma Long’s deputy in Liangzhou, bestowed the surname Cao and the courtesy name Jiuwu on him, and urged Liu Hong to prepare for the Imperial Examination.
• Cao Mao ordered He Qiao to serve in Sha Province, while Cao Qi encouraged him by describing the province’s opportunities for advancement.
• Cao Mao told Zheng Xian that he would personally teach Cao Wen and advised her to invite Sima Yue to future banquets for her counsel.
• Empress Dowager Guo asked Cao Mao to relocate her family along with the great clans, and he agreed while wondering who had informed her of the plan.
• Zhang Hua reported that the relocation had revealed disloyal commandery governors, leading Cao Mao to consider promoting more men of humble origins.

Cao Mao ordered the arrest of Qinghe governor Yu Shu for secretly helping criminals evade his policies, then discussed resettling the Hu peoples and changing their customs with his scholars. Ruan Ji claimed the Xiongnu descended from the Xia, prompting Cao Mao to propose restoring their ancestral surnames and teaching them their origins.

• Cao Wen finished his lesson with Cao Mao, bowed as his mother had taught him, and left to keep studying.
• Zhang Hua reported that Yu Shu had helped criminals flee and falsified household registers, and Cao Mao ordered Yu Shu brought under guard for interrogation.
• Cao Mao read Guo Ze's report on resettling the Hu peoples of Yongliang and summoned scholars to discuss changing their customs and surnames.
• Cao Mao asked whether the Hu peoples had once been Chinese, and Ruan Ji said the Xiongnu descended from the Xia.
• Cao Mao proposed that the Xiongnu restore their ancestral surnames and learn their origins.

Cao Mao discussed uniting the peoples of China through shared ancestry, restored surnames, and written histories, then confronted Ruan Ji over benevolent rule. Later, he exposed Yu Shu and other commandery governors for colluding to shield their clans, leaving Zhang Hua to consider how powerful great families had once been.

• Cao Mao and Ruan Ji discussed the origins of the Qiang, Xianbei, and other peoples, and Cao Mao proposed restoring surnames and customs to unite them as the people of China.
• Ruan Ji explained that he supported Cao Mao's effort to end conflict between the Central Plains and the Hu, then criticized Cao Mao's rejection of benevolent governance.
• Cao Mao asked Ruan Ji to help plan books and surname changes, and the two settled several matters despite their disagreement.
• In the first month of the Fifth Year of Ganlu, Cao Mao observed Wei Shu interrogate Yu Shu, who admitted sparing prominent Qinghe families.
• Wei Shu revealed that Yu Shu and five other commandery governors had exchanged letters and protected one another's clans and relatives by marriage.
• Cao Mao asked Zhang Hua whether he understood what great clans had been able to do in the past, and Zhang Hua said he had seen a servant seize another man's wife.

Cao Mao persuaded two Zheng Learning scholars to support Ruan Ji’s work tracing the origins of the peoples, arguing that peace mattered more than their ancestry. In Chang’an, Shu Jinen warned Ma Long that the Xi would soon raid Xiping, and Ma Long gave him four hundred cavalrymen to capture their leader, Qijin.

• Cao Mao asked Ma Zhao and Zhang Rong to propose a way to prevent unrest among the northern Hu peoples, then urged them to help Ruan Ji after they could offer no solution.
• Cao Mao continued his sword practice, while the court punished arrested governors and he appointed capable men from humble families and prohibited fortified compounds in the localities.
• Shu Jinen introduced himself to Ma Long as Cao Jiuwu, explaining that he had formerly belonged to the Tufa Tribe and been named Shu Jinen.
• Shu Jinen predicted that the Xi would attack Xiping, describing their motives, likely raid tactics, and escape routes.
• Ma Long gave Shu Jinen four hundred cavalrymen and ordered him to capture the Xi leader, Qijin.

Shu Jinen lured the Xi people’s cavalry away from their camp, burned the camp, and defeated them, capturing their chieftain in a swift campaign. Ma Long rewarded him and began planning a wider campaign to clear bandits from the western provinces.

• Shu Jinen sent the Xi people a scathing proclamation and challenged them to surrender.
• The Qijin pursued a small Wei force, while Shu Jinen attacked the Xi camp, set it ablaze, and trapped its defenders.
• The Qijin turned back to rescue the camp, but Shu Jinen ambushed his returning cavalry, defeated them, and killed him.
• Shu Jinen returned to Ma Long after fourteen days with the Xi people’s chieftain captured, and Ma Long praised him and appointed him Cavalry Commandant.
• Ma Long offered Shu Jinen military treatises to study and planned to crush larger bandit groups to keep the trade routes open.

Cao Mao strengthened his control over the Central Army and considered how to expand Great Wei’s influence in Funan. He left Fan De facing his implied plan to send Wei officials into the kingdom under the guise of establishing a government for its king.

