Recaps

The Heavenly Screen’s poems stunned Cao Cao’s court and stirred anger and envy in Liu Bei and his brothers, while a young man on Wolong Ridge recognized the phrase “Yizhou Discourse.” In Chengdu, Liu Zhang realized that the screen’s final words foretold Yang Feng taking Yizhou, leaving him on the verge of panic.

• Cao Cao and his court praised Yang Feng’s poems while wondering how he had won the support of Fa Zheng and Li Yan.
• Zhang Fei cursed Yang Feng and Fa Zheng and Li Yan, Guan Yu agreed with him, and Liu Bei acknowledged the poems’ quality while envying Yang Feng’s success.
• A young man on Wolong Ridge focused on “Draped in the yellow robe, Yizhou Discourse” and wondered why the phrase sounded familiar.
• Liu Zhang read the Heavenly Screen’s final words in Chengdu and nearly fell from his seat as he realized Yang Feng was poised to seize Yizhou.

Liu Zhang confronted Fa Zheng and Li Yan after the Heavenly Screen revealed that they would defect to Yang Feng and bow before his poetry. He let them go after they denied the vision, while both men privately wondered what could truly make them support Yang Feng.

• Liu Zhang erupted in anger at Fa Zheng and Li Yan for the Heavenly Screen’s revelation that they would join Yang Feng and bow to his poetry.
• Fa Zheng and Li Yan knelt before Liu Zhang, denied that they would betray him, and insisted the vision was false.
• Liu Zhang considered executing the two men but decided their deaths would destabilize Yizhou and weaken him against Yang Feng.
• Liu Zhang ordered Fa Zheng and Li Yan to rise and forbade anyone from mentioning the matter again.
• Fa Zheng and Li Yan privately speculated that Yang Feng’s talent or his proposed Yizhou Discourse might explain their future allegiance.
• The golden Heavenly Screen began moving again above the provincial governor’s residence.

The Heavenly Screen showed Yang Feng presenting the Yizhou Plan, a strategy that resembled the Longzhong Plan and insulted several rival warlords. Yang Feng worried that the broadcast had made enemies before his rule was secure, while his officials praised him and Cao Cao welcomed its prediction that he would defeat Yuan Shao.

• Yang Feng told Fa Zheng and Li Yan that Cao Cao would defeat Yuan Shao, advised against contending with Cao Cao or Sun Ce, and dismissed several other warlords as wine sacks and rice bags.
• Yang Feng outlined a plan to seize Yizhou and Jing Province, ally with Sun Ce, strengthen the state, and eventually march north to claim the realm.
• Yang Feng, watching from Shouchun, wondered whether he had copied Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Plan and feared the Heavenly Screen had provoked powerful enemies.
• Yan Xiang and Ji Ling praised Yang Feng's foresight, while Yang Feng privately wished they would focus on the danger posed by the offended warlords.
• Cao Cao watched from Yan Province and laughed with delight at the prediction that he would defeat Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao and his advisers praised Yang Feng’s assessment of the realm, while Yuan Shao and Lü Bu erupted in anger at his insults. Zhuge Liang was stunned to find Yang Feng’s strategy matched his own, and Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei wondered why Yang Feng had not mentioned them as the Heavenly Screen began showing the next scene.

• Cao Cao welcomed Yang Feng’s judgment and listened as Guo Jia and Xun Yu praised his own prospects.
• Yuan Shao raged at Yang Feng’s prediction that he would lose to Cao Cao, while his advisers tried to calm him.
• Lü Bu threatened to kill Yang Feng for calling him a wine sack and rice bag, while Chen Gong privately agreed with the assessment.
• Zhuge Liang realized Yang Feng’s Yizhou Plan matched the strategy he had developed in secret and turned his attention back to the Heavenly Screen.
• Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei felt overlooked by Yang Feng’s analysis, and the Heavenly Screen began to reveal its next scene.

After Fa Zheng, Li Yan, and Yan Xiang killed Liu Zhang and forced Yang Feng to take the throne in the Heavenly Screen’s vision, Yang Feng watched a coalition gather against him. In Shouchun, Yang Feng was horrified by how closely the vision resembled events around him, while Yan Xiang and Ji Ling took it as proof that he was destined to rule.

