Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi and his officers discussed the threat posed by Li Sansi’s arrival and how the Great Ning Dynasty might respond to Xiliang’s cement and explosives. When they learned that a guest had arrived, Lin Yi went to meet Li Sansi, a prince of the same rank as his father.

• Zhang Liao praised the watchtower’s view and said it would help the Formation-Breaking Camp expose enemy weaknesses, while Lin Yi warned him not to underestimate Tuoba Yu or Li Sansi.
• Jia Xu reported that Tuoba Yu’s Red Eagle Guard had crossed Raging Waves Bridge, suggesting Li Sansi was not an ally, and Zhou Cang proposed taking the prince hostage.
• Lin Yi refused to attack Li Sansi because the Great Ning Dynasty was too powerful to confront yet, but he planned to make use of the prince’s visit.
• Zhang Liao worried Li Sansi would discover the cement, but Jia Xu argued that the Great Ning Dynasty could not afford to rebuild cities on Xiliang’s scale; Lin Yi said he could also keep control through merchants and altered cement proportions.
• Lin Yi ordered his men to keep the explosives secret, and Zhang Liao lamented that Li Sansi’s arrival had disrupted his plans to use them against Tuoba Yu.
• Zhou Cang spotted a signal announcing a guest, and Lin Yi concluded Li Sansi had arrived and went to greet him.

Lin Yi met Li Sansi at the newly built city wall as Tuoba Yu’s vanguard approached Xiliang Commandery. After stopping Li Sansi from leaving and showing him Tuoba Yu’s letter proposing an alliance, Lin Yi assured his worried uncle that he would not join Tuoba Yu against him.

• Li Sansi admired the city wall and asked Lin Yi whether he was prepared for Tuoba Yu’s advance.
• Lin Yi asked Li Sansi to send reinforcements, but Li Sansi claimed he could not spare troops and promised to seek help from the emperor instead.
• A war horn sounded, and a messenger reported that Tuoba Yu’s vanguard had been spotted scouting ahead.
• Li Sansi tried to return to Little Pine Mountain, but Lin Yi stopped him and warned that Tuoba Yu’s Heavenly Eagle Guard had used Raging Waves Bridge.
• Lin Yi showed Li Sansi Tuoba Yu’s letter inviting him to join forces and plunder Ningchuan Commandery.
• Li Sansi urged Lin Yi to reject Tuoba Yu’s scheme, and Lin Yi promised not to attack him, recalling that Li Sansi had provided supplies and equipment.

Lin Yi watched the Net ambush Tuoba Yu’s scouts while Li Sansi’s son, Li Yunqing, was brought before them after a humiliating incident in the barracks. When Lin Yi announced that his thirty thousand troops would repel Tuoba Yu’s hundred thousand, Li Sansi warned him to hold the city instead.

• Lin Yi rebuked Li Sansi over the obsolete equipment and horses, then went to the gate tower to oversee the battle.
• Zhou Cang offered to attack Tuoba Yu’s vanguard, but Lin Yi let the Net ambush the scouts, killing most of them with one volley.
• Li Sansi grew wary of the Net’s strength as Lin Yi explained that Tuoba Yu had only sent scouts to probe for ambushes.
• Net operatives brought in Li Yunqing, whose bruised face and complaints revealed that he was Li Sansi’s son and had resisted the barracks’ crude prank.
• Lin Yi said the enemy might attack and stated that Zhang Liao commanded thirty thousand troops, prompting Li Yunqing and Li Sansi to question his plan to repel Tuoba Yu’s hundred thousand.

Lin Yi entrusted Zhang Liao with leading the thirty thousand troops against Tuoba Yu’s hundred thousand, declaring his ambition to win Zhang Liao the title of Marquis Champion. The chapter ended with Lin Yi staining the Formation-Breaking banner with his own blood and promising to stand with Zhang Liao.

• Li Sansi discovered that Bai Zizai and Yi Yun had arrived to support Lin Yi, and Bai Zizai admired the city’s formidable walls and defenses.
• Lin Yi named Zhang Liao commander of the battle and explained that a Marquis Champion was a general whose valor and achievements crowned the army.
• Li Sansi and Li Yunqing were awed by Lin Yi’s ambition and began anticipating Zhang Liao’s performance.
• Zhang Liao took down the Formation-Breaking banner, vowed to make Tuoba Yu understand fear, and presented it to Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi cut his palm, marked the banner with his blood, and entrusted the battle to Zhang Liao, declaring that he would stand with him.

