Chapter Summaries

Zhang Xing received Qinghe Cui and Fang clan representatives and a delegation from the Northern Lands, negotiating an alliance with the White Wolf Guard while demanding the clans accept his rules. The chapter ended with Cui Suchen concluding that Zhang Xing might be the only person capable of bringing peace to the realm.

• Zhang Xing questioned Cui Suchen about the Qinghe clans’ views of the Exorcising the Dragon Gang, the Court, and Cao Shancheng, but the Cui and Fang representatives remained cautious and sought protection for their households.
• Hei Yan arrived with Northern Lands visitors, tested Zhang Xing’s cultivation through a contest of Ice True Qi, and told him that Huang Ping was his uncle and a respected steward of the Iron Mountain Guard.
• Hei Yan revealed that Lord Black Emperor had selected Zhang Xing as a contender for the dragon throne, then proposed an alliance based on trade, messages, and possible military support; Zhang Xing agreed to prepare documents and announce it publicly.
• Zhang Xing offered the Cui and Fang clans written protection only if they disclosed their estates, dependents, land, and cultivators, while warning that his gang would still enforce its land and slavery policies.
• After the meeting, Chen Bin and Xie Minghe visited the Cui representatives, where Cui Suchen praised Zhang Xing’s efforts and declared that the man who brought peace to the realm might be no one but him.

During spring plowing, Zhang Xing explained his plans for a fair and practical new dynasty, and Cui Suchen later studied the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s draft Governance Platform. As Cui Suchen returned to his clan and Li Ding reflected on his rivalry with Zhang Xing, the story left the two leaders on diverging paths toward a contest for the realm.

• Zhang Xing discussed practical governance with Chen Bin, Hei Yan, and Cui Suchen, including cultivation and education for the populace, fairer examinations, and a court that distributed public benefits equitably.
• Hei Yan departed to travel through Hebei and the Eastern Territories, while Cui Suchen returned to Wucheng to persuade his clan to hand over its registers.
• Xie Minghe gave Cui Suchen a draft of the Governance Platform, which laid out policies including expanded examinations, basic education and cultivation, eased criminal laws, and the abolition of collective punishment.
• Cui Suchen told Cui Tang that Zhang Xing was a far-sighted and ambitious rival, then advised his clan to hand over its registers without deliberately entering Zhang Xing’s service.
• Li Ding told Zhang Shiniang that he had tried to avoid Zhang Xing but would not join him because he opposed Zhang Xing’s plan to discard the old order and create a new one.

Xu Shiren’s riders intimidated Liting City’s defenders before posting notices that accused Cao Shancheng and demanded Han Erlang surrender. As the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s campaign unsettled Qinghe Commandery, Cao faced growing resistance among his officers and the Cui Clan, while Zhang Xing denied responsibility for an attack on Cui Twenty-Six.

• Xu Shiren’s cavalry posted four notices outside Liting City, and Xu shot an arrow into the stone plaque above the gate before riding away.
• Han Erlang sent Zhang Laowu to deliver the surrender proclamation to Cao Shancheng and then removed the other notices from the boards.
• Cao Shancheng told Han Erlang to defend Liting City, then heard Commandery Assistant Sun warn that the troops were questioning their duty and that the Cui Clan was growing unsettled.
• Cui Twenty-Six told Cui Suchen that Cao Shancheng’s scouts had surrounded his party, and Xie Minghe brought them to meet Zhang Xing.
• Zhang Xing denied that the Exorcising the Dragon Gang had attacked Cui Twenty-Six and said he had no wish to disrupt spring plowing.

Xu Shiren’s cavalry destroyed Qinghe troops near Liting, left notices challenging Cao Shancheng’s rule, and withdrew after Xu demonstrated his power with a long-range arrow. As the gang’s propaganda unsettled Qinghe’s forces and gentry, Cao faced growing dissent, while Cui Suchen reported that Cao’s scouts had attacked his party and Zhang Xing denied the gang’s involvement.

