In the early days of the twelfth lunar month, some of the refugees who came to Bianliang to find food began to leave.
Most of them were strong men—about ten thousand or so.
Their destination was Hongnong, where they were organized into the Fifth Battalion of the Wansheng Army.
Starting next spring, they would begin farming the land.
Still, tens of thousands of refugees remained stranded in Bianliang, a mixed group of men, women, children, old and young, mingling with those who originally came to build Bianliang, all continuing the work of farming and reclaiming the land.
Within these total numbers, less than a hundred thousand, there were people from Qingzhou, Jizhou, Bingzhou, and many of mixed Hu descent—a very complicated composition.
On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Grand Canal had already frozen solid, but a final batch of grain was still transported overland to the refugee camp.
After finishing unloading, Zhang Heipi sat down on the edge of a field, wiping sweat from his brow.
Zhang Chong began to check his package, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.
He was about to leave for Luoyang.
The Black Spear Right Camp had some open spots and was recruiting new soldiers.