Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu (Novel) Vol. 6

Ballad of Sword and Wine #6

by Tang Jiu Qing, st (Illustrator)

EYE FOR AN EYE

In the aftermath of the enemy general Hassen’s devastating ambush, Xiao Chiye struggles to hold together a fractured Libei Armored Cavalry. Morale is at an all-time low, and the enemy's tactics grow ever more unorthodox. Unless Libei's generals can adapt to Hassen's ruthless ingenuity, their forces may not survive the next assault.

To the south, Shen Zechuan is determined to claim the last three prefectures of Zhongbo. To unify the region, he must crush King Yi, a self-proclaimed tyrant lording over Zhongbo's south, and push back the Biansha Horsemen who have seized the east. If he succeeds, Zhongbo will become the crucial linchpin between north and south in the war against Biansha. Yet when the campaign puts Xiao Chiye on the front lines against Biansha's most deadly forces, Shen Zechuan must risk losing the man he loves most in pursuit of the victory they so desperately need.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Historical Fiction, Historical, Queer, China

462 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2025

Reviews

[ir · Rating 5 out of 5]

short review: i want xiao chiye for the days and qi zhuyin for the nights. or put me in a (lavender) sandwich between the both of them.

long review: another stunner of a volume, but, what else is there to expect! i adored how so many characters shined in this - and i’m particularly fond of xiao chiye and shen zechuan shining seperately and together as the power couple they are. there were only a couple of scenes focusing on their romance, but, they were all very precious. i’m in awe of the maximum angst served in a few pages in this volume concerning the chashi sinkhole… my mouth was open for the entire scene, just amazing. the illustration of that scene is something i’ll treasure as well. i loved how shen zechuan was a pillar of strength and support for xiao chiye in this volume as well. (xiao chiye being an absolute badass was great as well.)

more of a focus on military scheming and maneuvering than other volumes but, it wasn’t boring at all and super immersive. minimal court politics which wasn’t disappointing cause the other stuff made up for it. liked how i’m also becoming more fond of side characters that i didn’t care about before - like fei shang. i didn’t expect to care about him and about this new father-son-like relationship he got with a new character, yin chang. more qi zhuyin moments. the proper start of songyu (in my opinion, anyways) and they’re fascinating - i don’t get the full hype nor really care yet, but it was fun to read about. i always wanted to read more about lu guangbai as well so, i liked him appearing for more than he usually does in this volume!

waiting for the treat of the next volume like always. i think things will get better but, at the same time, worse because of all the to-come angst i’ve been spoiled about or am just expecting knowing the tone of this novel… as i was reading this volume, i was thinking how far shen zechuan has came and just felt a sense of awe and pride.

"xiao chiye didn’t need to be treated like porcelain. he was iron. he was steel. he was shen zechuan’s hongyan mountains.

and that was exactly how xiao chiye responded."

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Editing to organize my thoughts by groups/alliances/locations important in this volume (no spoilers):

Biansha Horsemen : Amur(leader), Hassen (son)
12 different tribes including Liaoying, Changjiu, Hanma, Qingshu, etc. Currently they have control over Duanzhou in Zhongbo.

Scorpions : Trying to become part of the Biansha tribes, have tattoos of scorpions as identifiers. Can infiltrate Zhongbo because they resemble them in appearance (mothers were from Zhongbo and sold/r*aped across the Chasi River). Originated in Gedal. Haerigu (defected) Achi (new leader) Jida.

Bandits : Yang Qi, Feng the Tenth (Fanzhou)

Zhongbo main players : SZ, Yao Wenyu, Qiao Tianya, Fei Sheng, Kong Ling, Zhou Gui, Yin Chang

Important locations
DUAHZHOU: currently controlled by Biansha, near Chasi sinkhole and Mt. Luo (where bandits had control), the gateway for Biansha into Zhongbo. SZ wants this back with the goal to unite Zhongbo and make roads/connections between Qidong and Libei.

DENGZHOU and FANZHOU (Zhongbo provinces): King Yi is the leader, bandit problems, Huo Lingyun- new character, SZ has his eyes on these too naturally

QUDU: same crews battling for control of the empire and trying to figure out what SZ is doing-Emperess Dowager, Xue Xiuzhuo and Han Cheng. All the familiar names, Pan Lin, Cen Yu, Kong Qui, etc. Reminder about the Pans and Feis: Pan Lin- government official, got into a fight with Xue Xiuyi (Xue Xiuzhuo’s older brother) at XC’s banquet on the pleasure boat, brother is Pan Yi (both good beans)
-Helian Marquis- son is Fei Shi (also at the banquet), daughter is Zhaoyue who Empress Dowager tried to get XC to marry in order to keep him under control in Qudu
-Commandery Princess Zhaoyue- Pan Yi’s wife, part of Fei clan, daughter of Helian Marquis (good bean), obviously did not marry XC

