Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi learned that Li Anlan was rebuilding the Great Ning Navy and moving against Xiliang in the west, then appointed Pang De to govern the Western Regions. The chapter ended with Lin Yi teasing Cai Yan after she admired his confidence.

• Wang Yue reported that Li Anlan had mobilized the great clans and Zhan Shunyu to rebuild the Great Ning Navy, and Lin Yi vowed to thwart the effort without using Gan Ning.
• Wang Yue delivered intelligence that Li Anlan had moved against Xiliang in the west, and Lin Yi ordered Jia Xu to handle the matter and keep watch.
• Lin Yi summoned Pang De and appointed him to oversee the Jushi Kingdom and the Shachi Kingdom after Jia Xu returned.
• Lin Yi assigned Pang De forty thousand Liang Province cavalry and ten thousand young men, then sent him to equip his troops.
• Cai Yan brought Lin Yi ginseng tea, and Lin Yi drew her into his arms as she praised his confidence.

Lin Yi discussed the Northern Daily’s growing readership and women’s submissions with Cai Yan, then learned Princess Shenle had been quietly tending the courtyard. When young members of the great clans arrived bearing lavish gifts, Lin Yi agreed to meet them, leaving their purpose for the audience to reveal.

• Cai Yan reported that the Northern Daily sold over three hundred thousand copies daily, mostly because commoners wanted its literacy lessons and preferential policies.
• Cai Yan asked whether women from great clans could submit articles, and Lin Yi told her to review all content carefully.
• Cai Yan said Princess Shenle had been tending flowers and watering Lin Yi’s apple tree, so Lin Yi arranged for palace maids to attend her and Wang Zijin to visit.
• A steward told Lin Yi that several young members of the great clans had requested an audience and brought many chests of gifts, so Lin Yi agreed to receive them.
• The visitors greeted Lin Yi and claimed their gifts celebrated his destruction of Jushi and Shachi, insisting they had no other purpose.

Lin Yi pretended to refuse gifts from the northern aristocratic clans, who realized he wanted a larger payment for access to ocean fishing under the Brocade Sail Navy’s protection. After Zhang Ruoyun persuaded him to accept the money, Lin Yi took the gifts and the clans sought his continued favor.

• Lin Yi refused the clans’ initial gifts, declaring that he would not take so much as a needle or thread from the people.
• Song Huizu and another influential figure interpreted Lin Yi’s refusal as a demand for more money, and Qian Duoduo ordered his steward to fetch more.
• The clans raised more money because they needed Xiliang’s protection to make ocean fishing profitable after pirates had attacked their ships.
• The clans returned with chests of money, and Lin Yi protested that accepting them would betray his principles.
• Zhang Ruoyun argued that Lin Yi had to accept the gifts to protect the clans’ reputations, and Lin Yi reluctantly agreed.
• Zhang Ruoyun asked Lin Yi to continue looking after the Zhang Clan’s business.

Lin Yi persuaded the northern great clans to join Xiliang’s ocean-fishing venture, offering fresh-fish storage through ice cellars and supplies from the Western Regions. The clans accepted his conditions despite the many costs, leaving them committed to fishing under Xiliang’s arrangements.

• Zhang Ruoyun declared that the Zhang Clan would support Lin Yi’s ocean fishing, and the other great clans followed suit.
• Lin Yi stamped the clans’ applications and presented them with a proposal for fresh-fish storage and a law against overfishing.
• Zhang Ruoyun questioned how the proposed ice cellars could work, so Lin Yi had Wang Yue bring in basins of ice.
• Lin Yi said ice would come from the Western Regions and promised specialists to maintain the cellars if the clans adopted Xiliang’s ship modifications.
• The clans realized they would have to pay for ship upgrades, ice, maintenance, protection, and gifts, but agreed to follow Lin Yi’s arrangements for the expected profits.

Lin Yi met Li Yunqing, the disfigured Heir of Beining, who had come to seek revenge for his father and his mother’s death. Li Yunqing offered to assassinate Tuoba Yu or Tuoba Wanli and wreck the peace talks, leaving Lin Yi intrigued by the proposal.

