Early in the morning, Zheng Beiqiu and Er Zhuzi chiseled through the ice by the river and carried two buckets of water over.

Liu Yan and Zhang Linzi had already lit the fire; they scrubbed the pot clean and boiled a pot of hot water, and everyone made do with washing their faces. Living away from home, they didn’t have time for such formalities; during this period, they couldn’t wash anything besides their faces.

After washing their faces, they filled the remaining water bags and poured rice into the pot to start cooking porridge.

With so many people, they needed plenty to eat, so they made a large pot of porridge. In addition to the thin porridge, Xiaofeng found time to knead some dough and make a few flatbreads on the side; thin porridge alone wouldn’t be enough to stave off hunger, so they needed some dry rations to fill their stomachs.

Since they’d left in such a hurry the night before, they hadn’t made it to a post station along the way. Traveling at night wasn’t safe, and the mules and horses needed to stop and rest as well, so the group spent the night resting in a pavilion along the official road.

It must be said that this newly purchased horse-drawn carriage was truly excellent. After stoking the small stove inside with a few pieces of wood, it stayed warm all night. Luo Xiu held Xiaoyu close, while Xiaofeng held Niuniu and Xiaohu; neither the adults nor the children suffered any hardship.

However, Zheng Beiqiu and the other men couldn’t sleep. They feared that bandits might ambush the carriage at night or that wild beasts might come down the mountain in search of food. The four of them took turns keeping watch in two shifts, with each man getting only half a night’s sleep.

But since they were all young and strong men, staying awake for half the night wasn’t much of a problem. After a hearty meal, the group set off again.

Zheng Beiqiu had set his destination for the vicinity of Yizhou—the hometown of Commander Chen.

Yizhou is located in the southwest, far from the capital and also far from the border passes. Chen Bing had mentioned the local customs and way of life in Yizhou many times before.

It doesn’t snow there in the winter, but summers are humid and miasmic; he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to adjust once he arrived.

For now, there was nowhere else to go, so he decided to set out on this journey. Perhaps he would come across a better place along the way and settle down there instead.

The journey to Yizhou was long, and since Zheng Beiqiu had never traveled that route before and had no map, he could only ask for directions as he went. Along the way, he even took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead-end mountain ravine.

He had no choice but to turn back and ask for directions again; by the time he’d done all this, more than twenty days had passed.

By the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, they had reached the Zhengzhou area along the Yellow River, where they finally managed to get news from the north. The old post station was bustling with travelers stopping for a bite to eat or a place to stay.

“Phew…” Zheng Beiqiu brought the horse-drawn carriage to a stop, and behind him, Liu Yan and Zhang Linzi also pulled their mule carts over to the side of the road.

“We’ve finally made it to a post station, which means we’re on the right track.” Zheng Beiqiu tapped on the carriage door. “A-Xiu, Xiaofeng—let’s not travel any further tonight. We’ll rest here at the post station for the night.”

“Okay.” Luo Xiu quickly put a thick cotton jacket on Xiaoyu, wrapped another layer around her, and only dared to carry the child outside after she was bundled up like a rice dumpling.

Xiaofeng also put hats on Niuniu and Xiaohu. The group got off the wagon and turned to see a row of low-lying houses nearby, with a large courtyard behind them specifically for parking wagons—at that moment, there were already seven or eight wagons parked inside.

Someone had to stay outside to watch the carriages, so Zhang Linzi volunteered to stay behind. “You guys go inside first to book a room. Once everything’s settled, I’ll drive the carriages in.”

“Alright.” Zheng Beiqiu patted him on the shoulder and led the others into the inn.

As they pushed open the door, a wave of heat mixed with the aroma of cooked food washed over them, and the group couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Although they could eat their fill on the road, it wasn’t convenient to cook, so they usually made do with a pot of vegetable soup or some pickled vegetables. An employee stepped forward and asked, “Gentlemen, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?”

“We’ll be staying the night and would like something to eat. First, please show us to three rooms so we can unpack our things.” 

“That’s unfortunate—we’re quite busy today, and there are only two rooms left.”

“Two rooms will do.” That night, the men slept in one room, while Xiaofeng and A-Xiu slept in another with the children.

The innkeeper led them to the back to see the rooms. The rooms were fairly spacious, with a kang and a table along with a few stools.

There were quilts and bedding on the kang, but the pillows looked worn and shiny from use, so naturally they didn’t dare use them. Since everyone had brought their own luggage anyway, they’d just use their own quilts and bedding.

“How much is a room?”

