"Uncle Du," Chen Yougen hurried into the firewood shed, glancing around before lowering his voice to a mysterious tone.
"War is coming."
The soldiers who had been cleaning their weapons instinctively slowed their movements upon hearing this.
Shao Xun signaled with his eyes, and soon two men stood up, armed themselves, and went out to stand guard.
"Speak," he nodded.
"Someone received a letter from home in Yecheng. It said that the Prince of Chengdu has gathered over two hundred thousand troops and is sending them south in batches, aiming for Luoyang," Chen Yougen reported.
"Two hundred thousand?" Shao Xun shook his head helplessly.
The military region of Jizhou could muster at most forty to fifty thousand troops, and after some losses in recent years, they would be lucky to have thirty thousand now.
The so-called two hundred thousand troops were more likely two hundred thousand hastily conscripted men.
This was the mainstream way of waging war at the time: a bunch of amateurs clashing with each other.
Of course, that didn't mean the Yecheng army had no elite forces.
In fact, the combat effectiveness of the hereditary soldiers in the Jizhou military region was among the top tier of the "eight military regions," which was decent.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if Sima Ying had reorganized his troops, recruited elites, and formed a new army—as a power-hungry figure in these chaotic times, he probably had.
Otherwise, why bother fighting for the throne?
Alas, his own status was still too low to obtain reliable intelligence.
Others wouldn't necessarily tell him, so he had to rely on Chen Yougen picking up news from the streets.
"How long would it take to get from Yecheng to Luoyang?" Shao Xun asked.
"If they move quickly, about a month," Chen Yougen replied.
"How do you know?"
Chen Yougen looked slightly embarrassed and mumbled, "I've been there."
Shao Xun didn't ask why he had gone to Yecheng.
After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, he said, "We can't stay at Pan Garden anymore. We need to retreat to Luoyang as soon as possible."
"Exactly," Chen Yougen nodded repeatedly.
"Those old men with canes can't fight. The children and teenagers are only good for filling stomachs. If we don't retreat to the city, it will be dangerous."
"Are they already eating people?" Shao Xun was surprised.
The chaos had just begun.
He could understand sporadic cases of cannibalism, but from Chen Yougen's tone, it seemed to be widespread.
"Uncle Du, you're skilled in martial arts and fair in your dealings. I respect you. But you should go out more. There are places where even bandits and mountain thieves don't dare to raid," Chen Yougen said.
"Why wouldn't they raid? Too poor? Can't they capture people to sell? I've heard that in Bingzhou, the Xiongnu and Jie people are often captured and sold by officials," Shao Xun asked.
"Some places are full of poor and desperate people who have nothing but their worthless lives," Chen Yougen shook his head.
"Bandits who go there might not even win. If they're unlucky, they could be captured and sold as slaves or eaten. The refugee armies in Bingzhou and Jizhou have 'beef' in their supplies. But where would they get so many cows? It's probably one or two parts beef and eight or nine parts human flesh."
"The chaos is worse than I imagined," Shao Xun sighed.
His life had indeed been too monotonous.
Since coming to Luoyang from the East Sea, he had either been on duty at the Minister of Works' residence or guarding Pan Garden.
His life was repetitive, with little contact with the outside world, so his information was indeed limited.
He had only seen a small corner of this chaotic world, and a relatively "gentle" one at that.
"Yougen, I've heard there are many desperate people in the mountains and marshes. Do you know about them?" Shao Xun suddenly asked, thinking of what He Lun and Wang Bing had mentioned earlier.
"How could I not know?" Chen Yougen grinned, as if about to laugh, but seeing Shao Xun's serious face, he held it back and said, "From Chang'an to Luoyang, from Henei to Xiangyang, there are countless bandits. There's hardly any mountain or forest left for them to settle in. From what I gathered chatting with my brothers back in the day, even a small hill might have bandits. Maybe they're not real bandits—they farm too—but they've definitely done their share of banditry."
"What are their habits like?" Shao Xun asked.
"Uncle Du, I know what you're getting at," Chen Yougen said.
"Most of them are just deserters from various regions who couldn't go home and turned to banditry. Their habits are decent, but over time, who knows?"
"Alright, I understand," Shao Xun nodded, then asked, "Are you afraid of the coming war?"
"Saying I'm not afraid would be a lie," Chen Yougen sighed.
"But there's no way out anywhere now. What's the point of being afraid? Might as well take a chance. Maybe I'll make something of myself."
"If everyone thought like you, morale would be high," Shao Xun smiled.
