"Where are we?" The back and forth shaking made me feel a little conscious from time to time. When I woke up completely, I at least knew that we seemed to have passed Changsha but did not stop for a moment, and immediately turned in another direction.
We had already set up camp once, and this was the second day since we landed, but no one came to see me for yesterday's dinner.
"We are heading towards General Huang's camp in the north." The person who answered me was a sergeant standing beside the car. My sister was not there.
I got off the car, tidied myself up, and when I passed a river, I washed my face so that I could quickly get back to my best mental state.
It was already past noon, and we marched north for another half an hour before stopping for lunch. I ate so much that I almost groaned and bit my cheek.
A messenger found me after dinner and asked me to go to the front. I thought it was the camp, so I put on my own clothes, got on my horse and quickly followed him to the front.
The ground along the way was mostly red soil, but fortunately it wasn't very muddy. If I hadn't been to Changsha as a governor, I would have mistakenly thought the soil here was stained red with blood. As we walked through the valleys of the hills, we always felt that someone would ambush us, as if there was someone watching us on every mound of soil.
I saw my sister, who was on a hill with Guan Hai, Ye Jian, Wang Lian, Su Fei and others. The sun was setting, making the silent scene in front of me look murderous and desolate.
"How far are we from the camp?" This was my first sentence after I rode closer on horseback. Since everyone was there, I omitted all greetings.
"It's eighty miles, but we won't go into the main camp. We'll camp forty-five miles east of the main camp."
"Why?"
"Otherwise, the army and warships will not be able to deploy, and the flood will flood the south bank unevenly. Moreover, we can form a horn and live in the district star."
"Have you contacted them yet?"
"General Huang has already made arrangements. Let's go there first and then discuss it."
This was the first time that my sister and I finished talking without any greetings. After that, my sister immediately said a few words to the others.
"I order Xie Zhi, Wang Lian, and Su Fei to lead the Yuzhang Army as the vanguard and set up camp by the water. Our warships will arrive at our camp in two days at the earliest. Be prepared. Guan Hai, Ye Jian, and I will set up camp behind the Yuzhang Army. All other generals and officers at all levels will return to their original units and make sure to arrange patrols and garrisons before midnight tonight."
Walking ninety miles in four hours, not counting the twists and turns, is indeed a bit anxious, but it is the best way. I am ready to set off.
"Zi Rui, please stay for a moment. I have something to tell you." My sister was quickly explaining some details to the officers at all levels below. I listened carefully at the side and was really surprised. I didn't expect that this trip to Wudi Pingluan would make my sister so experienced.
"What is it, sister?"
"Raise your big flag and show the Tianlang. Our spies have discovered their spies. They will definitely know about our arrival. Why not let you come out and let them know who is coming? With you, I have heard a lot of strange and scary rumors about you in Wu. I think they will know too. Just go and scare them." My sister smiled at me. Everyone who heard it laughed, but there was one person who was an exception. He laughed, but it was definitely a sneer. However, I don't care. I think one day, I will become a good brother with him. I feel that my heart is very open, and it may also be because that same face makes me full of goodwill and I can't have a trace of malice.
"We must set up a sentry post when we are stationed to prevent the enemy from catching us off guard." My sister was still worried and gave me a few instructions in front of so many people, which made me want to retort.
I rode on horseback with the cavalry in the first team, while Su Fei and Wang Lian led the chariots and infantry in the second team. They also told me that all the baggage was left in Changsha, and my northern brothers were also left in Changsha. This was my sister's idea. The reason why Zishi was asked to stay and manage everything there was because his arm was dislocated again. They couldn't tell me the specific reason, and they didn't know. I still remembered what my master's wife said at the time. It's a pity that Hua Tuo went to practice medicine in various places again, otherwise if he had followed that method, maybe this would have been solved with a knife. And all the family members stayed behind, and Gan Ning and others stayed for a few days because of the master's order. In the end, my sister was in charge again.
The wind was blowing from the right, which was good news for us. It was a tailwind for our warships heading northwest, so we should be able to arrive soon, and thus conquer Mufu Mountain before my birthday. Then, I rode home overnight, not to celebrate my birthday, but to listen to Zuo Ci tell me something I was eager to know.
