There was only one road from Li Territory to Chaoge, and Marquis Li had leveled it when he came to pay his respects at court that year.
In previous years, the tribute gifts had all been light and easy to carry, and the journey was made only once a year. The condition of the road hardly mattered, so no one repaired it. They simply traveled however far they could.
But this year, the tribute had changed to the Flower and Stone Transport, and King Zhou was especially picky. To keep him satisfied, the feudal lords hauled in cartload after cartload of stones.
Stones were far larger than rare treasures, requiring more carts and better roads.
They were also particularly heavy, making travel slow. Wild beasts roamed the countryside in those days, and danger was easy to run into, so many feudal lords joined up with other lords' convoys after leaving their own territories, then followed a single road to Chaoge.
All this laid the groundwork for Bo Yi's roadbuilding. The feudal lords had already marked out the routes and made preliminary repairs. How convenient!
The messenger from Chaoge originally came from Li Territory and knew the messenger dispatched from there after the fighting ended. They happened to be traveling along the same road and ran into each other halfway.
"Victory report! Victory report!" The two messengers returned to Chaoge, panting as they shouted along the way, "A great victory in Li Commandery! The Rongdi have suffered a crushing defeat! A great victory in Li Commandery!"
Thanks to You Hun's constant spreading of news, the people of Chaoge had long since heard about the situation in Li Commandery.
Wasn't the war going badly? How had it turned into a great victory?
Before anyone could tell whether the news was true, the