Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi sent the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and White Horse Volunteers toward Wind and Snow City while Ma Chao also mobilized, forcing Yelü Dafeng to prepare for a three-pronged assault. Yelü Dafeng chose to hold the position and await reinforcements as the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry arrived.

• Jia Xu explained that Bai Zizai would be saved for the attack on the enemy royal city, and Lin Yi set out to watch the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's first battle at full strength.
• Yelü Dafeng heard a thunderous approach near Wind and Snow City, sent scouts to investigate, and ordered his army onto alert.
• Scouts reported that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and White Horse Volunteers were advancing with roughly a hundred thousand troops each, while Ma Chao had also moved out.
• Yelü Dafeng rejected retreat, ordered his troops to use the wooden palisades and chevaux-de-frise for cover, and sent for reinforcements.
• The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry arrived, and one of Yelü Dafeng's deputies questioned why they were attacking head-on instead of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

Zhang Liao and Qu Yi used the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors and Ferocious Tiger War Chariots to break through Yelü Dafeng’s trenches and reach his palisade while Ma Chao cut off the enemy’s retreat. Yelü Dafeng’s defenses were then shattered by several enormous monsters, leaving his army surrounded and exposed.

• Yelü Dafeng ordered his men to defend the trenches and sent troops to guard the rear when he saw Ma Chao’s army circling around.
• Zhang Liao asked Qu Yi to lead the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors against the trenches while siege crossbows and catapults covered them.
• Qu Yi’s warriors advanced under shields and Ferocious Tiger War Chariots, repelled a Northern Barbarian cavalry charge, and helped the Xiliang Army fill the trenches.
• Ma Chao’s hundred-thousand-strong army blocked Yelü Dafeng’s retreat, trapping his forces between the armies.
• Several enormous monsters advanced and tore open the wooden palisade that Yelü Dafeng had relied on for defense.

War elephants and explosions breached Wind and Snow City's defenses, leaving Yelü Dafeng's army threatened by Xiliang's forces in front and Ma Chao behind. Yelü Dafeng ordered a breakout, and Fu Kun led ten thousand cavalry in a desperate charge against Zhang Liao's Tiger Cavalry as the main force tried to escape.

• Armored war elephants tore through the wooden palisades, while an explosion opened another breach and Xiliang's cavalry poured into Wind and Snow City.
• Fu Kun warned Yelü Dafeng that Ma Chao had circled behind them, cutting off their retreat and threatening their reinforcements.
• Yelü Dafeng ordered the army to break out and had his officers draw lots; Fu Kun drew the duty of covering the retreat with ten thousand men.
• Fu Kun sounded the horns and led his cavalry to meet the enemy, while Zhang Liao sent the Tiger Cavalry to attack and the Leopard Cavalry to block the escape.
• Fu Kun realized he was facing heavy cavalry, and the two forces collided, with the Northern Barbarian cavalry at the front sent flying.

Xiliang’s armored Tiger Cavalry routed Fu Kun’s ten thousand Northern Barbarian cavalry, while the allied forces secured Wind and Snow City. Zhang Liao pursued Yelü Dafeng as Lin Yi and Jia Xu assessed the victory and the strength of their forces.

• Fu Kun attacked a Tiger Cavalryman but could not pierce his heavy armor, and the Northern Barbarian cavalry began to collapse under the charge.
• Zhang Liao killed Fu Kun and ordered Qu Yi to finish off the survivors while the other forces pursued Yelü Dafeng.
• Qu Yi sent his men and the Dare-to-Die Battalion to clear the battlefield and bury the dead, while planning to root out rebels in Wind and Snow City.
• Lin Yi and Jia Xu discussed the capture of Wind and Snow City, Yelü Dafeng’s defenses, and how the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors overcame the trenches.
• Lin Yi praised the Tiger Cavalry’s charge, and Jia Xu remarked that few forces could afford heavy cavalry like Xiliang’s and Great Ning’s.

