Chapter Summaries

Tuoba Yu learned that Lin Rusong had withdrawn after Li Anlan cut his military pay and provisions, while the Northern Barbarians welcomed the conflict within Great Ning. Li Sansi realized Lin Yi’s forged letter was an overt scheme to make him a scapegoat, and his anger turned on his own son.

• Tuoba Yu heard that Lin Rusong had retreated because Li Anlan had cut his military pay and provisions, and he saw the feud as an opportunity for the Northern Barbarians.
• Zhou Lingwu cursed Li Anlan for mistreating Lin Rusong, while Evil Bodhisattva argued that Li Anlan feared the Prince of Northern Liang might rebel.
• Li Sansi smashed porcelain after He Zudao reported that Lin Yi had shown him a forged letter blaming him for colluding with Tuoba Yu.
• Li Sansi concluded that Lin Yi had planted the accusation to warn him and that Li Anlan would make him take the blame if the letter became public.
• Li Yunqing suggested stealing the letter, so Li Sansi slapped him and warned that the attempt could turn the accusation into real evidence.

Li Sansi received Lin Yi’s offer to attack Tuoba Yu and realized it was a threat designed to make him fund Xiliang’s troops. After deciding to send supplies publicly, Lin Yi returned to Xiliang and heard that Ma Chao had assembled the hundred thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

• Li Sansi received Lin Yi’s eight-hundred-li letter proposing a joint attack on Tuoba Yu with only a thousand troops and requesting funding to train fifty thousand soldiers.
• He Zudao recognized that Lin Yi was using the proposal to extort supplies from Li Sansi by threatening to expose him to accusations of colluding with Tuoba Yu.
• Li Sansi decided to send Lin Yi supplies openly and report the matter to the emperor.
• Lin Yi returned to the governor’s residence and was welcomed by Ma Chao, Wang Yue, Chen Qun, and Jia Xu.
• Ma Chao told Lin Yi that the Xiliang Iron Cavalry had reached one hundred thousand men and would grow stronger with further training.

Lin Yi organized the surviving prisoners, assigned Zhang Liao to help Ma Chao train the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and rewarded his returning advisers and officers as his commandery’s core team took shape. Zhang Liao accepted his title as General Who Conquers the North and vowed to help eliminate the Northern Barbarians.

• Ma Chao told Lin Yi that he had sent ordinary prisoners to Chen Qun for city-building and divided the elite among different army units.
• Lin Yi appointed Zhang Liao as Ma Chao’s deputy to train the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, warning them they would have to plant sweet potatoes if they failed.
• Wang Yue reported that he had purged the old factions in Xiliang Commandery and was monitoring newly arrived spies as Lin Yi prepared for a larger target.
• Lin Yi awarded gold and residences to Jia Xu, Ma Chao, Wang Yue, Chen Qun, and Zhang Liao for their service or potential.
• Zhang Liao asked Lin Yi to withdraw his reward because he had not yet earned merit, but Lin Yi reaffirmed his trust and urged him to live up to his title.
• Zhang Liao pledged to help Lin Yi wipe out the Northern Barbarians and vowed not to disappoint him.

Lin Yi shared intelligence on Tuoba Yu with his commanders, who admired the general’s record and discussed the campaign against the Northern Barbarians. He promised the commander who earned the most military merit the vacant title of Xiliang’s Marquis Champion, setting Zhang Liao and Ma Chao against each other.

• Lin Yi showed Zhang Liao, Ma Chao, Jia Xu, and Chen Qun intelligence about Tuoba Yu and his victories at Great Yu Mountain.
• Jia Xu and Chen Qun praised Tuoba Yu’s feat of holding off a much larger allied army, while Ma Chao welcomed the prospect of facing him.
• Zhang Liao asked Lin Yi to let him fight Tuoba Yu, and Lin Yi promised him a role in the campaign.
• Zhang Liao and Ma Chao challenged each other over who would earn the most military merit.
• Lin Yi declared that the winner would become Xiliang’s Marquis Champion, and Zhang Liao and Ma Chao eagerly accepted the contest.

