Chapter Summaries

Ran Zijin learned that Lin Yi was distributing seized Ran Clan land to commoners, prompting him and Ran Chao to plan retaliation. Ran Zijin explained that the Prince of Northern Liang deliberately tolerated the city’s chaos, and Ran Chao prepared to steer Lin Yi toward destroying the prince’s hidden forces.

• Ran Zijin learned that Lin Yi’s land distribution had drawn the Ran Clan’s hired farmhands away from their fields.
• Ran Chao discovered that Lin Yi had distributed land seized from the Ran Clan and urged his father to stop him.
• Ran Zijin slapped Ran Chao for believing the Prince of Northern Liang had neglected the city and explained that the prince controlled how much chaos it faced.
• Ran Zijin told Ran Chao that the emperor would distrust a peaceful Northern Liang because its prince might win the people’s loyalty.
• Ran Zijin proposed pushing Lin Yi to destroy forces working for the Prince of Northern Liang, and Ran Chao agreed to arrange it indirectly.

Lin Yi won the people of Northern Liang’s gratitude by distributing land, and his system rewarded him with a flood of gifts. After returning to the prince’s residence, he learned that an imperial envoy had arrived with a decree and went to meet him, suspecting the emperor had made his next move against Northern Liang.

• Lin Yi watched Northern Liang’s people celebrate receiving land and praise him for caring for them.
• The system credited Lin Yi with winning over more than thirty thousand people and rewarded him with goods including potatoes, a mathematical text, and a curved-beam plow.
• Zhang Long told Lin Yi that an imperial envoy had arrived to read an imperial decree, alarming the people at the prince’s residence.
• Lin Yi reassured his companions that Northern Liang was safe and decided to meet the envoy to learn what the emperor intended.

Lin Yi rejected the emperor Li Anlan’s decree naming him Marquis of Xiliang and betrothing him to Princess Shenle, claiming he could not marry until he had defeated the barbarians. Wang Ziwen returned to Northern Liang and helped send the frightened imperial envoy away, while Lin Yi learned Zhang Huisheng had impeached him.

• Zhang Huisheng delivered Li Anlan’s decree naming Lin Yi Marquis of Xiliang and selecting him as Princess Shenle’s consort.
• Lin Yi refused the marriage, saying he had sworn to avenge his mother and defeat the Northern Region barbarians before starting a family.
• Wang Ziwen arrived and praised Lin Yi’s resolve, while Zhang Huisheng grew afraid and hurried to leave.
• Wang Ziwen told Lin Yi that Zhang Huisheng had impeached him for the killings in Northern Liang City.

Lin Yi learned that his father had appointed him governor of Xiliang as a trial for inheriting the Prince of Northern Liang’s title. Though Xiliang lay on the border with the Northern Region and would require him to build his power from scratch, Wang Ziwen revealed that the prince had already conquered the territory and stationed a hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry nearby.

• Lin Yi became angry when Wang Ziwen told him that Zhang Huisheng had impeached him, but Wang said the prince had sent people to deal with Zhang and his connections in the capital.
• Wang Ziwen explained that Xu Zhong could be trusted not to betray Northern Liang, though Lin Yi would have to convince the general to support him.
• Wang Ziwen gave Lin Yi his father's letter, which praised him, appointed him governor of Xiliang, and demanded seventy percent of the money Lin Yi had seized.
• Lin Yi studied his father's map and discovered that Xiliang lay in Northern Region territory where Great Ning, Northern Liang, and the Northern Region met.
• Wang Ziwen told Lin Yi that the prince had conquered Xiliang for him and placed a hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry nearby to support his trial.

Lin Yi accepted his appointment as Governor of Xiliang and received a Royal City gift pack after winning the admiration of Northern Liang Royal City’s people. Jia Xu advised him to strengthen himself gradually and use Xiliang’s border location to conquer without restraint.

• Lin Yi accepted the post of Governor of Xiliang and rejected the idea of becoming Princess Shenle’s imperial son-in-law.
• Wang Ziwen praised Lin Yi for prioritizing Northern Liang and recognized that he had grown into his responsibilities.
• The system awarded Lin Yi a Northern Liang Royal City gift pack after ninety percent of the population acknowledged him.
• Lin Yi received Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, elite guards, Zhuge Repeating Crossbows, The Legacy of Wumu, and Jia Xu.
• Lin Yi summoned Jia Xu and asked how to gain the greatest advantage in Xiliang.
• Jia Xu advised Lin Yi to grow stronger gradually and said Xiliang’s position on the barbarian border allowed him to conquer his enemies without restraint.

