Chapter Summaries

After waking in the body of Lin Yi, the Heir of Northern Liang, Lin Yi learned that he had been transported to another world and inherited memories of the prince’s son. He was left alone in Northern Liang City after an assassination attempt, and discovered that his doting father had raised him to enjoy himself rather than prepare him to rule.

• Lin Yi woke in a palace surrounded by seven worried maidservants who told him he had been unconscious after an assassination attempt.
• Lin Yi recovered the body’s memories and learned that he was the Heir of Northern Liang in the Great Ning Empire.
• Lin Yi learned that his father, Lin Rusong, had left Northern Liang City to investigate trouble at the border, leaving him in charge.
• Lin Yi sent the maidservants away so he could privately sort through his memories and avoid revealing that he was not the original Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi learned that he had been a notorious troublemaker and that Lin Rusong had indulged him, believing he only needed to learn how to have fun.

After recovering from the assassination attempt, Lin Yi discovered that Han Song had failed to find the attackers and realized he could not rely on the people around him. He awakened the Winning People Over with Virtue System, but learned that he controlled only himself for now.

• Lin Yi recovered from his fainting spell, and the physician said he only needed rest.
• Lin Yi learned that Han Song and the Northern Liang Guards had not found the assassins, and he suspected the city’s people and guards could not be trusted.
• Lin Yi decided he needed to become stronger and keep his life in his own hands.
• Lin Yi awakened the Winning People Over with Virtue System, which offered rewards for winning people over through civil or martial virtue and for conquering territory.
• Lin Yi tried to claim rewards for Northern Liang, but the system said the land belonged to his father and that Lin Yi controlled only himself.

After receiving a system gift of Ma Chao, a thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry, a famous sword, salt-making techniques, and a gun, Lin Yi began planning to use his new advantages as heir of Northern Liang. He confronted the failures of his guards and overheard his followers Zhang Long and Zhao Hu confessing how they had abandoned him during an assassination attempt, then entered their courtyard.

• The system gave Lin Yi Ma Chao, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, Cao Cao's Heaven-Relying Sword, ancient salt-making techniques, and a firearm with nine bullets.
• Lin Yi considered how the troops, weapon, and salt-making knowledge could strengthen his position and make money.
• After eating, Lin Yi ordered Haitang to summon Han Song and went to inspect the prince's residence.
• Lin Yi overheard Zhang Long and Zhao Hu admitting that they had hidden or pretended to faint during the assassination attempt, while Zhou Bao had taken a blade for him.
• Lin Yi coughed and entered the courtyard, making Zhang Long and Zhao Hu freeze in fear.

Lin Yi punished Zhang Long and Zhao Hu for abandoning him during the assassination attempt, then tasked them with acquiring salt deposits. Han Song arrived at the end, and the story left him facing Lin Yi after displaying his contempt for the two lackeys.

• Lin Yi slapped Zhang Long for speaking ill of him, and the system rewarded him with 250 jin of right-arm strength after Zhang Long submitted.
• Lin Yi slapped Zhao Hu for playing dead during the assassination attempt, and the system rewarded him with 250 jin of left-arm strength when Zhao Hu submitted.
• Lin Yi spared Zhang Long and Zhao Hu and ordered them to find and buy rock salt deposits, salt wells, and salt rivers.
• Zhang Long offered to use the money in his and Zhao Hu's keeping to arrange the purchases, and Lin Yi approved.
• Haitang announced Han Song's arrival, and Han Song looked at Zhang Long and Zhao Hu with contempt before approaching Lin Yi respectfully.

Lin Yi learned that numerous foreign and domestic forces had infiltrated Northern Liang City and that the Great Ning Dynasty had long been withholding supplies from Northern Liang. He decided to eliminate the threats in the city and ended by demanding that Han Song declare whether his loyalty belonged to Northern Liang and Lin Yi’s father or to Lin Yi himself.

• Lin Yi questioned Han Song about the assassins, but Han Song admitted that he had found no leads amid the chaos in Northern Liang City.
• Han Song named the Heavenly Eagle Guard, Shachi Kingdom spies, local factions, and the Great Ning Dynasty as forces operating in Northern Liang.
• Han Song revealed that the Great Ning Dynasty had been supplying provisions for only two hundred thousand of Northern Liang’s three hundred thousand troops, leaving Lin Yi’s father to cover the shortfall.
• Lin Yi decided to purge the threats in Northern Liang City, and Zhao Hu and Zhang Long pledged to support him.
• Han Song warned that confronting the hidden forces could be dangerous, but Lin Yi demanded to know whether Han Song was loyal to Northern Liang and his father or to Lin Yi.

