Recaps

Li Anlan used the crisis in the Min River region to divide it and place its navy under Zhan Shunyu, while an express report announced that the Prince of Shu had been attacked and left unconscious. He appointed three loyal generals to secure Shu and Xining, tightening his control over the northwest.

• Li Anlan condemned the plot against his royal uncle and ordered Zhan Shunyu to arrest Jiang Dabiao.
• Zhan Shunyu accepted the command but asked Li Anlan to appoint someone else to handle local administration.
• Li Anlan announced that he would divide the Min River region into three and assigned Zhan Shunyu’s navy to guard it and train the Great Ning Navy.
• An express dispatch reported that Western Regions bandits had attacked the Prince of Shu in Xining Commandery, leaving him unconscious and the northwest in chaos.
• Li Anlan appointed Geng Jinzhong, Zhang Sixi, and Wang Youli to garrison Shu and safeguard Xining Commandery.

Li Anlan learned that Great Ning lacked grain for another war and struggled to find a way to fund recovery and large-scale fishing. Meanwhile, Jia Xu sold more than two million jin of potatoes for over forty million taels, leaving Lin Yi pleased with the proceeds.

• Ran Xianhua told Li Anlan that Great Ning’s treasury was nearly empty and its grain reserves could not support another war.
• Ministers refused to provide more grain and urged Li Anlan to consolidate control over conquered regions instead of launching another campaign.
• Li Anlan ordered Zhan Shunyu to expand ocean fishing, but learned Great Ning’s ships lacked ice storage and that Lin Yi’s boats used ice transported from the Icefield Kingdom.
• Li Anlan directed the Privy Treasury to research corrosion prevention and planned to ask Lin Yi to build ice storage for Great Ning’s ships.
• Jia Xu told Lin Yi that he had sold more than two million jin of potatoes for over forty million taels.

Lin Yi agreed to trade potatoes to Tuoba Wanli for top-quality warhorses, intending to use the horses to strengthen the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry into a force capable of breaking the Northern Barbarians. He postponed the northern campaign until winter passed and ordered preparations to continue while he turned his attention toward Li Anlan.

• Lin Yi gave Jia Xu the letter concerning Tuoba Wanli’s offer and told him to handle the transaction.
• Jia Xu and the others welcomed the prospect of acquiring top-quality warhorses and sending potatoes to the Northern Barbarians.
• Lin Yi announced that he would use the horses to strengthen the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and Zhang Liao eagerly accepted the task.
• Lin Yi told Xun Yu to prepare strategic supplies for a future campaign against the Northern Barbarians before Li Anlan could interfere.
• Lin Yi ruled out an immediate northern invasion because snow had begun falling and his soldiers would struggle in the cold, saying they should instead strike at Li Anlan.

Lin Yi and his advisers discussed how to locate and contain the Northern Barbarians, then learned that Li Anlan had advanced into Great Wasteland Commandery. Lin Yi ordered Guan Yu to attack Li Anlan’s forces and strengthen defenses at Ningchuan Port, escalating the conflict at sea.

• Gongsun Zan proposed a surprise winter raid against the Northern Barbarians, but Jia Xu and Xun Yu warned that the enemy could evade them and that the risks were too high.
• Jia Xu revealed that he had planted spies among the Northern Barbarians by releasing captives who included his people, and Wang Yue recognized this as the source of earlier intelligence about Tuoba Yu.
• Lin Yi received an urgent report that Ning Kun had entered Great Wasteland Commandery and begun building a camp for Li Anlan’s forces.
• Xun Yu and Jia Xu assessed that Li Anlan had advanced cautiously because his forces and supplies were insufficient, while fearing Lin Yi might seize Youning Commandery and Great Wasteland Commandery.
• Lin Yi ordered Guan Yu and the others to attack Li Anlan’s warships or strike along the Min River, and directed the defenses at Ningchuan Port to prepare for an attack.