Lin Yi assigned Bai Zizai to help capture Great Jade Mountain while the armies pursued Yelü Dafeng’s retreating Northern Barbarians. Ma Chao’s Xiliang Iron Cavalry intercepted them, and with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry closing in, Yelü Dafeng ordered a desperate charge as Ma Chao prepared to unleash the Ma Jun Divine Crossbows.

• Lin Yi told Bai Zizai that his Asura Army would be needed to capture Great Jade Mountain, and Bai Zizai eagerly accepted the mission.
• Ma Chao intercepted Yelü Dafeng’s fleeing cavalry and ordered the Xiliang Iron Cavalry to fire a volley that inflicted heavy casualties.
• Yelü Dafeng ordered his soldiers to shoot back and charge through the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, but their arrows failed against its armor.
• The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry caught up from behind, trapping Yelü Dafeng’s troops between the pursuing forces and Ma Chao’s cavalry.
• Yelü Dafeng ordered his men to stake everything on breaking through, and Ma Chao commanded the Ma Jun Divine Crossbows to fire into their formation.

Ma Chao’s forces annihilated Yelü Dafeng’s encircled Northern Barbarian army, while Lin Yi learned that Gongsun Zan had captured Great Wind Valley and assigned Bai Zizai to sweep nearby tribes. The next morning, Tuoba Qingsong’s exhausted reinforcements neared the valley as riders bearing their own banner approached.

• The Ma Jun Divine Crossbows devastated Yelü Dafeng’s cavalry, and Ma Chao killed Yelü Dafeng as the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and Tiger and Leopard Cavalry destroyed the remaining troops.
• Lin Yi ordered the battlefield cleared and the crossbow ammunition recovered, then received word that Gongsun Zan had taken Great Wind Valley.
• Lin Yi judged Great Jade Mountain too far away for a surprise attack and assigned Bai Zizai to clear the surrounding small tribes.
• Tuoba Qingsong’s force approached Great Wind Valley to reinforce Wind and Snow City, and riders carrying their own banner came into view.

Tuoba Qingsong learned that Xiliang had launched simultaneous attacks on Wind and Snow City and Great Wind Valley, and he retreated to defend Great Jade Mountain instead of risking his army in a rescue. Tuoba Wanli then considered gathering the kingdom to defend the mountain and seeking help from Li Anlan.

• Messengers reported that Xiliang forces had heavily attacked Wind and Snow City and Great Wind Valley, leaving both at risk of falling.
• Tuoba Qingsong refused to send his hundred thousand troops into a possible encirclement and ordered a retreat to Great Jade Mountain.
• Tuoba Qingsong told Ao Shuang to prepare defenses at Great Jade Mountain and dispatched word of the crisis to Tuoba Wanli.
• Tuoba Wanli learned that the two strategic locations might already be lost and asked Ashina Dubi whether to retreat or seek cooperation with Li Anlan.
• Ashina Dubi advised Tuoba Wanli to rally the kingdom to defend Great Jade Mountain and ask Li Anlan to attack Xiliang.

Tuoba Wanli prepared to defend Great Jade Mountain and sought Great Ning’s help against Lin Yi, while Lin Yi consolidated his capture of Wind and Snow City and received new troops, commanders, and supplies. Wang Yue then warned Lin Yi that Great Ning had uncovered signs of trouble and might soon act.

• Tuoba Wanli ordered a message sent to Great Ning and called up Northern Region forces to reinforce Great Jade Mountain.
• Tuoba Wanli told Old Eagle to watch Northern Liang and prevent Lin Yi’s father and son from joining forces.
• Xu Chu reported that Wind and Snow City’s battlefield had been cleared, and Lin Yi ordered a garrison left there before sweeping nearby tribes.
• Lin Yi received Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, seventy thousand troops, the prized steed Red Hare, and improved wheat seeds as rewards for his conquests.
• Lin Yi introduced the Xiahou brothers to Wang Yue, who reported that Great Ning had killed spies probing Xiliang and was likely to act soon.

