Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi and Jia Xu used a fabricated historical claim to reject Yamamoto Isoku’s plea for peace and justify taking the Yamata Nation. Yamamoto was detained, while Princess Anne realized Lin Yi’s threat could apply to the Frostwest Empire next.

• Lin Yi received a reward for winning over Yamamoto Isoku, then asked Jia Xu how Great Liang should treat the Yamata Nation.
• Jia Xu claimed the Yamata Nation had belonged to Great Liang since ancient times and was once called Yingzhou.
• Yamamoto Isoku protested the false claim, spat blood on Jia Xu, and fainted after Jia Xu struck him.
• Lin Yi declared that Great Liang would reclaim the Yamata Nation, and Zhao Yun took Yamamoto away under guard.
• Princess Anne understood that Lin Yi was using the Yamata Nation as a warning to the Frostwest Empire.

Lin Yi ordered Zhang Liao to begin preparations for a swift campaign against the Zhennan Dynasty while Great Liang’s victories in the Yamata Nation became popular news. A fabricated history book persuaded the public that the islands were Great Liang’s ancestral territory, while rival powers took heart that the war might keep Great Liang occupied.

• Lin Yi told Zhang Liao to oversee the southwestern campaign and immediately provide Sima Yi and the others with any supplies they needed.
• Lin Yi inspected his system rewards, found nearly eighty thousand Yellow Turban Army troops and several minor generals, and dismissed them as unimpressive.
• The Hundred Riders and the Net spread news of Great Liang’s victories, and people celebrated the war against the Yamata Nation.
• A young man showed another reader Basic Annals of Yingzhou, which claimed the Yamata Nation’s islands had once been a Central Plains fief called Yingzhou.
• Lu Yafu admitted that he had fabricated the account, while Wang Ziwen and Lin Rusong told him to keep writing and prepare Basic Annals of Diannan.
• People from the Great West Empire, the Frostwest Empire, and the Zhennan Dynasty hoped that Great Liang’s overseas war would keep its forces occupied.

King Nan Ke saw Great Liang’s campaign against Yamata Nation as a chance for the Zhennan Dynasty to grow stronger, though reports of infiltrators and border activity left him wary. He ordered Nan Yiming to accelerate annexations while seeking a united front with the Frostwest Empire, and learned that Great Liang’s remaining forces seemed occupied with games.

• Nan Ke and Nan Yiming welcomed news of Great Liang’s conflict with Yamata Nation, while Zan Rihong warned that the Zhennan Dynasty still needed to strengthen itself.
• Nan Ke ordered Nan Yiming to accelerate the annexation of neighboring nations and destroy anyone who obstructed the Zhennan Dynasty’s expansion.
• Nan Ke asked Zan Rihong about an alliance with the Frostwest Empire, and Zan Rihong reported that Bill III had agreed but was conducting business with Great Liang.
• An official reported that unidentified people had infiltrated Zhennan territory and that unusual movements had been spotted along the border.
• Nan Yiming said Great Liang had transferred a hundred thousand troops to Yamata Nation and that Lü Bu and the remaining forces were playing polo and cuju.
• Nan Ke decided to monitor Great Liang while continuing the annexations, hoping Yamata Nation would hold out longer.

Emperor Muren learned that Great Liang had conquered more than three hundred Yamata Nation islands and killed over a hundred thousand troops, while neighboring nations refused to help because Yamata had plundered them. As the court considered mass conscription, a minister challenged Kusakawa Akio’s fitness to lead, threatening to turn the crisis into a clash between powerful factions.

• Emperor Muren rebuked panicking ministers after hearing of the Yamata Nation’s rapid losses and demanded an explanation from Baichuan Yuren.
• Baichuan Yuren reported that Great Liang’s four armies had attacked in coordination with superior weapons and equipment.
• Emperor Muren asked Jingbian Yilang about securing help from the Great Flow Nation and the Lesser Flow Nation, but Jingbian said both supported Great Liang instead.
• Baichuan Yuren explained that Saemon’s men had repeatedly plundered the two nations, prompting officials to blame Kusakawa Akio for making enemies and leaving Saemon to guide Great Liang.
• Kusakawa Akio argued that Yamata could raise five hundred thousand or even eight hundred thousand troops, but an elderly minister accused him of possibly leading them to defect and urged him to step down.

Emperor Muren ended the dispute over Kusakawa Akio’s loyalty, and the Yamata court agreed to recruit soldiers against Great Liang. Five enemy armies then advanced toward Iai Island, prompting Fengzhong Longzi to urge a desperate mobilization of at least eight hundred thousand troops.

