Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xuguo’s government army launched a surprise attack on Yuncheng, prompting Li Shu to abandon the city and retreat before he realized the attackers were not the feared Xuzhou troops. As government forces coordinated an encirclement and the eastern and western fronts faltered, Zhang Xing faced the possibility of retreat but chose to wait for Bai Yousi before deciding his course.

• Xiong Bonan reconnoitered the government army’s positions, while Zhang Xuguo’s commanders prepared a joint land-and-water attack on Yuncheng.
• When the Exorcising the Dragon Army advanced against nearby towns, Zhang Xuguo abandoned the planned date and ordered his forces to attack; Li Shu mistook the surprise assault across Juye Marsh for an invasion by Xuzhou troops and evacuated Yuncheng.
• Yu Baimei’s troops occupied Yuncheng, and Li Shu realized he had abandoned the city unnecessarily; after failed counterattacks, the Exorcising the Dragon Army withdrew to Fan County.
• Han Yingong advanced north as Zhang Xing learned that government forces were coordinating an encirclement; Zhang Shizhao urged him to unite the eastern and western fronts and watch for signs of cooperation between Han Yingong and Zhang Xuguo.
• After Li Shu warned Zhang Xing that the eastern army might withdraw, Niu Da reported that Qutu Da had brought ten thousand Eastern Capital troops to Luokou Granary; Zhang Xing took out his Compass but put it away, choosing to wait for Bai Yousi.

Zhang Xing redistributed surrendered troops, negotiated Dang and Xiayi’s return to Eunuch Wang, and ordered preparations to withdraw as he worried over the worsening political crisis. Meanwhile, Zhang Xuguo learned that Zuo Xiaoyou had seized Qi Commandery and faced a choice between rescuing his collapsing home territory and exploiting the enemy’s likely expectations.

• Zhang Xing offered Niu Da some of the surrendered soldiers for his command, and told him to inspect the severed heads for false claims of military merit.
• Zhang Xing toured Dang County, found a grain shop serving local people at famine prices, and then agreed to give Dang and Xiayi to Eunuch Wang while advancing the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s line to Chuqiu.
• Zhang Xing asked Jia Yue why he stayed with him, and Jia Yue said he believed Lord Black Emperor had sent him south and that following Zhang Xing was part of his destiny.
• Zhang Xing ordered Zhang Jinshu to contact Songcheng and prepare for withdrawal, while Yan Qing remained missing and other trusted allies were away.
• Fan Hu reported that Zuo Xiaoyou had rebelled and taken Qi Commandery, prompting Zhang Xuguo to conceal the news and order his army to prepare to return and suppress the rebellion.
• After scouts brought further reports of Qi Commandery’s collapse, Zhang Xuguo asked whether Yuncheng would lower its guard, leaving his officers silent in the rain.

Zhang Xing gathered the western forces at Lihu and tried to rally the disorganized eastern army into joining a decisive battle against Zhang Xuguo. After inspecting the dead and sick, he urged the soldiers to honor their fallen comrades and follow him south to Lihu, where he had prepared supplies.

• Wei Xuanding arranged civilian laborers, boats, and fair transport rates as Zhang Xing armored for the march; Zhang Xing ordered deserters in Chengshi punished with hard labor or public execution.
• Zhang Xing marched through the rain from Jiyin to Lihu, where Niu Da and Xu Shiying joined him, bringing the assembled western army to about twenty-one thousand troops.
• Xiong Bonan reported that the eastern army had lost control and was retreating chaotically, so Zhang Xing rode out with Bai Yousi and other leaders to find Li Shu and rally the troops.
• Zhang Xing persuaded Li Shu and the assembled leaders to gather their forces at Lihu and prepare to defeat Zhang Xuguo near Mount Li.
• At Huang Village, Zhang Xing ordered the sick cared for and the dead prepared for burial, then addressed the soldiers, honoring the fallen and urging the army to put on armor and follow him to Lihu.

