Recaps

Lin Yi prepared for his move to Xiliang and gave Ma Chao The Legacy of Wumu to study. Meanwhile, Wang Ziwen defended Lin Yi’s purge of officials and ordered it to continue, declaring that not enough people had been killed.

• Lin Yi told Jia Xu to arrange supplies for the move to Xiliang, with Han Song assisting him.
• Lin Yi gave Ma Chao The Legacy of Wumu, and Ma Chao vowed to study it and help defeat the Northern Region barbarians.
• Jia Xu warned Lin Yi to keep the military strategy book secret, and Lin Yi agreed to restrict it to his trusted people.
• Officials asked Wang Ziwen to restrain Lin Yi, but Wang Ziwen defended the heir’s killings as justified after the assassination attempt.
• Wang Ziwen handed the officials a list and ordered the purge to continue, saying Lin Yi had not killed enough people.

Wang Ziwen ordered another purge to protect Northern Liang’s reputation after the attempt on Lin Yi, striking at forces tied to the Ran Clan. Huang Yuntao learned the purge also foiled Ran Zijin’s plans, while recognizing that the prince’s patience with the Ran Clan was nearly exhausted.

• Wang Ziwen defended a new purge by warning that an attack on the heir could make Northern Liang seem weak to the Northern Region’s barbarians and the Western Regions.
• Wang Ziwen assigned Xu Zhong to lead the purge with his thirty thousand soldiers, prompting Ran Zijin to leave furiously after finding his businesses and Lin Rusong’s gangs on the list.
• Wang Ziwen and Huang Yuntao discussed the purge, and Huang Yuntao admitted the heir’s earlier crackdown had benefited him as governor of Yongzhou.
• Huang Yuntao learned Wang Ziwen had targeted gangs backed by the prince to foil the Ran Clan’s counterattack, and he concluded the prince would eventually move against the Ran Clan.

Ran Chao told Ran Zijin that he had sold the abandoned Baiyuan Commandery mine to Lin Yi’s man, Zhang Long, for twenty thousand taels, unaware that its salt was poisonous. As Ran Zijin planned to use the sale against Lin Yi, an assassin attacked the Ran residence and wounded Ran Chao, leaving Ran Zijin facing the intruder.

• Ran Zijin smashed a jade tiger and complained about Wang Ziwen’s return and renewed purge.
• Ran Chao told Ran Zijin he had sold the abandoned mine in Baiyuan Commandery to Zhang Long for twenty thousand taels.
• Ran Zijin realized the mine’s salt was poisonous and ordered Ran Chao to watch Lin Yi’s residence for any attempt to sell it.
• Ran Chao noticed someone outside and called out, but an arrow struck him in the abdomen.
• A black-clad assassin entered the room, and Ran Zijin tried to reason with the intruder as he approached.

Ran Zijin survived an assassination attempt but was left gravely wounded, while Lin Yi relaxed at Wafting Fragrance Pavilion and learned that a vast salt mine had been found. The discovery promised to solve his shortage of funds and support his plans for Northern Liang.

• A black-clad assassin wounded Ran Zijin and fled when the Ran Clan guards arrived.
• News of Ran Zijin’s grave condition spread through Northern Liang City, where people mocked the troubled Ran Clan.
• Lin Yi visited Wafting Fragrance Pavilion with Jia Xu, who told him they had run out of money after Lin Yi’s father took most of their profits.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu reported that they had found a salt mine large enough to supply Northern Liang for a lifetime.
• Lin Yi recognized the mine’s potential to fund recruitment, weapons research, and provisions for his army.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu bought Lin Yi a salt mine in Baiyuan Commandery, but Jia Xu discovered that the Ran Clan had sold them a poisonous deposit to ruin Lin Yi’s reputation. Lin Yi brushed off the loss, impressing Jia Xu and triggering a system reward as the chapter ended.

• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu presented Lin Yi with the deed to the Ran Clan’s abandoned mine in Baiyuan Commandery, which they had bought for twenty thousand taels of silver.
• Jia Xu checked his records and warned Lin Yi that the mine contained poisonous salt and that the Ran Clan had sold it to frame him.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu knelt in alarm, while Jia Xu vowed inwardly to punish the Ran Clan for scheming against Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi laughed off the loss and said the Ran Clan would regret its actions in the future.
• Jia Xu knelt in admiration, and the system rewarded Lin Yi for subduing him with one thousand Flying Bear Army soldiers and one hundred top-grade Blue Pigeons.

Lin Yi revealed that he could purify the poisonous salt from the Ran Clan’s mine and entrusted Jia Xu with guarding and managing it. After hearing people praise his cleanup of Northern Liang City, Lin Yi watched Zhang Long and Zhao Hu compete to flatter him.

