Chapter 16: Scattered and Dispersed

The situation changed. Hearing that someone had previously slandered Liu Yu to Sima Yue, saying that Liu Yu was like filth, and that getting close to him would corrupt one, Sima Yue disregarded this. Liu Yu then secretly studied military affairs, granaries, and maps. Being intelligent, he quickly memorized everything. When it came time for discussions, he stood out among the many empty-headed scholars, and Sima Yue's opinion of him changed considerably, leading him to entrust him with all matters of state.

Therefore, Liu Yu was the one who strongly urged Liu Kun to leave the town, and Liu Jun was also pondering the deeper meaning behind it.

The problem is that Sima Xiao died suddenly, a forged imperial edict was used to execute Sima Ying, Liu Yu surrendered to Sima Yue and was slandered, Liu Yu gained Sima Yue's trust, Liu Yu made a suggestion, and Sima Yue appointed Liu Kun as the governor of Bingzhou. All of these things happened in just two months. Everything happened too fast, as if someone had deliberately planned it.

Recalling that the Liu brothers first served the Jia family, then served Sima Lun after Sima Lun destroyed the Jia family, then served Sima Jiong after Sima Jiong destroyed Sima Lun, then served Sima Jiong after Sima Jiong's downfall, and then served Sima Xiao after Sima Jiong's downfall, and now Sima Yue, their official positions have only grown higher and higher. This is truly because the Liu brothers were the most promising and irreplaceable people of their time.

Although Liu Jun couldn't understand it, he felt a greater sense of awe for his uncle, who was more composed and reserved than his father.

Regardless of the truth, Liu Yu is now returning to Luoyang with Sima Yue, and naturally he will bring his family with him. Liu Fan and Lady Guo will naturally follow their eldest son. However, Bingzhou has been ravaged by war for a long time, and whether Liu Kun's wife will go to his post has become the biggest problem.

Having witnessed Hua's fate, Cui and others would not rashly follow suit. Liu Zun had already joined the army and was bound to go. The only point of contention was the fate of Liu Jun, the heir apparent to the Marquis of Guangwu.

Liu Jun himself did not want to be confined to the inner quarters, but Cui Shi cried in front of Liu Fan and Liu Yu every day and tugged at his sleeve to prevent him from leaving. Guo Shi also seemed somewhat reluctant to part with him, so they were delayed for two days.

Liu Jun finally could not bear it any longer. He packed his bags, took the precious sword that Sima Ye had given him, led his favorite horse, and called Lu Jing to go to the main hall to say goodbye.

Upon seeing his appearance, Madam Guo couldn't help but sigh, "Oh well, there's no stopping him now."

Cui suddenly stood up, walked to his side, and pressed his shoulder. "Maotou, you are only eight years old. How can you be at the age to go to war? A few days ago, you were captured by the enemy and almost lost your life. If you go, it will only be a hundred times more dangerous than that. Now, regardless of whether they are Chinese or barbarians, they are all fighting together. There are no more imperial troops in Jinyang. Wouldn't you be sending yourself to your death if you went?"

Liu Jun slowly bowed to the elders in the hall, saying, "In public, when the world is in ruins and people are suffering, we have been blessed by the emperor for generations. How can we stand idly by? In private, my father and brother sacrificed themselves for the country, unafraid of death. As their son, how can I seek peace on my own?"

Still unwilling to give up, Cui said, "You are still young. Going there will only cause trouble for your father. You would be better off studying for a few more days so that you can become an assistant to your husband."

Liu Jun laughed and said, "With the war raging so fiercely, there is no peace anywhere. How can we learn anything here? Besides, although the world is vast, where can we find a hero like Father who is both learned and skilled in martial arts to teach and impart knowledge? How can the pedantic scholars we have hired at home compare to even a fraction of him?"

Before Cui could say anything more, Liu Fan said, “A man’s ambition is to roam the world, and even a thousand miles away is like next door. Mao Tou is no ordinary child. You must not confine him to the inner quarters and ruin his future. Mao Tou, you must take good care of yourself on this journey. There are more than ten family guards here. Take them with you for protection on the road.”

Unable to persuade her otherwise, Cui could only cover her face and weep. Liu Jun, feeling somewhat saddened, bowed deeply to the group and turned away without looking back towards the vast land.