Maybe spoilers but I don't think so:
-SZ and XC's relationship is not the focus, their tender moments together are 🤌💋. And their strategizing together is so 🔥
-So much fun having all my favorites in the same room discussing strategies
-So happy to have Lu Guangbai back (also some Ge Qingqing)
-More Qi Zhuyin and Hua interactions- so special when you come across well written women in danmei
-More Yao Wenyu and Qiao Tianya
-Fei Sheng my baby is trying so hard

________________________________________
Barely finished this before midnight on NYE while watching Stranger Things finale so this review will be edited tomorrow 🥳 Happy to have my last book of 2025 to be my most favorite danmei of all time ❤️

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year with lots of new favorite books discovered in 2026!

[Nel · Rating 4 out of 5]

cezhou is cezhou-ing and grain is graining

[maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

traumatic experience

[hiba · Rating 4 out of 5]

"after tonight," he said..."my lanzhou will rule over zhongbo."

another wonderful volume. just an excellent novel as a whole. loved the romantic cezhou moments as usual, but i also really enjoyed the side characters this time - i didn't expect to start feeling attached to fei sheng's character and absolutely loved the father/son bond portrayed between him and a new character, yin chang. qi zhuyin's chapters are always great and we got even more of a focus on her conflicts with the imperial court this time.

that chashi sinkhole chapter though...my heart was in my throat and it's officially one of my favorite moments in the entire novel. didn't think i could love shen zechuan and xiao chiye more than i already do but that entire scene was too beautiful.

also, every volume has one super dramatic twist related to grain and i love it.

[Rose ✧⁎⁺ · Rating 5 out of 5]

— “The words the world had uttered to her most often were ‘It’s a pity you’re a girl.’ But Qi Zhuyin herself had never shared this sentiment.”

— “Come back, Lanzhou.” Xiao Chiye leaned in closer to coax him. “Come back to me.”

[Li Ya 🪷 · Rating 5 out of 5]

No co mam powiedzieć, najlepsza danmejka i tyle

[Queens Love Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Xiao Chiye didn't need to be treated like porcelain. He was iron. He was steel. He was Shen Zechuan's Hongyan Mountains."



I put this one off longer than I meant to. The previous volume hit hard enough that I genuinely dreaded opening it, and that hesitation ended up fitting the tone of the book. This installment steps away from constant battlefield action and leans deeper into political maneuvering, consequence, and endurance. It asks more from the reader and gives little emotional relief in return. Power is slow, costly, and built through loss and calculation rather than speeches or heroics. The writing is sharp and controlled, and the story refuses to offer easy reassurance after everything that’s already been broken.

Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye remain the anchor of the novel. They work because they never blur into each other. Xiao Chiye is instinctive, loyal, and brutally honest about how far he’s willing to go, which keeps him dangerous in every scene. Shen Zechuan operates with restraint and precision, shaping outcomes quietly and rarely showing his hand. Their relationship is grounded in trust earned through shared survival, not sentimentality. The romance never interrupts the plot. It reinforces it. Their commitment feels intentional and heavy with consequence, which makes their dynamic compelling rather than comforting.

The story advances through pressure and consolidation instead of spectacle. Political strain, resource shortages, and delayed consequences drive the tension, while victories arrive unevenly and often create new problems. Intimacy appears in sharp contrast, moving from grief and restraint to explicit, fully depicted encounters with intense power dynamics and physical marking. The heat varies wildly, reaching its highest points without relying on fade to black. Readers who enjoy morally gray characters, strategic thinking, and romance woven tightly into ambition will likely find this rewarding. Those looking for emotional safety or lighter pacing may find it cold and exhausting.

Date Read: 2025.12.11

[lily ⊹ ₊ ⁺ · Rating 5 out of 5]

₊˚⊹♡ ˚ ➺ 5/5 ✧

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need some of Lanzhou‘s medicine because these two keep making me sick.
How do they still keep getting better after 6 books??

Also, Xiao finally getting his own cover and such a good storyline and character development makes me so happy.

[James 🦤 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Babe wake up new side couple interactions just dropped.

[lyanuum · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

hands down the best volume so far

I am 60% confused 40% amused, all the politics talks and strategies are still hella confusing, but the juicy Cezhou moments and the incredibly written battle scenes were so rewarding

[Niki.reads.rainbow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Cezhou so much! I’m glad we got more Qiao Tianya and Yao Wenyu content. Yin Chang’s talk with Fei Sheng was great too.