“Eighty wen per room. If you check in today, you must return the key by noon tomorrow; otherwise, you’ll have to pay for an extra day.”

The price wasn’t exactly cheap; the post stations they’d stayed at previously charged between fifty and sixty wen.

But when traveling, there was no time to worry about such things. Zheng Beiqiu pulled some copper coins from his robe and handed them to the clerk. He took the keys and gave them to Liu Yan and Er Zhuzi,

“In a bit, drive the cart into the courtyard. Move your valuables inside the room, and just leave the rest on top. Remember to lock the door whenever you go in or out.”

“Got it.” The two went to drive the cart in, while Zheng Beiqiu took Luo Xiu and Xiaofeng to the main hall up front to get something to eat.

It happened to be mealtime, so the main hall was quite crowded, with almost every table filled. A waiter cleared a table that had been piled with odds and ends and brought over a few long benches for the group to sit on.

With six adults and three children, they ordered a plate of steamed buns, seven bowls of meat soup dumplings, and a bowl of steamed egg custard each for Niuniu and Xiaoyu. While they waited for the food, Zhang Linzi and the others had already sorted everything out and came over from the backyard.

Everyone sat on the benches, the aroma of the food making them swallow their saliva repeatedly. They knew they had to eat their fill at this meal—it wouldn’t be easy to enjoy such a good meal again anytime soon.

Before long, the steaming meat-filled dumplings were served. Everyone picked up their chopsticks and began slurping them down. Luo Xiu, who didn’t have a big appetite, set aside half her bowl and gave it to Zheng Beiqiu.

“I’ve got enough. If I’m still hungry, there are steamed buns. You’re pregnant—you should eat more.”

“I’ve had enough, too.” Luo Xiu was already three months pregnant, but living rough in the open air these past few days had not only failed to make him gain weight—he’d actually lost some—and his chin was visibly becoming more pointed.

Zheng Xiaofeng added, “Sister-in-law, eat more to build up your strength.” “Okay.”

Niuniu held her spoon and ate the egg custard on her own, but Xiaofeng, worried she might not be full, picked a few strands of noodles from her own bowl and placed them in her daughter’s.

Xiaohu, on the other hand, was slurping down his soup dumplings like a little adult. The child hadn’t said much along the way, but he was quite perceptive—afraid of being looked down upon by his uncle and aunts. Whenever they stopped to rest, he’d follow the adults to gather firewood and start a fire.

Luo Xiu felt sorry for him—in such cold weather, his cotton pants and cotton jacket were both a bit too short—so he took apart his own old jacket, sewed him a new pair of cotton pants, and sewed two new sleeves onto the jacket.

Xiaofeng began to respect this younger sister-in-law from the bottom of her heart. Considering how their second brother had treated them back then, yet he was still able to look past the past and take care of Xiaohu—he truly was a kind-hearted person.

Halfway through the meal, the door to the main hall suddenly swung open, and a group of more than ten people filed in, instantly crowding the room so much that there was barely room to stand.

“Proprietor, do you have any rooms left?”

“I’m truly sorry, sir, but all our guest rooms are booked for today. Perhaps…”

The man in charge said, “A woodshed or storage room would do—just let the old folks and children stay the night. It’s too cold out here; the kids’ hands and feet are almost frozen solid.”

“We have two storage rooms, but there are no heated beds or bedding inside. I can, however, bring you a stove to keep you warm.” 

“All right, all right, that’s fine—as long as it keeps the wind out. Thank you very much, shopkeeper!”

“It’s tough being on the road. No need to thank me. Would you like to have a bite to eat?”

The man turned to ask the elderly man, “Bring us five bowls of hot soup dumplings and ten steamed buns.”

“Sure thing, gentlemen. Please wait a moment.” The innkeeper called over an assistant to clear the table of their finished meal and motioned for them to sit down and wait.

While eating, Zheng Beiqiu turned his head to size up the group. Their attire didn’t suggest they were from a wealthy family; they looked worn out from the journey and must have come from far away. Their accents sounded familiar—they seemed to be from Jizhou.

After finishing the soup dumplings in his bowl in just a few bites, he stood up and walked over, saying, “Excuse me, sir.”

Startled by the sudden voice, the man turned and eyed Zheng Beiqiu warily. “What’s this about?” 

“Your accent sounds familiar. Are you from Jizhou?”

“Yes… so what?”

“Don’t be afraid, sir. We’re also from Jizhou—we’re from Sitong County. My husband, my younger sister, and a few of my brothers are back there,” Zheng Beiqiu said, pointing behind him.