• A guard told Lin Yi that Li Yunqing had been kneeling at the residence’s back gate, and Wang Yue admitted the Net had lost track of him.
• Lin Yi and Wang Yue found Li Yunqing disfigured and recognized that he had hidden among aristocratic families; Lin Yi sent the spectators away to preserve his dignity.
• Li Yunqing thanked Lin Yi for saving and escorting his mother, then revealed she had taken her own life after being treated as a disgrace in Great Ning.
• Li Yunqing vowed to kill Tuoba Yu to avenge his father and offered to assassinate Tuoba Yu or Tuoba Wanli, turning the peace talks into a farce.

Lin Yi agreed to help Li Yunqing take revenge on Tuoba Yu by deploying the Divine Machine Battalion. As preparations began for the potato harvest, Xun Yu revealed a plan to invite the Princes of Min and Shu, putting additional pressure on Li Anlan if they attended.

• Lin Yi accepted Li Yunqing’s request for revenge and ordered Wang Yue to summon Hu Che'er and deploy the Divine Machine Battalion against Tuoba Yu.
• Lin Yi sent Li Yunqing with Wang Yue to make arrangements with Hu Che'er, hoping he would succeed in taking revenge.
• Xun Yu told Lin Yi that the potato harvest was scheduled for the fifteenth of the tenth month and that crowds had gathered in Xiliang Commandery to witness it.
• Lin Yi ordered invitations for his father, royal uncle, great families, and Northern Daily writers so they could see the harvest and spread word of its yield.
• Xun Yu presented invitations for the Princes of Min and Shu, and Lin Yi recognized that their attendance could pressure Li Anlan by raising the prospect of powerful feudal lords joining forces.

Lin Yi sent invitations to the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Min to showcase his crops, then questioned Princess Shenle about Li Anlan and learned to investigate his past as Prince of Jiangling. Meanwhile, Tuoba Yu brooded over losing his home base to Lin Yi and the deaths of his allies, while Yelü Dashan accepted their losses as the price of their status.

• Lin Yi ordered invitations delivered publicly to the Prince of Shu and the Prince of Min, saying he wanted all of Great Ning to benefit from his crops.
• Lin Yi met Princess Shenle, told her about Li Yunqing and his mother, and heard her explain that Li Yunqing had been made a scapegoat after the loss of Ningchuan Commandery.
• Princess Shenle warned Lin Yi that Li Anlan was a skilled planner and reminded him that he had once been the Prince of Jiangling, prompting Lin Yi to plan an investigation.
• Tuoba Yu learned that Lin Yi had seized his home base and routed his twenty thousand troops, adding to his grief over the deaths of the Evil Bodhisattva and Xiao Shan.
• Yelü Dashan told Tuoba Yu that their families’ status required sacrifice, while a nearby soldier silently cursed their complaints.

Tuoba Yu vowed to avenge his defeat by Lin Yi and discussed the threat posed by Lin Yi’s growing cavalry and the ongoing war. Before he could return to camp, Hu Che’er’s force ambushed him on the mountain summit, leaving Tuoba Yu wounded and struggling to escape.

• Tuoba Yu swore to repay Lin Yi, while Yelü Dashan warned him not to underestimate Lin Yi’s schemes.
• Tuoba Yu and Yelü Dashan learned that Lin Yi had acquired nearly two hundred thousand warhorses and feared he was preparing a cavalry force against the Northern Barbarians.
• Hu Che’er led Li Yunqing and twenty men through the forest to assassinate Tuoba Yu.
• Tuoba Yu’s guards reported an attack by crossbowmen, and Tuoba Yu ordered them to search the forest.
• Hu Che’er’s men unleashed a rain of arrows, killing Tuoba Yu’s men and piercing Tuoba Yu’s arm.
• Yelü Dashan urged Tuoba Yu to retreat or hold out until nightfall as the attackers kept them exposed on the summit.