Guan Yu took command of Sea Liang Island and planned a pirate-style strike against Great Ning’s fishing fleet after learning that more than three hundred vessels were operating near the Min River. He ordered Guan Hai to prepare for a surprise attack, while insisting that their ships be disguised to conceal their identities.

• Guan Yu defeated Guan Hai and five other officers, earning the respect of the troops on Sea Liang Island.
• A message reported that Great Ning had established a naval base along the Min River and sent out more than three hundred fishing vessels.
• Guan Yu told Guan Hai that their orders were to annihilate the enemy fleet, not merely attack it.
• Guan Yu planned to wait until the fishing boats were loaded and gathered together before striking them as pirates.
• Guan Hai produced a black skull flag, and Guan Yu ordered the force to use new-model warships so Great Ning would not recognize them.

Guan Yu learned that the shipyard had built enough new warships to defeat the Great Ning fleet and ordered the forces to prepare to sail. Unaware of the danger, Zhan Shunyu continued fishing and grumbled about the aristocratic families whose ships made up most of the fleet.

• Guan Yu learned that the shipyard had built twenty new warships, over two hundred small warships, and five tower ships.
• Guan Yu told Guan Hai the fleet was more than strong enough to defeat the Great Ning ships and ordered it to depart that afternoon.
• Zhan Shunyu celebrated a full fishing net and heard that Gan Ning’s fleet had returned with a large catch.
• Zhan Shunyu spoke of wanting to rob Gan Ning once the Great Ning Navy grew stronger, then pricked his palm on a fishhook and felt uneasy.
• Zhan Shunyu complained that aristocratic families had sent over two hundred of the ships, while his deputy reminded him that their support had supplied the navy’s warships.

Yang Yulong persuaded Zhao Feiyun to help investigate the deep sea, suspecting it held the secret behind Lin Yi’s rise. He hoped the discovery would elevate the Yang Clan, while Zhao Feiyun was left weighing whether his father would join the venture.

• Zhan Shunyu ordered the nearby ships to prepare to leave the next morning because his fleet had no way to keep the fish fresh.
• Yang Yulong complained that Zhan Shunyu’s gong had scared away his fish while he fished beside Zhao Feiyun.
• Yang Yulong told Zhao Feiyun he had come to sea because Lin Yi’s costly expedition suggested a hidden purpose.
• Yang Yulong pointed out that Xiliang warships secretly headed into the deep sea and claimed ships that followed them never returned.
• Zhao Feiyun said his father controlled one section of the Min River but had little influence over the navy, and Yang Yulong urged him to consider joining the investigation.

Guan Yu's fleet attacked the Great Ning Navy by night, overwhelming Zhan Shunyu's unprepared, heavily laden ships with catapults, ballistae, and fire arrows. As the Great Ning warships burned and sank, Zhan Shunyu realized his navy was finished.

• Guan Yu spotted Great Ning picket boats and ordered Guan Hai to eliminate them, but the fighting raised the alarm.
• Guan Yu ordered his warships to attack the Great Ning Navy and sent small ships to surround the fishing boats.
• Zhan Shunyu struggled to rally his surprised sailors and ordered the fishing boats to stay and fight rather than flee.
• Guan Yu's catapults and ballistae battered Zhan Shunyu's warships, while fire arrows set more ships ablaze.
• Zhan Shunyu watched his navy's ships sink or burn as sailors jumped into the sea, and he realized the fleet was defeated.

Guan Yu’s pirates destroyed Zhan Shunyu’s Great Ning fleet and captured the survivors aboard the fishing boats. After Yang Yulong surrendered, Guan Yu called him forward by name, revealing that the pirates had come specifically for him.

