Chapter Summaries

After Wu Shuangren killed Xu Rong and took Rong Province City, Guo Jiwang pledged lifelong loyalty and advised him to avoid rebellion for now. Wu Shuangren chose to follow Guo Jiwang’s plan, then learned that Lin Qian had come alone to see him and ordered him brought in despite Guo Jiwang’s concern about his injuries.

• Lu Yulin withdrew with his men after hearing that Wu Shuangren had killed Xu Rong, while Lin Qian parted from Zhigang and went to meet Wu Shuangren.
• Most of the soldiers on Rong Province City’s walls surrendered, and Xu Jing’s forces entered the city and sealed its approaches.
• Guo Jiwang pledged his lifelong loyalty to Wu Shuangren after remembering how Wu Shuangren had taken a blade to the back to save him.
• After Xu Nanzhi treated Wu Shuangren’s severe injuries, Guo Jiwang reported the city’s capture and urged him to seek another path instead of raising a rebellion.
• Wu Shuangren accepted Guo Jiwang’s plan to wait before rising up, then ordered him to bring Lin Qian to meet him.

Wu Shuangren persuaded Lin Qian to stay with the Yi Province Militia rather than join another rebellion, then offered Zhang Liao a way to explain Xu Rong’s death and the loss of Rong Province City. Guo Jiwang proposed that Zhang Liao secure the surviving Shannan Army soldiers’ loyalty by having them kill Xu Rong’s trusted followers, and Wu Shuangren left the choice to him.

• Lin Qian recounted the split at Mount Liang, his break with Lu Yulin, and their duel, then explained his grudge against the court and his hope to reach the capital.
• Wu Shuangren told Lin Qian he had great ambitions but did not intend to rebel yet, and Lin Qian agreed to stay and serve him.
• Wu Shuangren asked Zhang Liao how he would handle the Shannan Army’s response to Xu Rong’s death, and Guo Jiwang proposed presenting Lu Yulin’s Great Grandmaster breakthrough as the cause.
• Guo Jiwang revealed that Zhang Liao could secure the remaining soldiers’ support by having them kill Xu Rong’s personal guards, relatives, and fellow townsmen.
• Wu Shuangren told Zhang Liao he could leave if he was unwilling to take part, and promised not to make things difficult for him.

Zhang Liao used Guo Jiwang’s plan to win over the captured Shannan Army soldiers with silver and force them to help eliminate Xu Rong’s trusted men. Wu Shuangren and Guo Jiwang then planned how to conceal the truth, strengthen Zhang Liao’s position, and prepare for Dong Zhuo’s ambitions in Jiannan Circuit.

• Zhang Liao agreed to follow Guo Jiwang’s plan and offered the Shannan Army soldiers a chance to live by pledging allegiance.
• Zhang Liao displayed a mountain of silver and promised ten taels to each soldier who struck one of Xu Rong’s trusted men; a selected hundred-man commander struck first and pledged himself to Zhang Liao.
• More than twelve hundred Shannan Army soldiers took turns cutting the bound trusted men and received silver, while Wu Shuangren and Guo Jiwang watched.
• Guo Jiwang advised Wu Shuangren to cultivate the officers, rehearse a shared account through mock interrogations, and ensure Zhang Liao received credit for recapturing Rong Province City.
• Guo Jiwang warned that Dong Zhuo might seek to expand into Jiannan Circuit through Tiger Soul Pass, and Wu Shuangren resolved to spread news of Lu Yulin’s breakthrough to the Great Grandmaster realm.

Emperor Yuanxing and the court debated famine relief, frontier supplies, and the Yellow Turban campaign before considering Dong Zhuo’s proposal to accept Mount Liang’s surrender. Yuan Feng secured a plan to divide Mount Liang’s forces and reward the Shannan Army through Jiannan’s gentry, then spoke with Wang Junning after court.

