The eight rivers spread in branching currents, and before them stood the lone, mighty city in all its clarity.
Even though he had already lived in Chang'an for more than a year, Ma Zhong still found himself pausing whenever he looked toward the distant Qinling Mountains, their eight hundred li of hazy ridges lying across the horizon like a sleeping barrier between worlds.
A young officer in martial dress riding beside him immediately laughed.
"Brother Dexin is newly married. If you're reluctant to leave Guanzhong, I'll go explain to my elder brother myself. No way we'd force you into hardship."
Ma Zhong shot him a sideways glance, then tossed the scroll in his hand lightly.
"Reluctant to leave? Ma Dai, let me ask you something. This time General Ma marches east from Hedong to attack Shangdang under our lord's command. If we take Shangdang and push farther east, which of the three regions should we seize first, Guangping, Wei Commandery, or Henei? How many troops are stationed in each? Who commands them? Where are the passes?"
Ma Dai scratched his head. Hedong he knew a little. Anything east of that might as well have been the edge of the world.
Ma Zhong continued calmly.
"Even if we put geography aside, how many sets of armor must the army prepare? How much grain must be issued to infantry, cavalry, and the Qiang riders? When warhorses march at speed, how does their feed differ from normal rations?"
Ma Dai said nothing.
Ma Zhong pressed on.
"And if we ignore logistics as well, how many fortified cities lie along this eastern route? Which can be bypassed and which must be taken? If we must assault them, how many military craftsmen should accompany us?"
"Dexin, stop, please."
Ma Dai's face twisted miserably.
"Now I finally understand why, whenever my brother holds strategy meetings, you're invited inside for private instruction while I'm stuck guarding the door."
Maybe that was exactly why his brother had swallowed his pride and insisted on claiming Ma Zhong as kin.
Ma Zhong was not someone who enjoyed cornering others. He quickly cupped his hands in apology.
"The army's been busy lately. I've slept little and spoke without thinking."
Ma Dai immediately swung off his horse, grabbed Ma Zhong's reins, and started leading the mount forward.
"In that case, Brother Dexin should rest a bit. I know the road back to camp well. Leave it to me."
"How could I trouble you with that?"
"How could you not?" Ma Dai grinned. "Under my brother there are plenty who can fight. Those who can think are rare. This march east, just relax. As long as Ma Dai's alive, not a scratch will touch you."
He glanced back with a mischievous smile.
"That way sister-in-law won't worry either."
Ma Zhong could not help laughing.
As they rode, Ma Dai suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right. This campaign, Lord Xuande assigned a general to lead the infantry alongside my brother's cavalry. His name's Huang Quan. I heard he's also from Langzhong. Brother Dexin, do you know him?"
"Huang Quan, style Gongheng?" Ma Zhong's face brightened instantly. "A great talent of Langzhong. With him assisting, taking Shangdang will be no problem at all."
Ma Dai did not fully understand, but seeing the joy on Ma Zhong's face, he felt pleased as well.
Inside an elegant but modest residence in Chang'an, however, Lord Li was not pleased in the slightest.
He glanced at the table piled with rich dishes that had not been touched, then at the four neatly arranged bowls and chopsticks. Turning his head, he met the equally helpless gaze of Ma Zhong's grandfather. The two old men sighed at the same time.
"Dexin says the army keeps him busy."
"Shu'er says government affairs keep her busy."
"I told him General Ma Chao's fame in Yong and Liang is unmatched, with countless talented officers under him. Could the army truly stop turning if Ma Zhong were absent?"
"And I told her the Imperial Academy workshops are full of learned scholars and skilled artisans. Why must our Shu'er, a young woman, exhaust herself day and night?"
They sighed again.
After a short silence, Lord Li spoke slowly.
"My two sons are both in Chengdu now. The elder reformed the sugar method and earned praise from Magistrate Zhang. He may enter official service through his craft. The younger lives peacefully with his wife. They bought a house and now have a son and a daughter."
He paused.
"Only my youngest girl, Shu'er, still worries me."
Ma Zhong's grandfather nodded.