• Xu Shiren’s cavalry left four notices outside Liting after defeating Qinghe troops, and Xu shot an arrow into the gate’s inscribed stone slab from hundreds of paces away.
• Han Erlang read the notices, sent Zhang Laowu to deliver the surrender proclamation to Cao Shancheng, and ordered his men to collect the dead.
• Cao Shancheng worried that the gang’s proclamations were weakening loyalty among the people, soldiers, and local gentry.
• Commandery Assistant Sun warned Cao that Qinghe’s locally levied troops saw the conflict as a matter of life and death, and Cao ordered him to soothe dissent in Chiping.
• Cui Twenty-Six told Cui Suchen that Cao’s scouts had attacked his party, and Xie Minghe brought them to Zhang Xing.
• Zhang Xing denied that the Exorcising the Dragon Gang had attacked the Cui party and said he did not want spring plowing disrupted.

Han Erlang secured Zhang Xing’s promise to spare Qinghe’s hastily conscripted troops, then confronted Cao Shancheng over his harsh rule and the disgrace of his loyalty to the Sage. Cao killed himself after arranging for Han Erlang’s companions to take Han safely from the city, while the magistrates later fled to Qingping and were captured by the Exorcising the Dragon Army.

• Han Erlang persuaded Magistrates Zhao and Wang to send Zhang Laowu to negotiate with Zhang Xing for the troops’ release.
• Zhang Xing agreed to let unarmed soldiers and officials leave by sunset, and Han Erlang organized the troops’ departure from Qinghe City.
• As the troops scattered, Han Erlang admitted to Cao Shancheng that he had arranged their surrender and told him his rule had made the people loathe him.
• Cao Shancheng called Han Erlang’s trusted companions to take him away, then stabbed his own dantian and died.
• Zhang Laowu and the others dragged a distraught Han Erlang out of the city, and Han broke down in tears beyond the gates.
• The next morning, Magistrates Zhao and Wang reached Qingping, where Wang Shuyong’s forces captured them and the Qingping magistrate.

The Exorcising the Dragon Army fought Qutu Da’s government forces outside Liaocheng, where its cavalry was driven back and lost its camp. As the battle turned against them, reinforcements from the Exorcising the Dragon Gang arrived in force, and Lü Daobin’s attack drove Qin Bao and Li Qingchen away from the city.

• Dan Tonghai ordered the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s cavalry to advance against the government forces moving from Tangyi toward Liaocheng.
• Yuan Baocun and Lü Daobin allowed Li Qingchen to lead a sortie after Lü Daobin’s divination appeared favorable.
• Cheng Zhili, Zhou Xingfan, Dan Tonghai, and Fan Bao fought Qin Bao, but Qin Bao escaped with his Spotted Leopard Beast as the battle line shifted south.
• Qutu Da’s troops attacked the Exorcising the Dragon Army’s camp, wounded Dan Tonghai, and forced the cavalry back toward Liaocheng.
• Qin Bao and Li Qingchen discovered the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s reinforcements arriving east of the city, and Lü Daobin shot at them from the wall, forcing them to flee.

Zhang Xing led the exhausted Exorcising the Dragon Army to form up outside the government camp, using a True Qi Formation to overwhelm its Front Camp before darkness halted the advance. As the two sides struggled to hold their forces together through the night, Li Ding watched the army’s songs and rode back alone, leaving his purpose unclear.

• Zhang Xing halted the generals’ argument, rejected a risky full assault, and led the army to form up between Liaocheng and the government camp.
• Qutu Da refused Li Qingchen’s request to attack, then ordered his forces to prepare as Zhang Xing’s experts formed a vast Ice True Qi Formation.
• Zhang Xing’s formation smashed through the government army’s Front Camp, but withdrew as nightfall and darkness reduced its effectiveness.
• Qin Bao and Li Qingchen discussed their past choices while the armies prepared for a possible nighttime withdrawal.
• The Exorcising the Dragon Army used songs and shouted taunts to keep its troops organized in the dark, angering Qutu Da as the government officers discussed retreat.
• Li Ding watched soldiers and laborers singing a folk tune, then turned his horse and rode back alone.