• Zhang Long offered to have Ran Chao killed, but Lin Yi refused to retaliate over the attempted scheme.
• Lin Yi explained that he could purify the poisonous salt and turn the Ran Clan’s mine into a vast source of wealth.
• Lin Yi ordered Jia Xu to guard the mine and manage the salt production using his method.
• Lin Yi overheard people at the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion praising his recent actions and the safer streets of Northern Liang City.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu praised Lin Yi’s virtues and compared his accomplishments to the founding of Northern Liang.

Lin Yi gained Ma Chao’s loyalty and five thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry, then reunited with Wang Zitao at the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion. Wang Zitao was relieved that Lin Yi still seemed like his old friend, but hesitated after saying they were good brothers.

• Zhao Hu and Zhang Long praised Lin Yi, while Ma Chao privately admired his leadership and generosity.
• Lin Yi received a system reward of five thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry after Ma Chao accepted him as the best lord.
• Lin Yi welcomed Wang Zitao, who said his father had praised Lin Yi for changing and was glad to see him at the pavilion.
• Lin Yi explained that he had struck back after someone tried to assassinate him, and Wang Zitao approved of his response.
• Wang Zitao said they were good brothers, then hesitated as though he had come to ask Lin Yi for something.

After Wang Zitao asked whether Lin Yi had arranged the attack on the Ran father and son, Lin Yi denied it while Wang Zitao celebrated their misfortune and treated everyone. At the chief steward’s residence, Xu Zhong concluded that Lin Yi had sent the assassin, and Wang Ziwen felt proud that the heir had finally shown his strength.

• Wang Zitao told Lin Yi and the others that Ran Zijin was unconscious and Ran Chao had been shot with an arrow, then asked whether Lin Yi was responsible.
• Lin Yi denied arranging the attack, while Wang Zitao hinted that he was glad the Ran Clan had been harmed and offered to pay everyone’s bill.
• Wang Ziwen asked Xu Zhong whether he had attacked the Ran father and son, and Xu Zhong denied it.
• Xu Zhong identified Ma Chao and Wang Yue as Lin Yi’s powerful allies and reasoned that the restrained attack was likely the heir’s warning and retaliation.
• Wang Ziwen concluded that Lin Yi had arranged the attack and felt relieved and proud that the heir had grown up.

Lin Yi learned that Wang Yue had severely wounded Ran Zijin and brought back money taken from Ran Chao, then rewarded him with the Heaven-Relying Sword. Wang Yue’s renewed admiration earned Lin Yi a card granting Lü Bu’s full strength and hundreds of Cao Cao’s personal guards.

• Wang Yue reported that he had struck Ran Zijin one fen from the heart, leaving him severely wounded, and presented Lin Yi with nearly twenty thousand taels taken from Ran Chao.
• Lin Yi gave Wang Yue the Heaven-Relying Sword, and Wang Yue vowed to protect him with his life.
• The system rewarded Lin Yi with a Young Lü Bu Equipment Card, which he activated to gain Lü Bu’s full strength.
• Wang Yue mistook Lin Yi’s sudden transformation for an epiphany and grew even more admiring of him.
• The system awarded Lin Yi hundreds of Cao Cao’s personal guards as Wang Yue’s admiration rose.

Lin Yi learned that Xiliang was a contested border city where the Northern Region barbarians, Great Ning, and Northern Liang maintained a fragile balance, and realized his father had made conquering it his final test as heir. He prepared to take charge there, confident that his advantages would let him establish a stronghold, while awaiting the money promised by refining salt.

• Wang Yue reported that Xiliang was small but strategically important, crowded with armed groups and claimed by three suspicious powers.
• Lin Yi explained that his father had sent him to Xiliang to test whether he could inherit the title of Prince of Northern Liang.
• Lin Yi pointed out that Xiliang lay east of Northern Liang and concluded that conquering the east would make it Eastern Liang, explaining its name.
• Wang Yue praised Lin Yi’s abilities, and Lin Yi grew confident that he could take Xiliang and use it as a base against the barbarians and Great Ning.
• Lin Yi told Wang Yue to prepare for their move to Xiliang and keep watch on the salt mine that Zhang Long and Zhao Hu had bought from the Ran Clan.

Lin Yi’s saltworks succeeded in producing pure premium salt, and he moved quickly to challenge the Ran Clan’s hold on Northern Liang’s salt market. As Jia Xu prepared to sell the salt cheaply to the public, crowds gathered outside the new shop, Benefit to All Under Heaven.