I was just thinking about my plans for the next few days when Su Fei came up from behind and offered his suggestion: "It was reported that General Huang only sent a small number of troops to support our army. I am afraid that the enemy will send troops to harm them, and they are still fifty miles away from their camp, and the communication is poor. If the enemy sets a trap and waits for us to enter the designated place, we will suffer a great loss. Why don't you and I lead the cavalry first? Our thousands of cavalry can basically ensure that the enemy has no chance. Let me also choose the place where our warships will be docked and the location of the water fort, and I can also plan the camp first."
"That's a good idea, let's do it."
An hour and a half later, just as it was getting dark, I saw sporadic torches on the open space in front of me, and a man was riding a horse towards me.
"Zirui, but you!" The voice was loud and clear. Although we were galloping, I could still hear it because I was in the front row.
"That's right, Ziyu, how are you?" I think my voice is pretty good. When I got closer, I turned over and dismounted. Ziyu also got to the ground and held my arms, looking at me carefully. The sound of horse hooves behind us immediately became uneven and gradually weakened.
I guess this meeting wasn't very successful.
"It's too dark, there's not even a moon, I can't even see what you look like."
"It's only the second day of the new year, of course there's no moon in the sky."
I turned around and said, "Brother Su, you and the brothers go over and settle down. General Jiang and I have something to discuss."
Fortunately, it had just rained, otherwise we would have been buried in the dust. Even so, the deafening sound of thousands of war horses passing by made Ziyu and I speak at the beginning. Although we spoke at the top of our lungs, we could only listen hard but could only hear "Ah... Ah!" and nothing.
When they get to the fire, we can have a good chat.
"How did you recognize me so quickly?"
"This thing in your hand is too conspicuous."
"I see. I thought your eyes had become as good as a night owl's."
“Did you have fun?”
"It's OK, you know? I brought back some very good warriors to Jingzhou."
"Oh, it seems you haven't gone crazy yet."
"Well, I almost lost my life several times."
"But it's okay. After all, I'm back. It's good to be back."
"Don't imitate the teacher's tone again, okay?"
"When are we going to fight?" It was getting dark, so we quickly got to the point.
"It's very difficult now. Every day of delay will cost us a lot of money in food and fodder. We also want to act as soon as possible. Plus, you guys are here again. The enemy only has more than 10,000 people, so we have a great chance of winning. But they have many hidden stakes underwater. We tried to attack several times and attacked in several directions, but we failed to reach the shore."
"Have you ever thought about surrendering?"
"This Qu Xing is a bandit. Of course, he is now a pirate, but he still robs and robs people. We cannot accept such a person. He will lose the support of the people."
"Then why can't we first persuade him to surrender and then convict him?"
"He has more than 10,000 men, and we are surrounding them now. If he finds something wrong and lets his men cause trouble in our army, many of them are habitual bandits. If we take them in and they cause trouble in the future, what should we do?"
"So how is Brother Chen and Chen Ou doing?"
"I don't know. The enemy is also very strange. They don't look like ordinary bandits, nor are they Dong Zhuo's army. According to their report, the enemy doesn't have uniform clothing and seems to be put together at the last minute, but their marching and deployment are very methodical. Now we are stuck there. The enemy is in Zigui, and we are in Yiling, separated by Wushan Mountain. We are just wasting time like this. I can't beat you, and you can't beat me either."
"The chaos in Yangzhou has been settled. If we can solve this problem, we can now say that we have taken over the three states of Jing, Yang and Jiao. This plan is truly a rare masterpiece."
"Did your trip to the North inflate your ego? You've become thick-skinned, too."
In this way, they laughed at each other again.
"Is there any new news from Yizhou?" I brought up another topic that was so serious that he would never mention it, but I wanted to know.
"No, not long after you left, Yizhou completely cut off contact with the outside world."
"Oh." I nodded, and then I didn't say anything. I just listened to him talk about the situation in Mufu Mountain.
The current Mufu Mountain has become a large island running from east to west, about 30 miles long and more than 10 miles wide from north to south. There are about 10,000 bandits on the island. As this winter is not too cold, they have been able to hold on on the island until now. They must have prepared enough food, at least they did not seem to be hungry during a large-scale battle a few days ago. But the preparations for winter clothes do not seem to be sufficient.