• The minister of revenue won approval to remit land taxes in four famine-stricken provinces, while the court ordered Jiangnan’s gentry to fund repairs to the Tuo River levee.
• The court compromised on sending thirty thousand shi of grain to the Northern Garrison Army and ordered Han Shizhong to end the Hebei fighting within a month.
• Dong Zhuo’s memorial reported Mount Liang’s willingness to surrender, and most ministers supported accepting it.
• Yuan Feng advised Emperor Yuanxing to summon Mount Liang’s elite troops to the capital and divide the remaining forces among three border circuits.
• Yuan Feng persuaded Emperor Yuanxing to have Jiannan’s gentry reward the Shannan Army and reserve a separate reward for its campaign general.
• After court, Yuan Feng greeted Wang Junning, a Chancellery reviewing official.

Yuan Feng rebuked Wang Junning for questioning his handling of Mount Liang’s amnesty, then worried that the realm’s fragile peace was nearing its end. In Shu Province City, Lin Qian openly challenged Mount Shu Sect leader Li Xiao, but he revealed that Lu Yulin had reached the Great Grandmaster realm, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Yuan Feng accused Wang Junning of taking a private bribe from Dong Zhuo and dismissed him before reflecting on the realm’s hidden unrest.
• Jianghu folk in Shu Province City discussed Lin Qian’s victories over three First Rate experts and his announced challenge to Li Xiao.
• Liang Zheng and his Six Doors subordinates discussed Lin Qian’s motives and learned that the Circuit Inspector had ordered a hard line against him.
• Lin Qian arrived alone at the Mount Shu Sect and requested a match with Li Xiao, who refused to honor a duel with a rebel.
• Lin Qian said he had left Mount Liang and revealed that Lu Yulin had defeated him and broken through to the Great Grandmaster realm, astonishing everyone present.

Lin Qian defeated Li Xiao in Shu Province and left after revealing that Lu Yulin had been stronger than him even before Lu Yulin’s breakthrough. In Ya Province, Zhang Liao reported Xu Rong’s death to Wang Yan, who later concluded that Lu Yulin had become a Great Grandmaster and sent the news to the military governor.

• Lin Qian challenged Li Xiao, defeated him in fewer than fifty moves, and broke his sword; Li Xiao learned that Lin Qian had already been this skilled when he fought Lu Yulin.
• Liang Zheng watched Lin Qian leave and wondered whether he might have reached the legendary realm if he had devoted himself more fully to martial training.
• Sixteen days after Xu Rong was killed, Zhang Liao joined Wang Yan’s army and recounted the campaign, blaming Xu Rong’s defeat on Lu Yulin’s breakthrough and counterattack.
• Wang Yan had officers question Zhang Liao’s soldiers, then ordered them to continue searching for Lu Yulin and his men.
• After receiving news that Lin Qian had defeated Li Xiao and escaped government forces, Wang Yan concluded that Lu Yulin had become a Great Grandmaster and ordered reports sent to the military governor.

Wang Yan publicly accepted Song Hai and the Mount Liang leaders under an imperial amnesty, then drugged them at a celebratory banquet and launched a surprise massacre across Ya Province City. Song Hai was left gravely wounded and alone among the dead as Wang Yan revealed Dong Zhuo had secretly ordered the Mount Liang army destroyed.

• Wang Yan read the imperial edict pardoning the Mount Liang bandits, appointing Song Hai and the other leaders, and distributing their troops among the border armies.
• Wang Yan hosted a banquet for the Mount Liang leaders, where Li Lin noticed that the wine had weakened their Internal Skill.
• Wang Yan revealed that he had drugged the leaders and accused them of plotting treachery, then ordered the Shannan Army to attack.
• Shannan Army troops ambushed the Mount Liang soldiers throughout Ya Province City, killing them while most were unarmed or drunk.
• Li Lin and the other Mount Liang leaders were killed during the fighting, leaving Song Hai gravely wounded and surrounded by the dead.
• Wang Yan told Song Hai that Dong Zhuo had ordered the Mount Liang army destroyed and blamed the court's obstruction and Song Hai's failure to control Lu Yulin.

After the Mount Liang rebellion was crushed, Yuan Feng investigated the campaign and began looking into Xu Jing and the Yi Province Militia as potential counterweights to Dong Zhuo. With the Yellow Turban Rebellion also ended, Wu Shuangren hosted Rong Province’s militia leaders, who pledged their loyalty to him.