"Dexin told me privately he wishes to follow General Ma Chao east, drive out the rebels, recover Yanzhou, and bring peace to the people."
Lord Li, who had fled Yanzhou during the chaos, suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. He picked up the wine jug and personally filled the other man's cup.
"Dexin truly is a fine son-in-law. Since the children haven't returned, why don't we two old fellows drink a little together?"
"Exactly what I was thinking."
They pulled over a small side table, divided some dishes, and drank slowly.
"Dexin is a fine son-in-law. I liked him from the beginning."
"Your Li family's daughter is the model of virtue and gentleness."
"To follow Lord Xuande and help pacify the realm… many would envy such honor."
"Ah… when the Yellow Turbans threw the world into chaos, and Liu Yan stirred unrest in Shu, I thought the empire would fracture again…"
"Liu Yan's troubles were nothing," Lord Li suddenly cut in, voice rough. "You never saw what I saw. That bandit Cao slaughtered cities. No human voices across the fields. Corpses floating down the Si River without end. Carrion birds grew fat as chickens. Jackals and wolves roamed roads plump as pigs. Even with Liu Yan's misrule, Yi Province was still heaven compared to that."
Ma Zhong's grandfather quietly refilled his cup. For a moment he found no words, and could only raise his drink.
"Fortunately, this chaos is nearing its end."
Lord Li laughed loudly.
"I only hope that before my bones go to the earth, I can see the Han restored, the empire unified, a new era proclaimed, peace under heaven, the four seas obedient, and prosperity lasting ten thousand years."
Their clay cups met midair with a clear, ringing sound.
"Bang."
Zhang He set his cup down hard on the stone table, then tipped his head back and drained it in one swallow.
A line of fire slid down his throat into his belly, making his body tremble slightly. The heat surged back up to his mouth, and only then did he truly taste the sharp burn.
It was his first time drinking this liquor. He was not used to it, but that did not stop him from hissing through his teeth and exclaiming,
"Good wine!"
Two words were not enough to release his satisfaction, so he flicked the empty cup against the courtyard wall. It shattered into four clean pieces with a bright crack.
"Ma Youchang, you finally brought something worthwhile!"
Outside the wall, Ma Su sat on a stone stool, wrinkling his nose at the spicy fumes that even the wall could not contain. He filled his own cup with tea and drank with Zhang He through the barrier between them.
After hearing two cups shatter in succession, Ma Su finally raised his voice.
"This thing is precious. Lord Xuande ordered me to deliver it. It isn't mine to give away."
The voice inside hesitated.
"In that case… I'll share half a jar with you?"
"No need. I'll stick to tea. Instead of giving me half a jar of fine liquor, you'd do better giving me some coin so I can buy more cane sugar."
With that, conversation died. Wall inside and wall outside, the two men drank in silence, each with his own thoughts.
Only after half his tea was gone did Ma Su finally hear Zhang He speak again.
"Ma Youchang… the Left General has already led his army east, hasn't he?"
Before Ma Su could answer, Zhang He continued, his voice carrying a faint drunken edge.
"Don't lie to me. The people of Chang'an watch your lord closely. If he's here or not, anyone can tell."
"East of Tong Pass, Hongnong and Caoyang are wide open. Only Shan County can hold for a time. But there's no strong pass and no capable general. It cannot last."
"If Shan falls, then the road into the Central Plains lies flat as a horse's back."
As he spoke, anger suddenly rose in his voice.
"I should be dying in battle at Shan County, or blocking the enemy at Yique or Taigu Pass. Not sitting here letting the flesh grow on my thighs!"
Another cup shattered.
Ma Su smacked his lips over his tea, then casually wrote on the paper before him:
"Shan, Yique, Taigu all lack good commanders."
But when he thought about how he too was idling here, his head full of military theory with nowhere to use it, a faint melancholy crept into him.
He peeled a lump of cane sugar into his tea, swirled it, and took a sip. The sweetness on his lips shifted his mood again.
Perhaps risking one's life on the battlefield was not necessary after all.
This was not such a bad way to live.