[✧₊⁎Haru • 🦦🪷⁎⁺˳✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Xiao Chiye had once desired the sky and the grasslands. He desired the Hongyan Mountains. He had tamed falcons and horses, flying across the vast lands of his dreams. But he didn’t want any of that anymore. He wanted Shen Zechuan.”

in questo volume ci sono stati tantissimi momenti in cui avrei voluto strapparmi i capelli mentre rotolavo piangendo sul pavimento i Cezhou sono la mia vita li amo con ogni fibra del mio essere!!😭🩷

5⭐️

[karishka · Rating 5 out of 5]

maybe the best love story is the grain we embezzled along the way.

[pelium · Rating 4 out of 5]

so much happened it's like i read two books at once 🫨

[gumis.divine.dogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Politics, romance and a dude showing up to a sword fight with a gun... Everything I love.

[lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

teve mais foco no aspecto militar pra lidar com a situação de onde a história parou mas o curioso é que eu não senti tédio em nenhum momento. pelo contrário, até ficava sem ar. minha coisa favorita desse volume foi ter mais momentos que mostraram a relação de cezhou com as pessoas em volta deles e como eles, apesar de todos os pesares, conquistaram essa rede apoio. como alguém que já tinha muito carinho pelo fei sheng, amei o destaque que ele teve. outros personagens também tiveram a chance de ter momento e isso me emocionou em diversos pontos tipo a qi zhuyin, o lu guangbai, o huo lingyun!!! o wu ziyu e o qiao tianya também. e o yin chang! velho querido. acho que é um volume com cenas bastante emocionalmente carregadas pra alguns personagens: o xiao chiye, que perdeu alguém; o shen zechuan, que teve um gatilho fortíssimo na eminência da perda e songyu, que agora muito evidentemente tem algo rolando. teve várias partes em que eu consegui me divertir na mesma medida que fiquei com o coração pesado quando era pra ficar e isso me animou demais pro desfecho de uma história que eu já amo tanto. aqui ficou mais claro pra mim que o fim do shen zechuan vai ser dominando tudo e eu sinto um orgulho que não cabe no peito... te amo lanzhou

[c1nnaden ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Xiao Chiye knew Lanzhou often didn’t sleep well, but tonight, he was here. He would make sure that, from now on, Lanzhou only ever dreamed of him."

4.5/5⭐

oh to be lanzhou in his twenties and have a man like xiao chiye
(in the meantime, i got a degree in economics and now i know everything about taxes. i wish i had more cezhou sigh 🥹)

[Diana Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Their romance is absolutely peak and it is wrapped in at least 4 layers of grain dispute that somehow ended on a cliffhanger??? I'm invested in this grain now WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH MARSHAL QI AND THE FRONT LINES smacking the book until answers fall out. another 5 stars surprising nobody ever

[Jonathon Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

as the path gets narrower the author starts to shine

[iz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how much I love Cezhou. They are so dear to me.

Also: I love how Shen Zechuan is always drinking tea. He is (just a bit) like me, but I drink coffee.

[orfeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

yao wenyu… 🫩

[Padme83 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ci ho messo una vita ma certo non per demeriti suoi.
Succedono un sacco di cose in questo volume e a giudicare dal numero di paragrafi che ho sottolineato non c'è un passaggio che non sia importante e finalizzato al dipanarsi della trama, che si sta avviando verso gli atti conclusivi. La tensione è alta e ognuna delle parti in causa si gioca il tutto per tutto in questa lotta al potere che non ammette debolezze o esclusione di colpi. Il rapporto fra Xiao Chiye e Shen Zechuan è sempre più profondo e maturo, magistrale è il modo in cui entrambi si muovono in perfetta sintonia, uniti non solo dall'amore - un amore appassionato e totalizzante, feroce e tenero allo stesso tempo - ma anche da un obbiettivo comune che li porta a guardare sempre nella stessa direzione e a procedere con fermezza inscalfibile verso il traguardo finale (che inizia a delinearsi in modo sempre più chiaro, grazie anche a piccoli, sapienti indizi lasciati sparsi un po' ovunque nel corpo del testo).
La mia maratona nel mondo di Ballad of Sword and Wine per il momento termina qui, ora comincia la lunga attesa per l'uscita degli ultimi due volumi. Sono comunque molto contenta di essere riuscita a mettermi in pari, io di solito sono (quasi) completamente impermeabile alla fomo (di qualsiasi genere), ma in questo caso mi sembrava davvero di lasciarmi indietro qualcosa di imperdibile (e in effetti è così).

[Wu Ming · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel itself is amazing 5* however very disappointed with illustrations.

