Chapter Summaries

After Xiliang defeated Great Ning, Lin Yi offered Li Anlan a chance to live peacefully, but Li Anlan asked him to spare his sons and then poisoned himself. Lin Yi ordered him buried with dignity and promised to treat Great Ning’s people well, while Qin Li asked what name Lin Yi would give his new dynasty.

• Lin Yi met Li Anlan after Xiliang secured victory, and Li Anlan conceded defeat.
• Li Anlan asked Lin Yi to spare his crown prince and third son, but Lin Yi agreed only to spare Li Yunmiao if he behaved.
• Li Anlan entrusted Shenle to Lin Yi and swallowed poison, dying before Hua Tuo could save him.
• Lin Yi ordered Li Anlan given a grand burial, and Qin Li asked him what dynastic name he would choose.

Lin Yi established the Great Liang dynasty after Li Anlan and Qin Li died, then entered the capital as a crowd of three hundred thousand welcomed him as their Cult Leader. He appointed Zhang Jiao and his brothers to lead the renamed Taoism as Great Liang’s state religion, while ordering strict regulation of religious groups.

• Lin Yi rejected Qin Li’s abdication edict, declared Great Liang the rightful ruler, and ordered Li Anlan’s death concealed while the capital and south were purged in his name.
• A messenger reported that the Prince of Northern Liang and the military adviser had breached the imperial city, so Lin Yi set out to take the capital.
• Hundreds of thousands of commoners welcomed Lin Yi as the Lord Northern Emperor and Cult Leader, and he discovered Zhang Jiao had organized them.
• Zhang Jiao explained that he had brought three hundred thousand followers to witness Lin Yi’s ascension, and Lin Yi praised his contribution.
• Lin Yi appointed the Zhang brothers as state preceptors, renamed the Way of Great Peace Taoism, and made it Great Liang’s state religion.
• Lin Yi ordered Guo Jia to have Chen Qun and Xun Yu draft a Religious Administration Law as the crowd fell silent before him.

Lin Yi rallied the people by promising food, education, and a better future, then entered Chenghuang City as his forces welcomed him. He told Lin Rusong that Li Anlan had died by suicide and announced his plan to establish the Great Liang Dynasty before conquering the south.

• Lin Yi promised the common people abundant food, schooling, and opportunities, winning their support as a future ruler.
• Lin Yi asked Zhang Fei to stop painting his portrait and told him to have Wenji paint it instead.
• Lin Yi entered Chenghuang City, where Lin Rusong, Jia Xu, and the troops welcomed him after consolidating control of the city.
• Lin Yi privately told Lin Rusong that Li Anlan had taken poison and died, and that he had suppressed the news.
• Lin Yi said he would establish the Great Liang Dynasty and then sweep through the south in its name.

Lin Yi secured the Great Ning palace, dealt with captured imperial princes, and prepared to establish the Great Liang dynasty. Lin Rusong refused the throne and declared Lin Yi the founding emperor with every honor bestowed upon him.

• Lin Yi announced the Great Liang dynasty and asked Wang Yue about the palace's status and Hu Che'er.
• Hu Che'er reported that the Divine Machine Battalion had secured the palace and captured the second and fourth princes, while the crown prince and third prince had fled.
• The second and fourth princes begged Lin Yi for mercy, but Wang Yue revealed their crimes, and Lin Yi ordered them put on public trial.
• Lin Yi's forces took full control of the palace, and he offered the imperial throne to Lin Rusong.
• Lin Rusong refused to take the throne and proclaimed Lin Yi the founding emperor of Great Liang.

Lin Yi established the Great Liang dynasty as emperor and received a lavish set of system rewards, including Cao Cao, the Five Elite Generals, Sima Yi, and elite troops. He then introduced the Three Departments and Six Ministries System to organize the new government and limit the chancellor’s power.

