“Who are you people?”
Seeing that the newcomers did not appear to have any hostile intentions, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai relaxed somewhat, and Xi Zhicai spoke first.
“I serve under the Taiping Prefecture.”
The young, burly man smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.
“I am Lu Qian, courtesy name Zike, a Military Sima of the Falcon Guard.”
“Under the Taiping Prefecture?”
“What is the Falcon Guard?”
Hearing this, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai quickly sat upright from where they had collapsed, their eyes filled with confusion and surprise.
It was not the appearance of someone from the Taiping Prefecture that surprised them.
Rather, it was the fact that such a person had appeared here.
“Oh?”
Noticing their reaction, Lu Qian became curious.
“From the looks of it, neither of you are subjects under the Taiping Prefecture. Yet you know of its existence, which means you’re probably not ordinary commoners.”
“May I ask who you are?”
“I am Guo Jia of Yingchuan.”
Guo Jia rose and bowed.
“Courtesy name Fengxiao. Greetings, Sima Lu.”
“I am Xi Zhong of Yingchuan, courtesy name Zhicai.”
Xi Zhicai also stood and offered a respectful salute.
“Greetings, Sima Lu.”
“Oh!”
Lu Qian silently noted that his judgment had been correct.
These two were indeed men of distinguished backgrounds.
After all, ordinary commoners were fortunate just to possess personal names; few would have courtesy names as well.
“The two of us…”
Guo Jia continued after noticing Lu Qian’s expression.
“…came here at the invitation of Xun You, courtesy name Gongda, of Yingchuan.”
“We were on our way to the Taiping Prefecture in Yan Province.”
“We never expected to encounter Sima Lu here.”
“Hahaha!”
Lu Qian’s eyes immediately lit up.
He returned the salute with a hearty laugh.
“So the two gentlemen are friends of Master Gongda!”
“I have been discourteous.”
“My earlier negligence was entirely my own fault. Please forgive me.”
The Taiping Prefecture was no ordinary place.
And Xun You was no ordinary man.
Having previously served alongside Cheng Yu, Lu Qian understood that better than most.
Anyone willing to come to the Taiping Prefecture on their own initiative deserved respect.
Whether they possessed talent or not, making such a journey was no easy thing.
“You are too courteous, Sima Lu.”
Xi Zhicai waved his hand.
“We suffered no harm.”
“However, I am curious.”
“What brings you to a place like this?”
“Was it because of those two tigers?”
Guo Jia also turned his gaze toward Lu Qian.
Based on the military title the man had introduced himself with, he had already formed a rough guess.
“To be honest, gentlemen,” Lü Qian explained, “I came here precisely because of those two tigers.”
“For those two beasts, my brothers and I have spent three days chasing them.”
“We’ve tracked them for several hundred li.”
“The duty of the Falcon Guard is to hunt game throughout the mountains, rivers, and lakes, providing meat both for our people and for the common folk.”
The Falcon Guard had only existed for a little over a month.
Though their numbers were not large, every member was an accomplished hunter.
Forests within Yan Province were relatively scarce.
Before long, they would likely move on to hunt in the four southwestern commanderies.
“You even supply the common people?”
This time Guo Jia was genuinely surprised.
Originally, he had assumed the Falcon Guard supplied only the army.
Or perhaps served the needs of high-ranking officials and generals.
But he had never imagined that the meat would also be distributed among the populace.
“Of course!”
Lü Qian’s face was full of pride.
“The Falcon Guard has five thousand brothers.”
“Although the amount distributed to the people isn’t enormous, every hundred commoners can receive roughly one jin of meat each day.”
“It’s used to cook hot porridge.”
“And the taste is absolutely delicious!”
“…”
Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai exchanged glances.
Neither knew how to describe what they were feeling.
“Sima Lu,” Xi Zhicai asked in confusion, “Summer is almost upon us.”
“If you’re obtaining so much game, wouldn’t the meat spoil before it reaches the people?”
“Haha! That’s an easy problem to solve!”
Lü Qian waved his hand dismissively.
“Please accompany me into the city.”
“Once you’re there, you’ll understand.”
“Then we’ll trouble you, Sima Lu.”
The two scholars looked at each other before bowing in thanks.
They then followed behind Lu Qian.