Vol 6 is one of the most emotionally heavy volumes in Ballad of Sword and Wine. It centers on Xiao Chiye’s grief, his major turning point as a character, and the way Shen Lanzhou fully supports him through that pain. It contains so many important cezhou scenes in the entire story. Because of that, this volume really called for illustrations that highlighted those emotional cores.

Instead, the majority of the illustrations went to side characters. While side characters absolutely matter to the narrative, some of the choices here feel unbalanced. Yan Heru receiving another illustration despite already having one in a previous volume, as are a couple of other repeat picks. Meanwhile, characters like Duo'erlan introduction was entirely overlooked.

The result is a set of illustrations that doesn’t fully reflect what makes vol 6 so impactful. It's not that side characters shouldn't be illustrated at all, but the lack of focus on the main characters makes me really sad.

Overall, vol 6 deserved illustrations that matched its emotional weight and narrative priorities and the imbalance here makes the artistic direction feel disconnected from the heart of the story.

[t · Rating 5 out of 5]

“he would make sure that, from now on, lanzhou only ever dreamed of him.”

given how the last vol ended, i was quite scared to read this one… seeing xiao chiye navigate grief while also seeking revenge was so heartbreaking. for the other vols it was mostly lanzhou who was facing loss, but now that the tables turned it was so sweet to see lanzhou be the one to comfort chiye :((

fei sheng was the funniest person in the entire book and made me love him even more. he genuinely went through hell and back, but i was looking forward to his scenes. every scene of him had me dying laughing.

#that plot twist was definitely a plot twist and one i didn’t see coming. i do think it was absolutely disgusting and i’m struggling to see the significance of it. as of now it doesn’t seem necessary only for it being used a shock value, but we shall see.

terrified for the next one and i’m also sad since we are coming to a conclusion…

[Sara]

Questo libro si può spezzare in tre parti: Xiao Chiye e il suo esercito continuano a venir battuti dai banditi; Xiao Chiye e Shen Zechuan che capiscono come riprendere terreno; e le macchinazioni della capitale che ci porteremo avanti nel prossimo volume. Sono molto combattuta sul numero di stelline da dare: i primi due terzi mi sono piaciuti parecchio grazie alle scene di battaglia e di strategia militare, ma secondo me questa situazione di angoscia e sconfitta poteva essere protratta ancora a lungo. Finalmente vediamo alcuni personaggi secondari prendersi il loro spazio nella storia (generalessa Qi sposami, ti prego). Anche se gli intrighi di corte sono meno interessanti degli scontri al fronte, sono comunque curiosa di come questo conflitto influenzerà la situazione con i banditi.

[BATMAN (i-i) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Really like how the plot and the politics are ramping up and are setting the stage for what is to come in the final instalment. I also loved how we got to see more casual moments between Lanzhou, Chiye and their troops, specifically referring to the horse race scene. I just wish they would show us more of the dynamic and relationship building between the wlw couple 😫!! Overall another very solid instalment in the series.

[dinosauriaverde · Rating 5 out of 5]

took me a while to know what to say (yeah, I know you miss my silly reviews) because I'm still amazed at everything that happened, every time I finished a volume I have to stare at the wall in wonder at the brain of this author, like how do they come up with all of this! when you think you got something that happened then things shift and woah. just woah.

I love love LOVE cezhou, xiao chiye and shen lanzhou are amazing characters as their own (love how much they shined on their own way!) and together they're such a force. I'm in awe at their love, it's so beautiful how much they support each other and how they keep getting stronger, individually and as a couple. They're definitely one of my favorite couples in danmei, and in any piece of media too.

qi zhuyin is such a QUEEN. I'm delighted everytime she's on any chapter, I'm so happy that the female characters have important roles in this novel. And I'm super invested in her and lady hua's relationship! that scene when qi zhuyin is mesmerized by her was so so good.

I also loved the tiny moments between qiao tianya and yao wenyu, when qiao tianya wins the race and gets behind yao wenyu and the silk ball falls at his lap, aw! tho I'm a little sad that they removed the end scene of chapter 200 between them ;; I know it's not their fault and apparently it got remove on the chinese printed version too, but still! it was really soft how qiao tianya carried yao wenyu after yao wenyu drank a little too much through the snow, and I absolutely loved the bit when yao wenyu says the stars are not within reach and qiao tianya felt his back getting wet and tells him to block the snow for him, knowing full well that it was not the snow ;; I guess I'll just have to treasure it in my heart.

so, to summarize, another 1000000/10, so blessed to live in the same timeline that this book, can't wait for the next one.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not got all that much to say on this one without spoiling anything. I will say though, this volume has AMAZING battle sequences and it was really interesting to see how these segments impacted the shifting politics of the court and Qudu at large. It is all intricately woven, and there is some political underpinning to everything anyone does in this series that makes it so unique as a danmei read.