Chapter 1

This is an ordinary mud and tile house with a wooden beam structure, roughly twenty square meters in size. The white lime on the yellow mud walls has peeled off in some places, revealing the mud bricks and straw inside. Inside the room, several wooden racks stand against the walls, each neatly arranged with rolls of bamboo slips, a considerable number of which have become glossy from frequent handling, not only on the surface but also the hemp ropes binding the slips have worn out. On the farthest bookshelf, there are a few exquisite wooden boxes, which look like book containers.

In the middle of the room, a mat is spread out, and on it stands a low table. On the table corners, there are a few writing brushes and some scattered bamboo slips, engraving knives, and other stationery items. Next to the table is a pottery jar, with a simple and rough design, in which a few silk scrolls are inserted diagonally.

Fei Qian sits cross-legged behind the table, his eyes somewhat unfocused, lost in thought.

The original Fei Qian from the Eastern Han Dynasty fell seriously ill and was on the brink of death, but he came back to life. However, no one knew that his soul had been replaced by a future Fei Qian.

The future Fei Qian was a small employee in a city company, a so-called professional office slacker. He was not thick-skinned or ruthless enough to climb the corporate ladder, so he just went through the motions day by day. During a celebration for a new leader's appointment, he drank too much and was somewhat delirious when he returned home. When he woke up, he found himself in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Or rather, the Three Kingdoms period.

To be precise, it wasn't the Three Kingdoms yet. The Three Kingdoms would only truly begin after the Battle of Red Cliffs, when Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan established their respective kingdoms. At this point, according to the era name, it is the first year of Guangxi.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion had just ended, and Luoyang had been in turmoil. Emperor Ling of Han had just died, and the palace was in chaos. Emperor Ling wanted his son, Liu Xie, to succeed him, but instead of entrusting the task to the Three Excellencies, he entrusted it to the eunuch, the Commander of the Upper Army, Jian Shuo.

Emperor Ling thought that Jian Shuo, the leader of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden, could maintain order, but in reality, Jian Shuo was far less powerful than he appeared.

Jian Shuo and He Jin had been vying for power, accumulating a lot of enmity. Now, Jian Shuo had a legitimate reason to carry out Emperor Ling's will and eliminate the Grand General He Jin. Jian Shuo thought this was a great opportunity, so he planned to kill He Jin.

He Jin's sister was Emperor Ling's empress, and her son, Liu Bian, was also an heir. The He family naturally wanted their own child, Liu Bian, to ascend the throne, not Liu Xie. Thus, they clashed with Jian Shuo.

Unfortunately, Jian Shuo overestimated his own capabilities. His plan to kill He Jin was leaked, and not only did he fail to eliminate He Jin, but he lost his own life. In a single night, all of Jian Shuo's followers, including his immediate family, were killed, and the tiles of the Jian residence were stained red with blood. The execution ground was piled high with heads.

Subsequently, the Grand General He Jin enthroned Liu Bian, and the era name was changed to Guangxi. He Jin's sister, Empress He, became Empress Dowager He. However, there was another Empress Dowager, Dong, from Emperor Ling's reign. A palace cannot accommodate two tigers, let alone two empress dowagers. Empress Dowager He set a trap and eliminated Empress Dowager Dong, after which the He family rose to the pinnacle of the imperial in-laws.

However, the next move by He Jin left Fei Qian puzzled. He Jin made a grave mistake by summoning Dong Zhuo to the capital!

Although anyone familiar with the Three Kingdoms knows that Dong Zhuo's arrival in the capital marked the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Fei Qian could not and dared not tell anyone.

The piles of heads at the execution ground gave Fei Qian a harsh lesson. This was the feudal society of the Eastern Han Dynasty, where there was no trial or probation. One wrong step could cost you your head.

So Fei Qian could only secretly ponder. Although he was not very clear about the history of the Three Kingdoms, thanks to the TV dramas and games of his time, he had a general idea.

The Han Dynasty was in one word: "chaos!"

Too much chaos! The Yellow Turban Rebellion, followed by the chaos in the Luoyang palace, then the chaos brought by Dong Zhuo's troops from Liangzhou, and finally the chaos across the entire nation...

Fei Qian was fortunate that the original Fei Qian had left him a position as a reserve official, which kept him safe at home and out of the recent chaos in the Luoyang palace.

In the Han Dynasty, officials were recommended by local governors, known as "recommending filial and honest men." The recommended candidates could take the capital examination, which included "scholars testing their family laws and clerks testing their memorials." After passing the written exam, they would undergo an interview. Those who passed the interview would be retained in the capital and given the title of Langguan, waiting for a vacancy in a local office to be appointed.

So, during the recent chaos in Luoyang, the title of Langguan had protected him from being affected. However, this title might not be useful for much longer.

Dong Zhuo was about to enter the capital, and his troops from Liangzhou would not be as restrained as the Luoyang soldiers. They would not show mercy, and Fei Qian remembered that Dong Zhuo eventually moved everyone from Luoyang to Chang'an, leaving a trail of bodies and burning the city to the ground...

Fei Qian shuddered.

Should he try to stop Dong Zhuo from entering the capital?

Ha, a low-ranking reserve official trying to give orders to the current Grand General? Besides, Fei Qian remembered that He Jin was killed before Dong Zhuo even entered the capital. Trying to curry favor with a man about to die?

Or should he try to save He Jin's life?

But how? Even if he wanted to, he couldn't meet the Grand General, let alone the likes of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who were slightly lower in rank but still influential figures. If he went to the Grand General's residence and shouted, "Grand General, your days are numbered! Please listen to me!" he would likely be killed by the guards before he could even be seen.