Tuoba Yu and Yelü Dashan were ambushed in the forest by Hu Che'er’s Divine Machine Battalion and trapped under a rain of arrows. Li Yunqing killed Tuoba Yu to avenge his father and the people of Great Wasteland Commandery, then left with Tuoba Yu’s head while the Net covered the operation.

• Tuoba Yu ordered his men to light dead branches and prepare to fight when the attackers overwhelmed their forces.
• Hu Che'er’s Divine Machine Battalion surrounded Tuoba Yu and Yelü Dashan, then shot down most of their men with crossbows.
• Tuoba Yu pretended to cover Yelü Dashan’s escape but ran in another direction, leaving Yelü Dashan and his guards to be killed.
• The attackers wounded Tuoba Yu and blocked his path, and Li Yunqing revealed himself before killing him and taking his head.
• Hu Che'er let Li Yunqing go to pay his respects at Li Sansi’s grave, explaining that Net operatives were watching the mountain as backup.

After Tuoba Yu and Yelü Dashan were killed, Tuoba Wanli sent his son Qingsong to take command of their army and investigate the deaths. Lin Yi received system rewards for the killings and Li Yunqing’s allegiance, including Jiang Wei, five thousand Flying Bear Army soldiers, and one thousand elite spies.

• The barbarian soldiers discovered Tuoba Yu beheaded and Yelü Dashan riddled with arrows, then sent word to Tuoba Wanli.
• Tuoba Wanli learned Li Yunqing was suspected of killing the generals and promised the Yelü Clan an accounting.
• Tuoba Wanli ordered Qingsong to take command of the army and investigate the deaths.
• Lin Yi received system messages rewarding him with Jiang Wei, one thousand elite spies, five thousand Flying Bear Army soldiers, and one hundred more Flying Bear Army soldiers.

Lin Yi assigned Jiang Wei to study Youning Commandery and Great Ning, then learned that Cai Yu had mobilized the Xining Army to attack Xiliang. Cai Yu received Li Anlan’s secret decree and prepared to face Bai Zizai’s Asura Army, convinced that the advantage was his.

• Lin Yi summoned Jiang Wei and tasked him with studying the defenses and campaigns of Youning Commandery and Great Ning.
• Lin Yi decided to place five thousand Flying Bear Army soldiers under Jiang Wei’s command and welcomed Wang Yue and Hu Che’er after their successful mission.
• Hu Che’er reported that Li Yunqing had avenged Li Sansi by killing Tuoba Yu and then taking his own life, and Lin Yi ordered Li Yunqing’s body returned to the capital.
• Wang Yue delivered word that Cai Yu had marched forty thousand Xining troops north, bringing his forces to more than seventy thousand.
• Cai Yu received Li Anlan’s secret decree promising promotions for defeating or annihilating Xiliang, then mobilized his army to confront Bai Zizai’s Asura Army.

Jia Xu learned that Li Anlan had ordered Cai Yu to mobilize the Xining Army and forged an insulting challenge to provoke Bai Zizai. The Xining and Asura armies marched toward battle, with both sides eager to fight and Bai Zizai ordering his forces to attack after reading the challenge.

• Jia Xu received news of Cai Yu's mobilization and gave Yan Gang a forged challenge to deliver to Bai Zizai.
• Bai Zizai welcomed news that the Xining Army was preparing to fight and ordered the Asura Army to ready itself.
• Cai Yu's forty thousand reinforcements arrived, and he promised his soldiers promotions and rewards for defeating Bai Zizai.
• The Xining Army marched against Xiliang at dawn as the Asura Army assembled to meet it.
• A Net operative delivered Cai Yu's insulting challenge, and Bai Zizai ordered the entire Asura Army to attack the Xining Army.

Cai Yu’s Xining Army clashed with Bai Zizai’s Asura Army, but the First-to-Ascend Camp’s crossbows and catapults devastated the enemy’s front ranks. With Yan Gang’s White Horse Volunteers moving to encircle the Xining Army, Bai Zizai led the Asura Army’s charge and called for one last round of suppressing fire.