Zhang Liao and the others saw that Great Yu Mountain made an attack on the Northern Barbarians through Ziwu Road extremely dangerous, but Jia Xu proposed exploiting winter snow to slip through. Lin Yi explained that Tuoba Yu would have to attack because the Northern Barbarians needed grain, leaving the group confident that their plan to lure him in was still the more reliable strategy.

• Zhang Liao cursed at the map after seeing how Great Yu Mountain protected Tuoba Yu and made Ziwu Road a deadly route for an invading army.
• Jia Xu suggested attacking during deep winter, when snow and cold would drive the barbarians from their mountain positions and the Net could help eliminate their sentries.
• Lin Yi approved Jia Xu's idea but recognized its resemblance to Zhu Di's snowy-night attack on Nair Buka.
• Jia Xu said Tuoba Yu would not wait for winter, and Lin Yi explained that the Northern Barbarians would have to attack because they were short of grain.
• Lin Yi and the others concluded that winter would leave the nomadic Northern Barbarians unable to rely on herding or hunting, forcing them to trade for food or plunder other countries.

Lin Yi’s advisers concluded that Tuoba Yu would have to attack Xiliang Commandery soon, and Lin Yi explained that waiting defensively would let his forces grow while the Net tracked the enemy. The chapter ended with Lin Yi questioning Wang Yue about other routes into Great Yu Mountain.

• Ma Chao and the others praised Lin Yi’s plan to lure Tuoba Yu into attacking, while Jia Xu reasoned that Tuoba Yu had only a month before winter closed the mountain passes.
• Lin Yi admitted privately that he had not foreseen everything and said he intended to strengthen Xiliang Commandery rather than risk an offensive against Tuoba Yu and the Prince of Beining Commandery.
• Jia Xu noted that Tuoba Yu would likely need the Prince of Beining Commandery’s agreement before leaving the pass, and Lin Yi said the letter he held would restrain the prince.
• Lin Yi asked Wang Yue whether Tuoba Yu truly had a hundred thousand troops; Wang Yue confirmed the number and reported that most had moved north while the rest guarded Ziwu Road.
• Lin Yi asked Wang Yue whether he had discovered another route into Great Yu Mountain.

Lin Yi studied Wang Yue’s map and concluded that Tuoba Yu’s forces had made Ziwu Road nearly impossible to attack directly. He rejected Zhang Liao’s risky raid and proposed carving a new road through Great Yu Mountain, leaving his advisers stunned.

• Wang Yue gave Lin Yi a troop deployment map but reported that he had found no other route through Great Yu Mountain.
• Lin Yi examined the map and saw that Tuoba Yu had heavily fortified Ziwu Road and its surrounding valley.
• Ma Chao warned that even his Xiliang Iron Cavalry would suffer heavy losses in a direct assault, while Zhang Liao offered to attack with eight hundred elite soldiers.
• Lin Yi refused to risk Zhang Liao and told him he valued him more than Tuoba Yu’s army.
• Lin Yi proposed going around Great Yu Mountain by building a road through it, astonishing Wang Yue and the others.

Lin Yi proposed building a Great Yu Mountain wall and a road through Heavenly Pillar Peak to establish a stronghold and threaten the Northern Region Barbarians from behind. Jia Xu, Ma Chao, Zhang Liao, Chen Qun, and Wang Yue agreed to the massive project, and Lin Yi assigned its planning and resources before telling Zhang Liao he had a crucial task.