Tuoba Yu advanced toward Xiliang Commandery cautiously, then ordered his forces to clear the woods and prepare to invade. He aimed to capture Lin Yi alive while plundering Xiliang Commandery and crippling the Heir of Northern Liang.

• Li Yunqing questioned Zhang Liao’s decision to meet the enemy in battle, while Bai Zizai praised his courage and Jia Xu expressed confidence in the outcome.
• Lin Yi introduced Jia Xu as his military adviser, prompting Li Sansi to wait and see how the battle unfolded.
• Tuoba Yu slowed his advance near Jumbled Shi Lin, wary of an ambush and distrustful of Li Sansi despite their proposed cooperation.
• Tuoba Yu learned that archers had attacked his hundred-man vanguard, but warned his men not to underestimate the enemy.
• Tuoba Yu sent Evil Bodhisattva with three thousand men to clear the woods and stationed ten thousand troops to guard against Li Sansi.
• Tuoba Yu ordered the remaining forces to invade Xiliang Commandery, capture Lin Yi alive, and kill everyone else.

Tuoba Yu led the Northern Barbarian army toward Dayu County to plunder Xiliang Commandery, only to discover that Lin Yi had built formidable walls and a moat. The army fired a siege-crossbow bolt at the fortifications, leaving the attack’s result unknown.

• Tuoba Yu reminded his commanders not to kill the Heir of Northern Liang as the army advanced toward Dayu County.
• Xiao Shan warned that Lin Yi had blockaded the area and might have prepared traps, so Tuoba Yu ordered his troops to proceed cautiously.
• Tuoba Yu spotted the towering walls around Dayu County and realized they could not quickly overrun the commandery.
• The Northern Barbarian commanders saw the walls’ smooth face and the moat, and debated whether the newly built defenses would hold.
• Yelü Dashan ordered the siege crossbow brought forward and fired a bolt at the walls.

Lin Yi’s supposedly impregnable wall stopped Tuoba Yu’s siege crossbow, forcing the Great General to withdraw and prepare siege equipment. Lin Yi then signaled that he would not let Tuoba Yu leave unchallenged, and war drums sounded as the chapter ended with Tuoba Yu realizing a fight was coming.

• A siege crossbow bolt snapped against Lin Yi’s wall, leaving only a faint mark and convincing Tuoba Yu that he could not take the gate without siege equipment.
• Tuoba Yu considered attacking Little Pine Mountain but chose to withdraw and return with siege equipment.
• Lin Yi taunted Tuoba Yu about their earlier discussion of attacking Li Sansi, then invited him to stay; Tuoba Yu declined and left in anger.
• Lin Yi told Li Sansi that the wall was part of his strength and hinted that Tuoba Yu would not be allowed to leave peacefully.
• Zhou Cang beat the war drum, but Dayu County’s people stayed at their posts as their village chiefs reminded them to follow Lin Yi’s orders.
• Tuoba Yu recognized the war drums as a call to fight and feared Lin Yi’s forces were about to attack.

Zhang Liao led the Formation-Breaking Camp and crossbowmen against Tuoba Yu’s larger force, using the narrow road and repeated crossbow volleys to suppress the Northern Barbarians. Tuoba Yu ordered a retreat after suffering heavy losses, while Lin Yi’s allies praised Zhang Liao’s victory as the battle continued.

• Zhang Liao led thirty thousand troops out of the woods and attacked Tuoba Yu’s seventy thousand men with heavy infantry and crossbowmen.
• Yelü Dashan and Xiao Shan realized the enemy crossbows could fire repeatedly, and Tuoba Yu sent Evil Bodhisattva’s troops to circle around and attack the crossbowmen.
• Zhang Liao countered the flanking maneuver with the Formation-Breaking Camp, whose armor withstood the Northern Barbarian attacks.
• Tuoba Yu ordered his archers to target the heavy infantry’s eyes, but Zhang Liao signaled another crossbow barrage that forced Tuoba Yu’s army to retreat.
• Li Sansi, Li Yunqing, Bai Zizai, and Yi Yun praised Zhang Liao’s tactics as Lin Yi remarked that the battle was not over yet.

