Morning comes to Jicheng and the palace is boiling with activity. One hundred officers and officials all with the same two hours to bathe, eat and dress has the servants sprinting from place to place to keep up.
When they all arrive they fill in from the back, lowest ranking first. In this case that is the clerks and scribes as there are no lieutenants in attendance as matters of high strategy are considered beyond their duties. Next comes the captains and administrators and then the colonels, city ministers and magistrates.
The last person to take his seat among them is General Gongsun Zan, the Prefect of Bei Ping.
Once all are seated and waiting, a process which has taken the better part of the hour, Governor Liu Yan enters along with General Lu Bu and his secretary Mao Xu followed by several attendants. Lu Bu takes the seat normally reserved for the chief minister and then Liu Yan sits on the throne facing his advisers. The curtains are pulled aside so that he has a clear view but as is his prerogative as Marquis of Yangcheng, and an Imperial Uncle, Liu Yan wears a beaded veil on his peaked cap whose hanging lines gently click whenever he turns his head.
With the governor seated an attendant rings a small gong to bring the room to order.
The governor stands and raises his arms while facing the throne, "In the name of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Ling of Han, Father or Our People and Protector of the Middle Kingdom by the Mandate of Heaven, his humble servant Liu Yan convenes this council."
By the end of the invocation he has fallen to his knees and bowed to the empty throne. As soon as he began all the officials knelt and bowed, remaining that way throughout. When finished Liu Yan rises and retakes the throne while the advisers straighten up and remain on their knees upon their cushions as they had been before.
"I have received word that Minister Lu Zhi has been dispatched from the Capital to Ye where he will take command of the Army there with forces from Jizhou, Governor Ding's Bingzhou army and 10,000 troops from the Central Provinces. When his army is ready they will attack east to Ping Yuan."
There are many nods and murmurs of agreement as everyone present knows the geography and of the famous military strategist, Lu Zhi.
"There is no doubt that our Youzhou army must go south to attack Nan Pi and that we must take it in order for any invasion of Ping Yuan to succeed. It will be another two months as all know before the Hu Tuo river can be crossed by ford so it is the duty of this council to debate how to proceed until then."
"Proceed," he says with a wave of his hand and the attendants and officers immediately begin to discuss scenarios and options among themselves. To do this freely men stand up and then move about the room to find like minded people and to argue with critics. Factions start to form quickly and several plans are already favored.
First: To stay in Jicheng and drill the troops while recruiting more throughout spring.
Second: Sending a detachment to seize the fords now by boat.
Third: To cross the river in small bands and harass the rebels where they are found.