• Fa Zheng, Li Yan, and Yan Xiang secretly plotted to enthrone Yang Feng and killed Liu Zhang in his bedchamber.
• Yan Xiang’s men dragged Yang Feng from bed to Chengdu’s gatehouse, where Fa Zheng and Li Yan draped a yellow blanket over him.
• Yan Xiang announced a heavenly omen, and the assembled soldiers hailed Yang Feng as emperor; the next day, Yang Feng founded the Great Yang Empire in Chengdu.
• The Heavenly Screen showed Cao Cao calling a coalition against Yang Feng and teased his legendary shot at the coalition’s camp.
• In Shouchun, Yang Feng wondered why every script made him emperor, while Yan Xiang and Ji Ling believed the vision confirmed his heavenly mandate.

The Heavenly Screen showed a future in which Fa Zheng and Li Yan raised Yang Feng to the throne in Chengdu, prompting Yan Xiang and Ji Ling to celebrate while Yang Feng feared the enemies he would make. Cao Cao and Liu Xie reacted with alarm in Xu Capital, and Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were left stunned by the prospect of becoming emperor this way.

• Yan Xiang hailed the Chengdu scenario as proof that Yang Feng had Heaven's mandate, and Ji Ling joined him in urging Yang Feng to ascend the throne.
• Yang Feng worried that the Heavenly Screen's repeated emperor scenarios were turning every warlord against him.
• Cao Cao wondered how Yang Feng had again been raised to the throne by his subordinates, while an adviser dismissed the scenario as empty and predicted Yang Feng's defeat.
• Liu Xie wept over the prospect of Yang Feng killing his imperial uncle Liu Zhang and denounced Yang Feng as a mortal enemy of the Han.
• Cao Cao reassured Liu Xie that he would defeat Yang Feng, while Guo Jia argued that Yang Feng lacked battlefield skill.
• Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei stared at the vanished Heavenly Screen, and Zhang Fei asked how someone could become emperor that way.

Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu resented Yang Feng’s rise and hoped Cao Cao would defeat him, while Lü Bu envied Yang Feng and decided to face him alongside Cao Cao. In Yizhou, Liu Zhang was unsettled by his subordinates’ report about the Heavenly Screen.

• Liu Bei cursed Liu Zhang for losing his life and territory, while Zhang Fei and Guan Yu disparaged Fa Zheng and Li Yan for submitting to Yang Feng.
• Liu Bei privately resented Yang Feng for claiming the imperial title and hoped Cao Cao and Lü Bu would defeat him.
• Lü Bu asked Chen Gong to arrange for him to become emperor like Yang Feng, but Chen Gong urged him to wait and build strength.
• Lü Bu declared that he would join Cao Cao the next day to challenge Yang Feng, while Chen Gong privately expected him to suffer a humiliating defeat.
• Liu Zhang became restless after his subordinates reported what the Heavenly Screen had shown.

Liu Zhang confronted Li Yan and Fa Zheng after the Heavenly Screen revealed that they would kill him and support Yang Feng, but he was too powerless to punish them. He sent them away and hoped the prophecy would not come true that night.

• Liu Zhang accused Li Yan and Fa Zheng of planning to kill him in his sleep and place Yang Feng on the throne.
• Li Yan and Fa Zheng kept their heads down, knowing the prophecy had exposed their future treachery.
• Li Yan swore loyalty and dismissed the Heavenly Screen’s words as lies, while Liu Zhang pretended to believe him.
• Liu Zhang let the two men withdraw because he feared their power and planned to add more guards outside his bedchamber.
• Liu Zhang looked ahead to the Heavenly Screen’s account of Cao Cao and Lü Bu attacking Yang Feng and wondered what “shooting a cannon at the camp gate” meant.

After the Heavenly Screen made Yang Feng famous, he planned to leave vulnerable Huainan for Yizhou if he won the coming contest. In Yizhou, Fa Zheng persuaded Li Yan to betray Liu Zhang and support Yang Feng, while Liu Zhang lay awake fearing them.