Seeing that he, too, was traveling with his family, the man’s guard dropped slightly. “So we’re fellow townsfolk. We’re also from Sitong County—we live in Fenggu Town.”

Erzhu, sitting beside him, said, “What a coincidence! We’re from Changsheng Town!”

The man looked at them with a strange expression. “Wasn’t Changsheng Town the first to be captured by the Pingzhou Army? How did you manage to escape?” 

Zheng Beiqiu’s heart skipped a beat. “Has Changsheng Town really been captured?!”

“Don’t you know?”

Zheng Beiqiu shook his head. He’d left early after getting wind of the news in advance; otherwise, how could he have made it this far so quickly?

Seeing that they were all from the same hometown, the man struck up a conversation. “On New Year’s Eve, the Pingzhou Army arrived in Changsheng Town. I heard that the townspeople had no idea the army was coming that night. By the time they woke up the next morning, the town was already surrounded—not a single person could escape.”

The others sitting nearby listened with their hearts pounding. Xiaofeng clutched Luo Xiu’s hand and said, “Thank goodness Big Brother warned us in advance—otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to escape.”

“That’s right…” Luo Xiu was also shaken to the core. Along the way, he’d been harboring some resentment, thinking to himself, “What if they hadn’t attacked? Wouldn’t this have been a wasted trip?” Now it was clear—listening to his husband had definitely been the right call!

Needless to say, Zhang Linzi and Yang Erzhu felt nothing but a mix of sorrow and gratitude upon hearing that Changsheng Town had been overrun by the army. Zheng Beiqiu composed himself and asked, “So how did you manage to escape?”

The man replied, “It’s quite a coincidence, actually. My mother-in-law lives in Changsheng Town. On the morning of the first day of the month, I was planning to go over there to deliver some supplies, but halfway there, I saw the army surrounding the town ahead. I was so scared that I turned back immediately. When I got back to town, I warned quite a few people, but no one was willing to leave, so I could only bring my own family out.”

“Thank you, sir, for telling us all this…”

“How did you guys find out about this?” the man asked curiously.

“I have a few friends serving in the army in Pingzhou. They came back a little earlier and gave me the news. I told quite a few people about it, but no one believed me, so in the end, I had no choice but to flee with my own family.”

The man sighed and said, “It’s a good thing you managed to escape. We ran into another group of fugitives on the road, and they told us they’ve already started conscripting men. Anyone who tried to flee and was caught and brought back was punished. It’s only because we left early that we weren’t caught…”

The meal left everyone feeling uneasy, especially Liu Yan. His parents and several older brothers were still in the village and hadn’t left with him. If only he’d known, he would have tried harder to persuade them that day…

Xiaofeng sighed and comforted him, “Don’t dwell on it so much. You know your parents’ temperament—even if you’d tried to persuade them ten or a hundred times, they still wouldn’t have left.”

Zhang Linzi added, “Right now, they’re just conscripting men—the fighting hasn’t really started yet. Who knows, maybe it won’t even come to that…”

Of course, these words were merely meant to comfort himself. With the Pingzhou Army marching southward with such a predatory gaze, how could they possibly retreat without a fight?

After dinner, everyone returned to the backyard cottage to rest. They were utterly exhausted from days of constant travel, and several of the men fell asleep snoring the moment they lay down, without even taking off their clothes.

Zheng Beiqiu was tired too, but he forced himself to go check on the mules and horses, fed them, and gave them water, then went to Luo Xiu’s room and knocked on the door.

Xiaofeng opened the door and saw her older brother standing there. “Why aren’t you resting yet?”

“I came to check on you,” Zheng Beiqiu said as he stepped inside, where he saw Luo Xiu tucking Xiaoyu into bed. “How are you holding up? Are you tired?”

“I’m fine. The carriage is spacious and warm—when I get tired from sitting, I just lie down for a bit, so I’m not really tired.”

Zheng Beiqiu sat down next to him, looked at Xiaoyu in his arms, and squeezed his son’s hand. The little guy was so sleepy he couldn’t keep his eyes open, but when he saw his dad come over, he still mumbled a greeting.

“Go to sleep. You’ll get a good night’s rest tonight.”

Luo Xiu sighed. “I wonder how our village is doing. All I’ve heard is that the town’s been surrounded by the army. Will the people in the village be able to escape?”

“They can’t escape. Once the main army arrives, every village will be garrisoned by troops. Even with just three or four men per village, armed with weapons, that’s more than enough to guard over a hundred people.”