• Zhan Shunyu demanded to know who Guan Yu was, but Guan Yu ordered catapults to attack his ship.
• Guan Yu shot Zhan Shunyu as he tried to escape, and a falling rock killed him.
• Yang Yulong explained that the Great Ning Navy had been overwhelmed by a much larger and better-equipped enemy force.
• Guan Yu’s men boarded the fishing boats, and Yang Yulong and the other survivors surrendered.
• Guan Yu looked over the captured people and called Yang Yulong forward by name.

Guan Hai’s pirates captured Yang Yulong, Zhao Feiyun, and the other fishermen, then demanded ransom from their families. The captives were left fearing for their lives and blaming the emperor after Guan Hai said they should ask him why the East Sea Pirates targeted Great Ning.

• The captives realized the pirates had come looking for Yang Yulong, who stepped forward and identified himself; Zhao Feiyun also revealed his identity when Guan Yu asked for him.
• Guan Hai slapped and beat Yang Yulong, then cut off his left thumb to provide proof for a ransom demand.
• Zhao Feiyun offered his little finger, but Guan Hai misunderstood him, struck him, and then decided he was too valuable to maim.
• Guan Hai told the captives their families could pay ransom for their release, claiming they had trespassed in East Sea Pirates territory by fishing there.
• When a captive asked why the pirates had not robbed Gan Ning, Guan Hai told them to ask their emperor why the pirates targeted Great Ning.

After pirates destroyed the Great Ning Navy and seized the fishing fleet, news of the defeat reached the Yang and Zhao Clans. As Yang Dongyu and Zhao Dezhu struggled to respond to reports of tens of thousands of pirates, a skull-flagged ship arrived off the coast.

• Fishermen reported that pirates had wiped out the Great Ning Navy, captured nearly three hundred fishing boats, and killed thousands of men.
• Yang Dongyu learned that Yang Yulong was among those captured, while Zhao Dezhu worried over the clans’ heavy losses.
• Yang Dongyu questioned a fisherman, who estimated that the pirates had three or four hundred ships and tens of thousands of men.
• Yang Dongyu and Zhao Dezhu abandoned plans to confront the pirates themselves and feared the fleet could threaten the Min River region.
• A guard reported that a ship flying a skull flag had arrived off the coast.

Yang Dongyu received the pirates’ ransom demands after they sent him Yang Yulong’s severed finger, then reported the destruction of the navy to the court. Li Anlan was enraged by the attack, but the pirates’ enormous fleet and tower ships left the court questioning whether Great Ning could defeat them.

• Yang Dongyu and Zhao Dezhu reached the shore and saw the pirates’ formidable warships surrounding the coast.
• Guan Hai gave Yang Dongyu a ransom demand and proof of Yang Yulong’s capture by sending him a pouch containing the young man’s severed finger.
• Yang Dongyu learned the Yang Clan owed twenty million guan and ordered ransom preparations while planning to seek imperial support for a new navy.
• An eight-hundred-li express dispatch reported that the pirates had destroyed more than six thousand naval troops, killed General Zhan Shunyu, and detained the fishing fleet.
• Li Anlan kicked over an incense burner in fury, then learned the pirates commanded tens of thousands of men, hundreds of warships, and tower ships.

Li Anlan learned that a powerful fleet of East Sea pirates had devastated Great Ning’s navy and threatened the coast, forcing him to consider how to destroy them. Tan Cheng suggested the pirates were Li Sanjiang, the Prince of Min’s hidden forces, seeking revenge for his death.

• Zhang Zinong warned Li Anlan that the pirates’ tower ships were beyond ordinary pirates’ ability to build and might signal outside support.
• Qin Li urged Great Ning to strengthen its coastal defenses after the navy suffered heavy losses and its commander fell.
• Li Anlan asked Qin Li how to eliminate the pirates, but Qin Li said an attack would be difficult unless they landed on Great Ning’s territory.
• Li Anlan questioned whether the pirates were colluding with Lin Yi, and Qin Li replied that Lin Yi’s Brocade Sail Navy had remained in port.
• Tan Cheng proposed that the pirates were Li Sanjiang’s hidden forces seeking revenge for the Prince of Min’s death, and Li Anlan recognized this as a likely explanation.

