Chapter Summaries

Man Chong exposed Wang Ling’s dealings with Wu State and had him taken into custody by Zhang Zhong for trial. Several days later, Man Chong assembled his advisers and generals to announce a hunt in Lujiang.

• Man Chong confronted Wang Ling with a wounded Wu State spy and accused him of exchanging intelligence with Wu.
• Zhang Zhong arrived and took Wang Ling away for trial, while Man Chong ordered the spy returned to prison.
• Man Chong explained to Xiahou Xian that the Wu merchant was likely an intelligence peddler and praised Xiahou for helping expose Wang Ling.
• Several days later, Man Chong summoned Xiahou Xian and assembled his advisers and generals in the administrative hall.
• Man Chong announced that they would conduct a hunt in Lujiang.

Man Chong ordered preparations for a secret campaign against Dongguan, a strategic Wu port, while Xiahou Xian suspected Man Chong was using Wang Ling’s imprisonment to seize control of Yang Province’s military affairs. Xiahou Xian inspected Wen Qin’s expanded forces, and Wen Qin guessed that a war was coming.

• Man Chong announced that Wei would strike Dongguan, and Zhao Yan, Yue Lin, Zhang Hu, and Li Zhen discussed the risks before Man Chong ordered the generals to prepare for war and keep the plan secret.
• Xiahou Xian wondered whether Man Chong’s campaign was a bid for power after Wang Ling’s imprisonment and went to inspect Wen Qin’s troops.
• Xiahou Xian watched Wen Qin drill the Huainan Guard and learned that Wen Qin had expanded it to a thousand men.
• Wen Qin showed Xiahou Xian the camp north of Shouchun, where about five thousand troops were assembled, including new recruits and fighters drawn from Xiahou Xian’s household servants.
• In Wen Qin’s tent, Wen Qin asked Xiahou Xian whether war was brewing, and Xiahou Xian praised his keen instincts.

Xiahou Xian held a military council as Man Chong prepared to march on Dongguan, appointing Chen Yuan as his adviser and Jia Chong to manage supplies. Ji Shao then asked to join the army.

• Wen Qin eagerly agreed to prepare his troops for Man Chong's advance on Dongguan.
• Xiahou Xian gathered trusted officials for a military council, where Jia Chong arrived despite supposedly observing mourning.
• Ji Shao and Jia Chong warned that taking Dongguan would be costly and strategically pointless unless Wei intended to invade Wu.
• Chen Yuan urged the officials to prepare supplies instead of debating Man Chong's intentions, and Xiahou Xian appointed him to accompany the campaign.
• Xiahou Xian assigned Jia Chong to oversee grain, fodder, and baggage, and Ji Shao asked to join the army.

Man Chong questioned the imprisoned Governor Wang Ling about his dealings with a Wu State spy and explained that the emperor would allow him to return to his post. Wang Ling was ordered to atone through meritorious service and warned that another mistake could doom his army.

• Man Chong entered Wang Ling’s cell and asked about his attempt to use intelligence from a Wu State spy.
• Man Chong told Wang Ling that the intelligence he received might have been deliberately planted, as with the intelligence that contributed to Cao Xiu’s defeat.
• Man Chong explained that the emperor had ordered him not to behead Wang Ling and that his offense had been reduced because of frontier intelligence practices.
• Man Chong warned Wang Ling that this was his last chance and said the emperor expected him to atone through meritorious service.

Xiahou Xian brought Ji Shao to the military camp to test whether he could enlist, and Ji Shao impressed the cavalry officers with his strength and fighting spirit. After Xiahou agreed to give him a chance, Ji Shao revealed that his grandfather was the famed soldier Ji Ling.

• Ji Shao told Xiahou Xian that joining the army had long been his ambition, and Xiahou said he would have to prove himself.
• Wen Qin showed Xiahou the camp's infantry, cavalry, and scout units, then summoned cavalry deputy commander Jiang Ban to assess Ji Shao.
• Ji Shao revealed a powerful physique and fought Jiang Ban with a ring-pommeled saber, though Jiang Ban ultimately threw him down and held a sword to his throat.
• Jiang Ban asked to have Ji Shao in the cavalry, and Xiahou agreed to give Ji Shao a chance to serve.
• Xiahou asked about Ji Shao's family, and Ji Shao said his grandfather was named Ji Ling.

Xiahou Xian moved his troops to Liu'an and discussed ways to bring the displaced people near Mount Tianzhu back into society as settlers or soldiers. The chapter ended when Jiang Ban reported that Wen Qin had ridden into the mountains with several dozen men.

