Recaps

Jia Xu revealed that Lin Yi had raised an army of three hundred thousand and captured Ziwu Road, prompting Lin Rusong to plan a spring campaign against the Northern Barbarians. A messenger then reported that Li Anlan had betrothed Princess Shenle to Lin Yi, and Lin Rusong ordered Northern Liang to raise another hundred thousand troops.

• Jia Xu told Wang Ziwen and Lin Rusong that Lin Yi's three hundred thousand troops did not include the fifty-thousand-strong Asura Army, and that Ma Chao had already taken Ziwu Road.
• Lin Rusong and Jia Xu agreed to attack the Northern Barbarians at the start of spring, while Wang Ziwen urged them to keep the plan secret.
• Lin Rusong ordered Xu Zhong to purge spies from Northern Liang and train one hundred thousand elite cavalry to support Lin Yi.
• Jia Xu revealed that Wang Zijin was working as a maid in Lin Yi's residence and that Lin Yi had threatened to destroy the Wang Clan of Central Shu.
• A messenger reported that Li Anlan had betrothed Princess Shenle to Lin Yi, and Lin Rusong laughed and ordered Northern Liang to raise another hundred thousand troops.

Lin Yi’s hundred million strings of cash accelerated Xiliang’s growth, spurring new industries and shipbuilding while helping him establish the Brocade Sail Navy under the cover of civilian expansion. He visited the docks after learning that Wuning Commandery had joined the fishing boom and found a vast fleet gathering on the Great Ning River.

• Xun Yu praised the rapid changes in Xiliang, while Chen Qun and Gan Ning described how subsidy registrations and tax-free ocean fishing had overwhelmed their workloads.
• Lin Yi explained that the ocean plan supported future colonization and let him introduce the Brocade Sail Navy among civilian vessels.
• Wang Yue told Lin Yi that people in Wuning Commandery had begun deep-sea fishing too, and Lin Yi decided to inspect the docks rather than have Gan Ning sink their boats.
• Lin Yi and his companions rode to the docks, where they saw more than a hundred boats packed across the Great Ning River.
• Mi Zhu explained that Gan Ning had returned from a recent sea voyage with a shipload of fish, prompting others to join the fishing boom.

Lin Yi used the returning fishing ships to attract people to ocean fishing, revealing that the new industry would help build a hidden naval base while still bringing Xiliang taxes and fees. He then ordered He Jin to promote pig farming in the military camps so the soldiers would have enough meat.

• Mi Zhu pointed out Gan Ning’s returning tower ships, whose enormous fish hauls excited the people gathered at the docks.
• He Jin admitted that the profits made him want to fish, while Gongsun Zan warned that Xiliang would lose out if it collected no taxes.
• Xun Yu guessed that Lin Yi was using ocean fishing to secretly strengthen the navy, and Lin Yi described his plan to establish Sea Liang Island.
• Lin Yi explained that selling fish would be taxed and that fishermen would pay fees for protection from Xiliang warships.
• Lin Yi ordered He Jin to promote pig farming in the military camps so soldiers could eat meat and stay strong.

Lin Yi discussed the profits from sea fishing with his advisors before welcoming Gan Ning and hearing that the fleet had returned with a huge catch. The group considered the potential of the fishing industry, and Lin Yi left Chen Qun to draft regulations to prevent overfishing.

• Wang Yue worried that merchants might stop using Lin Yi’s tax-exemption scheme, but Mi Zhu and Xun Yu argued that profits would keep them participating.
• Lin Yi pointed out that his tower ships would earn far more from fishing than merchants’ small boats, and Chen Qun realized their lord would still take the lion’s share.
• Gan Ning reported that Great Ning’s ports had tried to obstruct the fleet but backed down when faced with its ships and weapons.
• Gan Ning said his ten tower ships and twenty warships had brought back at least a hundred thousand jin of fish.
• Xun Yu suggested focusing on fishing near the sea, while Lin Yi warned that excessive catches could deplete the fish population.
• Chen Qun proposed sea-fishing laws to protect young fish and preserve supplies, and Lin Yi assigned him to handle the regulations.