Li Shier urged the government troops to retreat, and the Exorcising the Dragon Army captured thousands of fleeing soldiers before Wei Xuanding negotiated Liaocheng’s peaceful transfer. Wei Xuanding persuaded Yuan Baocun to stop serving Tyrannical Wei, while Zhang Xing remained outside the city and Lü Daobin divined that the ruler did not act as a ruler.

• Li Shier advised the government commanders to withdraw at night, and Qutu Da ordered the troops to retreat toward the southern embankment.
• Zhang Xing sent the Exorcising the Dragon Army into the abandoned camps and dispatched core-condensed experts to pursue the retreating troops; Xiong Bonan later reported that Liu Heihuang, Lu Dayue, Wang Shuyong, and Niu Da had captured several thousand soldiers.
• Huang Haichen surrendered, drew the death lot, and was executed by Xiong Bonan after trying to flee.
• The Exorcising the Dragon Army took control of Liaocheng, and Zhang Xing postponed talks until Wei Xuanding arrived and led a ceremonial procession into the city.
• Wei Xuanding met Yuan Baocun, showed him Cao Shancheng’s corpse and denunciation, and persuaded him to stop rendering Tyrannical Wei any actual service from Wuyang Commandery.
• Lü Daobin interpreted his divination for Xie Minghe as meaning that the ruler did not act as a ruler.

Zhang Xing tested Lü Daobin’s divination sticks, which foretold that time would not hinder the Exorcising the Dragon Gang but failed to reveal the fate of Zhang Xing’s friends and family. At Gaoji Lake, Han Erlang arrived at a military-farmer settlement and, confronted with the ordinary work of cultivation, instinctively stopped a runaway donkey from trampling the crops.

• Zhang Xing had Lü Daobin divine the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s future, and Lü interpreted the upper-nine pattern to mean that time would not obstruct the gang’s growth.
• Zhang Xing tried three times to divine whether he would reunite with Li Si, Sima Zheng, and Qin Er, but the sticks formed no image.
• Jia Yue explained that the Four Sovereigns chose heroes to contend over the fortunes of their era, and Zhang Xing left troubled by their continuing influence over the human world.
• Settlement Chief Huang received County Magistrate Wang and Han Erlang at Gaoji Third Settlement, where former prisoners and displaced men were being put to work as military farmers.
• Han Erlang listened to County Magistrate Wang explain Foundation Establishment, then settled into a communal hut and went to look over the marshland cultivation.
• Han Erlang saw the settlement’s workers preparing the land and stopped a runaway donkey before it reached the vegetable seedlings.

Chen Bin crossed into Chai Xiao’s territory and questioned its chiefs about local administration, trade, taxes, and the influence of great households in Langya. He ordered an investigation into suspicious spring tax receipts and river transport, while the gathering ended with plans to inspect the region and consider relocating Langya’s powerful families.

• Zhang Xing recited farm-themed poems beside the harbor until Xie Minghe pointed out that he had already recited the same verses during earlier drought preparations.
• Chen Bin crossed the river to Qikou Pass, where Zhang Xinghe, Xu Shiying, Cui Suchen, Wei Xuanding, and other chiefs welcomed him with a fleet of decorated boats that he rebuked as excessive ceremony.
• Chen Bin questioned the chiefs about Langya’s great households, eastern river trade, and reports that some powerful families had turned toward Bing Yuanzheng in Xuzhou; Liang Zhao argued that Langya’s history of disorder explained their distrust.
• Chen Bin ordered a careful investigation of the spring tax receipts from the eastern and western commanderies and discussed relocating Langya’s great households north, with Xiong Bonan overseeing the effort.
• Chen Bin asked Cheng Dalang whether pontoon bridges could be built across the river, and Cheng identified possible sites with stable river islands.
• After the chiefs reported on southern-bank affairs, Chen Bin dismissed the group but privately questioned Eastern Commandery about his concerns and called for the Sima clansman to return.