• Xiahou Xian received orders to lead three thousand troops to Liu'an and join Yue Lin.
• Wen Qin gathered more than thirty scouts and riders for a patrol despite Jiang Ban's orders that no one leave camp without permission.
• Xiahou Xian met Yue Lin and proposed relaxing registration rules and reducing taxes to encourage displaced people to settle in Liu'an.
• Xiahou Xian offered to travel to Mount Tianzhu and persuade the displaced people to come back.
• Jiang Ban arrived at the administrator's residence and reported that Wen Qin had led several dozen riders into Mount Tianzhu.

Wen Qin’s cavalry massacred a village of civilians he falsely labeled bandits, then he claimed military merit for the killings. After hearing the scouts’ accounts, Xiahou Xian ordered Wen Qin and every soldier involved beheaded.

• Jiang Dashan returned to his tent with a rabbit, but a Wei scout shot him dead as he stepped outside.
• Wen Qin dismissed a scout’s doubts, ordered the village killed, and led thirty horsemen in slaughtering its residents.
• Wen Qin’s scouts looted the village’s food and weapons, cut off the dead villagers’ ears as proof of merit, and returned with the spoils.
• Wen Qin told Xiahou Xian that his thirty horsemen had defeated more than eight hundred bandits and reported taking their supplies.
• Xiahou Xian questioned the scouts, heard them boast about the massacre, and ordered guards to behead every man involved.

Xiahou Xian nearly executed Wen Qin and his men for killing displaced people and falsely claiming military merit, but Yue Lin persuaded him to punish them instead. After receiving orders to assist in surrounding Shu County, Xiahou Xian prepared for the campaign while Chen Yuan secretly hid a piece of silk beneath a cart’s hay.

• Xiahou Xian ordered Wen Qin and the men involved in the killings to be dragged out and beheaded, while Chen Yuan urged him to spare them.
• Yue Lin arrived and argued that the campaign mattered more than punishing Wen Qin, so Xiahou Xian demoted the men and docked their military pay instead of executing them.
• Chen Yuan reported that the camp had more than two months’ worth of provisions, and Xiahou Xian reflected that killing Wen Qin might have prevented Wen Yang from being born.
• A messenger delivered orders from Shouchun for Xiahou Xian’s army to assist Yue Lin in surrounding Shu County and block Wu reinforcements heading for Ruxukou.
• Xiahou Xian sent Chen Yuan to arrange grain transport, and Chen Yuan secretly slipped a piece of silk beneath the hay on a cart bound for Shouchun.

Wei and Wu massed troops along the border as Xiahou Xian's scouts investigated a Wu outpost near the Shu River. Ji Shao and Jiao Yi were surrounded by Wu cavalry, but Jiang Ban arrived with Wei cavalry to rescue them.

• Man Chong concentrated Wei forces around Hefei and Shouchun as Wu sent soldiers to Ruxu Fortress and Juchao.
• Jiao Yi and Ji Shao spotted Wu soldiers moving supplies and breaking camp near the Shu River, then saw Wu cavalry arrive at the outpost.
• When the Wu cavalry discovered the scouts, Jiao Yi ordered a retreat; Ji Shao stayed behind to cover it and killed two riders before being wounded.
• Jiao Yi turned back to save Ji Shao, and the two prepared to fight rather than be captured as more than forty Wu riders closed in.
• Jiang Ban arrived with Wei cavalry, prompting the Wu officer to order a retreat.

Xiahou Xian’s forces raided Wu outposts and seized supplies before they could be burned, then uncovered signs that Wu had learned of Wei’s movements in advance. After questioning prisoners, Xiahou Xian realized one had lied about Shu County’s defenses and ordered the last prisoner to be questioned when he begged to talk.

• Jiang Ban returned with captured prisoners after Wei cavalry defeated Wu troops at an outpost and seized supplies.
• Xiahou Xian and Yue Lin heard reports that Wu troops had been moving supplies leisurely before abruptly preparing to burn them, suggesting Wu had known of Wei’s advance in advance.
• Ji Shao and Jiao Yi reported the strange Wu movements to Xiahou Xian, who sent them away to tend their wounds.
• A Wu prisoner claimed Shu County had only three thousand defenders under Xianyu Dan, but Xiahou Xian recognized the account as a lie and ordered him executed.
• Xiahou Xian dismissed the trembling final prisoner without questioning him, prompting the man to beg for his life and offer to talk.