• Lin Yi compared his plan to the Great Wall, persuading Jia Xu and the others that they could build fortifications on Great Yu Mountain and train the army there.
• Ma Chao and Zhang Liao supported building the mountain wall and a Qin Straight Road, while Chen Qun worried about the cost.
• Lin Yi marked a route near Heavenly Pillar Peak that would bypass Li Anlan and Tuoba Yu and reach the barbarians' South Mountain Plain.
• Jia Xu explained that the road could let Xiliang Iron Cavalry strike the barbarians' homeland from behind, and the group agreed to build it despite the difficult terrain.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to recruit experienced craftsmen to survey the route, then assigned Chen Qun to coordinate resources and Jia Xu to allocate personnel.
• Zhang Liao asked for an assignment, and Lin Yi told him he had saved the most important task for him.

Lin Yi assigned Zhang Liao to defend Dayu County and ordered Xiliang Commandery to use conspicuous construction as a cover for secret preparations. After learning that the Heavenly Craft Workshop had begun producing weapons and researching Zhuge Repeating Crossbow replicas, he ordered Wang Yue to gather the commandery’s masons.

• Lin Yi gave Zhang Liao twenty thousand Yellow Turban elites to hold Dayu County against Tuoba Yu.
• Lin Yi ordered Chen Qun to prioritize Dayu County’s defenses and make the construction conspicuous to mislead the enemy.
• Chen Qun reported that Pu Yuan had recruited over two thousand Yellow Turban blacksmiths, begun forging divine sabers, and made progress on replicating the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow.
• Lin Yi told Chen Qun to supply the Heavenly Craft Workshop without cutting corners.
• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to gather all the masons in Xiliang Commandery.

Lin Yi recruited craftsmen to test whether the reward generation mechanism could produce a cement formula, while he learned that the Prince of Beining Commandery had entered Xiliang Commandery bearing supplies. As the people feared the new construction orders meant corvée labor, guards told them Lin Yi had waived their labor obligations and was paying workers himself.

• Lin Yi ordered Wang Yue to recruit masons and other skilled craftsmen so he could test whether targeting them would yield a cement formula.
• Wang Yue reported that the Prince of Beining Commandery had entered Xiliang Commandery noisily while proclaiming loyalty to Emperor Li Anlan.
• Wang Yue said the prince had sent fifty thousand provisions and fifty thousand sets of outdated equipment, and Lin Yi decided to accept the supplies while watching for the prince’s other aims.
• Lin Yi’s announcement seeking masons spread through Xiliang Commandery, and residents feared the construction work would force them into corvée labor.
• Guards told the residents that Lin Yi had waived their corvée labor for the year and was paying workers and providing their meals himself.

After Lin Yi exempted Xiliang Commandery from corvée labor and paid workers to fortify its walls, grateful residents volunteered to help defend their home. Wang Yue gathered more than three thousand workers and specialists for Lin Yi, who began addressing them by saying he had had a dream.

• The guards told the people of Dayu Pass that Lin Yi had exempted them from corvée labor and would pay workers to build the walls, prompting residents to volunteer eagerly.
• Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei agreed to help Lin Yi by finding useful workers and craftsmen; Duan offered the iron mine and craftsmen from Cloud and Mist Mountain.
• Wang Yue used the Net to gather more than three thousand people, including craftsmen and schoolteachers, and brought them to the prefect's residence.
• Chen Qun questioned Wang Yue about recruiting schoolteachers, but accepted that they could help educate Xiliang Commandery in the future.
• Lin Yi welcomed the kneeling workers and specialists, then told them he had summoned them because he had had a dream.

Lin Yi rallied the people of Xiliang Commandery to help build city walls by promising prosperity and warning that Tuoba Yu would destroy it. The people pledged their support, and Lin Yi’s system rewarded him with thousands of gifts, including a basic explosives formula.

• Lin Yi described a prosperous future for Xiliang Commandery, winning the people’s admiration.
• Lin Yi warned that Tuoba Yu would invade with a hundred thousand soldiers and destroy their way of life, stirring the crowd into fury.
• Lin Yi promised wages for building protective city walls, and the people eagerly pledged to help defend their future.
• Lin Yi’s system recorded thousands of rewards and allegiances, including carpentry, farming, and construction knowledge.
• Lin Yi received a basic explosives formula from stonemason Wang Shou and recognized its potential for blasting through mountains.