• Wang Yan ordered Zhang Liao’s men to kill Song Hai and send the rebel leaders’ heads to the capital for credit.
• The Son of Heaven punished the Mount Liang rebels’ families and rewarded the Shannan Army, promoting Zhang Liao to deputy general of Ya Province.
• Yuan Shao volunteered to investigate the Shanbei Army, while Yuan Feng told him to befriend its generals and prepare for Dong Zhuo’s ambitions.
• Yuan Feng explained that Xu Jing had organized the Yi Province Militia to stop Mount Liang and ordered Yuan Shu to investigate Xu Jing and the militia.
• News arrived that Han Shizhong had defeated the Yellow Turban Army and killed Zhang Jiao, prompting celebrations across the capital.
• Wu Shuangren hosted Rong Province’s militia leaders, who pledged to follow him, while Guo Jiwang drank in his place.

Three days after Emperor Yuanxing’s death, the capital mourned as officials gathered for the crown prince’s accession ceremony. Yuan Feng considered the uncertain circumstances of the emperor’s death, and twelve-year-old Li Bian arrived to kneel before his father’s coffin.

• The capital was covered in mourning decorations, and its businesses and entertainments closed after Emperor Yuanxing’s death.
• Officials gathered in the Hall of Supreme Polarity before the late emperor’s coffin, where Yuan Feng prepared to preside over the accession ceremony.
• Yuan Feng reflected that Emperor Yuanxing’s death might have been natural but remained open to the possibility of a conspiracy.
• Crown Prince Li Bian entered the hall and, at Yuan Feng’s direction, knelt before the coffin.

After Li Bian became emperor, Yuan Feng assessed the aristocratic clans’ positions and prepared the Yuan Clan for possible chaos by cultivating military ties. In Rong Province, Wu Shuangren organized and ranked a new militia, but the chapter ended as a rider arrived from the city.

• Yuan Feng read Emperor Yuanxing’s final edict, and Li Bian was proclaimed emperor after the succession ceremonies.
• Representatives of the Cui, Lu, and Xiang Clans met with Yuan Feng, who learned that the Cui Clan sought stability, the Lu Clan wanted change, and the Xiang Clan pledged loyalty to the new ruler.
• Yuan Feng told Yuan Shu to build ties with the Xu Family and explained that the Yuan Clan needed military power in case the realm fell into chaos.
• Wu Shuangren organized more than 4,700 men into five battalions of the Rong Province Militia and assigned local commanders alongside officers transferred from the Yi Province Militia.
• After Wu Shuangren finished conferring ranks on the militiamen, a rider galloped out of Rong Province City.

After the emperor died and the twelve-year-old crown prince took the throne, Wu Shuangren learned Xu Jing had been promoted to Yi Province's deputy general and suspected a powerful court figure had taken an interest in the Yi Province Militia. Meanwhile, Yuan Shu's agents Xue Ling and Peng Cheng investigated the militia in Yi Prefecture City, where Luo Heng's Flying Feather Hall tracked their movements and searched their room.

• Guo Jiwang told Wu Shuangren that Xu Jing had been promoted to Yi Province's deputy general and that the emperor had died, leaving the twelve-year-old crown prince to succeed him.
• Guo Jiwang reasoned that an influential figure at court had backed Xu Jing to gain influence over the Yi Province Militia, and warned Wu Shuangren to expect an investigation.
• Xue Ling and Peng Cheng, sent by Yuan Shu, asked about joining the Yi Province Militia at a restaurant, and the owner reported their questions to Qi San of Flying Feather Hall.
• Flying Feather Hall ordered its agents to watch Xue Ling and Peng Cheng, who continued asking about the militia and its commander before taking an inn room.
• Luo Heng had Liu Qi search the agents' luggage; Liu Qi found nothing unusual but reported that the men had secured their door with a strand of hair.

Xue Ling and Peng Cheng investigated the Yi Province Militia, while Hou Huai and Luo Heng quietly fed them information that reinforced their belief that the Xu Family controlled it. After the investigators prepared to report back, Wu Shuangren returned to Yi Prefecture City and went to congratulate Xu Jing on becoming vice general.