Li Anlan responded to the pirate threat by prioritizing coastal defenses, allocating a small ransom fund, and investing in the navy while suspending offshore fishing. In Xiliang, Lin Yi received the system’s rewards for the naval battle and the submission of several opponents, including Huang Gai, Gu Yong, and new ships and shipbuilding resources.

• Qin Li urged Li Anlan to strengthen security in major coastal towns, and Li Anlan approved the plan.
• Li Anlan allocated five million strings of cash toward ransoming fishermen and commoners, announced greater navy investment, and temporarily banned fishing at sea.
• Lin Yi received system notifications for defeating Zhan Shunyu and forcing Yang Yulong, Zhao Feiyun, and Zhang Fang to submit.
• Lin Yi welcomed Gu Yong’s arrival as a capable minister who could govern Sea Liang Island and help temper Guan Yu’s temperament.
• Lin Yi reviewed the naval rewards, including Huang Gai, six thousand Eastern Wu Navy troops, twenty Great Ning warships, and shipbuilding talents.

Lin Yi reviewed new naval commanders, ships, and a sea chart that strengthened Xiliang’s position against Great Ning, then agreed to meet Western Regions kings seeking his protection. The kings waited anxiously at A Restaurant, believing their small kingdoms were too insignificant for him to accept their allegiance.

• Lin Yi assessed Huang Gai, Guan Hai, the centipede ships, and the Great Ning sea chart, and saw how Xiliang’s island bases could threaten Li Anlan’s coastal plans.
• Wang Yue told Lin Yi that several Western Regions kings had invited him to A Restaurant to discuss the region’s future, and Lin Yi agreed to attend with his military adviser.
• The Western Regions kings waited at the restaurant, hoping to pledge allegiance to Xiliang and obtain its protection.
• Tu Xiu told Meng Chihu and the other kings that Lin Yi had shown little interest in his offer because Xiliang was focused on the northern barbarians and their kingdoms were too small to matter.

The six kings of the Western Regions agreed to pledge allegiance to Xiliang, hoping to escape the Frostwest Empire’s neglect and gain the protection and prosperity they had seen there. At a banquet, Tu Xiu told Lin Yi of their decision, and Lin Yi asked whether they understood that this would offend the Frostwest Empire.

• Xue Qianren proposed that several small Western Regions countries pledge allegiance together so they could offer more to Xiliang.
• Meng Chihu and the kings of the other countries agreed to submit to Xiliang, drawn by its strength and its people’s prosperity.
• After hearing that Lin Yi had arrived, the six kings went downstairs to welcome him, and the commoners gathered to greet him too.
• Lin Yi joined the kings for a banquet, where they praised his benevolence and Tu Xiu prepared to make their request.
• Tu Xiu told Lin Yi that the six countries wished to submit to Xiliang, and Lin Yi asked whether they were prepared to offend the Frostwest Empire.

Tu Xiu and the other Western Regions kings pledged their kingdoms to Lin Yi, hoping to survive Xiliang’s eventual expansion. Lin Yi accepted their submission but declared that Xiliang had no vassal states, leaving the kings shocked by the prospect of complete annexation.

• Tu Xiu knelt before Lin Yi, offered the Green Leaf Kingdom’s scepter, and pledged his kingdom as Xiliang’s vanguard.
• Tu Xiu explained that he expected Xiliang to destroy the Northern Region Barbarians and eventually conquer the Western Regions, and asked Lin Yi to spare his people and himself.
• Xue Qianren and the other Western Regions kings followed Tu Xiu’s example, offering their symbols of authority and declaring loyalty to Lin Yi.
• Jia Xu advised Lin Yi to give the kings a chance because their personal attendance showed sincerity, and Lin Yi accepted their submission.
• Lin Yi told the kings that Xiliang had no vassal states, and Jia Xu clarified that their lands and people would belong to Xiliang, leaving them stunned.

