On the night of the fifteenth day of the sixth month, a full moon hung high in a clean night sky, almost without a wisp of cloud. Only a scattering of distant stars flickered. Beneath the cold moonlight, the open country north of the Yi River looked vast and still. Hoofbeats suddenly rose, breaking through the night, and the darkness closed behind them.
Chen Caozhi, Ran Sheng, Shen Chiqian, Su Qi, and their party of more than twenty, together with the three hundred men of the Di Qin envoy Xi Bao, stretched out into a column half a li long. They galloped through the ruins of three thousand years of Xia, Shang, and Zhou history in Luoyang's southern outskirts. Their hoofbeats echoed from the ancient astronomical observatory, brief and desolate.
The Qin envoy Xi Bao rode at the front with Chen Caozhi and the others. Quite familiar with Luoyang's geography, Xi Bao called to Shen Chiqian, "Young Master Shen, the Yi River is not far ahead. Has your father arranged boats to take us across?"
Shen Chiqian said, "My father originally intended to see Master Chen and Envoy Xi across the Yi River tomorrow. He did not expect the Yan army to attack at night, and there was no time to make preparations-"
"Ah, what are we to do now!" Before Shen Chiqian could finish, Xi Bao broke into anxious lamentations.
Shen Chiqian said, "Envoy Xi, there is no need to worry. There has been no rain around the Yi and Luo Rivers for over a month. In several stretches, the Yi River is no more than four feet deep. We can wade across. Just follow me."
Xi Bao's worry turned to delight. Riding across the river would be much quicker than taking boats, and he immediately followed close behind