Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

Chen Zhi frowned, got up, pushed open the door, and looked outside.

The rain was fine and dense, beyond which lay several courtyards, with the occasional flickering light from a hearth fire. Further away, the city walls and mountains merged into a dark mass, their shapes indistinguishable in the rain.

Chen Zhi sighed, closed the door, and turned back: "Commander Feng of Jiange said this rain will last for two days?"

"No, it's not that, it's just a bit difficult to walk, but it's still possible if you insist on going," Liu Yin explained. "Censor Chen has also supervised the transport of grain. When the military order comes down, let alone rain, even if it's raining knives, we still have to go. It's just that we can't ride horses anymore, we can only walk and lead the horses forward. It would be best to prepare more raincoats and rain curtains to cover the horses as well... But I'm only following orders to escort Censor Chen, and I don't know whether this matter is urgent or not, so I came to ask."

Chen Zhi said in a deep voice, "If it weren't for an emergency, would His Majesty have sent me to Hanzhong with the imperial insignia? Commander Liu, go and prepare raincoats and rain curtains. Rain or shine, we will still leave after dawn!"

"Yes, sir." Liu Yin bowed respectfully, said nothing more, and got up to leave.

Chen Zhi reached out to stop him and coughed lightly, "I have something else to discuss, Commander Liu, please wait a moment."

Chen Zhi turned around and took out a burlap sack from his leather bag, placing it on the small table in front of the two men, making a crisp clinking sound. Seeing Liu Yin looking over, Chen Zhi opened the sack with both hands, revealing glittering, golden gold ingots in front of them.

Liu Yin was immediately suspicious: "What's the Imperial Censor doing here?"

"Here are fifty gold ingots, each weighing five taels," Chen Zhi said calmly. "The journey has been arduous for everyone, and I brought some gold from home. Please give one to each soldier, and keep the remaining twenty for yourself."

"How can this be?" Liu Yin raised his eyebrows. "This trip is on official business; how can I accept a private gift from the censor?"

Chen Zhi shook his head: "This journey has been far too arduous. I know that Sima Liu comes from the Liu family of Chengdu, but he is not a direct descendant. He is constrained by his official career and has a difficult time managing his household... I am an official with imperial authority, trusted by His Majesty, and my family is wealthy. I cannot refuse a small token of my appreciation, Sima Liu."

"I have shown my integrity here, so please accept my offer, Commander Liu."

Liu Yin hesitated for a long while before nodding emphatically: "A minister holding the imperial staff can be a superior, and I will accept this gift from you. Rest assured, Your Excellency, Liu Yin will protect you with his life!"

"Go ahead, thank you for your trouble, Commander Liu." Chen Zhi pushed the burlap sack forward. "I'll have a servant bring some hot water to soak my feet in a quarter of an hour. I'll save yours for you too. Commander, hurry back."

"Okay." Liu Yin grabbed the burlap sack and pushed open the door to leave.

Thanks to the Liu family's levies on Shu over the past twenty years, the impact of economic systems such as "Zhibaiqian" and "government-run" systems, and Zhuge Liang's incorruptible style of governance, officials of the Shu Han dynasty could hardly obtain any income other than their salaries and festival rewards.

For a mid-level military officer like Liu Yin, whose official rank was 1,000 shi (a unit of grain), half of his income came from copper coins and the other half from grain. Calculated on an annual basis, his salary was indeed 1,000 shi.

Chen Zhi offered him twenty gold ingots, each weighing five taels, totaling one hundred taels and about six catties, which was more than two and a half years' worth of income for Liu Yin. Moreover, what Chen Zhi said was true; he was on the emperor's orders to protect Chen Zhi, and accepting Chen Zhi's gold ingots was the same thing he was doing, so he had no extra psychological burden.

Even if we take a step back and say that Imperial Censor Chen did uphold his authority, he did!

……

As expected, just as Commander Feng, who was in charge of the defense of Jiange, had said, the rain continued all night. After having some hot food in the early morning, Chen Zhi, Liu Yin, and the remaining twenty-eight Tiger Cavalrymen led their horses out of the Jiange gate, wearing bamboo hats and straw raincoats on their horses, and slowly descended the mountain road.

Although they were imperial guards, these soldiers were not dedicated couriers. They had traveled eight hundred li in two days, and naturally resented their superiors for not being considerate, but they dared not say it aloud. The gold given last night, though not generous, could at least boost morale a little, and also prevent Chen Zhi from immediately looking away with his weary gaze when he looked at them.

