Recaps

Emperor Muren brought Yamata Nation’s final two hundred thousand soldiers to confront Yu Jin, while secretly planning to seize Great Liang’s warships and flee overseas. He and Baichuan Yuren faced the battlefield’s devastation knowing the gap between Yamata Nation and Great Liang was overwhelming, but resolved to survive and seek revenge.

• Muren rejected surrender and announced that he would personally attack Yu Jin while ordering Jingbian Yilang to hold the front.
• Jingbian Yilang agreed to defend the front but privately planned to surrender if Muren failed to return.
• Muren led his final two hundred thousand soldiers to the battlefield, where the destruction and slaughter made him retch.
• Baichuan Yuren urged Muren to return to the palace, but Muren explained that he intended to defeat Yu Jin, seize Great Liang’s warships, and escape overseas.
• Muren admitted Yamata Nation could not match Great Liang and vowed to survive so he could take revenge; Baichuan Yuren agreed to fight Yu Jin.

Yu Jin’s cannons and the allied troops of Great Flow Nation and Lesser Flow Nation crushed Yamata Nation’s desperate assault. Surrounded and defeated, Emperor Muren faced capture or death as Yamata Nation’s fall became inevitable.

• Muren sent Baichuan Yuren to investigate and destroy Great Liang’s explosive weapons while he led Yamata Nation’s army in a last charge.
• Cai Yinghao and Ying Fei identified Muren for Yu Jin and declared that Great Flow Nation and Lesser Flow Nation intended to submit to Great Liang.
• Yu Jin ordered the red-clad cannons to fire, devastating Yamata Nation’s advancing soldiers.
• Cai Yinghao, Ying Fei, and Great Liang’s troops charged, shattering Yamata Nation’s morale and surrounding Muren.
• Yu Jin offered Muren the choice of being captured alive or having his head taken to Great Liang’s emperor.

Cornered by Great Liang’s forces, Emperor Muren tried to save his life by surrendering to Great Emperor Zhenwu. Great Liang agreed to take him to Yong'an City for judgment, but Baichuan Yuren attacked him and was killed by Ran Min.

• Emperor Muren asked Baichuan Yuren whether they could escape, but Baichuan said Great Liang’s forces had them surrounded.
• Muren unfurled a scroll bearing Lin Yi’s portrait, knelt before it, and offered to travel to Yong'an City to apologize and surrender.
• Cai Yinghao and Ying Fei urged Great Liang to punish Muren and pledged their nations to Great Liang.
• Sun Jian said Muren would be taken to Yong'an City to answer for Yamata Nation’s actions, then ordered guards to seize him.
• Baichuan Yuren kicked Muren aside and tried to kill him, but Ran Min parried the attack and killed Baichuan Yuren.

After Great Liang conquered the Yamata Nation, Sun Jian ordered a purge of those who resisted and seized its royal treasury and silver-mine map. Lin Yi received system rewards for the conquest, including Qi Jiguang and his army, Hai Rui, maritime assets, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron.

• Sun Jian rejected Muren’s plea to spare the Yamata Nation and blamed him for provoking Great Liang; the people turned against Muren.
• Sun Jian ordered Great Liang’s forces to kill those who resisted and clear Iai Island before expanding outward.
• Sun Jian’s troops opened the royal treasury and found a map of the Yamata Nation’s silver mines, which Sun Jian ordered them to survey.
• Lin Yi received system rewards for destroying the Yamata Nation, killing Jingbian Yilang, and occupying 4,532 islands.
• Lin Yi saw that the rewards included Qi Jiguang and 300,000 Qi Family Army soldiers, Hai Rui, maritime assets, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron.

Lin Yi summoned Qi Jiguang to strengthen Great Liang’s military ahead of its war with the Zhennan Dynasty and learned about the Qi Family Army’s weapons. He introduced Qi Jiguang’s bird musket to Ma Jun and the ministers, preparing to demonstrate it.

