Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi learned that Ashina Tiandu was desperately seeking allies and peace as Great Liang prepared to attack Frostwest. He ordered preparations to welcome the returning victorious army and reward the soldiers who remained in the west.

• Lin Yi, Tian Feng, and Guo Jia discussed how Aksu might undermine Ashina Tiandu by letting Huo Qubing advance toward Tiele City.
• Guo Jia reported that Ashina Tiandu had sought help from neighboring powers, offered peace to Great Liang, and sent his eldest son as a hostage while naming Princess Anne his successor.
• Lin Yi rejected Ashina Tiandu’s concessions and ordered Great Liang to proceed with its attack.
• Guo Jia reported that the victorious army from the southwest was returning with Nan Ke and his son, Zan Rihong, and several island kings submitting to Great Liang.
• Lin Yi ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare a victory banquet, officials to welcome the returning commanders, and rewards to be sent to soldiers stationed in the west.

Lin Yi ordered the gold and silver from the campaign exchanged and spent on soldiers and Great Liang’s development, while warning Guo Jia to behave himself. As Lin Yi returned to arrange the palace selection, powerful families began preparing candidates, and Lu Yun questioned his father’s decision to send Lu Qianqian.

• Lin Yi told Tian Feng to convert the captured gold and silver into Great Liang currency, reward meritorious soldiers, improve their equipment, and invest the rest in development.
• Tian Feng praised Lin Yi’s generosity, while Guo Jia privately recognized that the wealth Lin Yi was spending was paper currency.
• Lin Yi warned Guo Jia about Censorate investigations into his conduct and threatened further consequences if he corrupted the officials he was training.
• Lin Yi headed to the harem to discuss the palace candidates’ selection standards with Cai Yan and Shenle.
• After news of the open consort selection spread, aristocratic clans and officials began preparing candidates, and Lu Yafu summoned Lu Qianqian to enter.
• Lu Yun asked Lu Yafu why he was sending Lu Qianqian into the palace despite previously warning the family to avoid court affairs.

Lu Yafu and Lu Yun decided to align the Lu Clan with Great Liang by sending Qianqian into the palace, while Amu warned Frostwest that war with Great Liang was likely. Amu blamed Ashina Tiandu for the crisis and accepted that Frostwest’s fate was no longer in his hands.

• Lu Yafu warned Lu Yun that the Lu Clan had to cultivate relations with the emperor to survive, and Lu Yun agreed to send Qianqian into the palace.
• Lu Yafu resolved to devote the Lu Clan’s accumulated resources to serving the emperor, while Lu Yun considered how his clan could use its scholarly connections.
• Amu woke after Zhao Gao’s beating and told his guard to warn Frostwest to prepare for war with Great Liang.
• Amu’s guard blamed Great Liang’s emperor for the crisis, and Amu stopped him from speaking further.
• Amu recalled Frostwest’s alliance plans and concluded that Ashina Tiandu had brought the danger upon himself.

Ashina Xiuli arrived in Great Liang and learned that Frostwest’s failed plot against Lin Yi had enraged the emperor, making an attack on Frostwest seem almost certain. He planned to visit Princess Anne and seek her help, while wondering whether she still felt any sibling affection for him.

• Amu discovered that a second Frostwest delegation had arrived, led by Ashina Xiuli, and told him that Ashina Tiandu’s alliance scheme against Great Liang had been exposed.
• Xu You explained that Zhao Gao had struck Amu because of Ashina Tiandu’s earlier humiliation of Lin Yi, then left the envoys to confer.
• Amu recounted the events to Xiuli, who concluded that Lin Yi would likely attack Frostwest and that Anne was their best hope.
• Xiuli decided to visit Anne the next day, while Amu agreed to stay with him and hope she could calm Lin Yi’s anger.
• Xiuli spent the night worrying about Anne’s feelings toward him, since he had helped kill their royal father, and woke to find Amu waiting outside.
• Both men heard hurried footsteps approaching early in the morning and wondered why so many people were already up.

Xiuli and Amu went to see Great Liang’s victorious southwestern army return and discovered that Lin Yi and Lü Bu commanded forces whose power dwarfed Frostwest’s. They left fearing that Frostwest would be swallowed if its negotiations with Great Liang failed.

• Xiuli mistook the crowds heading to the city gates for people fleeing a rebellion, but the interpreter explained that Great Liang’s southwestern army was returning after destroying Zhennan.
• Xiuli and Amu followed the crowds and saw Lin Yi beneath the five-clawed golden dragon banners, leaving Xiuli stunned by the young emperor’s overwhelming presence.
• Xiuli and Amu compared Lin Yi’s successes with Ashina Tiandu’s troubles and worried that Great Liang might conquer Frostwest.
• The victorious army arrived with a terrifying aura, and the interpreter identified its general as Lü Bu, the only Great Liang officer known to wield a Sky Piercer.
• Xiuli praised Lü Bu’s strength, while Amu feared the ten-thousand-man army might be even more formidable than Abaddon’s Beast Legion.