At Lihu, Zhang Xing persuaded the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s leaders to fight Zhang Xuguo’s Qi-Lu Army while preparing for the possibility of Han Yingong’s intervention. Li Shu then warned that the imperial troops might stop pursuing and volunteered to return to Zhencheng as bait to draw them into an ambush.

• Zhang Xing presented the gang’s numerical, logistical, and local-terrain advantages and argued that it should fight the approaching Qi-Lu Army.
• Protector Shen Qing asked what would happen if Han Yingong reinforced Zhang Xuguo, and Zhang Xing explained when the gang would retreat, delay, or proceed with battle.
• Xu Shiying, Li Shu, and other leaders supported fighting before the imperial forces could respond, and Zhang Xing ordered Cheng Zhili to bring the Putai Army and demanded strict obedience to military discipline.
• Li Shu argued that Han Yingong was unlikely to commit his main force and warned that Zhang Xuguo’s pursuers might stop at Zhencheng instead of advancing to Lihu.
• Li Shu proposed using a genuine defeat as bait to lure the enemy onward and volunteered to return to Zhencheng, where the imperial troops hated him most.

At Lihu, Zhang Xing persuaded the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s leaders to unite for a decisive battle against Zhang Xuguo’s Qi-Lu Army, while planning for the possibility of Han Yingong’s intervention. Li Shu warned that the enemy might not pursue them and volunteered to return to Zhencheng as bait to draw them into battle.

• Zhang Xing outlined the gang’s numerical and local advantages and won support for fighting Zhang Xuguo’s forces, while Protector Shen Qing raised the risk of Han Yingong arriving with reinforcements.
• Zhang Xing explained that the gang would retreat if Han Yingong arrived with his full army before the battle, but could hold off a smaller or later force; he also ordered Cheng Zhili to go to Putai and bring over the Putai Army.
• Zhang Xing demanded that the gang’s members obey military orders, warning that the leaders would punish anyone whose disobedience caused a defeat.
• Li Shu cautioned that Zhang Xuguo’s forces might stop at Zhencheng instead of pursuing, and suggested using a genuine defeat as bait to lure them toward Lihu.
• Li Shu offered to return to Zhencheng himself, arguing that the Qi-Lu Army hated him and would be eager to pursue him.

Zhang Xing and the other leaders prepared a hastily assembled plan to confront the government army near Mount Li, relying on Li Shu to lure the enemy and Bai Yousi to lead an elite force around their rear. As the battle approached, reports of defections unsettled Zhang Xing, who returned to his tent worried about how easily the improvised plan could unravel.

• Li Shu volunteered to lure the enemy, and the leaders coordinated their forces under a unified command before sending Cheng Zhili ahead with their joint letter.
• Zhang Xing inspected the battlefield near Mount Li, ordered routes cleared and nearby villagers relocated, and accepted Xu Shiying's plan for Bai Yousi to lead cultivators and elite troops behind the government army.
• The leaders assigned ten thousand troops to circle the enemy's rear under Bai Yousi's lead, while Zhang Xing commanded the army facing the enemy head-on.
• Zhang Jinshu reported that the family of an executed deserter had fled, and Zhang Xing told him to manage leaks but stop pursuing them after the next day.
• Wei Xuanding, Jia Yue, Yan Qing, and Zhang Jinshu told Zhang Xing that Protector Shen Qing had run off, and Zhang Xing ordered them to conserve their strength before returning to his tent troubled by the rain.

At Lihu, Zhang Xing rallied the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s leaders to fight Zhang Xuguo’s pursuing army, explaining when they would have to retreat if Han Yingong intervened. Li Shu warned that the enemy might not pursue and offered to return to Zhencheng as bait, leaving the gang poised to decide who would follow him.