• Lin Yi learned that his father’s purge had brought in more than two hundred thousand strings of cash and considered the threat posed by Tuoba Yu’s nearly hundred-thousand-strong army in Xiliang.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu announced that they had successfully removed the poison from the salt, and Lin Yi rewarded them with one thousand taels each.
• Lin Yi ordered Jia Xu to take the new salt to market and find someone to manage its sale.
• Jia Xu promised the saltworks workers triple wages, and they rapidly produced premium salt for Northern Liang’s market.
• People flocked to Benefit to All Under Heaven, where Jia Xu explained that Lin Yi was selling the salt cheaply as a benefit to the people.

Lin Yi’s premium refined salt earned Benefit to All Under Heaven more than ten thousand strings of coins in its first day, while Jia Xu and Ma Chao discussed how to use the profits. Wang Ziwen learned that Lin Yi had bought the Ran Clan’s poisonous salt mine and wondered whether to intervene.

• Jia Xu had Zhang Long and Zhao Hu present Lin Yi’s premium refined salt, and the cheering crowd rushed to buy it.
• Benefit to All Under Heaven earned more than ten thousand strings of coins in one day, astonishing Jia Xu.
• Ma Chao asked Lin Yi to fund better provisions so he could strengthen the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and Lin Yi agreed to hand him the first batch of profits.
• Wang Ziwen learned that Lin Yi had bought the Ran Clan’s poisonous salt mine and asked whether they should intervene.

Ran Chao learned that Lin Yi’s cheap refined salt had devastated the Ran Clan’s salt trade and believed it came from the poison salt mine. He laughed at the news, convinced Lin Yi had exposed himself to public outrage.

• Wang Ziwen warned a scout against coveting the heir’s businesses, then secretly ordered a man in black to deal with him for betraying his master.
• Wang Ziwen read the intelligence report and praised the heir’s efforts to help Northern Liang’s common people, seeing him as a worthy successor.
• Ran Chao, still recovering from his injuries, worried that his father Ran Zijin had not awakened and was handed a pile of account books to review.
• A messenger told Ran Chao that Lin Yi’s refined salt had driven the Ran Clan from the market by selling for less than coarse salt.
• Ran Chao heard that Lin Yi’s salt supposedly came from the Ran Clan’s poison salt mine and laughed, believing Lin Yi had brought disaster upon himself.

After Lin Yi’s refined salt ruined the Ran Clan’s salt business, Ran Chao learned that Lin Yi had made poisonous salt safe and fainted in fury. Lin Yi set aside plans to confront the Ran Clan and prepared to leave for Xiliang, where he would build his own power.

• Ran Chao ordered an investigation into Lin Yi’s salt and faced complaints from Ran Clan shopkeepers whose businesses were losing customers.
• Ran Chao learned that Lin Yi could treat poisonous salt, realized the mine was a vast source of wealth, and spat blood before fainting.
• Lin Yi laughed at Ran Chao’s misfortune and said he would focus on promoting his salt rather than fighting the Ran Clan for now.
• Lin Yi announced his intention to go to Xiliang, and Han Song said he could not accompany him from his post as commander of the residence’s guards.
• Wang Ziwen gave Lin Yi captured weapons and equipment for nearly fifty thousand men and warned him that Xiliang’s people and barbarians were dangerous.
• Lin Yi assured Wang Ziwen that he would make Xiliang his own and rule it with strength.

Lin Yi prepared to leave Northern Liang for his post in Xiliang, sharing a heartfelt farewell with Wang Ziwen and giving him a precious ginseng root. To evade hostile forces, Lin Yi departed secretly at midnight while Ma Chao led a decoy group along the main road toward Xiliang.

• Lin Yi asked Wang Ziwen about Lin Rusong’s health, then gave Wang Ziwen one of two rare ginseng roots and sent the other for his father.
• Wang Ziwen accepted the gift after Lin Yi called him family, and the two exchanged advice and farewells.
• Lin Yi declined a public send-off because hostile forces were gathering information about him and he wanted to catch them off guard.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to prepare the departure, while Wang Yue reported that Jia Xu had arranged the route and guards.
• At midnight, Ma Chao led a decoy party along the main road as Lin Yi disguised himself as a wealthy merchant’s son and took a faster side road toward Dayu Pass.

Li Anlan considered Lin Rusong’s request to appoint Lin Yi governor of Xiliang and suspected the Prince of Northern Liang was sending his heir to be tempered. After the ministers debated the request, Li Anlan approved it, leaving Lin Yi free to try to establish himself in Xiliang.

