Chapter 1008

*Splash—splash—* Waves lapped against the hull, creating a rhythmic sound. Before long, the vessel pulled into the dock. Zu Dashou stood up with a heavy heart and stepped onto the embankment. Looking at the land beneath his feet—a place both familiar and foreign—he was overcome with emotion. In the third month of the fifteenth year of Emperor Chongzhen, after being besieged in Jinzhou for seven months and consuming his final reserves of grain, he had been forced to open the gates and surrender. He was subsequently taken to Shenyang, where he was ostensibly treated with importance but in reality held under house arrest. He had never again been able to set foot on the western bank of the Liao River. Now, back on old soil, he felt an indescribable sensation.