Winter gave way to spring. Amid the clamor of countless affairs, a new year arrived.
"Who could have imagined war would suddenly break out in both north and south!"
At Pei Shiju's residence, the scholar surnamed Zhang came to visit again. Compared with a few years earlier, though, he looked far more haggard. They had been apart for only a year, yet he seemed to have aged more than a decade.
Pei Shiju listened, then gave a wry smile. "Brother Zhang, the north and south may appear to be in separate turmoil, but the troubles are connected beneath the surface."
The scholar nodded. "Indeed. In the past, our Qi Kingdom and the Zhou Kingdom faced each other across the north, attacking back and forth. Each side always had to consider the Southern Dynasty's response, lest the other make an alliance with it—or the Southern Dynasty profit while we fought. This time, Hua Jiao's rebellion in the south drew Zhou into the fray. Chen Xu has held a grudge ever since. He sent people to contact us long ago and agreed to attack Zhou together."
Pei Shiju narrowed his eyes. "Chen Xu wants to reclaim Ba-Shu from Zhou."
"Exactly. Zhou has been wary of that for some time. Yuwen Hu is still consolidating his hold on the country after executing Dugu Xin and a group of other Nobles, but he also fears our two kingdoms joining forces. So as soon as unrest broke out in Chen, with Ouyang He gaining a slight advantage and the retired emperor's death stirring disputes at court, Zhou sent troops into Henan. I've heard there was a hidden hand behind it, too—some force lobbying for war..."
"There's never any shortage of people pushing for that. But we mustn't take the situation in Chen lightly." Pei Shiju