But when he was about to go back, I stopped him and asked, "Do you think the weather will suddenly get colder?" Because the weather this winter was abnormal, it was not surprising to see that the opponent was wearing thin clothes. But Ziyu kept trying to let me know that the opponent didn't have enough winter clothes, maybe he knew that the weather would suddenly get colder. He and I are close friends, so I think I didn't hear the implication wrongly.
"I think... yes! And I think it will get cold in a few days!" Ziyu said seriously.
"Then we don't have to worry about secret agents, okay." I didn't let him hear what I said, but what he heard made him feel more at ease.
"Then we must distribute our winter clothes. Once the weather changes, the water surface within a dozen miles in front of us will be frozen through. We will attack. No, let's keep it frozen for a few more days. Once we attack, it will become a game of making snowmen." I muttered this bad idea to myself several times, waiting for the arrival of the team behind with a wicked smile.
Some of the guides from the master's place were still telling me the details of the terrain here. Su Fei also checked the water depth and the conditions of the shore where the boat was going to be moored. Finally, he nodded to me, and I nodded in return.
The follow-up troops arrived a little late, but the skilled technology ensured that within half an hour, the new camp surrounded by wooden fences entered a state of rest. I took the initiative to command the night patrol, because I really couldn't sleep at all. I also discussed Ziyu's ideas with them. They went to the master's camp to discuss this matter tomorrow. They seemed to lack confidence and enthusiasm for Ziyu's ideas. After my sister gave me instructions, she could no longer suppress her sleepiness and quickly went into her own account office.
I led hundreds of sentries to do my first night patrol mission, which was a bit new.
But there was a heavy fog that night, and I couldn't see anything ten steps away on the river through the fence. I could only see our torches burning the fog a few feet from the river into a dark red, and the wisps of gloomy moisture made everyone feel a little cold. I ordered them to walk around more, because I thought this weather was the best time for a night attack, and I hoped they wouldn't really attack. If they didn't attack, it would show that Qu Xing was definitely a fool; but if they attacked, it would show that I was a bad guy.
Walking along the fence along the river, I felt a little scared, but I couldn't disturb the rest of the whole camp without a base.
Finally, I felt that I had to find a way to prevent myself from being unable to do anything and being so anxious.
I saw the lights in the camp and had an idea. I took off my bow and arrow and ordered people to find some loose and flammable cloth and stuff, wrapped it around the arrow, lit it, and then randomly shot it in a certain direction on the water. The fire on the arrow dyed the white mist red, and it seemed that there was nothing in the sky, so ethereal that it made people intoxicated. But then it was lost in the water in the distance, proving that there was indeed no enemy ship at this distance, in that direction, and at this time. I thought this method was questionable, and after shooting, I also felt that it was indeed not very good. Then someone ran to me and asked me what was going on. I explained it, and most people said it was a good idea. But one of the old soldiers obviously had a different opinion, because he shook his head.
"It's better to be clear. I'm you. Yes, uncle, is there anything wrong with me doing this?"
"Lord Rong Bing, on a foggy day, the sounds are particularly obvious. We can easily sense all kinds of sounds if we just stay still and listen. If you shoot arrows like this, if the enemy is on the river, they will know that we don't know the situation on the river. And if the enemy wants to attack by surprise, I think it is more likely to go by land. Because there is no wind now, and the rowing sound is too loud for the enemy to detect. And unless the enemy knows that there will be a heavy fog from the beginning, if they go out now, I am afraid they themselves don't know where they will go."
"You are a veteran, right? Who are your family members?" I admire his knowledge and understand that this is what is called experience. I know that this is accumulated over time, and this is what I lack most.
"Yes, I am a veteran of Jingzhou. It has been more than 20 years, and I am almost 50 years old. There is no one at home anymore, so I can only beg for food in the army. Now I can still be a sergeant, but in the future I may only be a cook. If I die of illness while I can still stay in the army, it will be a very good ending." He is very open-minded. Perhaps those who have been in the army for decades do not take life and death lightly, because on the battlefield they are still living people, and in a moment even the last trace of life in his body may disappear completely.
"You shouldn't be a sergeant. I will discuss with them tomorrow. You can be a marching captain, commanding several hundred men. This way, when you are old, the government will take care of you in your old age."
