Assumed office on 27th

  Gao Fei took Zhao Yun, Lu Heng, Liao Hua and fifty other close followers to leave the army, heading west slowly for less than thirty miles, when they heard more than a dozen horses rushing from behind. The leader of the group looked very familiar to Gao Fei, who thought carefully and suddenly realized that it was the captain of Lu Zhi's personal guard team.

  Lu Zhi's personal soldier rushed over quickly, and Gao Fei had someone stop him on the side of the road. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he finally understood their intention - they were there to deliver gold to Gao Fei. When Lu Zhi was taken away in shackles, he instructed his personal soldier to ensure that the 1,000 jin of gold awarded by the imperial court be returned to Gao Fei. What a great guy!

  After the captain of the Imperial Guard delivered the gold, he bid farewell. Gao Fei handed over the gold to Lu Heng for safekeeping and continued on his journey with his men.

  That night, the group arrived in Neihuang and rested at the post station in the city. It was already mid-August, and the weather had gradually cooled down. The autumn nights were also cool and refreshing. Gao Fei and his men were still wearing their summer military uniforms, which were a bit thin. So, Gao Fei asked Lu Heng to buy some autumn clothes from the clothing stores in the city with money, and distribute them to his subordinates to wear. However, they did not discard their military uniforms but instead wore the new clothes over them. With their military uniforms, they could stay at post stations wherever they went without spending any money, which was a great idea.

  After a simple rest for one night, everyone continued on their way the next day after breakfast, heading west, planning to go to Henei County first, cross the Yellow River in southern Henei, and then turn west into Sanfu. This was the route determined by Lu Heng, who was familiar with geography.

  A lone traveler walked on the desolate plain of Hebei, where barren land and abandoned villages could be seen everywhere. Seeing the bleak scenery along the way, Gao Fei couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the people of this era. The Yellow Turban Rebellion had brought severe disaster to Hebei, with a sharp decline in population in each county. Even if the Yellow Turbans were pacified, it would be difficult to restore the prosperity of the past within two or three years.

  It was almost noon when Gao Fei ordered the group to stop by the side of the road and rest, then distributed the dry rations they had bought the night before for everyone to eat. The whole group simply rested leaning against a small grove of trees by the side of the road.

  "Master Hou, this is what I specially bought for you last night. Please try some!" Fei An's nose had stopped bleeding, but the dark scars on his nose were still clearly visible. He held out a jar of wine and handed it to Gao Fei with a smile.

  Wine was a good thing in ancient times, when the alcohol content was not very high, it was equivalent to modern drinks, and it was the most common and thirst-quenching thing. Gao Fei took over the wine jug and asked Fei An: "Is your nose okay?"

  Fei Anxi said: "Thank you, Lord Hou, for your concern, I'm already much better now."

  Gao Fei said: "From now on, you should learn from Lu Heng how to speak and act. Don't always be so impulsive. If you continue like this, I'm afraid it will be hard for me to trust you again."

  "Your Lordship's teachings are remembered by me, and I will not let such things happen again in the future."

  Gao Fei took a glance around and saw that everyone else had a jar of wine in their hands. The horse carriage parked by the roadside was loaded with dry rations, wine, and all his family's valuables. He thought to himself that even those who escorted valuable goods on the road didn't have it this good. He chuckled and pointed at the wine in everyone's hands, saying to Fei An: "You've done a great job this time, everyone has wine to drink, nothing special, but you should use your brain more often."

  "Promise!"

  "Alright, you go and have some too."

  Gao Fei feared that everyone would get drunk, so he shouted loudly: "Having a drink or two is just for the sake of it, don't be greedy, or else I'll throw you down to feed the wolves!"

  Everyone burst out laughing after hearing this, and they all understood what Gao Fei meant. They just drank a few mouthfuls of water, ate some dry rations, and then set off on their journey.

  After repeated efforts for several days, the group arrived at Henan Prefecture, reached the Yellow River, took a boat to cross the Yellow River, and then went west through Hongnong Prefecture into the Sanfu area of Guanzhong.

  Lofty Guanzhong, eight hundred miles of Qin River, four sides of the pass blocked its way. Gaofei took everyone westward, admiring the beautiful scenery along the way, and quietly memorizing the terrain in his heart. For him, although he didn't like staying in Guanzhong, one day he would bring troops back, and these travel experiences would bring great convenience. Being a Chen Cangling might not be a bad thing, Gaofei thought to himself again.

  On September 1, Gao's journey finally came to an end as he arrived at Chen Cang with his fifty attendants. Chen Cang was under the jurisdiction of You Fufeng, one of the three auxiliary regions. In ancient times, there was a saying that Han Xin had secretly repaired the plank road and crossed Chen Cang at night. Chen Cang was also an important gateway to the east of the three auxiliary regions, with a very strategic geographical location.

  Outside the city of Chen Cang, Gao Fei led fifty cavalrymen to stop on the road outside the city gate, looking up at the city tower and city wall of Chen Cang. A layer of gloom had settled over everyone's heart. Along the way, Gao Fei tried to comfort himself by vigorously extolling the virtues of Chen Cang, often telling his subordinates stories about Chen Cang. However, when they actually saw this city that everyone had been yearning for, every single person looked gloomy and couldn't say a word.

  "Haha, it's even better than I imagined." Gaofei comforted himself with an AQ spirit and smiled foolishly.

  Lu Heng's face was unsatisfied, and he rode his horse to Gao Fei's side, asking in a low voice: "Lord Hou, is this Chen Cang? It's completely different from what I expected."

  Before the eyes of everyone, there is a dilapidated city wall. The city building has been out of repair for many years, and the black lacquer on the pillars has fallen off. The city wall is even more damaged, with holes like beehives everywhere, and at the foot of the wall are piles of broken bricks and tiles, almost as if it had just experienced a war.