Lin Yi’s forces overwhelmed Tuoba Yu, who began retreating under Zhang Liao’s pursuit. News of an assassination attempt at Little Pine Mountain left He Zudao gravely wounded, and Li Sansi confronted a captured member of the Great Ning Guard as the attack’s source remained uncertain.

• Jia Xu and Lin Yi judged that Tuoba Yu could not overcome the Formation-Breaking Camp and Zhuge Repeating Crossbow formation, while Lin Yi revealed that equipping the three thousand soldiers had cost over a hundred thousand strings of cash.
• Lin Yi ordered Zhang Liao to pursue Tuoba Yu, and the Northern Barbarian rear guard suffered heavy casualties as it retreated.
• Wang Yue reported that an assassination attempt at Little Pine Mountain had gravely wounded He Zudao, and Lin Yi suspected Tuoba Yu was behind it.
• Lin Yi told Li Sansi that the Great Ning Guard had asked him to return to take charge, then had Wang Yue bring forward a captured member of Li Sansi’s force.
• The captured man dropped to his knees before Li Sansi, whose expression turned murderous as he demanded to know where his man was.

After an assassination attempt wounded He Zudao, Li Sansi hurried back to Little Pine Mountain while Lin Yi maneuvered Tuoba Yu toward a clash with Li Sansi. Lin Yi then announced victory to the people of Xiliang, who celebrated their safety.

• A messenger told Li Sansi that assassins had attacked his main tent and gravely wounded He Zudao, prompting Li Sansi to suspect Tuoba Yu and rush back to Little Pine Mountain.
• Lin Yi refused Bai Zizai and Yi Yun’s suggestion to kill Li Sansi, then ordered Wang Yue to tell Zhang Liao to drive Tuoba Yu to Jumbled Shi Lin and withdraw.
• Yi Yun wondered whether Tuoba Yu’s assassination attempt had been orchestrated by Lin Yi’s Net and feared remaining in Xiliang Commandery.
• The common people gathered at the city gate, and Lin Yi confirmed that his forces had won and driven off the northern barbarians.
• The people cheered Lin Yi and celebrated the safety of Xiliang and Dayu County.

After suffering a devastating defeat outside Dayu County, Tuoba Yu’s forces regrouped at Jumbled Shi Lin and assessed Lin Yi’s strength and possible schemes. With provisions running low, Tuoba Yu decided to attack Little Pine Mountain instead of returning empty-handed.

• The Evil Bodhisattva blamed Xiao Shan for failing to discover Dayu County’s new defenses, but Tuoba Yu defended him and said Lin Yi had deliberately kept the preparations hidden.
• Tuoba Yu rejected Yelü Dashan’s call to fight back, warning that Lin Yi had likely planned for their attack and might have more schemes in reserve.
• Xiao Shan described Lin Yi’s capable subordinates, including Chen Qun, Jia Xu, Wang Yue, and Zhang Liao, and the Evil Bodhisattva and Tuoba Yu worried about the unexplained absence of Ma Chao.
• Tuoba Yu said his army could not afford to return without provisions and ordered an attack on Little Pine Mountain, which he considered easier to take than Great Yu Mountain.

After failing to break through Lin Yi’s defenses, Tuoba Yu chose to attack Li Sansi at Little Pine Mountain, while Li Sansi realized the Heavenly Eagle Guard’s scouts were preparing for the assault. The chapter left Li Sansi suspecting Song Zixi might be compromised as he prepared for battle.

• Xiao Shan’s scout reported that Zhang Liao had withdrawn into Dayu County, leading Tuoba Yu’s allies to conclude that Lin Yi had driven them toward Li Sansi.
• Tuoba Yu ordered his forces to rest briefly, then attack Little Pine Mountain, and told Xiao Shan to have the scouts sabotage its defenses.
• Li Sansi berated Song Zixi after learning assassins had entered his camp and ordered an investigation into the Heavenly Eagle Guard.
• A guard reported that more Heavenly Eagle Guard members had arrived, and Li Sansi realized Tuoba Yu was preparing to attack Little Pine Mountain after losing to Lin Yi.
• Li Yunqing suggested Song Zixi might have been bought off, so Li Sansi told him to watch Song while he went to see He Zudao.