• Hou Huai advised Luo Heng to leak carefully chosen information to Xue Ling and Peng Cheng rather than let them uncover the militia's secrets themselves.
• Xue Ling and Peng Cheng followed a supply convoy and learned that Xu Jing had ordered fruit delivered directly to the Yi Province Militia camp.
• The two investigators went to Bo County, where they found that people there believed Lord Xu controlled the local militia, then returned to Yi Prefecture City to prepare to report to the capital.
• Hou Huai told Wu Shuangren that he had followed the investigators and confirmed what they had learned in Bo County; Wu Shuangren praised him as his teacher.
• Wu Shuangren left the city for the Yi Province garrison and congratulated Xu Jing on his appointment as vice general.

Xu Cheng came to Yi Prefecture City to learn how his son Xu Jing had risen to become garrison commander and discovered that Wu Shuangren was the real force behind the Yi Province Militia. At a dinner, Wu Shuangren met Xu Cheng and introduced his military adviser, Guo Jiwang.

• Xu Jing told Wu Shuangren that the Yuan Clan of Nanyang had helped him become Yi Province's garrison commander and had also approached Xu Jing's uncle in the imperial guard.
• Xu Cheng arrived in Yi Prefecture City and heard Xu Jing recount Wu Shuangren's achievements and the creation and victories of the Yi Province Militia.
• Xu Jing explained that he served Wu Shuangren and that Wu Shuangren had let the Yuan Clan believe the Xu Family was behind the militia to keep himself out of the spotlight.
• Xu Jing brought Xu Cheng to a welcoming dinner, where Xu Cheng thanked Wu Shuangren for avenging Xu Dengyun.
• Wu Shuangren introduced Guo Jiwang as his military adviser, and Xu Cheng recognized Guo from his past reputation in the capital.

Wu Shuangren discussed his concealed role and plans for dealing with the Yuan Clan with Xu Cheng, who proposed a marriage alliance between their families. After weighing the political benefits, Wu Shuangren decided to write to his parents about the match.

• Xu Cheng learned that Guo Jiwang served Wu Shuangren as his lord and discussed the Yuan Clan’s mistaken belief that the Xu Family led the Yi Province Militia.
• Wu Shuangren asked the Xu Family to keep his identity secret and explained that he wanted to cooperate with the Yuan Clan without becoming dependent on them.
• Xu Cheng proposed that Wu Shuangren marry his daughter, and Wu Shuangren said he was unbetrothed but had not considered marriage.
• After Xu Cheng and Xu Jing left, Guo Jiwang advised that the Xu Family was a suitable marriage ally for Wu Shuangren.
• Wu Shuangren agreed to pursue the alliance and said he would send a letter to his parents.

Wu Shuangren arranged to marry Xu Nanzhi, expanded and trained his forces, and began preparing to extend his influence into Xi Province. At a joint militia competition, the Rong Province troops performed poorly after relaxing their training, leaving Wu Shuangren to confront the challenge of governing distant forces.

• Wu Dongrong and Xu Nanzhi agreed to Wu Shuangren's marriage to Xu Nanzhi, while Xu Cheng suspected she came from the Xu Clan's long-lost main branch in Jiangnan Circuit.
• Wu Shuangren completed the marriage proposal rites as far as the auspicious-results stage, expanded his personal guard and crossbow battalions, and trained his forces with Liao Yu's help.
• Guo Jiwang returned to West River County to handle affairs and prepare for Wu Shuangren's possible expansion into Xi Province.
• Li Bian held his enthronement ceremony and declared the Guangxi era name.
• At a five-day joint martial competition, the Yi Province Militia defeated the Rong Province Militia in every team event, exposing how badly the latter had slacked off after Wu Shuangren left.
• Huang Cheng and the other Rong Province battalion commanders stood before Wu Shuangren as he considered how distance would complicate control of his growing forces.

Wu Shuangren used a grand martial contest to expose poor discipline in the Rong Province Militia, compare its soldiers’ conditions favorably with the border army, and impose punishments and new training rules. He then sent storytellers to both militias to strengthen morale, ending with stories beginning to spread through the Rong Province Militia.

