Recaps

Cao Cao tried to persuade Xu Chu to take the blame for sleeping with Lu Yafu’s concubine, but Lin Yi learned that the great families had staged the incident with a fake concubine. Lin Yi then confronted Guo Jia for neglecting his duties to teach Consort Hui to read.

• Cao Cao asked Xu Chu to take responsibility for the scandal, but Xu Chu hesitated over the legal and reputational risks.
• Li Yu and Guo Jia urged Cao Cao to marry the woman, while Cao Cao insisted he had been wronged and appealed to Xu Chu again.
• Lin Yi asked Qinglin why the Net had not reported Cao Cao’s scandal, and Qinglin explained that the great families had used a brothel girl posing as Lu Yafu’s concubine to frighten him.
• Lin Yi concluded that his suppression of the great families had kept them from ruining Cao Cao’s reputation, then entered and startled Cao Cao, Xu Chu, Guo Jia, and Li Yu.
• Lin Yi accused Guo Jia of neglecting his duty to teach Consort Hui to read, and Guo Jia defended himself by saying his official work had been demanding.

Lin Yi warned Cao Cao after settling Lu Yafu’s complaint, then questioned Li Yu and Xu Chu about their visits to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. He arranged for Guo Jia to bring Xu Chu along to prevent further trouble with foreign envoys, then revealed that he had another important task for Guo Jia.

• Cao Cao panicked when Lin Yi claimed Lu Yafu wanted him castrated, but Lin Yi revealed he had already dealt with Lu Yafu and warned the great clans.
• Lin Yi questioned Li Yu about visiting the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, and Li Yu said he went there to find amusement when he felt sad.
• Xu Chu admitted he visited because he was too fired up and had feared beating the foreign guards to death during their sparring.
• Lin Yi asked the system whether it could summon the men’s partners, and it explained that Bond Summoning required an upgrade and partners depended on the characters’ points in time.
• Lin Yi told Guo Jia to bring Xu Chu to the pavilion for the sake of peace between the two nations, and Guo Jia eagerly accepted.
• Lin Yi told Guo Jia he had another important task for him.

Lin Yi assigned Guo Jia and Li Yu to train the Imperial Examination candidates in local governance and his principles of ruling. They accepted the task, recognizing that reshaping the candidates’ political thinking was its most important purpose.

• Lin Yi told Guo Jia that the new examination candidates needed training before they could govern, and Guo Jia realized the emperor wanted him to teach them.
• Guo Jia tried to pass the task to Xun Yu, but Lin Yi said Xun Yu was too busy, while Cao Cao refused because of his poor relations with the great families.
• Guo Jia proposed that Li Yu help train the candidates, and Lin Yi agreed to appoint both men alongside Wen Tianxiang.
• Lin Yi ordered Guo Jia and Li Yu to establish a training class focused on governing local regions and understanding his principles of ruling.
• Guo Jia and Li Yu recognized that reshaping the candidates’ thinking was the real priority and agreed to serve.

Lin Yi discussed using preparatory official training to shape future officials and heard Cao Cao and Guo Jia assess the Imperial Examination’s leading candidates. After the rankings were posted in Yong'an City, Zhang Fengfan found himself in fourth place and admitted he had underestimated the other scholars.

• Lin Yi explained to Cao Cao that the training program would teach administration and instill his governing ideas, with Wen Tianxiang, Guo Jia, and Li Yu guiding the scholars.
• Lin Yi asked Cao Cao about the top ten examinees, and Cao Cao praised Huang Longsi while Guo Jia favored Zhang Zizai.
• Lin Yi said he would personally test the scholars and ordered Cao Cao to ensure the Ministry of Rites properly cared for them.
• The Imperial Examination rankings were posted in Yong'an City, prompting celebrations, disappointment, and discussion of leading candidates including Huang Longsi and Zhang Zizai.
• Zhang Fengfan saw that he had placed fourth and reflected that he had underestimated the scholars around him.

Zhang Shiyu and Zhang Fengfan discussed the abundance of talent in Great Liang and the challenges facing new officials under the reigning emperor. Zhang Fengfan remained determined to enter the court and change his family's fortunes.

• Zhang Shiyu joked that an age filled with talented people was more interesting, provoking hostile looks from disappointed candidates.
• Zhang Fengfan warned Zhang Shiyu to keep a lower profile, and Zhang Shiyu dismissed the danger of causing trouble in Great Liang's capital.
• Zhang Fengfan praised the emperor's rapid expansion of Great Liang and said he had taken the Imperial Examination to seize the opportunity of the age.
• Zhang Shiyu named several powerful officials and military figures, warning that Zhang Fengfan would face fierce competition in the court and that even veteran Northern Liang generals struggled to find posts.
• Zhang Fengfan insisted that he was no pushover and would not abandon his chance to change his family's destiny, and Zhang Shiyu encouraged him.

