Chapter 130: Chenqiao

At the welcome banquet, Liu Chengyou ate well and drank well, his mouth greasy with oil—on the surface, host and guest were both delighted, but the atmosphere carried an undercurrent of awkwardness. Liu Xin and Murong Yanchao were having a grand old time, but Liu Chengyou truly couldn't find common ground with these two uncles of his.

After all this time of tempering, Liu Chengyou was no longer as withdrawn as before, but his nature at the core remained the same. Though he had learned to speak some pleasantries, he was hardly the type to charm everyone with smooth social graces. In name they were uncle and nephew, but was the relationship truly close? At the wine table, that sense of distance was rather conspicuous.

It was only because Liu Xin and the other were not so sensitive, or perhaps numbed by the alcohol, or perhaps simply choosing not to break the surface—at least on the surface, everything was warm and harmonious. As for Liu Chengyou, he accompanied them in eating and drinking, with no reservations on that front, feeling quite at home.

At noon, they rested briefly at the post station, taking a short nap. Before he had rested properly, Liu Chengyou was roused by someone Liu Xin sent. These two, clearly still not sober from their drinking, noisily demanded that Liu Chengyou take them to see the Longqi Army, saying they wanted to see the Great Han soldiers who had struck hard at the Khitan and returned from a hundred battles, and to offer their condolences.

Then Liu Chengyou was squeezed for a hundred war horses by the two of them. His two uncles, lacking all dignity for their age, showed a shamelessness that refreshed Liu Chengyou's understanding of them. One welcome banquet, and the result was a loss of a hundred horses—however one looked at it, this deal was a loss. Liu Chengyou even suspected whether Liu Xin and Murong Yanchao were faking their drunkenness...

Of course, to say he was truly reluctant to part with them would not be entirely accurate, after all, these war horses were also to be presented to Liu Zhiyuan, ultimately serving the imperial army. Liu Xin was currently the Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry—at least nominally, sooner or later they would fall under his command anyway.

They rested another night at Baima, and the next day, Liu Chengyou took his leave of Liu Xin and Murong Yanchao, setting out for Kaifeng. Before departing, he still couldn't help but subtly remind Murong Yanchao to return to Puyang. However, whether it had any effect was not something he could decide.

Passing through Zuocheng, descending to Fengqiu—a journey of a hundred-odd li, Liu Chengyou did not travel quickly, nor did he deliberately slow his pace, simply taking in the situation of the capital region along the way.

Compared to the Hebei region, it was somewhat better—at least one wouldn't travel dozens or a hundred li without encountering a single inhabited village or town. The Hu barbarians' destruction of Henan had been severe, but not to the extent of the mass slaughter after crossing northward. With self-recovery, some vitality had been restored.

However, life was clearly still hard; production was far from recovered, and the governance order of the Han dynasty had not yet been reestablished. There were also bandit activities—and this was the near-capital region. One could imagine what the situation was like elsewhere.

The government's inaction was what Liu Chengyou observed. Of course, in reality, it was the newborn Han court's inaction.

"It's the start of autumn, isn't it?" In the early morning, stepping out of the military tent, a cool wind stinging his face, gazing at the vast white mist shrouding heaven and earth, Liu Chengyou sighed.

These past few days, the change in weather had been very pronounced. Mornings and evenings were chillingly cold, and before he knew it, the cries of cold-season cicadas could be heard all around.

The camp was pitched twenty li southeast of Fengqiu County town, not far from Kaifeng—only about forty li away. There was a village nearby, named Chenqiao.

Toward this small village near the capital, Liu Chengyou evidently harbored a "special" feeling.

"Your Highness, is there anything special about this village?" Standing with Liu Chengyou on a hill behind the village, pointing at the village in the thin mist, Guo Rong asked with some curiosity.

Chenqiao Village was just an ordinary village, with few inhabitants—many had fled and not yet returned. It was said that back then, a wealthy household surnamed Chen in the village had funded the repair of an old wooden bridge in the village, hence the village was renamed "Chenqiao."

Turning back to look at Guo Rong, he blinked—that look in his eyes left Guo Rong somewhat bewildered.

