It was still early in the afternoon, but the sky had darkened ahead of time. A gloomy sea of clouds hung overhead. It was the eleventh month, so by rights it ought to snow, but here in Jiangzhou, where all four seasons were like spring, rain was quite possible too.
Mounted on his Charcoal-Red Steed, Ye Jingtang stood on the riverbank amid yellow-green grass and looked downstream. He could faintly make out the Sea Entrance several miles away. Listening closely, he could even hear the faint crash of waves in the wind.
Whoosh... whoosh...
As a wild bird from Liangzhou, Niao Niao had followed Ye Jingtang since childhood and had never seen the sea. Now, standing on the horse's head, Niao Niao stretched a practically nonexistent neck to look into the distance, big eyes perfectly round. From the look of it, Niao Niao was wondering whether the fat fish raised in such an enormous lake would even fit into a single pot.
Eastern Lin'an Commandery bordered the sea, marking the edge of Great Wei's territory, and was also the source of businesses dealing in silk, cloth, and similar goods. Naval forces were permanently stationed along the coast, though their commander was not Qin Xiangru but Wu Song, who was likewise a duke.
Great Wei did not prohibit maritime travel. Sea routes led to Yanzhou, Southern Heaven, and even eastern Northern Liang, among other regions. Quite a few boat gangs had put down roots here. Standing on the riverbank, they occasionally saw merchant ships sailing downstream through the Sea Entrance, considerably larger than the vessels inland.
Compared with Ye Jingtang and Niao Niao, who had reached the coast for the first time, Perfected Person Xuanji and Fan Qinghe, accompanying them, were much less impressed.
Perfected Person Xuanji had wandered the jianghu