On the afternoon of the first day of the first lunar month, Mr. Zhou, the prefect of Longzhou, had just returned from outside. He had not even had a chance to sit down and rest when he heard a servant outside say, "Sir, someone sent by Mrs. Lin from Xizhou has arrived, reporting that the army of the Northern Yuan Dynasty launched a surprise attack on Zhenyuan Pass last night. The current state of the battle is unknown, and Mrs. Lin has sent someone to request reinforcements."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhou immediately went out, "Quick, invite the messenger in, to the living room in the front yard."
Mr. Zhou had come to Longzhou with his family in tow. His hometown was in the South, and traveling back and forth was too long of a journey, so he had not gone back home for the Spring Festival this year. Unexpectedly, he had encountered these matters.
