Han Ji

February of the second year of Zhongping, west of Luoyang City.

As the carriages and horses exited Qingming Gate, the sky was just beginning to lighten. The gatekeeper verified the credentials, his gaze lingering on the mud seal of Liu, the Commandant of Hanzhong, before stepping aside.

The procession was short. Twenty riders led the way, followed by seven or eight carts, and then infantry. The horses were the Hequ horses commonly used in the army, and the carts were ordinary light carriages and supply wagons. The only conspicuous one was the banner-bearing carriage, in which Xun Cai and Liu's mother sat.

Liu Bei rode at the head of the procession, glancing back at the walls of Luoyang, which appeared hazy in the morning mist.

"Brother, what are you looking at?" Zhang Fei rode forward, his red robe open, revealing the old armor underneath.

"Look at this ancient city of Luoyang." I wonder if this ancient city will still be there when I come back next time.

"Hey, what's so interesting about a ruined city?" Zhang Fei wiped his face. "Once we've established a foothold in Hanzhong, I'll treat you to fish sashimi in Yizhou, brother. I've heard the fish in the Min River are incredibly plump!"

Guan Yu came up from behind, wearing a green robe and black boots, with his Green Dragon Crescent Blade hanging beside his saddle. The blade was wrapped in coarse cloth, only the bronze hilt was visible. "There's a pavilion ahead; we should reach it around noon. Would you like to rest here?"

"Let's rest and walk slowly." Liu Bei glanced at the sky. "Let everyone have some hot water."

The carriage curtain was lifted slightly, and Xun Cai peeked out, revealing half of her face. She had changed into ordinary woman's attire, with a blue silk headband and a plain velvet flower in her hair, a customary practice for a bride in her first month of marriage.

"My lord," she said softly, "when will we reach Hangu Pass?"

"We won't arrive until tomorrow." Liu Bei reined in his horse and approached the carriage window. "Tired?"

"I'm not tired." Xun Cai shook his head and took out a small cloth bag from his bosom. "This is ginger candy I prepared last night. Take one on the way to ward off the cold."

Liu Bei took the bag; it was still warm from her body. He squeezed her hand; it was icy cold.

"Get in the car, don't let the wind blow on you."

The carriage curtain fell. Zhang Fei, who was making faces at Guan Yu, was glared at and shut his mouth sheepishly.

The procession traveled westward along the official road.

The road was a rammed earth road, more than two zhang wide, with deep ruts worn into the middle by cart wheels. Elm trees were planted along the roadside, just sprouting new buds, sparse and scattered. Farmers were already in the fields, mostly elderly women, holding plows, the oxen so thin their ribs were clearly visible.

Jian Yong rode over and rode alongside Liu Bei.

"Once you cross this area, you'll be in Hongnong territory." He pointed to a village in the distance. "See that? Out of ten households, at least three have leaky roofs."

Liu Bei followed his finger and looked. The village had seven or eight mud houses with peeling paint, and one family had thatched their windows. Several children, dressed in rags, squatted at the village entrance. They didn't move away when the carriages and horses passed by, but just stared blankly.

"Were there any Yellow Turban rebels here?" Liu Bei asked.

"We didn't reach this point, but the corvée labor has increased by 30%." Jian Yong took out a small booklet from his pocket, licked the tip of his pen, and made a few notes.

We rested at the pavilion at noon.

The pavilion was set up by the government for messengers and officials to rest. It consisted of an earthen courtyard, three tiled houses, and two post horses tethered by the well. The pavilion chief was an old official in his fifties who, upon seeing Liu Bei's banners, hurriedly came out to greet them.

"Captain! The clerk has prepared hot soup noodles. Please do me the honor of serving them."

The soup noodles were made of wheat flour dumplings, mixed with wild vegetables, and sprinkled with salt. The soldiers squatted in the courtyard to eat, while Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and a few others ate inside. The village head personally brought over a dish of fermented soybeans, whispering, "Commander, please don't mind the simple food. This spring was a famine, and the county granaries are almost empty..."

"It's nothing," Liu Bei waved his hand. "Are there any refugees nearby?"

"Yes, of course we have," the village head sighed. "A few days ago, several dozen people came from Hedong, saying that there were bandits there and they couldn't survive. The clerk gave them some bran porridge and advised them to go south. To the south is Wuguan Road, and I heard that Jingzhou is more peaceful there."

After the meal, Liu Bei asked Jian Yong to give two bolts of silk to the village head. The old official declined, but Liu Bei stuffed them into his hand, saying, "Give these to poor people passing by in exchange for food. If anyone asks, just say they were given to you by Liu, the Commandant of Hanzhong."

The village head's eyes reddened, and he knelt down and kowtowed.

The next day, we passed through Hangu Pass.

