On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, Huan Wen summoned the Northern Headquarters officers of the seventh rank and above to the Residence of the General Who Pacifies the North in Jingkou to discuss affairs. He expressed satisfaction with the military exercises two days earlier and lavished rewards on the generals to win their hearts-
General of the Flying Dragon Tian Luo offered his counsel. "Grand Marshal Huan, heavy snow has fallen for days, and the heavens are cold and the earth frozen. The weather is no longer suitable for drilling troops. Moreover, the year's end is approaching, and the soldiers long for home. I humbly request that you allow each of us to lead our own men back to the fortified manors of the Two Huai Regions, then assemble again in spring to await orders. I beg your gracious approval."
Huan Wen narrowed his purple-stone eyes and pondered for some time. Such weather was indeed no longer suitable for drilling troops. Allowing them home for the New Year would be an act of favor, and Tian Luo's forces were all stationed around Xuzhou and Yu Province, precisely the front line of next year's Northern Expedition. He nodded. "Very well. Return to your respective manors within the next few days. On the twenty-eighth day of the first month next spring, assemble at Huaiyin with your troops. There must be no delay."
Tian Luo, Cai Guang, and the other generals were overjoyed, their assent thundering out.
Huan Wen left Jingkou for Gushu on the fifth. By the time Huan Xi, Chen Caozhi, Huan Shixiu, Xie Yan, and the others had seen off the generals of the Two Huai Regions and inventoried and stored the military supplies, it was already the fourteenth of the twelfth month. Chen Caozhi, Xie Yan,