In the eleventh and twelfth months of that year, the Ji River basin entered its coldest season right on schedule, with three or four snowfalls scattered throughout.
According to the reports, things were still all right downstream. Perhaps because it bordered the Eastern Sea, or because Dongyi's terrain provided shelter, the snow melted quickly between falls, so no excessive accumulation formed. Upstream along the Ji River, however, all the way to Liang Commandery and Xingyang, bitter winds blew day after day and the snow fell heavily, leaving distinct layers piled atop one another.
This was, of course, a tremendous blessing, as it favored the farming season.
And in this era, agricultural production remained the foundation of society as a whole.
Meanwhile, in this age of ever-accelerating upheaval, the accumulated snow and bitter cold seemed to have pressed a pause button on the times, allowing everyone to poke their heads out like fish beneath the ice, catch their breath, and consider their futures and the direction of the age.
Of course, some did this consciously and others unconsciously. And some people seemed forever unable to see their own fate clearly.
On the fifth day of the twelfth month, an enormous procession containing large numbers of palace eunuchs and palace attendants, a small contingent of the Jinwu Guard, and three patrol groups from the Jing'an Directorate crossed the Si River, passed through Xiao Pass, and entered Xingyang.
As soon as they arrived, Chancellor Zhang Shizhao, who was stationed in Xingyang, and the local governor led the local officials, six thousand garrison troops from the commandery, and several thousand civilian laborers out to welcome the imperial party.
An even larger procession, fully twenty to thirty thousand strong, immediately formed.
Three days later, this enormous procession reached Guancheng, the commandery seat, where it moved