Early the next morning, once he saw that it would not rain for the time being, Liu Cheng immediately left camp and set out for Shanchi City.
No matter how devastating a blow his reason had suffered, he had to return to reality and deal with the terrible situation before him.
He needed to find out how serious Xun Xian's illness was, ascertain the supplies and logistical reserves at Shanchi and the numbers of combat troops and civilian laborers from Jiankang, ask about subsequent plans, and inevitably exchange relevant information with the people here.
And because they might discuss their subsequent plans, this time he brought not only Jiang Gan and Fu Jian, but also Shen Jin, Wang Xia, Zhuge Heng, and several other officers.
The road was extremely difficult. Not only was there mud everywhere, but stretches of mountainside earth had also collapsed along the way. Liu Cheng's party did not dare urge their horses on quickly, and the journey of barely twenty li took them until just before noon.
Xie Wan naturally did not come out. The two "imperial commissioners," Xi Chao and Han Bo, brought Huan Xin, their "Staff of Authority," out to welcome him inside. Perhaps because they thought he would be speaking with Xun Xian face-to-face anyway, neither Xi Chao nor Han Bo directly mentioned the Northern Command Gentleman of the Palace's illness, instead introducing the army's situation.
Things here differed somewhat from the camp in the mountains. This was a city, after all, with houses inside. If everyone squeezed together, they could at least shelter from the rain. But fuel was scarce, so quite a few people had fallen ill over the past several days.
Unfortunately, the city was cramped and crowded. More importantly, even Xun Xian had started coughing. Everyone inevitably felt uneasy,