"I would like to thank you for your kindness, General. However, I only know these unimportant common sense. I am afraid I can't do the things of marching and commanding."
"That's fine." I felt like I was showing off my seniority. "We will take care of the planning and deployment of troops. But these things of yours can save lives when you are a general, and they are the lives of many people. How can they not be important?"
"Then I would like to thank you for your promotion."
I told him to be less polite, asked him a few words about the weather, and asked his name and the military brigade he belonged to, then I resumed my patrol and guard duty.
As the night went on, the weather started to get really cold. The white air I exhaled quickly dissipated into the fog, as if we were also creating the fog. I felt that my childish temper could not be changed, because I took a few deep breaths and exhaled vigorously several times, enjoying the pleasure of exhaling clouds and mist.
However, if I stop and listen, I can indeed hear many sounds, which merge into the sound of nature and even make me deeply intoxicated. But after I stop, I feel cold so I have to walk around frequently to keep warm. But when I walk, I can only hear the sound of the soil under my feet.
Nothing happened that night, the enemy did not come to rob our camp, and we did not see them until the next morning when it was light. I thought it must be because my divine power frightened the enemy, and I was intoxicated by this idea.
I also started to feel sleepy, and the more light it got, the sleepier I felt. I could only walk around to stay awake, but to be honest, I was getting more and more lazy; but the whole camp hadn't gotten up yet, and the other brothers hadn't rested either. At least I was my teacher's student, and I felt that this sentence was nonsense, but what I wanted to express was this very simple content: I would not let myself rest first, just because I was the leader here.
No matter how tired I am, I still have to go with the commander to save my life. Who is at stake? The commander or my dear elder sister, Princess Yinling. I really want to find something to hold up my two pairs of eyelids that always want to hug each other. This also makes me think of getting married quickly. I feel that everything in this world is in pairs. This may be what the ancients said: Things are born in pairs, the body has left and right, and each has a wife.
Finally, the whole army got up, and I hurried to report that my sister was in good spirits. Usually, if she slept well, she would always be in a good mood. I quickly reported that nothing happened last night, and also reported the situation of the very experienced veteran. I wanted to sneak back to sleep, because I knew that the soldiers who were on night watch at this time had begun to sleep, and I didn't need to pretend to be a hero.
"Zirui, I thought about your plan last night, or it should be Ziyu's plan. I think it is very likely. I think if this winter is really that cold, then that plan will be a very good plan. So, you come with me to your master." The last sentence is completely fatal to me now.
In this way, I was dragged onto the horse by my sister with great pain and reluctance, and headed east with her. Wang Lian and Ye Jian were traveling with me, while Guan Hai and Su Fei stayed behind. I also noticed that the armor of the accompanying guards was not in good order, which reminded me of what I had to do. There were indeed many details that needed to be considered, which made me feel much better.
When we set out, the fog had thinned a lot, and by the time we reached the master's camp, it had almost dissipated. However, there were many clouds in the sky, and the sun was always hiding, which made me a little disappointed as I wanted to at least get some sun.
After a night of hard work, the area in my mouth where I bit yesterday was a little swollen and painful. I kept rubbing the wound to make it feel better. Finally, I thought of a way to distract myself and forget about the injury. Fortunately, I soon found something that could make me forget about the injury in my mouth.
The place where we camped was a flat land near the water, but the master's camp was built on the hillside, facing Mufu Mountain. It was very imposing and layered, as if there were hundreds of thousands of people here. The master was really an old hand at using troops, and I must learn this from him.
"Why don't you go and pay your respects to the Master when you see him?"
"Where?"
"Are you blind? I really want to pull your eyes out." The elder sister bit her lip and pointed at Chun angrily.
I quickly dismounted and bowed down to the master in full military uniform in front of the big tent. Even if I didn't know him, the master's aura among the crowd could let everyone know what a commander is and who is the commander.
The master was so happy that he didn't say anything. He quickly came over to help me up and said, "Good boy, I feel like you are now as powerful as the rumors say you are!"
"Looks like a beast, doesn't it?" I laughed and said unscrupulously. When the rumors about me were mentioned, I also wanted to laugh.
"Haha, Zirui is back just in time, the New Year is coming soon, Monkey... uh, your teacher, the governor of the state misses you very much. Kong Ming misses you too." He suddenly became serious, but soon couldn't help laughing, and pulled me into the big tent with a big laugh. His last sentence reminded me of the bad guy in our family.