After an assassination attempt, Lin Yi ordered a purge of assassins and suspicious factions across Northern Liang City, aiming to take control of the royal city. He left Han Song to identify targets and arranged to bring Governor Huang Yuntao’s men into the operation, while Zhang Long and Zhao Hu feared the danger ahead.

• Lin Yi demanded Han Song’s loyalty, and Han Song agreed to follow his orders.
• Lin Yi ordered every assassin in Northern Liang City targeted and suspicious factions investigated, with anyone who resisted to be killed.
• Han Song warned that the city’s troops might not be loyal, but Lin Yi said he had made arrangements and told Han Song to identify which factions to target or spare.
• Lin Yi ordered Han Song to notify Governor Huang Yuntao and have his men join the campaign against assassins and bandits.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu nervously agreed to join the operation after Lin Yi asked whether they objected.

Lin Yi summoned Ma Chao and a thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry to help Han Song eliminate the forces in Northern Liang City. After assembling five hundred Northern Liang Guards, Han Song led the troops toward the Heavenly Eagle Guard.

• Han Song advised Lin Yi to defeat the hostile forces one at a time and chose the Heavenly Eagle Guard as the first target.
• Lin Yi summoned Ma Chao, who arrived carrying a Tiger-Head Gilded Spear and pledged to carry out his orders.
• Ma Chao called forth a thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry, stunning Han Song, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu.
• Lin Yi ordered Han Song to wipe out all assassins in Northern Liang City, and five hundred Northern Liang Guards joined the cavalry.
• Han Song led the assembled troops toward the Heavenly Eagle Guard's location to begin the attack.

After awakening, the heir of Northern Liang sent troops east under the pretext of suppressing bandits, launching a sweeping purge rather than continuing to search for his would-be assassins. The purge killed thousands and left everyone in Northern Liang City fearing they might be next.

• A force of armed troops charged out of the Prince of Northern Liang's Residence, prompting onlookers to speculate that the heir was seeking revenge for the assassination attempt.
• Huang Yuntao learned from Ji Zigao that the heir had ordered a joint campaign against bandits and had sent over a thousand cavalry east.
• Huang Yuntao realized the heir intended to eliminate everyone under suspicion and ordered his men to support the operation.
• Reports confirmed that the Heavenly Eagle Guard's base, Snow Cloud Manor, a tavern, and Blue Flower Brothel had been destroyed, with over two thousand people killed in total.
• Huang Yuntao praised the heir's decisiveness, while residents of Northern Liang City grew pale at the possibility that they too might face the purge.

Lin Yi crushed the factions behind the assassination attempt and gained Wang Yue and additional troops. As the fighting ended, Xu Zhong watched Lin Yi’s forces and wondered where his powerful cavalry had come from.

• Ma Chao’s men continued killing the factions Lin Yi had targeted, while system rewards gave Lin Yi troops, supplies, a tactical sand table, and Wang Yue.
• Haitang urged Lin Yi to finish the fighting before nightfall, and Lin Yi summoned Wang Yue, the Qingzhou Army soldiers, and the White Horse Volunteers.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to support Ma Chao, and the fresh troops helped crush the remaining factions around Northern Liang City.
• Xu Zhong watched the battle with Huang Yuntao and remarked that Lin Yi’s Xiliang Iron Cavalry rivaled his Black Cavalry in strength.

Lin Yi dismissed Haitang’s concerns about officials impeaching him for the mass killings, arguing that the victims were criminals and enemy agents. After Han Song and Ma Chao reported that they had eliminated the hostile forces in Northern Liang City and seized their wealth, Lin Yi inspected the ledger and discovered he had gained a fortune.

• Xu Zhong told Huang Yuntao to inform Lin Yi that the Ran Clan had sent the assassins, and Huang Yuntao wondered whether Xu Zhong wanted to provoke a clash or test the heir.
• Haitang warned Lin Yi that officials might protest and impeach him for the killings, but Lin Yi refused to seek his father’s help and defended his actions.
• Han Song and Ma Chao reported that they had eliminated seven gangs, three assassin dens, and the Heavenly Eagle Guard, killing more than three thousand five hundred people.
• Lin Yi asked Ma Chao whether he had seized the defeated forces’ wealth as compensation for the assassination attempt, and Ma Chao presented a detailed ledger.
• Lin Yi opened the ledger and realized the seized property had made him rich overnight.