"Alright, this time, with the armies from Yecheng and Chang'an coming, we can't avoid it. We'll have to play it by ear. If we really have to fight, I'll say this upfront: anyone who deserts without orders will be executed."
"Understood," Chen Yougen replied.
Shao Xun then looked at the others, who all nodded in agreement.
Lady Pei didn't stay in Luoyang for long.
Two days later, she returned to Pan Garden.
While escorting her, Shao Xun took the opportunity to bring up his suggestion.
"I came to Luoyang precisely for this matter," Lady Pei sighed, her demeanor much dimmer than before, lacking her usual vitality.
War terrifies everyone, especially women.
Don't think that the Jin imperial army was disciplined.
In fact, armies in the late years of a dynasty rarely had good discipline.
Rape, plunder, and all sorts of atrocities were the norm.
As for the private troops of noble families, the militias of fortified manors, and the refugee armies—they were all the same.
The chaos caused by the princes' rebellions had severely disrupted local order.
These groups took advantage of the situation, killing many and capturing countless slaves, not to mention the "things" they ate.
"Your Highness is wise," Shao Xun praised.
It was refreshing to serve under such a clear-headed superior.
She knew what needed to be done and didn't drag her feet.
Her personality was commendable.
"Aren't you afraid of death, Uncle Du? I remember you've only been in battle twice," Lady Pei asked.
Shao Xun was slightly confused, unsure how to answer.
Who isn't afraid of war?
This isn't a game where you click a mouse and soldiers charge forward.
This is about risking your life, standing at the edge of blades, and fighting with everything you've got.
In truth, while he spoke passionately to his men to enforce discipline and boost morale, deep down, his emotions were turbulent.
After all, even a time traveler fears death.
And he couldn't show this fear; he had to bear it silently.
"Your Highness has been kind to me. I have no right to be afraid," Shao Xun said slowly.
This left Lady Pei silent.
Shao Xun, meanwhile, gazed at the blue sky and white clouds ahead.
Some things couldn't be shared with others.
As a child, he hadn't been particularly brave—or so he thought.
When he was five, an old man in the village passed away, and his parents took him to see the body.
It was cold, the face somewhat grim, the hands and feet pale with a bluish-purple hue.
He thought he would be scared, but when he stood before the corpse, he found himself calm.
In middle school, a relative's house caught fire, and someone was burned to death.
When the charred, unrecognizable body was pulled from the ruins, he watched from a distance in the crowd.
He thought he would be terrified—the stomach had burst open, the intestines exposed, fingers and toes fused together—but he found himself calm.
At his parents' request, he even dressed the corpse, which was his age, in new clothes.
As chunks of rotting flesh fell off, he realized he wasn't afraid at all.
After crossing over, at fourteen, he suppressed a peasant uprising.
His father was old, and his siblings were young, so he went in his father's place and personally killed a rebel.
He thought he would be scared, but when blood splattered on his face and he tied the severed head to his waist, he found himself calm.
In the quiet of the night, when he examined his heart, he didn't know where his limits lay.
On the battlefield, he would even clear his mind of all distractions and charge forward in a frenzy.
He felt like a terrifying person.
He even wondered if he was a psychopath, suffering from some mental illness.
In this world where people ate each other, he feared he might be sliding step by step into the abyss of depravity.
So, he had to find something meaningful to counteract his negative emotions.
Achieving great deeds, ending the chaos, bringing peace to the people, abolishing the many horrifying systems of the Jin dynasty, and advancing society—these were his lofty ideals.
Without these grand aspirations to light his path and anchor him, he felt like a lone traveler stumbling in the dark, destined to lose his way, be swallowed by the darkness, and become a tyrant like Shi Hu.
"Can I believe you, Shao Jun?" Lady Pei asked softly.
"Your Highness will see."
"Alright, I trust you."
The journey was silent, and the carriage returned to Pan Garden by evening.
The order to retreat was quickly disseminated, causing a small stir, as expected.
But the retreat wasn't happening today or tomorrow.
There was still much to do in the manor.
The grain harvest would take another day or two, so many would be wielding sickles under the stars tonight.
The harvested grain needed to be dried in the sun while the weather was good, or it would easily rot.
The manor's belongings and tools needed to be packed, and the livestock had to be moved—preferably to the sheep and horse pens outside Luoyang's outer walls.
If that wasn't possible, they could be moved into the city, but a suitable place had to be found.
Finally, where would the thousand or so people live? This was a problem that needed to be coordinated in advance.
In short, there was a lot to do, and it had to be done quickly.
The enemy wouldn't wait.
On the fifteenth day of the sixth month, Mi Huang arrived at Pan Garden.
Retreat was imminent.
(End of Chapter)