Bingzhou suffered from famine for years and was repeatedly plundered by the Hu bandits. The land was cracked, the fields were barren, the population was sparse, and the bones were piled up everywhere. The tragic scenes that Liu Jun saw along the way were beyond words.

“When I used to read poetry, I thought that ‘white bones are exposed in the wild, and no roosters crow for a thousand miles’ was an exaggeration for the sake of metaphor,” Liu Jun said to Lu Jing with emotion. “But I never thought that reality would be a hundred times more tragic than the poems.”

He watched as several old women dug through the soil, searching for tree roots and grass to eat. In a daze, he saw two people with missing limbs furtively exchanging children. He realized that this was probably the "exchanging children to eat" mentioned in historical records...

Thinking back to the vast territory conquered by Emperor Wu, and the subsequent reigns of Emperors Wen and Ming, which allowed the people to rest and recuperate, while it may not have been a golden age, the people lived in peace and prosperity, and foreign tribes dared not roam freely. Seeing the current tragic state, he couldn't help but feel indignant and said, "How could this be? How could this be!"

How could the Sima family have ruined such a perfectly good country like this!

Before Liu Jun could even lament, the road to Shangdang became increasingly difficult. On the one hand, the original official roads were mostly dilapidated and blocked. On the other hand, bandits and robbers roamed everywhere, and some of them were quite fierce. Even though his family retainers were well-trained, they were not immune to injuries.

Liu Jun arrested several bandits and questioned them. To his astonishment, he discovered that they were originally officials from counties under Bingzhou. From the governor Tian Zhen and Li Yun down, tens of thousands of officials and civilians had followed Ma Teng, the founder of the Eastern Ying Company, to Jizhou in search of a way to survive, hence the name "Beggar Army".

Liu Jun did not make things difficult for them. Seeing that they were quite brave, he simply recruited them. In any case, he still had enough money. Once they arrived in Jinyang, he would ask Liu Kun to settle them down.

They fought their way through the city, and when they reached Shangdang, they learned that Liu Kun had recruited local militia a few days earlier and was heading to Jinyang. So they hurriedly rode to catch up with him.

By the time dozens of people arrived in Jinyang, it was already past the twelfth lunar month.

For some reason, after circling around several times, he still couldn't see the city gate. Just as he was getting anxious, he saw several riders waiting in the distance. Then, a fast horse came up, and it was Liu Zun.

Liu Zun laughed and patted his younger brother on the shoulder, "You're so cool!"

Some people dislike being called by their childhood nickname in front of others, but Liu Jun only felt it was affectionate and laughed, "Luckily, my brother came in person, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to find the city gate."

Liu Zun smiled bitterly, "The first time I came, I couldn't find it either."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the earthen wall they had circled several times before. Liu Jun looked closely and indeed could still vaguely see some stone bricks at the base of the wall. He said speechlessly, "This is the city wall?"

"Most of it was destroyed during the previous war, and now there are only about ten thousand people in Bingzhou. In addition, there has been famine for years. How can we have the spare capacity to repair it? Anyway, there is no strong enemy to invade for the time being. My father said that we can only leave it like this for now." Liu Zun said helplessly.

Liu Jun frowned. "If the Central Plains are like this, I wonder how Luoyang is. His Majesty and the others should have arrived by now."

Liu Zun said in surprise, "You still don't know? On November 17th, His Majesty was poisoned by wheat cakes and died. On the 21st, the Crown Prince ascended the throne."

Liu Jun didn't say anything more. He suddenly remembered that afternoon, the kind-smiling middle-aged man, and the two brain-training rice dumplings that the man had pushed towards them.

Everyone says Sima Zhong was a fool who brought chaos to the empire. But did he really want to ascend the throne? If Sima Yan hadn't been wary of Sima You's faction and insisted on putting him on the throne, Sima Zhong would have lived a carefree life as a prince. Even as emperor, did he actually issue any decrees himself? The wicked Empress Jia Nanfeng came along, behaving like a tyrant, causing him to lose all his children, and even committing adultery herself. Did he choose this empress? As for the princes fighting each other, taking turns controlling the court, and causing chaos throughout the empire, can all of this be blamed on him?

I wonder if Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, if they were alive today, would think of Cao Fang and Cao Mao?

The gods have eyes like lightning; retribution is swift and certain.

Liu Jun looked back at the desolate wilderness, raised his head slightly, and rode into the city.

Volume Two: The Armor of Jinyang