Lin Yi received hundreds of craftsmen and other recruits from Wang Chengfei, whose efforts earned him a reward and revealed several valuable talents. Duan Yingxiong then offered Lin Yi his family’s largest iron mine and a group of quarry workers, leaving Lin Yi with new resources for his plans.

• Wang Chengfei brought Lin Yi a register of more than five hundred recruits, including craftsmen, merchants, swindlers, thieves, and assassins.
• Lin Yi praised Wang Chengfei’s efforts and promised him a reward from the commandery deputy.
• The recruits submitted to Lin Yi, earning him Mi Zhu as a top-tier business talent, along with a reinforcing bar, ten warhorses, a book of conjuring tricks, a sleight-of-hand skill, and a sleeve crossbow.
• Lin Yi recognized Mi Zhu’s commercial ability and welcomed the other rewards, especially the crossbow.
• Duan Yingxiong offered Lin Yi his family’s largest iron mine on Cloud and Mist Mountain, along with plans and a group of stonemasons and quarry workers.

Lin Yi gained an iron mine, skilled workers, and valuable rewards that advanced Xiliang Commandery’s development. He appointed Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei to organize militias, while Chen Qun revealed that Lin Yi had kept their families alive partly to show he did not slaughter innocents indiscriminately.

• Lin Yi gained the submission of skilled workers and received the Reinforced Cement Formula, an Elementary Steelmaking Method, woodblock printing, and the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers.
• Lin Yi claimed the strength reward and punched a hole through a solid wooden desk, frightening Duan Yingxiong, Wang Chengfei, and the others into kneeling.
• Lin Yi reassured Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei, then asked them to establish militias to defend Xiliang Commandery and maintain local security.
• Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei eagerly accepted the militia assignment and left the governor’s residence satisfied.
• Chen Qun told Lin Yi that Zhang Liao had nearly moved against the two families, and Lin Yi explained that he had kept them as an example that he did not slaughter innocents indiscriminately.

Lin Yi learned that Shen Fu had earned five million strings of cash by using Ran Zijin’s business network to sell salt across Great Ning. He ordered the money spent on warhorses and talented recruits for Xiliang Commandery, then summoned Mi Zhu to oversee his growing finances.

• A Net agent told Lin Yi that the saltworks had earned five million strings and delivered Shen Fu’s letter.
• Lin Yi read that Shen Fu had used Ran Zijin’s distribution channels and business partners to sell salt in the imperial capital and southern Great Ning.
• Lin Yi ordered Shen Fu to use the profits to buy warhorses from the Western Regions and find talented people for Xiliang Commandery.
• Lin Yi considered introducing banknotes and putting his money into circulation, then summoned Mi Zhu to serve as head steward.

Lin Yi delegated Xiliang Commandery’s finances and industrial projects to Mi Zhu and Chen Qun, completing preparations for a confrontation with Tuoba Yu. Meanwhile, Lin Rusong returned to Northern Liang City and learned that Lin Yi’s salt trade had drawn crowds of buyers from across the region.

• Lin Yi entrusted Mi Zhu with his businesses and finances, and Mi Zhu quickly found errors in the account books.
• Lin Yi gave Chen Qun a steelmaking method and an iron mine map, ordering him to have Pu Yuan establish the Heavenly Craft Workshop near Cloud and Mist Mountain.
• Lin Yi assigned Mi Zhu the reinforced cement formula and a pig-farming guide, with Chen Qun ordered to provide support for the cement work.
• Lin Yi declared that his preparations were complete and warned Tuoba Yu that his chance to attack was running out.
• Lin Rusong returned to crowded Northern Liang City, where Wang Ziwen and Huang Yuntao explained that Lin Yi’s salt trade had attracted buyers from far away.