Once we entered the inner tent, we met each other. I have seen Ziyu before. Apparently, the one with the surname Fengshen or something, I think in their words it is Yuriyes, and his name seems to be a young Spartan. I have to greet him properly. After all, he has been away from his people to train soldiers for us, and his temperament is very similar to mine. His hair seems to be influenced by his master, at least he can tie a bun at the back of his head, and with that Han robe, he is indeed no different from a strong Han man, except that he is darker.
I still remember that he was a Spartan, and they were a strong nation. So, in order to show that I knew him well, I directly competed with him. When we hugged, I deliberately used force. He also understood what I meant and cooperated very well, and immediately used force. Our clothes were stretched so tight that they made noises. It seemed that in an instant, our clothes would be torn immediately, but I think it should be his robe that was torn first, not my armor. Now everyone was silent, watching the two big men strangle each other, and all they could hear was the crisp sound between the joints.
"Okay, okay, what are you doing? Can't you greet each other in a more polite way?" The master quickly separated the two of us warmongers.
We all met again after a long time, and the greetings made me forget all my sleepiness.
When the elder sister brought up Ziyu's plan, everyone jumped out of their excitement, and fell silent for a while, and then some whispered. The elder sister asked Ziyu directly: "Jiang Wei, why do you think the weather will definitely get cold, and in the next few days?"
"Ziyu, you've discussed this plan with me, and I know that if the weather suddenly gets cold, it will be very convenient for us to attack, but how did you come up with this idea? I also want to ask you."
"Master, Yinling... Princess," from this title, it seems that Ziyu has also learned martial arts from the master. He bowed to everyone and said, "These are not enough to be used as evidence, but the changes in the world all have precursors, and the magic of nature has its reasons. I recall that in previous years, when winter came, snakes and rats disappeared without a trace. This winter, when the weather is warm, snakes are often seen coming out of their holes, and rats are often a disaster. When it comes to the twelfth month, the snakes suddenly disappear without a trace. The day before yesterday, the warehouse manager reported that rats were in a state of chaos, running wild and reckless, and fearless of being hunted and killed. In the kitchens, there is often a lack of fish and meat, and it is all caused by rats. People say: When snakes flee and rats hide, there will be a severe cold. Doesn't this incident show that there will be a rare and severe cold in the next few days?"
"Zirui, what do you think about this matter?" The master asked me directly for my opinion. It was obvious that he thought highly of me, which made me feel flattered.
"That's true. The most urgent thing is that we should at least prepare the winter clothes and distribute them quickly, and then prepare to attack from the ice overland. We may need to prepare some pulleys. We also need to be prepared to prevent them from escaping from the ice.
"You think it's going to get cold, too?"
"Yes, I believe in Ziyu's judgment. At least if it gets colder our losses will be much less, and the other side's losses will definitely be much greater than ours. Of course we have to be prepared to keep warm." I also thought that if we attack, we must choose to do it in the middle of the night, because that is when I am the sleepiest, and I think they will definitely not be much better.
The master also sought the opinions of other generals. They also felt that as the weather got colder, the dozen miles of waterway ahead would become a dry road, and if snow accumulated on the mountains, the enemy would be in great pain, and we would have a great chance of success.
"I hope so now. After all, the twelfth lunar month should look like the twelfth lunar month, and it really doesn't look like it now. Okay, everyone, get ready immediately. If it doesn't get cold, we must take Mufu Mountain by water before the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. We can't delay any longer." Master made the final decision, but now I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep for at least some time.
Master didn't say anything more to me. They just said hello to me, recognized the two newcomers from the east, and then hurried to do their work. We immediately returned to the camp. We didn't know how much work was waiting for us to do, maybe it was because I didn't know how much work I had to deal with.
"Cotton-padded clothes, pulleys... If the weather doesn't get colder, won't all of these be wasted?" On the way back, some people still raised some objections. Indeed, this does have the meaning of gambling on luck.
"It can't be considered a waste, because if it gets really cold and we can't seize the opportunity, then we will be in a more passive position. We will lose such a good opportunity, and the casualties will definitely be much higher than fighting a group of shivering people in the ice and snow. And we have to be prepared for the cold weather to hit, and nearly 100,000 soldiers will be frozen to death. You have to think about it. It's the twelfth lunar month now. Even if we are gambling, at least we are gambling on something that is natural and right. We have a great chance of winning."