Ashina Xiuli learned that Great Liang might have nearly two million troops at Frostwest’s borders and decided to seek Princess Anne’s help rather than risk opposing Great Liang. He blamed Ashina Tiandu for Frostwest’s crisis and asked to meet the emperor of Great Liang.

• Xiuli and Amu realized that Great Liang’s missing southwestern army might have joined its forces at Frostwest’s border, bringing them to nearly two million troops.
• Amu asked Xiuli what they should do, and Xiuli chose to distance himself from Ashina Tiandu and appeal to Princess Anne for justice.
• Amu agreed to stand with Xiuli, and Xiuli killed the interpreter who tried to flee and warn Ashina Tiandu.
• Xiuli approached the Hundred Riders, claimed he had caught a Frostwest spy, and requested an audience with the emperor.
• Dun Ruo arrived, praised Xiuli’s decisiveness, and led him onward to meet the emperor.

Ashina Xiuli urged Lin Yi to overthrow his brother, Ashina Tiandu, claiming Frostwest’s people were suffering under his rule. Lin Yi agreed to send troops against Tiandu, leaving Xiuli’s bid to secure his own survival aligned with Great Liang’s intervention.

• Ashina Xiuli condemned Ashina Tiandu and asked Lin Yi to save Frostwest’s people.
• Lin Yi recognized that Xiuli was switching sides because he feared Frostwest’s defeat, but pretended he could not interfere in another country’s affairs.
• Ashina Xiuli fell to his knees and pleaded for Lin Yi to intervene, invoking Princess Anne and promising Frostwest’s gratitude.
• Lin Yi agreed to dispatch troops at once to punish Ashina Tiandu.

Lin Yi had committed nearly three million troops to the campaign against Frostwest, while Ashina Xiuli asked to see Princess Anne before returning to mediate with the people. Their reunion ended in anger as Anne blamed him for their father’s death, and Xiuli revealed his resentment toward the father who had him castrated.

• Lin Yi told Ashina Xiuli that Great Liang would crush Ashina Tiandu’s forces and ordered Xiuli to help explain the campaign to Frostwest’s people.
• Xiuli asked to see Princess Anne, and Lin Yi sent Zhao Gao to escort him to Evergreen Garden.
• Anne confronted Xiuli over his role in the rebellion and accused him of helping cause their father’s death.
• Xiuli defended himself, explaining that their father had him castrated as a child and that he had never loved him.
• Anne warned Xiuli that Great Liang would annex Frostwest, but Xiuli said he had asked Lin Yi to kill Ashina Tiandu and had no interest in the empire’s fate.

Princess Anne rejected Xiuli’s attempt to win her support, while Zhao Gao warned her that Xiuli was dangerously scheming. In Frostwest, Ashina Tiandu faced mounting reports of invasion and unrest as Huo Qubing’s rapid advance overwhelmed the empire’s defenses.

• Anne accused Xiuli of seeking to save himself, but Xiuli insisted he would return to kill Ashina Tiandu and secure her succession to Frostwest.
• Anne examined Xiuli’s document granting her the title of Grand Princess of the West and succession rights, then dismissed those rights as meaningless.
• Zhao Gao warned Anne that Xiuli was a schemer like himself, then hurried after him.
• Ashina Tiandu received reports that Huo Qubing had taken numerous western cities, Xue Rengui had seized northern territory, and anti-imperial slogans were spreading.
• Ashina Tiandu raged at the repeated defeats and blamed Derby for failing to stop Huo Qubing, while Derby explained that the enemy’s elite cavalry and lightning tactics made them difficult to catch.

Ashina Tiandu’s court tried to contain Huo Qubing’s raids and unrest by proposing costly defenses and assigning officials to handle rumors. Reports of Great Liang’s envoy contacting border generals and another Great Han attack left Ashina Tiandu ordering surveillance and executions to prevent defections.

• Derby advised Bill IV to evacuate and relocate civilians, then build defensive walls in Ake Prefecture at Aksu’s expense.
• Bill IV pardoned Derby and ordered him to deliver the wall plan to the minister of war.
• Derby recommended that Minister Ashley suppress the “The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise” rumors, and Bill IV assigned him the task.
• Messengers reported that Wang Xuance was contacting border generals and Huo Qubing had captured another city after inflicting heavy casualties.
• Ashina Tiandu accused Lin Yi of meddling in his army and ordered his agents to watch the generals and execute anyone who showed signs of defecting to Great Liang.

