Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi ordered the Net to enforce sweeping national integration and authorized a full assault on Jiangling Commandery. Great Liang’s forces broke through the city’s defenses, and Shangguan Yan ordered her troops to surrender, leaving Li Qiankun in Gongsun Zan’s custody.

• Lin Yi ordered Cao Cao to punish resistance to national integration and told Wang Yue that the Net must help enforce the new decrees.
• Wang Yue reported that the Net had grown to one hundred thousand authorized members and was using bred blue pigeons for intelligence work.
• An imperial decree ordered a full assault on Jiangling Commandery, and Gongsun Zan and Gan Ning led their army toward the city.
• Guan Yu and Huang Gai joined the attack as nearly seven hundred thousand troops overwhelmed Jiangling’s defenses.
• Li Qiankun realized Great Liang would not accept him as a former crown prince, while Shangguan Yan ordered the defenders to surrender after the city walls were breached.
• Gongsun Zan confronted Li Qiankun and declared that his supposedly impregnable defenses were now just rotten stones.

Gongsun Zan delivered Lin Yi’s imperial edict appointing Princess Shenle empress of the Western Palace and sentencing Li Qiankun to death. After reading a one-character letter from her daughter, Shangguan Yan killed Li Qiankun and took poison herself.

• Gongsun Zan announced that Princess Shenle would become Empress of the Western Palace, prompting Li Qiankun and Shangguan Yan to celebrate.
• Gongsun Zan read the rest of the edict, which sentenced Li Qiankun to death for his crimes.
• Shangguan Yan read her daughter’s letter, which contained only the character “Lin,” and realized Shenle had chosen to leave the Li Imperial Clan behind.
• Shangguan Yan stabbed Li Qiankun, telling him to die with the dignity of a Son of Heaven.
• Shangguan Yan swallowed poison and died before Gongsun Zan could stop her, while Gan Ning mocked her final words.

Gan Ning exposed and killed Li Qiankun, while Gongsun Zan’s forces purged the south and brought it under Great Liang’s control. Lin Yi received rewards for unifying the land, including Zhou Yu, a navy, gene enhancement serum, rice seeds, and Meng Huo, then ordered a banquet to celebrate.

• Gan Ning noticed Li Qiankun was still alive and stabbed him to death, while Gongsun Zan confirmed the empress had died from real poison and ordered both bodies sealed in coffins and buried.
• Gongsun Zan and his allies executed major offenders in Jiangling Commandery and began purging the south.
• Guan Yu submitted to Great Liang with a hundred thousand troops, and Li Yunmiao was executed in custody.
• Great Liang took control of the entire south, triggering rewards for Lin Yi that included Zhou Yu, a hundred thousand Jiangdong Navy troops, gene enhancement serum, super rice seeds, Meng Huo, and a mountain infantry corps.
• Lin Yi celebrated the rewards and ordered Xu Chu to summon Xun Yu and the other officials for a grand banquet.

After Great Liang unified the realm, Lin Yi celebrated with his father, generals, and Western Regions allies, and announced plans to turn west after the Feng and Shan sacrifices. Across the south, people welcomed the end of war and looked forward to reforms and better harvests.

• Lin Yi celebrated unification with his officials and generals as Lin Rusong praised his son and toasted him.
• Tu Xiu and the Western Regions leaders congratulated Lin Yi, who promised the Western Regions would become a future campaign after the Feng and Shan sacrifices.
• Lin Yi said Great Liang would take the Western Regions and brushed aside Tu Xiu’s offer to expend all his strength.
• Great Liang’s propaganda spread news of unification, prompting celebrations across the realm.
• Southern commoners welcomed the end of fighting and praised Lin Yi’s plans for development, new crops, and access to land.

Foreign envoys arrived in Yong'an City for Great Liang’s Heaven and Earth Sacrifice Ceremony and were alarmed by its military record and aggressive reputation. As Jiang Li invoked his new allegiance to Great Liang in a dispute with Zhennan, Frostwest Empire’s Abucha learned that Great Liang’s forces posed a serious threat.

• Foreign envoys entered Yong'an City and saw murals celebrating Great Liang’s conquests, leaving them fearful of the new empire’s power.
• The Zhennan envoy questioned Great Liang’s claims of peaceful relations, and Jiang Li defended Great Liang while declaring himself its Marquis of Carefree Wanderings.
• The Zhennan envoy restrained himself from attacking Jiang Li because they were in Great Liang’s capital for the Heaven and Earth Sacrifice Ceremony.
• Abucha asked Cha’er to assess Great Liang’s strength, and Cha’er reported that it had conquered the Northern Region Barbarians and Great Ning with an army exceeding one and a half million.