"Then let's just wait and see. I also think that things will change in the next few days." My sister showed strong trust, which turned into confidence. Unfortunately, every time she started to show strong confidence, I started to feel guilty.
After returning to the camp, we were really busy, but the good thing was that many of our soldiers came from the north, and many of them had played with the sleds used on snow and ice. Now we just needed to make some big and sturdy ones. Our requirement was that each sled could have at least eight people, so we found the eight heaviest people to try it out. As a result, I was quickly selected as one of the weights because I was a head taller than the others. This proposal was put forward by Ye Jian, and was immediately advocated by the commander-in-chief, and soon passed by all.
As a result, although we had discussed and handed over the winter clothing pulley and other matters, I still had to go with seven other strong men to test the prototype. In front of them, I obviously looked very thin, but I still had to be the test product. Eight people were on top. They laid some planed wooden boards underneath and let two horses pull it. Lu Ban's invention must be very ingenious. We did feel some ice. But the pulley below was obviously dissatisfied and kept creaking, but fortunately, the thing I was most afraid of, that it would collapse and fall to the ground, did not happen. My sister also discussed with others about reinforcing certain parts, and asked everyone to do it in this way.
"Were you a carpenter in your previous life?" I felt that the sister was very knowledgeable and even made me feel that she was like the descendant of Lu Ban.
"If I was a carpenter in my previous life, you must have been a piece of wood. I owe you too much. I have been suffering for you in this life."
"Gui, can I ask if my beard has offended you?"
"Don't you know that before a carpenter makes something, he has to cut off all the branches and leaves first? I will recall some things from my past life. Now follow me!"
Guan Hai was also in the big tent. When we saw his cold face, my sister and I swallowed our jokes and everyone immediately turned serious from laughing.
"We don't have enough winter clothes." Brother Guan started with a concise and clear opening statement.
"How much?"
"I have sent people to transport winter clothes from Changsha to the former Jingzhou army, but there is still a big gap in quantity, because we still have nearly 10,000 soldiers coming from Wujun, and these people have not prepared any warm clothes."
"Then let's ask the Changsha army for some. I'll write a letter right away and have someone send it there on horseback."
Everyone below suddenly fell silent because the curtain at the entrance of the tent was suddenly lifted, but no one came in. Only a bone-chilling cold wind blew straight into everyone's faces in the direction of the trembling curtain.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, because the big tent faced south! This seemed to have happened too quickly!
"Get someone here quickly." Only the elder sister was not surprised at all. She continued writing furiously.
As soon as the messenger arrived, my sister put down her pen and gave some instructions, such as asking him to ride the fastest horse.
Then she gave an order to Su Fei: "Order people to meet the fleet southward along the water's edge, notify the fleet not to come here, and quickly return to the place where we first landed to dock to avoid loss of ships, and let them prepare for anti-freezing and icebreaking." Su Fei seemed a little surprised, but he still nodded repeatedly and took the order and went out.
"Now we just have to wait, everyone go back first." My sister looked a little tired, but she seemed to be still thinking about something.
After everyone has left, I want to say a few words.
"Brother, I'm a little tired. If there's nothing important to do, go back first and let me rest. I know you haven't slept all night, so you should go back and rest as well. Let Brother Guan take care of the alert."
"Sister, you have to have a good rest. I'm leaving first." I felt sorry for my loved ones in front of me, but I would not insist on my sister's request.
When we stepped out of the tent, the wind was very strong. I could hardly open my eyes, and the sky was getting dark. Everything went according to Ziyu's wishes and our expectations, but it happened too quickly and too coincidentally.
When I returned to the tent, I was not sleepy at all. I seemed very excited and came out from time to time to see what was happening outside.
At noon on the third day of the twelfth lunar month in the second year of Zhongping, the first snow of this winter finally came in Jingzhou. I still remember that I was in front of the tent at that time, with my arms pointing straight to the sky, wanting to embrace the beautiful snow flowers falling from the sky.
That was also the first time I saw the quiet Shogunate Mountain shrouded in mist and snow between the water and sky.