Lin Yi and Gan Ning discussed solving the problems of keeping fish fresh and improving fishing nets after the voyage. A red-silk-draped warship arrived carrying Princess Shenle, and Lin Yi ordered it welcomed so he could learn why she had come.

• Gan Ning described his voyage and explained that poor preservation and weak fishing nets had caused serious losses.
• Lin Yi ordered the shipyard to build an icehouse aboard copied tower ships and told Gan Ning to find fishermen to improve the nets.
• Lin Yi and Wang Yue suspected that Great Ning had discovered and dealt with the Net's agents after a warship arrived without warning.
• Gan Ning ordered his men to protect Lin Yi and aim the shipboard ballistae at the approaching warship.
• A palace maid announced that Princess Shenle was aboard, and Lin Yi told Gan Ning to let her dock.
• The people at the docks discussed Princess Shenle's talents and wondered why she had so few attendants.

Princess Shenle arrived in Xiliang and insisted Lin Yi receive her in person before she disembarked. After asking whether he would protect his own woman, she declared she would marry him and entered the carriage, leaving Lin Yi and his companions baffled.

• Lin Yi suspected Li Anlan had sent Princess Shenle to spy on him, and Wang Yue dispersed the harbor crowd.
• Xiao He told Lin Yi that Shenle would not leave the ship unless he came to receive her.
• Shenle descended in a wedding gown with her maids and dowry, then asked Lin Yi whether he would protect his own woman.
• Lin Yi said he would protect her if she were his woman but noted he had not agreed to marry her.
• Shenle declared that she would marry Lin Yi, veiled herself, and climbed into the carriage, while Lin Yi and his companions wondered at her haste.

Princess Shenle decided to side with Lin Yi rather than serve as a tool for her father, the emperor, and killed the people accompanying her who might threaten her new husband. As her carriage continued toward Lin Yi’s residence, she accepted that he might distrust her but resolved not to regret her choice.

• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to take Princess Shenle and her procession to the west wing and kill anyone who acted suspiciously.
• Princess Shenle told Xiao He that she had chosen Lin Yi because she believed he would protect her, while helping her father would leave her a powerless widow.
• Princess Shenle revealed that she had made the palace attendants drink poisoned wine, and they collapsed and died.
• Xiao He realized she had also drunk the wine and that Princess Shenle knew she had been reporting to the emperor.
• Princess Shenle explained that she could not let Xiao He near Lin Yi to harm him, and Xiao He spat blood and died.
• Princess Shenle put her bridal veil back on and continued toward Lin Yi, accepting that he might distrust her.

Princess Shenle poisoned her own attendants after discovering they were spies, while Lin Yi accepted her choice but ordered Haitang to search her for any remaining poison. Meanwhile, Wei Tong learned that Chen Dao planned to hold him and his men as bargaining chips after Great Ning attacked Xiliang’s Net.

• Wang Yue told Lin Yi that Princess Shenle had ordered her maid to poison the eunuchs, and Lin Yi saw Xiao He dead in the carriage.
• Princess Shenle said she had chosen Lin Yi over her imperial father and asked him to protect her; Lin Yi accepted her as his woman but ordered Haitang to bathe and inspect her for poison.
• Lin Yi arranged a replacement carriage for Princess Shenle and had the bodies removed before returning to the residence.
• Wei Tong watched from a restaurant, blamed Lin Yi for the violence, and decided he would seek revenge against Wang Yue and Wang Zitao.
• Chen Dao confronted Wei Tong and said he would hold Wei Tong and his men as bargaining chips because Great Ning had attacked Xiliang’s Net.
• Wei Tong realized that Great Ning had moved against Lin Yi’s intelligence network and feared that he and his men would be lost in the conflict.

Lin Yi divided the ocean catch among the army, Northern Liang, and people in hardship, while setting limits on long-term subsidies. After learning Li Anlan had arrested members of the Net, he ordered an investigation and prepared Xiliang to respond firmly, leaving Wang Yue and Chen Dao to carry out his orders.

