This chapter opens with a description of the small states of the north of China, which are feared by the neighboring states. The empress of the zhao state, known as the "iron lady," is from that state. She is known as a "demonic woman," and she is able to manipulate others. She has been imprisoned by the daxi emperor, who has brought her back to the kingdom. The emperor tells the empress that if she continues to be like this, she will have to "kill her mother" . She says that she will follow the emperor's teachings, and she will kill her mother if he continues to treat her like this. She tells the emperor that she has made a mistake in imprisoning her mother, and that she knows she has to obey the emperor. She asks the emperor if there is another general in the court, and the general replies that there is one, marquis su zhuong, who is "humble and loyal." The general says that the war between the two states has been going on for a long time, but that the state of yan has not been besieged. He adds that the emperor is state and the emperor of zhao is state. The two states are on good terms, but the emperor has begun to seek out the land of the other state. He says that yan state now has an ulterior motive, and wants the land because it is unstable. He asks the general if he thinks about the kingdom of daxi. On the one hand, the kingdom exerts pressure on the neighboring small states, and