Chapter Summaries

After learning that Tuoba Yu had invaded Ningchuan Commandery, Lin Yi ordered Xiliang’s forces to seize Tuoba Yu’s base, Little Pine Mountain, and Ningchuan Commandery. He introduced Gongsun Zan as a new ally and sent him to support Zhang Liao’s campaign while guarding against Tuoba Yu’s cavalry.

• Wang Yue reported that Tuoba Yu had killed He Zudao and invaded Ningchuan Commandery, leaving more than twenty thousand casualties.
• Lin Yi summoned his commanders and ordered Ma Chao to lead one hundred thousand cavalry against Tuoba Yu’s base and establish a foothold there.
• Lin Yi sent Zhang Liao with fifty thousand troops to take Little Pine Mountain and watch for a chance to seize Ningchuan Commandery.
• Jia Xu warned Lin Yi that deploying all his forces could leave Raging Waves Bridge vulnerable, but Lin Yi assured him that a new ally would guard it.
• Gongsun Zan arrived with thirty thousand White Horse Volunteers, and Lin Yi assigned them to support Zhang Liao and counter Tuoba Yu’s cavalry.

Lin Yi’s newly revealed army swept through the Northern Region Barbarians’ defenses at Little Pine Mountain. Cha'er realized the position could not hold and sent a warning to Tuoba Yu as the attackers advanced.

• Bai Zizai and Yi Yun were astonished by the size of Lin Yi’s forces, and Lin Yi claimed a hero had come to help him.
• Zhang Liao’s army broke through the first four defensive lines at Little Pine Mountain in less than two hours.
• Jia Xu explained that the defenders were stalling to alert Tuoba Yu, and Zhang Liao sent the Formation-Breaking Camp forward.
• Cha'er saw that his five thousand men could not stop the advance and feared Tuoba Yu would be trapped in Ningchuan Commandery.
• Zhou Cang led the armored Formation-Breaking Camp through a barrage of arrows, which could not pierce their armor.
• Cha'er sent a trusted subordinate to warn Tuoba Yu about Lin Yi and ordered the remaining defenders to attack with rocks.

Zhang Liao’s forces used catapults and explosive charges to rout the Northern Region barbarians defending Little Pine Mountain. Jia Xu then ordered Zhang Liao to block Tuoba Yu’s retreat and wait until he took Ping’an City, while revealing that Tuoba Yu had been promised the title of King Divine Eagle.

• Zhou Cang complained to Zhang Liao and Jia Xu after a rock struck him, and Jia Xu told him to throw rocks back.
• Zhang Liao ordered catapults to bombard Little Pine Mountain, but the defenders continued fighting.
• Zhang Liao had Chen Pi hurl explosive charges at the defenders, killing Cha’er and terrifying the remaining Northern Region soldiers into fleeing toward Ziwu Road.
• Zhang Liao stopped Zhou Cang from pursuing the fleeing soldiers and said Ma Chao’s cavalry would intercept them.
• Jia Xu ordered his men to secure Little Pine Mountain and told Zhang Liao to cross the river and block Tuoba Yu’s retreat until Tuoba Yu took Ping’an City.
• Jia Xu explained that Tuoba Yu had to attack Great Ning because the Northern Barbarian king had promised him the title of King Divine Eagle.

After Zhang Liao’s victory at Little Pine Mountain, Lin Yi prepared to move into Ningchuan Commandery while concealing his broader ambitions from Bai Zizai and Yi Yun. Refugees in Xiliang argued over Lin Yi’s actions and fought, while Lin Yi revealed he intended to profit from their wealth once Xiliang’s economy had grown.

• A victory messenger reported that Zhang Liao had killed five thousand enemy troops and captured Little Pine Mountain, and Lin Yi praised him before discussing the advance into Ningchuan Commandery.
• Bai Zizai asked whether Lin Yi would seize Ningchuan Commandery, and Lin Yi said he was only going to rescue its people.
• Lin Yi revealed that Tuoba Wanli had offered to make Tuoba Yu a king in exchange for easing pressure on Mountain and River Pass, prompting Bai Zizai and Yi Yun to recognize the opportunity this created.
• News of the victory spread through Xiliang, where refugees argued over whether Lin Yi had abandoned Ningchuan and a crowd from Xiliang beat a refugee who had fled the commandery.
• Wang Yue condemned the refugees for criticizing Lin Yi, but Lin Yi said he would let their money support Xiliang’s economy before settling accounts with them.