Lin Yi secured the submission of the Western Regions kingdoms by establishing the Grand Commandery of the Western Regions and appointing Jia Xu to oversee it. He then received a grand gift pack containing troops, the general Xu Chu, and cold-forged armor.

• Tu Xiu submitted the Green Leaf Kingdom to Xiliang and asked Lin Yi to let his son serve the Xiliang heir.
• Lin Yi accepted the submission, and Meng Chihu and the other kings bowed to him as well.
• Lin Yi established the Grand Commandery of the Western Regions, placed Jia Xu in temporary command, and appointed the kings as commandery governors.
• Lin Yi received one hundred thousand Qing Province Troops, Xu Chu, and cold-forged armor as rewards for securing the kingdoms' submission.
• Lin Yi returned to the Xiliang residence to examine the rewards and discovered the armor was several times stronger than ordinary chain mail.

Lin Yi summoned Xu Chu to command his personal guard and tasked Ma Jun with studying cold-forged armor for mass production. After informing his officers that the Western Regions had been organized as a grand commandery, he announced that Guan Yu had defeated the Great Ning Navy and captured hundreds of fishing boats.

• Lin Yi summoned Xu Chu, appointed him commander of the personal guard, and considered placing him in command of the Modao Battalion.
• Lin Yi showed Ma Jun information about cold-forged armor and asked him to test and improve it for mass production.
• Ma Jun agreed to study the armor and explore whether cold-forging techniques could also improve the modao.
• Lin Yi introduced Xu Chu to Xun Yu, Zhang Liao, and Gao Shun, then told them he had established the Grand Commandery of the Western Regions.
• Zhang Liao and Gongsun Zan urged harsh action against the Western Regions, but Lin Yi said the region was settled for now under Pang De and Jia Xu.
• Lin Yi announced that Guan Yu had defeated six thousand Great Ning Navy troops, killed commander Zhan Shunyu, and captured more than three hundred fishing boats.

Lin Yi’s disguised pirate force under Guan Yu had destroyed Great Ning’s newly formed navy, leaving Li Anlan to defend its coastline. Lin Yi then worried that Tuoba Wanli might exploit the winter snow to retake Ziwu Road and decided to keep pressure on Great Ning by holding Yang Yulong for ransom.

• Lin Yi’s officials praised Guan Yu’s defeat of the Great Ning Navy and recognized that Sea Liang Island gave Xiliang a way to threaten Great Ning’s coast.
• Lin Yi asked Wang Yue about Tuoba Wanli’s movements and ordered Ma Chao to watch for an attack on Ziwu Road.
• Xun Yu warned that Tuoba Wanli might try to seize the route during the heavy snowfall, and Gongsun Zan promised to rush to Ma Chao’s aid if needed.
• Lin Yi ordered that Yang Yulong not be released without a sufficient ransom, and Wang Yue reported that Li Anlan had offered only five million taels and planned to make the great clans pay the rest.

Princess Shenle explained that Li Anlan’s purges had left him a lonely sovereign, while Lin Yi prepared to leave Xiliang and pursue his plans. In Yulong City, Tuoba Wanli warned that Xiliang’s rise and its control of Tuoba Yu’s former territory threatened the Northern Barbarians, especially if Northern Liang joined an attack.

• Cai Yan asked Princess Shenle what she thought of Li Anlan’s seizure of power and his coming move against Lin Yi, and Shenle said he had alienated the imperial clan and risked empowering Great Ning’s great clans.
• Lin Yi praised Princess Shenle’s insight, joked about her becoming empress, and announced that he and his companions would prepare to leave Xiliang Commandery the next day.
• Lin Yi considered expanding his maritime territory while the Northern Barbarians’ mountain passes were closed by snow, and planned to meet the Little Human Butcher.
• In Yulong City, Tuoba Wanli summoned his sons and the lesser titled kings and told them that Lin Yi’s hundred thousand troops guarded Ziwu Road and Xiliang controlled Tuoba Yu’s former territory.
• The assembled Northern Barbarian leaders warned that Xiliang and Northern Liang could threaten them together, noting Lin Yi’s military strength and the danger of their central gateway being exposed.