Zhang Shiyu and Zhang Fengfan prepared to test their strength in the palace examination, while Zhang Wanhao’s guests discussed how the Imperial Examination affected the aristocratic clans. Wang Hui warned them that gathering and identifying as aristocratic clans could draw His Majesty’s suspicion, so they agreed to keep a low profile and seek advancement through the examinations.

• Zhang Shiyu declared that he wanted to test Huang Longsi and Zhang Zizai in the palace examination, and Zhang Fengfan agreed to compete as well.
• At Zhang Wanhao’s residence, Liu Kun worried that the Imperial Examination would end the aristocratic clans’ advantages and right to recommend candidates.
• Zhang Wanhao showed the gathered clan leaders the examination results and argued that aristocratic families had secured many places, giving them a chance to advance through the new system.
• Wang Hui warned the guests not to call themselves aristocratic clans or gather often, fearing that the Net would report their words to His Majesty.
• Zhang Wanhao and the other guests agreed to present themselves as ordinary families and rely on the Imperial Examination to preserve their prospects.

After learning that aristocratic clans had plotted against Cao Cao, the great clans prepared to contain the fallout and reconsidered how to survive as Southern Liang investment opportunities promised them immense profits. Wang Hui urged them to divide their families and tie their interests to His Majesty’s, leaving the clan leaders willing to sacrifice face for security.

• Zhang Wanhao condemned the smaller clans for plotting against Cao Cao and proposed admitting fault to His Majesty while punishing the clans involved.
• Zhang Wanhao agreed to deal with the offending clans, including his own relatives, as the other clan leaders accepted that bloodshed was necessary to contain the damage.
• Liu Kun revealed a ledger of Southern Liang investment projects, lifting the leaders’ spirits with the prospect of huge profits.
• Wang Hui warned that renewed clan wealth could bring them into conflict with imperial power, and Zhang Wanhao asked how they could avoid that danger.
• Wang Hui proposed splitting off most adult children into separate households and sharing part of the clans’ earnings with His Majesty; the leaders agreed to prioritize survival over face.

Wang Hui persuaded the great families to secure ties with the emperor through marriage alliances, prompting them to search their clans for eligible young women. Lin Yi learned of their plans and then faced Cai Yan, Shenle, and Princess Anne, who invited him to play mahjong after hearing he had visited a brothel.

• Wang Hui proposed marriage alliances as the great families' third way to bind their interests to the emperor.
• Zhang Wanhao and Liu Kun agreed to select their clans' finest maidens for the consort selection, and the great families began searching for eligible women.
• Lin Yi heard about the search and told Wang Yue to monitor the great families while leaving their plans against Cao Cao to the officials.
• Zhao Gao told Lin Yi that the empresses of the Eastern and Western Palaces, Princess Anne, and the holy maiden had arrived.
• Cai Yan invited Lin Yi to play mahjong, and Shenle and Princess Anne each hugged his arm, leaving him to suspect a three-against-one battle.

Lin Yi recovered from a night of mahjong and attended breakfast with Cai Yan, Princess Shenle, Princess Anne, and Ma Ling'er before preparing to preside over the palace examination. He arranged food for the candidates and officials, then explained the Imperial Examination to the women as the event approached.

• Lin Yi emerged from the harem feeling sore, and Zhao Gao told him that breakfast had been prepared in the imperial study.
• Lin Yi summoned the women to breakfast, where Cai Yan, Princess Shenle, and Princess Anne appeared exhausted while Ma Ling'er misunderstood their jokes about mahjong.
• Lin Yi asked Zhao Gao about the palace examination, and Zhao Gao reported that Cao Cao had made all the arrangements.
• Lin Yi ordered the imperial kitchens to prepare fragrant crab congee for the candidates and officials.
• Cai Yan and the others asked Lin Yi about the Imperial Examination, and he explained its details to them.

Lin Yi presided over Great Liang’s first palace examination and set the ten top scholars a question about how they would govern the country. The candidates recognized that their answers needed to reflect distinct ministerial roles and began writing, each hoping to impress the emperor.

