This was an ordinary mud-brick house with a timber frame, roughly twenty square meters in size. In some places, the whitewash on the yellow mud walls had peeled off, revealing the mud bricks and straw underneath. Inside the room, several wooden shelves stood against the walls, each neatly holding numerous scrolls of bamboo slips. Some of the slips were noticeably shiny from repeated handling, not only polished on the surface but even having worn out the hemp strings that bound them. On the outermost shelf, there were also a few exquisite wooden boxes, appearing to be containers for books.
In the middle of the room, a mat was spread, on which a low table was placed. On the corner of the table lay two or three writing brushes and scattered stationery items like bamboo slips and carving knives. Beside the desk was an ancient and rough-looking earthenware pot, with two or three silk cloth scrolls leaning diagonally inside.
Fei Qian sat cross-legged alone behind the study table, his gaze somewhat unfocused, lost in thought.
The original Fei Qian of the Eastern Han Dynasty had suffered a severe illness and, at the brink of death, miraculously recovered. However, no one knew that his Soul had been replaced by a Fei Qian from later generations.
The Fei Qian of later generations was a minor employee in a city company, a so-called professional slacker who wasn't thick-skinned enough or black-hearted enough. Thus, he merely drifted through life, unable to climb the ranks, adhering to routines day after day. One time, while celebrating a new leader's inauguration, he drank too much and was somewhat disoriented on his way home. When he sobered up and opened his eyes, he found himself in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Which was the Three Kingdoms period.
More accurately, it wasn't yet the Three Kingdoms. The Three Kingdoms period truly began after the Battle of Red Cliffs, with the formation of the Three Kingdoms when Cao Cao claimed Wei, Liu Bei claimed Shu, and Sun Quan claimed Wu. Currently, according to the reign title, it was Guangxi Year 1.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion had concluded, and Luoyang had been in Chaos for a while. Emperor Ling of Han had just died, and the imperial palace immediately fell into disarray. Emperor Ling of Han had intended for his son, Liu Xie, to succeed him, but instead of entrusting the matter to the Three Dukes or other high-ranking officials, he had entrusted it to the The Ten Attendants, Jian Shuo, a Military School Officer.
Emperor Ling of Han had originally thought that Jian Shuo, the leader of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden and a Military School Officer, could control the situation. However, in reality, Jian Shuo was far from as powerful as he appeared.
Jian Shuo and He Jin were already vying for power, having accumulated considerable animosity between them. Now, with an opportunity to legitimately fulfill Emperor Ling of Han's dying wish and simultaneously eliminate General He Jin, Jian Shuo felt this was excellent and planned to assassinate General He Jin.
He Jin's younger sister was Emperor Ling of Han's Empress, He Hou, and He Hou also had a son named Liu Bian. The He Clan Family naturally only wanted their own child, Liu Bian, to ascend the throne, and were unwilling for Liu Xie to do so. Thus, they directly confronted Jian Shuo.
Unfortunately, Jian Shuo overestimated his execution capabilities. The plan to kill He Jin was leaked, and not only did he fail to eliminate He Jin, but Jian Shuo himself lost his life. Moreover, overnight, all of Jian Shuo's followers, including his direct relatives, were completely wiped out. The blue bricks on the ground of Jian Shuo's residence were stained red, and piles of heads accumulated at the market entrance.
Subsequently, General He Jin enthroned Liu Bian, with the reign title Guangxi. He Jin's sister, He Hou, was elevated to Empress Dowager He. However, within the imperial harem, there was also the former Empress Dowager Dong, Emperor Ling of Han's mother. One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, especially not an imperial palace with two empress dowagers. So, Empress Dowager He set up a Hongmen banquet, found an excuse to eliminate Empress Dowager Dong, and then the He Clan Family ascended to the pinnacle of power as imperial relatives.
But what happened next, Fei Qian found a bit hard to comprehend: General He Jin made a foolish move—Dong Zhuo was summoned to the capital!
Although anyone with a slight understanding of the Three Kingdoms knows that Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital signifies the complete collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty imperial power, Fei Qian could not, and dared not, tell anyone about it now.
The piles of heads at the market entrance vividly taught Fei Qian a lesson: this was the feudal society of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with no trials, no reprieves; one wrong step meant losing one's head.
So, Fei Qian only dared to ponder secretly. Although his knowledge of the Three Kingdoms history wasn't perfectly clear, thanks to the television dramas, games, and other media from later generations, he still had a general impression.
Currently, the entire Han Dynasty could be summed up in one word: "Chaos!"