Lin Yi assessed foreign spies and Great Liang’s military strength as the new dynasty prepared to expand its frontier. He warned that the Zhennan Dynasty would face consequences if it continued provoking Great Liang, though he had not yet decided to attack.

• Abucha learned that Lin Yi commanded more than one and a half million troops and ordered stronger intelligence gathering ahead of Great Liang’s Fengshan Ceremony.
• Lin Yi stopped Xu Chu from attacking visiting envoys and said the Net would handle spies while the Hundred Riders stayed out of it.
• Guo Jia identified the Frostwest Empire and the Zhennan Dynasty as the main sources of captured spies.
• Lin Yi and Guo Jia discussed Great Liang’s two million troops, including forces stationed across the country and elite troops transferred toward the southwest and Western Regions.
• Lin Yi said he was not in a hurry to attack the Zhennan Dynasty, but warned that its provocations could change his plans.

During an incognito visit, Lin Yi learned that an envoy from the Jackal Kingdom had harassed a poor handkerchief seller and driven her to attempt suicide. He vowed to avenge her and ordered the Jackal Kingdom delegation killed and their kingdom destroyed, leaving the citizens praising him.

• Lin Yi joked with Guo Jia, Zhao Yun, and Zhou Yu about their looks before a cry for help interrupted them.
• Zhao Yun reported that a foreign guard had harassed a woman, who had tried to kill herself; Lin Yi ordered the Hundred Riders and the Net to find the culprit.
• Lin Yi heard the handkerchief seller recount how the guard had assaulted her, overturned her stall, and threatened revenge, then promised to give her justice.
• A Net agent identified the guard as an envoy from the Jackal Kingdom, which bordered the Zhennan Dynasty and raided towns near the Shu Region.
• Lin Yi ordered Lü Bu and Sima Yi to destroy the Jackal Kingdom and commanded that the delegation be killed and their bodies displayed at the Meridian Gate.
• The handkerchief seller and the gathered citizens knelt and praised Lin Yi for defending her.

Lin Yi punished the Jackal Kingdom's prince for harassing a woman of Great Liang, then ordered his body displayed as a warning. Great Liang's people celebrated his protection, while foreign envoys and Jiang Tao were left shaken by his forcefulness.

• Zhao Yun brought the Jackal Kingdom's envoy before Lin Yi after killing the guards who had tried to take revenge.
• Lin Yi ordered Xu Chu to teach the envoy how to behave, and Xu Chu beat him until he passed out.
• The interpreter revealed that the envoy was the Jackal Kingdom's prince, but Lin Yi insisted that his rank would not excuse his conduct.
• Meng Huo killed the interpreter and stomped the prince to death, and Lin Yi ordered both bodies hung at the city gate.
• Great Liang's commoners praised Lin Yi, while foreign envoys grew wary and Jiang Tao admired the emperor's power.

After receiving red-coated cannon blueprints and other rewards, Lin Yi learned that Great Liang lacked steel strong enough to build a reliable cannon. He ordered Ma Jun to improve steelmaking and established the Royal Academy of Sciences to train more talent.

• Lin Yi received red-coated cannon blueprints, imperial clothing, and a comprehensive map of the southwest from the system.
• Lin Yi summoned Ma Jun and asked whether he could reproduce the red-coated cannon.
• Ma Jun explained that Great Liang’s steel was too weak, though Pu Yuan’s hundred-forged steel could withstand one shot before cracking.
• Lin Yi ordered Ma Jun to recruit talent and improve the steelmaking method.
• Lin Yi decided to establish the Royal Academy of Sciences and tasked Ma Jun with selecting people to train.

Lin Yi received the southern tribal chieftains, who submitted to Great Liang, and considered whether to spare Li Siyuan and employ his talents. Sang Qiufeng then announced he had brought a grand gift for Lin Yi’s accession.

• Lin Yi approved establishing the Royal Academy of Sciences and entrusted Wang Yue with finding talented people.
• Xu Chu asked whether a red-barbarian cannon could match his hammer, and Lin Yi warned him that it was far more powerful.
• Jiang Li, Jiang Tao, Sang Qiufeng, Li Siyuan, and the other southern tribal chieftains knelt before Lin Yi and pledged themselves to Great Liang.
• Lin Yi acknowledged Li Siyuan’s past and gave him a chance to prove his resolve, while praising Jiang Li for submitting to Great Liang.
• Sang Qiufeng introduced himself as leader of the Sangnong Tribe and offered Lin Yi a grand gift for his accession.

Lin Yi accepted the Sangnong Tribe's gifts and its holy maiden, Ma Ling'er, then assigned the visiting tribes to future settlements and service in the war against the Zhennan Dynasty. He also demanded news of the Jackal Kingdom's destruction before the Heaven and Earth Sacrifice Ceremony.