Zhang Xing placed Xu Shiying under close supervision and began auditing Eastern Commandery, prompting local magnates to fear a purge. As Zhang Xing reached Xu Shiying’s home territory, Li Shu debated whether to intervene, while Wang Shuyong arrived to offer help.

• At a corridor meal, Zhang Xing accused an unnamed member of the gang of outrageous conduct and ordered Xu Shiying to accompany him without acting or leaving independently.
• Zhang Xing led an audit through Puyang and then toward Weinan, where Xu Shiying’s father, Xu Wei, served as magistrate.
• Zhang Shizhao warned Li Shu that Xu Shiying was likely cooperating with Zhang Xing and advised Li Shu to help suppress him publicly.
• Li Shu recognized that Zhang Xing’s investigation could strengthen his authority over the Eastern Territories’ magnates, while Zhang Shizhao urged him to go to Eastern Commandery himself.
• In Weinan, Wang Shuyong warned Zhang Xing that Xu Shiying might resort to violence and offered to handle any trouble; Zhang Xing thanked him as Xu Shiying continued meditating nearby.

Zhang Xing confronted Xu Shiying over his abuses and three thousand concealed troops, while explaining that discipline and open, justified governance were essential to the Exorcising the Dragon Gang. The chapter left Zhang Xing planning to absorb and reduce Xu Shiying’s forces and to stabilize the gang by granting regional commands to powerful leaders.

• Zhang Xing told Fifth Wang Lang that Xu Shiying had withheld taxes, built private troops, and abused his authority, then explained that Xu would be punished but demoted and reassigned to Hebei.
• Fifth Wang Lang warned Zhang Xing about the Zhai Qian brothers and Huang Junhan’s group, then left to return to Waihuang.
• Xu Shiying argued that history had taught him to distrust virtuous principles and said he would follow Zhang Xing only if he became a ruthless ruler; Zhang rebuked him for suppressing his own better impulses.
• Xie Minghe and Chen Bin informed Zhang Xing that Xu Shiying had concealed three thousand troops across Eastern Commandery, and Zhang ordered their forces combined with other battalions and reduced before being sent to Hebei.
• Zhang Xing, Xie Minghe, and Chen Bin discussed applying discipline consistently while preserving the dignity and authority of Li Shu and other regional leaders, and Zhang proposed assigning them broad military and civil commands.

Rumors and unrest spread through the Exorcising the Dragon Gang despite its leaders’ efforts to settle their dispute, as local families feared Zhang Xing would strip them of their private troops. Zhang Xing then heard advice from Ma Wei on securing leadership and managing the Eastern Territories, while Li Shu weighed a promised command against his ambitions.

• Zhai Kuan, Zhai Qian, and Huang Junhan argued over whether Zhang Xing would target their families, while Cui Xuanchen explained that some senior chiefs had begun valuing the gang’s larger ambitions over local wealth and private troops.
• Huang Junhan saw Fifth Wang Lang’s eight hundred troops heading north to surrender their weapons and reported the developments to Li Shu.
• Li Shu told Huang Junhan that Zhang Xing had offered him command over the Western Three Commanderies, but he worried the offer was a delaying tactic and was reluctant to settle for it.
• Zhang Xing questioned Ma Wei about Fifth Wang Lang’s choices, then asked how he could become the gang’s sole chief and appoint commanders in the Eastern Territories.
• Ma Wei advised Zhang Xing to win the chiefs’ formal approval before appointing commanders and to have Li Shu’s allies press Li Shu to accept; Zhang Xing welcomed Ma Wei and offered to chill his wine.

Zhang Xing crossed into the Eastern Territories, ordered a survey of possible pontoon-bridge sites, and questioned his chiefs about trade, local politics, and falling tax receipts. He left the chapter furious with Xu Shiying, accusing him of treating Eastern Commandery as his private territory and failing to confront corruption.

