The eastern expedition army had become the best possible labor force.
Luoyang was no longer a wilderness choked with weeds.
Soldiers transferred from Guanzhong were rebuilding barracks, reopening canals, and leveling roads.
And once those same Guanzhong troops began redeploying south of Luoyang toward the three passes of Yique, Taigu, and Huanyuan, the citizens who had struggled to survive more than twenty years of war finally began receiving new homes.
Of course, there was a condition.
Anyone who wished to live in these newly built houses had to accept assignments from the Luoyang prefectural yamen, working in agriculture or construction in place of rent.
It was not only soldiers who came from Guanzhong.
Once the Eight Passes were confirmed secure, craftsmen, agricultural officials, and merchants streamed in without end.
Simple workshops sprang up from nothing.
Schools teaching farming techniques had already begun holding classes.
Outside the city, canals and roads required clearing, and farmland had to be reclaimed in advance for the next year's harvest.
With everything awaiting renewal, the people of Luoyang flowed into the reconstruction like small streams merging into the sea.
And when they saw the officially established markets, they could not help but stare in wonder.
Watching several locals clutch their money nervously, lingering outside the stalls for a long time before finally stepping in to choose goods, Lu Su sighed.
"Earning coin is no easy thing for the common folk. No wonder they spend it so cautiously."
Fa Zheng shook his head, his expression grave.
"It may not be frugality."
"Since Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang, twenty-four years have passed."
"These people are not yet thirty. Many of them likely do not even know what a marketplace once was."
For Fa Zheng, Dong Zhuo's violent march into Guanzhong with troops and refugees marked the true beginning of chaos.
After that, Guanzhong declined year by year. A few years later, he himself had fled to Shu to escape the turmoil.
Last year he had returned to his native land.
His accent remained unchanged, yet the children did not recognize him and asked where he had come from.
That scene, he thought now, carried the same bleakness as these young Luoyang citizens who knew nothing of the former capital's splendor.
Lu Su fell silent.
It was a perspective he had never considered.
Fa Zheng, however, did not dwell on it.
Through Lord Xuande's hand, the future Luoyang would surely surpass its former glory.
Just as he himself had returned to Fufeng in honor, he believed this without doubt.
"Now Yide and Lord Xuande advance south on two fronts," Fa Zheng continued.
"The only threat to Luoyang's safety lies at the three Yellow River passes."
Hearing him return to business, Lu Su quickly composed himself and kept pace.
Among the Eight Passes of Luoyang, aside from Hangu Pass to the west linking Guanzhong, the northern defenses of Xiaopingjin, Mengjin, and Hulao all stood perilously along the Yellow River.
Of the southern passes, Yique had long been taken by Yide.
Taigu and Huanyuan had also fallen in succession.
Now that the full army had been mobilized and Guangcheng Pass taken in a single push, the two men had been ordered to remain in Luoyang. What remained to consider was the coming clash between the three northern passes and the Cao clan's Hebei army.
After some thought, Lu Su said,
"Huo Zhongmiao is excellent at defending cities. But holding both Xiaopingjin and Mengjin is already remarkable. To reinforce Hulao Pass a hundred and fifty li away would be asking the impossible."
"In the seventh month, giant Jiangling crossbows were already transported to Hulao. In the eighth month, Chen Shi delivered Han cannons to assist in defense…"
Remembering the absurdly long name of the weapon, Fa Zheng's mouth twitched slightly.
Still, Lu Su looked uneasy.
"The cannon's might is undeniable. But our casting techniques are far inferior to those of later ages."
That was true.
Fa Zheng nodded.
A single Han cannon could rarely endure more than ten firings. If used for rapid fire, or with specially prepared powder, it might burst after only two shots.
So when Lu Su spoke this way…
"You wish to go and garrison Hulao Pass yourself?" Fa Zheng asked.
Lu Su nodded openly.
"Luoyang's affairs are now on track. Xiaozhi, you can handle them alone."
"Hulao faces Xingyang and guards the road to Luoyang. Xingyang is the route Cao's forces must take if they retreat north."
After working together for a year, their mutual understanding needed no explanation. Fa Zheng considered briefly, then agreed.
"In that case, take another Shenwei cannon with you. And bring as many of the newly made bamboo tube hand-cannons as possible."
"Should these not be sent to Lord Xuande?" Lu Su asked, hesitation clear in his voice.
Fa Zheng sighed.
"Even without Yide's support, Lord Xuande's army alone could likely break Xudu and then march north to take Ye City. It would not be difficult."
---
The man Fa Zheng was thinking of was in high spirits at that very moment.
"So who still dares say I cannot command a great army?"
At Liu Bei's side, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong exchanged a glance and merely smiled.
In this campaign against Cao, the army under Liu Bei was unquestionably the main force.
Almost at the same time that Zhang Fei marched out of Yique Pass, took Guangcheng, and advanced along the Ru River toward Jia County and Xiangcheng—
Liu Bei, together with Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Chen Dao, led thirty thousand troops out through Taigu and Huanyuan Passes, following the Ying River southward. Yangdi fell easily, and their army pressed straight toward Xuchang.
"So this… is Yingchuan."
Having forcefully proven he could indeed command a great army, Liu Bei now rode along the river and gazed ahead with emotion.
Later generations would call this the end of the Han.
And in that late Han age, the scholars of Nanyang, Yingchuan, and Runan had produced the greatest talents of the realm.
He had once envied Cao Cao for having the Xun, Chen, Sima, and Zhong clans behind him.
But recalling those tangled feelings now, he could only laugh.
Even without those great clans as his pillars, he had still come here.
And next, he could already foresee those same powerful families peering out cautiously like pheasants from the brush, testing his preferences, tracing connections, seeking ways to attach themselves to him.
When that time came…
"What are you thinking, my lord?" Pang Tong asked, noticing Liu Bei's long silence.
"Shiyuan," Liu Bei said slowly.
Riding his specially chosen Dilu horse, he pointed ahead with his riding whip.
"Was it men like them who made the Han flourish… or was it the Han that nurtured them?"
But he laughed before Pang Tong could answer.
"There is no answer to such a question."
He straightened in the saddle.
"Speed up the march. We must take Yingyang today…"
"…and give the Wei Martial Emperor a proper greeting."
Now that he stood here in person, aided by the map's clarity, Liu Bei understood even more deeply why Cao Cao had chosen Xuchang to receive the Son of Heaven.
Xuchang lay within Yingchuan Commandery.
Several rivers rose in the northwest among the Funiu, Xiong'er, and Dagui Mountains, flowing southeast across the land.
Besides the Ying River before them, there were also the Ru, Zhi, Li, Yi, Wei, and Si Rivers.
Each of these rivers formed a natural defensive layer.
Without this army advancing from Luoyang, Yunchang marching from Duyang to Xuchang would have needed to cross four rivers just to reach the city.
And although Liu Bei had cleverly struck straight from Luoyang, the Yi River still lay between him and Mengde.
So he decided to seize Yingyang first, avoiding a river crossing.
At present, the central army lacked a famed fierce general.
Yet whether it was the elite troops Chen Shi had trained for years, or Zhuge Liang's calm command supported by Pang Tong's coordination, the assault on Yingyang proceeded with remarkable ease.
Watching from the side, Liu Bei nodded repeatedly.
I command the strategists, and the strategists command the army.
Who says I cannot lead a great host?
And Yingyang lay less than a hundred li from Xudu.
Surely Mengde already knew he had arrived.