"Nothing much, I just think this village has a well-chosen name." Liu Chengyou said somewhat perfunctorily.

Guo Rong was even more puzzled, feeling that Liu Chengyou's eyes revealed a hint of deeper meaning. Shaking his head in confusion, Guo Rong changed the subject: "This subordinate has inspected the area—this village sits on the main thoroughfare north out of the Eastern Capital, at a suitable distance. In the future, a post station could be established here to transmit government orders and military intelligence, and to host travelers."

Hearing Guo Rong say this, Liu Chengyou's brow involuntarily twitched—could this be fate at work?

Setting aside his thoughts, Liu Chengyou answered somewhat perfunctorily: "Indeed, it's suitable."

A soldier of the camp guard nimbly scrambled up the hill and whispered something into Li Chongju's ear. Liu Chengyou noticed and couldn't help asking: "What is it?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, people have come from the Eastern Capital to welcome you." Li Chongju stepped forward and reported.

"Who is it?" Hearing this, Liu Chengyou headed down the hill first, asking as he went.

"Grand General of the Left Guard Liu Chengyun and Vice Minister of Rites Li Shaoyou." Li Chongju answered.

At this moment, in front of the military tent, two young nobles in purple robes were idly strolling about, looking around and whispering to each other. At the side stood the camp guard soldiers, eyes fixed straight ahead, while their attendants and guards waited obediently nearby.

"Brother Yun, Cousin." Before even getting close, Liu Chengyou greeted them in advance.

"Second Brother." The two immediately broke into smiles and came forward to meet him.

As for these two young nobles—Li Shaoyou had been introduced before; he was Liu Chengyou's maternal cousin, the son of his eldest maternal uncle Li Hongxin. The other, Liu Chengyun, was the eldest son of his uncle Liu Chong, and should be Liu Chengyou's cousin, but he had been adopted by Liu Zhiyuan as a foster son—the kind with inheritance rights. As for his relationship with Liu Chengyou, it couldn't be called distant, but it also lacked something—a normal brotherly relationship. Liu Chengyun usually got along better with the eldest brother, Liu Chengxun.

"It's actually you two who came?" Liu Chengyou seemed somewhat surprised.

Li Shaoyou spoke first: "I've been too idle in the Eastern Capital lately. Hearing of your return, I specially requested this assignment from His Majesty, coming to welcome our Second Prince."

His tone was very relaxed. As he spoke, he looked Liu Chengyou over and teased: "You really have changed—returning from a hundred battles, with the bearing of a king."

"Got promoted?" Liu Chengyou looked at Li Shaoyou.

Li Shaoyou waved his hand with an air of complete indifference: "What kind of office is Vice Minister of Rites? You know it well enough—just a sinecure, a grand title with no real work under it. These days, I've been bored to death..."

To speak of the separation of title, office, and assignment—it reached its peak of development in the Song dynasty, but in reality, during the process of dynastic succession in the Five Dynasties, the seeds were already there. With changes in the power structure and the transfer of authority, the original official titles had gradually lost their original function, becoming detached from actual duties—so-called nominal without substance. It just wasn't as exaggerated as in the Song dynasty.

"If you have the ambition, are you afraid of finding things to do?" Liu Chengyou casually replied, then turned his gaze to Liu Chengyun.

Liu Chengyun was introverted by nature, spoke little, and before Liu Chengyou, he even seemed somewhat nervous. He dutifully echoed: "Second Brother, we have come by order—His Majesty and the Empress are both waiting for you in the palace."

Glancing at Liu Chengyun, Liu Chengyou nodded, then asked: "Have you eaten?"

The two were taken aback, then nodded.

"The soldiers haven't been fed, and my stomach is empty too. Join me for the morning meal, then we'll set out." He said this in a faintly commanding tone.

"Yes." Subconsciously, the two agreed.

The morning meal was already prepared. Eating together with the soldiers, casually filling his stomach, he broke camp and headed south toward Kaifeng. On the way, Liu Chengyou called Li Shaoyou alone into his carriage for a private conversation. Some matters were not suitable to discuss in front of Liu Chengyun.