Three days later, the people of the Yuwen Mansion left Taiyuan.
A vast procession split ways shortly after leaving Taiyuan City. Since the grain convoy had to precede the troops, Duke Sheng, Yu Wenquan, took Madam Guan directly to Liaoxi, while Yu Wenye went with his wife, brother, and the whole family towards the Eastern Capital Luoyang.
When parting ways, Yu Wenquan specifically told Yu Wenye, "Remember, you’re not allowed to bully your wife!"
Hearing this, Guan Yunmu, sitting in the carriage, chuckled softly.
Yu Wenye replied helplessly, "Father, you’ve said this countless times already."
Yu Wenquan responded, "I’ll say it more if I must. Remember, treat your wife well; don’t bully her while we’re not around."
At this point, even Shang Ruyi couldn’t listen anymore and blushed as she said, "Father, rest assured, Second Brother has always treated me well and never bullied me."
Only then did the two elders leave in peace.
Turning back, the two exchanged glances, feeling a bit embarrassed. Shang Ruyi returned to the carriage, lowering the curtain, while Yu Wenye was already directing the group towards Luoyang.
The road was familiar to Shang Ruyi.
Just over a month ago, she had taken this road to Taiyuan, and unexpectedly, she was now retracing her steps back so soon.
But this time, because they were accompanying the elderly and children, the pace was much slower than before. After just half a day in the carriage, Shang Ruyi felt as though her bones were about to fall apart. So, she discussed with Yu Wenye and decided to ride a horse alongside him.
Once on horseback, Shang Ruyi seemed to come alive.
Even after a short gallop, the smile on her face was as if soaked in honey.
Watching her , Yu Wenye remained silent.
They traveled for another half a day as the setting sun tilted westward. At this time, they saw a convoy moving north in the distance. The grain piled high on dozens of carts looked like small mountains, passing them from afar.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What is that?"
Yu Wenye was also looking at those convoys in a daze. Hearing her question, he replied, "That’s the court’s grain convoy. Logistics must precede the troops, so they have to transport the grain to Liaodong before the court’s army arrives."
"Such a large amount of grain, where is it gathered from?"
"It should have been dispatched from the Xingluo Granary."
Yu Wenye said, pointing southeast: "It’s near Huangtu Ridge."
Shang Ruyi thought of something and said, "I once heard from my father that under the late Emperor’s rule, the four major granaries were stocked with countless grains. Xingluo Granary is the largest among them."
Yu Wenye glanced at her again, the sternness on his face seemed to soften in the sunlight, and his voice became gentle as he said, "Indeed. Of the four major granaries, Xingluo Granary is the largest, and it’s said to now hold over ten million bushels of grain."
Shang Ruyi was quite surprised and couldn’t help but mutter, "There are still so many people who can’t afford to eat, yet Xingluo Granary holds so much grain..."
Yu Wenye looked towards the direction of Xingluo Granary, his eyes flickering, and murmured, "In these chaotic times, with grain shortages everywhere, whoever seizes Xingluo Granary can dominate a region, or even conquer the realm!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi felt a jolt in her heart.
Just then, a commotion arose ahead of the convoy. They immediately looked up to see a shallow river crossing their path. On the other side, a fully armed group of Black-armored Soldiers was charging towards them with imposing momentum.