• Kusakawa Akio disowned Saemon and denied any intention to defect, while Emperor Muren declared the grand general innocent and called for unity.
• Jingbian Yilang supported recruiting soldiers and urged the court to focus on the invading enemy.
• Five urgent reports announced that Great Liang’s armies, led by Yue Jin, Yu Jin, Sun Jian, and others, were advancing toward Iai Island from multiple directions.
• Emperor Muren asked Fengzhong Longzi whether six hundred thousand troops could stop the invasion, and Fengzhong Longzi said they needed at least eight hundred thousand.
• Fengzhong Longzi urged the Yamata Nation to concentrate superior forces and accept heavy losses to destroy several Great Liang armies.

Fengzhong Longzi persuaded the Yamata Nation's emperor to conscript hundreds of thousands more soldiers, including children, and led them against the invading armies. Sun Jian met Fengzhong Longzi's force with cannons, and a cannonball hurtled toward Takayama Ichizawa as he charged.

• Fengzhong Longzi urged the emperor to recruit eight hundred thousand more troops, and the emperor ordered everyone aged twelve or older to enlist.
• The Yamata Nation recruited five hundred thousand soldiers in half a day, then Fengzhong Longzi and Kusakawa Akio led them against the invading armies.
• Sun Jian learned that the Yamata Nation was conscripting a million troops and ordered his men to bring out the red-clad cannons.
• Fengzhong Longzi and Takayama Ichizawa attacked Sun Jian with two hundred thousand troops, aiming to surround his smaller force.
• Sun Jian ordered his men to blast Takayama Ichizawa, and a cannonball flew toward him as he charged with his shield raised.

Great Liang used its powerful red-clad cannons against the Yamata Army, killing Takayama Ichizawa and prompting Fengzhong Longzi to order a desperate charge. Sun Jian welcomed the attack and unleashed all twenty cannons as the battle for the Yamata Nation intensified.

• A red-clad cannon shell killed Takayama Ichizawa and devastated the soldiers around him, frightening the Yamata Army.
• Fengzhong Longzi examined Takayama Ichizawa's mutilated corpse, then offered a promotion and ten thousand taels of gold for Sun Jian's head to drive his troops forward.
• The Yamata Army charged through Great Liang's arrows, and the two sides clashed.
• Sun Jian dismissed the enemy's numerical advantage and ordered his troops to use their red-clad cannons and explosive packs at full strength.
• Sun Jian promised his soldiers an all-fish banquet after victory, then ordered the twenty red-clad cannons to fire.

Yamata Nation’s army was devastated by Great Liang’s cannons and crossbows, then driven into a fierce melee by Sun Jian’s hundred thousand Jiangdong troops. Fengzhong Longzi led a desperate charge toward Sun Jian to prevent Great Liang from reaching Iai Island, and the two commanders rushed to meet each other.

• Great Liang’s cannon and catapult bombardment shattered the Yamata Nation ranks and wounded Fengzhong Longzi.
• Sun Jian rallied the Jiangdong troops by urging them to prove their worth, then led their charge against the enemy.
• The Jiangdong elites broke through the larger Yamata Nation force, while Sun Jian ordered arrows and crossbow bolts to pursue the fleeing soldiers.
• Fengzhong Longzi recognized that defeat would endanger Yamata Nation’s emperor and personally led a charge toward Sun Jian.
• Sun Jian met Fengzhong Longzi’s charge, and the two commanders rushed at each other.

Sun Jian defeated Fengzhong Longzi and annihilated the Yamata Nation army on the island, then signaled his intention to seize the royal capital. Elsewhere, Ran Min routed Kusakawa Akio's forces and turned his attention to Kusakawa Saemon.

• Sun Jian charged through the enemy ranks, defeated Fengzhong Longzi with his horse-cutting saber, and killed him.
• The Yamata Nation soldiers broke and fled after Fengzhong Longzi's death, but Sun Jian ordered his troops to pursue them.
• Sun Jian refused to spare the tens of thousands who surrendered, and Great Liang's army annihilated the two-hundred-thousand-strong force.
• Sun Jian fired a signal and declared that he would advance on the Yamata Nation's royal capital if Ran Min did not act first.
• Ran Min and Gan Ning routed Kusakawa Akio's three-hundred-thousand-strong army, while Kusakawa Saemon claimed he had tried to stop his father from fleeing.
• Ran Min told Kusakawa Saemon that there was no use keeping him alive after his father's defeat.

Ran Min killed Saemon and hurried his army toward Iai Island as Great Liang’s forces crushed the Yamata Nation’s armies. With the enemy breaking into the capital and surrender seeming no safer than resistance, Emperor Muren vowed to fight on.