• Zhang Xing argued that the gang’s larger force, home-ground advantage, and expert fighters gave them reasons to fight, while Protector Shen asked what they would do if Han Yingong sent aid.
• Zhang Xing said they would disperse if Han Yingong arrived with his full army before the battle, but would otherwise fight quickly and respond to smaller or late reinforcements as circumstances demanded.
• Xu Shiying and other leaders backed Zhang Xing’s plan, and Zhang Xing ordered Cheng Zhili to go to Putai and bring the Putai Army while warning everyone to obey military orders.
• Li Shu said Han Yingong was unlikely to move decisively and warned that Zhang Xuguo’s forces might stop pursuing at Zhencheng or head to Puyang instead.
• Li Shu proposed that someone suffer a real defeat to lure the government troops toward Lihu, then volunteered to return to Zhencheng and draw the enemy deep into their territory.

Zhang Xing and the eastern leaders prepared an improvised battle plan around Mount Li, assigning Bai Yousi to lead a force behind the government army while Li Shu set out to lure the enemy. As the battle drew near, desertions and possible leaks unsettled the commanders, but Zhang Xing urged his followers to conserve their strength and carry out their duties.

• Li Shu volunteered to lure the enemy, and the leaders agreed that he would command the coming battle; Li Shu then assembled four thousand troops and marched toward Zhencheng with Xiong Bonan.
• Zhang Xing, Bai Yousi, Xu Shiying, and other leaders surveyed the battlefield near Mount Li, ordered workers to clear routes and build temporary crossings, and arranged for nearby villagers to relocate.
• Zhang Xing identified the flooded marsh as a chance to block the government army's retreat, and Xu Shiying proposed sending Bai Yousi and successive groups of troops around the enemy's rear.
• Zhang Xing assigned Bai Yousi, Jia Yue, Dan Tonghai, and several local leaders to the rear force while he commanded the main formation with Xu Shiying and Wang Shuyong.
• Zhang Jinshu told Zhang Xing that a deserter's family had fled and might alert Han Yingong, and Zhang Xing ordered him to contain leaks only until the next day.
• Wei Xuanding, Jia Yue, Yan Qing, and Zhang Jinshu reported that Shen Qing had fled; Zhang Xing ordered a search but told his commanders not to let the incident distract them from the battle.

Li Qingchen escaped prison with Li Qingzhou and tried to draw Han Yingong into the fighting, while Han prepared to send troops north after Xiayi surrendered. At Mount Mangdang, Wang Zhen abandoned neutrality and agreed to consider aiding the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.

• Li Qingzhou freed Li Qingchen and two companions from Jiyin City's prison, and Li Qingchen chose to head south to seek Han Yingong's help rather than flee home.
• Han Yingong told Li Qingchen that he already knew Jiyin was undefended and planned to send five thousand troops north under Lü Changheng after Xiayi surrendered.
• Li Qingchen entered Xiayi to persuade Eunuch Wang to surrender, and Eunuch Wang agreed to lead the city's people out the day after tomorrow if Li Qingchen would protect the civilians and attendants.
• At Mount Mangdang, Fan the Cook argued that Wang Zhen could not remain neutral while still a bandit, and Wang Zhen refused to surrender to the government army.
• Fan the Cook proposed inviting Zhou Xingfan to join them in sending troops north to aid the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.

Li Qingchen and Lü Changheng marched north with the Eastern Capital Valiant Warriors, only to find Yucheng seized by Wang Zhen and the Exorcising the Dragon Gang. As they confronted the rebels, Zhang Xing discussed disorder and trust with Bai Yousi and learned that Zhang Xuguo’s vanguard had entered Eastern Commandery.

• Han Yingong dismissed Li Qingzhou’s objections and said he would distribute the palace attendants among his soldiers and conscript townspeople for labor and military rewards.
• Li Qingchen obtained permission to join Lü Changheng and the five thousand Eastern Capital Valiant Warriors marching toward Jiyin, while Li Qingzhou stayed behind.
• Li Qingchen and Lü Changheng discussed reports that Zhang Xing had rallied forty thousand troops, and both worried that the reports might be true despite doubts about his supplies.
• At Yucheng, Wang Zhen revealed that Mount Mangdang’s forces had seized the city to support Zhang Xing, and Zhou Xingfan killed a climbing soldier and shot Li Qingchen’s horse.
• Zhang Xing explained to Bai Yousi how fear and mistrust encouraged people to act defensively amid chaos, then said Zhang Xuguo’s vanguard had entered Eastern Commandery.

