Winter of the 31st year of Jianing, the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
A fierce wind outside Guyuan whipped up the yellow earth into the sky, and then it gently floated down, producing a rain-like rustling sound as it fell upon people.
On the walls of Guyuan City, soldiers wrapped their mouths and noses with grey scarves and dozed off leaning against the crenels.
At that moment, a sound of camel bells came from the distance.
The soldiers pulled down their scarves a bit and looked out from the city, only to see a long caravan approaching on the dusty official road stretching beyond sight.
Here the road was rugged, even the official road was pitted and bumpy. Horses and ox carts couldn't travel here; even wheel replacements were required every few dozen miles. All merchants from the Central Plains had to switch to camels and mules at Taiyuan Prefecture to continue their journey.
