Recaps

Great Liang captured Pingyu Pass and prepared to defeat Zhennan while Lin Yi strengthened his government, education, and military. The arc left Great Liang planning major waterworks and awaiting the rulers of the Great West Empire and Frostwest Empire as the war continued.

• Lu Donghongri withdrew the Zhennan rear army, abandoning its forward troops, and Qi Jiguang’s firearms shattered the Iron Armor Army.
• Qi Jiguang defeated the forces left behind, shot Lu Dongsong, and captured Pingyu Pass while Zhang Fei pursued Lu Donghongri.
• Nan Ke accepted Zan Rihong’s proposal to feign submission and send Nan Yiming as a hostage, while Great Liang’s victory left Zhennan preparing to defend Flying Hero Pass.
• Lin Yi welcomed foreign rulers to Yong'an City, backed Bai Zizai’s return to service, and secured funds from the great clans for public and military needs.
• Lin Yi received news that Zhang Fei had killed Lu Donghongri and Great Liang had destroyed Zhennan’s two-hundred-thousand-strong army, then dismissed Nan Ke’s plan to trap his forces at Flying Hero Pass.
• Lin Yi raised officials’ benefits and funded education, while Yang Xiu’s article and a planted rumor inspired public support and donations.
• Lin Yi welcomed Wen Tianxiang, Xue Rengui, and Li Bing, assigned them roles in education, military planning, and waterworks, and ordered plans to expand waterways using captured prisoners.
• Wang Yue told Lin Yi that the emperors of the Great West Empire and Frostwest Empire would arrive the next day, and Lin Yi said he had invited them to keep them from interfering in the war.

As Lin Yi managed foreign rulers and prepared to subdue Zhennan, Great Liang welcomed the Qihuo Army home with the spoils of the Yamata Nation campaign. Zhou Yu’s discoveries promised new wealth and a route to attack Zhennan, while the western rulers saw how formidable Great Liang had become.

• Great Liang’s people donated generously to Lin Yi’s free-schooling campaign as foreign envoys arrived for his birthday, and Xu You used a pearl and a cryptic message to deepen Nan Yiming’s distrust of his father.
• Lin Yi assigned Xu You to handle Nan Yiming and Zhennan, then met Abaddon and hinted that Great Liang and the Great West Empire could divide the Frostwest Empire after Zhennan fell.
• Lin Yi asked Abaddon to watch for the mysterious power that had destroyed the Black Skull Army, while Abaddon considered alliances and feared Great Liang might eventually target his own empire.
• Anne accepted that the Frostwest Empire might be defeated, while Abaddon learned that the Qihuo Army had returned victorious from the Yamata Nation.
• Lin Yi and the people welcomed Sun Jian, Ran Min, and the hundred thousand returning soldiers, whose armor, discipline, and loyalty astonished Abaddon and the other foreign observers.
• Lin Yi declared Yamata Nation an Inside-the-Well Commandery as carts carried home immense spoils, and Sun Jian reported that the convoy held three hundred million strings of cash.
• Sun Jian told Lin Yi that Zhou Yu had found an island with a gold mine and gemstones and was heading toward Zhennan by sea to attack.
• Lin Yi identified Zhou Yu’s enormous final gift as a giant whale, accepted it as a divine beast after Sun Jian assured him it was safe, and heard Xun Yu call it an auspicious omen.

Lin Yi used the Land of the Far West’s invasion to draw Western rulers into Great Liang’s orbit while preparing to expand west. As Great Liang’s flood strategy devastated Zhennan, Nan Ke fled into the mountains and its commanders anticipated the next battle.

• Abaddon and Bill III formed a coalition against Great Liang, but Lin Yi’s display of Muren’s corpse and the submission of several rulers weakened their alliance.
• Lin Yi recruited Li Yu and Li Ling, presented the Western kings with Great Liang’s First Decree, and accepted their submission while stripping them of royal titles.
• Lin Yi announced that five hundred thousand troops would reinforce the Western Regions against the Land of the Far West, prompting Abaddon and Bill III to hurry west and plot against one another.
• Princess Anne asked Lin Yi to conquer the Frostwest Empire and spare her father, and Lin Yi agreed to keep Bill III under house arrest.
• At Flying Hero Pass, Li Ru proposed diverting Dalang Valley’s waters to overwhelm Zhennan’s defenses, while Nan Yiming defected and was kept under guard for later use as a legitimate heir.
• Nan Ke mistook Great Liang’s withdrawal from Flying Hero Pass for a retreat and celebrated, but Lu Donghuchen recognized the flood approaching and urged him to flee.
• Nan Ke and Lu Donghuchen forced their way through civilians as the flood reached Zhennan, and Nan Ke escaped up a mountain while the waters swept away everything below.
• Li Ru watched the flood destroy Flying Hero Pass as Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Lü Bu looked forward to fighting survivors, while Sima Yi cautioned Meng Huo against seeking too much merit.

Great Liang flooded Flying Hero Pass and crushed Zhennan’s armies, while Lin Yi prepared a western campaign and rival powers began plotting against him. As Great Liang closed in on Zhennan’s capital, Nan Ke confronted Nan Yu and Zan Rihong over their betrayal and urged them to accept the defeat before the city was massacred.

• Nan Ke’s army was devastated by the flood at Flying Hero Pass, and Lu Donghuchen warned that the survivors had no safe escape.
• When the water receded, Zhang Liao and Zhang Fei led Great Liang’s forces into the pass, Nan Ke surrendered, and Zhang Fei revealed that Nan Yu had taken the throne with Zan Rihong’s support.
• Great Liang captured Flying Hero Pass and advanced on Zhennan as Zhou Yu attacked from the west and south, while the Western Alliance feared that Great Liang would turn its attention toward them.
• Lin Yi received Huo Qubing, the Feathered Forest Army, and the Eight Trigrams Formation Diagram, then appointed Lin Rusong to command a new army for the western campaign.
• Bill III and Ashina Tiandu planned a coalition against Great Liang, while Abaddon began forming the Grand Western Alliance and faced the Land of the Far West’s forces.
• Nan Yu and Zan Rihong planned to flee overseas, but Zhou Yu’s forces reached Zhennan’s capital, and Zan Rihong offered to help Great Liang conquer the city in exchange for safety.
• Zhang Liao rejected Zan Rihong’s offer and ordered Nan Ke to join the assault, while Nan Ke went to the capital to prevent Zhennan’s people from dying for Zan Rihong’s plans.
• Nan Ke confronted Zan Rihong and Nan Yu at the city gate, accused Zan Rihong of making Nan Yu a scapegoat, and urged them to recognize Great Liang’s victory before the city was massacred.