Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiao backed Zhao Xu at a grand court assembly and secured an imperial decree granting himself authority over the military, provoking furious objections from officials. The chapter ended with Xu Xiao rising into the air to confront them.

• Zhao Xu refused to meet Empress Dowager Gao before the assembly, and Xu Xiao urged him to rule without relying on her or the ministers.
• Xu Xiao and the three women joined Zhao Xu at Daqing Hall, where officials gathered amid evidence of the palace bloodshed.
• After the officials paid their respects, Zhao Xu ordered Eunuch Huang to proclaim a decree appointing Xu Xiao Military Command Commissioner and granting him sweeping honors and powers.
• Officials who did not know what had happened in the palace protested the decree, while those who knew watched Xu Xiao in silence.
• Xu Xiao called the protesting ministers wine sacks and rice bags, then rose into the air to face them.

Xu Xiao forced the court to accept his appointment as Great Song's Military Command Commissioner by killing officials who hesitated or resisted. He established the Martial Command Office, ordered the court to surrender control of the army and jianghu, and demanded that ministers donate half their family wealth.

• Xu Xiao killed two officials who challenged him, then crushed left chancellor Lü Dachun when he hesitated to answer whether he agreed with the emperor's decree.
• Xu Xiao killed more officials who could not promptly declare their agreement, while the remaining dignitaries and the emperor submitted.
• Xu Xiao announced that he was Great Song's Military Command Commissioner and established the Martial Command Office to control the country's armies.
• Xu Xiao ordered Great Song to bring the three teachings, nine schools, and jianghu under the court's control, and demanded half of each minister's family property to fund his office.
• Xu Xiao killed an official who pleaded poverty and warned the court that anyone who disobeyed him or plotted against him would face death and the destruction of their entire clan.

Xu Xiao explained to Zhao Xu why the officials were likely to rebel despite agreeing to his demands, and prepared to crush their resistance that night. He ordered Zhao Xu to test the imperial guards’ loyalties while Xu Xiao planned to demonstrate his power.

• Xu Xiao took Zhao Xu and the three women into the inner palace after dismissing the court.
• Xu Xiao explained that the officials might seek to replace Zhao Xu because his actions threatened their interests and they had not yet seen Xu Xiao’s full power.
• Xu Xiao reassured Zhao Xu that he would protect him through the coming night and that the court’s proposals would take effect afterward.
• Xu Xiao ordered Zhao Xu to send trusted men to the imperial guard camp, keep the guards from acting rashly, and identify which guards obeyed him.
• Xu Xiao said he would personally show the officials what irresistible power looked like.

Gao Heng received Empress Dowager Gao’s approval for a rebellion to replace the young emperor and ordered the conspirators to prepare to seize the imperial city. As the plotters gathered for their attack, one uneasy conspirator questioned how Xu Xiao had taken control of the emperor, but joined the conspiracy despite his doubts.

• Gao Heng read a message from Empress Dowager Gao confirming that she supported installing a new emperor and would help mobilize the Imperial Army.
• Gao Heng told the gathered officials and gentry leaders to prepare to enter the imperial city at the third watch, using fireworks as their signal.
• A conspirator asked what had happened to the Palace Front Army corpses and warned that Xu Xiao might have killed the soldiers, but the others mocked and threatened him into silence.
• After the gathering broke up, the uneasy conspirator wondered how Xu Xiao had seized the emperor and whether the three thousand Palace Front Army soldiers could have protected him.
• The conspirator decided he could not withdraw from the rebellion and resolved to fight with his life on the line.

Yu Wenzhao weighed the danger of choosing sides as emissaries from the empress dowager, aristocratic clans, and emperor sought his support. Eunuch Huang told him to keep his troops outside the city while the emperor’s allies handled matters within, and Yu agreed.

• Yu Wenzhao received emissaries from the aristocratic clans and the empress dowager, then learned that an envoy from the emperor had arrived.
• Yu Wenzhao feared that either helping or abandoning the palace would bring punishment, and he considered siding with the aristocratic clans.
• Eunuch Huang told Yu Wenzhao that the emperor only required him to keep his troops outside the city.
• Eunuch Huang warned Yu Wenzhao not to ruin himself, then left to contact the commanders of the other imperial guard units.
• Yu Wenzhao promised to control his troops and prevent them from entering the city.

Rebel forces backed by the empress dowager entered Kaifeng and began marching on the imperial palace, while Xu Xiao kept Zhao Xu and the others in Daqing Hall near Xuande Gate. Xu Xiao promised to protect the young emperor, whose throne—and whose future relationship with Xu Xiao—remained uncertain as the battle began.

