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By the time Fei Qian woke the next morning, the situation had completely calmed down.
There were only some minor aftereffects.
Approximately a dozen of Dong Zhuo's soldiers stood guard at the entrance of Cai Yong's residence, claiming that the Chancellor was concerned about the disturbances from the previous night affecting the safety of the court's high-ranking officials and had specially arranged for personnel to provide protection…
When Fei Qian heard this reason, he could only laugh speechlessly. Protection was probably not the main point; the key was to prevent these people from escaping!
Upon reaching the entrance of Cai Yong's residence, he saw that the leader of the squad was actually Zhang Zhao. It seemed this young man had been promoted again and was now a Tunzhang (Commander of 100 soldiers)…
Zhang Zhao, who had been waiting early on the side, hurried forward to greet Fei Qian as soon as he saw him emerge from Cai Yong's residence. Somewhat apologetically, he said, "Lord Fei, the Chancellor has given an order… this… we… ah…"
In Zhang Zhao's heart, Fei Qian was somewhat considered one of their own. He had a good relationship with Commandant Zhang Liao, had once traveled together to Jingxiang (Jing Province and Xiangyang), and had fought side by side at Hangu Pass. Yet now, he himself had brought men to surround the home of Fei Qian's teacher…
Although it was the Chancellor's order, Zhang Zhao couldn't help but feel somewhat awkward about it. Therefore, he had waited at the entrance of Cai Yong's residence early in the morning, originally intending to explain things a bit to the people of the Cai household. Unexpectedly, he saw Fei Qian emerge from inside. He promptly stepped forward to explain the situation to Fei Qian.
Fei Qian then learned that the chaos on Yongmen Street the previous night had ultimately been quelled by Zhang Liao's troops, who had entered from the west of the city. Many hoodlums and soldiers who had taken advantage of the situation to loot had been killed, and interrogations and investigations were currently underway…
Later, whether because something was uncovered during the interrogations or not, Chancellor Dong Zhuo immediately ordered Zhang Liao's troops to disperse and place the residences of court officials ranked at two thousand dan (a unit of measurement for official rank) and above under house arrest… oh, wait, protection…
Fei Qian nodded, indicating his understanding. Then, he took two or three silver beans from the money pouch in his robe and pressed them into Zhang Zhao's hand, instructing him to use them to get some alcohol, meat, dry rations, and the like to distribute among the soldiers stationed at Cai Yong's residence.
Zhang Zhao was reluctant to accept, but Fei Qian insisted, not taking no for an answer. "Send someone to buy it now," he said. "If you wait, you probably won't be able to get anything even with money!"
Fei Qian didn't need to check to know that the current market prices were wildly outrageous. Under normal circumstances, a single silver bean could buy a fine feast at a winehouse. Now, however, it would likely only fetch some inferior alcohol and coarse grains…
It wasn't just the common people desperately hoarding food; the wealthy families were even more ruthless. Not to mention other items, it was probable that all grain shops had already boarded up their doors, operating for only an hour or two a day, with the prices on their boards soaring continuously.
In times of chaos, wealth is illusory; only grain is real.
But grain still relies on people to grow it. Had these people not considered that? Or had they already resorted to any means necessary to weaken their opponents?
Fei Qian shook his head. Sometimes, he truly couldn't understand how these people's minds worked. He decided to stop pondering it and prepared to meet up with Huang Cheng and the others to head to Cui Manor. He had been moving around within Luoyang these past couple of days and hadn't yet had the chance to inform Cui Hou about the change of plans to go to Bing Province. Moreover, there was no need to transport the bamboo scrolls in separate batches now; they could all travel together.
Just then, a soldier came jogging over, brushing past Fei Qian and his group.
This soldier saluted Zhang Zhao and asked expectantly, "Tunzhang Zhang, do you know if Left Attendant Officer of the Imperial Secretariat Fei Qian is at the Cai residence?"
"Hmm, it's Hewei… He was, but now he's not…" Zhang Zhao answered without much thought, confusing the soldier. "…Didn't you run into him? Central Colonel Fei just left in that direction…"
"Ah?!" The guard, surnamed He, hastily bid farewell to Zhang Zhao and ran back the way he had come—he had just been to Fei Min's residence, only to be told Fei Qian wasn't there. If he missed him again here at the Cai residence, he truly wouldn't know where to find him…
Fortunately, Fei Qian hadn't gone far. The guard, surnamed He, hurried and finally caught up, panting as he stepped forward to salute. "Might you be Left Attendant Officer of the Imperial Secretariat?"