• Li Anlan dismissed Lin Rusong’s request to give Lin Yi control of Xiliang and discussed the dangers with Wei Tong.
• Li Anlan summoned the ministers to debate whether Lin Yi could build another Northern Liang.
• Tan Cheng denounced Lin Rusong’s plan as rebellious, while Qin Li argued that Lin Rusong had acted within his rights because Xiliang covered only two or three counties.
• Li Anlan ruled that Lin Yi could give it a try, prompting Lu Yafu to anticipate renewed turmoil in Northern Liang.

Zhuo Feifan gathered Xiliang’s powerful clans to form an alliance against Lin Yi, warning them of his bloody reputation and arguing that Northern Liang meant to absorb the commandery. Duan Yingxiong questioned the wisdom of provoking the Prince of Northern Liang, but Zhuo Feifan claimed Lin Yi had only a little over a thousand men and was being tested by his father.

• Zhuo Feifan told the assembled clans that Lin Yi had slaughtered more than thirty forces in Northern Liang City and even killed members of the Heavenly Eagle Guard.
• Zhuo Feifan argued that Northern Liang’s creation of Xiliang Commandery suggested the prince intended to build another power there and subdue the local clans.
• Duan Yingxiong warned that opposing Lin Yi could enrage the Prince of Northern Liang, whose forces could destroy them.
• Zhuo Feifan revealed that the twenty thousand Northern Liang troops had withdrawn, leaving only an old man in Xiliang, while Lin Yi approached with just over a thousand men.
• Zhuo Feifan said the withdrawn troops were camped at the edge of Xiliang Commandery and suggested Lin Rusong had left them there to temper Lin Yi.

Duan Yingxiong learned that Lin Yi’s organization, Net, had been watching the leaders of Dayu Pass, making him fear that the proposed alliance was a trap. When Lin Yi heard about the alliance, he chose to win its members over rather than rush to kill them.

• Zhuo Feifan urged the leaders of Dayu Pass to form an alliance against Lin Yi and hinted that he wanted to lead it.
• Duan Yingxiong questioned Wang Chengfei, who revealed that Lin Yi’s organization, Net, had placed people around Dayu Pass.
• Duan Yu suggested naming the alliance the Lion-Slaying Alliance, and Duan Yingxiong struck him and warned that killing Lin Yi could provoke the Prince of Northern Liang.
• Duan Yingxiong dragged Duan Yu away, while Zhuo Feifan watched them and grew thoughtful.
• Lin Yi heard about the alliance and told Wang Yue not to kill its members, saying they should win people over with virtue.

Lin Yi entered Xiliang Commandery and ordered his forces to crush the bandits and other threats amid the region’s chaos. As his caravan pressed toward the governor’s residence, flames rose from a nearby bandit lair, signaling that his campaign had begun.

• Lin Yi gave Jia Xu responsibility for governing Xiliang Commandery and handed him a stack of documents.
• In White Monkey County, residents warned Lin Yi that bandits preyed on the people, and Wang Yue lamented their plight.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to eliminate bandits within a hundred li, assigned Jia Xu to coordinate the operation, and told him to act on the Net’s list.
• Lin Yi ordered Ma Chao to clear bandits along the route and hurried toward the governor’s residence.
• After Lin Yi’s caravan left White Monkey County, residents saw flames and heard battle cries near a bandit lair.

After Lin Yi’s forces wiped out the mountain bandits, Xiliang’s people learned that the young man they had met was the Prince of Northern Liang’s heir and hoped he would protect them. Lin Yi received nearly twenty thousand Yellow Turban troops, Zhou Cang, and sweet potatoes, then arrived at a dilapidated governor’s residence and arranged for the retiring old general to return safely to Northern Liang City.

• The villagers found the bandits dead and a Xiliang banner, realized Lin Yi had sent his men to save them, and worried that people plotting against him might destroy their newfound hope.
• Lin Yi received rewards for wiping out the bandits, including nearly twenty thousand Yellow Turban troops, the general Zhou Cang, and ten thousand jin of sweet potatoes.
• The system told Lin Yi that most of the Yellow Turban troops were barely stronger than ordinary civilians, so he planned to train some and use the rest to farm.
• Lin Yi arrived at the dilapidated governor’s residence and learned from the old general that construction on his new residence had stopped when troops were reassigned.
• The old general said he would return to Northern Liang City after nearly twenty years guarding the commandery, and Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to escort him safely.

Wang Ziwen told Lin Rusong about Lin Yi’s achievements and delivered gifts from him: a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root and The Legacy of Wumu, a military treatise that could help Northern Liang counter the Northern Region barbarians. After Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen studied the book, Lin Rusong revealed that he had secured Lin Yi’s appointment as commandery governor but failed to obtain Great Ning’s territory.

