In the first ten days of the first lunar month, sunlight shone brightly over Dongting Lake's vast, misty waters.
During the coldest spell before the New Year, snow had fallen here for a quarter of an hour, fine and scattered, like salt sprinkled into Dongting Lake. The soldiers and civilians nearby had been delighted, all saying that the last snowfall they had seen was five years ago.
At the time, everyone in the Huaiyou Alliance, inside and outside Baling City, had exchanged bewildered looks.
They had been south for nearly half a year. Truth be told, there had always been grumbling within the alliance... everyone thought Du Pozhen was making trouble for nothing, insisting that they all leave their homes behind. This had become especially apparent in recent months. Earlier, they could still say they were helping the Southern Liang emperor and Bai Yousi conduct military operations, but over these past few months, both sides had settled into a stalemate, while Du Pozhen devoted himself entirely to laying foundations and building up their position around Dongting Lake. At last, everyone had stopped entertaining other ideas and understood what the fellow intended to do.
Then came repeated news from the north, stirring even greater unrest.
Fortunately, Alliance Leader Du had methods of his own. He arranged an official post for one man, found a local wife for another, and frequently rode or took a boat to visit people's homes, chatting and talking about his difficulties. In this way, he managed to hold things together.
That day, Alliance Leader Du was on an island in Dongting Lake, visiting the naval troops stationed there, when someone suddenly arrived in a fast boat. Bells hung from the boat, and a red flag flew above it. As it entered the harbor, the surrounding vessels hurried