• Lin Yi praised Qi Jiguang’s military record and weapon-making expertise, especially the Crouching Tiger Cannon, as valuable to Great Liang.
• Lin Yi summoned Qi Jiguang, who pledged his service to the emperor.
• Qi Jiguang explained that most of the Qi Family Army used cold weapons, while a thousand-man cavalry unit carried bird muskets and the army possessed nearly a hundred Crouching Tiger Cannons.
• Lin Yi examined Qi Jiguang’s bird musket and asked Zhao Gao to bring a target, Ma Jun, and several senior ministers.
• Lin Yi presented the bird musket as a gunpowder weapon and prototype of future weapons, exciting the gathered officials.

Lin Yi and his commanders tested Qi Jiguang’s matchlock musket and hand cannon, finding the musket powerful but slow to reload and the hand cannon devastating at close range. Lin Yi considered equipping specialized troops with hand cannons, though their slow loading still required a mixed force.

• Qi Jiguang fired the matchlock musket at fifty and one hundred paces, piercing the armored target, but its accuracy and penetration failed at two hundred paces.
• Guo Jia, Gongsun Zan, and Qi Jiguang judged the musket’s slow reloading unsuitable for head-on battles despite its simpler training.
• Lin Yi asked Qi Jiguang whether he had a hand cannon and proposed using it for close-range attacks.
• Qi Jiguang fired the hand cannon at twenty paces, blasting apart the central target and riddling nearby targets with shot.
• Qu Yi and Gao Shun saw the hand cannon’s potential for their troops, while Ma Jun suggested mixing hand cannons with bows and crossbows to cover reloading time.

Lin Yi assigned Ma Jun to develop the bird musket and reviewed his rewards, including Hai Rui, a Super Nautical Chart, Divine Dragon transport ships, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron. News of Great Liang’s conquest of the Yamata Nation reached the Min River, prompting coastal residents to celebrate and seek revenge for past attacks.

• Lin Yi praised the bird musket’s close-range power and assigned Ma Jun to improve it with Qi Jiguang’s help.
• Lin Yi considered appointing Hai Rui to the Shannan Area Command, then examined rewards that included a Super Nautical Chart, ten Divine Dragon transport ships, a super shipyard, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron.
• Lin Yi gave the Super Nautical Chart to Guo Jia, and Jia Xu and the others studied its routes and islands.
• A victory messenger reached the Min River with news that Great Liang had captured the Yamata Nation and its emperor after defeating its million-strong army.
• Coastal residents celebrated the victory and some prepared to sail to the Yamata Nation to vent their anger over the ronin’s past raids.

After Great Liang annihilated Yamata Nation and occupied its royal capital, its people celebrated while foreign envoys feared that Lin Yi would turn his attention west. Jiumosong approached the Frostwest Empire delegation to discuss an alliance against the looming threat.

• Li Yifeng celebrated Yamata Nation’s defeat on the Min River coast and reflected on the emperor’s mercy toward him.
• News of Great Liang’s victory reached Yong'an City, where the people cheered and praised Lin Yi.
• Ashley realized the Frostwest Empire might be Great Liang’s next target and urged his delegation to report home and reconsider its plans for Princess Anne.
• Ashley and Jiumosong recognized that their countries faced danger if they did not cooperate.
• Jiumosong went to the Frostwest Empire delegation to seek an alliance for the Zhennan Dynasty.

After Great Liang destroyed Yamata Nation, Lin Yi heard the victory report and examined a drawing of the island nation’s supposed divine beast. He recognized it as an unusually large octopus and laughed, while the court considered the kingdom’s defeat and Great Liang’s plans to expand eastward.

