Recaps

Zhang Xing fought to hold his territory together as imperial armies advanced and rebellions spread, while Bai Yousi intervened in Northern Jin and reunited with him. The arc left the Exorcising the Dragon Gang preparing to lure Zhang Xuguo’s forces toward Lihu, with Li Shu volunteering to serve as bait.

• Heavenly King Xiong announced Duke Gao’s crimes, and the Exorcising the Dragon Gang executed Duke Gao and Chancellor Zhang before Zhang Xing negotiated with Liang Commandery and returned to Gushu.
• Zhang Xing organized the gang’s supplies and leadership, while Dan Tonghai and Zhang Xuguo maneuvered against each other across the Wen River and Cao Lin expanded wartime powers and appointed commanders.
• Bai Yousi traveled through famine-stricken Northern Jin, took grain from Fenyang Palace, and worked with Hong Changya to relieve the people and challenge Wang Rengong’s rule.
• Bai Yousi defeated Luo Xin and Yuchi Rong’s confrontation in Yunnei City, helped drive out the Youzhou army, and then sought to restore order as Zhang Xing arranged for Sima Zheng to receive the Empress.
• After Ma Hu’s troops retook Dang County and Yucheng, Zhang Xing rallied the routed army, led attacks against the government troops, and later ordered investigations and compensation for Yucheng’s victims.
• Zhang Xing negotiated with Eunuch Wang over Dang County and Xiayi as Zuo Xiaoyou’s rebellion spread through Qi Commandery and Zhang Xuguo prepared to return from Yuncheng.
• Zhang Xing gathered the western and eastern forces at Lihu, persuaded Li Shu and other leaders to prepare for battle near Mount Li, and rallied the soldiers after honoring the fallen.
• Zhang Xing won support for fighting Zhang Xuguo’s army and set conditions for retreat if Han Yingong arrived with his full force, while Li Shu offered to feign defeat at Zhencheng and draw the enemy toward Lihu.

Zhang Xing led the Exorcising the Dragon Gang to victory at Mount Li, absorbed rival forces, and set new rules for governing its expanding territories. As the campaign moved into Lu Commandery, he recruited local allies and faced mounting questions about the righteous armies and the gang’s growing influence.

• Zhang Xing prepared a trap near Mount Li while Li Shu led four thousand troops to draw Zhang Xuguo’s army into the gang’s territory, and the Palace Eunuchs Army surrendered to Han Yingong before rebelling and fleeing east.
• Zhang Xing led troops through the flooded marsh to strike the government army’s rear, helping rout Zhang Xuguo’s forces and capture cities across Liang Commandery.
• Zhang Xing brought Wang Zhuo into the gang’s leadership, appointed Fan the Cook to govern Yucheng, and honored the fallen by cutting a burial mound into Mount Li.
• Zhang Xing secured approval for central control of cultivators and civil appointments, reorganized the gang’s wings, and won a vote to lead the Second Eastern Expedition despite opposition from Dan Tonghai.
• Zhang Xing’s army captured territory across three commanderies while assigning forces to maintain order, protect harvests, and secure routes, and he also promised tax relief to a fleeing couple from Liangfu.
• Zhang Xing challenged Bing Yuanzheng’s reliance on local magnates, and Bing and Wang Xiongdan killed Liu Fan after he refused to surrender the gold mine and the men he sheltered.
• Tang Bairen offered to secure Liangfu and sow discord among the Sun, Gao, and Wang factions, while Zhang Xing gave him a letter proposing an alliance with Know-the-World Wang Hou.
• Xie Minghe discussed the Medicine King’s influence and the rise of Condensing the Core experts with Zhang Xing, while Xiong Bonan said his survey of the righteous armies had left him increasingly uneasy.