Zhao Zuo departed just as the sun began its descent in the late afternoon.
By the time the sun had fully dipped below the horizon, Liu Bei was stepping over the threshold of Yan Yan's home.
"Wait for me here," Liu Bei instructed Gan Gui.
Technically, the eight hundred elite Jinfan guards belonged to Gan Gui, but the youth had waved a hand dismissively, declaring, "Everything I have is at my lord's disposal!"
Liu Bei had not been polite about it either. He had promptly handed the lot of them over to Guan Yu to assist in training the burgeoning navy.
The blueprints for the massive warships Gan Gui had brought back were already in Huang Yueying's hands, waiting for her and the master shipwrights to decipher the complex structures and adapt them for river warfare.
This left Gan Gui with far too much free time, so he had pestered Liu Bei into letting him come along for the trek into Yizhou Province.
What puzzled Liu Bei was that as they passed Linjiang, Gan Gui showed no desire to stop and visit his old home.
"I was born in Jingzhou," Gan Gui had said, staring at the city of Linjiang from a distance.
His face was a shifting landscape of nostalgia, longing, and melancholy, which eventually hardened into resolve. "I do not want to go back there alone."
The novelty of Jiangzhou had lasted about half a day for the boy.
It possessed neither the bustle of Dantu nor the vibrant energy of Gong'an.
Thus, when Liu Bei set out to visit Yan Yan, Gan Gui had slipped back into his role as a personal bodyguard.
With his instructions delivered, Liu Bei entered the small gateway. This was no grand manor of a high official, but a simple, unassuming courtyard.
An old general with hair turning silver was currently occupied, a heavy wooden staff dancing in his hands with a ferocity that whistled through the air.
Seeing a guest, the old general spun the staff into a blur before slamming it into the ground with a dull thud that kicked up a cloud of dust.
"Who are you?"
Liu Bei blinked, realizing that when he had called for the city's surrender beneath the walls of Jiangzhou, he had been fully armored and helmeted.
Naturally, Yan Yan did not recognize his face.
"I am Chen Dao, a personal guard of Imperial Uncle Liu. I have come to seek the General's service for the nation."
"Hahahaha!" Yan Yan erupted in laughter, his voice booming with scorn.
"You thieving scoundrel! Your master is an unreasonable predator who invades my lord's province without cause, and yet you have the thick-skinned gall to come to my door and seek me out?"
The old man's eyes flashed with cold defiance. "In this place, you will find only a general who would lose his head, but never a spineless coward who would surrender!"
Liu Bei frowned. Is his temper really this explosive?
But before Liu Bei could even open his mouth to respond, Gan Gui, who had been lurking just on the other side of the wall, could not contain himself.
He burst in, shouting, "If you will not surrender, then do not! But how dare you insult my lord? I do not give a damn about your old bones anyway!"
Yan Yan did not waste words. He raised his staff and swung.
Gan Gui, quick as a cat, darted to the side of the wall, snatched up another wooden staff resting on the ground, and lunged back into the fray.
The two traded blows for several rounds. Yan Yan had already been practicing his spear forms before they arrived, and the exertion was beginning to make his breathing heavy.
Gan Gui, sensing an opening, smirked as he kept up the pressure. "Old man! Have you learned the power of the Gan clan spear yet?"
Yan Yan froze, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "The Gan clan of Linjiang?"
Gan Gui puffed out his chest. "The very same!"
"Is your father that Jinfan pirate, Gan Ning?"
"Jinfan!" Gan Gui's face flushed a deep crimson, and he renewed his assault with even greater intensity.
After five more exchanges, Yan Yan deliberately left a gap in his defense.
Gan Gui bit, swinging his staff and catching the old man in the leg.
But Yan Yan simply smiled. He pressed the tip of his staff against Gan Gui's chest and gave a gentle shove.
"You are dead, kid."
Though they were using staves, the techniques were those used for killing in the chaos of a military formation.
Gan Gui knew that if they had been using real spears or pikes, he would indeed be a corpse. Not one for bruised egos, the boy dropped his staff cleanly.