Tuoba Wanli learned that Tuoba Yu had advanced into Ningchuan Commandery and ordered him named the Martial Divine Minor Titled King, with the promise of a fief if he rendered great service. He then decided to send support, fearing Lin Yi might try to seize Ningchuan’s wealth.

• Tuoba Wanli rejected his sons’ suggestions to abandon Mountain and River Pass, relying instead on Tuoba Yu’s raid to create an opportunity.
• A messenger reported that Tuoba Yu had taken Little Pine Mountain and was attacking Ping'an City in Ningchuan Commandery.
• Tuoba Wanli read a battle report praising Tuoba Yu’s victories and ordered him granted the title Martial Divine Minor Titled King, ten thousand taels of gold, one hundred beauties, and a possible fief.
• Tuoba Qingfeng warned that Lin Yi might covet Ningchuan’s riches, and Tuoba Wanli agreed that they needed to guard against him.

Ning Kun learned that Tuoba Yu had overrun Ningchuan Commandery and chose to keep his forces at Mountain and River Pass rather than fall for Tuoba Wanli’s plan to divide them. In the capital, Li Anlan ordered a hundred thousand imperial guards to stop Tuoba Yu, then learned that Jiang Li had raised a southern rebellion as well.

• Tuoba Wanli sent Tuoba Qingsong with fifty thousand troops to meet Tuoba Yu and guard the money.
• Ning Kun blamed Li Sansi’s defeat on his focus on defense and political maneuvering, but refused to send troops away from Mountain and River Pass.
• Li Anlan raged over Li Sansi’s army being wiped out and Ningchuan Commandery falling, then ordered a hundred thousand imperial guards mobilized against Tuoba Yu.
• Tan Cheng reported that Jiang Li had raised a hundred thousand troops against the Prince of Shu, leaving Li Anlan furious about unrest in the south.

With rebellions and invasion threatening the Great Ning Dynasty, Li Anlan learned that Lin Yi had trapped Tuoba Yu in Ningchuan Commandery with troops from the mysterious White Horse Tribe. Facing another northern threat and reluctant to let Lin Yi expand unchecked, Li Anlan created Xiliang Province, appointed Lin Yi its inspector, and ordered him to rescue Ningchuan.

• Tan Cheng reported that the Prince of Shu had imposed unauthorized taxes, prompting Li Anlan to suspect his uncle might be preparing to rebel.
• Qin Li volunteered to investigate the southern crisis, and Li Anlan authorized him to command an army of one hundred thousand while deciding to lead a northern campaign himself.
• A messenger announced that Lin Yi had used fifty thousand borrowed troops, including thirty thousand White Horse Tribe cavalry led by Gongsun Zan, to cut off Tuoba Yu at Little Pine Mountain.
• Li Anlan received word that Tuoba Wanli's fifty-thousand-strong army was advancing toward Youning Commandery.
• Li Anlan elevated Xiliang Commandery to a province, appointed Lin Yi Inspector of Xiliang Province, and ordered him to attack Tuoba Yu and save Ningchuan Commandery.

Lin Yi used his new appointment as inspector of Xiliang to justify taking Ningchuan Commandery and ordered Zhang Liao and Gongsun Zan to attack. Meanwhile, Tuoba Yu received the title of Divine Martial Lesser King and the right to choose his own territory.

• The imperial edict elevated Xiliang Commandery into Xiliang Province and appointed Lin Yi inspector with authority over its administration.
• Lin Yi and his advisers discussed Li Anlan’s attempt to limit his power and agreed that Ningchuan Commandery should become part of Xiliang Province.
• Lin Yi ordered Zhang Liao and Gongsun Zan to strike Ningchuan Commandery, then set out with his companions to claim it in person.
• Tuoba Yu received a decree naming him Divine Martial Lesser King and granting him territory of his choice, while Yelü Dashan praised his rise.