Too much Chaos! The Yellow Turban Rebellion, followed by the Luoyang palace Chaos, then Dong Zhuo bringing the Xiliang Soldiers Chaos, and finally, nationwide Chaos...
Fei Qian was fortunate that the original Fei Qian had left him with the identity of a reserve official, more or less, which allowed him to stay at home and avoid being affected by the chaotic soldiers during the recent Luoyang palace Chaos.
Han Dynasty officials were recommended by local magistrates, also known as provincial governors, a system called "Filial and Incorrupt." Recommended individuals could go to the capital to take a written examination. The content of the written exam was "scholars test Family law, civil officials examine memorials," which included classics, poetry collections, and official document usage. After passing the written exam, they underwent an interview. Those who passed the interview would be kept in the capital and granted the title of Lang Jun, awaiting vacancies for local official positions.
So, during the previous Luoyang military Chaos, this Lang Jun status still served a purpose; at least he wasn't affected. However, this identity might not be useful anymore.
Dong Zhuo was about to enter the capital, and then the Xiliang Soldiers would not have the same local sentiment as the previous Luoyang soldiers. They would definitely be unrestrained in their actions. Moreover, Fei Qian remembered that Dong Zhuo eventually relocated all the people of Luoyang to Chang'an, and it was said that along the way, "corpses covered the fields." He also burned Luoyang with a great fire, almost incinerating the entire city...
Fei Qian shivered.
Stop Dong Zhuo from entering the capital?
Ha, an obscure reserve official presuming to dictate to the current General? Besides, Fei Qian remembered that He Jin was reportedly beheaded before Dong Zhuo entered the capital. Why would he try to curry favor with a dying man?
Or save He Jin's life?
But how to save him? Forget the General; even the formidable figures Fei Qian knew, like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, who held positions even lower than the General, he couldn't even get a meeting to establish some initial connections and familiarity. Was he supposed to go to the General's Manor gate and shout, "General, your life is short! Please listen to my words?" He'd probably be chopped down by the guards before he even saw anyone.
In the Han Dynasty, you couldn't just meet anyone you wanted to. Social interactions required equality and proper etiquette. Any sudden visit was considered very impolite, and the host could completely refuse entry. Generally, one had to first present a name card to make an appointment, and then, based on the other party's status, prepare appropriate gifts such as ducks, pheasants, geese, or lambs. These would be brought at the agreed-upon date and time for the visit.
As for items like gold, silver, and jewels, those were secretly sent and received after the meeting. No one dared to openly bring them through the main gate for everyone to see; that was an insult more severe than a slap in the face, something even the money-grubbing Ten Attendants wouldn't dare to do.
When Fei Qian first arrived, before his memories were fully integrated, he almost made a fool of himself. Fortunately, he managed to pass it off by claiming his mind was in Chaos from a recent severe illness. Otherwise, his friends would have become strangers, and strangers would have become enemies.
Yuan Shao came from a Family that had produced Three Dukes for four generations; although he was a concubine's son, he was still the Changzi. His status goes without saying. Even Cao Cao was the son of Cao Song and the grandson of Cao Teng. Cao Teng was a super The Ten Attendants who had served four emperors and was even ennobled as Marquis of Feiting. At that time, marquisates were still very precious; just think of the well-known Li Guang, who never got a marquisate until his death, while Cao Teng was the only The Ten Attendants to be ennobled as a marquis at that time!
To put it in modern colloquial terms, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were top-tier scions, a level even higher than the sons of regional governors. Was Fei Qian, a probationary intern just entering the government circle, someone who could meet them whenever he wanted?
He couldn't even cling to a powerful figure—
Fei Qian sighed.
Suddenly, his stomach rumbled a few times.
Fei Qian instinctively glanced left and right, seeing no one. He slightly turned his body and let out a few loud farts.
Fei Qian sighed again. He had put too many beans in his meal today, and this was a natural bodily reaction.
"Misleading," Fei Qian thought of the television dramas and novels of later generations. "It's all misleading!" On TV, the minor soldiers in Three Kingdoms dramas ate bowls of white rice, but he had been in the Three Kingdoms for about a year and hadn't eaten a single decent meal of rice. On good days, it was millet, sorghum, or wheat, but on bad days, he could only add beans, all kinds of beans, and eating too many beans made one prone to farting...
During the recent military Chaos involving He Jin and Jian Shuo, even millet, sorghum, and wheat were out of stock in the market, forcing him to eat so many beans that he farted constantly every day.
