Yang Zhi agrees to escort the birthday tribute after Liang Zhongshu promises him future honors. To avoid bandits, he disguises his soldiers as merchants and tightly controls the escort, breeding resentment through harsh discipline. Chao Gai and Wu Yong plot to seize the tribute, using Bai Sheng as bait despite his unreliability as a gambler. After mishaps at a gambling den, the plan is salvaged. In extreme heat, Yang Zhi rests in a grove, where Chao Gai’s group pose as traders and Bai Sheng appears as a wine seller. Though the soldiers crave wine, Yang Zhi suspects a trap and forbids it.