After Han Yingong accepted the Palace Eunuchs Army’s surrender at Xiayi, his troops began plundering and abusing the surrendered eunuchs and palace attendants. As the rain fell again, Eunuch Wang urged the imprisoned eunuchs to resist rather than live as slaves.

• Li Qingchen persuaded Lü Changheng to send him to Xiayi so he could press Han Yingong to advance toward Yucheng.
• Han Yingong agreed to march north the next day if the Palace Eunuchs Army surrendered and supplied laborers and palace attendants.
• Eunuch Wang led the Palace Eunuchs Army out of Xiayi and surrendered, accepting responsibility for sharing their fate.
• Han Yingong ordered the eunuchs imprisoned as military slaves and promised the palace attendants to his soldiers, whose plundering soon escalated into a riot.
• At midnight, Eunuch Wang revealed that he had hidden knives and called on the eunuchs to kill their guards, seize weapons, and fight back.

Li Qingzhou rescued the wounded Li Qingchen from the Palace Eunuchs Army’s mutiny and took him toward Huaiyang, while Li Shu’s breakout drew Zhang Xuguo’s forces into pursuit. Zhang Xing prepared his army for battle, but Yu Baimei’s vanguard reached Li Shu’s bait force before the government troops discovered the hidden battlefield; the chapter ended as their first clash began.

• Li Qingchen rallied government soldiers during the Palace Eunuchs Army’s attack, but Li Qingzhou arrived and took him out of the rear camp toward Huaiyang instead of the central camp.
• Eunuch Wang freed the palace attendants, gathered weapons and supplies, and led the Palace Eunuchs Army east toward Mount Mangdang.
• Li Shu broke through the government encirclement with four thousand followers, and Zhang Xuguo ordered Yu Baimei to pursue him and turn south.
• Zhang Xing arranged his forces in their prepared positions, sent Wang Shuyong to support Li Shu, and prepared for the approaching battle.
• Bai Yousi flew off to confront a Core Formation expert who had approached the position, while Yu Baimei’s force caught up with Li Shu’s troops and advanced toward the battlefield.
• Yu Baimei’s vanguard attacked Li Shu’s bait force, appearing unstoppable at the first clash.

Zhang Xing watched the Qi-Lu Government Army commit more troops, then led an elite force through the flooded marsh to strike its rear and divide its army. The flanking maneuver succeeded, and both sides rushed to exploit the sudden split as the battle intensified.

• Zhang Xing watched the government troops and the Exorcising the Dragon Army fight a seesaw battle along the fortifications as reinforcements led by Xie Xiang, Wang Liang, and Zheng Biao approached.
• Li Shu identified the newcomers as newly raised and surrendered troops, while Fan Hu kept four thousand elite Qi Commandery soldiers in reserve and led the rest toward Zhang Xuguo.
• Zhang Xing chose to lead the first rear-circling force himself, assembled cultivators and guards, and brought Ma Ping'er, Wang Xiongdan, and Jia Runshi with him.
• Zhang Xing formed an array to freeze a path through the flooded marsh, then led his force out behind the government army and charged through Jia Wugen's formation to seize the battlefield's center.
• The Exorcising the Dragon Army's banner divided the government forces, and Mount Li briefly collapsed in the rain as Jia Yue, Fan Hu, Xu Shiying, and Zhang Xuguo issued orders and the fighting surged anew.

After the Exorcising the Dragon Army crushed the Qi-Lu Government Army at Lihu, Zhang Xing reviewed the battle, discussed Bai Yousi’s place in the gang, and redirected his forces south to confront Han Yingong. By the fourth day of the sixth month, Bai Yousi had captured Lü Changheng, who surrendered to Zhang Xing, and Zhang Xing greeted Eunuch Wang as an old ally.