That's not even the worst of it. The key is no mobile phones! No computers! No Baidu! No Qidian! Only two meals a day, can't afford lamp oil, have to go to bed as soon as it gets dark, long nights of hunger until dawn... When he first arrived in the Three Kingdoms, Fei Qian thought back with tears in his eyes; he truly endured it day by day.
Dressing was also an issue. Long-sleeved robes looked good in TV shows and movies, but in reality, they were a hassle to wear. Small sleeves were for Hu-style short tunics, generally only worn by laborers or during hunting. For someone like Fei Qian, no matter when, as long as he went out to meet people, he had to wear formal attire, which was a complete set of Hanfu, three layers: a small inner garment worn next to the skin, then a middle garment, and finally a large outer garment. And he had to be careful not to wear it left-overlapping (left lapel over right), it had to be right-overlapping (right lapel over left), meaning the left lapel had to cover the right side, with the ties under the right armpit. The crucial problem was no underpants! When walking, a cool breeze would really blow on his little pecker. Fei Qian initially had many problems just with dressing. For example, he thought right-overlapping meant the right side should be on top. Fortunately, Uncle Fu at home discovered and stopped him immediately.
Uncle Fu was the old butler who had watched Fei Qian grow up. Fei Qian's parents had both passed away five years ago from typhoid, entrusting Fei Qian to Uncle Fu's care. Although Uncle Fu was nominally a butler, he actually cared for Fei Qian as if he were his own relative.
When the original Fei Qian was gravely ill with typhoid, everyone feared contagion, but only Uncle Fu personally attended to him. When Fei Qian "recovered," Uncle Fu was overjoyed beyond measure.
When Fei Qian from later generations first arrived, he was somewhat abnormal, and it was Uncle Fu who repeatedly showed concern and offered guidance. Uncle Fu always believed that Fei Qian had walked through Guimen Gate once, stayed in the underworld for too long, lost his Yang Qi, and thus forgot some earthly matters. To be alive was a great blessing, and nothing else should be demanded.
Fei Qian's adaptability was quite strong; he even admired himself for it. Clothes without crotches he wore like skirts, meals without rice he ate like peasant food, no mobile phone meant he wasn't a phone addict, no electricity meant he went to bed early, no three meals meant he endured two. But there was one thing he couldn't endure or adapt to solve.
How to live well?
Now, General He Jin had made a foolish move, Dong Zhuo was entering the capital, and the Great Han Dynasty was clearly on the verge of collapse. Warlords were carving up territories, and the people were destitute. Although the specific situation wasn't very clear, he still vaguely remembered a poem he read in elementary school, which seemed to be written by Cao Cao: "White bones lie exposed in the fields, for a thousand li, no cock crows!"
Cao Cao's army even ate human flesh during its most difficult times!
Forget the future; even in the immediate future, Luoyang would be plunged into great Chaos. It wouldn't be easy to survive well!
Luoyang definitely couldn't be stayed in. Where to go next? What path to take?
Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were two useless individuals who could ruin a good hand of cards; Sun Jian was still playing his Little Conqueror game and would soon meet his end; Sun Ce, who followed, was also short-lived and unreliable; Cao Cao currently had no territory and would only begin his bandit-to-warlord career after fleeing and being hunted down by the court; Liu Bei seemed to have beaten the Inspector and was still on the run, whereabouts unknown, perhaps with Gongsun Zan? And there were a whole bunch of others like Liu Yan, Liu Yu, Liu Biao, who seemed to be mere extras...
Which powerful figure could he rely on? Cao Cao's leg would certainly be thicker, but now he had no reputation or talent. To mix with a bunch of guys like Guo Jia, Xun You, and Chen Qun, whose intelligence was over 95? The pressure would be immense. Furthermore, Cao Cao was about to be on the run for several years. It was hard to say if he would be sold out directly if Fei Qian went to him now, given Cao Cao's suspicious and selfish nature.
Or should he become a warlord himself? No money, no food, no territory, no legitimacy—who would play along with him? Everyone wants to imagine Dian Wei and Zhao Yun bowing down in submission, Zhuge and Pang Tong offering strategies, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei obeying orders under their command. There's no such good fortune; it's a pipe dream, but difficult as ascending to heaven to execute.
Fei Qian felt his thoughts were muddled by the current situation. Thinking it over and over, his head ached, and he found no solution. "Sigh, I'll take it one step at a time. First, find an opportunity to leave Luoyang. The rest can be dealt with later."
Fei Qian rubbed his throbbing head.
At this moment, an old man gently entered from outside the door, smiling slightly, looking at Fei Qian with a face full of kindness. He bowed and said, "Young Master, Young Master Cui has arrived."