• Lin Yi donned dragon robes, addressed the ministers, and ordered the ten leading candidates summoned to the hall.
• The candidates paid their respects and looked toward Lin Yi, prompting Lu Yafu to rebuke them until Lin Yi forgave their curiosity.
• Lin Yi praised the candidates and had Zhao Gao reveal the examination question: how they would govern Great Liang as future ministers.
• Huang Longsi observed that the candidates should answer from different ministerial perspectives, and Zhang Zizai chose his approach and began writing.
• The other candidates considered their approaches and poured their learning into their essays.

During the palace examination, Lin Yi asked the ten scholars how they would govern Great Liang, and Huang Longsi volunteered to answer first. Huang Longsi warned that distant governor-generals could grow too powerful, leaving the court weighing his bold criticism and its consequences.

• Lin Yi ended the scholars’ timed preparation and invited them to volunteer to answer first.
• Huang Longsi stepped forward and began by warning that Great Liang faced a fatal crisis beneath its prosperity.
• Huang Longsi argued that expanding territory and distant governor-general administrations could weaken the capital’s control and let unrest spread.
• The officials were shocked that Huang Longsi had openly challenged the power of the emperor’s trusted regional governor-generals.
• Zhang Zizai admired Huang Longsi’s audacity, while Li Yuanlong worried it would isolate him.
• Zhang Fengfan argued that Huang Longsi had strategically served Lin Yi by exposing a threat to imperial authority.

Huang Longsi warned Lin Yi that Great Liang’s military governors could become a threat and proposed reforms to limit their power. Lin Yi also learned that his enhanced genes made conception extremely unlikely, then invited Huang Longsi to continue explaining his solution.

• Chen Qun, Xun Yu, and Li Si recognized the danger Huang Longsi had raised but judged that Great Liang could not confront its military governors while its expansion wars continued.
• Lin Yi wondered why none of the empresses or Princess Anne had become pregnant, and the system told him that his enhanced genes gave ordinary women only a one-in-one-hundred-thousand chance of conceiving.
• Lin Yi reassured the nervous Huang Longsi and asked how he would address the military governors’ power.
• Huang Longsi proposed separating military and civil authority, rotating the governors irregularly, and switching the armies under their command.
• Lin Yi praised Huang Longsi’s practical suggestions and asked whether he had anything else to add.

Zhang Zizai explained that he had discovered a sea route to the Great West Empire and helped Gan Ning’s navy capture a fleet carrying stolen riches and slaves from a resource-rich continent. Lin Yi recognized that Zhang Zizai’s discovery could bring Great Liang enormous wealth and help reveal the continent’s location.

• Huang Longsi modestly stopped listing national problems, and Lin Yi approved of his restraint.
• Lin Yi asked Zhang Zizai for his answer, and Zhang began by praising the emperor and Great Liang.
• Zhang Zizai revealed a nautical chart and said he had found a sea route to the Great West Empire while seeking a gift for Lin Yi.
• Zhang explained that he had tracked a transport fleet carrying riches and slaves, then alerted Gan Ning’s navy, which captured the ships and rescued the captives.
• Lin Yi realized Zhang’s report had led Gan Ning to the Land of the Far West and saw the discovery as a potential source of vast wealth for Great Liang.

At court, the ministers urged Lin Yi to claim a distant colony rich in resources, and Zhang Zizai proposed the Great Liang Central Nation Plan as a righteous-sounding way to take it over. Lin Yi approved the idea for further study and heard additional proposals from the assembled officials.

• Cao Cao and other ministers argued that Great Liang should intervene in the Land of the Far West’s colony and claim authority over it.
• Lin Yi asked Zhang Zizai for his opinion on the newly discovered continent.
• Zhang Zizai proposed taking over the inhabited land, ending its people’s enslavement, and using their labor under the Great Liang Central Nation Plan.
• Lin Yi praised Zhang Zizai’s proposal but said it required careful study.
• Lin Yi invited the other officials to offer ideas, and they presented suggestions on the economy, livelihoods, and military equipment.

Lin Yi announced Huang Longsi, Zhang Zizai, and Zhang Fengfan as the top three scholars and awarded Huang Longsi an exceptional appointment. When Huang Longsi pledged his allegiance, Lin Yi received Sun Fujia and an entire Court of Judicial Review from the system.

• Lin Yi announced Huang Longsi as first, Zhang Zizai as second, and Zhang Fengfan as third after the ministers approved the rankings.
• Lin Yi awarded Huang Longsi one hundred taels of gold and a direct appointment as a county magistrate, while promising him a chance for exceptional promotion.
• Huang Longsi knelt and pledged to serve Lin Yi and benefit the people under his governance.
• The system rewarded Lin Yi with Sun Fujia and the Court of Judicial Review after Huang Longsi declared his allegiance.
• Lin Yi examined the reward and learned that the Court of Judicial Review would hear cases and deliver judgments, complementing the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate.