• Cao Mao ordered Luo Xian to help the aging Xiahou Xian oversee and train the reduced Central Army, warning him to keep opportunists out.
• Cao Mao received Ma Long’s report on Shu Jinen’s defeat of the bandits and ordered the Ministry of War to award military merit.
• Cao Mao arranged to meet the hostage prince from Funan and summoned Lu Kang to attend.
• Cao Mao questioned Fan De about Funan’s past tribute to Eastern Wu and then asked how many people Great Wei should send to establish a government for Fan Xun.
• Fan De realized Cao Mao intended to place Wei advisers and officials in Funan, while Lu Kang stayed silent.

Cao Mao decided to establish a port and road in Funan to shorten the voyage to Tianzhu, and Lu Kang proposed working through Funan’s king and nobles rather than conquering the kingdom. Lu Kang began arranging the plan with Fan De, but Zhong Hui’s intimidating arrival left Fan De eager to cooperate.

• Cao Mao rejected Fan De’s offer to have his own officials escort the Royal Seal and insisted that Great Wei could send an envoy to Funan.
• Cao Mao explained to Lu Kang that a port in Funan’s Western City would create a much faster sea route to Tianzhu, and Lu Kang proposed appointing a Zhonglang General of Proclaiming Transformation to oversee construction with local support.
• Cao Mao assigned Lu Kang to handle Funan’s affairs, and Lu Kang asked for Zhang Maoxian’s assistance.
• Lu Kang reassured Fan De that Great Wei would not strip Funan’s king of power, then asked him to inform his father about the proposed post, roads, fortified city, and port.
• Zhong Hui arrived and challenged Lu Kang’s authority while demanding to know why Fan Xun had not come to Luoyang.
• After Zhong Hui left, Fan De agreed that Funan should follow Lu Kang’s proposal exactly.

Cao Mao reviewed Wei Shu’s objections to the New Code and decided that Great Wei needed a new legal code without the privileges and inconsistencies embedded in the existing laws. He ordered that legal experts be summoned and said he would personally oversee the revision, leaving the choice of compilers to consider.

• Cao Mao finished teaching Cao Wen and traveled to the Ministry of Justice with Zhang Hua.
• Cao Mao discussed Wei Shu’s memorial about flaws in the New Code with Wei Shu and Zhong Hui.
• Wei Shu and Zhong Hui criticized the Eight Deliberations, uneven punishments, and other provisions in the New Code.
• Cao Mao declared that the New Code must be revised and ordered officials to summon talented people versed in law.
• Cao Mao began considering candidates to draft the new laws while Zhong Hui prepared to inspect fertilizer production in Dongping.

Wen Yang sent Zhou Chu and Cheng Ji to bring Wa Island’s barbarian tribes under control, but their different approaches caused friction before Wen Yang reconciled them. After Zhou Chu won over more than a hundred tribes, Wen Yang established a Commandant’s Office to govern them and prepared to return to the mainland.

• Wen Yang divided the campaign against Wa Island’s tribes between Zhou Chu and Cheng Ji, who led separate forces.
• Cheng Ji charged ahead and slaughtered six barbarian forces, while Zhou Chu cautiously approached tribes and lost several envoys to attacks.
• After Cheng Ji’s supplies fell behind, Zhou Chu won tribes over through diplomacy and strength, recruited their warriors, and brought almost all the island’s barbarian forces under control.
• Cheng Ji accused Zhou Chu of taking the credit for his victories, but Wen Yang praised their complementary efforts and eased their conflict.
• Wen Yang hosted the tribal chieftains at Yacheng and established a Commandant’s Office to settle disputes and command the tribes.

Wuqiu Xiu was relocated to Jiangling under Zhong Hui’s Advancement Edict, which moved landholding families to break the great clans’ local power. After hearing the cavalry squad leader describe the hardships ordinary people had endured, Wuqiu Xiu tore up a letter and continued toward his new home with a calmer expression.

• Wuqiu Xiu traveled with his family and a relocation convoy, learning that Jiangling was less than ten days away.
• The chapter explained how Zhong Hui’s three-tier Advancement Edict classified eligible families for mild, moderate, or penal relocation, with Wuqiu Xiu assigned to mild relocation.
• The cavalry squad leader told Wuqiu Xiu that his family’s move was comfortable compared with penal exile and recounted losing his home and family during Jiang Wei’s invasion.
• The squad leader described famine and the poor fighting over discarded food from great clans, leaving Wuqiu Xiu unable to offer a rebuttal.
• As the convoy resumed its journey, Wuqiu Xiu tore a letter into pieces and looked ahead toward Jiangling.

Cao Mao praised Zhong Hui for implementing the Advancement Edict and appointed him Minister over the Masses and Director of the Secretariat despite Yang Zong’s objections. He then visited Wang Chang and urged the aging official to retire in peace, leaving their feelings unresolved in a long silence.