• Yang Feng told Yan Xiang and Ji Ling that Huainan was too exposed to defend indefinitely and planned to march west to Yizhou if the Heavenly Screen favored him over Cao Cao and Lü Bu.
• Yang Feng privately hoped Li Yan and Fa Zheng would help him overthrow Liu Zhang, take Yizhou, and let him retire from imperial ambitions.
• Liu Zhang lay sleepless behind heavy guard, troubled by the Heavenly Screen's revelations about Fa Zheng and Li Yan.
• Fa Zheng argued that he and Li Yan should act before Liu Zhang moved against them and support Yang Feng regardless of the coming battle's outcome.
• Li Yan agreed to follow Fa Zheng, and the two left Fa Zheng's residence for the gates of Chengdu in the middle of the night.

Fa Zheng and Li Yan led a mutiny in Chengdu, killed Liu Zhang, and declared Yizhou part of Yang Feng’s empire. A courier carried their message to Huainan, where Yan Xiang arrived at Yang Feng’s bedside with what he called wonderful news, leaving Yang Feng wary and confused.

• Fa Zheng rallied Chengdu’s soldiers and townspeople against Liu Zhang and urged them to welcome Yang Feng.
• Fa Zheng and Li Yan led the rebels into Liu Zhang’s residence and killed him.
• Fa Zheng displayed Liu Zhang’s head, announced that he and Li Yan would govern Yizhou, and raised the Yang banner over Chengdu.
• Fa Zheng sent a letter bearing Li Yan’s seal by courier toward Huainan.
• Yan Xiang arrived in Shouchun and excitedly told Yang Feng that he had wonderful news.

Yang Feng learned that Fa Zheng and Li Yan had killed Liu Zhang and declared Yizhou part of the Great Yang Empire, leaving him horrified by the consequences of his unexpected expansion. In Yan Province, Cao Cao's court received the same news, and Liu Xie broke down crying over his slain imperial uncle.

• Yan Xiang presented Yang Feng with a letter from Fa Zheng and Li Yan announcing that they had killed Liu Zhang and would surrender Yizhou to the Great Yang Empire.
• Yang Feng suspected a trap, then panicked when Yan Xiang confirmed that Chengdu's citizens had raised Yang banners and celebrated the takeover.
• Yang Feng imagined that his annexation of Yizhou would make him the enemy of Emperor Xian of Han, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and the other lords.
• A courier told Cao Cao and the court that Fa Zheng and Li Yan had killed Liu Zhang and declared Yizhou's submission to Yang Feng.
• Cao Cao and his officials were stunned, while Liu Xie wept and cried out for his imperial uncle.

Emperor Xian and Cao Cao grieved and raged after learning that Fa Zheng and Li Yan had killed Liu Zhang and surrendered Yizhou to Yang Feng. Guo Jia reframed the news as an opportunity for Cao Cao to defeat Yang Feng and take Yizhou, while Liu Bei and his brothers learned of the surrender in their camp.

• Emperor Xian wept and condemned Fa Zheng and Li Yan for betraying Great Han by handing Yizhou to Yang Feng.
• Cao Cao grew furious that Yang Feng had gained Yizhou before Cao Cao could move against it.
• Guo Jia argued that Cao Cao and Lü Bu could defeat Yang Feng and then claim Yizhou as a Heaven-sent opportunity.
• Emperor Xian, Cao Cao, and the ministers regained their confidence after accepting Guo Jia's reasoning.
• Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei received a scout's report that Liu Zhang had been killed and Yizhou had submitted to Yang Feng.

After Fa Zheng and Li Yan handed Yizhou to Yang Feng, Liu Bei and Liu Biao worried over the threat he posed but trusted Cao Cao and Lü Bu to defeat him. Zhuge Liang decided to leave Wolong Ridge and join Yang Feng, while Lü Bu and Chen Gong received the news in Xu Province.