Fei Qian nodded and asked, "Who are you?"
"This lowly one… is Marquis of Wen's personal guard, named He Yu. By Marquis of Wen's order, I have come specially… specially to invite Left Attendant Officer of the Imperial Secretariat to his residence… for a discussion." He Yu replied, still catching his breath, a smile on his face.
Lü Bu is looking for me?
Fei Qian blinked. Although he didn't know what it was about, it was still Lü Bu. It wouldn't hurt to go see him. After all, he had spent many years in Bing Province; hearing any suggestions he might have could be beneficial.
So, he brought Huang Cheng and the others and followed He Yu to Lü Bu's residence.
As they walked, Fei Qian asked casually, "From your accent, you sound like you're from the Henei or Luoyang area. How did you become Marquis of Wen's personal guard?"
He Yu's smile faded, and he replied earnestly, "This lowly one is indeed a local of Luoyang. Originally, I was…" He Yu showed a somewhat embarrassed expression before continuing, "…originally idle and fond of fighting, relying on brute courage. Once, I was cornered on the road by enemies and almost beaten to death. Fortunately, Marquis of Wen intervened and saved me. Hence, I chose to follow him…"
Oh, so that's how it was…
Fei Qian found it somewhat interesting. Would Lü Bu actually champion a cause against injustice? Or was it just that this group of brawlers happened to block Lü Bu's path?
Upon arriving at Lü Bu's residence, he found that Zhang Liao was also there. The two men, upon seeing Fei Qian, promptly pulled him to join them at the mat.
More drinking? It's still early morning, and they're already drinking?
Even if it was a farewell toast, wasn't it a bit too early? But since he was already here, he might as well drink.
After a few bowls of wine, Lü Bu asked Fei Qian, "Worthy brother, why are you going to Bing Province? It's a bitterly cold place, barren and poor, with nothing to offer."
Zhang Liao also said, "Indeed, Ziyuan, even if you are unwilling to stay in the court, you could go to Jingxiang. By any measure, it should be better than Bing Province."
Fei Qian looked at Lü Bu and Zhang Liao. Even these two, who had spent a long time in Bing Province, spoke of its hardships, indicating that Bing Province was indeed not a rich and fertile good place. But comparatively speaking, could Jingxiang or other places necessarily be better than Bing Province?
Fei Qian pondered for a moment before answering directly. Instead, he asked, "Marquis of Wen, Brother Wenyuan, may I ask, when you left Bing Province, had you thought about what position you sought, or what thing you desired?"
The question Fei Qian posed actually caused both Lü Bu and Zhang Liao to be momentarily stunned.
To say they hadn't thought about it at all was unlikely. But to say they had seriously considered it—that wasn't necessarily true either. Lü Bu and Zhang Liao were in such a state. Thus, when Fei Qian suddenly asked, neither could react immediately.
Zhang Liao shook his head. Seeing that Lü Bu didn't seem inclined to speak first, he said, "I originally thought it was just a simple trip to Luoyang, after which we would return. Promotions and such… I did think about them, but not deeply. Heh, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, Ziyuan, what I thought about most back then was when we would have enough supplies to eat our fill… So in Bing Province, food is the most important matter…"
Zhang Liao's words struck a chord with Lü Bu, who then continued, "Bing Province has always relied on funds and grain allocations from the Sili region (around Luoyang). The further north you go, the harder it gets. For every dan (a unit of weight, ~60kg) dispatched from Sili, if even a dou (~10 litres) made it to Yanmen (a northern frontier commandery), it was considered good… Sometimes, when the Xianbei, mixed with some Xiongnu, came to raid, it wasn't that we didn't want to pursue and punish them, but we genuinely lacked the supplies and funds to support such campaigns. So most of the time, we just drove them away and considered the matter settled…"
"…Back then, Governor Ding… Governor Ding ordered us to come to Luoyang," Lü Bu noticeably paused when mentioning Ding Yuan before continuing, "At that time, I truly didn't think much about getting promoted or anything. I just thought that coming to Luoyang meant I could at least eat my fill for a few days…"
"…But… but…" Lü Bu grabbed a wine jar, intending to pour, but then simply threw the wine bowl in his hand aside. Instead, he bit directly onto the spout of the jar and gulped down more than half of it before setting it down. "…But… while the stomach is full… this heart…" Lü Bu hammered his chest a few times with his fist, saying, "…here, it feels empty…" After saying this, he went on another drinking binge.
Fei Qian and Zhang Liao exchanged a glance. This Marquis of Wen definitely had something on his mind...