• Lin Rusong refused the founding emperor title and asked Lin Yi to make him the father of an emperor for the ages.
• Lin Yi took the throne, and the gathered soldiers and people hailed him as emperor of Great Liang.
• The system rewarded Lin Yi with Cao Cao, the Five Elite Generals, Sima Yi, elite troops, and ten thousand financial management professionals.
• Lin Yi announced the Three Departments and Six Ministries System and distributed documents explaining its structure.
• Lin Rusong praised the system, while Xu You recognized that it would restrict the chancellor’s authority and praised Lin Yi.

Lin Yi established the Great Liang Dynasty’s government and assigned officials to restore order, then discussed Northern Liang’s transition and the empress with his father. In Xiliang, Princess Shenle mourned her father and burned a letter from Lin Yi without reading it.

• Lin Yi appointed Jia Xu, Chen Qun, and Xun Yu to head the Three Departments and assigned ministers and regional commanders.
• Lin Yi ordered Zhang Jiao and his brothers to choose a coronation date, then sent Gongsun Zan and Ma Chao to subdue Jiangling Commandery and blamed any trouble on Li Anlan.
• Lin Yi and Lin Rusong celebrated the new dynasty and discussed transferring Northern Liang’s powers and choosing an empress.
• The people of Xiliang celebrated Lin Yi’s victory, while Princess Shenle mourned her father in mourning clothes.
• A maid gave Princess Shenle a letter from Lin Yi, and she threw it into the brazier without reading it.

Princess Shenle rejected Wang Yining’s attempt to tie her to the fallen Li Imperial Clan and affirmed that she belonged to the Lin Clan. Cai Yan ordered the Wang father and daughter executed, leaving Shenle to recognize her sister’s show of authority.

• Wang Yining urged Princess Shenle to claim the Li Imperial Clan’s legacy, but she slapped him and exposed his scheme to advance Wang Zijin.
• Princess Shenle declared that she was Lin Yi’s woman and that her son would bear the Lin surname, warning the Wang father and daughter not to challenge her.
• Cai Yan arrived, comforted Princess Shenle, and accused Wang Yining and Wang Zijin of sowing discord between the prince and his consort.
• Cai Yan ordered Lü Qiling to deal with the Wang father and daughter, and Lü Qiling seized them.
• Wang Yining begged for his daughter’s life, but Cai Yan had both taken away, and two screams soon sounded outside.
• Princess Shenle praised Cai Yan’s methods and recognized that she had used the executions to establish her authority.

Cai Yan and Princess Shenle prepared to leave Xiliang for the capital as Lin Yi’s forces conquered the north. In the south, Guan Yu’s army besieged Jiangling Commandery, where Li Qiankun’s isolated forces faced encirclement and a massive incoming reinforcement.

• Cai Yan and Princess Shenle discussed Wang Yining’s downfall and prepared to move to the capital at their husband’s request.
• Guan Yu’s army captured Li Yunmiao but failed to take Jiangling Commandery, where Li Qiankun held three hundred thousand troops behind strong defenses.
• Guan Yu learned that Li Yunmiao was not the empress’s biological son and abandoned hopes of using him to draw Li Qiankun out.
• Guan Yu’s forces and the Brocade Sail Battalion cleared the area around Jiangling, leaving Li Qiankun with only three commanderies and dwindling supplies.
• A messenger reported that Lin Yi had taken the capital and established the Great Liang Dynasty, while five hundred thousand troops were heading south.
• Li Yunmiao realized Great Ning was likely doomed and mocked Li Qiankun for refusing to rescue him.

Cornered by Guan Yu and Gan Ning in Jiangling, Li Qiankun and Empress Shangguan Yan learned that Lin Yi had taken the capital and founded the Great Liang Dynasty. Facing a massive southern invasion, Shangguan Yan chose surrender as their last hope, drawing on the possibility that Lin Yi would spare Princess Shenle.

