The emperors swore a great oath at the Luo River, and Luo Chengzhi recorded it in the annals. There was unity among the myriad people, the Wei emperor suffering a backlash, the Three Sovereigns aghast, and dread rising from the heart. Emperors and ministers gathered from the four corners-Eastern Han, Western Wei, Southern Liang, and Northern Yan-to sacrifice together to the Luo River Goddess. After the oath, they dispersed beside the Luo River, like Luoyang's kingly flowers gradually scattering. The emperors returned to their respective states, and great efforts began to fulfill their vows.
Xiao Yan of Liang State returned from Luoyang to Jianye by way of the Ying River and the Great River, then immediately summoned Luo Youzhi into the palace. Luo Youzhi rode swiftly through the Jianye palace grounds. The palace guards all held their blades and kept their eyes straight ahead when they saw him. Luo Youzhi had unrestricted passage within Liang State's palace; even the empress and crown prince would not have dared obstruct him. He jumped down from his carriage and hurried into the palace hall.
The Great Hall was grand in scale, its interior largely gold. Xiao Yan favored Buddhism, and what the ruler favored, those beneath him inevitably imitated. In only a short time, the palace decorations had changed: auspicious clouds and beasts had mostly been replaced with Buddhas and bodhisattvas, filling it with solemn sacred majesty. When Luo Youzhi entered, he saw Xiao Yan standing on a Geomancy Map two zhang long and one zhang wide, pointing here and there with a brass rod coated in gold dust.
Seeing Luo Youzhi enter, Xiao Yan quickly beckoned. "Qingyun, come here. Under the great oath at the Luo River, our Liang State must commit its full strength. Which commanderies' soldiers should we levy, how