The fortified pass was nestled in the valley, its stone walls towering high and its watchtowers imposing. The guard, after examining the documents and staring intently at Liu Bei for a long while, suddenly clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Is this Liu Xuande, the one who charged single-handedly into battle beneath the walls of Guangzong?"

Liu Bei was taken aback: "And who are you?"

"My name is Chen Long. My brother served as a military commander under Lord Lu. He died in battle at Guangzong last year." The military officer's eyes were red.

Liu Bei remembered. There was a military officer surnamed Chen who, during the breakout, held off the pursuers for him and was shot in the chest by an arrow and fell from his horse.

"Chen Sima is a fine man." Liu Bei dismounted and returned the greeting solemnly.

The military commander wiped his face, turned around and shouted, "Open the gate! Let Commandant Liu's men pass!"

The gates opened with a loud rumble. The military officer personally escorted Liu Bei out of the pass. He took out a wooden plaque from his robes. "This is my token. If you encounter any difficulties in Hanzhong, you can send someone with this plaque to Hangu Pass to find me. Although I am a lowly official, I can still pass on your message."

Liu Bei accepted the wooden plaque and put it in his pocket.

Once you cross the pass, you will reach Hongnong Prefecture.

The terrain rose higher, and the wind picked up. Rammed earth beacon towers began to appear along the roadside, some half-collapsed, others still emitting smoke. Jian Yong said that these were old beacon towers used by the previous dynasty to defend against the Qiang people, but now most of them were abandoned and had become refugee settlements.

Sure enough, under a ruined stoker wall, Liu Bei saw dozens of men and women huddled together. An old man was coughing, his voice like a broken bellows. Several children were gathered around a small fire, on which sat an earthenware pot, boiling some unknown grass roots.

Xun Cai stopped the carriage, took half a bag of millet, and got out. Liu's mother also took an old coat from the carriage.

An elderly man among the refugees knelt down tremblingly: "Madam, have mercy..."

"Please rise, sir," Xun Cai helped him up. "This millet, if boiled into thin porridge, will last for several days."

The old man wept, and the refugees behind him kowtowed in gratitude.

Back in the car, Xun Cai remained silent for a long time.

"When I was in Luoyang, I only knew the phrase 'the people's lives are full of hardship.'" She lifted the carriage curtain, looking at the receding wasteland, "Only today do I realize how heavy those four words are."

Liu Bei held her hand: "It will be alright."

"Mmm." Xun Cai leaned on his shoulder. "If my husband says it will get better, then it will get better."

Three days later, they arrived at Tongguan.

The commander guarding the Tonghe Pass was a captain surnamed Xu, a rough and boisterous man. He had received a message from the military commander of Hangu Pass long ago and immediately set up a banquet. It was called a banquet, but it was really just stewed meat and millet rice in a large pot, and the wine was cloudy, but there was plenty of it.

"Lieutenant Liu!" Captain Xu raised his bowl. "I toast you! That battle at Guangzong was a resounding success!"

"Thank you for your hospitality, Captain." Liu Bei raised his bowl in return.

That night, Xun Cai organized his observations along the way under the lamplight, while Liu Bei studied the map beside him. He sighed inwardly, marveling at Cao Cao's extraordinary talent and strategy; the strategic significance of establishing Tong Pass here surpassed even that of Hangu Pass.

"Once we cross the Tonghe Pass, we'll reach Guanzhong." Liu Bei traced the Wei River on the map with his finger. "The Qin Plain, stretching for eight hundred li, should be fertile land."

"My lord, look here." Xun Cai pointed to a spot on the map. "South of Mei County, there is the Baoxie Road that leads to Hanzhong. But Chief Clerk Jian said that although this road is an official road, it has been in disrepair in recent years, and the plank roads are often rotten."

"It's safer to take the Baoxie Road."

We did not stop in Chang'an, but passed through the city.

The walls of Chang'an remained majestic, but the queues of refugees at the city gates were even larger than those in Luoyang. Officials were distributing porridge, and the area in front of the large cauldrons was so crowded that people and horses were nearly knocked over. Liu Bei saw a woman holding an infant; the child was so hungry that it could not cry out, only its mouth was open.

Xun Cai watched the whole thing without saying a word, only tightly gripping his sleeve.

Leaving Chang'an, I traveled southwest. The villages along the way gradually came to life, the wheat seedlings in the fields were green, and the willows along the roadside sprouted new branches. Occasionally, I would encounter caravans carrying Shu brocade and tea eastward.

Jian Yong chatted with the caravan and returned saying, "They said they came from Chengdu. A bolt of Shu brocade is worth ten thousand coins in Luoyang, and tea is an even rarer commodity. Brother, if we can establish a foothold in Hanzhong, perhaps we can do this business."

Liu Bei nodded.