Li Sansi and He Zudao discussed the failed assassination and Tuoba Yu’s likely threat after his defeat by Lin Yi. Li Sansi summoned reinforcements, but rejected asking Lin Yi for help because he had refused to aid him earlier.

• Li Sansi found He Zudao alive but badly wounded and concluded that the attacker had likely targeted him.
• He Zudao suspected Tuoba Yu, and Li Sansi explained that the Heavenly Eagle Guard had also attempted to assassinate him.
• Li Sansi told He Zudao that Lin Yi had defeated Tuoba Yu’s army, killing more than twenty thousand troops.
• He Zudao urged Li Sansi to summon the thirty thousand troops in the rear, and Li Sansi sent a trusted guard with his order.
• He Zudao suggested asking Lin Yi for support, but Li Sansi refused because he had not helped Lin Yi when Tuoba Yu attacked.

Li Sansi prepared to defend Little Pine Mountain as Tuoba Yu launched another attack, while Xiliang celebrated Lin Yi’s victory and spread astonishing stories about Zhang Liao. The chapter left the battle at Little Pine Mountain underway and Xiliang’s people marveling at claims that Zhang Liao was impervious to weapons.

• He Zudao urged Li Sansi to muster able-bodied men, and Li Sansi agreed because the emperor could send no reinforcements.
• Li Yunqing reported that Tuoba Yu’s cavalry was approaching, and Li Sansi led his men to defend Little Pine Mountain.
• Tuoba Yu learned that He Zudao had been attacked in Li Sansi’s command tent, suspected Lin Yi was behind the plot, and ordered his forces to assault Little Pine Mountain.
• Yelü Dashan led thirty thousand troops against the mountain defenses, Xiao Shan took ten thousand to clear the perimeter, and Tuoba Yu led the remaining cavalry into battle.
• Xiliang’s people celebrated the victory and repeated stories that Zhang Liao and his three thousand men were impervious to blades and spears.
• Duan Yingxiong wondered whether Zhang Liao was a demon because even axes and battle-axes supposedly could not harm him.

Wang Chengfei and Duan Yingxiong discussed Zhang Liao’s armored victory over Tuoba Yu and concluded that Lin Yi was preparing a major plan. They decided to use their old trading connections to secure grain and other vital supplies for Lin Yi, hoping to prove their value.

• Wang Chengfei explained that Zhang Liao’s troops had worn armor from the Heavenly Craft Workshop when they defeated Tuoba Yu’s forces.
• Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei discussed Lin Yi’s growing ambitions and the increased demand for iron ore and other resources.
• Wang Chengfei pointed out that Ma Chao had disappeared from public view, suggesting he was carrying out an important task.
• Wang Chengfei proposed that they acquire grain, fodder, sugar, fruit, minerals, and other supplies for Lin Yi.
• Duan Yingxiong agreed to help use their old trading connections to obtain whatever Xiliang Commandery needed.

Lin Yi discussed expanding the Formation-Breaking Camp and rewarded Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei for supporting his plans. He gave the two men a chance to profit from refined salt and intended for them to establish a foothold among the southern native chieftains to share the pressure on Xiliang.

• Duan Yingxiong agreed to help Wang Chengfei obtain supplies for Lin Yi in hopes of earning the heir’s favor.
• Lin Yi praised Zhang Liao’s exaggerated reputation, then ordered Pu Yuan to produce ten thousand sets of special armor for the Formation-Breaking Camp.
• Pu Yuan reported that Duan Yingxiong had volunteered his tribesmen to help mine ore on Cloud and Mist Mountain.
• Wang Yue told Lin Yi that Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei planned to buy grain and salt to present to him.
• Lin Yi offered the two men distribution rights for Northern Liang’s refined salt so they could make a fortune.
• Lin Yi revealed that he wanted Duan Yingxiong and Wang Chengfei to establish themselves in the south and help share the pressure after Xiliang’s strength became known.

Lin Yi learned that Tuoba Wanli had sent 200,000 troops toward Mountain and River Pass, increasing pressure on Li Anlan and Great Ning. While the Heavenly Pillar Peak passage neared completion, Lin Yi planned to let Tuoba Yu and Li Sansi weaken each other and ordered Wang Yue to keep Li Sansi alive until their larger conflict.