• Liu Bei condemned Fa Zheng and Li Yan for killing Liu Zhang and giving Yizhou to Yang Feng, then hoped Cao Cao and Lü Bu would defeat him.
• Zhang Fei and Guan Yu agreed that Yang Feng could not overcome Cao Cao and Lü Bu, though Guan Yu lamented the loss of another Han province.
• Kuai Yue and Cai Mao reassured Liu Biao that Cao Cao and Lü Bu would destroy Yang Feng, after which Jing Province could take Yizhou.
• Zhuge Liang decided to take his bookboy and go serve Yang Feng before the Heavenly Screen revealed whether Yang Feng could defeat Cao Cao and Lü Bu.
• Lü Bu and Chen Gong received the news from Yizhou while standing atop the city gate in Xu Province.

Lü Bu grew furious over Fa Zheng and Li Yan choosing Yang Feng, while Chen Gong secretly viewed Lü Bu as a temporary refuge and soothed him with praise. In Chengdu, Fa Zheng and Li Yan worried over their gamble on Yang Feng and planned to switch sides if he lost, as the lords across the realm watched the Heavenly Screen appear again.

• Lü Bu complained to Chen Gong that Fa Zheng and Li Yan had disregarded him by killing Liu Zhang and joining Yang Feng, and vowed to take Yizhou after defeating Yang Feng.
• Chen Gong privately judged Lü Bu unworthy of loyalty but praised his alliance with Cao Cao until Lü Bu's anger subsided.
• In Chengdu, Fa Zheng and Li Yan wondered whether Yang Feng could defeat Cao Cao and Lü Bu, and agreed they might surrender Yizhou to Cao Cao if Yang Feng fell.
• Fa Zheng recalled the Heavenly Screen's title for Yang Feng, "the one emperor through the ages," and chose to believe Yang Feng could win.
• Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Liu Bei, and other lords watched the sky as golden light appeared and the Heavenly Screen returned.

After the Heavenly Screen described Lü Bu’s defeat and execution at Cao Cao’s hands, Lü Bu angrily rejected the account while Chen Gong decided to abandon him and seek Cao Cao’s service. Chen Gong believed Cao Cao would defeat Yang Feng and ultimately rule the realm.

• The Heavenly Screen recounted how Cao Cao flooded Xiapi, captured Lü Bu, and hanged him at White Gate Tower before leading a vast army toward Yizhou.
• Lü Bu furiously called the account fake and insisted that he was invincible.
• Chen Gong concluded that Lü Bu was doomed because he had planned to betray Cao Cao and would be easily defeated.
• Chen Gong decided to leave Lü Bu and offer his services to Cao Cao, believing Cao Cao would accept him for his abilities.
• Chen Gong judged Yang Feng’s unsettled empire unable to resist Cao Cao and concluded that the realm would ultimately belong to the Cao family.

Cao Cao celebrated Lü Bu’s defeat and prepared to seize Yizhou, while Fa Zheng and Li Yan weighed whether to surrender to Cao Cao as his army threatened Chengdu. They decided to wait for the Heavenly Screen’s next revelation before choosing a side.

• Cao Cao praised Guo Jia for anticipating Lü Bu’s ambitions and declared that Lü Bu’s defeat had secured Xu Province and left Yizhou open to conquest.
• Cao Cao’s officers voiced confidence that his three hundred thousand troops would defeat Yang Feng, while Liu Xie silently hoped Cao Cao would destroy the new Great Yang Empire.
• In Chengdu, Li Yan panicked over Cao Cao’s approaching army and proposed that he and Fa Zheng surrender.
• Fa Zheng rejected surrender for the moment, trusting the Heavenly Screen’s prediction that Yang Feng was an emperor unparalleled through the ages.
• Fa Zheng and Li Yan agreed to watch for further developments and surrender only if Great Yang was actually defeated.

Yang Feng welcomed Cao Cao’s invasion as a chance to surrender and escape the throne, while his officials rallied around him and his rivals expected his defeat. The chapter ended as the Heavenly Screen resumed, leaving the outcome of the looming invasion unrevealed.

• Yang Feng secretly celebrated Cao Cao’s advance with three hundred thousand troops, planning to surrender and retire.
• Yan Xiang knelt before Yang Feng and urged the court to trust his divine power, invoking “Shooting a Cannon at the Camp Gate.”
• Ji Ling and the other military officers regained their confidence and praised Yang Feng, while he privately feared the invasion and the court’s blind faith.
• In Yuzhou, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei mocked Yang Feng and predicted Cao Cao would destroy him.
• The Heavenly Screen began moving again as observers watched for what would happen next.