Lin Yi prepared for his move to Xiliang and gave Ma Chao The Legacy of Wumu to study. Meanwhile, Wang Ziwen defended Lin Yi’s purge of officials and ordered it to continue, declaring that not enough people had been killed.

• Lin Yi told Jia Xu to arrange supplies for the move to Xiliang, with Han Song assisting him.
• Lin Yi gave Ma Chao The Legacy of Wumu, and Ma Chao vowed to study it and help defeat the Northern Region barbarians.
• Jia Xu warned Lin Yi to keep the military strategy book secret, and Lin Yi agreed to restrict it to his trusted people.
• Officials asked Wang Ziwen to restrain Lin Yi, but Wang Ziwen defended the heir’s killings as justified after the assassination attempt.
• Wang Ziwen handed the officials a list and ordered the purge to continue, saying Lin Yi had not killed enough people.

Wang Ziwen ordered another purge to protect Northern Liang’s reputation after the attempt on Lin Yi, striking at forces tied to the Ran Clan. Huang Yuntao learned the purge also foiled Ran Zijin’s plans, while recognizing that the prince’s patience with the Ran Clan was nearly exhausted.

• Wang Ziwen defended a new purge by warning that an attack on the heir could make Northern Liang seem weak to the Northern Region’s barbarians and the Western Regions.
• Wang Ziwen assigned Xu Zhong to lead the purge with his thirty thousand soldiers, prompting Ran Zijin to leave furiously after finding his businesses and Lin Rusong’s gangs on the list.
• Wang Ziwen and Huang Yuntao discussed the purge, and Huang Yuntao admitted the heir’s earlier crackdown had benefited him as governor of Yongzhou.
• Huang Yuntao learned Wang Ziwen had targeted gangs backed by the prince to foil the Ran Clan’s counterattack, and he concluded the prince would eventually move against the Ran Clan.

Ran Chao told Ran Zijin that he had sold the abandoned Baiyuan Commandery mine to Lin Yi’s man, Zhang Long, for twenty thousand taels, unaware that its salt was poisonous. As Ran Zijin planned to use the sale against Lin Yi, an assassin attacked the Ran residence and wounded Ran Chao, leaving Ran Zijin facing the intruder.

• Ran Zijin smashed a jade tiger and complained about Wang Ziwen’s return and renewed purge.
• Ran Chao told Ran Zijin he had sold the abandoned mine in Baiyuan Commandery to Zhang Long for twenty thousand taels.
• Ran Zijin realized the mine’s salt was poisonous and ordered Ran Chao to watch Lin Yi’s residence for any attempt to sell it.
• Ran Chao noticed someone outside and called out, but an arrow struck him in the abdomen.
• A black-clad assassin entered the room, and Ran Zijin tried to reason with the intruder as he approached.

Ran Zijin survived an assassination attempt but was left gravely wounded, while Lin Yi relaxed at Wafting Fragrance Pavilion and learned that a vast salt mine had been found. The discovery promised to solve his shortage of funds and support his plans for Northern Liang.

• A black-clad assassin wounded Ran Zijin and fled when the Ran Clan guards arrived.
• News of Ran Zijin’s grave condition spread through Northern Liang City, where people mocked the troubled Ran Clan.
• Lin Yi visited Wafting Fragrance Pavilion with Jia Xu, who told him they had run out of money after Lin Yi’s father took most of their profits.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu reported that they had found a salt mine large enough to supply Northern Liang for a lifetime.
• Lin Yi recognized the mine’s potential to fund recruitment, weapons research, and provisions for his army.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu bought Lin Yi a salt mine in Baiyuan Commandery, but Jia Xu discovered that the Ran Clan had sold them a poisonous deposit to ruin Lin Yi’s reputation. Lin Yi brushed off the loss, impressing Jia Xu and triggering a system reward as the chapter ended.

• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu presented Lin Yi with the deed to the Ran Clan’s abandoned mine in Baiyuan Commandery, which they had bought for twenty thousand taels of silver.
• Jia Xu checked his records and warned Lin Yi that the mine contained poisonous salt and that the Ran Clan had sold it to frame him.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu knelt in alarm, while Jia Xu vowed inwardly to punish the Ran Clan for scheming against Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi laughed off the loss and said the Ran Clan would regret its actions in the future.
• Jia Xu knelt in admiration, and the system rewarded Lin Yi for subduing him with one thousand Flying Bear Army soldiers and one hundred top-grade Blue Pigeons.