• Hao Yun arrived at court with confirmation that Great Liang had won, and Lin Yi ordered a chair for the exhausted messenger.
• Hao Yun described Yamata Nation’s origins on Eight Gods Island and presented a drawing of its supposed divine beast.
• Lin Yi saw the drawing and laughed, recognizing the beast as a giant octopus rather than a divine creature.
• Xun Yu and Jia Xu discussed Yamata Nation’s destruction and the relief of having no more eastern threat.
• Lin Yi explained to Cao Cao that the so-called divine beast was merely an unusually large sea creature.

After Great Liang crushed the Yamata Nation, Zhao Zhong impeached Sun Jian and Ran Min for the slaughter, prompting the generals and ministers to defend them. Lin Yi justified the deaths as the result of the Yamata Nation’s choice to fight to the last, and threatened to control what future histories could say.

• Lin Yi read Hao Yun’s report that the Yamata Nation had been defeated and its remaining people were being made to dig pits under supervision.
• Zhao Zhong, a history compiler selected through Great Liang’s trial Imperial Examination, impeached Sun Jian and Ran Min for killing too many people and tarnishing Great Liang’s reputation.
• Cao Cao kicked Zhao Zhong, and Zhang Fei punched him after condemning his objections to battlefield killing.
• Gongsun Zan restrained Zhang Fei, while Xun Yu defended Sun Jian and Ran Min as having merely killed too many in war.
• Zhao Zhong challenged Lin Yi over the million deaths, and Lin Yi said the Yamata Nation had chosen to fight to the last, so Sun Jian and Ran Min had merely fulfilled its people’s loyalty and righteousness.

Lin Yi and the court officials reframed Great Liang’s destruction of the Yamata Nation as a hard-fought victory against a tenacious enemy, then silenced Zhao Zhong’s objections. Lin Yi spared Zhao Zhong but ordered stricter reasoning tests for future Imperial Examination candidates, leaving Zhao isolated as the court glared at him.

• Lin Yi, Cao Cao, and Xun Yu portrayed the Yamata Nation as tenacious and Great Liang as victorious rather than guilty of slaughtering innocents.
• Zhao Zhong looked to Yang Xiu for support, but Yang Xiu refused to side with him.
• Zhang Fei stepped on Zhao Zhong’s foot and claimed it was an accident, while Gongsun Zan and others backed his account.
• Lin Yi ended the dispute, and Cao Cao and Huang Zhong insisted that Zhao Zhong had merely exchanged blows with them.
• Lin Yi forgave Zhao Zhong but announced that Imperial Examination candidates would need to pass a screening for logical and dialectical reasoning.
• Zhao Zhong swallowed his objections after seeing the officials and even some of his fellow appointees glare at him.

Lin Yi sent Zhao Zhong to the Zhennan Dynasty after Zhao pledged to practice winning people over with virtue, while Yang Xiu impressed the court with a poem praising the emperor. Lin Yi renamed the Yamata Nation Inside-the-Well Commandery and announced plans for maritime expansion, promising to share ocean profits with his ministers.

• Zhao Zhong admitted his fault, and Lin Yi ordered him to accompany Qi Jiguang to the Zhennan Dynasty as a test of his principles.
• Yang Xiu praised Lin Yi's magnanimity and recited a poem celebrating the emperor, astonishing Zhang Fei and Zhao Zhong.
• Lin Yi declared that the Yamata Nation would become Inside-the-Well Commandery and serve as Great Liang's naval base and forward base at sea.
• Lin Yi announced that Great Liang would claim the ocean's wealth and share some of the proceeds with his ministers.
• The ministers cheered at the promise of higher incomes, and Lin Yi said that shared prosperity was true happiness.

After Great Liang conquered the Yamata Nation, Lin Yi approved a Maritime Law asserting Great Liang’s control over its islands, waters, and resources. He then prepared to confront the expanding Zhennan Dynasty by backing southwestern states that sought Great Liang’s protection.