Ashina Tiandu rejected the idea of submitting to Great Liang and offered kingships to motivate Frostwest’s forces to destroy Great Tang and Great Han. He then sent Derby to secretly deliver a document about Frostwest’s possible surrender to Abaddon, hoping to force the Great West Empire to support Frostwest.

• Ashina Tiandu reflected that he could not trust the defending generals and ordered that suspected traitors be dealt with.
• Ashina Tiandu ordered his forces to annihilate Great Tang and Great Han, promising three-rank promotions and kingships for victory.
• Ashina Tiandu asked Derby whether Lin Yi would spare him if he submitted to Great Liang, and Derby warned that obedient rulers lost power while those Lin Yi disliked met grim ends.
• Ashina Tiandu gave Derby a document about Frostwest’s planned submission to Great Liang and ordered him to place it secretly in Abaddon’s hands.
• Derby understood that Ashina Tiandu meant to pressure Abaddon into sending troops, and Ashina Tiandu said Frostwest’s survival depended on the plan.

Aksu learned that Huo Qubing had routed Frostwest's forces and feared that Great Han, Great Tang, and Great Liang might be allied. After hiding an imperial offer of a princely title, he learned that Huo Qubing had arrived.

• Aksu confronted routed commanders, who complained that Huo Qubing's fast cavalry had overwhelmed them.
• Aksu warned that Huo Qubing might have accomplices and revealed that Xue Rengui had attacked Frostwest from the north.
• Ali and a black-bearded general speculated that Great Han, Great Tang, and Great Liang were allied as triplets, alarming Aksu.
• Aksu dismissed the speculation and hid a letter offering him a princely title, fearing that accepting it could put him in Lin Yi's sights.
• Aksu saw dust rising in the distance, and a messenger announced that Huo Qubing had arrived.

Aksu decided to preserve his army rather than confront Huo Qubing, ordering four hundred thousand troops to retreat to Ake Prefecture and leave the enemy’s route open. His men agreed after he promised to bring their families to safety, while local commoners reacted with anger and confusion.

• After learning that Huo Qubing was attacking, Ali and the generals urged Aksu to choose a way to defeat him.
• Aksu ordered the troops to withdraw to Ake Prefecture and avoid fighting Huo Qubing, intending to protect his forces from losses.
• Ali realized Aksu was leaving Huo Qubing free to advance, while Aksu explained that heavy losses could expose them to Adolf and other threats.
• When the generals worried about their families, Aksu promised to send for them and said Huo Qubing did not target ordinary people.
• The four hundred thousand troops retreated toward Ake Prefecture, prompting many commoners to curse Aksu while others packed to follow him.

Huo Qubing decided to attack Aksu's larger Frostwest army, believing its low morale and weak defenses would make it easy to defeat. When Aksu's forces began retreating, Huo Qubing ordered the Feathered Forest Army to charge, while Aksu insisted his obstacles would stop them.

• Huo Qubing assessed Aksu's nearly four hundred thousand troops and judged their morale and defenses too weak to withstand his army.
• Xiaohu, A Si, and Huo Qubing's other generals urged an attack, while Mo Yi and Mo Er agreed to handle supplies and David offered to help.
• Huo Qubing threatened Mo Er and Mo Yi if they delayed logistics, and Xiaohu silenced them and David when they competed to prove their loyalty.
• Huo Qubing noticed Aksu's army retreating and ordered the three hundred thousand Feathered Forest Army soldiers to charge.
• Aksu and his generals watched the charge approach, and Aksu claimed the obstacles he had prepared would stop the Feathered Forest Army.

Huo Qubing learned that Aksu had retreated because he feared Great Liang, but he refused to let the army go and demanded surrender. He sent Xiaohu alone with the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Banner to deliver Great Liang’s threat and demand that Aksu submit.

• Huo Qubing found Aksu’s former position abandoned except for servants and supplies, and recognized the supplies as an offer to avoid fighting.
• Aksu’s servant delivered a note bearing the words “Great Liang,” revealing that Aksu had recognized Great Liang’s power and retreated to avoid antagonizing it.
• Huo Qubing rejected the offer and told Aksu to surrender or die alongside Frostwest.
• Huo Qubing gave Xiaohu the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Banner and ordered him to approach Aksu’s four hundred thousand troops alone.
• Huo Qubing instructed Xiaohu to warn Aksu that Great Liang had deployed two million troops on the border.

