Chapter 10

In modern society, information is extremely developed, especially in big cities. From the moment people open their eyes in the morning, all kinds of information from TV, radio, newspapers, and the internet are consciously or unconsciously poured into their minds. In comparison, information in the late Han dynasty was much less, and its timeliness was almost zero—especially in a powerful family's estate in a remote county.

Ah Fei, ultimately possessing the consciousness of two thousand years later, had an ability and speed in absorbing information that made him a master in the late Han dynasty. He consciously or unconsciously used this special talent, absorbing all kinds of information like a sponge, and soon became the unique "gossip king" in the estate.

According to his investigation, the Shi family's ancestors were originally officials of the State of Qi during the Warring States period, living together in Yingling County, Beihai Commandery. Over the four hundred years of the Han dynasty, they produced about seven to eight officials ranging from a hundred stones to eight hundred stones in rank, making them a prominent family in the commandery. Shi Yi, the father of Shi Xun, whose courtesy name was Ziyin, was not the head of the Shi family. In the third year of Xiping, which was the year before Ah Fei's body was born, he was invited by Wu Feng from Chenliu to cross the sea and take office in Lelang, where Wu Feng was the governor and Shi Yi was his subordinate.

After Governor Wu passed away, the court appointed Teng Shu as the new governor of Lelang. By this time, Shi Yi had already established roots in the commandery, purchasing a thousand acres of land and four estates, becoming a significant local figure. Therefore, Governor Teng had to heavily rely on him, appointing him as a postal inspector. At the end of the first year of Zhongping, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, the court appointed Zhang Qi from Geling to replace Teng Shu. Upon taking office, Governor Zhang was corrupt, accepting bribes, and ignoring Shi Yi's repeated advice. In anger, Shi Yi resigned and went into seclusion.

Of course, this information was obtained from the Shi family, and their evaluation of Shi Yi was naturally more positive. According to Ah Fei's own analysis, it was likely due to the new official and the old subordinate not dividing the spoils evenly, leading to Shi Yi's resignation. Although he resigned, the resentful Lord Shi still occasionally caused trouble for Governor Zhang in secret.

Shi Xun was two years older than Ah Fei, born in the spring of the third year of Xiping (Gui Chou). In the seventh year of Zhongping, he turned eighteen and held a capping ceremony under the supervision of the elders in the commandery. The elder said, "The 'Rites of Zhou' states: 'Those who achieve great deeds are called Xun.' My teacher Zheng Kangcheng explained: 'Those who assist in achieving the king's cause, like Duke Zhou.' Therefore, his courtesy name is 'Fu.'" Thus, his courtesy name was determined to be Hongfu.

Just after the capping ceremony, the date and new name were recorded in the family genealogy. Suddenly, news came that there was no seventh year of Zhongping; the emperor had passed away in the fourth month of the previous year, with the posthumous name Ling, and the crown prince ascended the throne, changing the era name to Guangxi. Everyone hurriedly removed the bamboo slip they had just filled and replaced it with a new one.

The news from the capital Luoyang to the easternmost part of the empire, Lelang, did not take nearly a year to arrive. Ah Fei could only conclude that either no one cared about this small, remote commandery, or bandits had re-emerged along the route. He secretly laughed, thinking that the family genealogy would need to be revised again soon because, from the previous year, there were actually three emperors and three era names, and this year it would be the first year of Chuping.

After Chuping, it should be Jian'an, marking the end of the old era and the beginning of the great turmoil of the late Han and Three Kingdoms period. How could he survive in this turbulent era? He couldn't remember whether Lelang was later annexed by Goguryeo or fell under the control of the Gongsun family of Liaodong...

Here, a few words need to be added: Ah Fei's previous life was not a professional historian, just a casual enthusiast of the late Han and Three Kingdoms period. His memory was somewhat inaccurate. In the sixth year of Zhongping, which was 189 AD, Emperor Ling died in the fourth month, and the young Emperor Shao (Liu Bian) ascended the throne, changing the era name to Guangxi. In the eighth month, Dong Zhuo entered the capital, changing the era name to Shaoning. In the ninth month, Dong Zhuo deposed Emperor Shao and installed Emperor Xian (Liu Xie), changing the era name to Yonghan. In the twelfth month, the era names Guangxi, Shaoning, and Yonghan were abolished, and the year was still called the sixth year of Zhongping.

—That is, in SLG games, this year is uniformly referred to as the sixth year of Zhongping, not just for convenience.

Moreover, in 190 AD, the era name was changed to Chuping, followed by Xingping, and then Jian'an.

At the end of the year, the Shi family suddenly faced a disaster.

On the last day of the eleventh month, Shi Xun, along with Ah Fei, Lun Jia, and others, went out hunting. They wandered in the wild for two days and one night, returning to the estate in the evening of the second day with a few rabbits, birds, and a yellow sheep. As soon as they entered the estate, they saw servants rushing around, seemingly packing things.

Shi Xun found it strange and had not yet had time to ask when the steward rushed out and called him into the inner room. Ah Fei and Lun Jia were busy unloading the game, cleaning the weapons, and washing the horses. At this time, Ah Fei was using a half-new mulberry wood bow with a draw weight of nearly one stone, but he did not have a horse. Although the northern part of the Korean Peninsula produced good horses, the Shi family, being a local power in a remote commandery, could not afford many. Among this group, only Shi Xun and Lun Jia had horses. Shi Xun had promised that when Ah Fei came of age, he would give him a horse to ride.