• Qin Jingzhong led elite troops into Kaifeng and waited for the signal to attack the imperial palace.
• After a flare and fireworks signaled the revolt, Qin Jingzhong rallied his troops to storm the palace and clear the emperor's side.
• Palace reports informed Zhao Xu that the Palace Front Army had defended Xuande Gate, the empress dowager had left the palace, and rebels were advancing through the city.
• Xu Xiao insisted that Zhao Xu, the three women, and the eunuchs remain in Daqing Hall, where he could protect them near Xuande Gate.
• Zhao Xu offered to make Xu Xiao his adoptive father if he saved him, but Xu Xiao refused and reassured him that their interests were aligned.

Qin Jingzhong’s rebel forces besieged Xuande Gate, where Zhao Hu rallied the Palace Front Army to defend the young emperor. When the rebels attacked with arrows and fire cannon, Xu Xiao appeared above the gate and halted the flaming projectiles, leaving the battle poised for his intervention.

• Qin Jingzhong received orders to attack Xuande Gate while the other rebel armies assaulted the palace’s remaining gates.
• Qin Jingzhong ordered siege engines, eight-ox crossbows, and fire cannon deployed, then promised rewards to the first troops to enter the palace.
• Zhao Hu urged the Palace Front Army to defend the emperor and shot an arrow that pierced three advancing rebel soldiers.
• The Palace Front Army and rebels exchanged volleys of arrows as Qin Jingzhong’s forces advanced.
• Qin Jingzhong ordered the fire cannon launched, but Xu Xiao appeared above Xuande Gate and froze the flaming projectiles in midair.

Xu Xiao confronted the army besieging the imperial city, using Telekinesis and the soldiers’ own weapons to defeat its commanders and break its resolve. After Qin Jingzhong was killed, the soldiers surrendered, leaving Xu Xiao in control of the battlefield.

• Xu Xiao arrived at Xuande Gate and told Zhao Hu to fall back as he faced the besieging army alone.
• Xu Xiao used spinning fireballs to destroy an incoming volley of arrows, then flew toward the enemy formation and bombarded it with fireballs.
• Xu Xiao identified Qin Jingzhong as the army’s leader and gathered weapons across the battlefield into a massive airborne ring.
• Xu Xiao declared himself the Great Song’s Military Command Commissioner and unleashed the weapons, killing Qin Jingzhong and the generals around him.
• Xu Xiao threatened the remaining troops with another attack, and the soldiers laid down their weapons and surrendered.

At Donghua Gate, Gao Heng’s forces attacked the palace, but Imperial Army troops armed with eight-ox crossbows and cavalry turned against them. Xu Xiao joined the counterattack, and the rebellion was crushed across the other gates as well.

• Gao Heng ordered his soldiers to seize Donghua Gate and promised a lavish reward to whoever reached its tower first.
• The three Wang brothers charged toward the gate, but Imperial Army crossbow bolts struck their path and overwhelmed them.
• Imperial Army cavalry units Pangri and Tianwu attacked Gao Heng’s troops, and an arrow wounded Gao Heng before he fell beneath a horse’s hoof.
• Imperial Army forces switched sides at the other two gates and slaughtered the rebels under Xu Xiao’s orders.
• Xu Xiao joined a unit in the fighting, and the rebellion was dismantled.

Xu Xiao established the Martial Command Office and began targeting the Beggar Clan as part of his plan to bring the martial world under control within a month. In Hebei, his men captured Zhang Quanxiang for spreading dissent, and Xu Xiao learned that Qiao Feng had not yet returned to the clan headquarters.

• Kaifeng soldiers arrested officials and prominent families, executed the men, and sent the women to the Imperial Music Bureau.
• A week later, a storyteller in Hebei repeated claims about Xu Xiao's strength and his plan to bring the martial world in Great Song in order within a month.
• Zhang Quanxiang, a Beggar Clan disciple, challenged the Martial Command Commissioner's authority in a teahouse and was captured by Martial Command Office men.
• Wu 1 reported to Xu Xiao that Beggar Clan members were plotting against their leader, but Qiao Feng had not yet returned to headquarters.
• Xu Xiao ordered Wu 1 to keep watch for Qiao Feng and reflected that his intervention had disrupted the original timeline.

Xu Xiao explained why he planned to win the Beggar Clan through Qiao Feng and ideals rather than force. He learned Qiao Feng would reach Hebei the next day and intended to prevent the events that would expose Qiao Feng as a Khitan.