Lu Qian assigned several of his men to carry away the two tigers.
The remaining hunters split into teams and continued their hunt.
Nearly an hour later, the group entered the city.
Following Lu Qian, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai arrived at an icehouse within the city walls.
Inside was meat reserved for military use.
“To be honest with you, gentlemen,” Lu Qian said proudly, “there are at least several hundred icehouses like this throughout the territories of the Taiping Prefecture.”
“Even villagers in the countryside can build one themselves.”
“How is that possible?!”
Owning an icehouse was nothing remarkable.
The aristocratic clans and great families of this era all had icehouses of their own.
During the winter, they would have servants harvest and store ice for later use.
But for the territories under the Taiping Prefecture to possess hundreds of icehouses— that sounded like pure fantasy.
Back when the Qihuo Army had first risen, even feeding themselves had been a struggle.
How could they possibly have organized the common people to harvest and store such vast quantities of ice?
“This substance is called saltpeter.”
Lu Qian led the two men over to a pile of crystalline mineral and explained:
“It was discovered by our lord.”
“It is extraordinarily effective for making ice.”
“You could say that throughout the territories of the Taiping Prefecture, the one thing we never lack is icehouses.”
“So that’s the reason…”
Only then did Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai understand.
Secretly, they no longer blamed their own lack of knowledge.
This was simply something far beyond the scope of what either of them had ever learned.
In the end, Lu Qian treated them to a meal of hot meat porridge.
He then arranged for an escort to accompany them to Wuyan.
“Fengxiao, what do you think?”
On the official road toward Shouzhang, Xi Zhicai looked at the fertile fields lining both sides of the road and the orderly villages scattered in the distance.
His expression was somewhat complicated.
“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes…”
Guo Jia’s face was filled with excitement as he sighed.
“I truly could never have imagined that the Taiping Prefecture had reached such a level.”
“Just looking at Yuncheng’s defenses and the equipment carried by its garrison commander…”
“If someone told me they were the Imperial Army itself, I’d believe it.”
“The only question is where Lu Bu has gone.”
“I wonder whether we’ll be able to catch up with him.”
“For now, we’d better find Gongda first and make plans afterward.”
“Agreed.”
Xi Zhicai nodded heavily.
“Judging the whole from a single detail, it seems Gongda wasn’t exaggerating.”
“The lord of the Taiping Prefecture truly is extraordinary.”
“The only thing left is that gentleman.”
Guo Jia’s expression became serious.
“As far as governing is concerned, he may be no less capable than Xun Yu.”
“His methods and force of character surpass ours a hundredfold.”
“That could only be a good thing.”
Xi Zhicai laughed.
“After all, even the most capable man has his limits.”
“Haha!”
……….
That Night, Wuyan
Earlier that day, Zhang Jing had explained to the officers and soldiers what the term ‘Hanmen’ (lesser gentry) truly meant.
A Hanmen family was not simply a poor family.
Generally speaking, it referred to a family whose ancestors had once held high office, but whose descendants no longer occupied positions in government, causing the family to gradually decline.
Even so, such families still had opportunities to rise again.
First, they were usually not lacking in wealth.
Second, many of their former connections still existed.
And the classical learning passed down through generations remained available to them.
As long as one talented descendant emerged and climbed high enough in officialdom, the family could achieve a spectacular revival.
“My lord.”
After Zhang Jing finished speaking, Dian Wei approached and quietly reported:
“A message arrived earlier from Sima Lu.”
“He says that two scholars from Yingchuan have arrived.”
“They claim to be friends of Master Gongda.”
“He has already arranged for them to be escorted here.”
“I understand.”
Zhang Jing nodded slightly.
Privately, he thought:
Looks like Xun You’s recruitment efforts are finally paying off.
I’m actually looking forward to this.
“My lord.”
Cheng Yu also stepped forward and respectfully reported:
“According to information from our scouts, Lu Bu has taken the Julu Road.”
“He is advancing toward Yan Province through the commanderies of Anping and Qinghe.”
“Lu Bu?”
Zhang Jing frowned slightly upon hearing the report.
A look of surprise appeared on his face.
Then he remarked:
“This Lu Bu… has he always been this fearless?”
— The end of the Chapter–
TL note : Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 50 chapters of the release :
https://www.patreon.com/DeCakraWnloverz