Ah Fei, observant and perceptive, quickly grasped the situation in the estate. It was said that about an hour earlier, a fast horse had come from the south. The rider had a brief conversation with Shi Yi and then hurriedly left. Shi Yi immediately sent people to find his son and ordered the packing of luggage, looking anxious and as if preparing to flee.

According to Ah Fei's judgment, it was likely that the conflict between Governor Zhang and Lord Shi had escalated to the point where action had to be taken. The fast horse, coming from the south, was probably someone from the commandery informing Lord Shi. In a direct confrontation, the Shi family could not stand up to Governor Zhang. Even without the commandery's military, Governor Zhang could mobilize nearly a thousand soldiers, while the Shi family's estate had only over a hundred servants. Even if they included the other estates and nearby tenant farmers, they could barely gather three to five hundred people, most of whom were old, weak, or sick. Therefore, it was reasonable for Lord Shi to be anxious about moving to avoid trouble.

Sure enough, Shi Xun went to see his father and came out after about half a meal's time, his face stern, and called Ah Fei and Lun Jia: "Eat something quickly, then follow me."

"Master, where are we going?"

"To Beihai."

Ah Fei guessed that Lord Shi, who had lost his wife in middle age and had no children from his three concubines, had only Shi Xun as his precious son. He was deeply concerned and probably planned to engage in a guerrilla war with Governor Zhang in the commandery to avoid future troubles. He wanted his son to escape back to his hometown first. Moreover, he might use the family's influence to lobby certain officials and file a complaint against Governor Zhang in Luoyang, hoping to have him transferred from Lelang.

However, according to Ah Fei's memory, the warlords should have already begun their campaign against Dong Zhuo at this time. The court had no time to deal with Lelang's affairs... or rather, there was no proper court to appeal to.

The three of them hastily ate some food—Shi Xun had some millet rice, roasted chicken legs, frozen cabbage, and pickled meat soup, while Ah Fei and Lun Jia had bean bran cakes, pickled radishes, and warm water—and then packed their luggage. The two servants had nothing much to pack, just a set of spare clothes and a pair of straw shoes, which they placed under the saddle, and hung water skins and dry food bags on the saddle.

Indeed, Ah Fei, not yet of age, finally got a small horse to ride. He was a bit excited and a bit nervous. Lun Jia advised him, "Don't worry, anyone can ride a horse. Just use your legs to grip the horse's belly, and you won't fall off. This horse is gentle; as long as it doesn't run at full speed, riding it is easy."

Ah Fei vaguely felt he had heard this somewhere before... Ah, right, Professor Calculus in "The Adventures of Tintin" said, "Anyone can drive a car..."

Shi Xun brought much more, with two sets of spare clothes, shoes, and socks, along with headbands and caps to show his status as a scholar. He packed them into a large bundle, and finally, he added a large bag of copper coins and two wooden tablets tied together—Ah Fei guessed they were letters to his relatives back home. Such a large bundle, of course, would not be carried by Shi Xun himself, nor would he burden his horse. So, he threw it all onto Ah Fei's shoulders.

Ah Fei smiled on the surface but cursed in his heart, "Damn, it's really heavy... so much money, if it were silver ingots or gold leaves, it would be much lighter. I'm not sure if gold and silver can be directly circulated in this era..."

After leaving the estate, the three rode west. According to the plan, there was a small town called Nanpu near the mouth of the Lieshui River (Dae Dong River), where they could find a boat to cross the sea. They would then sail to the Shandong Peninsula, land in Huang County, Donglai Commandery, and proceed to Beihai Commandery.

On the way, Ah Fei kept probing Shi Xun, trying to get more information. Over the years, he had gained Shi Xun's absolute trust with his quick mind and sweet talk, and to some extent, he could manipulate the young master. Shi Xun, trusting Ah Fei, let his guard down and, full of doubts and anger, soon revealed everything.

As Ah Fei had guessed, a familiar clerk from the commandery had sent someone to inform Shi Yi that Governor Zhang, after years of effort, had already corrupted the commandery's chief and the commandery's military commander. He planned to send the commandery's troops in the next day or two to raid the Shi family's estate, accusing them of colluding with Goguryeo, and to execute Shi Yi and his son.

Shi Yi told his son not to worry, saying he had long anticipated such a crisis and had made preparations. He instructed his son to leave Lelang and go to Beihai to seek refuge with his uncle, Shi Yi—“Travel at night, take only a few attendants, and have two skilled warriors accompany you to avoid leaks. You should reach Nanpu by the day after tomorrow, which is the fourth day of the month. On that day, a large sea ship will sail to Qingzhou, and the ship's owner, Mr. Qian, is a friend of mine. You have met him before.”

Shi Xun initially refused to leave, worried about his father's safety. However, Shi Yi smiled faintly and reassured him, “I have been at odds with that scoundrel Zhang for several years. As a respected governor, how could I not prepare in advance? After the estate is packed, I will go north to Zengdi, where the county magistrate is an old friend of mine and will provide a safe haven.