Although Jiange is a formidable pass, it is not as simple as a city.

Sichuan is a basin surrounded by mountains on all sides. Jiange is located on the only road leading north from the Chengdu Plain, nestled between mountains.

Looking from the north, Mount Dajian on the east and Mount Xiaojian on the west rise abruptly from the ground, about a hundred feet high. The mountain peaks converge here, with a cliff in the middle called "Yingpanzui", forming a deep ravine between Mount Dajian and Mount Xiaojian. These are two natural passes, truly treacherous places.

A river called Xiaojianxi flows from south to north through the western pass, carving a natural road through the pass. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang established numerous cities, camps, and watchtowers at the eastern and western passes, Yingpanzui, and the plains behind, and laid out covered walkways for passage, forming a continuous defensive system to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

Chen Zhi and Liu Yin each led their horses forward until the mountain slopes gradually flattened. Only then did Chen Zhi stop, turn around, and look up.

To the south, Xiaojian Mountain and Yingpanzui rise abruptly from the ground, towering majestically. Their forms are blurred and indistinct amidst the alternating shades of light rain and the multiple layers of darkness within the mountains, resembling colossal beasts that have crouched there since mythical times, inspiring awe in those who behold them. Only the hazy light filtering through the notch at Jiange Pass proves that this is a passable road, and that Chen Zhi once traveled this route.

One man can hold the pass against ten thousand!

Seeing Chen Zhi stop, Liu Yin followed Chen Zhi's gaze south and said, "The Jianmen Pass is so formidable that even if the northerners brought the entire army of the world, they would not be able to pass!"

Chen Zhi remained silent, letting the magnificent scene before him fill his eyes for a long, long time.

The contrast between the magnificent natural wonders and the insignificance of human creations evokes a surge of emotion from the depths of one's heart. Coupled with the heroic figures and stirring stories etched in one's mind, it makes one feel even more awe for the grandeur of the land and the weight of destiny on one's shoulders.

"Does Commander Liu think Jiange is invincible?" Chen Zhi asked quietly.

"How can we attack this?" Liu Yin was puzzled for a moment, then spread his hands and replied, "So-called scenic beauty is nothing more than this. Even if a hundred thousand or a million people come, what can they do? Is there any place in the world more magnificent than Jian Ge?"

Chen Zhi smiled, led the horse, and continued walking slowly, asking, "Since you're from Chengdu, has Commander Liu ever left Yizhou? Have you seen the scenery of other places?"

Liu Yin followed: "No, the farthest I've ever been is when I followed General Zhao out of Xiegu to Jigu, which is considered to have reached the edge of Guanzhong. As for the other places, I've only heard about them from books."

Chen Zhi said in a low voice, "Passing through Xiegu and entering Guanzhong, one can see the plains, a land surrounded by mountains, fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles. The Qin people used this as a base to pacify the world. Emperor Gaozu established his capital in Chang'an, and the tombs of several emperors are located here. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing drove the Xiongnu north from here and sealed the Wolf Mountain. To the west lies the Hexi Corridor, a vast expanse of land, and westward, one can reach the westernmost reaches of the Western Regions by venturing into the Gobi Desert. To the east, one can exit Hangu Pass and reach Luoyang, where Emperor Guangwu established his capital. For two hundred years, the famous ministers and scholars of the Later Han Dynasty flourished here, the heartland of the world, this is the land of Sili..."

Liu Yin noticed that Chen Zhi seemed somewhat agitated, and as he spoke, he appeared to become absorbed in his own words. For Chen Zhi, the emotions evoked by those place names were two thousand years deeper and more profound than those found in modern history books.

"If we go further east, there are Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Jingzhou, Yangzhou... Hebei is the richest province in the world, the grasslands beyond the Great Wall stretch endlessly, the rivers and lakes of Jing and Yang are intertwined, the Central Plains have accumulated a thousand years of history, and there are also the vast oceans overseas. How can these not be worth seeing?"

"Sima Liu, don't you want to go north and see for yourself? If you can successfully restore the dynasty, the world will be so vast; how could you not be granted a marquisate and rewarded?"

Liu Yin looked down at the gravel-paved official road beneath his feet, remained silent for a few moments, then suddenly looked at Chen Zhi, his eyes bright, as if a light were flashing within them: "So we can't be content with a precarious existence, so we must launch a northern expedition?"

"Exactly!" Chen Zhi nodded emphatically. "The world is vast, with countless mountains and rivers of strategic importance; how could Jianmen Pass be the only place to conquer it?"