Lin Yi revealed that he could purify the poisonous salt from the Ran Clan’s mine and entrusted Jia Xu with guarding and managing it. After hearing people praise his cleanup of Northern Liang City, Lin Yi watched Zhang Long and Zhao Hu compete to flatter him.

• Zhang Long offered to have Ran Chao killed, but Lin Yi refused to retaliate over the attempted scheme.
• Lin Yi explained that he could purify the poisonous salt and turn the Ran Clan’s mine into a vast source of wealth.
• Lin Yi ordered Jia Xu to guard the mine and manage the salt production using his method.
• Lin Yi overheard people at the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion praising his recent actions and the safer streets of Northern Liang City.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu praised Lin Yi’s virtues and compared his accomplishments to the founding of Northern Liang.

Lin Yi gained Ma Chao’s loyalty and five thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry, then reunited with Wang Zitao at the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion. Wang Zitao was relieved that Lin Yi still seemed like his old friend, but hesitated after saying they were good brothers.

• Zhao Hu and Zhang Long praised Lin Yi, while Ma Chao privately admired his leadership and generosity.
• Lin Yi received a system reward of five thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry after Ma Chao accepted him as the best lord.
• Lin Yi welcomed Wang Zitao, who said his father had praised Lin Yi for changing and was glad to see him at the pavilion.
• Lin Yi explained that he had struck back after someone tried to assassinate him, and Wang Zitao approved of his response.
• Wang Zitao said they were good brothers, then hesitated as though he had come to ask Lin Yi for something.

After Wang Zitao asked whether Lin Yi had arranged the attack on the Ran father and son, Lin Yi denied it while Wang Zitao celebrated their misfortune and treated everyone. At the chief steward’s residence, Xu Zhong concluded that Lin Yi had sent the assassin, and Wang Ziwen felt proud that the heir had finally shown his strength.

• Wang Zitao told Lin Yi and the others that Ran Zijin was unconscious and Ran Chao had been shot with an arrow, then asked whether Lin Yi was responsible.
• Lin Yi denied arranging the attack, while Wang Zitao hinted that he was glad the Ran Clan had been harmed and offered to pay everyone’s bill.
• Wang Ziwen asked Xu Zhong whether he had attacked the Ran father and son, and Xu Zhong denied it.
• Xu Zhong identified Ma Chao and Wang Yue as Lin Yi’s powerful allies and reasoned that the restrained attack was likely the heir’s warning and retaliation.
• Wang Ziwen concluded that Lin Yi had arranged the attack and felt relieved and proud that the heir had grown up.

Lin Yi learned that Wang Yue had severely wounded Ran Zijin and brought back money taken from Ran Chao, then rewarded him with the Heaven-Relying Sword. Wang Yue’s renewed admiration earned Lin Yi a card granting Lü Bu’s full strength and hundreds of Cao Cao’s personal guards.

• Wang Yue reported that he had struck Ran Zijin one fen from the heart, leaving him severely wounded, and presented Lin Yi with nearly twenty thousand taels taken from Ran Chao.
• Lin Yi gave Wang Yue the Heaven-Relying Sword, and Wang Yue vowed to protect him with his life.
• The system rewarded Lin Yi with a Young Lü Bu Equipment Card, which he activated to gain Lü Bu’s full strength.
• Wang Yue mistook Lin Yi’s sudden transformation for an epiphany and grew even more admiring of him.
• The system awarded Lin Yi hundreds of Cao Cao’s personal guards as Wang Yue’s admiration rose.

Lin Yi learned that Xiliang was a contested border city where the Northern Region barbarians, Great Ning, and Northern Liang maintained a fragile balance, and realized his father had made conquering it his final test as heir. He prepared to take charge there, confident that his advantages would let him establish a stronghold, while awaiting the money promised by refining salt.

• Wang Yue reported that Xiliang was small but strategically important, crowded with armed groups and claimed by three suspicious powers.
• Lin Yi explained that his father had sent him to Xiliang to test whether he could inherit the title of Prince of Northern Liang.
• Lin Yi pointed out that Xiliang lay east of Northern Liang and concluded that conquering the east would make it Eastern Liang, explaining its name.
• Wang Yue praised Lin Yi’s abilities, and Lin Yi grew confident that he could take Xiliang and use it as a base against the barbarians and Great Ning.
• Lin Yi told Wang Yue to prepare for their move to Xiliang and keep watch on the salt mine that Zhang Long and Zhao Hu had bought from the Ran Clan.