Lin Yi assigned posts and rewards to the palace examination’s top candidates, placing Huang Longsi in charge of the Court of Judicial Review and giving Zhang Zizai a choice of career paths. The chapter ended with Zhang Fengfan appointed to the Ministry of Commerce and the other seven candidates reassured that they would still receive important duties.

• Lin Yi appointed Huang Longsi chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review and urged him to remain loyal.
• Lin Yi offered Zhang Zizai a seventh-rank military post or a guest reception officer position in the Court of Diplomatic Reception, and Zhang chose the latter after Xu You urged him to join.
• Lin Yi appointed Zhang Fengfan as a market inspector in the Ministry of Commerce under the Ministry of Revenue.
• Lin Yi told the other seven top-ten candidates that the court would entrust them with important duties despite their lower starting positions.

After the palace examination, Lin Yi announced that the successful candidates would undergo Imperial Academy training before taking office. He then dismissed court to review system rewards, including the arrival of Guo Xin and the Anxi Army following Xue Rengui’s western campaign.

• Li Yuanlong accepted that Zhang Fengfan had surpassed him because Zhang’s merchant-family experience helped him answer the emperor’s question about commerce.
• Li Yu warned the candidates that their appointment was not guaranteed and revealed that he would teach them during their training.
• Lin Yi issued an imperial edict requiring the candidates to train at the Imperial Academy, where their performance would determine when they took office.
• Chen Qun explained the training’s purpose, and the candidates thanked Lin Yi before Wen Tianxiang took charge of the remaining arrangements.
• Lin Yi dismissed court and reviewed system rewards for Xue Rengui’s western victories, which included Guo Xin and ten thousand Anxi Army troops.

Lin Yi received Guo Xin and the last Anxi Army, strategist Tian Feng, and the accomplished Wang Xuance as rewards. After learning of Guo Xin’s grim future, Guo Xin accepted it without regret and pledged to fight for Great Liang.

• Lin Yi was moved by the reward of Guo Xin and the last Anxi Army, whose ten thousand soldiers had defended Anxi for over forty years until only white-haired survivors remained.
• Lin Yi welcomed Tian Feng and Wang Xuance, recognizing Tian Feng’s strategic talent and Wang Xuance’s feat of destroying a country single-handedly.
• Lin Yi summoned Guo Xin, Tian Feng, and Wang Xuance, then told Guo Xin about his future stand in Anxi.
• Guo Xin grieved for his brothers but said their choice to fight had left them with no regrets, and pledged himself to Lin Yi and Great Liang.

Lin Yi assigned Guo Xin, Tian Feng, and Wang Xuance roles in Great Liang’s expanding government and military, promising further advancement to capable officials. The three left excited by their prospects and Great Liang’s plans to expand.

• Lin Yi welcomed Guo Xin and the Anxi Army into Great Liang’s forces, expecting them to become a formidable part of the army.
• Lin Yi appointed Tian Feng as his personal adviser in the imperial study, and Tian Feng accepted.
• Lin Yi told Wang Xuance he intended for him to lead the Court of Diplomatic Reception; Wang Xuance agreed to familiarize himself with its work first.
• Lin Yi promised the three men more opportunities as Great Liang expanded, prompting them to express their ambition and eagerness to serve.

Newspaper coverage of the Imperial Examination results made scholars and commoners celebrate the new opportunities in Great Liang, while a report about Ashina Tiandu killing Bill III turned the crowd’s excitement into fury. The chapter left the people demanding that Great Liang punish Ashina Tiandu for threatening Princess Anne and defying the emperor.

• Newspapers announced the Imperial Examination results, and scholars who placed in the top hundred celebrated their chance to enter Great Liang’s talent reserve.
• Commoners praised top scholar Huang Longsi, second-place scholar Zhang Zizai, and third-place scholar Zhang Fengfan, whose success gave them hope that the examination could change their own fortunes.
• Three old men argued over whether they could have become top scholars and began brawling after one exposed their youthful habit of reading erotic books.
• A young man read the newspaper’s report that Ashina Tiandu had killed his father, Bill III, and might threaten Princess Anne.
• The crowd read the report and angrily called Ashina Tiandu a traitor, insisting that Great Liang should punish him for targeting the emperor’s consort.

