After Zhao Yun killed the Huang Clan's household head with a single arrow and Liu Bei's Army destroyed the Huang Clan and its six subordinate families, sentiment in Jinan Kingdom and the surrounding commanderies and counties shifted.
While Liu Bei was busy dealing with the aftermath, the Luo Clan scions who had left Luoyang reached the southern bank of the Great River after days of marching.
Jizhou was commonly called Hebei-north of the river-because the Great River had served as the boundary when the regions were first divided.
During the Zhou State period, Luo State and Wei State had both lain north of the river, neighboring states not far apart. Later, Luo State achieved much in repelling the Yi and expanded eastward into a realm spanning the Great River, but its capital had always remained north of the river.
Whenever Zhao City's delegation traveled to Luoyang, it crossed the river through Henei Commandery. Now it was returning to Zhao City by the same route.
As time passed, the Great River's waters gradually became less clear than they had been a thousand years earlier. However, because the Qin Dynasty had not had time to fell forests on a large scale, and the Former Han had emphasized soil and water conservation without undertaking extensive palace construction, the Great River had remained relatively clear.
Only during the Later Han, as Guanzhong gradually fell into disuse and the environment changed, had this begun to change. Even now, though, the Great River was only slightly turbid and had not turned completely yellow.
Luo Chu, the youngest of the Luo Clan scions in the party, suddenly reined in beside the Great River. Gazing at the river before him, its waters roaring and waves splashing as it surged endlessly east, he suddenly said to Luo Shu, "Second