• Cai Yu offered Bai Zizai a chance to withdraw, but the Asura Army refused, so Cai Yu ordered the Xining Army to fire arrows.
• The Asura Army charged behind locked shields, and Bai Zizai ordered Dai Songlin to signal the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors to attack.
• The Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors unleashed a devastating volley with Zhuge Repeating Crossbows and Ma Jun Divine Crossbows, forcing Cai Yu’s soldiers to raise their shields.
• Bai Zizai ordered catapults to smash the Xining Army’s front line, and the First-to-Ascend Camp battered the enemy until its crossbow ammunition was nearly exhausted.
• Bai Zizai led the Asura Army in a charge while Yan Gang took the White Horse Volunteers around the Xining Army’s rear to block its escape.
• Bai Zizai called on the First-to-Ascend Camp to provide one last round of suppressing fire, and its soldiers prepared to shoot with Divine Arm Crossbows.

The Xiliang Army overwhelmed the Xining Army with armor-piercing crossbow bolts and relentless charges, while the White Horse Volunteers closed off their escape. Cai Yu’s forces collapsed, and the chapter ended with the Xining Army slaughtered across the blood-soaked battlefield.

• The Asura Army’s crossbow bolts pierced the Xining soldiers’ armor and shields, and Bai Zizai killed Dong Chengwu in three exchanges.
• Bai Zizai challenged Cai Yu, who ordered his soldiers to counter the cavalry and charged toward Bai Zizai with his officers.
• The Asura Army tore through the Xining ranks, while the White Horse Volunteers cut down soldiers attempting to flee.
• Cai Yu ordered a retreat, but the White Horse Volunteers completed their encirclement as the Xining soldiers panicked and scattered.
• Cai Yu fell from his horse and was trampled to death; Bai Zizai arrived too late to kill him himself.
• With Cai Yu dead and no escape, the Xining Army collapsed as the Xiliang Army slaughtered its remaining soldiers.

The Xiliang forces crushed Cai Yu’s Xining Army, terrifying the watching Western Regions rulers and prompting them to seek the Prince of Xiliang’s favor. As the battlefield cleanup began, Jia Xu congratulated Bai Zizai, who recognized that the victory had depended in part on the heir’s Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors.

• The Western Regions rulers watched the Xining Army’s one-sided defeat and feared Xiliang’s power, especially the Red-Eyed Butcher.
• Meng Chihu and the other rulers decided to visit Xiliang with gifts, hoping to gain favor and learn about the soon-to-mature potatoes.
• The Xiliang forces finished slaughtering the Xining Army, leaving only a small band of cavalry fleeing from the White Horse Volunteers.
• Bai Zizai ordered his troops to collect warhorses and usable weapons, salvage equipment, and bury the dead to prevent plague.
• Jia Xu congratulated Bai Zizai on the victory, and Bai Zizai acknowledged that the battle would have been longer without the heir’s Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors.

After Bai Zizai’s Asura Army and Xiliang’s crossbowmen annihilated Cai Yu’s forces, Jia Xu framed the battle as a victory over Western Regions bandits to shield the Prince of Xiliang from political trouble. The Western Regions kings asked to accompany Jia Xu and Bai Zizai to Xiliang to pay their respects, and Jia Xu saw an opportunity to use them as pawns.

• Bai Zizai credited the crossbow formation for defeating Cai Yu, and Jia Xu reminded him to call their lord the Prince of Xiliang rather than the heir.
• Jia Xu promised the Asura Army rewards and claimed the dead Xining Army had actually been seventy thousand Western Regions bandits who attacked while Xiliang’s forces were patrolling.
• Yan Gang arrived with a severed head and reported that none of the enemy had survived, prompting Jia Xu to celebrate the annihilation of the supposed bandits.
• Tu Xiu, Meng Chihu, and the other Western Regions kings approached and asked to visit Xiliang to pay respects to the Prince of Xiliang.
• Jia Xu offered to escort the kings safely to Xiliang while planning to use them to extend his lord’s influence into the Western Regions.

After the heir’s forces annihilated the seventy-thousand-strong Xining Army, Lin Rusong’s court marveled at their strength and worried Northern Liang’s officers would feel useless. Lin Rusong reassured them with prospects of a northern campaign and new weapons, then tightened security around plans for the coming invasion.