After seizing a vast haul from the assassins, Lin Yi rewarded Ma Chao and Han Song with gold-thread soft armor, and Han Song’s loyalty earned him a powerful new treasure. Lin Yi then ordered his men to reassure Northern Liang’s people by presenting the troop deployment as an operation against bandits.

• Lin Yi inspected the confiscated wealth and learned from Ma Chao that the gold-thread soft armor could resist ordinary blades and spears.
• Lin Yi gave one suit of gold-thread soft armor each to Ma Chao and Han Song for their service.
• Han Song accepted his armor, pledged to protect Lin Yi, and triggered a system reward that granted Lin Yi the bound Peerless Heavenly Silkworm Treasure Armor.
• Lin Yi learned that the new armor was virtually weightless and impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire.
• Lin Yi instructed his men to tell the public that the troops had been deployed to eradicate bandits and that the assassins had been uncovered through his wisdom and prowess.

In the Beichuan Commandery camp, Lin Rusong learned that Lin Yi had created the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and that it was said to surpass the Northern Liang Guard. After Wang Ziwen uncovered that Lin Yi had faced an assassination attempt, he demanded to return to Northern Liang to help protect him.

• Lin Rusong read that Lin Yi had raised a thousand-strong Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and the camp generals questioned how it could outmatch the Northern Liang Guard.
• Lin Rusong said he had not helped Lin Yi and had expected him to live as an ordinary commoner.
• Wang Ziwen realized that Lin Yi must have used the cavalry in response to a serious crisis in Northern Liang City.
• Lin Rusong revealed that someone had tried to assassinate Lin Yi, but he had kept the news from the troops because Lin Yi was unharmed.
• Lin Rusong said the Northern Liang Guard had investigated without finding the assassins, and Wang Ziwen demanded permission to return to Northern Liang.

Lin Rusong told his advisers that Lin Rusong's son had survived an assassination attempt and purged Northern Liang City, including the Heavenly Eagle Guard and Great Ning Guard. He planned to defend his son from impeachment by presenting the killings as a great service, then decided to give him a chance to lead Xiliang.

• Lin Rusong reassured his advisers that no assassins remained in Northern Liang City after his son deployed the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and Northern Liang Guard to purge the city.
• Wang Ziwen and the others marveled that the heir had wiped out the assassins, the Heavenly Eagle Guard, and the Great Ning Guard.
• Lin Rusong rebuked Zhang Dapao for suggesting the heir might fight beyond Liangshan Pass, and Wang Ziwen warned that imperial officials would file impeachment petitions.
• Lin Rusong insisted that the heir had killed assassins and said he would report the attempted murder to the court.
• Wang Ziwen urged Lin Rusong to reward the heir for eliminating enemy spies, and Lin Rusong decided to give him the chance to lead Xiliang.

Emperor Li Anlan used Lin Yi’s account of the Northern Liang purge to put Zhang Huisheng in charge of investigating the killings, while considering how to exploit Lin Yi as leverage over Lin Rusong. At the Prince of Northern Liang’s Residence, Huang Yuntao told Lin Yi that the Ran Clan had been behind the assassins, leaving Lin Yi wary of the claim.

• Li Anlan read Lin Yi’s memorial portraying him as a victim of assassination attempts, and Zhang Huisheng realized the account put his clan at risk.
• Li Anlan ordered Zhang Huisheng to investigate the killings in Northern Liang, and Zhang reluctantly accepted.
• Li Anlan considered Lin Yi a possible weakness he could use against Lin Rusong, while Lu Yafu warned that unrest among the northern barbarians made conflict with Northern Liang dangerous.
• Huang Yuntao visited Lin Yi and identified the Ran Clan as the force behind the assassins.
• Huang Yuntao told Lin Yi that the grand general had asked him to pass along the information and that it should be reliable.

Lin Yi dismissed Xu Zhong’s message and prepared for retaliation after purging Northern Liang City. When Wang Yue reported that the city’s powerful families were organizing impeachments and sanctions, Lin Yi remained confident that the emperor would not risk a confrontation with Northern Liang, while Zhang Long and Zhao Hu feared they would be punished.