Lin Yi explained why Northern Liang had been kept out of the surprise attack and ordered a victory celebration after Xiliang’s victories over the Northern Barbarians. Northern Liang’s generals feared they had been forgotten until Lin Rusong received Lin Yi’s letter, which assigned them an important mission.

• Wang Yue reported that Tuoba Qingsong had abandoned his advance and that Yulong City was reinforcing Great Jade Mountain; Lin Yi said the retreat was sensible and explained that Northern Liang had been excluded to preserve the element of surprise.
• Lin Yi ordered a celebration for Xiliang’s army and said Northern Liang could now join the fight at Great Jade Mountain.
• Northern Liang’s generals heard that Xiliang had taken Wind and Snow City and Great Wind Valley, killing 150,000 enemy troops, and worried that Lin Yi had left them with nothing to do.
• Lin Rusong praised Lin Yi’s victories but wondered why he had not informed his father of his plans.
• Yi Yun delivered Lin Yi’s carrier-pigeon letter, and Lin Rusong told the generals that Lin Yi had entrusted Northern Liang with an important mission, though not an assault on Great Jade Mountain.

Lin Rusong assigned Xu Zhong and Wang Ziwen to lead a hundred thousand troops against the Northern Barbarians, then prepared to take three hundred thousand troops to Liangshan Pass to confront Li Anlan. Li Anlan learned that Lin Yi had launched a major invasion, sweeping through two Northern Barbarian passes, and realized Xiliang might soon become too powerful to challenge.

• Xu Zhong volunteered to lead a hundred thousand troops against the Northern Barbarians, and Lin Rusong sent Wang Ziwen with him to kill Tuoba Wanli.
• Lin Rusong announced that he would personally lead three hundred thousand troops to Liangshan Pass and challenge Li Anlan if he intervened.
• Li Anlan questioned Wei Kuang about Lin Yi sealing off Xiliang, and Wei Kuang reported that spies and fishing boats had stopped returning.
• Tao Xianfang delivered Ning Kun's urgent dispatch, reporting that Lin Yi's army had captured Wind and Snow City and Great Wind Valley in one day and was advancing toward Great Jade Mountain.
• Tao Xianfang estimated that Lin Yi had deployed at least three hundred thousand troops after more than a hundred thousand Northern Barbarian soldiers were swept aside.

Li Anlan seized on the claim that Xun Yu had rebelled in Xiliang as an excuse to send troops there, while Lin Rusong marched south with three hundred thousand Northern Liang soldiers. Li Anlan appointed Shangguan Yun to lead the campaign against Xiliang and Li Ruyu as his deputy.

• After Xiliang’s victory over the Northern Barbarians, Li Anlan worried that Lin Yi’s growing power threatened Great Ning.
• Ran Xianhua accused Xun Yu of rebelling in Xiliang, and Li Anlan backed the claim as justification for sending troops.
• Li Ruyu urged Li Anlan to assist Lin Yi, and Li Anlan announced that five hundred thousand troops would march to Xiliang.
• Wei Kuang reported that Lin Rusong had led three hundred thousand Northern Liang troops south into Liangshan Pass.
• Li Anlan assigned veteran General Shangguan Yun to command the campaign against Xiliang, with Li Ruyu as his deputy, and ordered another two hundred thousand troops to the northwest.

Shangguan Yun led Great Ning’s forces toward Xiliang, but found that Xun Yu and Gan Ning had fortified Ningchuan Port and were patrolling the river. He planned to wait for Ning Kun to draw the defenders away before attempting a crossing, while Xun Yu inspected the port’s defenses.

• Li Anlan appointed Shangguan Yun and Li Ruyu to lead the campaign against Xiliang, and Shangguan Yun accepted despite fearing the risks.
• Shangguan Yun considered the river and overland routes, then chose to rely on Ning Kun’s army to draw Xiliang’s attention before crossing.
• At Ningchuan Port, Shangguan Yun and Li Ruyu saw the enemy’s fortifications and patrols, including night patrols, and concluded a surprise crossing was impossible.
• Shangguan Yun agreed that Ning Kun should strike first, though he worried Lin Yi had anticipated that move as well.
• Xun Yu inspected Great Ning Port’s defenses with Gan Ning and Liu Feng, and laughed off Li Anlan’s claim that he was invading Xiliang to suppress Xun Yu’s rebellion.