Lin Yi’s saltworks succeeded in producing pure premium salt, and he moved quickly to challenge the Ran Clan’s hold on Northern Liang’s salt market. As Jia Xu prepared to sell the salt cheaply to the public, crowds gathered outside the new shop, Benefit to All Under Heaven.

• Lin Yi learned that his father’s purge had brought in more than two hundred thousand strings of cash and considered the threat posed by Tuoba Yu’s nearly hundred-thousand-strong army in Xiliang.
• Zhang Long and Zhao Hu announced that they had successfully removed the poison from the salt, and Lin Yi rewarded them with one thousand taels each.
• Lin Yi ordered Jia Xu to take the new salt to market and find someone to manage its sale.
• Jia Xu promised the saltworks workers triple wages, and they rapidly produced premium salt for Northern Liang’s market.
• People flocked to Benefit to All Under Heaven, where Jia Xu explained that Lin Yi was selling the salt cheaply as a benefit to the people.

Lin Yi’s premium refined salt earned Benefit to All Under Heaven more than ten thousand strings of coins in its first day, while Jia Xu and Ma Chao discussed how to use the profits. Wang Ziwen learned that Lin Yi had bought the Ran Clan’s poisonous salt mine and wondered whether to intervene.

• Jia Xu had Zhang Long and Zhao Hu present Lin Yi’s premium refined salt, and the cheering crowd rushed to buy it.
• Benefit to All Under Heaven earned more than ten thousand strings of coins in one day, astonishing Jia Xu.
• Ma Chao asked Lin Yi to fund better provisions so he could strengthen the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and Lin Yi agreed to hand him the first batch of profits.
• Wang Ziwen learned that Lin Yi had bought the Ran Clan’s poisonous salt mine and asked whether they should intervene.

Ran Chao learned that Lin Yi’s cheap refined salt had devastated the Ran Clan’s salt trade and believed it came from the poison salt mine. He laughed at the news, convinced Lin Yi had exposed himself to public outrage.

• Wang Ziwen warned a scout against coveting the heir’s businesses, then secretly ordered a man in black to deal with him for betraying his master.
• Wang Ziwen read the intelligence report and praised the heir’s efforts to help Northern Liang’s common people, seeing him as a worthy successor.
• Ran Chao, still recovering from his injuries, worried that his father Ran Zijin had not awakened and was handed a pile of account books to review.
• A messenger told Ran Chao that Lin Yi’s refined salt had driven the Ran Clan from the market by selling for less than coarse salt.
• Ran Chao heard that Lin Yi’s salt supposedly came from the Ran Clan’s poison salt mine and laughed, believing Lin Yi had brought disaster upon himself.

After Lin Yi’s refined salt ruined the Ran Clan’s salt business, Ran Chao learned that Lin Yi had made poisonous salt safe and fainted in fury. Lin Yi set aside plans to confront the Ran Clan and prepared to leave for Xiliang, where he would build his own power.

• Ran Chao ordered an investigation into Lin Yi’s salt and faced complaints from Ran Clan shopkeepers whose businesses were losing customers.
• Ran Chao learned that Lin Yi could treat poisonous salt, realized the mine was a vast source of wealth, and spat blood before fainting.
• Lin Yi laughed at Ran Chao’s misfortune and said he would focus on promoting his salt rather than fighting the Ran Clan for now.
• Lin Yi announced his intention to go to Xiliang, and Han Song said he could not accompany him from his post as commander of the residence’s guards.
• Wang Ziwen gave Lin Yi captured weapons and equipment for nearly fifty thousand men and warned him that Xiliang’s people and barbarians were dangerous.
• Lin Yi assured Wang Ziwen that he would make Xiliang his own and rule it with strength.

Lin Yi prepared to leave Northern Liang for his post in Xiliang, sharing a heartfelt farewell with Wang Ziwen and giving him a precious ginseng root. To evade hostile forces, Lin Yi departed secretly at midnight while Ma Chao led a decoy group along the main road toward Xiliang.

• Lin Yi asked Wang Ziwen about Lin Rusong’s health, then gave Wang Ziwen one of two rare ginseng roots and sent the other for his father.
• Wang Ziwen accepted the gift after Lin Yi called him family, and the two exchanged advice and farewells.
• Lin Yi declined a public send-off because hostile forces were gathering information about him and he wanted to catch them off guard.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to prepare the departure, while Wang Yue reported that Jia Xu had arranged the route and guards.
• At midnight, Ma Chao led a decoy party along the main road as Lin Yi disguised himself as a wealthy merchant’s son and took a faster side road toward Dayu Pass.