• Sang Qiufeng presented Lin Yi with chests of treasures and offered the Sangnong Tribe's holy maiden, Ma Ling'er, as a gift.
• Wang Yue explained that Ma Ling'er was believed to communicate with animals and tame beasts, and that the holy maiden was expected to remain a virgin.
• Lin Yi accepted Ma Ling'er and ordered her to serve in the rear garden, while Sang Qiufeng declared his loyalty.
• Lin Yi promised to arrange favorable treatment for the gathered tribal leaders and dismissed them until after the Heaven and Earth Sacrifice Ceremony.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to have Jiang Wei settle the tribes in the Shu Region and near Xining Commandery so they could join the war against the Zhennan Dynasty.
• Lin Yi asked Wang Yue for news of the Jackal Kingdom's destruction before the ceremony, and Wang Yue said the intelligence had already been sent to Sima Yi and Lü Bu.

After receiving orders to destroy the Jackal Kingdom before the Heaven and Earth Sacrifice, Zhang Liao and Lü Bu hurried out with their cavalry while Sima Yi stayed behind to oversee the southern tribes. In Yong'an City, foreign envoys feared Great Liang’s aggression, and the Zhennan Dynasty began preparing for a possible attack as others hoped Great Liang would fail.

• Sima Yi, Zhang Liao, and Lü Bu received an order to destroy the Jackal Kingdom within two days after it angered the emperor.
• Zhang Liao and Lü Bu left with 110,000 cavalry, while Sima Yi remained to oversee the southern tribes.
• The news that Great Liang had sent troops reached Yong'an City and alarmed the foreign delegations.
• Jiumosong ordered Nan Yi to send a warning to the Zhennan Dynasty and prepare for a possible attack from Great Liang.
• Abucha and other envoys mocked Great Liang and hoped its campaign would fail before the Heaven and Earth Sacrifice.

After the emperor ordered an attack on the Jackal Kingdom, people in Yong'an City celebrated his determination to defend them. At a tavern, Lin Rusong urged Lu Yafu to serve Great Liang, warning that he would kill him if he refused.

• News that the emperor had sent troops against the Jackal Kingdom spread through Yong'an City, and the people cheered his resolve to defend a woman running a street stall.
• Great Liang men began patrolling the streets and beating foreigners who caused trouble.
• Lu Yafu watched the crowds with Wang Ziwen and Lin Rusong, then argued with Wang about Great Ning's past policies and his own advice to Li Anlan.
• Lin Rusong explained that the people supported Lin Yi because they wanted an emperor who would stand up for them, and Lu Yafu conceded that Li Anlan could not have done so.
• Lin Rusong invited Lu Yafu to help establish an academy for Lin Yi, then threatened to kill him if he would not work for Great Liang.

Lin Rusong pressured Lu Yafu into joining Great Liang, while Zhang Liao and Lü Bu led an invasion into the Jackal Kingdom. The chapter left Fu Zongchang facing Lü Bu’s advance after his deputy general was killed instantly.

• Lin Rusong threatened Lu Yafu into pledging service to Great Liang, and Lu Yafu worried about the consequences of the empire’s expansion.
• Zhang Liao and Lü Bu led a hundred thousand troops across the Jackal Kingdom’s border after a short rest.
• Fu Zongchang recognized Great Liang’s Blue Pigeon flag and sent his deputy general to confront the invading army.
• Lü Bu killed the deputy general in one strike and charged through the Jackal Kingdom’s intercepting troops.
• Fu Zongchang froze in fear and rejected his subordinate’s call to attack.

Lü Bu led the Bingzhou cavalry in a devastating charge against the Jackal Kingdom’s vanguard, while Zhang Liao held back his forces for the main enemy army. Chanyu Hulan learned that nearly a hundred thousand Great Liang troops had reached his territory and prepared to meet them as the enemy arrived.

• Lü Bu charged through the Jackal Kingdom’s frontline troops, killed their deputy commander, and drove Fu Zongchang to flee.
• Zhang Liao praised Lü Bu’s battlefield impact and told his deputy that the regular Jackal Kingdom troops would be their target.
• A messenger told Chanyu Hulan that Great Liang’s cavalry, including a warrior wielding a Sky Piercer, threatened the front line.
• Chanyu Hulan ordered the tribal chiefs notified and his forces prepared to destroy the invaders.
• Chanyu Hulan judged the dust cloud to signal at least a hundred thousand enemy troops and commanded his soldiers to loose arrows as they arrived.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry overwhelmed the Jackal Kingdom’s forces, and Zhang Liao rejected Chanyu Hulan’s offer to make peace and ordered the attack to continue. As Chanyu Hulan considered fleeing, Lü Bu charged into the front lines and went after him.