In the Han Dynasty, you couldn't just see anyone you wanted. Social interactions required equality and proper etiquette. Any sudden visits were considered impolite, and the host could refuse to see you. Generally, you would first send a name card to make an appointment, then prepare appropriate gifts like ducks, pheasants, geese, or lambs, and visit on the agreed day and time.

As for gold, silver, and jewels, those were secretly sent and received after the meeting. Bringing them openly would be a severe insult, even to the corrupt Ten Attendants.

Fei Qian almost made a mistake when he first arrived, but he managed to pass it off as confusion from his recent illness. Otherwise, he would have lost his friends and made enemies.

Yuan Shao came from a family of three generations of Three Excellencies, though he was a secondary son, he was still the eldest. Even Cao Cao was the son of Cao Song and the grandson of Cao Teng. Cao Teng, a eunuch who served four emperors, was even enfeoffed as the Marquis of Feiting. At that time, the title of marquis was very rare. Li Guang, a famous general, never achieved such a title, while Cao Teng was the only eunuch to be enfeoffed!

In modern terms, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were top-tier officials' children, a level higher than the sons of provincial governors. Could Fei Qian, a new recruit in the government, just see them whenever he wanted?

He sighed. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't.

Fei Qian sighed again.

Suddenly, his stomach growled.

Fei Qian instinctively looked around to make sure no one was there, then slightly turned his body and let out a few farts.

Fei Qian sighed again. He had eaten too many beans today, and his body was reacting naturally.

"Misleading," Fei Qian thought, recalling the TV dramas and novels from his time. "All misleading!" In TV dramas, soldiers in the Three Kingdoms ate white rice, but he had been in the Three Kingdoms for a year and had never had a proper bowl of rice. The best he got was millet, sorghum, or wheat, and the worst was beans, all kinds of beans, which made him fart a lot...

During the recent chaos between He Jin and Jian Shuo, the market ran out of millet, sorghum, and wheat, and he had to eat beans every day, leading to constant flatulence.

This was not the worst part. The real problem was the lack of a phone, computer, search engine, or even a simple calculator. There were only two meals a day, and the oil for lamps was too expensive to use, so he had to go to bed as soon as it got dark, spending long, hungry nights until dawn... When he first arrived in the Three Kingdoms, Fei Qian often shed tears, truly enduring each day.

Even the clothing was a challenge. Long-sleeved robes looked good on TV and in movies, but they were very troublesome to wear. Short-sleeved clothing was typically worn by laborers or during hunting. For someone like Fei Qian, he had to wear formal attire whenever he went out, a complete set of Han clothing with three layers: an inner garment, a middle garment, and an outer garment. He also had to ensure the left side of the garment covered the right, tied at the right armpit. The most challenging part was the lack of undergarments, which made him feel a cool breeze in private areas. Fei Qian had many issues with clothing at first, such as thinking the right side should cover the left, but fortunately, Uncle Fu noticed and corrected him.

Uncle Fu was the old steward who had raised Fei Qian from a young age. Fei Qian's parents died of typhoid five years ago, leaving Fei Qian in Uncle Fu's care. Although Uncle Fu was nominally a steward, he treated Fei Qian like his own family.

When the original Fei Qian was seriously ill with typhoid, everyone was afraid of infection, but Uncle Fu personally took care of him. When Fei Qian "recovered," Uncle Fu was overjoyed.

When the future Fei Qian first arrived, he had some unusual behavior, but Uncle Fu was very concerned and supportive. Uncle Fu believed that Fei Qian had been close to death and had lost some of his vitality, so it was a great fortune that he had survived, and other issues should not be overly criticized.

Fei Qian had a strong ability to adapt, which he admired about himself. Without modern clothing, he wore them as dresses; without rice, he ate peasant food; without a phone, he didn't become a phone addict; without electricity, he went to bed early; and without three meals, he managed with two. However, there was one thing he couldn't adapt to or solve easily.

How to survive and live well?

Now, with the Grand General He Jin making a grave mistake and Dong Zhuo entering the capital, the Han Dynasty was on the brink of collapse. Warlords were dividing the land, and the people were suffering. Although the specific situation was unclear, he remembered a poem from his childhood, written by Cao Cao: "Bones lie exposed in the fields, and for a thousand miles, no rooster crows!"

Cao Cao's army even resorted to cannibalism during their most difficult times!

Not to mention the upcoming chaos in Luoyang. It would be hard to survive!

Luoyang was no longer safe. Where should he go next? What should he do?

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were unreliable, turning good hands into bad; Sun Jian was still playing his game of a young overlord and would soon meet his end, followed by the short-lived Sun Ce, who was also unreliable; Cao Cao had no territory yet and would only start his warlord career after being pursued by the imperial court; Liu Bei was still on the run after beating the inspector, and his whereabouts were unknown, possibly with Gongsun Zan; and Liu Yan, Liu Yu, and Liu Biao seemed to be minor characters...

Which warlord could he rely on? Cao Cao's camp seemed the strongest, but he had no reputation or talent to compete with the likes of Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and Chen Qun. Moreover, Cao Cao would be on the run for years, and joining him now might be risky given his suspicious and selfish nature.

Should he become a warlord himself? Without money, food, territory, or reputation, who would follow him? The idea of having loyal warriors like Dian Wei and Zhao Yun, strategists like Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, and generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei was a daydream, impossible to achieve.

Fei Qian felt his thoughts were muddled by the current situation. He had a headache and no clear plan. "Sigh, I'll take it one step at a time. First, I need to find a way to leave Luoyang, and we'll see what happens next."

Fei Qian rubbed his aching head.

At that moment, an old man gently walked in, smiling kindly at Fei Qian. He said, "Young Master, Young Master Cui has arrived."