Xun Yu ordered measures to defend Xiliang and spread pressure across Great Ning while Ning Kun prepared to invade Youning Commandery. After Jiang Wei rejected Ning Kun’s demand to open a path, Ning Kun suspected that Jiang Wei was Lin Yi’s ally.

• Gan Ning agreed to defend Great Ning Port with Chen Dao against Li Anlan’s three hundred thousand troops, while Xun Yu pointed out Jiang Wei could rely on the Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors.
• Xun Yu ordered Guan Yu to raid Great Ning’s borders, the Western Regions kingdoms to attack the Xining Army, and the southern native chieftains to be offered potatoes in exchange for their support.
• Ning Kun grew eager to coordinate with Li Anlan’s invasion and seek revenge on Lin Yi, then asked Zhang Dajun how Jiang Wei had responded to his demand to open a path.
• Zhang Dajun told Ning Kun that Jiang Wei had replied, “Scram!” and that Zhang Ci and the Qian Clan had moved to Ping’an City.
• Ning Kun concluded that Jiang Wei had sided with Lin Yi and accused Lin Yi of placing his men under Ning Kun’s nose.

Ning Kun marched his two-hundred-thousand-strong army toward Youning Commandery, where Jiang Wei and a large force of armed locals blocked his way. Powerful crossbows drove Ning Kun into retreat, leaving him unable to reach Xiliang through the commandery.

• Ning Kun ordered his army to move against Youning Commandery after learning Jiang Wei had turned him away.
• Jiang Wei emerged behind the stone wall with archers and said Youning Commandery’s commoners would not let Ning Kun pass.
• Ning Kun ordered his troops to attack, and Jiang Wei revealed a vast militia armed with powerful crossbows.
• The militia’s crossbow volley killed hundreds of Ning Kun’s men, and Ning Kun ordered a retreat.
• Jiang Wei mocked Ning Kun’s failed attempt to take the eastern gateway to Xiliang with only two hundred thousand troops.

Lin Yi’s 500,000-strong army routed the Northern Barbarians, sending tribes fleeing toward Great Jade Mountain as Xiliang prepared for a decisive battle. A messenger then brought new intelligence from Xiliang.

• Jiang Wei assured Youning Commandery’s militia representatives that he would keep Ning Kun from harming them.
• Xiliang’s army flattened Wind and Snow City and Great Wind Valley, then destroyed more than a dozen tribes and killed tens of thousands of Northern Barbarians.
• Northern Barbarian tribes fled toward Great Jade Mountain, and Lin Yi refused Gongsun Zan’s request to pursue them.
• Lin Yi and Jia Xu discussed how Xiliang could mobilize 500,000 troops while larger powers were constrained by the need to guard their territories.
• A member of the Net arrived with new intelligence from Xiliang.

Lin Yi received word that Li Anlan had sent five hundred thousand troops to invade Xiliang, but he trusted the region’s defenses to hold. As his own army approached Great Jade Mountain, he prepared to attack the Northern Barbarian forces gathered there before dawn.

• Lin Yi learned that Ning Kun had spies among the Northern Barbarians and sent Wang Yue to deal with them.
• Lin Yi reassured Bai Zizai that Xiliang could withstand Li Anlan’s invasion with its troops and Gan Ning’s navy.
• Lin Yi and Jia Xu noted that more than four hundred thousand Northern Barbarian troops had assembled at Great Jade Mountain, with reinforcements still arriving.
• Lin Yi ordered the army to reach Great Jade Mountain that day and attack before dawn, with the three cavalry corps ready and the Formation-Breaking Camp expected to arrive.