• Huang Yuntao delivered Xu Zhong’s message and warned Lin Yi that his purge of more than three thousand people would bring trouble; Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to watch the Ran Clan and monitor Northern Liang City.
• Han Song explained that Huang Yuntao served Lin Yi’s father, then wondered at the formidable fighters Lin Yi had gathered around him.
• Wang Yue reported that city residents had prepared impeachment memorials and were coordinating sanctions against Lin Yi.
• Han Song suggested intercepting the memorials, admitting that he had previously suppressed damaging reports to protect Northern Liang.
• Lin Yi said the impeachment would not move Emperor Li Anlan to act against Northern Liang, while Zhang Long and Zhao Hu worried they would be made to take the blame.

Lin Yi ordered fabricated confessions to defend himself against expected punishment and tasked Wang Yue with creating the Net, a private intelligence organization. By the next day, Northern Liang City had settled after the purge, while its people debated the heir’s slaughter of thousands.

• Lin Yi told Han Song to obtain or fabricate the assassins’ confessions, and Han Song enlisted Zhang Long and Zhao Hu to help.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to establish the Net using people recruited from the army, and Wang Yue pledged to build it.
• Lin Yi concluded that the emperor was his enemy and planned to win Northern Liang City through virtue and force.
• After a night of purges, Northern Liang City returned to outward calm, and posted notices said the victims had been accomplices of the assassins who targeted Lin Yi.
• The people of Northern Liang City argued over reports that Lin Yi had killed more than three thousand assassins, killers, and members of the Heavenly Eagle Guard.

Lin Yi turned the people who came to complain about him into suspects in the assassination attempt, and Huang Yuntao ordered their arrest. The group was confronted with the assassins’ testimonies, which named them.

• Crowds saw a group heading to the prefect’s residence and suspected they planned to pressure Huang Yuntao over Lin Yi’s killings.
• The group entered the residence and found Lin Yi there, while Huang Yuntao pretended not to notice them.
• Lin Yi accused the visitors of bullying him and joining the plot to assassinate him, then watched Huang Yuntao for his response.
• Huang Yuntao ordered the yamen runners to arrest the group, citing Lin Yi’s report and the assassins’ confessions.
• Cao Shen and the others protested that Lin Yi was framing them, but Zhao Hu and Zhang Long presented testimonies that named each of them.

Lin Yi accused the officials and nobles who confronted him of conspiring with the assassin and the Northern Region barbarians, then arranged for Zhang Long and Zhao Hu to interrogate them. The prisoners realized that Zhao Hu’s approach left them trapped whether they confessed or not.

• The gathered officials and nobles accused Lin Yi of slandering them after he presented their supposed confessions, while Cao Shen insisted he had nothing to do with the assassin.
• Lin Yi dismissed Cao Shen’s plea and accused him of being an accomplice because he had intervened on the others’ behalf.
• Lin Yi told Huang Yuntao that the suspects might be colluding with the Northern Region barbarians and asked to have the Northern Liang Guard interrogate them.
• Huang Yuntao yielded but warned Lin Yi to take care because the suspects were important officials and members of noble families.
• Lin Yi assigned Zhang Long and Zhao Hu to lead the interrogations, and Zhao Hu declared that anyone who resisted until beaten to death would thereby prove their guilt.

Lin Yi had Zhang Long and Zhao Hu arrest the people who came to cause trouble at the governor's residence, while Northern Liang City grew safer after his purges. He then offered land gained from the captured assassins to the common people, who rushed to register for it.

• Lin Yi left the governor's residence after ordering Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix to handle matters, and Zhang Long and Zhao Hu took the troublemakers away.
• Huang Yuntao recognized many of the detainees as corrupt officials and merchants and let the Northern Liang Guard remove them.
• Northern Liang City became unusually safe in the following days, winning praise from its common people.
• A resident told his neighbors that Lin Yi was distributing land for them to farm in exchange for an annual grain payment.
• The common people hurried to the prince's residence, where Lin Yi's people were registering applicants.

Ran Zijin warned Ran Chao that Lin Yi’s brutal crackdown had restored order and that provoking him would be dangerous, while revealing that Lin Yi had built his own army. The father and son were interrupted by the steward, who announced that something serious had happened.

• Ran Chao complained that Lin Yi had caused the Ran Clan heavy losses and hoped the emperor would punish him.
• Ran Zijin scolded Ran Chao for failing to understand why Lin Yi’s show of force had quickly calmed Northern Liang City.
• Ran Zijin warned Ran Chao not to insult Lin Yi or provoke him, especially after the assassination attempt.
• Ran Zijin told Ran Chao that Lin Yi’s army was his own, not merely a force borrowed from his father.
• The steward interrupted Ran Zijin and Ran Chao to report that something serious had happened.