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Fei Qian and his party traveled westward along the northern bank of the Yellow River.
On this day, they had reached the vicinity of Wen County. The county earned its name "Wen" (meaning "warm") due to the presence of hot springs within its borders. The springs flowed year-round with warm water, benefiting scholars who cherished its virtues and commoners who relied on it for irrigation.
For Fei Qian and his companions, encountering such a hot spring in the wilderness during early spring felt like a divine blessing.
Huang Zhong selected a relatively sheltered valley near the hot springs to set up camp. Since this time, Fei Qian only had a little over a hundred private soldiers with him, the camp was not as strictly organized as before. Instead, it was arranged according to the terrain, prioritizing concealment to avoid detection from afar.
With their current forces reduced from nearly a thousand men, Fei Qian had been keeping a low profile ever since parting ways with Yi Ji to avoid unnecessary trouble. Previously, they had the authority of Liu Biao's envoy to pass through checkpoints unhindered. Now, however, they carried neither official travel documents nor clearance papers. If they encountered unreasonable individuals, they might not even get a chance to explain themselves.
This was also why Fei Qian had been avoiding large towns along the way.
As the sun began to set, the thought of soaking in the hot springs that evening brought a rare smile to Huang Zhong's face, despite his constant worries about his son's condition.
The term "marching" might only consist of two characters, but it represented dust, sweat, grime, and lice…
Fei Qian, Huang Zhong, and the Huang family members led by Huang Cheng were relatively meticulous about personal hygiene. However, the hundred or so private soldiers were far less concerned about whether uninvited creatures had taken up residence on their bodies.
Although personal hygiene had been emphasized as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods—for example, the oracle bone script character for "沐 (mu)" depicted a person leaning over a vessel to wash their hair, meaning "to cleanse the hair," while "浴 (yu)" referred to washing the body, or "to cleanse the body"—such practices were mostly reserved for the upper class. Ordinary laborers typically only bathed during important occasions, such as sacrifices, prayers, festivals like the Shangsi Festival or the Dragon Boat Festival.
As for the rest of the time… well…
Even Fei Qian had not had a proper wash since leaving Luyang. Now, stumbling upon this treasure of a hot spring, every pore on his body seemed to itch with anticipation…
Once the camp was set up, Fei Qian eagerly grabbed clean clothes and headed up the mountain to the hot springs.
The soldiers had already partitioned the area with cloth curtains. The two small enclosed sections at the uppermost part were reserved for Fei Qian and Huang Zhong. A slightly larger section downstream was for Huang Cheng and the Huang family's squad leaders. As for the ordinary soldiers, having a designated area to enjoy a hot bath was already a luxury—who could afford to worry about privacy?
Fei Qian stepped into the curtained-off space and submerged himself in the hot spring, letting out an almost involuntary sigh of contentment. If only there were a small red stove nearby with a pot of aged yellow wine warming up, it would be nothing short of heavenly indulgence…
Even as things were, Fei Qian could feel the accumulated fatigue of the journey slowly seeping out of his pores under the gentle caress of the warm water.
While Fei Qian was already indulging in relaxation, Huang Zhong meticulously arranged the shifts for sentry duty and other tasks before finally retreating to his own curtained space. He carefully placed the notes on his son's condition—which he always carried close to his chest—somewhere safe to avoid water damage, and only then did he sink into the hot spring.
"Hansheng, this journey would have been much harder without your help… Just west of here is Mengjin. Once we cross it, Luoyang is only about a day's travel away…"
Perhaps it was the soothing effect of the hot spring, or perhaps it was the temporary relief from carrying his son's medical notes, but Huang Zhong's voice sounded noticeably lighter. "Ziyuan, don't say that. If not for your method, I might still be at home, helplessly worrying…"
Though his mood had improved, Huang Zhong clearly did not wish to dwell on the subject and changed the topic. "By the way, Ziyuan, a few days ago, you urged Yi Ji Bo to hurry ahead. Did you foresee some danger?"
"Well… if the imperial edict is clearly unfavorable to the recipient, at such a critical moment, who would willingly accept it? If I hadn't let Ji Bo leave early, what if he got caught in the crossfire…?"
As he spoke, another thought occurred to Fei Qian—back then, Cao Cao had also suggested that Fei Qian travel north with the imperial envoy. Could someone as sharp as Cao Cao not realize that Yuan Shao would be extremely reluctant to accept any edict issued from Luoyang at this time?
Moreover, Fei Qian suspected that Yuan Shao would likely order his men to intercept these envoys from Luoyang. He might even fabricate an excuse, blaming it on Yellow Turban bandits or some other pretext…
An edict issued at this juncture would either demand a ceasefire or the relinquishment of power. Accepting such an edict would make Yuan Shao's self-proclaimed authority in Ye County a complete joke.
But if even Fei Qian could see this, how could Cao Cao not? That seemed highly unlikely.
So, what had Cao Cao been thinking at the time?
Knowing full well that traveling with the envoy posed greater risks than going alone, why had he still recommended it? The implications were unsettling…
While Fei Qian pondered Cao Cao's true intentions, he failed to notice how his earlier words had deeply shaken Huang Zhong's worldview.
Like most Han dynasty commoners, Huang Zhong had always believed that the emperor was sacred and inviolable, while the scholar-officials stood as lofty, rightful rulers under heaven.
The emperor needed no explanation—centuries of deification had turned the Liu clan into divine representatives.
As for the scholar-officials, under the wise leadership of the emperor, they governed the land, shepherded the people, and petitioned on behalf of the masses. As self-proclaimed paragons of virtue and reason, even if an imperial edict was unfavorable, they were supposed to first accept it before seeking explanations or submitting memorials to clarify their stance.
How could it be that they only accepted edicts they agreed with, rejecting or even harming imperial envoys if they disagreed? Wasn't that no different from mountain bandits? How could such behavior befit the so-called foremost noble families of the realm?
Huang Zhong fell into silence…
Just then, a sentry rushed in to report that they had captured three individuals spying on them—armed, no less!
With nightfall approaching, anyone moving about at this hour without official insignia was likely either a bandit or an outlaw.
Who were these uninvited guests?
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A/N: When compiling Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chen Shou typically followed a strict order for biographies. For instance, imperial annals and consort biographies were placed consecutively.
- Book of Wei: Begins with the annals of Emperor Wu (Cao Cao), Emperor Wen (Cao Pi), Emperor Ming (Cao Rui), and the three young emperors, followed by biographies of empresses and consorts.
- Book of Shu: Similarly, starts with biographies of Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, then the annals of Liu Bei and Liu Shan, followed by biographies of their consorts.
Yet, the Book of Wu deviates strangely: it opens with biographies of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, followed by the annals of Sun Quan and his successors, then inexplicably inserts biographies of Liu Yao, Taishi Ci, and Shi Xie before finally returning to the consorts' biographies.
How peculiar indeed...