Chapter Summaries

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.