Outside Luoyang's main gate, armored guards stood ready in formation.
These armored guards were different from the Central Army's men; they were clearly Palace Guards from the Imperial Palace.
Clad in armor, Cheng Ji stood behind Cao Mao alongside Zhang Hua.
The weather was no longer as cold as before. Spring had warmed the earth and brought flowers into bloom, and fresh green shoots had sprung up across the land inside and outside Luoyang. Though the wind still blew, it was no longer so bone-piercing.
The sun shone brightly overhead, and the weather was pleasant.
Cao Mao stood beneath the Son of Heaven's yellow canopy, gazing eagerly into the distance, his eyes full of anticipation.
Jiao Bo had sent someone to inform him that the men Guanqiu Jian had dispatched had reached Sili and were preparing to head for Luoyang.
He had also told him who the three arrivals were.
General Guanqiu Jian's son, Mouqiu Dian; Cao Mao's own veteran trusted aide, Liu Lu; and Wen Yang, the son of Wen Qin, Inspector of Yangzhou.
Upon hearing the news, Cao Mao had immediately been unable to sit still.
Cao Mao had never imagined that General Guanqiu Jian would actually send men at a time like this. This was far too crucial.
He was short of people right now. Cao Mao had far too many vacant posts on his hands and nowhere near enough officials to fill them.
There were not even enough commandants for the Central Army.
Otherwise, he would not have sent even Ji Kang out to serve as a commandant.
These three had come at exactly the right time. Mouqiu Dian was a loyal minister he could trust completely, and he was capable too-precisely the sort of man Cao Mao currently lacked. As for Liu Lu, that went