Compared to Yuan Benchu's (Yuan Shao's) boundless ambition, Fei Qian was the epitome of someone who just went with the flow.
Fei Qian felt that in this high-pressure era of the Three Kingdoms, where countless talented figures took turns dominating the stage, he had neither the martial prowess nor the intellect to compete with them. So, what chance did he have to go toe-to-toe with these giants?
Therefore, finding a reliable patron to cling to seemed like a more achievable and less risky option.
But before that, there were a few things he needed to figure out.
Fei Qian dipped his finger in some water and began drawing on the table. Using water instead of ink meant he could easily wipe it away later, leaving no trace for others to see.
Thanks to the influence of many classic TV dramas in his past life, Fei Qian was quite meticulous about secrecy. Many secrets were leaked through small details, and if his own secrets were exposed, who knew if he'd be labeled a demon or monster and hacked to pieces?
Based on his memory of the Han Dynasty's geography, Fei Qian roughly sketched out the map.
The Eastern Han Dynasty was divided into thirteen provinces: Yongzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou.
Fei Qian first crossed out Liangzhou and Youzhou, then erased Yizhou and Jiaozhou. Liangzhou bordered the Qiang and Xiongnu tribes and had been plagued by constant conflict, making it unsuitable. Youzhou was frequently raided by the Xianbei and other northern tribes, much like the Japanese invaders in his past life. Although Gongsun Zan, the "White Horse General," was currently holding the line, he would soon be defeated by Yuan Shao, making Youzhou unreliable. Jiaozhou was still largely controlled by the Nanyue people, with its sweltering heat and swarms of insects—no insecticides in this era, after all. Yizhou might have been a good option, but getting there meant traversing the treacherous plank roads, which were harder to climb than reaching the heavens. Without planes, trains, or cars, traveling from Luoyang to Chengdu on foot was out of the question…
Bingzhou? No, that wouldn't work either. When Dong Zhuo arrived in the capital, he killed Ding Yuan, the warlord of Bingzhou, and the Bingzhou army ended up wandering the land with Lü Bu. As a result, Bingzhou was left defenseless for a long time, and the Xiongnu could come and go as they pleased… Cross that off too.
Qingzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Jizhou… These four provinces were the hardest hit by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Even now, remnants of the rebellion still lingered in Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Jizhou. Fei Qian remembered that these regions saw the most frequent warfare, to the point where their populations were nearly wiped out. Cao Cao's line, "For a thousand miles, not a single rooster crows," was the best description of the devastation.
That left Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Jingzhou. Fei Qian stroked his chin as he pondered. Xuzhou—if he went there, he'd have to move again before Cao Cao's father was killed. Otherwise, even if he avoided Cao Cao's massacre, the infighting between Lü Bu and Liu Bei would still claim many lives. Too much trouble. Cross out Xuzhou.
Jingzhou was relatively stable before the Battle of Red Cliffs, but after that, it was split into three parts, changing hands multiple times and resulting in countless casualties…
Yangzhou, hmm, not bad. Although Sun Jian, the "Little Conqueror," died young, his family held out until the end of the Three Kingdoms period. As long as he avoided the fallout from the Battle of Red Cliffs, Yangzhou remained unconquered by Wei until Sun Hao's time. Fei Qian tapped his finger firmly on Yangzhou. That's the one!
With the question of where to go settled, the next issue was securing the basics: food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—in other words, money.
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the primary currency was the wuzhu coin, but copper was expensive and scarce, making it insufficient for trade. As a result, cloth was often used as a general equivalent for transactions. Gold and silver were rarely used by ordinary people, much like large-denomination checks in his past life, and had to be exchanged for copper coins to be useful.
Fei Qian counted on his fingers. He had sold two pieces of liuli artifacts and exchanged them for some gold and silver, but with the widespread chaos of the Three Kingdoms, prices were bound to skyrocket. How long would this small amount of gold and silver last?
If necessary, he could make a few more liuli pieces and exchange them for money in Yangzhou to set up a shop or something.
Alright, that's one path—a life of seclusion. That's settled.
But what if he wanted to get involved in the chaos of the era?
Fei Qian wiped the water off the table and wrote down three names: Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan. He didn't bother considering the minor players.
If he were to choose based on the ultimate victor, Cao Cao of Wei was the best option. However, serving under Cao Cao would also be the most challenging. Cao Cao was inherently suspicious, and his subordinates were all cunning and intelligent. With no literary or martial skills to speak of, how far could Fei Qian go? He might end up being sent to some remote county in Xiliang as a magistrate…
Sun Quan? He spent his entire life struggling against the local powers of Jiangdong. In fact, if you included his father and brother, three generations of the Sun family had failed to fully subdue the region. The fact that Sun Quan almost surrendered during the Battle of Red Cliffs was proof enough. As an outsider with no roots or connections, how could Fei Qian compete with these local powerhouses?
Liu Bei… Well, he was known for his tolerance, but this tolerance was born out of necessity. Liu Bei wandered from place to place, and wherever he went, disaster followed. He joined Gongsun Zan, ate his food, took his resources, and even poached his men. He allied with Tao Qian, took over a large territory, but couldn't hold onto it. He served under Cao Cao, who trusted him with troops, only for Liu Bei to run off with them. He joined Yuan Shao and caused the deaths of two of Yuan's top generals. He allied with Liu Biao and refused to return the territory he took from Liu Biao's son. He joined Liu Zhang and ended up seizing both his men and his land…
Fei Qian couldn't help but recall the irresponsible speculation from online forums in his past life: Was Liu Bei some kind of cursed star? The Dilu horse brought misfortune to everyone except him…
Fei Qian's finger hovered over the three names, smudging the characters…
Forget it. If he couldn't solve the problem immediately, he'd set it aside for now. The problem-solving mindset from his past life kicked in. The question of which patron to choose could wait…
Suddenly, Fei Qian felt hungry. The two-meals-a-day system was unreliable—it was too easy to get hungry! Fei Qian called out to the door, "Uncle Fu! Uncle Fu! Is there anything to eat? I'm starving—" Uncle Fu was great in many ways, but he was stubborn. He insisted on preparing snacks for Fei Qian to eat whenever he got hungry, but he refused to change from two meals a day to three, no matter how much Fei Qian argued.