• A report reached Lin Rusong’s residence that the Asura Army and Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors had destroyed the Xining Army in less than four hours.
• Xu Zhong and other officers worried that the heir’s growing strength left no role for Northern Liang’s existing commanders and troops.
• Wang Ziwen told the officers they could prove their worth in the planned campaign against the Northern Barbarians, and Lin Rusong promised to inspect the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow during his trip to Xiliang.
• After the officers left, Lin Rusong warned Yi Yun that spies might leak the campaign’s timing, and Yi Yun said the Net and Northern Liang’s forces were watching them.
• Wang Ziwen revealed that the heir’s new retainer had invented a Ma Jun Divine Crossbow capable of firing fifty bolts at once, stunning Lin Rusong.

After Xiliang annihilated the Xining Army, Lin Yi prepared to placate Li Anlan and welcome the Western Regions kings, while the system rewarded him with Guan Yu. The chapter ended with Lin Yi stunned by the unexpected gain.

• Xun Yu, Gongsun Zan, Ma Chao, and Jiang Wei read the reports of Bai Zizai's forces annihilating seventy thousand enemies and discussed the victory's impact on the Western Regions.
• Lin Yi ordered Xun Yu to report the dead Xining troops as Western Regions bandits and assigned Guan Hai a secret mission.
• Xun Yu advised Lin Yi to win over the frightened Western Regions kings, and Lin Yi entrusted the negotiations to him.
• Lin Yi checked the system and received Guan Yu after the defeat of Cai Yu's Xining Army, along with rewards for the submission of several Western Regions kings.
• Lin Yi marveled at obtaining the Martial Saint, Guan Yu, as a critical-hit reward.

Lin Yi opened an army corps gift pack and gained the thirty-thousand-strong Tiger Guard Army, then learned that Li Anlan was secretly raising troops in Jiangling. In the Great Ning palace, Li Anlan grew angry over Lin Yi’s invitations to the Prince of Min and the Prince of Shu, especially after hearing that their sons had gone in their stead.

• Lin Yi opened his army corps gift pack and received Cao Wei’s thirty-thousand-strong Tiger Guard Army.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to deliver the Fierce Tiger War Chariots and siege towers to Ma Jun and the wound-pain-relieving salve to the chancellor for production.
• Wang Yue reported that Li Anlan appeared to be secretly training a large army in Jiangling Commandery, and Lin Yi inferred that the emperor had ambitions to conquer the realm.
• Li Anlan complained that Lin Yi had invited the Prince of Min and the Prince of Shu to Xiliang Commandery but had excluded him.
• Wei Kuang explained that Lin Yi claimed the meeting concerned sweet potatoes and potatoes, while Li Ruyu noted that neither prince had gone but both their sons had.
• Li Anlan rejected the distinction and insisted that the princes’ sons attending was no different from the princes themselves going.

Li Anlan arranged for Li Yunmiao to travel to Xiliang, then learned that negotiations with the Northern Region Barbarians had stalled and that the Xiliang Army had annihilated seventy thousand supposed Western Regions roving bandits. The report left him suspecting the defeated force was actually Cai Yu’s Xining Army, so he ordered an urgent inquiry into Cai Yu’s whereabouts.

• Li Anlan declared he could travel to Xiliang, then asked the Crown Prince and Third Prince to go instead; Li Yunmiao volunteered the crown prince, but an official argued he must stay, so Li Anlan assigned the trip to Li Yunmiao.
• Tan Cheng reported that Li Yunqing had assassinated Tuoba Yu and Yelü Dashan, prompting Tuoba Wanli to halt negotiations; Li Anlan blamed the Northern Region Barbarians and ordered the Prince of Min to reinforce Great Wasteland Commandery.
• An eight-hundred-li dispatch reported that the Xiliang Army had annihilated seventy thousand Western Regions roving bandits while protecting trade routes.
• Li Anlan questioned the report’s vague account of the enemy and ordered Wei Kuang to investigate the Xining Army and find out where Cai Yu was.