  "Aren't you literate? Isn't it written on the city gate?" Gaofei pointed to the characters on the city gate that had already fallen off by half, and the three words "Chen Cang City" could still be vaguely seen.

  Lu Heng didn't say another word, looking at the city in front of him, thinking about Gao Fei's boasts along the way about Chen Cang being as solid as gold, it was simply two different concepts.

  "Since we're here, let's make ourselves at home. Let's enter the city!" Gao Fei sighed twice, thinking about the impending Liangzhou rebellion. He had originally wanted to use Chen Cang's solid city defenses to put up a good fight and gain some merit, but now that he saw this kind of city, his confidence was also reduced by thirty percent.

  The gate of Chen Cang City was open, and there were no standing guards at the city gate. The sparse civilians slowly drove out of the city, and when they passed by Gao Fei and others, they looked at them with a strange gaze, everything was so unfamiliar.

  Crowds rushed into the city, only to find that it was also desolate and quiet inside. There were many collapsed houses near the city gate, with thick piles of rubble accumulated near the broken walls, as if they had been abandoned for a long time. Inside the city, there was only one very straight street, which led directly to the western city gate, where sparse pedestrians entered and exited Chen Cang from the west gate.

  Gao Fei led the group galloping along the road until they reached a narrow street, where they walked for less than two miles before seeing several old but well-preserved houses inhabited by ordinary people. The sudden visit of Gao Fei and his companions immediately attracted the attention of the villagers, who poured out from both sides of the street, numbering in the dozens. Most of the villagers were thin and elderly, with hesitant steps, eagerly watching this group of strangers who had arrived.

  After walking for about five miles, a crossroads appeared in front of everyone. Gaofei looked around and saw that the road leading north was relatively wide, and a county government office came into view. The gate of the county government office was wide open, and there were no guards at the entrance. The huge Chen Cang City was as quiet as death, without any signs of life.

  "Lord Hou, this city is really small, everything is no more than ten miles long, and this fork in the road is only six or seven miles from north to south. How can it be possible for a thousand households of common people to live here?" Zhao Yun was also not very satisfied with Chen Cang, and couldn't help but say it out loud.

  Gao Fei grunted a response and then fell silent, urging his horse towards the county government office.

  Arriving at the county government office, Gao Fei dismounted his horse and looked inside. Not seeing anyone, he didn't bother to think about it and instead told his entourage: "Everyone get off your horses and move all our things in. From now on, this will be our temporary home."

  After finishing speaking, Gaofei strode into the county government office and walked towards the east wing. Before long, he heard a noisy commotion coming from a room with closed doors and windows. He turned his body around and walked straight over to it, pushing open the door to see more than ten yamen runners wearing official uniforms sitting around a mat, loudly shouting out words like "big" and "small", astonishingly engaging in a gambling session.

  "Who's in charge here?" Gaofei shouted loudly, although he had pushed open the door, no one paid attention to him.

  The noisy voices in the room suddenly stopped, and more than a dozen disheveled attendants turned their heads in the same direction, seeing a stranger wearing a helmet and armor standing outside the door. From top to bottom, he sized them up, then hastily adjusted his clothes and stood up, saying in unison: "We've seen the master!"

  "Who is in charge here?" Gaofei repeated heavily again, with a few points of severity in his words.

  A small yellow-skinned boy took a step forward and looked up at Gao Fei with a slanted gaze, replying: "Reporting to Your Excellency, I...I am..."

  "Are you the county lieutenant?"

  That little fellow hastily waved his hand and said: "No, no, it's not me, I'm not the county lieutenant, the county lieutenant is not living in the city!"

  "This is our house's Lord Hou, newly appointed Duke of Du County and Magistrate of Chen Cang. Don't you hurry to pay your respects to Lord Hou?" Lu Heng walked over from behind Gao Fei, took a glance at everything in the room, and said loudly.

  The yamen runners in the house hastily clasped their hands together and bowed, saying: "Greetings, Your Honor!"

  Gao Fei said: "Where is your county magistrate?"

  The little official replied: "Today, County Lieutenant is marrying a concubine and hasn't come."

  "Haven't arrived? Then come with me, I want to understand Chen Cang's situation in detail." After Gaofei finished speaking, he turned around and left.

  Gao Fei brought the little one to the county government hall and asked: "What's your name?"

  "Tell Lord Hou, I am Ma Jiu."

  "Ma Jiu, I'm asking you, how many households of common people are there in Chen Cang?"

  "In response to your question, Duke, within the 80-li radius of Chen Cang, there are a total of 1,000 households of civilians. The imperial court has already issued an edict, and from now on, Chen Cang will be your fiefdom, and these 1,000 households of civilians will also become your subjects."

  Gao Fei thought to himself, "Damn it, this broken place is still a third-class auxiliary location. It's not even as good as letting me go to Liaodong. At least there, the mineral resources are abundant. I suppose my Marquis' mansion can only be settled in this county government office."

  He continued to ask about the situation in Chen Cang, and Ma Jiu answered one by one. After listening, he finally knew that Chen Cang had been frequently attacked by the Qiang people before, and every time a new county magistrate was appointed, he would leave within a month. The treasury was empty, and no one repaired the city walls. The civilians fled eastward, and even the thousand households were forcibly relocated from Hongnong County by the imperial court. Fortunately, the Qiang people had not rebelled in the past two years, and the border of Liangzhou was also peaceful.

  After asking, Gaofei sent Ma Jiu away. He was tired after being busy for so many days and was very exhausted. He let his attendants and bailiffs help clean up the backyard of the county government office and some rooms. Then he ordered Pei Yuanshao to start a fire and cook rice. The transition went smoothly like this.