The Song of Glory Episode 31 Recap
> The Song of Glory Recap
Liu Yixuan personally bid farewell to Shen Lige, presenting her with the Golden Silk armor that Emperor Gaozu had once bestowed upon him. He urged her to protect both herself and Liu Yikang, assuring her that he would manage Jiankang and secure army provisions for their triumphant return. Meanwhile, Wang Zijin, longing for Shen Zhi, decided to accompany Shen Lige to the northern front to surprise him.
She left a letter for her father, Wang Gong, explaining her desire to defend the border and her confidence in Shen Zhi's protection. Enraged by her departure, Wang Gong smashed a jar of vintage wine, accepting that it was too late to stop her. Days later, Liu Yixuan's efforts to audit household registers for private troops were met with significant resistance.
Nobles submitted fraudulent reports, and local officials engaged in deception, while Sun Taifei conspired with Xie Hao to consolidate their influence within the court. Angered by these continued obstructions, Liu Yixuan dispatched Huo Yun and Ji Shu to personally lead soldiers to various locations in Jiangdong.
Their mission was to thoroughly investigate noble estates and surrounding forests, with explicit orders to immediately apprehend anyone found harboring private troops and send them to the Commandant of Justice, warning that he would show no leniency to those who defied his commands. Shen Tingzhang and Shen Feng, along with a contingent of elite forces, arrived at the Wei Army's rear overnight. In Matou City, Liu Yikang convened a military council, conspicuously excluding Lu Yuan.
He instead assigned Lu Yuan the task of supervising the city's refugees, strictly prohibiting him from entering or leaving the Matou camp without specific authorization. Lu Yuan, perceiving this as a deliberate attempt to strip him of his military authority, immediately instructed Xue Qiu to gather his former subordinates. These private soldiers had already assembled around Matou, awaiting orders. Lu Yuan declared that his true confrontation with Liu Yikang had just begun.
Concurrently, Liu Yikang, informed by Shen Feng about Wan Jingsheng's deceptive deployment of forces—with increased shipping on the eastern waterway suggesting provision transport and more Wei troops on the western land route—planned for his generals to intercept these enemy movements the following morning. He reassured a general that General Shen Tingzhang's imminent arrival at the enemy's rear made it prudent to wait for their full coordinated attack.
Shen Lige and her companions, en route to Matou, observed deep carriage wheel tracks. Recognizing the clandestine nature of the transport so close to Matou, she deduced it was the Wei Army secretly moving weapons or provisions. Without hesitation, Shen Lige declared their intention to intercept and seize the convoy. Liu Yikang received a handwritten letter from Shen Lige, confirming her journey to Matou and asking him to wait. Overjoyed, he immediately commanded his entire army to prepare for battle.
He addressed his troops, affirming that they would fight side by side against the enemy invading their homeland, inspiring resounding shouts of "Long live Prince Peng Cheng!" A report then confirmed that General Shen Tingzhang had reached the Wei Army's rear and awaited his orders. Liu Yikang gave the command for all soldiers to move out, declaring that "Great Song must win!"
In the ensuing direct battle, tens of thousands of elite soldiers engaged in fierce combat, with crossbow arrows filling the air. Initially, both sides seemed evenly matched, but then Shen Tingzhang and Shen Feng led their forces in a flanking surprise attack from the Wei Army's rear, breaking their formation and securing a decisive victory. Seeing their lines broken, the Wei Army immediately retreated, abandoning their diverse forces, including cavalry, elderly, and wounded soldiers.
The injured commander, Wan Jingsheng, returned to his camp only to learn that their army provisions had been stolen. He ordered his subordinates to closely monitor movements within Matou City, intending to bide his time for an opportune counter-attack. Following the Suiyuan Army's initial success, Liu Yixuan sought to expand the scope of household register cleansing, using the military recruitment drive as justification.
Ji Shu praised Shen Lige's valor in uncovering hidden private soldiers and assisting the war effort, acknowledging that the strength of the Wei Army still necessitated continued recruitment. Liu Yixuan insisted on expanding the household register cleansing, despite Ji Shu's warning that such broad measures could undermine the nobility, who had long dominated land and people.
Liu Yixuan declared that since he could not fight alongside Liu Yikang in the North, he would act as a vanguard in Jiankang to stabilize the court. His resolve was further bolstered when a military report confirmed Liu Yikang's decisive victory against the Wei Army. Shen Leqing, having miraculously survived her fall from the cliff after being saved by local residents, found her hatred for Shen Lige intensified.
She rushed back to the palace to inform Sun Taifei of Shen Lige's survival. Shen Leqing recounted how she discovered Shen Lige alive at a medicine shop, realizing she had staged her death, and detailed her subsequent fall while being pursued. Sun Taifei, piecing together the events of Shen Lige's faked execution and hurried burial, surmised that Liu Yikang must have recovered before the execution and orchestrated the deception, revealing his deep regard for the Shen family and Shen Lige.
Sun Taifei then dispatched a secret message to Lu Yuan, informing him that Shen Lige was alive and that Xie Hao was now aligning with them. Upon receiving this intelligence, Lu Yuan deduced that Shen Lige, now no longer in Jiankang, would undoubtedly head towards Matou.
Believing she would take the hidden, narrow path to avoid the Wei Army, Lu Yuan immediately dispatched Xue Qiu with troops to set an ambush there, determined to eliminate this obstacle to his grand ambitions. The narrow path through a hidden valley was perilous, yet Shen Lige chose it to avoid detection by the Wei Army. As her team transported provisions across a bridge, it suddenly collapsed, sending many plummeting.
Just as Shen Lige was about to fall into the abyss, Liu Yikang arrived on horseback and quickly threw a rope to her. Xue Qiu, who had laid the ambush, immediately ordered his archers to fire. Liu Yikang instructed Wang Zijin and Kong Cheng to take cover, then tightened his grip on the rope and bravely jumped off the cliff, hanging with Shen Lige beneath the broken bridge. In that moment of grave danger, they exchanged smiles.
Fortunately, timely reinforcements arrived, overwhelming Xue Qiu's forces and compelling him and his men to retreat. Liu Yikang then pulled Shen Lige to safety, embracing her tightly on the cliff, heedless of the onlookers. Shen Lige introduced the volunteer soldiers she had brought, and Liu Yikang praised her as his heroine, before one of his men advised them to quickly proceed to Matou to avoid further ambushes. Wan Jingsheng, recuperating his forces, was planning a counter-attack.
Concerned about the vital granary in Xuyi to the south, Liu Yikang explained to Shen Lige that he needed to move troops from Jiankang to gather a larger army for battle, as the security of both Matou and Peng Cheng City was crucial for Xuyi's protection.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, seething with resentment over the Shen family's repeated aid to Liu Yikang, reflected on Shen Lige's deceptive survival and the Shen family's unwavering loyalty, noting Shen Tingzhang's feigned retirement to assist Liu Yikang in the North. Convinced that his grand aspirations would be impossible with the Shen family remaining a formidable force, Lu Yuan resolved to eliminate them all, intending for them to be "buried in the soil of the North."