• Li Qiankun asked Shangguan Yan for news of the emperor, and Shangguan Yundun reported that one and a half million troops besieged the capital.
• Li Qiankun proposed seeking refuge with the southern tribal chieftains, but Shangguan Yan slapped him and threatened to kill him for disgracing Great Ning.
• A scout reported that Lin Yi had captured the capital, proclaimed the Great Liang Dynasty, and sent five hundred thousand troops south to join the two hundred thousand already there.
• Li Qiankun proposed fleeing by sea, but Yang Dongyu warned him that Guan Yu and Gan Ning controlled the sea for Lin Yi.
• Ziyun reported that Princess Shenle was treated well as the junior princess consort of the Prince of Xiliang, and Shangguan Yan ordered contact with Lin Yi's forces to offer surrender in exchange for their lives.

Shangguan Yan accepted that Great Ning had lost and ordered Shangguan Yundun to purge the southern aristocratic clans to protect the Shangguan Family. As Shangguan Yundun moved against officials considering their own escape, Li Qiankun realized surrender was their only option.

• Shangguan Yan acknowledged Lin Yi's overwhelming strength, while Yang Dongyu and Zhao Dezhu began considering their options and eyed Li Qiankun as a possible pledge of allegiance.
• Shangguan Yan ordered Shangguan Yundun to purge every aristocratic clan in their territory, fearing the clans would retaliate against the Li Imperial Clan after Lin Yi's purge in the capital.
• Shangguan Yan explained to Li Qiankun that Xiliang forces had blocked Great Ning's route south, leaving them unable to escape or resist Lin Yi.
• Shangguan Yundun's personal guards caught up with Yang Dongyu and Zhao Dezhu, and he accused them of colluding with Guan Yu before attacking them.

Shangguan Yundun’s army massacred the great clans in Jiangling Commandery, while Gan Ning’s reinforcements gathered at White Sand Bay to prepare for the siege. Gongsun Zan ordered the army to surround Jiangling Commandery and await Li Anlan’s decision on Shangguan Yan’s offer to surrender in exchange for saving the crown prince.

• Shangguan Yundun killed Yang Dongyu and led his troops to exterminate the great clans, leaving more than a hundred thousand dead across Jiangling Commandery.
• Shangguan Yan defended the purge to Shangguan Yundun, then sent him to rest after the night of slaughter.
• Gan Ning welcomed Gongsun Zan and the reinforcements as they crossed the Tianshui River at White Sand Bay.
• Gan Ning told Gongsun Zan that Shangguan Yan had offered to surrender if the crown prince could be spared and claimed she had given Li Anlan a great gift.
• A scout reported the massacre, and Gongsun Zan suspected Shangguan Yan’s gift was the destruction of the great clans.
• Gongsun Zan sent a carrier pigeon to Li Anlan and ordered his troops to clear the surrounding territories, then surround Jiangling Commandery.

Jiang Li and the southern chieftains struggled to conquer the Shu Region, then learned that Lin Yi had defeated Great Ning and founded the Great Liang Dynasty. When Lin Yi’s Tiger and Leopard Cavalry approached, Jiang Li chose to welcome them and reaffirm his submission.

• Jiang Li lamented the southern chieftains’ heavy losses in the Shu Region, and Li Siyuan urged him to keep pursuing victory and gather news of the war.
• A scout reported that Lin Yi had defeated Li Anlan, established the Great Liang Dynasty, and sent five hundred thousand troops south against Crown Prince Li Qiankun.
• Jiang Li ordered an overnight assault on the remaining city so the chieftains could seize the Shu Region before Great Liang’s forces arrived.
• A messenger reported that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had routed Great Ning’s troops and was less than ten li away from Jiang Li’s army.
• Jiang Li mounted his horse and led the chieftains to respectfully welcome Great Liang’s army, resolving to submit fully to the Northern Emperor.

Jiang Li and the southern native chieftains witnessed Great Liang’s Tiger and Leopard Cavalry annihilate Great Ning’s force and chose to surrender. Zhang Liao announced the creation of the Shannan Area Command and granted Jiang Li the title of third-rank Marquis of Carefree Wanderings.