After Little Pine Mountain fell, Tuoba Yu rallied his allies to take the fight into Youning and Great Wasteland Commanderies, hoping to force the enemy away from Mountain and River Pass. He replenished his depleted army by coercing captives into joining, but a huge cavalry force arrived as his troops prepared to march.

• Tuoba Yu reassured Yelü Dashan and drew him closer, while Xiao Shan worried that Tuoba Yu's ambition could threaten royal power.
• Tuoba Yu rejected occupying Ningchuan Commandery or crossing the Great Ning River and proposed invading Youning and Great Wasteland Commanderies to force enemy reinforcements away from Mountain and River Pass.
• Yelü Dashan warned that their forces had fallen below twenty thousand, so Tuoba Yu pressured the captives to join by reminding them they had helped seize Ping'an City and could face punishment from their emperor.
• Tuoba Yu assigned the captives to Yelü Dashan, raising their strength to fifty thousand, and said the remaining people could serve as cannon fodder.
• A massive cavalry force shook the ground, and Tuoba Yu estimated it had at least fifty thousand men.

Lin Yi used his overwhelming military display and an imperial edict naming him inspector of Xiliang Province to force Tuoba Yu’s Northern Barbarian army to retreat from Ningchuan Commandery. He ordered Gongsun Zan to pursue them and sent Zhang Liao to occupy the commandery and fortify the Great Ning River.

• A Northern Barbarian soldier reported that Lin Yi’s forces had captured several cities, and Tuoba Yu and his commanders found Ningchuan Commandery’s walls reduced to rubble.
• Lin Yi met Tuoba Yu, presented the imperial edict granting him authority over Ningchuan Commandery, and ordered the Northern Barbarians to leave.
• Tuoba Yu decided to withdraw, judging that fighting Lin Yi’s army would risk heavy losses, and planned to attack Youning Commandery instead.
• Lin Yi ordered Gongsun Zan and the White Horse Volunteers to cut off the retreating army and seize its valuables and supplies.
• Lin Yi ordered Zhang Liao to take control of Ningchuan Commandery and establish defenses along the Great Ning River.

Lin Yi drove Tuoba Yu’s troops from Ningchuan Commandery and took control of it, then distributed recovered money to the commoners. The people hailed him as their savior, while the Princess Consort of Beining thanked him and reflected on her husband’s defeat.

• Lin Yi’s troops entered Ping'an City after Tuoba Yu retreated under the pressure of their superior numbers and weapons.
• Lin Yi apologized to Ningchuan Commandery’s commoners for arriving late, and they rejoiced that the enemy had been driven back.
• Zhang Huizu learned that Ningchuan Commandery would belong to Xiliang Province and that Lin Yi would distribute recovered money to the commoners.
• Zhang Huizu received money for his family, knelt, and cried out, “Long live the heir!”
• The Princess Consort of Beining thanked Lin Yi for returning some of the stolen money, and Lin Yi expressed regret that he had not saved her husband’s commandery sooner.

After the Princess Consort of Beining withdrew from Ningchuan Commandery, Lin Yi received major system rewards, including Cai Yan, Chen Dao, and elite troops. He ordered Chen Dao to work with Gongsun Zan to secure the commandery and block Li Anlan’s advance.

• The Princess Consort of Beining accepted Lin Yi’s rule over Ningchuan Commandery and departed for the imperial capital.
• The system rewarded Lin Yi with Cai Yan after the Princess Consort voluntarily withdrew, then granted him fifty thousand White Feather Soldiers and Chen Dao for capturing a top-tier commandery.
• The system also gave Lin Yi ten thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the bow and crossbow maker Gong Yuliang, crop seeds, and other supplies.
• Lin Yi summoned Cai Yan and Chen Dao, who pledged their service to him.
• Lin Yi ordered Chen Dao to join Gongsun Zan in securing Ningchuan Commandery and preventing Li Anlan from marching north.