• Lin Yi assigned the largest share of Gan Ning’s catch to the army, another share to Northern Liang, and the remainder to people in need.
• Lin Yi told his subordinates to keep subsidies limited and gradually reduce support for those able to work.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to investigate Li Anlan’s arrest of Net members and deal with the situation.
• Lin Yi said Li Anlan would pay if he had killed Lin Yi’s people, and ordered Chen Dao to hold Wei Tong for a possible exchange or retaliation.
• Lin Yi directed Chen Dao, Gongsun Zan, and Gan Ning to strengthen Ningchuan Commandery’s defenses and sink any Great Ning warships that crossed without cause.

Lin Yi revealed his Ocean Plan to establish a secret Xiliang presence across the sea and assigned Gan Ning and Xun Yu to carry it out. After they left, Lin Yi burned the proposal and received system rewards for ocean exploration, island occupation, and winning over merchants.

• Lin Yi left the merchant registrations to Mi Zhu and Chen Qun, told Gongsun Zan to continue training the troops, and kept Gan Ning and Xun Yu behind.
• Lin Yi showed Gan Ning and Xun Yu the Ocean Plan to occupy islands and build secret island bases as a new strategic foothold against Great Ning.
• Gan Ning agreed to lead the island occupations, while Xun Yu took responsibility for assigning personnel and keeping the operation secret.
• Lin Yi cautioned Gan Ning not to fail at the critical moment, then watched the two men leave and burned the proposal.
• Lin Yi opened his system and received rewards including naval troops, warships, island residents, fishing boats, and fishing and ice-making technologies.

Lin Yi assessed the generous rewards for exploring and conquering Sea Liang Island, then received news that Li Mingzhu had poisoned the emperor’s spies and other threats. The system rewarded her actions and recognized her as Lin Yi’s legal spouse by imperial decree, leaving Lin Yi surprised by the rewards, especially Lü Qiling.

• Lin Yi reviewed the ocean-exploration rewards, including a navy, a shipyard, fishing boats, supplies, and one hundred thousand island residents.
• Lin Yi judged the island-conquest rewards modest but saw the Ocean Plan as a way to steadily gain territory, people, and resources.
• Lin Yi noticed that grain merchant Hong Xi had produced two rewards and considered having Wang Yue investigate him.
• The system announced that Li Mingzhu had poisoned Xiao He, palace threats, and hidden crew members, earning troops, palace maids, antidotes, guards, and a medical compendium.
• Lin Yi challenged the system for calling Li Mingzhu his legal spouse, and it explained that the emperor’s decree counted as law while Lin Yi belonged to the Great Ning faction.
• Lin Yi learned Princess Shenle’s name was Li Mingzhu and marveled that the rewards included Lü Bu’s daughter, Lü Qiling.

Lin Yi assigned Lü Lingqi to protect his future residence, ordered an investigation into the mysterious grain merchant Hong Xi, and received Princess Shenle into the household. Cai Yan asserted her authority over the new arrivals and had Wang Zijin wash Lin Yi’s feet, leaving Wang Zijin awkwardly serving him as a maid.

• Lin Yi decided Lü Lingqi would guard the residence and its women, then ordered the Compendium of Materia Medica sent to the chancellor for study.
• Lin Yi noticed Hong Xi had triggered unusual rewards and ordered the Net to investigate the grain merchant discreetly.
• Cai Yan and Princess Shenle exchanged cautious, polite words after arriving at the rear courtyard, while Wang Zijin realized how far above her the princess stood.
• Cai Yan sent Haitang to attend Princess Shenle’s bath and assigned Wang Zijin to wash Lin Yi’s feet.
• Wang Zijin brought Lin Yi a foot basin and clumsily washed his feet while he watched her technique.

Lin Yi postponed Princess Shenle’s wedding and told Cai Yan to keep watch over her, while Wang Zijin was sent away as he discussed the newspaper with Cai Wenji. Across the Great Ning River, Li Ke and Wang Yunze arranged to use warships for ocean fishing, until Eunuch Ran reminded them that Princess Shenle’s ship was still missing.