Back when he served in the army in Pingzhou, he’d seen scenes like this too many times. When the Jin troops came to the border to plunder villages, ten men could slaughter over a hundred.

That’s because the common folk were as docile as sheep—they had no idea what resistance meant. As long as one or two with a bit of backbone put up even a slight fight, they’d be beheaded as a warning to the rest, and no one would dare cause trouble again.

The thought of his aunt and a few close neighbors suffering such a fate brought tears to Luo Xiu’s eyes. “If only they could have escaped with us…”

Zheng Beiqiu used his sleeve to wipe away her tears. “Don’t dwell on that. Maybe they’re fine. But you’ve been jostled all this way—does your stomach feel okay?”

Luo Xiu shook his head. “This child really cares about me. Not long ago, my stomach was acting up so badly I couldn’t eat a thing, but it’s settled down now. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”

“That’s good to hear. We’ll cross the Yellow River tomorrow. I’ve heard the weather gets warmer the further south we go, so you won’t feel so miserable by then.”

It was getting late, so Zheng Beiqiu stood up and told the two men to bolt the door before returning to his room to rest. His sleep that night was restless; late into the night, he heard commotion coming from the post station.

Luo Xiu, his mind preoccupied with worries, couldn’t sleep soundly. He woke at the sound of the commotion, tucked the little girl in his arms under the covers, threw on a robe, and went out to the outhouse—taking the opportunity to see what was happening.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Zheng Beiqiu standing at the doorway as well. “Husband?”

“Why are you out here?”

“I needed to use the outhouse, and it sounded like there was a commotion outside.”

Zheng Beiqiu accompanied him to the outhouse. “A group of people just tried to check in, but the innkeeper said there were no rooms available. They wouldn’t take no for an answer, insisting on paying extra and telling the innkeeper to turn away the other guests.”

Luo Xiu said with some concern, “They won’t kick us out, will they?”

“Don’t worry. I heard the innkeeper say he isn’t short on silver—he told them to leave right away.” 

“Thank goodness we arrived early enough; otherwise, we might have had to sleep out on the street.”

Zheng Beiqiu nodded. It seemed that more and more people were arriving from the north; news of such a major event as a war would soon spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, and by then, even more people would be heading south.

“Let’s go back and get some more sleep. We’ll have to keep traveling tomorrow morning,” Luo Xiu said softly. “Mm-hmm.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

In Changsheng Town, a thousand li away, the Pingzhou Army was going door to door to collect grain and fodder.

Waging war is no small matter; first and foremost, one must have ample provisions. The daily consumption of over 200,000 men and their horses is no small figure. Along the route from Pingzhou, they had plundered nearly every village and town they passed through.

Prince Jing, relying on his status, had marched south under the pretext of “cleansing the court of corrupt officials,” yet apart from refraining from burning and killing, his actions were not much different from those of the savages.

The common people had worked hard all year, counting on this small harvest in the fall to get them through the winter. With the troops collecting grain from every household, what little was left was barely enough to eat. On top of that, the able-bodied men in each household had been conscripted into the army, leaving only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled behind. How were these families supposed to survive?

At the Zheng An household in Dahe Village, Liu Hua clutched her youngest son as tears streamed down her face. Yesterday, her husband and second son had been taken away. Her second son was only fourteen this year—his body not yet fully grown. Dragged off to serve as a conscript, she didn’t know if he would even survive.

“If only I’d known, I would’ve gone with Daqiu and the others… At least, at least they’d be alive, and it would be better than this separation from my loved ones… Waaah, waaah…”

Liu Hua was filled with regret, but it was all for naught. A squad of soldiers sent by the village patrolled the area every day; no household was allowed to be short-handed. Anyone caught trying to escape would be whipped until they were nearly beaten to death.

Almost all the able-bodied men from the dozens of households in the village have been taken away—how could the people left behind dare to run away now?

Most of the grain in their homes has also been taken away; what’s left isn’t even enough to get by. How are they supposed to plant crops next spring…?

The Liu family was in a similar situation. The three Liu brothers, being young and strong, had all been conscripted as laborers.

The elderly matriarch of the Liu family was so overcome with anxiety that she fell ill that very night; the old man was so distraught that his mouth was covered in blisters. Watching his wife grow weaker by the day, he feared she might not survive the winter.

The wives of the third branch of the family wept every day, all regretting that they hadn’t listened to their fourth brother that day and left with him.

But with young children to care for, they had no choice but to steel themselves. They had no idea how long this war would last, or whether their husbands would even return once it was over…