• Ran Min killed Saemon, left men to clear the battlefield, and ordered his army to march toward Iai Island.
• Emperor Muren learned that Fengzhong Longzi’s two-hundred-thousand-man army had been destroyed and that the other Great Liang forces were advancing.
• Messengers reported that Yue Jin, Yu Jin, and Gan Ning had defeated the remaining armies, while Ran Min and Gan Ning had routed Kusakawa Akio.
• A powerful explosion shook the palace as Yu Jin’s army, reinforced by troops from the Greater Flow Nation and the Lesser Flow Nation, broke into Iai Island.
• Muren asked Jingbian Yilang whether he should surrender, but after hearing how defeated rulers had fared, he swore to live and die with the Yamata Nation.

Emperor Muren brought Yamata Nation’s final two hundred thousand soldiers to confront Yu Jin, while secretly planning to seize Great Liang’s warships and flee overseas. He and Baichuan Yuren faced the battlefield’s devastation knowing the gap between Yamata Nation and Great Liang was overwhelming, but resolved to survive and seek revenge.

• Muren rejected surrender and announced that he would personally attack Yu Jin while ordering Jingbian Yilang to hold the front.
• Jingbian Yilang agreed to defend the front but privately planned to surrender if Muren failed to return.
• Muren led his final two hundred thousand soldiers to the battlefield, where the destruction and slaughter made him retch.
• Baichuan Yuren urged Muren to return to the palace, but Muren explained that he intended to defeat Yu Jin, seize Great Liang’s warships, and escape overseas.
• Muren admitted Yamata Nation could not match Great Liang and vowed to survive so he could take revenge; Baichuan Yuren agreed to fight Yu Jin.

Yu Jin’s cannons and the allied troops of Great Flow Nation and Lesser Flow Nation crushed Yamata Nation’s desperate assault. Surrounded and defeated, Emperor Muren faced capture or death as Yamata Nation’s fall became inevitable.

• Muren sent Baichuan Yuren to investigate and destroy Great Liang’s explosive weapons while he led Yamata Nation’s army in a last charge.
• Cai Yinghao and Ying Fei identified Muren for Yu Jin and declared that Great Flow Nation and Lesser Flow Nation intended to submit to Great Liang.
• Yu Jin ordered the red-clad cannons to fire, devastating Yamata Nation’s advancing soldiers.
• Cai Yinghao, Ying Fei, and Great Liang’s troops charged, shattering Yamata Nation’s morale and surrounding Muren.
• Yu Jin offered Muren the choice of being captured alive or having his head taken to Great Liang’s emperor.

Cornered by Great Liang’s forces, Emperor Muren tried to save his life by surrendering to Great Emperor Zhenwu. Great Liang agreed to take him to Yong'an City for judgment, but Baichuan Yuren attacked him and was killed by Ran Min.

• Emperor Muren asked Baichuan Yuren whether they could escape, but Baichuan said Great Liang’s forces had them surrounded.
• Muren unfurled a scroll bearing Lin Yi’s portrait, knelt before it, and offered to travel to Yong'an City to apologize and surrender.
• Cai Yinghao and Ying Fei urged Great Liang to punish Muren and pledged their nations to Great Liang.
• Sun Jian said Muren would be taken to Yong'an City to answer for Yamata Nation’s actions, then ordered guards to seize him.
• Baichuan Yuren kicked Muren aside and tried to kill him, but Ran Min parried the attack and killed Baichuan Yuren.

After Great Liang conquered the Yamata Nation, Sun Jian ordered a purge of those who resisted and seized its royal treasury and silver-mine map. Lin Yi received system rewards for the conquest, including Qi Jiguang and his army, Hai Rui, maritime assets, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron.

• Sun Jian rejected Muren’s plea to spare the Yamata Nation and blamed him for provoking Great Liang; the people turned against Muren.
• Sun Jian ordered Great Liang’s forces to kill those who resisted and clear Iai Island before expanding outward.
• Sun Jian’s troops opened the royal treasury and found a map of the Yamata Nation’s silver mines, which Sun Jian ordered them to survey.
• Lin Yi received system rewards for destroying the Yamata Nation, killing Jingbian Yilang, and occupying 4,532 islands.
• Lin Yi saw that the rewards included Qi Jiguang and 300,000 Qi Family Army soldiers, Hai Rui, maritime assets, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron.

Lin Yi summoned Qi Jiguang to strengthen Great Liang’s military ahead of its war with the Zhennan Dynasty and learned about the Qi Family Army’s weapons. He introduced Qi Jiguang’s bird musket to Ma Jun and the ministers, preparing to demonstrate it.

• Lin Yi praised Qi Jiguang’s military record and weapon-making expertise, especially the Crouching Tiger Cannon, as valuable to Great Liang.
• Lin Yi summoned Qi Jiguang, who pledged his service to the emperor.
• Qi Jiguang explained that most of the Qi Family Army used cold weapons, while a thousand-man cavalry unit carried bird muskets and the army possessed nearly a hundred Crouching Tiger Cannons.
• Lin Yi examined Qi Jiguang’s bird musket and asked Zhao Gao to bring a target, Ma Jun, and several senior ministers.
• Lin Yi presented the bird musket as a gunpowder weapon and prototype of future weapons, exciting the gathered officials.

