Matthew Harris bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and said, “I want to join the army.”

　　“Join the army?”

　　“Yes, a real man should wield the sword to kill and achieve immortal feats. Now that Mr. Clark serves the Emperor and has established the capital at Xudu, this is the time for us to serve our country.”

　　Ryan Clark put down his bun and stared at Matthew Harris for a long time.

　　He sighed softly, “Tiger Head, would you listen to a word of advice from me?”

　　“Go ahead!”

　　“I know you are highly skilled, and I know your intentions.

　　But now is not the right time for us to join the army... I think, for now, we should focus on learning real skills and making ourselves stronger.

　　Master both the civil and martial arts, and then sell your talents to the house of the emperor.

　　But if your goods aren’t good, you won’t fetch a good price.

　　Look at the heroes of our time—aren’t they all highly capable? Not to mention those far away, just look at this Wuyin County... a mere county magistrate has forced us to leave our homes. Do you know why? It’s because our skills aren’t good enough, our reputation isn’t big enough. Otherwise, how could a small-time Cheng Ji act so arrogantly? Besides, even if we join the army now, without someone to recommend us, we’d have to start as common soldiers. Rushing to the front lines in battle, we wouldn’t earn much merit. Over time, before you achieve fame and success, you’d already become a wandering soul with no master.

　　Tiger Head, listen to me, let’s spend a few more years honing our skills. Once we’re truly capable and our names are known, maybe Mr. Clark will personally come to invite us to serve. Think about it, is it better to go unnoticed, or to be invited by others?”

　　Matthew Harris’s eyes sparkled, showing excitement.

　　“Frank, will Mr. Clark really come to invite us?”

　　“As long as we have real skills, Mr. Clark will definitely come to invite us.”

　　Matthew Harris couldn’t help but laugh foolishly, nodding repeatedly.

　　As for Ryan Clark, he closed his eyes, conserving his energy... He seemed very calm.

　　But in reality, Ryan Clark’s thoughts were surging.

　　If you talk about who has the brightest future, it’s still George Washington. But wanting to gain a foothold in Cao’s camp is no easy task...

　　Even if George Washington later issues the Order to Recommend the Worthy, without real ability, how could you possibly stand firm?

　　Now is truly not a good time to join George Washington.

　　Historically, at this stage, George Washington’s days were not easy.

　　At the very least, Ryan Clark knows that not long from now, George Washington will face a crushing defeat...

　　A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, but it was gone in an instant! Now is not the time to consider these things; it’s better to settle down in Jiyang first, then make plans. At the same time, Ryan Clark also felt a strong curiosity about his sister and brother-in-law, whom he had never met.

　　Jiyang, the Deng family?

　　……

　　After a short rest, the two families set out again.

　　More than ten years have passed since the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the first year of Zhongping, but the scars left by the war are still faintly visible.

　　Walking along the main road, sometimes you could go for an entire hour without seeing a single soul. In the desolate fields, you could occasionally see exposed, gleaming white bones... The weather was getting colder and colder. It was said that in the north, in places like Guanzhong, it had already snowed several times, and even Luoyang had seen its first snow.

　　The cold weather, the desolate wilderness, and those shocking scenes of devastation...

　　Ryan Clark lay on his father’s back, feeling endless bleakness in his heart.

　　In his previous life, he lived in a “prosperous age” and had never experienced the baptism of war. Although he had seen some things on TV and in movies, it never felt real. But now, he was witnessing the wounds of war with his own eyes, and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

　　Perhaps this is truly desolate!

　　But Ryan Clark knew that the future would be even more tragic than now...

　　The era of the Three Kingdoms, though passionate and stirring, also brought endless disasters.

　　He remembered reading a book in his previous life that recorded some statistics from the Three Kingdoms period. Before the tripartite division, the north had a population of about four million, nearly eight hundred thousand households; after the fall of Cao Wei, only five hundred and eighty thousand households and just over two million people remained in the north. In Bashu, during this period, there were also three to four million people, but when Shu fell, only two hundred and eighty thousand households and nine hundred and sixty thousand people were left; the situation in Jiangdong was relatively better—before the tripartite division, there were about two million people, and after the fall of Eastern Wu, fifty-two thousand households remained.

　　It sounds like Eastern Wu fared the best!

　　But in reality, if the Eastern Wu regime hadn’t waged constant campaigns against the Shanyue and captured large numbers of people, its population base might not have been stronger than Shu.

　　And after the Three Kingdoms, came the Five Barbarians’ chaos in China...

　　That was the darkest period in Han history, when less than one in ten northern Han people survived, and they were even treated as food by those foreign tribes, called “two-legged sheep.”

　　Ryan Clark suddenly shivered, instinctively clutching Chris Clark’s collar.

　　“Little Ryan, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

　　Don’t be fooled by how often Chris Clark scolds Ryan Clark; in private, he cares for Ryan Clark even more than The Bolton Family does.

　　“Dad, I’m fine!”

　　Ryan Clark snapped out of his thoughts, quickly forced a smile, and answered softly.

　　“If you feel unwell, you must tell Dad... Don’t try to tough it out.”

　　Those somewhat awkward words of concern made Ryan Clark feel a warm glow in his heart.