On the twentieth day of the fourth month, the weather was rather sultry. At noon, Zhang Xing and Wei Xuanding rode into Yucheng with a small party, entering a town that smelled faintly of burning.
A great deal had already happened around Zhang Xing on the road.
Some had pledged their loyalty, some had offered counsel, and others had argued... Most of the disputes had centered on what to do with the Meng Clan Righteous Army, because Meng Shangong's head had brought the Exorcising the Dragon Army an enormous problem.
Whatever his self-importance, and however ridiculous his death, as the sole, indispensable core of the locally powerful Meng Clan and a former commandery Commandant, he had been one of the few men in the area capable of holding things together.
It was his presence that had allowed the Meng Clan Righteous Army to maintain an independent stance.
Now he had died easily enough, but where did that leave the Meng Clan Righteous Army, built primarily around the bonds of his clan?
When Zhang Xing had let Meng Shangong take the four western counties of Liang Commandery for himself, his intention had been to give Jiyin a buffer and a protective shell. Now Meng had lost his army and his life, yet left behind two counties and a younger brother, including Chuqiu County, the very foundation of his clan... Meanwhile, in the course of fighting, the Exorcising the Dragon Army had naturally advanced into Yucheng and would soon enter Dang County, leaving it out on the perimeter as the Meng Clan Righteous Army's forward outpost instead.
Meanwhile, Meng Ghost-Eater had recovered his wits and slipped away amid the confusion at some unknown point, merely telling the Exorcising the Dragon Army's men before leaving that he was going back to Chuqiu to