• After court adjourned, Lin Yi asked Xun Yu and the senior ministers to remain and discuss maritime administration and the Zhennan Dynasty.
• Xun Yu proposed enacting a Maritime Law to regulate Great Liang’s vast island holdings and their resources.
• Lin Yi ordered the ministers to establish Great Liang’s sovereignty over its territorial waters, control resource extraction, and require island populations to submit to Great Liang.
• Lin Yi asked Zhang Fei whether the southwestern nations seeking aid were still present, and Zhang Fei confirmed they were willing to become Great Liang’s vassal states.
• Lin Yi ordered the nations to submit state letters and told the Zhennan Dynasty to withdraw from Great Liang’s territory and compensate it or face sanctions.

Lin Yi decided to send Qi Jiguang’s army to join Great Liang’s forces in preparation for conquering the Zhennan Dynasty. After learning that Great Liang had destroyed the Yamata Nation in seven days, King Nan Ke ordered troops to the border and halted his son’s remaining conquests.

• Xun Yu and Zhang Fei argued that Great Liang should conquer the Zhennan Dynasty before it grew stronger, and Lin Yi endorsed the plan by framing expansion as reclaiming Great Liang’s rightful territory.
• Guo Jia praised Journey to the West and suggested that the Zhennan Dynasty belonged to Great Liang, prompting Lin Yi to announce that Qi Jiguang’s three hundred thousand troops would reinforce nearly five hundred thousand troops in the southwest.
• News spread that Great Liang had destroyed the Yamata Nation and annihilated a million troops in seven days.
• King Nan Ke and Zan Rihong concluded that the report was likely true and feared Great Liang would turn west toward the Zhennan Dynasty.
• Nan Ke ordered Nan Yiming to gather forces and reinforce the border, rejecting his request for another month to conquer the remaining small countries.

Nan Ke prepared to confront Great Liang after a delegation arrived at the Zhennan Dynasty’s palace to proclaim an imperial edict. Zhang Fei led the envoys inside and drew the palace guards’ ire with his bold behavior.

• Nan Ke reprimanded Nan Yiming for considering an alliance with the Frostwest Empire and ordered him to remain in the palace.
• Zan Rihong reported that the Frostwest Empire sought an alliance, though the two sides still disputed border control.
• A guard reported that Great Liang’s envoys had arrived to proclaim an imperial edict, and Nan Ke ordered spies to investigate Great Liang’s border forces.
• Nan Ke allowed the envoys into the palace and prepared to receive the edict.
• Zhang Fei entered the royal palace with the delegation, and the palace guard captain shouted at him for acting disrespectfully.

Zhang Fei presented Great Liang’s imperial edict demanding that the Zhennan Dynasty return territory and pay compensation, while threatening war. After learning that a million Great Liang troops were massed near the border, Nan Ke agreed to surrender the lands and pay, but Zhang Fei rejected his request for six months to raise the money.

• Zhang Fei rebuked the palace guard and challenged King Nan Ke to respond to Great Liang’s envoy.
• Zhang Fei read the emperor’s edict accusing the Zhennan Dynasty of seizing Great Liang’s territory and demanding its return and compensation.
• Nan Yiming and Nan Ke protested the demands, while Zhang Fei insisted the lands belonged to Great Liang.
• Zan Rihong reported that more than eight hundred thousand Great Liang troops had appeared at the border, with the total likely reaching a million.
• Nan Ke agreed to return the territory and pay nearly thirty million strings of cash to avoid war.
• Nan Ke asked for six months to collect the money, but Zhang Fei refused and questioned his sincerity.

Zhang Fei left the Zhennan Dynasty with ten million guan after giving Nan Ke three days to pay the rest, while Nan Ke sought to stall Great Liang and pressure the Frostwest Empire into helping him. Zhang Fei revealed that his deadline did not prevent Great Liang’s army from attacking, leaving the Zhennan Dynasty’s fate in the hands of its military.