Huo Qubing led his three hundred thousand troops toward Tiele City while Xiaohu pursued Aksu, leaving Mo Er and Mo Yi to collect the abandoned grain. At Ake Prefecture, Aksu learned that Huo Qubing demanded surrender or death and that two million Great Liang troops had gathered at the border, silencing the furious Frostwest generals.

• Huo Qubing sent Xiaohu after Aksu, then led his army toward Tiele City.
• Mo Er and Mo Yi collected the supplies Huo Qubing's forces had left behind.
• Aksu and Ali discussed Frostwest's collapsing defenses as Huo Qubing and Xue Rengui advanced on different fronts.
• Aksu's servant returned and reported Huo Qubing's ultimatum: surrender or die alongside Frostwest.
• The servant revealed that two million Great Liang troops had assembled at the border, and the generals fell silent.

Aksu and his subordinates learned that Great Liang had mobilized two million troops, bringing its forces in Frostwest to nearly three million, and feared the empire could not withstand them. As Huo Qubing's forces approached, they discovered that only one man had come, carrying Great Liang's Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Banner.

• Aksu's subordinates reacted with alarm to news that Great Liang had sent two million troops, while Aksu suspected Emperor Lin Yi had engineered Frostwest's isolation and crisis.
• Aksu explained that Frostwest's roughly three million troops were poorly trained and equipped compared with Great Liang's forces, and warned that Huo Qubing would not let them escape the immediate choice before them.
• A scout reported that Huo Qubing's men were attacking, but said only one man was coming toward Ake Prefecture.
• Aksu and his subordinates prepared their archers, then saw the lone man carrying Great Liang's Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Banner.
• Aksu recognized the banner as representing Lin Yi's authority and concluded that Huo Qubing truly served Great Liang.

Aksu confirmed that Great Liang was behind the invasion and faced Meng Hu’s demand that Frostwest’s forces surrender. Weighing Great Liang’s strength against Ashina Tiandu’s plans to weaken him, Aksu asked to negotiate privately.

• Aksu recognized Huo Qubing’s banner, ordered his troops not to attack, and acknowledged that Great Liang had truly invaded Frostwest.
• Meng Hu rode alone into range of Frostwest’s archers and demanded that Aksu’s forces surrender, accusing Ashina Tiandu of murdering his father and usurping the throne.
• Aksu restrained his angry officers, while Meng Hu warned that harming him or the banner would bring rivers of blood to Frostwest.
• Ali asked whether they should surrender, and Aksu questioned whether Frostwest could defeat Great Liang or rely on the Great West Empire.
• Aksu concluded that Ashina Tiandu would not protect him if his forces were depleted and asked Meng Hu to speak with him in private.

Meng Hu met Aksu privately and explained that Great Liang’s northern and western armies were only meant to tie down Frostwest while Lin Rusong’s two-million-strong main force attacked. Realizing Frostwest had been chosen as a gift for the retired emperor, Aksu and his men understood how dire their position was.

• Meng Hu rode alone into Ake Prefecture and told Aksu he feared neither death nor the threat of Frostwest’s soldiers.
• Aksu said he was willing to surrender but asked Great Liang to guarantee the safety of his forces and his son Akeshang’s troops.
• Meng Hu assured Aksu that reasonable demands could be met, then dismissed the five hundred thousand Frostwest troops as unable to change the outcome.
• Meng Hu revealed that his and Xue Rengui’s forces were only tying down Frostwest’s armies while Lin Rusong led two million troops in the main invasion.
• Aksu, Ali, and the other Frostwest leaders realized their empire was being handed to Lin Rusong as a retirement gift from Emperor Zhenwu.

Aksu and his officers surrendered Ake Prefecture to Great Liang, while Huo Qubing’s Feathered Forest Army swept through a nearby town and prepared to advance on Tiele City. The chapter left Great Liang’s forces pushing deeper into Frostwest as its unpopular ruler’s authority crumbled.

• Aksu, Ali, and the other officers agreed that surrendering to Great Liang was safer than resisting, and Meng Hu accepted their allegiance beneath the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Banner.
• Aksu ordered his four-hundred-thousand-strong army to lay down its weapons, and Great Liang’s banner replaced Frostwest’s over Ake Prefecture.
• Huo Qubing’s troops overwhelmed a nearby town after Aksu had transferred most of its defenders elsewhere, while local commoners welcomed the Feathered Forest Army.
• Huo Qubing ordered the local officials killed and learned from A Si that notices listing Bill IV’s crimes had turned the ruler deeply unpopular.
• Huo Qubing noted that Aksu had likely captured Ake Prefecture and ordered his troops to continue their advance toward Tiele City.