Lin Yi assigned Cai Yan to run a newspaper to shape public opinion while ordering Chen Dao and Gongsun Zan to contain Tuoba Yu’s retreat. Tuoba Yu’s forces remained under pursuit by Lin Yi’s white-horse cavalry as they fled toward the border.

• Chen Dao offered to handle the conflict with Li Anlan and Gongsun Zan, while Lin Yi ordered defenses against Tuoba Yu’s possible return.
• Lin Yi asked Cai Yan to run a newspaper using woodblock printing, explaining that it would give commoners hope and win their support.
• Wang Yue reported that Tuoba Yu had taken more than forty thousand men and a large amount of supplies and money; Lin Yi ordered Gongsun Zan to intercept the supplies.
• At the border, Tuoba Yu struggled to escape Lin Yi’s white-horse cavalry, which harried his slower force with arrows.
• Evil Bodhisattva cursed the pursuers, while Yelü Dashan concluded that Lin Yi’s large light-cavalry force showed he had great ambitions.

Tuoba Yu and Tuoba Qingsong joined forces with 110,000 troops to confront Lin Yi’s pursuing cavalry, while Tuoba Qingsong grew suspicious that the enemy might be leading them into an ambush. The chapter ended with Tuoba Yu warning that Lin Yi had about 80,000 men and urging the army to drive them away rather than get bogged down fighting.

• Tuoba Yu learned that Tuoba Qingsong had arrived with 50,000 reinforcements and hurried to join him.
• Tuoba Qingsong greeted Tuoba Yu and learned from Yelü Dashan that Lin Yi’s 30,000 light cavalry had been harassing their retreat.
• Tuoba Qingsong ordered the combined forces to attack Lin Yi’s cavalry, while some troops stayed behind to guard the supplies.
• Gongsun Zan’s cavalry fled as Tuoba Yu and Tuoba Qingsong pursued them, and the Northern Barbarians’ morale rose.
• Tuoba Qingsong halted the pursuit to guard against an ambush, and Tuoba Yu said Lin Yi had about 80,000 men and should be driven away without a drawn-out fight.

Tuoba Qingsong ordered his eighty thousand troops to attack Lin Yi’s thirty thousand White Horse Volunteers to secure the grain supplies. From nearby Youning Commandery, Zhang Ci recognized that Lin Yi’s forces were fighting the barbarians and welcomed them as allies.

• Tuoba Qingsong rejected Tuoba Yu’s suggestion to escort the supplies away and insisted they had to defeat Lin Yi’s force first.
• Tuoba Qingsong spotted a grasslander among Gongsun Zan’s White Horse Volunteers, and Tuoba Yu explained their supposed origin as the White Horse Tribe.
• Tuoba Qingsong threatened to destroy the White Horse Tribe, then ordered eighty thousand troops to charge the thirty thousand White Horse Volunteers while leaving thirty thousand men to guard the grain.
• Zhang Ci watched the battle from Youning Commandery with five thousand soldiers and considered helping the force attacking the Northern Barbarians.
• After learning the cavalry belonged to Lin Yi, Zhang Ci declared him an ally and praised his boldness.

Lin Yi's thirty thousand cavalry attacked the Northern Region Barbarians and devastated their vanguard with repeating crossbows, but the enemy concluded the crossbows had run out of bolts and prepared to seize them.

• Zhang Ci and the commandery commandant feared Lin Yi's thirty thousand cavalry could not defeat the Northern Barbarians' army of over a hundred thousand.
• Lin Yi's cavalry charged, then fought while retreating before unleashing a vast volley of crossbow bolts that killed over three thousand Northern Region Barbarians.
• Tuoba Yu recognized the weapons as Lin Yi's repeating crossbows, while Yelü Dashan guessed they would run out of arrows after ten volleys.
• After the cavalry's bolts dwindled and stopped, the Evil Bodhisattva celebrated, and Tuoba Qingsong ordered his troops to destroy the cavalry and capture their crossbows.