• Nan Ke offered Zhang Fei ten million guan immediately and the remaining compensation in two months, but Zhang Fei demanded full payment within three days.
• Nan Ke ordered ten million guan sent to Great Liang and arranged for rumors to reach Bill III that he planned to submit to Great Liang, hoping to pressure the Frostwest Empire into supporting him.
• Zhang Fei left the palace with the ten million guan, escorted by Zhennan Dynasty soldiers to the border.
• After crossing the border, Zhang Fei told his adjutant that his three-day deadline did not stop Great Liang’s Ministry of War from attacking.

Zhang Liao led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry into the Zhennan Dynasty, while Lü Bu and Guan Yu headed for their assigned attacks around Daxin Pass. Zhang Fei, left behind with the valuables, decided to wage a diplomatic campaign against the dynasty instead.

• Zhang Liao met Zhang Fei outside Great Liang's territory, then led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry toward the Zhennan Dynasty to attack.
• Zhang Fei asked Zhang Liao to help transport his wagons of valuables, but Zhang Liao refused and hurried off to earn military merit.
• Lü Bu complained that Zhang Liao had taken the assault on Daxin Pass, then led the Bingzhou Legion to break through the right wing.
• Guan Yu told Zhang Fei to attack the left side of Daxin Pass, but Zhang Fei said he would deliver the valuables before joining the fight.
• Zhang Fei's deputy urged him to focus on his own domain, so Zhang Fei ordered Net to publicize the Zhennan Dynasty's seizure of Great Liang's territory and launch a diplomatic attack.

Zeri Longxi and his officers lamented the compensation paid to Great Liang and vowed revenge, but Great Liang’s 300,000 troops suddenly attacked Daxin Pass. As Zeri Longxi tried to hold the pass, Zhang Liao ordered the Red-Coat Cannons brought forward to blast it apart.

• Zeri Longxi’s subordinates complained about the compensation Great Liang had demanded, and Zeri Longxi vowed to kill millions in revenge.
• A sudden boom alerted Zeri Longxi and his officers to a massive Great Liang attack on Daxin Pass.
• Zeri Longxi ordered the gates shut, abandoning Zhennan soldiers outside as the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry charged.
• Zeri Longxi ordered his troops to fire crossbow bolts and sent messengers to seek reinforcements.
• Zhang Liao dismissed the defenders’ resistance and ordered Er Zhuzi to bring up the Red-Coat Cannons.

Great Liang used red-coat cannons to shatter Daxin Pass’s wall and send the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry charging into the breach. With enemy forces blocking reinforcements and Snow Mountain Pass also under attack, Zeri Longxi ordered a retreat to Flying Hero Pass.

• Er Zhuzi brought the red-coat cannons to the front, and Great Liang fired on Daxin Pass, killing defenders and cracking the wall.
• Zhang Liao ordered Er Zhuzi to target the cracks, and the cannon fire collapsed a large section of the wall.
• The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry charged through the breach and overwhelmed the defenders inside Daxin Pass.
• Zeri Longxi ordered troops to intercept the cavalry, but a guard reported that nearly two hundred thousand enemy troops had appeared on the flanks.
• Zeri Longxi learned that Snow Mountain Pass was under attack by Sima Yi and ordered his forces to retreat toward Flying Hero Pass.

Nan Ke learned that Great Liang had launched attacks on Zhennan from multiple directions and ordered emergency defenses while demanding Frostwest’s support. In Frostwest, Bill III believed Great Liang would not attack his empire, until an urgent envoy from Zhennan arrived.

• A guard told Nan Ke that Zhang Liao had taken Daxin Pass and was advancing toward Pingyu Pass, while Zeri Longxi had retreated.
• Nan Ke learned that Sima Yi had crossed the mountains with two hundred thousand troops to attack Snow Mountain Pass.
• Nan Ke ordered conscription to defend Pingyu Pass, awaited the eldest prince’s reinforcements, and threatened to abandon martial honor if the Frostwest Empire failed to help.
• Bill III and his ministers concluded that Great Liang probably intended no attack on Frostwest, citing Ma Chao’s inactivity and growing trade.
• An envoy from the Zhennan Dynasty arrived at Frostwest’s palace seeking an urgent audience with Bill III.