• Wu 1 reported that Qiao Feng was heading for the Beggar Clan headquarters and would arrive by noon the next day.
• Xu Xiao ordered Wu 1 to watch Qiao Feng and bring him to Xu Xiao if he entered the city.
• Xu Xiao told A Zhu, A Bi, and Wang Yuyan that the martial world required different methods from the imperial court, and that Qiao Feng could lead the Beggar Clan.
• Xu Xiao said he would prevent Qiao Feng's Khitan identity from becoming known and eliminate those who knew it.
• Xu Xiao changed the subject and led the three women away with him.

Wu 1 brought Qiao Feng to meet Xu Xiao, the Military Command Commissioner, who offered him a chance to cooperate and presented Kang Min and a letter as a gift. After reading the letter, Qiao Feng asked Xu Xiao where it had come from.

• Wu 1 intercepted Qiao Feng on the road and invited him to meet Xu Xiao at the Military Command Office.
• Qiao Feng accepted the invitation and followed Wu 1 to a heavily guarded manor.
• Xu Xiao received Qiao Feng in a pavilion and said he had a great opportunity to offer him.
• Xu Xiao had Kang Min brought in under guard and gave Qiao Feng an envelope.
• Qiao Feng read the letter, then asked Xu Xiao where it had come from.

Xu Xiao revealed the truth behind Qiao Feng’s framing and secured Kang Min’s confession, then asked Qiao Feng to cooperate with the Martial Command Office. The chapter ended with Qiao Feng rejecting Xu Xiao’s proposal to absorb the Beggar Clan.

• Xu Xiao showed Qiao Feng Wang Jiantong’s letter and recounted the truth about Qiao Feng’s past and his framing.
• Xu Xiao forced Kang Min to confess that she had conspired with Bai Shijing and Quan Guanqing to murder Ma Dayuan and frame Qiao Feng.
• Qiao Feng tried to strike the pavilion in anger, but Xu Xiao stopped his palm with Telekinesis.
• Xu Xiao killed Kang Min, and Qiao Feng accepted that he had acted on his behalf.
• Xu Xiao proposed that the Beggar Clan merge into the Martial Command Office and leave the martial world, but Qiao Feng refused.

Xu Xiao urged Qiao Feng to disband the Beggar Clan and bring its fighters into the Martial Command Office, arguing that their unsanctioned raids caused needless deaths and reprisals against civilians. Qiao Feng’s Khitan identity left him conflicted, while Xu Xiao made clear that refusal could mean the Beggar Clan’s destruction.

• Qiao Feng defended the Beggar Clan’s resistance to the Tatars and its aid to disaster victims.
• Xu Xiao argued that the clan’s poorly planned attacks cost its disciples their lives and brought harsher retaliation upon border residents and merchants.
• Xu Xiao proposed uniting the jianghu and Great Song’s military under the Martial Command Office to defeat Liao and Western Xia.
• Qiao Feng hesitated because he had learned he was Khitan and questioned whether he could fight for Great Song.
• Xu Xiao offered to protect Qiao Feng and support him if he joined, but threatened to destroy the Beggar Clan if he refused.

Xu Xiao sent Qiao Feng to propose that the Beggar Clan join the Martial Command Office, while preparing troops to enforce his plans if Qiao Feng failed. At Apricot Grove, Qiao Feng presented the proposal to the clan, prompting objections from Quan Guanqing.

• A Zhu questioned Xu Xiao about trusting Qiao Feng, and Xu Xiao warned the women not to interfere in men's affairs.
• Wu 1 reported that Qiao Feng had called a Beggar Clan meeting at Apricot Grove, and Xu Xiao ordered his backup forces prepared.
• Qiao Feng opened the meeting before Quan Guanqing could accuse him over Ma Dayuan's death.
• Qiao Feng told the Beggar Clan that the Martial Command Office wanted suitable disciples to join and serve the country, which would end the clan's existence.
• Quan Guanqing objected to Qiao Feng's proposal.

Qiao Feng tried to put the Beggar Clan’s merger with the Martial Command Office to a vote, but Quan Guanqing exposed his Khitan ancestry and disrupted the gathering. The Martial Command Office then arrived in force, taking Quan Guanqing away as its officers appeared throughout Apricot Grove.