• The southern native chieftains watched Lü Bu and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry crush Great Ning’s soldiers and feared they would be next.
• Jiang Li ordered his people to lay down their weapons and sent a guard to identify them as allies who had pledged allegiance to Xiliang.
• Zhang Liao and Lü Bu confronted Jiang Li, and Jiang Li insisted the chieftains had fought for Great Liang and held no divided loyalties.
• Zhang Liao told Jiang Li that Great Liang’s decree ordered the killing of those who refused to submit, and Jiang Li pledged the chieftains’ allegiance.
• Zhang Liao read the imperial decree establishing the Shannan Area Command and naming Jiang Li the third-rank Marquis of Carefree Wanderings.

Jiang Li and the southern tribal leaders accepted Great Liang’s rule after Sima Yi persuaded them to surrender their armies in exchange for the chance to prosper under Lin Yi. In the capital, residents grew accustomed to Great Liang’s governance and praised their new emperor.

• Zhang Liao explained that Jiang Li had been made a third-rank Marquis of Carefree Wanderings and that the Shannan Area Command would oversee the southern tribes and distribute crop seedlings.
• Sima Yi warned the tribal leaders that resisting Great Liang would cost them their lives, and Jiang Li agreed to hand over his army.
• Sima Yi promised the leaders that serving Lin Yi could bring them wealth and advancement, and they eagerly prepared to travel to the capital with their treasures.
• Sima Yi took office as area commander of Shannan while Zhang Liao and Lü Bu discussed his role in managing the tribes.
• Capital residents returned to their daily lives and praised Lin Yi, sharing stories about his divine mandate and the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

Lin Yi handled affairs of the newly established Great Liang Dynasty, choosing a peace-symbolizing pigeon for its flag while weighing expansion and consolidation. After learning that the former dynasty's empress had massacred the southern aristocratic clans to win Li Qiankun's life, he agreed to bring her and Li Qiankun back and consider a pardon.

• Lin Yi chose Blue Pigeon's image for Great Liang's flag, declaring that the pigeon symbolized peace while strength would be forged through battle.
• Lin Yi learned that Frostwest Empire had withdrawn after Cao Hong and Xiahou Yuan repelled its two hundred thousand troops, and he considered using the invasion as justification to seize the Western Regions.
• Lin Yi agreed to delay further expansion while Great Liang consolidated its enlarged territory and addressed shortages of local officials.
• Wang Yue reported that the former dynasty's empress was prepared to surrender and had slaughtered more than a hundred thousand southern aristocratic clan members in exchange for Li Qiankun's life.
• Lin Yi agreed to bring the empress and Li Qiankun back, intending to hear Li Mingzhu's thoughts before deciding whether to spare her brother.

As Great Liang prepared for Lin Yi’s enthronement, Xun Yu warned that the newly unified territories’ differing customs and cultures threatened future disorder. Lin Yi proposed standardizing writing, carts, measurements, currency, and education, then agreed to perform Fengshan rites on Heavenly Emperor Peak as part of the ceremony proclaiming Great Liang.

• Xun Yu told Lin Yi that the enthronement ceremony was set for the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month, but warned that Great Liang’s diverse regions could become a source of turmoil.
• Lin Yi proposed unifying the realm through common writing, cart gauges, measurements, currency, and cultural education, with resistance to unity treated as a threat to the greater whole.
• Zhang Jiao claimed heaven had decreed that Lin Yi should perform Fengshan rites on Heavenly Emperor Peak, and Lin Yi tasked Zhang Jiao with preparing the ceremony alongside Ma Jun.
• Lin Yi announced that in twenty days he would ascend the throne, proclaim himself emperor on Heavenly Emperor Peak, perform the Fengshan rites, and formally establish Great Liang.
• Lin Yi thanked Xun Yu and the other ministers, asking them to verify the regions’ divisions and new names and promising rewards.

