October in Jiankang already carried quite a chill, especially at night. The moon was half full, its light like cold frost. Riding into the cold wind, they felt threads of wind and moonlight chilling them to the bone.
Xi Chao rode beside Chen Caozhi. Turning to look at Ran Sheng in his single layer of coarse hemp cloth, he smiled and said to Chen Caozhi, "Your younger brother Chen Zisheng is extraordinarily strong. With the Beifu Army being rebuilt, he will have ample scope to use his talents."
Chen Caozhi said, "Xiao Sheng may be brave, but he has yet to be tempered on a real battlefield. He still has much to learn. Being able to recite military treatises alone does not qualify a man to lead troops into battle."
Ran Sheng bowed from the saddle as he received this instruction. "Your admonition is quite right, Elder Brother."
Xi Chao sighed. "The scholars of Jiangzuo are unrestrained in their ways. Few are as devoted to learning and diligent as you brothers. If the Qiantang Chen Clan does not flourish, there is no justice under heaven."
Chen Caozhi said, "Brother Jiabin, may we support each other and lay bare our hearts in complete trust."
Xi Chao turned to look at Chen Caozhi. The youth who had once debated with him for over six hours atop the tall pagoda at Tongxuan Temple had now grown into a young man as lofty as a mountain of jade: handsome, steady, and deep as the sea. Xi Chao had formed an excellent impression of Chen Caozhi at their first meeting; they had truly felt like old friends at first sight. In Buddhist terms, it was a bond formed in a previous life. Although both were now deeply embroiled in the whirlpool of politics, their fondness