Bill III and his ministers debated the Zhennan Dynasty’s request to join forces against Great Liang, whose ultimatum threatened Zhennan with a million troops. They chose to hear the envoy’s proposal before deciding whether to intervene.

• Bill III refused at first to meet the Zhennan envoy because he wanted to avoid war with Great Liang and preserve their trade ties.
• The Zhennan envoy shouted that Great Liang had threatened to send a million troops against Zhennan unless it surrendered.
• Bill III and his ministers wondered how Great Liang could field so many troops, and Nishu warned that Zhennan’s destruction could leave Frostwest next in danger.
• Derby advised Bill III to let Zhennan and Great Liang exhaust each other, while Aksu suggested hearing the envoy’s terms before deciding.
• Bill III agreed to meet the Zhennan envoy, who urged him to unite against Great Liang before Frostwest was left isolated.

Bill III rejected the Zhennan Dynasty’s request for an alliance, offering only a thousand troops after the envoy threatened that Zhennan would surrender to Great Liang. Meanwhile, Abaddon and his ministers in the Great West Empire reacted with alarm to reports of Great Liang’s swift defeat of the Yamata Nation.

• Bill III reconsidered an alliance with Zhennan, and the envoy warned that Zhennan would submit to Great Liang if left alone.
• Nishu reminded Bill III of the grim fates of other rulers who had surrendered, while Bill III admitted he might consider surrendering too.
• Derby proposed that Frostwest ally with the Great West Empire, and Bill III offered Zhennan only a thousand elite troops before dismissing its envoy.
• Abaddon called Great Liang the overlord of the East after hearing that its army had crushed the Yamata Nation in less than a week.
• A minister questioned the reported size of the Yamata Nation’s army, and Adolf said Great Liang’s victory was difficult to believe.

Abaddon and the Western countries feared that Great Liang’s war against the Zhennan Dynasty would leave them as its next targets. Lin Yi revealed that Great Liang had nearly three million troops and planned to keep advancing west while Zhennan remained isolated.

• Abaddon learned that Great Liang had launched a war of annihilation against the Zhennan Dynasty and feared Great Liang would eventually attack the Frostwest Empire and the Great West Empire.
• Lin Yi strolled through Yong'an Imperial City, unconcerned that Great Liang’s nearly three million combat personnel vastly outnumbered the million troops committed to the campaign.
• Wang Yue reported that the Western countries were watching the war, while Nan Ke’s threat had failed to persuade Bill III to aid Zhennan, leaving the dynasty isolated.
• Jia Xu and Guo Jia joked about Bill III’s troubles, and Cao Cao warned that the Frostwest Empire might join forces with the Great West Empire.
• Lin Yi said the Net’s agents could hinder any alliance and ordered his attention to remain on Zhennan as Great Liang advanced steadily westward.

Lin Yi discovered that envoys from several southwestern countries and the Frostwest Empire were beating Zhennan’s delegation in Great Liang’s capital. As the brawl exposed how isolated Zhennan had become, Lin Yi wondered how the Frostwest Empire learned of the conflict so quickly and whether Great Liang’s intelligence had leaked.

• Lin Yi and Zhao Yun went to investigate a brawl in the capital and found foreigners fighting while Xu You watched nearby.
• Xu You explained that Zhennan’s delegation was fighting people from several southwestern countries, who had grievances against Zhennan.
• Lin Yi let the fight continue, while Guo Jia and Cao Cao remarked on Zhennan’s mistreatment of the smaller countries and Jiumosong’s pestering.
• Cha’er led Frostwest Empire guards into the brawl, helping the smaller countries overwhelm Zhennan’s men.
• Lin Yi concluded that Zhennan had become isolated after attacking the smaller countries, then questioned how the Frostwest Empire knew about the fight so quickly.