• The Jackal Kingdom’s arrows failed to pierce the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry’s armor, and its vanguard was routed in a one-sided clash.
• Chanyu Hulan agreed with his adviser that the Jackal Kingdom could not win and ordered his army to stop so he could negotiate.
• Zhang Liao said the invasion was retaliation for the Jackal Kingdom envoy molesting a woman in Great Liang’s capital.
• Chanyu Hulan offered compensation and marriage, but Zhang Liao refused and sent the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry into the attack.
• As the Jackal Kingdom’s forces fell back, Lü Bu broke through the formation and charged toward Chanyu Hulan, prompting Zhang Liao to rush into the fighting.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry routed the Jackal Kingdom, and Chanyu Hulan fled as Lü Bu pursued him. Zhang Liao stopped Lü Bu from killing Hulan so he could be sent to Yong'an City as a sacrifice for the Fengshan ceremony.

• The Jackal Kingdom cavalry broke and Chanyu Hulan ordered his officers to flee rather than resist Great Liang.
• Lü Bu charged after Hulan and killed five Jackal Kingdom generals with a single strike.
• Lü Bu shot Hulan's horse with the Divine Arm Bow, but Hulan abandoned a guard and escaped on the guard's mount.
• The Leopard Cavalry blocked the Jackal Kingdom's escape, leaving Hulan trapped as arrows rained down.
• Lü Bu prepared to kill Hulan, but Zhang Liao stopped him and arranged to send Hulan to Yong'an City as a sacrifice.

Lin Yi prepared to perform the Fengshan rites at Heavenly Emperor Peak, with Xun Yu, Wang Yue, Zhao Yun, and the officials securing the ceremony. As the imperial procession set out, the crowds marveled at its elephants and golden dragon flags, while a Daoist used Journey to the West to glorify Lin Yi; the ceremony had not yet begun.

• Lin Yi confirmed with Xun Yu that representatives from Great Liang’s regions were ready for the Fengshan ceremony.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue and Zhao Yun to guard the foreign envoys, and Wang Yue described the security forces surrounding Heavenly Emperor Peak.
• Wang Ziwen ordered the music to begin, and Lin Yi’s procession departed for Heavenly Emperor Peak amid cheering crowds.
• A Daoist named Huaiyangzi claimed Lin Yi’s nine elephants embodied the Great Dao and presented Journey to the West as a glimpse of its mysteries.
• Onlookers discussed the golden dragon flags and learned that they were reserved for Lin Yi, while the Blue Pigeon remained associated with the Net.

At the fengshan ceremony on Heavenly Emperor Peak, Lin Yi revealed that Great Liang had destroyed the Jackal Kingdom and captured its king, silencing the envoys who had mocked him. Chanyu Hulan begged for mercy and offered to become Great Liang’s vassal, but Lin Yi ordered him sacrificed, and Xu Chu killed him.

• Lin Yi arrived at Heavenly Emperor Peak and waited for the auspicious hour while Abucha, Jiumosong, and Nan Yi mocked Great Liang for supposedly failing to prepare the Jackal Kingdom as an offering.
• Wang Ziwen announced that Great Liang had destroyed the Jackal Kingdom, then presented its captured king, Chanyu Hulan, to the assembled envoys.
• The people of Great Liang cheered Lin Yi’s victory while the foreign envoys grew fearful and regretful.
• Chanyu Hulan pleaded for his life and offered to make the Jackal Kingdom a vassal, but Lin Yi declared that provoking Great Liang was a capital offense.
• Xu Chu carried Chanyu Hulan to the altar and snapped his neck as the assembled people cheered.

Zhang Jiao’s ceremony presented staged spectacles as heavenly signs, culminating in Lin Yi formally establishing Great Liang under the era name Zhenwu. Falling petals and brilliant lights left the crowd cheering that heaven had chosen Lin Yi, while foreign envoys feared Great Liang’s ambitions.

• Zhang Jiao recited an invocation praising Lin Yi as a protector and unifier, and hot-air balloons and fireworks appeared in the sky as a rising red sun.
• Zhang Jiao revealed a sword from inside a rock and declared it the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, which only the Son of Heaven could wield.
• Lin Yi drew the sword and proclaimed the establishment of Great Liang with the era name Zhenwu.
• Jiumosong feared Lin Yi would attack the Zhennan Dynasty, and Abucha proposed that their nations support each other against Great Liang.
• Flower petals fell from the sky as lights intertwined overhead, and Zhang Jiao and the crowd proclaimed Lin Yi heaven’s chosen ruler.