Lin Rusong learned that Lin Yi’s salt business had earned more than two million strings of cash in a month, then joined a crowd listening to a tale about Lin Yi’s battle in White Monkey County. The storyteller began recounting Lin Yi’s arrival there, leaving the audience worried about what happened next.

• Wang Ziwen told Lin Rusong and Huang Yuntao that Lin Yi’s salt business earned over two million strings of cash in a month and could have earned over ten million if he had not kept prices low.
• Lin Rusong proudly praised Lin Yi’s success, while Wang Ziwen and Huang Yuntao reacted with envy and amusement.
• Lin Rusong, Wang Ziwen, and Huang Yuntao heard a crowd cheering at a tea stall and learned that a storyteller was recounting Lin Yi’s battle in White Monkey County.
• The storyteller described the bandit-ridden conditions in Xiliang Commandery and said Lin Yi had been stopped by a group shortly after arriving in White Monkey County.
• The crowd grew alarmed and wondered whether Lin Yi had been injured.

The storyteller recounted how the heir abandoned his plan to enter Xiliang Commandery quietly and risked his life to rescue its commoners, then claimed a horse led him to the divine sweet potatoes and potatoes. The tale left Wang Ziwen questioning how the storyteller knew so much as a concealed Northern Liang Guard raised the same concern to Lin Rusong.

• The storyteller said the heir learned from White Monkey County commoners how mountain bandits were ravaging Xiliang Commandery and felt torn between helping them and preserving his secret mission.
• The heir chose to attack, and his thousand soldiers swept through more than a dozen mountain strongholds, suffering heavy casualties as he fought until he was exhausted and hungry.
• The storyteller claimed the heir's horse led him to a wasteland, where it uncovered sweet potatoes and potatoes with extraordinary yields before the crops vanished in white mist.
• Huang Yuntao concluded that the heir had divine aid, while Wang Ziwen doubted the miraculous account.
• A concealed Northern Liang Guard quietly asked Lin Rusong whether the storyteller's knowledge was suspicious.

Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen discussed Lin Yi’s growing influence and his plan to draw Tuoba Yu’s hundred-thousand-strong army into Xiliang Commandery. They learned Lin Yi had also threatened the Prince of Beining Commandery for supplies, but worried that the prince might attack Xiliang from behind.

• Lin Rusong praised Lin Yi’s deeds in Xiliang Commandery, while Huang Yuntao considered how to get closer to the heir and his saltworks.
• Lin Rusong told Wang Ziwen that the Ran Clan had curtailed its covert businesses after Lin Yi frightened it into backing down.
• Lin Rusong revealed Lin Yi’s plan to lure Tuoba Yu and his army into Xiliang Commandery, and Wang Ziwen worried that Lin Yi’s forces might be too small to defeat them.
• Lin Rusong showed Wang Ziwen a letter in which Lin Yi had threatened the Prince of Beining Commandery and demanded equipment and provisions for fifty thousand men.
• Wang Ziwen warned that the Prince of Beining Commandery might retaliate by attacking Xiliang Commandery from behind.

Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen prepared troops along Xiliang Commandery’s border to protect Lin Yi as he moved against Tuoba Yu. After an assassination attempt left Ran Zijin crippled, Ran Hao persuaded him to return to the Great Ning court and oppose the Prince of Northern Liang from there.

• Wang Ziwen warned Lin Rusong that Li Anlan and the Prince of Beining Commandery were dangerous, and Lin Rusong ordered a hundred thousand troops stationed along Xiliang Commandery’s border.
• Ran Chao tried to reassure his bedridden father, Ran Zijin, that he might recover and keep his post, but Ran Zijin slapped him and rejected the idea.
• Ran Hao proposed that the Ran Clan leave Northern Liang and regain influence at the Great Ning court, where it could continue making trouble for the Prince of Northern Liang.
• Ran Zijin accepted Ran Hao’s plan and resolved to return to court, while the steward concluded that the assassination attempt had broken his nerve.