"This old guy has got some moves."
Yan Yan snorted. "If your father were here saying that, it might mean something. However..."
He paused, looking Gan Gui over with a frown. "Did Gan Xingba betray Jiangdong?"
"My father has not betrayed Jiangdong. I simply joined the lord on my own," Gan Gui argued, defending his father's honor.
"And who are you?"
Yan Yan grunted. "You come to a man's home and do not even know who the guest is? I am Yan Yan of Linjiang. Before your father ever left Yi Province, he had to call me Elder Brother."
He then turned his gaze toward Liu Bei, who had been watching the spar with great interest. "Imperial Uncle Liu?"
Liu Bei bowed slightly. "General Yan, your prowess is legendary."
Before Yan Yan could launch into another tirade, Liu Bei cut him off. "General, do you owe your loyalty to the Great Han, or to Liu Zhang, who sits idly by while this land suffers? If you tell me to my face that your loyalty is to Liu Zhang alone, I will turn around and leave this instant.
I will not trouble you again."
"I..." Yan Yan's words caught in his throat. Finally, he sighed. "I am, of course, loyal to the Han."
Liu Bei's face broke into a wide, triumphant grin. "In that case..."
He stepped forward in a blur, seizing Yan Yan's hands before the old man could react. "I beg the Old General to help me strike down the traitors and restore the Han dynasty!"
"Uncle!" Gan Gui added from the side, his face full of genuine expectation.
Yan Yan's heart softened significantly. He looked at the eager youth, then at the man holding his hands with such sincerity.
Finally, he gave a slow, solemn nod.
Liu Bei laughed, his grip tightening in a firm, shared bond.
Gan Gui, meanwhile, could not help but chirp, "Uncle, I think I heard something about a general who would lose his head earlier when I was outside."
Yan Yan's face turned several shades of red. He snatched up his staff and started chasing the boy around the yard.
"I will teach you some manners on behalf of the Gan clan today! Do not you run, you little brat!"
---
By mid-July, Zhao A was squatting in the dirt by his field, busy with his accounts. In reality, he did not know anything about math.
He was just staring at a series of circles and crosses he had drawn, a silly grin on his face.
This was the system Mr. Li had helped him work out.
Which symbol meant what? He could not quite remember.
How much more money had he made this year compared to last? He did not remember that either.
Zhao A only knew one thing for certain. Beneath his bed was a buried clay jar, and it was filled to the brim with bright, shining copper coins.
Last year, that same jar had held only ten coins, barely enough to cover the bottom.
Squatting there on the ridge, even though he could not read Mr. Li's logic, he could not bring himself to wipe the marks away. Eventually, he moved a few heavy stones to cover the accounts, planning to come back and admire them tomorrow.
But what should he do with his day?
In previous years, this time of the season would be spent entirely on the back-breaking labor of processing grain.
But this year, the water-powered mills did the work for a pittance. For the first time in his life, Zhao A had a July with nothing but free time.
A single thought quickly took root and grew until it filled his mind. Go see Jiangling!
He ran all the way to the riverbank, where a small pier had always stood.
Downstream lay Jingzhou. Carefully patting his pocket to make sure the coins did not clink together and draw unwanted attention, Zhao A paid his fare and boarded a boat.
For the first time in his life, the city of Zigui shrank behind him, and a world he had never imagined began to unfold.
He never grew tired of the scenery flying past, and the boisterous chatter of his fellow passengers filled his ears.
"Did you hear? Fighting has broken out near Chengdu."
"Again? Did not they just finish off a General Zhao a few years back?"
"That was ages ago! I heard the general this time is named Pang, and he is going after Governor Liu."
"Pah!" someone spat loudly. "Let them fight. It would be better if Imperial Uncle Liu just took over as Governor and be done with it!"
This drew a sharp rebuke from the boatman. "Hey! Watch where you are spitting, and watch your tongue while you are at it!"
"Where is the Imperial Uncle now, anyway?"