• Quan Guanqing and the four elders opposed Qiao Feng’s plan to merge the Beggar Clan with the Martial Command Office.
• Qiao Feng asked the gathered disciples whether they wanted to remain in the Beggar Clan or join the Martial Command Office and serve the country.
• Quan Guanqing accused Qiao Feng of being a Khitan and betraying his ancestors, while the other disciples angrily defended their clan leader.
• A voice from afar said it would interrogate Quan Guanqing, and a terrifying force dragged him over the disciples to a group a hundred meters away.
• Two or three hundred Martial Command Office officers in black training clothes appeared throughout Apricot Grove, armed with sabers and crossbows.

Xu Xiao surrounded the Beggar Clan gathering with the Martial Command Office and took charge of a public inquiry meant to clear Qiao Feng’s name. After Bai Shijing confessed to his role in Ma Dayuan’s murder and the plot against Qiao Feng, Xu Xiao killed him and began questioning Elder Xu.

• Wu 1 confronted the Beggar Clan as the Martial Command Office surrounded its gathering, and Qiao Feng ordered the disciples to put down their weapons.
• Xu Xiao arrived and brought Quan Guanqing, Bai Shijing, Elder Xu, and others before Qiao Feng, declaring that he would try the case.
• Quan Guanqing slandered Qiao Feng, so Xu Xiao crushed him to death with Telekinesis.
• Xu Xiao threatened Bai Shijing until he confessed that he had helped Kang Min kill Ma Dayuan and frame Qiao Feng.
• Xu Xiao killed Bai Shijing after his confession and demanded that Elder Xu explain why he had joined Quan Guanqing’s accusations.

Xu Xiao questioned the Beggar Clan elders and witnesses about the plot against Qiao Feng, executing Elder Xu and sparing Zhao Qiansun and Zhiguang under punishment. After Qiao Feng accepted that Murong Bo was the culprit behind his family’s misfortune, Xu Xiao asked whether the Beggar Clan would join the Martial Command Office.

• Elder Xu confessed that he had conspired with Quan Guanqing to regain control of the Beggar Clan, and Xu Xiao had him beheaded.
• Xu Xiao restrained Qiao Feng when he tried to stop the execution, then warned him that the Beggar Clan could be destroyed if he ignored their agreement.
• Zhao Qiansun and Monk Zhiguang recounted the events at Yanmen Pass and admitted they had wronged Qiao Feng.
• Xu Xiao spared Zhao Qiansun and Zhiguang, ordering Zhao Qiansun to cripple his martial arts and Zhiguang to remain in his temple.
• Qiao Feng said he would pursue Murong Bo, while Xu Xiao absorbed Internal Energy from the remaining witnesses.
• Xu Xiao reminded Qiao Feng to keep his promise and asked whether the Beggar Clan would join the Martial Command Office.

Xu Xiao pressed the Beggar Clan to join the Martial Command Office while Qiao Feng hesitated because of his Khitan identity. Xu Xiao revealed he wanted Qiao Feng to lead in his absence and promised to help him capture Murong Bo and meet his birth father.

• Western Xia cavalry headed for the Beggar Clan’s headquarters, but Martial Command Office scouts spotted them and sent a carrier pigeon to Xu Xiao.
• Qiao Feng refused to decide for the Beggar Clan, so Xu Xiao addressed the disciples and offered them places or jobs if they submitted to the Martial Command Office.
• The Beggar Clan disciples stayed put rather than oppose Xu Xiao, and he asked Qiao Feng to join and serve the Great Song.
• Qiao Feng said he could not accept because he was a Khitan and had urgent matters to settle, prompting Xu Xiao to decide he wanted Qiao Feng to take charge in his absence.
• Xu Xiao promised to eliminate the Khitan and Western Xia royal families, erase the distinction between Han and foreigner, and help Qiao Feng capture Murong Bo and meet his birth father.

Qiao Feng agreed to join the Martial Command Office, and Xu Xiao set the Beggar Clan’s dissolution and absorption in motion. Xu Xiao then led the clan toward an ambush on the Western Xia First-Class Hall, where the surviving riders faced a second attack from elite Martial Command Office troops.

• Qiao Feng instructed the Beggar Clan’s senior members to send their disciples to the nearest Martial Command Office assessment site.
• Wu 1 told Xu Xiao that the Western Xia First-Class Hall had entered the encirclement, and Xu Xiao ordered him to rally the Beggar Clan for battle.
• Qiao Feng and the Beggar Clan members joined the Martial Command Office’s forces as they marched toward the Western Xia First-Class Hall.
• Three thousand Hebei garrison troops fired a volley of arrows at Helian Tieshu’s cavalry, killing most of the riders.
• Helian Tieshu and a few survivors, including Li Yanzong in disguise as Murong Fu, tried to retreat, but Martial Command Office soldiers attacked them with crossbows and sabers.