• Lin Yi told Cai Yan to announce Princess Shenle’s arrival as a visit, postpone the wedding, and monitor her despite her having poisoned more than thirty people and killed her maid.
• Lin Yi teased Wang Zijin about her inexperience, sent her away after she washed his feet, and stayed with Cai Wenji to discuss the newspaper.
• Li Ke and Wang Yunze watched Lin Yi’s fishing fleet unload its catch, and Wang Yunze complained that Gan Ning had demanded protection money from his boats.
• Li Ke offered his warships as escorts for ocean fishing, and Wang Yunze agreed to give him fifty percent of the profits.
• Eunuch Ran asked why Princess Shenle’s ship had not returned, and Li Ke awkwardly claimed they had been watching for it.

Eunuch Ran and the officials learned that Princess Shenle had poisoned the people accompanying her, while she remained unharmed. Li Ke refused to interfere in the matter, and Wang Yunze discovered the princess had claimed his warship as her dowry.

• A messenger told Li Ke that everyone sent with the princess, including her maid Xiao He, had died, but Princess Shenle was safe.
• The messenger reported that Princess Shenle had poisoned them after they offended her, and Eunuch Ran hurried back to the capital to inform the emperor.
• Li Ke said the matter was beyond their authority and told Wang Yunze to focus on Wuning Commandery and making money.
• Wang Yunze learned that Princess Shenle had kept his warship as part of her dowry.
• After Li Ke left, Wang Yunze rebuked the officials who criticized the governor and explained the importance of Wuning Commandery.

Wang Yunze warned Wuning Commandery’s leaders not to provoke Lin Yi and promised to handle Liu Ziyi’s attack on the Net. In the capital, Liu Ziyi reported his success to Li Anlan and revealed the Net’s carrier pigeons, leaving the emperor astonished by Lin Yi’s methods.

• Wang Yunze reassured Wuning Commandery’s leaders that Lin Yi would leave them alone if they did not provoke him.
• A young guard told the group that Liu Ziyi had raided the Net’s strongholds in Wuning Commandery, alarming them.
• Wang Yunze ordered everyone to stay out of the matter and said he would handle Liu Ziyi’s actions.
• Liu Ziyi told Li Anlan that he had crippled the Net in Great Ning and discovered its use of birds to send messages.
• Li Anlan wondered if Lin Yi was a god descended to earth, while Liu Ziyi explained that the birds were domesticated carrier pigeons.

Li Anlan focused on obtaining homing pigeons and questioned whether Princess Shenle had betrayed him after hearing she poisoned her companions. The next morning, Lin Yi learned that Liu Ziyi had destroyed several of his outposts, disrupting the Net’s intelligence network.

• Li Anlan realized Lin Yi’s Net might have relied on homing pigeons and ordered Liu Ziyi to find some for imperial intelligence.
• Li Anlan rewarded Liu Ziyi’s mother with a fourth-rank title, and Liu Ziyi pledged his loyalty.
• Li Anlan ordered captured Net members kept in jail and told Liu Ziyi to question them about homing pigeons.
• A guard reported that Princess Shenle had poisoned her companions, including Xiao He and the crew, and Li Anlan summoned Eunuch Ran to explain what had happened.
• Eunuch Ran recounted his observations, leaving Li Anlan uncertain whether Shenle remained loyal to him.
• The next morning, Wang Yue told Lin Yi that Liu Ziyi had wiped out several outposts, forcing the rest of the Net into hiding and interrupting the flow of information.

Lin Yi learned that Liu Ziyi’s searches had exposed members of the Net and ordered a rescue while introducing coded messages to protect their communications. An unsigned letter revealed Liu Ziyi’s identity and supplied a prison map, leading Lin Yi to suspect Wuning’s chief administrator, Wang Yunze, was seeking cooperation over ocean fishing.