• Wu Shuangren confronted the five Rong Province battalion commanders and threatened to remove them for failing to keep their troops disciplined.
• Wu Shuangren questioned border army veterans about withheld pay, poor food, inadequate death benefits, and stolen merit, showing the Rong Province Militia what advantages they already had.
• Wu Shuangren halved the Rong Province Militia’s pay for two months, stripped the five commanders of their posts, and set a new contest to judge their improvement.
• Wu Shuangren announced regular rest days, monthly leave, and monthly martial contests with prize money, then split the two militias between each other’s garrisons for training.
• Storytellers performed an account of the Yi Province Militia’s rescue of Linwen County, stirring pride among veterans and belonging among new recruits.
• Storytellers began performing in the Rong Province Militia, recounting the Mount Liang rebels’ devastation of Rong Province.

The Xu Family accepted Wu Shuangren’s betrothal gifts, and Xu Yuebai continued managing its accounts despite her father warning her to give up business after marriage. In Bo County, the Wu and Liao Clans celebrated their growing bond as Wu Shuangren set out for Shu Province to bring home his bride.

• Wu Shuangren’s betrothal gifts arrived at the Xu residence, drawing attention from Shu Province City’s powerful families and dignitaries.
• Xu Yuebai examined the gift list and calculated its value, while Qinghe reassured her about Wu Shuangren’s character.
• Xu Cheng warned Xu Yuebai not to manage business after she married, and she agreed while continuing to check the Xu Family’s accounts before the wedding.
• The Wu and Liao Clans arranged marriages between their young people, strengthening their ties during a lull in fighting.
• Wu Dongrong and Xu Nanzhi distributed gifts across Bo County, and a cheering procession accompanied Wu Shuangren as he departed for Shu Province.

Wu Shuangren traveled with a heavily guarded wedding procession from Yi Province to Shu Province to fetch his bride from the Xu residence. Along the way, the story revealed the brutal conditions in a secret private mine, where imprisoned miners planned an escape, while Wu Shuangren arrived safely at the Xu Family gates.

• Wu Shuangren set out to fetch his bride with more than a hundred guards and a large procession, and He Zhixu led his horse out of Bo County as crowds celebrated him.
• A miner collapsed in the secret mine, and an overseer ordered soldiers to dump him among the corpses in an abandoned tunnel.
• A group of miners planned to escape when the next supply delivery opened the stockade gate, and their leader told his son they needed to expose Zhang Da and avenge their family.
• Wu Shuangren entered Shu Province City with Xu Cheng's help and safely led the wedding procession through the streets to the Xu residence.
• The Xu Family's steward greeted Wu Shuangren at the gates, and Xu Yu gave him silver as a reward.

Wu Shuangren married Xu Yuebai in a grand ceremony and departed with her dowry, including a hundred warhorses. Elsewhere, Zhang Yu arrived at his father's private mine after miners escaped, and learned that only about a dozen had gotten away.

• Wu Shuangren greeted Xu Cheng and General Zhang Da at the Xu residence, where officials from Shu Province sent congratulatory gifts.
• Xu Yuebai joined Wu Shuangren for the tea ceremony, and Xu Cheng entrusted his daughter to him before they left the residence.
• Wu Shuangren comforted Xu Yuebai when she began to cry, then led her into the bridal sedan and set off with the wedding procession and her dowry.
• Zhang Yu arrived at the mine and demanded an explanation from the guard officer after learning that miners had escaped through the open gate.
• The officer told Zhang Yu that a dozen or so miners had gotten away and that he had already sent men after them.

After fleeing the massacre of the Forged Edge Workshop, Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan were pursued toward the Yi Province border. At the same border, the wedding procession led by Wu Shuangren encountered the fugitives, who begged him to save them.

• Pu Zheng gave his starving son Pu Yuan a hidden flatbread, and the two continued fleeing after the Forged Edge Workshop massacre.
• Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan heard hounds and their pursuer’s voice, recognized the man who had led the slaughter, and prepared to face him together.
• Wu Shuangren’s wedding procession reached the Shu Province–Yi Province border and swiftly formed a defensive perimeter after a scout’s warning whistle.
• Wu Shuangren rode to meet the scout and found Pu Zheng and Pu Yuan, who knelt and begged him to save their lives.