"By the way, Uncle John said that a few days ago, Second-in-command Harris from the county town came by, asking when you would return, and said that this year we have to hand over five raw cowhides to the authorities. Uncle John pleaded with him for a long time before it was changed to three, and as he was leaving, he even took two speckled hens with him!" When her son mentioned the raw cowhides, Mrs. Thompson-Bolton also remembered the extra taxes their family had been forced to pay, and quietly reported it to her husband.

"Five raw cowhides? What kind of madness is this Little Tommy Harris up to, what does he need so many cowhides for? Did someone in the county magistrate's family die and they need them to wrap the corpse?" Charles Thompson slammed the table in anger, cursing bitterly.

Suddenly, both husband and wife turned pale, looking at each other in fear.

Although both of them came from humble families, they were somewhat literate and had heard the story of wrapping a corpse in horsehide many times. Shanggu County bordered the frontier, and when the authorities collected large amounts of raw cowhide, it was usually to make armor for soldiers going to war—what else could it be for? But right now, all the foreign states around the Sui Empire that could be subdued had already surrendered; the only one still causing trouble was Goguryeo. In the eighteenth year of the Kaihuang era, Prince Han Yang Liang and Grand Marshal Gao Jiong had led over 300,000 troops on an expedition to Goguryeo. According to the emperor himself, the final result was that the King of Goguryeo bowed his head in submission, but of the 300,000 men who went east, fewer than 3,000 returned. Among the 290,000 heroic souls who remained in a foreign land was David Thompson's older brother, Brian Thompson.

At that time, Little Brian had just come of age, with the same build and face as Little David...

Note 1: Xianggong, that is, "juren" (recommended scholar). The Sui dynasty pioneered the imperial examination system, requiring localities to recommend talented individuals to the central government, which then selected them based on exam results. In the fifth year of Emperor Yang's Daye reign (609), an edict was issued to all commanderies: "Those with comprehensive learning, outstanding talent and skill; those with great physical strength and bravery, surpassing their peers; those diligent and prudent in office, capable of managing affairs; those upright in character, unafraid of the powerful—these four categories of scholars may be recommended."

Note 2: Mingjing and Jinshi. The early imperial exams had many subjects, including Mingjing, Jinshi, Mingfa, Mingzi, etc. In the Sui dynasty, the most popular were the Mingjing and Jinshi exams, as recorded in official documents.

Note 3: Capping ceremony. In ancient times, men held a capping ceremony at age twenty, signifying adulthood.

Note 4: "Spit a pit with a mouthful of saliva"—a northern colloquialism meaning a person keeps their word, a promise as unchangeable as a stone thrown to the ground.

Volume One: Ballad of the Frontier

Chapter One: A Flourishing Age (Part 3)

The next day, at the break of dawn, Charles Thompson got up to pack and head into town. Before leaving, he picked out four raw cowhides, two baskets of dried mushrooms, and a bundle of beef jerky from the goods brought back from beyond the frontier, handed them to his son, and ordered, "Take these to your uncle. Don't go to school for the next few days—there are things at home that need you!"

"If I skip class, Old Master Smith will be angry!" David Thompson protested loudly. Seeing his father ignore him, he muttered under his breath, "These days we're covering policy essays, for the imperial exam..."

"When I tell you to go, you go! Enough with the nonsense!" Charles Thompson was clearly in a bad mood, glaring as he scolded.

David Thompson didn't know why his usually gentle father was angry, and didn't dare talk back. He hung all the goods on the mule's back and followed his father out of the house, dragging his feet. It was still early, the official road was deserted, and the autumn wind swept the early yellow leaves into the air, fluttering like colorful butterflies against the pale blue distant mountains—a dazzling scene tinged with desolation.

"The emperor might be going to war again. Our Shanggu soldiers have always had a reputation, haven't they?" At the fork in the road, Old Charles Thompson looked at his son's aggrieved face and sighed. Realizing these words were far beyond the understanding of a fourteen-year-old, he gave a wry smile and rode off.

"Going to war? That's a good thing, isn't it? Just the chance to join the army and make a name for myself." David Thompson watched his father's increasingly aged figure, puzzled. At the county school, he had often heard Old Master Smith, who had once followed Lord Yang Su in pacifying the south, boast of his own heroic deeds. Whenever he spoke of the army crossing the river in unstoppable force, dragging the Chen emperor out of a well, he would slap the table with gusto, seeming ten years younger.

"A real man in this world should achieve immortal fame—serve the ruler above, protect the people below. If it benefits the country, he should face death a hundred times without hesitation..." Old Master Smith would thus passionately display his youthful arrogance before the boys. At such times, David Thompson and the others would be entranced, as if they too had become Han Qinhu or He Ruobi, following the young Prince Jin in commanding the land. They never considered that, given their own status and family background, if they joined the army, they would only be cannon fodder, with daily chances to die a hundred deaths, and about as much chance of immortal fame as being struck by lightning.

Lost in thought, he soon arrived at the door of the "Youjian" Inn. In recent years, with the people impoverished, most families only ate two meals a day, and there was no business at the inn in the morning, so usually no fire was lit. To David Thompson's surprise, his uncle Michael Bolton was not in the kitchen preparing food, and the large inn was empty, not a soul in sight.

"Probably busy in the backyard!" David Thompson waited at the door for a while, then led his mount around to the back. The inn's backyard was his uncle's home, separated by two crumbling mud walls into a bare courtyard. David Thompson peeked in through the back gate and happened to see the person he least wanted to meet—his little aunt Mrs. Bolton-Brooks.

This Mrs. Bolton-Brooks was a famously shrewish woman in the area. She remained unmarried at home until nineteen, with no neighbors daring to propose. Her parents, having no other choice, accepted a bride price of ten strings of cash and married her off to Michael Bolton as a second wife. At that time, Michael Bolton's business was booming, and he cherished his new wife, who was over twenty years younger than himself, as if she were a treasure. But after joining the family, Miss Liu's temper flared, and soon she had scared off all the freeloading relatives and neighbors. If not for this, Michael Bolton's inn would never have survived until now. However, despite being such a capable housekeeper, she had never given the Zhang family an heir, which made Michael Bolton always think about taking another concubine. Whenever he timidly brought up the idea, Mrs. Bolton-Brooks would curse him out the door, finger pointed at his nose. After a while, he had no choice but to give up on this unrealistic hope.