• Wang Yue told Lin Yi that Liu Ziyi had sealed off two commanderies and arrested strangers, exposing members of the Net and costing them carrier pigeons.
• Lin Yi ordered Liu Ziyi killed and the Net’s arrested people rescued, then suggested hiding messages in books to prevent intercepted communications from being read.
• Gan Ning brought Lin Yi an unsigned letter that identified Liu Ziyi as an illegitimate son of the Liu Clan and included a map of Wuning Commandery’s prison.
• Lin Yi told Wang Yue to investigate the letter and concluded that its writer was offering goodwill rather than setting a trap.
• Gan Ning revealed that a man identifying himself as a member of the Wang Clan had earlier tried to take advantage of their unloading, and Wang Yue identified him as chief administrator Wang Yunze.
• Lin Yi explained that Wang Yunze had refused promotion to commandery governor because remaining second-in-command kept him safer.

Lin Yi explained why Li Ke used greed to protect himself from suspicion, while Wang Yue went to finish off Liu Ziyi. Reports of the Brocade Sail Navy’s ocean-fishing profits stirred Ningchuan Commandery, and the Song Clan began considering joining the venture.

• Wang Yue told Lin Yi and Gan Ning that Li Ke openly extorted money and had forced out Zhang Ci’s cousin to install his own registrar, Cheng Yiming.
• Lin Yi explained that Li Ke’s greed made him seem less threatening to Li Anlan, and Gan Ning said he had learned to sully his own reputation.
• Wang Yue left for the Great Ning River to finish off Liu Ziyi.
• Newspaper reports of the Brocade Sail Navy’s valuable catch and the profits from ocean fishing excited Ningchuan’s merchants and great clans.
• Song Huizu asked Song Yuming to let him abandon the Western Regions trade routes and fish at sea, citing a man in his employ who had caught at least two thousand jin on a medium-sized boat.

Song Huizu secured fishing boats from Song Yuming, while Wang Yunze quietly began recruiting investors and fishermen for ocean fishing. That night, the Net breached Wuning Commandery’s prison with a thunderous blast, and Wang Yunze saw the prison wall reduced to rubble.

• Song Yuming agreed to provide Song Huizu with ten fishing boats and another fifty on behalf of the clan.
• Wang Yunze gathered investors, supplies, and fishermen while keeping his ocean-fishing plans discreet.
• Wang Yunze’s steward reported that one or two thousand plainclothes men had come ashore, so Wang ordered the clan gates closed and its guards to patrol.
• A thunderous blast struck Wuning Commandery’s prison, and the fighting there ended within minutes as the Net freed the prisoners.
• Li Ke summoned Wang Yunze to the prison, where Wang and his steward saw that the wall had been blasted away.

Li Ke investigated the prison’s destruction and the escape of its prisoners while Li Anlan learned of Lin Yi’s enormous ocean catch and considered using the navy to enter the fishing business. Zhan Shunyu refused to accept being sent to catch fish and asked to retire.

• Li Ke learned that the prison had been destroyed, its guards killed, and its prisoners freed, while the injured Li Songshan described attackers who claimed to act on behalf of justice.
• Li Ke suspected the Net and ordered Wang Yunze to recover the escaped prisoners as he prepared to report the incident to the emperor.
• Liu Ziyi and Eunuch Ran confirmed to Li Anlan that Lin Yi’s fleet had caught more than a hundred thousand jin of fish in one haul.
• Li Anlan decided the imperial family should share in ocean-fishing profits and summoned Zhan Shunyu and Zhang Zinong.
• Li Anlan asked whether the navy could undertake ocean fishing, and Zhan Shunyu removed his helmet, refused the assignment, and asked to retire.

Li Anlan agreed to let Zhan Shunyu take the navy ocean fishing after hearing about Lin Yi’s enormous catch, but the navy lacked seaworthy ships and the Privy Treasury was occupied with the northern war. Zhang Zinong proposed involving the aristocratic families, and Li Anlan decided they should contribute.

• Zhan Shunyu initially refused to fish, but changed his mind after Liu Ziyi described Lin Yi’s hundred-thousand-jin catch.
• Zhan Shunyu asked Li Anlan for large ships because the navy’s warships were too old for ocean voyages.
• Zhang Zinong told Li Anlan that the Privy Treasury could not build ships while supplying the northern war.
• Li Anlan ordered Liu Ziyi to investigate where Lin Yi had obtained his warships and warned that Lin Yi’s growing strength threatened Great Ning.
• Zhang Zinong proposed that the aristocratic families fund or undertake the fishing venture, and Li Anlan agreed they should contribute.

