On the twenty-fifth day of the tenth month, General of the Vanguard Army Liu Cheng entered Sishui Pass in the bearing of an absolute victor, then seized the opportunity to occupy Chenggao City behind it.
Upon learning that this was the Hulao Pass of Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Shen Jin, Liu Huzi, and the others accompanying him could not help exchanging looks. They knew it was a romance, knew that duels between generals before the battle lines were more often clashes between their personal guards, and Liu Huzi had even asked Liu Cheng and learned that Liu, the Former Lord might never have come here. Yet once they actually entered the pass, they still felt somewhat disappointed.
It was chiefly the ruin and desolation.
It was as ruined and desolate as all the famous cities they had passed along the way. Being at the very center of the realm had brought it no improvement.
"White bones lay exposed in the wilds; for a thousand li, no rooster crowed." That was what Liu Cheng had seen when he passed through a few years before. Now that Yao Xiang had made Luoyang his base, he had at least gathered tens of thousands of households, and drawn in most of the refugees from the surrounding wooded hills. There seemed to be a little more life.
Yet compared with the expanse of the entire Luoyang basin, and with the city ruins previously visible everywhere, they still seemed thinly scattered. With war and turmoil now upon them, the place looked all the more ravaged.
But there was no time for much reflection. Soon, the men received their assignments and each set to work.
Now, from almost everyone's perspective, the Imperial Army's entry into Sishui Pass was naturally an overwhelming victory.
In barely a