Evil Bodhisattva died after charging into an ambush set by Lin Yi’s forces, led by Gongsun Zan, who demanded the Northern Barbarians surrender their supplies. Tuoba Yu and Tuoba Qingsong chose to fight on and planned to use open terrain and cavalry speed to break apart the enemy formation.

• Evil Bodhisattva pursued the retreating White Horse Volunteers and charged into a rain of arrows from Lin Yi’s ambush, where he died.
• Tuoba Yu grieved for Evil Bodhisattva as Tuoba Qingsong halted the Northern Barbarian forces and saw Lin Yi’s army advancing in great numbers.
• Gongsun Zan announced that he served the Heir of Northern Liang and ordered the Northern Barbarians to abandon their supplies or be killed.
• Tuoba Yu warned that the terrain favored Lin Yi’s archers and crossbows, while Tuoba Qingsong insisted they had to protect the supply wagons.
• Tuoba Qingsong proposed luring Lin Yi’s forces onto open ground and using the Northern Barbarians’ cavalry mobility to split their formation.

Lin Yi pursued Tuoba Yu’s retreating army to seize its supply wagons, while Tuoba Yu tried to draw him onto open ground where the Northern Region Barbarians’ cavalry could strike. The chapter ended with Tuoba Yu sensing danger but insisting Lin Yi could not have planned so far ahead.

• Lin Yi and Wang Yue discussed Tuoba Yu’s cautious retreat, and Lin Yi demanded compensation for the trouble of taking Ningchuan Commandery.
• Chen Dao reported that Tuoba Yu was heading for a wasteland where his cavalry could gain an advantage, but Lin Yi said the enemy would not reach it with the supplies.
• Tuoba Yu’s forces fought while retreating with their wagons, and Tuoba Qingsong refused to abandon the supplies.
• Xiao Shan explained that Lin Yi was extremely cautious and ruthless when he acted, making the enemy commanders suspect he had prepared a trap.
• Tuoba Yu dismissed their fears and vowed not to repeat his earlier mistakes.

Tuoba Qingsong rallied the Northern Barbarian commanders to fight Lin Yi, while Tuoba Yu reluctantly accepted the battle and focused on his next campaign. As the supply convoy traveled through Youning Commandery, an explosion triggered a mountain collapse that killed soldiers and blocked the road, leaving Tuoba Yu facing an apparent ambush.

• Tuoba Qingsong dismissed the commanders’ fears of Lin Yi and urged them to use their cavalry to exhaust his repeating-crossbow bolts.
• A'ergan and the other commanders agreed to fight, while Tuoba Yu sighed and accepted the decision before considering an invasion of Youning Commandery.
• Tuoba Yu spotted smoke on a nearby mountain and sent guards to investigate.
• An explosion caused a mountain collapse, hurling soldiers from their horses and burying many beneath flying rocks.
• Tuoba Yu cut down a soldier who prayed, insisted enemies had caused the collapse, and ordered the troops away from the mountain.
• Yelü Dashan reported that the blocked road had stopped the supply wagons, and Tuoba Yu rode forward to inspect it.

Tuoba Qingsong’s convoy was ambushed by Lin Yi’s forces, trapped by a blocked road, and threatened with encirclement. After Gongsun Zan routed the rear guard and Lin Yi’s heavy infantry moved to cut off their retreat, Tuoba Qingsong ordered a retreat despite the Northern Barbarians’ ancestral teachings.

• Tuoba Qingsong recognized Lin Yi’s ambush when an explosion spooked the warhorses and left the convoy unable to pass the stone-blocked road.
• Tuoba Qingsong ordered his men to turn and fight, but Zhou Lingwu warned that their horses were too unsettled to battle effectively.
• A guard reported that nearly ten thousand of Lin Yi’s iron-lump troops were moving through the mountains to block their retreat.
• Gongsun Zan’s White Horse Volunteers routed the rear guard, sending Tuoba Yu’s untrained captives fleeing.
• Tuoba Qingsong judged that his remaining troops could not withstand the enemy and ordered a retreat.