Tuoba Qingsong warned that Lin Yi’s army threatened the Northern Barbarians, but Tuoba Wanli and Ashina Dubi arrived at Great Jade Mountain confident that Li Anlan’s invasion of Xiliang would force Lin Yi to retreat. Tuoba Qingsong welcomed the news, leaving the Northern Barbarians expecting the balance of power to shift in their favor.

• Tuoba Qingsong worried that Lin Yi’s large army would destroy the Northern Barbarians, while Tuoba Qingshan and the lesser kings argued over Lin Yi’s strength.
• Tuoba Qingsong revealed that Lin Yi had brought nearly five hundred thousand troops into the Great Jade Mountain region.
• Tuoba Qingshan questioned Lin Yi’s advance and wondered whether he feared Li Anlan attacking his rear.
• Tuoba Wanli arrived with Ashina Dubi, raising morale among the Northern Barbarian commanders.
• Ashina Dubi announced that Li Anlan was attacking Xiliang with five hundred thousand troops, and Tuoba Qingsong believed Lin Yi would have to return to defend his territory.

Tuoba Wanli prepared the Northern Barbarians to hold Great Jade Mountain, expecting Lin Yi to withdraw after Li Anlan marched north. Lin Yi’s challenge letters exposed Tuoba Wanli’s plan to move his family and assets to safety, shaking the king’s authority and threatening the army’s morale.

• Tuoba Wanli told the Northern Barbarian leaders that Li Anlan had proposed dividing Xiliang and urged them to wait for Lin Yi to withdraw before attacking.
• Tuoba Wanli explained to Tuoba Qingsong that he had come to fight for the Northern Barbarians, while his family had been moved to safety and his eldest son guarded Yulong City.
• Tuoba Wanli ordered Ashina Dubi and the army to give everything to defending Great Jade Mountain and withstand Lin Yi’s coming attack.
• Lin Yi’s soldiers shot thousands of challenge letters into the Northern Barbarian camp, mocking Tuoba Wanli’s rule and revealing that he had moved his family and assets away.
• Tuoba Wanli ordered the letters burned, but a titled king and other soldiers began to suspect that their king planned to flee.

Lin Yi’s troops harassed Tuoba Wanli’s forces through the night with repeated cavalry raids and a drumbeat produced by sheep. After the Northern Barbarians spent the night on edge, Lin Yi prepared to attack at dawn once his full army and heavy weapons arrived.

• Gongsun Zan’s White Horse Volunteers repeatedly charged the Northern Barbarian forward positions, shooting down guards before withdrawing each time.
• Jia Xu praised the harassment as a stratagem that exhausted the enemy and could conceal a real attack, while Lin Yi privately admitted he had only ordered the raids to punish soldiers who had insulted him.
• Lin Yi told Xu Chu to arrange another tactic, and Xu Chu set sheep to beat rows of war drums throughout the night.
• Lin Yi ordered his troops to rest while keeping watch and harassing the enemy occasionally, then planned a direct attack at dawn after the baggage trains arrived.
• Tuoba Wanli heard the drums and occasional battle cries from Great Jade Mountain, and his expression grew ugly.

Lin Yi launched his campaign to destroy the Northern Barbarians at Great Jade Mountain after exhausting their forces with repeated nighttime war drums. He divided his army into three advances and set out with Jia Xu to confront Tuoba Wanli.

• Tuoba Wanli rejected a night attack after Ashina Dubi judged their odds of victory to be below thirty percent against Lin Yi's heavy cavalry, heavy infantry, and Vanguard Dare-to-Die Warriors.
• Lin Yi ordered the assault at dawn, while Jia Xu and the other commanders prepared to crush the Northern Barbarians' main force.
• Lin Yi assigned Zhang Liao and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to break through the front, supported by Bai Zizai, Qu Yi, and Gao Shun.
• Lin Yi ordered Gongsun Zan to strike the left flank and Ma Chao to cut off the enemy's retreat and block reinforcements on the right.
• Lin Yi took Jia Xu with him to the main battlefield, intending to keep Tuoba Wanli from escaping.