• Zhang Xing declared victory after the Exorcising the Dragon Army routed the Qi-Lu Government Army, then issued orders to pursue the enemy, seize nearby cities, and reinforce Jiyin City.
• Zhang Xing reviewed the army’s logistical, tactical, and factional weaknesses with Bai Yousi, who agreed to join the Middle Wing and seek to become its leader.
• Zhang Xing proposed turning south to gather allied forces and drive Han Yingong away; his commanders mostly approved, and the army marched.
• Zhang Xing refused Dan Tonghai’s request to turn east after Niu Da captured Yuncheng and Wang Shuyong requested reinforcements, continuing south toward the allied armies instead.
• Bai Yousi and Zhou Xingfan helped rout Lü Changheng’s troops near Yucheng, and Lü surrendered to Zhang Xing.
• Zhang Xing greeted Zhou Xingfan and then asked Eunuch Wang for his full name.

Zhang Xing brought Wang Zhuo and the Palace Eunuchs Army into the Exorcising the Dragon Gang, then began absorbing Mount Mangdang and the newly captured territory by assigning its leaders posts. The chapter ended with Fan the Cook accepting a magistrate’s appointment as Zhang Xing reshaped the gang’s forces through rewards and official roles.

• Zhang Xing praised Wang Zhuo’s service on the southern front and secured the leaders’ agreement to make him a senior leader of the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.
• Zhang Xing reassured Wang Zhen that his past wavering did not erase his merits, then told Zhou Xingfan he meant to bring Mount Mangdang under the gang’s control.
• Fan the Cook urged Wang Zhen to preserve Mount Mangdang’s independence, while Li Shu and Zu Cheny an discussed how they might oppose Zhang Xing if he made a political mistake.
• At the public merit assessment, Zhang Xing appointed Fan the Cook helmsman and magistrate of Yucheng and proposed leaving only a small force on Mount Mangdang.
• Zhou Xingfan urged Fan the Cook to accept, and Fan agreed after seeing Mount Mangdang’s men eager to pursue posts and advancement under Zhang Xing.

After the Battle of Lihu, Zhang Xing’s victory shook the Central Plains and unsettled the Eastern Capital, where Cao Lin mourned Zhang Xuguo and Zhang Shiben learned that his son had died. Back at Lihu, Zhang Xing turned the funeral for the fallen into a challenge to his followers to claim the land for ordinary people, then began cutting Mount Li for their burial mound, but his first strike removed too little earth.

• After taking Liang Commandery’s four eastern counties and breaking up the Palace Eunuchs Army and Mount Mangdang bandits, Zhang Xing returned north, and Liang Commandery’s officials reaffirmed their friendship with him.
• News of the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s victory spread, reviving rebel forces and alarming officials; in the Eastern Capital, Cao Lin mourned Zhang Xuguo while Zhang Shiben grieved his son Zhang Changgong’s death.
• At Lihu, Zhang Xing heard surrendered soldiers mourning the dead and ordered the prisoners to attend the funeral and help add earth to the Qi-Lu Army’s graves.
• During the ceremony at Mount Li, Zhang Xing rejected the idea that the mountain belonged to emperors or nobles and asked the army’s cultivators to help cut it down for the fallen soldiers’ burial mound.
• Zhang Xing formed a true qi array and struck Mount Li with his sword, but removed only a small section of the mountainside, so he sent Little Zhou to fetch Sisi.

The Exorcising the Dragon Gang used its formation and the Dragon-Awakening Sword to cut Mount Li down over the mass graves of the fallen. After the burial mound was completed, Jia Yue and the northern warriors performed a martial rite as Zhang Xing and the others departed, leaving him reflecting on the dead.