"I heard he is in Jiangzhou."
"Where is that?"
"Who knows? Somewhere far away, I guess."
"Do you think the Imperial Uncle will come back through Zigui to Jingzhou this year?"
"Probably... hey, hang on tight! We are coming up on the rapids!"
Half an hour later, a trembling Zhao A gripped the gunwale with white knuckles.
He decided right then and there that he would take the land route back home.
This river was far too terrifying!
But it all seemed worth it when, before the sun had even reached its zenith, he saw a city looming on the horizon.
He knew in his heart it was Jiangling. The boatman steered them toward the docks, and Zhao A stepped off, clutching his money bag.
He felt like his head was not big enough to take it all in.
His eyes could not contain a city this large. His ears could not process the sheer volume of street cries and haggling.
His nose was hit by dozens of scents he had never smelled before. This was Jiangling?
Zhao A felt like he was fleeing into the city from the sheer overwhelming scale of the docks.
The roads inside were wider, and the shops were endless.
He found himself wandering in a trance. But a sudden reality check snapped him out of it. A single bolt of silk at the textile shop cost a thousand coins!
He did not even have a wife to impress yet. Why would he buy that?
He lingered near the butchers, the smell of roasted pork and dog meat making his mouth water, but he realized that in this sweltering heat, the meat would not survive the trip home.
He carefully skirted the paper-making workshop. He could not read a lick, so why bother looking?
The ironworks made him hesitate. Those hoes and rakes looked incredibly sturdy, but the wooden ones back in Zigui still worked, did not they?
Leaving the workshop behind, Zhao A finally turned his attention to the food stalls lining the street.
He checked the prices, reached into his bag, and finally rediscovered the joy he had felt before he set out. As he stood there, debating what to eat, he felt someone bump into him, nearly knocking him over.
He looked up, and his first thought was: What a magnificent beard!
His second thought was: What a terrifyingly powerful general!
"Are you alright, little brother?"
Zhao A snapped out of it and scrambled to his feet, dusting himself off.
He gave his limbs a quick shake and nodded. "I am fine, I am fine."
He watched the bearded general walk away before turning into a nearby noodle shop.
He could not read the sign, but he recognized the little lamb tethered by the door. "Lamb noodles! A large bowl!" Zhao A shouted, patting his money bag with newfound confidence.
---
Guan Yu did not give the small encounter a second thought.
He continued his conversation with Zhao Lei at his side. "The navy should continue training according to the current methods."
Zhao Lei nodded, then switched topics. "The Jinfan guards suggested that since the lord is taking Chengdu, we should establish a shipyard in Jiangzhou.
That way, we can build vessels to support the lord directly."
Guan Yu shook his head slightly. "Why would we need massive warships for a place like Chengdu?
Within three months, Chengdu will surrender on its own."
Zhao Lei agreed. "The Jinfan guards probably just want an excuse to build a giant ship so they can sail home in style."
Guan Yu found the possibility highly likely.
He sighed and shook his head. "Tell them if they suggest such nonsense again, they will be assigned to escort duty for the grain transport fleet heading to Jiangzhou."
Zhao Lei made a note of it, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
With the current workload being light, patrolling Jiangling was more of a personal habit for Guan Yu.
Walking through the city, he often found himself thinking of the things he had seen on the light screen, and that other General Guan Yunchang, with the white hair.
"A fortress this strong, built with my own hands... surely it will be the foundation of my eternal fame?" Guan Yu whispered to himself.
"What was that, General?" Zhao Lei asked, having missed the words.
Guan Yu shook his head and looked at Zhao Lei, the man who, a thousand years later, would still be by his side in the Martial Temple.
"What is the report from Jiangdong?"
"Last month there were rumors that they were arguing every day about the lord's westward expansion," Zhao Lei replied. "They even put the relocation of the capital on hold. But this month, it has suddenly gone quiet. Not a single word. It is strange."
Guan Yu stroked his beard, his eyes narrowing. "Those rats of Jiangdong... they are coming."