• Zhang Xing discussed the Lu brothers’ river trade and Cheng Mingqi’s downstream shipping partnership, then ordered Lu Dayue to survey sites for pontoon bridges.
• Zhang Xing divided the chiefs into inspection parties and heard reports from the Eastern Territories’ officials at Sikou Pass.
• Chen Bin and Xie Minghe explained why Langya’s wealthy families favored Sima Zheng, and Zhang Xing approved Xu Shiying’s proposal to relocate them north.
• Zhang Xing discussed Zhang Jinshu’s responsibilities and promotion prospects, then said he would personally investigate declining spring tax receipts in Jiyin and Eastern Commandery.
• Zhang Xing told Chen Bin that chiefs could profit only within rules and vowed not to tolerate anyone bargaining with him over suspected abuses.
• Zhang Xing told Xu Shiying he regretted leaving him in Eastern Commandery and berated him for hoarding influence there instead of confronting misconduct.

Zhang Xing crossed into the Eastern Territories, ordered a survey of potential pontoon bridge sites, and heard reports about local affairs. After deciding to investigate suspicious tax revenues and approve the proposed relocation of Langya’s powerful households, he confronted Xu Shiying for failing to challenge the local chiefs’ influence in Eastern Commandery.

• Zhang Xing crossed the river with the chiefs, reprimanded Lu Dayue for sending an overly grand fleet, and ordered him to identify suitable sites for pontoon bridges.
• Zhang Xing divided the chiefs into inspection groups, then met with Xu Shiying and other Eastern Territories leaders to hear reports on military affairs, the economy, and local administration.
• Chen Bin and Xie Minghe explained why Langya’s powerful families leaned toward Sima Zheng, and Zhang Xing agreed to Xu Shiying’s proposal to relocate them north.
• Zhang Xing discussed possible promotions for Zhang Jinshu and declared that he would investigate the spring tax revenues in Jiyin and Eastern Commandery.
• Zhang Xing told Chen Bin that private profits must not form cliques, harm public interests, or be used to bargain with him.
• Zhang Xing berated Xu Shiying for allowing Eastern Commandery’s chiefs to act as though it were his personal territory and for wasting his political potential.

Li Qingchen’s proposal to use relief grain to win over the people was rejected, but he persuaded Cao Lin to reconsider Zhang San’s importance after showing him the rebels’ military treatise. After securing a posting for Li Qingzhou, Li Qingchen left the Eastern Capital with her, riding northeast.

• Cao Lin and the Southern Office officials rejected Li Qingchen’s plans to undermine rebel currency and distribute grain in Ji Commandery and Xingyang, fearing the aid would strengthen the Exorcising the Dragon Gang.
• Cao Lin explained that the gang had become a broad force rooted in Eastern Qi’s former lands, rather than merely a rebellion led by Zhang San and Li Shu.
• Li Qingchen showed Cao Lin the gang’s widely shared military treatise, arguing that Zhang Xing was the rebels’ true leader; Cao Lin agreed to reassess Zhang San and requested more rebel writings.
• Li Qingchen clarified that Qin Er had not urged him to provoke the Southern Office, then asked Cao Lin to appoint Li Qingzhou to serve in Hebei or the Jin Region.
• Cao Lin gave Li Qingzhou an appointment to Snowhill City, and Li Qingchen later met her at the Upper Eastern Gate and rode northeast with her.

Zhang Xing inspected villages in Eastern Commandery and Jiyin Commandery while his chiefs debated the drought, conscription, and the unraveling Huaiyou Alliance. He ordered Wang Xiongdan to give its leader ten days to meet him, then led his party into Jiyin City, where the pressure shifted to Li Shu.