• Xiong Bonan took the formation’s lead but achieved little with an ordinary saber, so Zhang Xing handed him the Sheathless Sword.
• With the sword, Xiong Bonan cut a huge breach into Mount Li, revealing damp soil and convincing the soldiers that the gang was sealing the corpse pits.
• Xiong Bonan wielded the Dragon-Awakening Sword with the formation’s support, cutting away half the mountain and piling it over the graves.
• Zhang Xing and the gang reshaped the earth into a large burial mound and set inscribed steles beside the official road.
• Jia Yue led northern warriors in a martial display before the steles while soldiers gathered to watch, and Zhang Xing’s group returned toward the stockade.
• Zhang Xing watched crows flying over the burial site and thought of verses about death and entrusting the fallen to the mountain.

After the Exorcising the Dragon Gang reorganized its forces with little conflict, Xu Shiying and Dan Tonghai urged Zhang Xing to advance into the Eastern Four Commanderies. Zhang Xing argued that the gang first needed to settle how its territories would be governed and demanded that all cultivators in the army come under the authority of Duke Wei, Li Shu, and himself; Xu Shiying publicly agreed.

• The gang paid and dismissed civilian laborers, screened surrendered soldiers and eastern-front recruits, distributed most of them among its branch lodges, and assigned troops to garrison key cities according to the existing factional proportions.
• Xu Shiying and Dan Tonghai discussed reports that Cheng Dalang had taken several cities in Qi Commandery and urged an advance against the weakened Qi-Lu Government Army.
• Xu Shiying asked Zhang Xing publicly why the gang was not advancing, and Zhang Xing explained his concerns about overexpansion, inadequate administrators and supplies, rival righteous armies, and how the conquered territories would be governed.
• Zhang Xing said the gang’s senior leaders had to give up control of their forces and establish that new territories would serve the common cause rather than become private fiefs.
• Zhang Xing proposed placing all cultivators in the army under Duke Wei, Li Shu, and himself, and Xu Shiying publicly pledged his support.

The Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s leaders met to centralize control, promote new chiefs, and prepare for a second Eastern Expedition. Zhang Xing secured approval for Bai Yousi to join as a great chief, then proposed taking precedence over Li Shu to lead the Left Wing east.

• Wang Zhen arrived with southern-front leaders and felt slighted when Wang Zhuo was summoned into the central shelter as a great chief while he remained outside.
• The leaders approved central control of cultivators and civil appointments, while Dan Tonghai abstained from both measures.
• The leaders approved promoting Niu Da and Chai Xiaohe to great chiefs despite Dan Tonghai’s opposition, with Xu Shiying defending Niu Da’s record.
• Xiong Bonan demanded Zhang Xing guarantee that Bai Yousi’s entry would not hand the gang over to the Jingzhao Bai Clan, and Zhang Xing promised to defend the gang’s foundation.
• The leaders approved Bai Yousi joining as the Middle Wing’s first-ranked great chief, leaving Dan Tonghai as the sole opponent for the fourth time.
• Zhang Xing presented a reorganization of the wings and requested promotion to lead the Left Wing ahead of Li Shu, prompting Dan Tonghai to laugh.

Zhang Xing outlined his policies for the second Eastern Expedition and proposed universal foundation establishment and literacy for youths across the territories. The vote approved his leadership by seven to four, and the gang prepared to post its appointments, settle the remaining policies, and march the next day.

• Li Shu challenged Zhang Xing to present a strategy for the second Eastern Expedition, and Zhang Xing laid out principles for prioritizing targets, avoiding unnecessary battles, and regulating the conduct of the righteous armies.
• Zhang Xing assigned Xiong Bonan to assess other forces and enforce military discipline, Wei Xuanding to protect grain and oversee the autumn harvest, and Bai Yousi to gather war orphans and lead youths through foundation establishment.
• Zhang Xing insisted that all youths should receive foundation establishment and literacy training, and Bai Yousi agreed to take responsibility for the effort.
• Li Shu called a vote on Zhang Xing's leadership of the expedition; Xu Shiying abstained, while Wang Zhuo and Zhai Qian approved, bringing the result to seven in favor and four opposed.
• Wei Xuanding announced that Zhang Jinshu would post the new appointments and other decisions, and Zhang Xing called for the gang to settle its policies and march the next day.