Lin Yi and his commanders tested Qi Jiguang’s matchlock musket and hand cannon, finding the musket powerful but slow to reload and the hand cannon devastating at close range. Lin Yi considered equipping specialized troops with hand cannons, though their slow loading still required a mixed force.

• Qi Jiguang fired the matchlock musket at fifty and one hundred paces, piercing the armored target, but its accuracy and penetration failed at two hundred paces.
• Guo Jia, Gongsun Zan, and Qi Jiguang judged the musket’s slow reloading unsuitable for head-on battles despite its simpler training.
• Lin Yi asked Qi Jiguang whether he had a hand cannon and proposed using it for close-range attacks.
• Qi Jiguang fired the hand cannon at twenty paces, blasting apart the central target and riddling nearby targets with shot.
• Qu Yi and Gao Shun saw the hand cannon’s potential for their troops, while Ma Jun suggested mixing hand cannons with bows and crossbows to cover reloading time.

Lin Yi assigned Ma Jun to develop the bird musket and reviewed his rewards, including Hai Rui, a Super Nautical Chart, Divine Dragon transport ships, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron. News of Great Liang’s conquest of the Yamata Nation reached the Min River, prompting coastal residents to celebrate and seek revenge for past attacks.

• Lin Yi praised the bird musket’s close-range power and assigned Ma Jun to improve it with Qi Jiguang’s help.
• Lin Yi considered appointing Hai Rui to the Shannan Area Command, then examined rewards that included a Super Nautical Chart, ten Divine Dragon transport ships, a super shipyard, and the Yangzhou Tripod Cauldron.
• Lin Yi gave the Super Nautical Chart to Guo Jia, and Jia Xu and the others studied its routes and islands.
• A victory messenger reached the Min River with news that Great Liang had captured the Yamata Nation and its emperor after defeating its million-strong army.
• Coastal residents celebrated the victory and some prepared to sail to the Yamata Nation to vent their anger over the ronin’s past raids.

After Great Liang annihilated Yamata Nation and occupied its royal capital, its people celebrated while foreign envoys feared that Lin Yi would turn his attention west. Jiumosong approached the Frostwest Empire delegation to discuss an alliance against the looming threat.

• Li Yifeng celebrated Yamata Nation’s defeat on the Min River coast and reflected on the emperor’s mercy toward him.
• News of Great Liang’s victory reached Yong'an City, where the people cheered and praised Lin Yi.
• Ashley realized the Frostwest Empire might be Great Liang’s next target and urged his delegation to report home and reconsider its plans for Princess Anne.
• Ashley and Jiumosong recognized that their countries faced danger if they did not cooperate.
• Jiumosong went to the Frostwest Empire delegation to seek an alliance for the Zhennan Dynasty.

After Great Liang destroyed Yamata Nation, Lin Yi heard the victory report and examined a drawing of the island nation’s supposed divine beast. He recognized it as an unusually large octopus and laughed, while the court considered the kingdom’s defeat and Great Liang’s plans to expand eastward.

• Hao Yun arrived at court with confirmation that Great Liang had won, and Lin Yi ordered a chair for the exhausted messenger.
• Hao Yun described Yamata Nation’s origins on Eight Gods Island and presented a drawing of its supposed divine beast.
• Lin Yi saw the drawing and laughed, recognizing the beast as a giant octopus rather than a divine creature.
• Xun Yu and Jia Xu discussed Yamata Nation’s destruction and the relief of having no more eastern threat.
• Lin Yi explained to Cao Cao that the so-called divine beast was merely an unusually large sea creature.

After Great Liang crushed the Yamata Nation, Zhao Zhong impeached Sun Jian and Ran Min for the slaughter, prompting the generals and ministers to defend them. Lin Yi justified the deaths as the result of the Yamata Nation’s choice to fight to the last, and threatened to control what future histories could say.

• Lin Yi read Hao Yun’s report that the Yamata Nation had been defeated and its remaining people were being made to dig pits under supervision.
• Zhao Zhong, a history compiler selected through Great Liang’s trial Imperial Examination, impeached Sun Jian and Ran Min for killing too many people and tarnishing Great Liang’s reputation.
• Cao Cao kicked Zhao Zhong, and Zhang Fei punched him after condemning his objections to battlefield killing.
• Gongsun Zan restrained Zhang Fei, while Xun Yu defended Sun Jian and Ran Min as having merely killed too many in war.
• Zhao Zhong challenged Lin Yi over the million deaths, and Lin Yi said the Yamata Nation had chosen to fight to the last, so Sun Jian and Ran Min had merely fulfilled its people’s loyalty and righteousness.