• Zhong Hui reported that the first implementation of the Advancement Edict had been completed, and Cao Mao praised his work and its benefits to Great Wei.
• Cao Mao announced that Zhong Hui would take charge of the Imperial Secretariat, but Yang Zong privately objected that Zhong Hui was too young and ambitious for such power.
• Cao Mao dismissed Yang Zong’s objections and appointed Zhong Hui Minister over the Masses while retaining his other offices.
• Cao Mao advised Zhong Hui to mind his conduct and treat his colleagues with respect, and Zhong Hui reported on his ongoing changes to noble ranks.
• Cao Mao visited Wang Chang, praised his past service, and asked him to retire peacefully; Wang Chang thanked him, and the two sat in silence.

Cao Mao planned a sweeping reshuffle of Great Wei’s senior officials, weighing the talents and readiness of younger ministers after Wang Chang’s retirement. As he prepared to issue appointments, he received word that the Two States of Sha Province had gone to war.

• Cao Mao left Wang Chang’s residence and discussed with Zhang Hua why Wang Chang had hesitated to support his policies and who might fill the vacant Senior Secretary posts.
• Cao Mao rejected placing Chen Tai and Wang Jing in the Imperial Secretariat, while Zhang Hua volunteered to become Minister of Justice and cleanse official administration.
• Cao Mao planned to bring Du Yu back as Left Senior Secretary, place Wen Yang in command in the north, and appoint Yang Hu and Wei Shu as Senior Secretaries.
• Cao Mao considered appointing Zhang Hua Minister of Justice, Lu Qin Director of the Central Secretariat, Wei Guan Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and Chen Tai Attendant, while Guanqiu Jian would return to steady the court.
• Cao Mao considered Xun Xu as Lu Zhi’s successor at the Ministry of Households and planned to complete the appointments within the year.
• Liu Song, Inspector of Sha Province, sent documents reporting that the Two States of Sha Province had gone to war.

Liu Shi and Deng Zhong debated how to respond to the war between Kucha and Yanqi, then traveled to Yanqi to urge the kingdoms to stop fighting. They learned that King Long An was unconscious and that Long Hui was already mustering troops to attack Kucha.

• Deng Zhong arrived at the Post Station, where Liu Shi explained that Kucha and Yanqi had gone to war.
• Deng Zhong proposed letting the kingdoms fight so the imperial court could punish the victor and establish direct rule, but Liu Shi rejected the plan and insisted they must attempt to stop the conflict.
• Liu Shi and Deng Zhong traveled to Yanqi with a small escort to persuade its rulers to end the war.
• Long Xuan received Liu Shi and Deng Zhong and told them that Long An had been unconscious for three days.
• Long Xuan said Long Hui was mustering an army outside the city to avenge his father and would not heed the ministers' remonstrations.

Long Hui refused Liu Shi and Deng Zhong’s efforts to prevent war and marched against White Mountain, the King of Kucha. He caught White Mountain’s unprepared army by surprise, killed him, and ordered Kucha’s forces to surrender.

• Long Hui told Liu Shi and Deng Zhong that he would avenge his father’s humiliation and showed them his well-trained soldiers, who chose to follow him into battle.
• Liu Shi and Deng Zhong met White Mountain, who rejected their peace efforts and insisted on fighting Long Hui.
• Liu Shi sent Deng Zhong to watch the conflict and ordered preparations to support the aftermath as the two kingdoms went to war.
• White Mountain dismissed advice to prepare for battle and continued feasting while Long Hui’s army approached Wulei City.
• Long Hui led three hundred elite horsemen in a dawn assault on White Mountain’s unprepared camp and drove the rout into Wulei City.
• Long Hui killed White Mountain and ordered his men to display the king’s head and demand the surrender of Kucha’s army and nobles.

After Long Hui conquered Kucha and became King of Yanqi, Liu Shi confronted him over defying the imperial court and forced him to go to Luoyang to seek investiture and forgiveness. Liu Shi took charge of Kucha while Long Hui traveled toward Luoyang, leaving his future uncertain.

• Long Hui defeated White Mountain, seized Kucha, and inherited his father’s throne, while Liu Shi and Deng Zhong reconsidered how to handle his sudden rise.
• Liu Shi went to Wulei City and accused Long Hui of rebellion for conquering Kucha and claiming the kingship without imperial investiture.
• When Long Hui resisted going to Luoyang, Liu Shi threatened to kill himself and bring down the Wei Army on Yanqi, forcing Long Hui to agree.
• Long Hui entrusted the kingdom’s affairs to Liu Shi and set out for Luoyang, later receiving travel documents from Liu Song at Dunhuang Commandery.
• Liu Shi released Kucha’s imprisoned royal family, returned displaced common people, and began settling the aftermath of the war.