Tuoba Wanli’s court debated how to face the threat of Lin Rusong and Lin Yi’s combined forces, and he ordered preparations at Wind and Snow City while secretly planning for a possible retreat. He left his sons with instructions to fight if they could win but withdraw if the war turned against them.

• Tuoba Wanli and his court judged that the Northern Barbarians could not risk fighting Lin Rusong and Lin Yi alone, so he ordered an envoy to pressure Li Anlan into joining them.
• Tuoba Wanli appointed Yelü Dafeng to raise a hundred thousand troops and defend Wind and Snow City, with his three sons assigned to support the front.
• After the court dispersed, Tuoba Qingshan questioned why all three brothers had been assigned away from their father, and Tuoba Wanli explained that they were to preserve supplies and keep a path to retreat open.
• Tuoba Wanli told his sons that they should fight if victory remained possible but withdraw immediately if the situation turned against them.

On Great Wilderness Island, Guan Yu grew tired of Great Ning's delays in paying the hostages' ransom and ordered an attack to make the coastal authorities fear him. His six-thousand-man force reached Hanhai County as its residents faced a ban on fishing, and the chapter ended with stones crashing through the town's barricade and warships launching a barrage.

• Guan Yu and Guan Hai inspected Great Wilderness Island and discussed the expense of feeding and supplying their prisoners.
• After learning that Great Ning was still raising ransom money, Guan Yu ordered preparations to attack a city and chose a small county near the Min River as his target.
• Guan Yu selected six thousand men, small warships, and siege crossbows for the raid on Hanhai County.
• County Commandant Zhou Dayou defended the fishing ban to angry residents and told them to complain to the emperor.
• A huge stone smashed through the barricade, revealing Guan Yu's warships outside as a barrage of stones flew toward Hanhai County.

Guan Yu and Guan Hai’s forces overwhelmed Hanhai County’s defenders, seized the county office, and began confiscating wealth while sparing the common people. The chapter ended with the county magistrate captured carrying gold and silver, as Guan Hai accused him of exploiting the people.

• Zhou Dayou fled to the county magistrate’s defensive line, where the magistrate ordered him to hold position and rode off to seek reinforcements.
• Guan Yu’s archers routed the defenders, and Zhou Dayou and his men fled as Guan Hai led the assault into the county office.
• Guan Yu told civilians to surrender and promised not to harm the poor, then took control of the county office without civilian casualties.
• Guan Yu ordered his men to seal the town, arrest wealthy merchants and landlords from a list, and open the county granary while taking only half.
• Scouts captured the county magistrate as he tried to escape with gold and silver, and Guan Hai accused him of preying on the people.

Guan Yu killed the corrupt county magistrate, gave local commoners grain and permission to fish under the East Sea flag, and declared that his men would not harm ordinary people. After capturing the county commandant Zhou Dayou, Guan Yu stopped Guan Hai from killing him and arranged to give him a chance to survive.

• Guan Yu killed the county magistrate for abandoning the people and ordered his men to hurry back with their spoils.
• Commoners asked to join the pirates, but Guan Yu refused and instead offered them grain and a chance to fish under the East Sea flag.
• Guan Yu told the crowd that his men would not attack ordinary people and explained that they targeted corrupt officials and oppressors.
• Eastern Wu soldiers brought back the captured county commandant Zhou Dayou, who begged for his life after Guan Hai confronted him.
• Guan Yu whispered instructions to Guan Hai, who told Zhou Dayou that he would be given a chance to survive.