• Wang Ziwen described Lin Yi’s actions in Xiliang Commandery, astonishing Lin Rusong with his son’s transformation.
• Wang Ziwen gave Lin Rusong a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root from Lin Yi, then revealed that he had received one as well.
• Wang Ziwen handed Lin Rusong The Legacy of Wumu, and Lin Rusong praised its strategies for defeating the Northern Region barbarians.
• Lin Rusong let Wang Ziwen study the book and explained that he had secured Lin Yi’s commandery-governor position, but Emperor Li Anlan had refused to cede Great Ning’s territory.
• Lin Rusong said he had presented Li Anlan with two choices so the emperor could reject the land request while confirming Lin Yi’s appointment.

Lin Rusong learned that Lin Yi had wiped out more than thirty bandit strongholds in Xiliang Commandery, alarming the factions there and prompting him to send Yi Yun to watch over his son. The people celebrated Lin Yi’s campaign, while those preparing to oppose him were shocked by his sudden attack.

• Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen discussed the emperor’s suspicion of Northern Liang and the possibility of supporting Lin Yi if he strengthened Xiliang.
• A messenger reported that Lin Yi’s forces had destroyed more than thirty strongholds near White Monkey County, alarming Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen.
• Lin Rusong ordered Yi Yun to go to Xiliang Commandery and intervene only if Lin Yi faced certain death.
• News of the campaign spread through Xiliang, where common people praised Lin Yi for clearing the bandits from the region.
• The factions preparing to unite against Lin Yi were stunned by his attack.

Zhuo Feifan realized Lin Yi had secretly arranged the destruction of more than thirty mountain strongholds, while Wang Chengfei and Duan Yingxiong sought to submit to him. Lin Yi reassured Haitang that he could defeat the gathered factions, then learned that twenty or thirty thousand men had surrounded them and wondered if their leader was Zhou Cang.

• Zhuo Feifan blamed his scouts for misreporting Lin Yi’s movements and warned his allies to investigate Lin Yi and recent strangers in Xiliang Commandery.
• Wang Chengfei recalled submitting to Lin Yi’s white-clad cavalry and the Net, and Duan Yingxiong asked him to arrange an introduction so the Duan Clan could serve Lin Yi.
• Wang Chengfei warned Duan Yingxiong to keep their submission secret because Lin Yi might intend to catch all the factions in one net.
• Haitang warned Lin Yi that more than fifty thousand opponents and their backers posed a serious danger, but Lin Yi said they were only rabble.
• The old general reported that twenty or thirty thousand men had surrounded Lin Yi’s group, and Lin Yi asked whether their leader was a dark-skinned man named Zhou Cang.

Lin Yi welcomed Zhou Cang and thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers, while Jia Xu secretly stirred the townspeople to join them by portraying Lin Yi as Xiliang’s hope. Lin Yi then announced that he had obtained sweet potatoes and potatoes capable of producing enormous harvests, and the crowd reacted with astonishment.

• The old general and Haitang learned that Zhou Cang’s men had come to join Lin Yi, and Lin Yi recognized them as the Yellow Turban soldiers Jia Xu commanded.
• Zhou Cang knelt before Lin Yi with his followers and pledged to protect Xiliang, while Jia Xu disguised among them urged people to follow Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi praised the people’s trust and promised to help them eat their fill, prompting townspeople to kneel and join him.
• Zhou Cang offered Lin Yi his life and service, and Lin Yi considered putting the Yellow Turban soldiers to work rather than wasting them in battle.
• Lin Yi revealed that an immortal had given him sweet potatoes and potatoes that could yield up to eight thousand jin per mu, astonishing Zhou Cang and the old general.

Lin Yi secured White Asura’s help in cultivating the high-yield crop, then learned that Zhuo Feifan had sent a spy to watch him. He prepared to strike Zhuo Feifan once Ma Chao arrived, while remaining curious about the powerful backer behind the clan leader.

• The people of Xiliang Commandery eagerly offered to help Lin Yi grow the high-yield crop, and White Asura agreed to stay and assist.
• Wang Yue revealed that the old farmer was White Asura, a trusted aide of Lin Rusong and a feared former vanguard commander.
• Wang Yue caught a spy near the governor’s residence and had him interrogated until he identified Zhuo Feifan as the person who sent him.
• Lin Yi reviewed intelligence on Xiliang’s three great clans, crossed Zhuo Feifan’s name off the list, and considered how to handle Wang Chengfei and Duan Yingxiong.
• Lin Yi told Wang Yue they would wipe out Zhuo Feifan after Ma Chao arrived, using the victory to establish his rules in Xiliang.