At the end of May, perhaps the hottest stretch of the year, chaos reigned along dozens of miles of road south of the Dengzhou Garrison Camp.
On one side were organized armored troops, ceremonial guards, and marching ranks; on the other were disorderly running, announcements, flight, and dodging... and the two could always switch seamlessly. Those maintaining order a moment before would immediately become targets of enforcement after falling into some confusion, while unruly troops just organized by the enforcers would in turn have to maintain order.
Information was equally chaotic, with reports of uncertain truth flying everywhere.
One moment someone announced that the Sage had promised lavish rewards for the whole army upon reaching Xuzhou, and another round upon reaching Jiangdu; the next came a rumor that Chancellor Yu had visited the Sage and proposed distributing palace maids as wives to soldiers from the Eastern Capital. Turn around, and someone else was saying that some great general had rebelled... true or false, it was mostly something to listen to for amusement.
The most absurd major incident occurred that afternoon. Seeing no shade on the road ahead, a group of Western Pass garrison troops stopped in a hollow beside the road. Not only did they refuse to move, they cursed passing columns, jeered and shoved, and obstructed their progress. For a time, no one dared intervene.
Just then, by sheer coincidence, a eunuch from the Northern Office came back from the front transmitting an imperial decree... its actual purpose was to have Xue Changxiong, who had already gone to Hejian with his own troops, take charge of public security in Hebei and suppress and clear out its bandits. But the Garrison Troops' commander stopped the imperial messenger, questioned him, then immediately turned and announced that the Sage had ordered all