The Heavenly Screen revealed that Yang Feng had used surrender negotiations to buy time to build a Heaven and Earth Cannon, then drove Cao Cao’s army away with a single shot. Yang Feng’s ministers hailed him as a divinely wise emperor, while Cao Cao watched in terror from Yan Province.

• The Heavenly Screen showed Yang Feng ordering the passes opened and offering to submit to Cao Cao, who demanded that Yang Feng’s ministers be killed.
• The screen revealed that Yang Feng led eight hundred death warriors and used the Heaven and Earth Cannon against Cao Cao’s three-hundred-thousand-strong army.
• The cannon erased a hill beside Cao Cao’s troops, sending his army into a panicked retreat.
• The Heavenly Screen explained that Yang Feng had pretended to surrender while waiting for the cannon and that Cao Cao later turned to fighting Yuan Shao.
• Yan Xiang and Ji Ling fell to their knees and praised Yang Feng, while Yang Feng remained stunned by the cannon’s power.
• In Yan Province, Cao Cao watched the cannon’s attack on the Heavenly Screen and collapsed in terror.

Cao Cao and his court were terrified by Yang Feng’s Heaven and Earth Cannon, but Cao Cao rallied them to focus on the coming war with Yuan Shao. In Ji Province, Yuan Shao mocked Cao Cao’s fear and grew confident that he would defeat him and control the north.

• Cao Cao, Emperor Xian of Han, Guo Jia, and Xun Yu were stunned by the cannon blast that erased a mountain.
• Cao Cao suppressed the panic in his court and urged his officials to prepare for the war against Yuan Shao.
• Guo Jia and Xun Yu praised Cao Cao and predicted he would defeat Yuan Shao at Guandu.
• Yuan Shao and his officials laughed at Cao Cao’s fear while privately feeling relieved that Yang Feng’s cannon was not aimed at them.
• Yuan Shao considered his territories and resources superior to Cao Cao’s and vowed to destroy him and claim the north.

Yuan Shao’s advisers mocked Yang Feng’s prediction that Cao Cao would prevail, while Yang Feng’s ministers praised him for frightening Cao Cao away with the Heaven and Earth Cannon. The Heavenly Screen then showed Guo Jia’s Theory of Ten Victories and Ten Defeats and ended as Yuan Shao’s adviser Xu You fled to Cao Cao’s camp, bringing a possible turning point to the Battle of Guandu.

• Yuan Shao and his advisers dismissed Yang Feng’s warning and declared that Yuan Shao would crush Cao Cao.
• In Chengdu, Li Yan and Fa Zheng regretted doubting Yang Feng and resolved to trust his predictions.
• Yang Feng told his ministers that they deserved credit for building the Heaven and Earth Cannon, but they knelt and insisted the achievement belonged to him.
• The Heavenly Screen showed that Cao Cao had postponed his southern campaign and that Guo Jia presented the Theory of Ten Victories and Ten Defeats before the Battle of Guandu.
• Yuan Shao’s superior forces pinned Cao Cao’s army at Guandu as its provisions and morale dwindled.
• Xu You fled Yuan Shao’s camp at night and arrived at Cao Cao’s camp, appearing as a possible turning point in the war.

The Heavenly Screen revealed Cao Cao’s victory at Guandu and announced Liu Biao’s impending surrender of Jing Province to Yang Feng, setting the stage for the Battle of Red Cliffs and a three-way division of the realm. Yang Feng lamented that his growing power was ruining his hopes of retirement, while Cao Cao eagerly anticipated competing with the other rulers.

• Cao Cao burned Wuchao, and Yuan Shao’s army collapsed as Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered to Cao Cao.
• Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and conquered Ji Province, Qing Province, Bing Province, and You Province, unifying the north.
• The Heavenly Screen announced that Liu Biao would surrender Jing Province to Yang Feng and that the Battle of Red Cliffs would begin the realm’s three-way division.
• Yan Xiang, Ji Ling, and the officials celebrated the Great Yang Empire’s coming expansion, while Yang Feng privately complained about his lost retirement plans.
• Cao Cao laughed at the prediction that he would be one of the realm’s overlords and challenged Yang Feng, Liu Biao, and Sun Ce to face him.