• Zhang Xing’s entourage sheltered from a late-May storm at a roadside inn near Jiyin, where staff officers debated how local circumstances affected recruitment and conscription.
• Zhang Xing and his chiefs discussed the poor rains, possible drought, and the risk that disorder in Huaixi could send displaced people into their territory.
• The chiefs debated whether to abandon the Huaiyou Alliance, while Zhang Xing considered the alliance’s political and economic importance and the divisions within his organization.
• Zhang Xing sent Wang Xiongdan to tell the Huaiyou Alliance’s leader that he had ten days to come to Jiyin and explain himself face-to-face.
• After the rain stopped, Zhang Xing led his party toward Jiyin City to meet their comrades, and several chiefs inside the city hurried to Cangcheng to see Li Shu.

As rumors and unrest spread through the Exorcising the Dragon Gang, local leaders weighed whether Zhang Xing would strip their families of private troops, while Cui Xuanchen explained how the gang’s chiefs had come to value larger ambitions. Zhang Xing then heard Ma Wei’s advice on consolidating his authority and managing Li Shu, leaving his plans for the gang’s leadership in question.

• Zhai Kuan, Zhai Qian, and Huang Junhan argued over whether Zhang Xing would move against their families, and Huang Junhan warned them against discussing defection or resistance.
• Cui Xuanchen told Huang Junhan that Xu Shiying, Dan Tonghai, Zhai Qian, and other chiefs had begun pursuing great achievements rather than only wealth and private troops.
• Huang Junhan met Li Shu and reported that Fifth Wang Lang had surrendered eight hundred private troops; Li Shu said Zhang Xing had offered him command over three commanderies but he feared the offer was a delaying tactic.
• Zhang Xing questioned Ma Wei, who explained that he had advised Fifth Wang Lang to surrender his private troops and urged Zhang Xing to secure the chiefs’ support before claiming sole leadership.
• Ma Wei advised Zhang Xing to appoint commanders after becoming Chief and to let Eastern Territories leaders pressure Li Shu; Zhang Xing welcomed him and offered to chill his wine.

Zhang Xing inspected the Eastern Territories, questioned its officials about Langya’s allegiance and tax receipts, and laid out rules for chiefs’ private profits. He then confronted Xu Shiying over his attachment to Eastern Commandery and his failure to address its local factions.

• Zhang Xing crossed the river with the chiefs, rebuked Lu Dayue for the overly lavish welcome, and ordered him to investigate sites for floating bridges.
• Zhang Xing divided the chiefs into inspection groups and heard reports from the Eastern Territories’ officials at Sikou Pass.
• Chen Bin and the others discussed Langya’s wealthy households leaning toward Sima Zheng, and Zhang Xing agreed to Xu Shiying’s proposal to relocate them north.
• Zhang Xing discussed Zhang Jinshu’s possible promotion and questioned irregular spring tax receipts from Eastern Commandery and Jiyin.
• Zhang Xing told Chen Bin that chiefs could profit only within rules, then summoned Xu Shiying and berated him for clinging to Eastern Commandery instead of correcting its problems.

Wang Zhuo and Zhang Xing discussed the Exorcising the Dragon Gang’s organization and the growing power of Sima Zheng in Xuzhou, while Zhang Xing prepared for the gang’s resolution meeting and confronted doubts about his haste to become chief. On the eve of the meeting, Li Wenbo defected to Sima Zheng, prompting the gang’s leaders to call for an immediate march on Xuzhou.

• Zhang Xing and Wang Zhuo dug a water pit for a woman’s vegetable garden, then discussed the Palace Eunuchs Army, Sima Zheng’s reforms in Xuzhou, and the Sage’s rule in Jiangdu.
• Zhang Xing offered Wang Zhuo command of Zan County and Yongcheng if Du Pozhen came, and later learned Du Pozhen had stopped at Chuqiu City rather than travel with him.
• Zhang Xing returned to Jiyin and met Zhang Shizhao, who warned that his rush to consolidate power could alienate the gang’s chiefs and might reflect his own hunger for authority.
• Xiong Bonan and Bai Yousi reported that Li Wenbo and several Langya lineages had seized cities along the lower Yishui River and surrendered to Sima Zheng.
• Chen Bin urged the gang to muster troops and march on Xuzhou after the resolution, and Zhang Xing and Li Shu agreed.