Emperor Li Anlan tried to draw the great clans into ocean fishing and pressure the Prince of Min into rushing to Great Wasteland Commandery, while the escape of the Net’s prisoners enraged him. Liu Ziyi set out for Wuning Commandery with authority to mobilize its troops, as a band of Net assassins waited on the road to ambush him.

• Li Anlan told Zhang Zinong to invite the great clans into ocean fishing, hoping to divert their attention from court affairs and Lin Yi.
• Li Anlan learned the Prince of Min would take two more days to reach Great Wasteland Commandery and ordered Zhang Zinong to pressure him publicly in the name of the realm.
• A report arrived that the Net’s prisoners had been rescued after Wuning Commandery’s prison was destroyed, and Li Anlan blamed the commandery’s lax defenses.
• Li Anlan gave Liu Ziyi a command arrow and sent him to investigate the prison break and mobilize Wuning Commandery’s troops.
• A band of Net assassins disguised as brigands waited on the road from Wuning Commandery to the capital for Liu Ziyi to arrive.

Wang Yue’s men ambushed Liu Ziyi and his escort, and Liu Ziyi died after being trapped and outnumbered. Back at the Prince of Xiliang’s residence, Mi Zhu warned that the flood of money and applicants for ocean fishing was becoming difficult to manage.

• Wang Yue waited for Liu Ziyi, expecting him to come investigate the destroyed prison and the Net.
• Wang Yue’s forces ambushed Liu Ziyi’s cavalry with a volley of arrows, killing several men and surrounding the survivors.
• Liu Ziyi ordered a breakout, but Wang Yue’s men blocked the road and closed the encirclement.
• Liu Ziyi accused Wang Yunze and Li Ke of ruining his mission, then killed himself; his remaining men followed, and Wang Yue left their bodies behind.
• At the Prince of Xiliang’s residence, Mi Zhu and Chen Qun struggled to register the aristocratic families seeking a share in ocean fishing.
• Mi Zhu told his lord that the growing pile of money and the space needed to store it had become a problem.

Lin Yi ordered Mi Zhu to establish the Xiliang Bank and issue counterfeit-resistant paper currency, while Xun Yu drew people from Youning Commandery and Great Wasteland Commandery into Xiliang’s ocean-fishing venture. Yingge then reported that Jia Xu’s forces had breached the Jushi Kingdom’s defenses and were advancing through its heartland.

• Lin Yi proposed waterproof banknotes and regional banks to make large transactions easier and prevent counterfeiting.
• Lin Yi assigned Mi Zhu to produce the currency and establish the Xiliang Bank through the Ocean Plan.
• Xun Yu explained that he had recruited people from Youning Commandery and Great Wasteland Commandery, and Lin Yi recognized his plan to win their support through profit.
• Yingge reported that Jia Xu, General Bai, and their forces had broken through the Jushi Kingdom’s front line and entered its heartland.
• Lin Yi expected the Shachi Kingdom to send aid and welcomed the chance for his army to gain battle experience.

Lin Rusong arrived after Xiliang’s army had routed the Jushi Kingdom’s forces and learned that it had already reached the capital. As the Jushi king waited for Shachi reinforcements, Lin Rusong’s troops began collecting the captured Great Ning equipment.

• Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen reached the battlefield after Xiliang’s army had crushed the Jushi Kingdom’s forces, and Wu Di explained that the White Horse Volunteers had broken through using blitzkrieg tactics.
• Wu Di told Lin Rusong that Xiliang’s army had advanced to the Jushi Kingdom’s capital and offered him the captured equipment to collect.
• Wang Ziwen pointed out that the equipment was made by Great Ning, so Lin Rusong ordered his men to gather it despite grumbling about Li Anlan.
• The Jushi king asked General Tu’er whether Shachi reinforcements had arrived, and Tu’er said thirty thousand troops were on the way.
• Tu’er recalled how Xiliang’s army had shattered his twenty thousand soldiers with a swift assault and a barrage of arrows.