Food was the most important thing. Whether it was Sun, Liu, or Cao, he'd worry about them after filling his stomach. Fei Qian sat cross-legged on the floor, propping his chin on his hand, and thought to himself. By now, Dong Zhuo must have received the imperial edict. Dong Zhuo was coming, and he needed to prepare to flee soon—
Before long, Uncle Fu entered with a tray of food.
'Oh, one more thing,' Fei Qian thought to himself. 'If I'm going to leave, I'll have to convince Uncle Fu first. I can't just leave him here…'
---
Outside Dong Zhuo's military camp at Mianchi, on a small hill, dozens of burly Xiliang soldiers had surrounded the area, clearly guarding someone important.
A silk curtain had been set up on the hilltop, enclosing three sides and leaving the east open. A gentle breeze blew through, revealing a figure sitting inside.
A scholarly man in white robes, wearing a tall hat and wide sleeves, knelt alone on a mat inside the curtain. A jug of wine and a few dishes of snacks were placed on a low table beside him, and he was pouring himself a drink.
The man had a refined appearance, with a thin mustache and an air of elegance, though he seemed troubled, his brow slightly furrowed as if weighed down by some unsolvable problem.
After some time, the sound of soft footsteps approached, and a deep voice called out, "Brother Wenyou, what a fine mood you're in!"
The man in white, Li Ru, picked up a wine cup and poured another drink. "Come, Wenhe, let's not talk about anything else for now. Drink with me."
The two men were Li Ru and Jia Xu, two of the top strategists in the Xiliang army.
Jia Xu took the cup, sat down casually, and downed the wine in one gulp. He placed the cup on the table and, without waiting for Li Ru to refill it, picked up the jug and poured himself another. "It's been three years since we last drank together. How rare—" He glanced at Li Ru, who was kneeling formally. "Hey, it's just the two of us. No need to be so proper, right?"
Li Ru held his cup steadily, sitting as straight as a bell, and slowly drank the wine. He lowered his eyes and said, "I'm used to it. I can't change. Do as you please; don't mind me."
"Alright, alright, suit yourself." Jia Xu didn't press further. He picked up a piece of beef with his hands and began chewing heartily, not bothering with chopsticks.
Li Ru didn't seem to mind Jia Xu's lack of manners, as if he hadn't even noticed. He gently set down his cup, his gaze fixed to the east, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
"Wenhe, Luoyang is just over a hundred miles from here. I never thought I'd set foot in Luoyang again in this lifetime, but here we are, about to enter the city for the second time." Li Ru gazed into the distance as if he could already see Luoyang. His voice was calm, but there was a faint tremor in it.
Jia Xu, who had just picked up another piece of beef, paused and tossed it back onto the plate. He dipped his greasy fingers into his wine cup, swished them around, and then drank the wine in one gulp. He laughed, though his laughter sounded hoarse. "Yes, it's been over three hundred years… and we're finally back!"
"Three hundred and thirty-seven years, to be exact…"
Jia Xu was stunned. "…Wenyou, you've really kept track…"
"How could I not? For three hundred and thirty-seven years, our people have been driven to the desolate lands of Liangzhou, forced to live among the Qiang and Hu tribes. We've had no grain to eat, no mats to sleep on, and we've almost forgotten how to wear these robes…"
"Twenty years ago, I came to Luoyang with my father, following a Hu merchant," Li Ru said slowly. "The city walls were high, the streets broad, and the place was bustling with life. It felt like all the beauty of the world had gathered there… But I was wrong. Because I got carried away playing and accidentally bumped into a local official, my father and I were stripped and thrown out of the city in the middle of winter… If it weren't for a kind family who took us in, we would have frozen to death that night…"
Jia Xu was silent. He set down his cup and slowly knelt formally, joining Li Ru in staring to the east, his gaze distant. "…When I was young, my father… fell ill with a digestive disorder. We searched all the nearby tribes but couldn't find even a bit of fine tea to help him. Then someone from Luoyang came, and we knelt before him, begging for just a little to save my father. But that man…"
Jia Xu gripped the edge of the table, took a deep breath, and his fingers turned white from the pressure. "…That man said—'How could I save barbarian scum like you?'… Hah, hah, hah… We were nothing but barbarian scum, only fit to die…"
The two men fell silent for a long time.
"Wenyou, even so, I don't think this is the right opportunity. Besides… Dong Zhongying (Dong Zhuo) may be bold and charismatic, but he's not the kind of leader who can unite the world…"
"I know," Li Ru said quietly. "But time is not on our side. In my father's generation, there were still dozens of wise men among our people. But now, how many are left to carry on our legacy? Two hundred years ago, our ancestors were defeated once, but they still forced the Han to move their capital to Luoyang. Now, even if I fail again, so what?"
Li Ru poured himself another cup of wine, drank it, and then tossed the cup aside, letting it shatter against the rocks. "If I can, I'll take their place. If I can't, I'll bring chaos to their world!"