After a newspaper reported that Ashina Tiandu’s Frostwest Empire planned to invade Great Liang, Yong'an’s people turned against the Frostwest delegation. Abucha sought an audience with the Emperor to save his group, while Xu You revealed that Cha’er’s father had died in the coup.

• Great Liang’s commoners read that Frostwest planned to join forces against Great Liang and rushed toward the Court of Diplomatic Reception, demanding the envoys be handed over.
• Abucha and Cha’er feared the angry crowd would kill them and decided to ask the Emperor for an audience.
• Xu You told Abucha that the Frostwest Empire was courting disaster and dismissed his claim that he would return home to investigate.
• Xu You told Cha’er that Ashina Tiandu had killed his father during the coup, shocking Cha’er.

After learning that Ashina Tiandu had likely killed his father, Cha’er agreed to help Great Liang use Princess Anne’s proclamation to challenge the Frostwest ruler. Lin Yi approved the plan and sent Wang Xuance with him, while Bill IV continued forcibly expanding Frostwest’s army in preparation for war.

• Xu You told Cha’er that his father had been a loyal confidant of Bill III and had died resisting the rebels, and Cha’er swore revenge on Ashina Tiandu.
• Xu You offered Cha’er Princess Anne’s proclamation and protection in exchange for carrying it back to Frostwest, and Cha’er agreed to become Frostwest’s gravedigger.
• Cha’er killed Abucha and the other Frostwest guards, then asked Xu You to let him avenge his father.
• Xu You reported the events to Lin Yi, who approved Cha’er’s mission and ordered Wang Xuance to accompany him.
• Bill IV raised Frostwest’s troop numbers by over a million through forced expansion and planned to unite remaining powers and attack Great Liang.

The Frostwest Empire's court agreed to expand the army in response to threats from Great Liang, the Great West Empire, and the Land of the Far West. Ashina Tiandu recruited Xiaoniu to help Aksu and asked Ashley for advice, who urged strengthening ties with neighboring countries and placating Great Liang while the new troops trained.

• Aksu argued that Frostwest had to expand its army to survive threats from Great Liang, the Great West Empire, and the Land of the Far West.
• The officials supported expanding the army despite concerns that the people would suffer, and Ashley privately recognized Aksu's interest in recruiting a million new troops.
• Ashley prompted Xiaoniu to praise Ashina Tiandu's ambitions, and the emperor ordered Xiaoniu to assist Aksu with recruitment and select some troops for himself.
• Ashina Tiandu asked Ashley how to revive the empire, and Ashley advised strengthening ties with neighboring countries and placating Great Liang while the recruits trained.

Ashina Tiandu sought to appease Great Liang and establish ties with Great Tang after learning that Great Tang rejected Frostwest’s alliance request. Meanwhile, Xue Rengui reported to Lin Rusong that Great Tang had conquered five countries and weakened Ashina Tiandu’s Western Alliance.

• Ashina Tiandu and his ministers discussed Great Liang’s hostile rumors and the threat posed by the powerful Great Tang bordering Frostwest.
• Aksu revealed that Great Tang had rejected Frostwest’s alliance request and treated its envoy arrogantly.
• Ashina Tiandu rejected a proposed attack on Great Tang because Great Liang could exploit the conflict, and ordered envoys to approach Great Tang with luxury goods.
• Ashina Tiandu ordered lavish gifts sent to Great Liang under the pretext of visiting his younger sister Anne, while Frostwest strengthened its border defenses.
• Xue Rengui reported to Lin Rusong that Great Tang had conquered five countries and brought several former Great Liang allies under its control.

Lin Rusong praised Xue Rengui for wiping out Frostwest's neighboring allies and promised to petition for his reward after Frostwest fell. Jia Xu then revealed that Lin Yi had already sent another army to strike, leaving everyone stunned to learn there was a Great Han as well.

• Lin Rusong admired Xue Rengui's victory and contrasted Great Liang's strength with Frostwest's weakened position.
• Xue Rengui credited Lin Yi's weapons and support for the campaign's success, earning Lin Rusong's praise and a promise of reward.
• Lin Rusong asked Jia Xu whether Great Liang should begin its attack on Frostwest.
• Jia Xu revealed that Great Liang had already made its move, prompting Bai Zizai and the others to wonder which army had struck.
• Jia Xu clarified that Xue Rengui was not responsible and said Lin Yi had dispatched a fierce general who had driven a wedge between Frostwest and the Great West Empire.
• Everyone was astonished to hear that a Great Han army had appeared as well.