Lin Yi reunited with Cai Yan and Shenle, who asked him to spare her mother but execute her ambitious brothers, then fainted from grief. He later told Lin Rusong that he intended to conquer the world and would appoint two empresses, choosing the crown prince by merit.

• Lin Yi welcomed Cai Yan and Shenle in the imperial garden and apologized to Shenle for her father's death.
• Shenle learned that her brothers had been executed and asked Lin Yi to spare her mother while showing no mercy to Crown Prince Li Qiankun and Li Yunmiao.
• Shenle vomited blood from grief and fainted; Hua Tuo examined her and said she would recover after rest.
• Lin Rusong asked Lin Yi to choose an empress, but Lin Yi declared his intention to conquer the Frostwest Empire and lands beyond it.
• Lin Yi told Lin Rusong he would appoint two empresses and select the crown prince based on his ability to control the realm.

Lin Yi confirmed his marriage plans, discussed Great Liang’s administration and military expansion with Lin Rusong, and learned of Shangguan Yan’s massacre of southern aristocratic clans. In the capital, northern clan leaders celebrated their victory but agreed to show restraint toward the new emperor.

• Lin Yi assured Lin Rusong that Shenle’s son would be his own and would not bear the Li surname.
• Lin Yi explained that Shangguan Yan had killed a hundred thousand aristocratic clan members to eliminate threats and secure her position.
• Lin Yi told Lin Rusong that Wang Ziwen had become Grand Preceptor and other Northern Liang allies had been appointed military governors.
• Lin Yi described how military governor offices would help administer Great Liang and free troops for campaigns in the Western Regions.
• Zhang Ruohai and the northern clan leaders celebrated Lin Yi’s victory at the First-Rank Residence, while Ouyang Xun warned them not to provoke him.
• After hearing of Shangguan Yan’s massacre, Zhang Ruoyun and the others agreed to help with Lin Yi’s enthronement ceremony and cautiously test his intentions later.

Zhang Ci warned the aristocratic clans that opposing Li Anlan would bring ruin and revealed that the emperor planned an Aristocratic Clan Administration Law. Meanwhile, Chen Qun discussed Li Anlan’s two empresses with Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Xu You, and Guo Jia, who hinted that a new newspaper explained the emperor’s plans.

• Zhang Ci warned the aristocratic clans that Ran Zijin, Wang Yining, and others had been destroyed after opposing Li Anlan.
• Zhang Ci told the clans that Li Anlan planned an Aristocratic Clan Administration Law requiring them to cooperate with the court.
• Chen Qun met Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and Xu You and said Li Anlan had fallen for a beauty trap by appointing empresses to the eastern and western palaces.
• Jia Xu and Xu You said Princess Shenle’s position was no cause for concern, while Guo Jia called the three chancellors blockheads.
• Guo Jia showed the others two newspapers and revealed that a new publication had appeared alongside the Northern Daily and the All Under Heaven Daily.

Cao Cao reported recovering more than forty million mu of land from southern aristocratic clans, and Lin Yi rewarded him with a senior government post and authority to manage the seized land. Lin Yi also sent him to enforce the new Aristocratic Clan Administration Law against northern clans, offering them compensation or another source of income if they surrendered their land.

• Jia Xu and the others discussed how the Northern Daily and Southern Daily, led by Cai Yan and Li Mingzhu, would keep the empresses occupied with their own careers.
• Cao Cao reported that Great Liang had recovered more than forty million mu of land from southern aristocratic clans.
• Lin Yi appointed Cao Cao vice minister of revenue and ordered him to distribute some seized land to commoners while keeping the rest state-owned.
• Lin Yi gave Cao Cao the Aristocratic Clan Administration Law and ordered him to confront the northern clans.
• Lin Yi told Cao Cao to offer the northern clans payment for their land or a better source of income, warning that refusal would mark them as loyal to the old dynasty.