• Jia Xu told Lin Yi that Tuoba Wanli had marched 200,000 troops toward Mountain and River Pass, forcing Li Anlan and Lin Yi’s father to respond to the threat.
• Zhou Cang urged Lin Yi to rebel amid Great Ning’s troubles, but Lin Yi said he lacked the authority and needed to strengthen himself first; Chen Qun advised reporting his victory over Tuoba Yu to the imperial capital.
• Jia Xu reported that the Heavenly Pillar Peak passage would be completed within four days, giving Lin Yi a route toward Tuoba Yu’s territory and control of Great Yu Pass.
• Wang Yue reported that Li Sansi and Tuoba Yu were fighting at Little Pine Mountain, where Tuoba Yu had infiltrated the area and Li Sansi remained under pressure.
• Lin Yi instructed Jia Xu to prolong the fighting between Tuoba Yu and Li Sansi, then ordered Wang Yue to help Li Sansi and ensure he survived until their major battle.

Lin Yi refused Wang Yue’s offer to kill He Zudao and considered how the Northern Region Barbarians’ invasion could draw Northern Liang into the conflict. In the imperial palace, Li Anlan ordered ministers to address the invasion and publicly called for Lin Yi to be kept alive, while Gongsun Gui suspected he wanted the heir dead.

• Wang Yue offered to kill He Zudao, but Lin Yi said He Zudao would meet his end when Little Pine Mountain fell.
• Lin Yi recognized that Tuoba Wanli’s grain shortage had forced him to invade and considered contacting his father about the changing situation.
• Li Anlan condemned Tuoba Wanli for attacking Great Ning and asked Qin Li whether the troops at Mountain and River Pass could hold him back.
• Qin Li reported that nearly two hundred thousand troops had gathered to defend Mountain and River Pass.
• Wei Tong reported that Tuoba Yu had sent eighty thousand troops toward Xiliang Commandery, and Li Anlan told the Prince of Beining Commandery to keep Lin Yi alive.
• Gongsun Gui privately suspected that Li Anlan would prefer Lin Yi to die rather than grow Northern Liang’s power.

A victory report announced that Lin Yi had defeated Tuoba Yu’s much larger army, stunning the imperial court and cheering the capital. The emperor questioned whether Lin Yi had won unaided, but the messenger insisted the Prince of Beining Commandery brought no troops, leaving officials to debate how Lin Yi had prevailed.

• Gongsun Gui and Ran Xianhua discussed the Heir of Northern Liang’s grim prospects as the court heard a commotion outside.
• A victory messenger announced that Lin Yi routed Tuoba Yu’s eighty-thousand-man army with thirty thousand troops and killed thirty thousand enemies.
• Wei Tong reported the news to Li Anlan, who summoned the messenger and questioned whether Lin Yi had received help from the Prince of Beining Commandery.
• The victory messenger declared that the prince brought no soldiers and that Lin Yi’s troops won the battle, angering Li Anlan with his defiance.
• Tan Cheng suggested Lin Rusong had secretly helped Lin Yi, but Qin Li said the prince’s forces had not moved and the victory was likely Lin Yi’s own.

Li Anlan’s court debated Lin Yi’s unregistered troops and the strange delays in his reports, then rewarded him for defeating Tuoba Yu. In Northern Liang, Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen celebrated Lin Yi’s victory and the reputation his forces had earned.

• Li Anlan’s ministers questioned how Lin Yi had gathered thirty thousand troops, and a Ministry of War aide revealed that Lin Yi had requested funds to train a hundred thousand men.
• Ran Xianhua accused Lin Yi of exceeding his authority, but the aide explained that Lin Yi had reported his forces in a memorial that arrived late because Xiliang Commandery had no relay station or proper warhorses.
• Tan Cheng noticed that Lin Yi’s victory report had arrived quickly despite the slow horse, and Li Anlan realized Lin Yi had deliberately exposed the empire’s communications failures.
• After Qin Li warned against punishing Lin Yi for a recent victory, Li Anlan appointed him Great General of Divine Might, promoted him one rank, awarded him ten thousand taels of gold, and authorized an army of fifty thousand with supplies.
• Lin Rusong and Wang Ziwen praised Lin Yi after reading that his thirty thousand men had routed Tuoba Yu’s forces and that the Formation-Breaking Camp had stood against eighty thousand troops.