Cao Cao welcomed the Heavenly Screen’s prediction of his future conflict with Yang Feng, while Yuan Shao rejected its account of his defeat and killed Xu You in a bid to prevent it. In Xu Province, Chen Gong persuaded Lü Bu to pledge allegiance to Yang Feng, as Sun Ce watched the screen’s final words fade in Jiangdong.

• Cao Cao was energized by the prediction of the realm’s division and looked forward to testing himself against Yang Feng.
• Yuan Shao blamed Xu You for the predicted defeat at Guandu and ordered him beheaded, despite Xu You’s pleas.
• Shen Pei and the other advisers praised Yuan Shao’s decision, and Yuan Shao convinced himself that killing Xu You would prevent the defeat.
• Chen Gong urged Lü Bu to join Yang Feng’s Great Yang Empire, and Lü Bu agreed to send an envoy to Shouchun the next day.
• Sun Ce watched the Heavenly Screen’s final words disappear and furrowed his brow.

After learning that Cao Cao had conquered the north and that Yang Feng had taken Jing Province, Sun Ce’s commanders found hope in the Heavenly Screen’s prediction of a realm divided into three. In Yuzhou, Liu Bei and his brothers condemned Liu Biao’s surrender, but Liu Bei was left powerless to act.

• Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao feared that Cao Cao’s growing power made Jiangdong unlikely to win at Red Cliffs.
• Zhou Yu argued that the prediction of the realm divided into three meant Jiangdong would survive, and Sun Quan concluded Cao Cao must not have won at Red Cliffs.
• Sun Ce ordered everyone to rest and wait for the Heavenly Screen’s next revelation.
• Liu Bei raged that Liu Biao had surrendered Jing Province to Yang Feng and betrayed the Han imperial house.
• Zhang Fei urged Liu Bei to march into Jing Province, and Guan Yu agreed that Liu Biao was unworthy to serve the Han.
• Liu Bei recognized that his small force and dependence on others left him unable to fight Liu Biao or Yang Feng.

Yang Feng’s ministers misinterpreted the Heavenly Screen’s preview as proof that he would gain Jing Province and conquer the realm, while Yang Feng privately dismissed their praise and ordered stronger defenses. Lü Bu left Xu Province for Shouchun as Zhang Liao raised the Great Yang Empire’s flag, and Cao Cao mistakenly believed Lü Bu was going to assassinate Yang Feng.

• Yan Xiang claimed the Heavenly Screen’s revelations matched Yang Feng’s plans to take Jing Province and Yizhou, and the ministers lavishly praised their lord.
• Yang Feng ended the ministers’ flattery and ordered them to strengthen the borders and guard against Cao Cao and Lü Bu.
• Lü Bu left Xu Province with Chen Gong, Diaochan, and his guards, heading for Shouchun to pledge allegiance to the Great Yang Empire.
• Zhang Liao raised the Great Yang Empire’s flag in Xu Province, marking the province’s change of allegiance.
• After hearing Lü Bu had left for Shouchun, Cao Cao concluded that Lü Bu and Chen Gong were plotting a surprise attack on Yang Feng.

Lü Bu arrived at Yang Feng’s court and offered his allegiance by asking to make Yang Feng his adoptive father. Yang Feng welcomed Lü Bu’s loyalty but rejected the adoptive-father arrangement, leaving Lü Bu kneeling before him.

• Lü Bu rode toward Shouchun with Chen Gong, who warned him to remain loyal to Yang Feng and not betray him as he had his former patrons.
• Yang Feng was roused from bed when Yan Xiang and Ji Ling reported that Lü Bu had arrived with urgent business.
• Yang Feng agreed to receive Lü Bu, who entered the hall accompanied by a beautiful woman Yang Feng suspected was Diaochan.
• Lü Bu knelt and declared his allegiance, asking Yang Feng to accept him as an adoptive son.
• Yang Feng welcomed Lü Bu’s pledge but declined to become his adoptive father.