Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 235 The wheels should be laid flat (1)

The scenery of the North!

A thousand miles of ice!

Snowflakes are falling for thousands of miles!

After the heavy snow, the weather turned cold quickly, and even wearing thick cotton-padded clothes could not hide the chill in the air.

In this timeline, cotton entered the Central Plains around the same time as in the previous life. However, in the ancient times of the previous life, cotton was mostly regarded as an ornamental flower by royalty and nobility. In this life, someone discovered earlier that stuffing cotton into linen could provide better insulation against the cold, so cotton clothing and quilts appeared much earlier.

However, due to the difficulty of cultivation, the yield was low, and most of it was supplied to princes, nobles, and wealthy merchants.

The army's winter clothing should, in principle, be cotton-padded, but few in the court were willing to waste expensive cotton on these peasants. Perhaps, in the eyes of those in power, these peasants were born with lowly lives; if they died, so be it. What's the big deal? In war, people always die. As long as they didn't die themselves, those in power probably wouldn't care.

But Song Yan was different. He had a mother-in-law who was not short of money and doted on him. His soldiers were all equipped with cotton-padded winter clothes.

The warhorse galloped wildly against the cold wind, and Song Yan's cheeks were red from the wind. She felt as if her cheeks had cracked open, but her body was numb, so the pain wasn't particularly noticeable.

Although there was a difference of several days, Lei Yi's side had two thousand people on foot and also needed to transport carriages, while Song Yan's side claimed to be traveling light and galloping on horseback, so they might be able to catch up in no time.

After a period of time, his riding skills improved greatly. Feeling a bit tired, he tightened the reins and took a short break.

This time, Song Yan didn't bring too many people with him.

Only Hua Lianyue, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, and Bu Yu accompanied him.

Luo Tianyi also wanted to come, but her inner strength was depleted, and it wouldn't be easy for her to recover. She wanted to protect her brother-in-law, not become a burden to him.

Everyone says that snowflakes falling from the sky, though seemingly white, are actually quite dirty. Song Yan, however, paid no heed to such notions. As soon as he stepped off the carriage, he scooped a handful of snow from a tree branch and stuffed it into his mouth. His body heat melted the snow, which flowed down his throat and into his abdomen, bringing a slight chill. He couldn't help but shiver, and the thirst subsided a little.

They did not carry fresh water; their water bladders would freeze into ice blocks that could kill people.

After replenishing his fluids, Song Yan sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk to recover his strength. Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, whose cultivation levels were higher and whose strength was greater, scouted ahead. After a short while, the two returned: "Young Master, we can already see cart tracks and footprints ahead. They should be catching up soon."

Song Yan smiled. He was lucky this time; at least he didn't get lost. Of course, the biggest credit should go to Liu Yisheng for making a copy of the map.

His gaze swept over the warhorse; something was missing.

Saddle, stirrup, horseshoe.

Three-piece set for time travel to ancient times.

Compared to iron smelting and sugar refining, these three inventions should be considered the least technologically advanced yet most effective inventions.

However, Song Yan currently has no intention of developing the three-piece set. After all, he does not yet have any real cavalry under his command, and the three-piece set is too low-tech. Even if people just take a look at it and then study it carefully, they can probably make it after some attempts. That would not be strengthening himself, but rather aiding the enemy.

……

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, Lei Yi was clutching his hair.

He was neither an ordinary man nor a greenhorn inexperienced in battle. Ultimately, however, he was merely a minor officer under General Liang, mostly following orders and doing exactly what he was told. Leading two thousand soldiers alone on such a reckless and daring mission was a first for him.

When his lord told him about the plan, he was filled with excitement.

But when he actually took control of the plan, he found problems everywhere. At the very least, he didn't think he had any talent for acting. If he encountered the Ugulun tribe, he would probably be exposed on the spot.

Forget it, just take it one step at a time.

The general will catch up.

Thinking this way, I gradually felt at ease.

Without realizing it, I noticed the big guy's eyes were fixed on the carriage wheels, and I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Hey, Yang Tian, ​​what are you looking at?"

Yang Tian was that burly man who stood nine feet tall.

This name is very unique; it's practically Tianyang read backwards.

Every time Lei Yi heard this name, he couldn't help but find it funny, and he almost mispronounced it several times.

However, Lei Yi also greatly admired Yang Tian. Among the two thousand soldiers, he was the only one wearing heavy armor and had never fallen behind. His huge and strong body seemed to have inexhaustible strength.

Yang Tian habitually raised his hand to scratch his hair, but only grabbed the cold helmet. He lowered his arm awkwardly and said, "I was thinking, sister... what exactly did the general mean when he said he didn't want anyone taller than a wheel to survive?" "Hmm?" Lei Yi asked suspiciously.

"I want to ask, should this wheel be placed vertically or horizontally?"

Lei Yi shuddered. Sure enough, few of the people who came out of the Luo family were normal. Even this seemingly honest and simple fellow could ask such a chilling question. Thinking of the Japanese pirates struggling and howling in the flames, and the mounds of corpses, Lei Yi felt he understood Song Yan's meaning: "They should have been laid flat."

The wheel, laid flat, was about half a foot high.

General Song Yan is far too merciful; he actually gave these damned foreigners a chance to live.

Just then, a rapid sound of hooves came from behind. Lei Yi turned around and saw five fast horses galloping across the snow.

Some of the black-armored warriors instinctively prepared for battle.

As they drew closer and could clearly see the leader's face, almost all the black-armored warriors wore excited yet reassuring smiles.

General, you have finally appeared.

The anxiety that had been hanging over them finally subsided. As soon as Song Yan dismounted, many soldiers surrounded him, calling out, "General, General!"

It's like a backbone.

Although news of Song Yan's abduction had not spread and the ordinary soldiers were unaware of it, it felt as if something was missing when Song Yan was gone. When Song Yan reappeared, the previously restless morale of the troops instantly stabilized. Seeing this, Lei Yi couldn't help but sigh that even the former General Dou and General Liang did not have such prestige among the soldiers.

Lei Yi understood that this army belonged to the Song Dynasty, not the Ning Dynasty.

"Captain Lei, how far are we from Wugulun tribe?" After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Song Yan immediately got down to business.

"There are still less than ten miles to go. At the speed of the carriage, it will take about an hour."

The snow was so deep that even the carriage moved very slowly.

Song Yan glanced at the sky; it was just past noon.

"Everyone, rest where you are."

"Prepare food, make sure I eat and drink my fill, and restore my strength to its peak."

"Wait until dark, then put on the armor inside the cotton-padded coat, and remove the helmet and face shield."

……

Ughulun.

As a middle-ranking tribe on this grassland, their lives were not much better than those of the Haoshi tribe.

They naturally received more spoils from the royal court, but the Wugulun tribe also had a larger population—over 20,000 people including women, children, and the elderly, with over 5,000 skilled warriors. Feeding so many people required an enormous amount of food. Normally, many of their elderly would retreat into the mountains to die, giving the younger generation and children a chance to survive.

But they were lucky.

The Ningguo wedding procession would happen to pass through the Wugulun tribe.

They would warmly welcome the wedding procession to rest in the tribe, and even provide meals. Of course, in return, they could take some grain from the procession's convoy.

If they were lucky, some women from the Central Plains might be spared, and the cowardly Ningguo soldiers had no courage to stop them.

The wedding procession should have arrived a few days ago, but it hasn't shown up yet. Some of the tribe's young warriors are getting anxious, and even though it's freezing cold outside, they can't help but stand on high ground and look out.

This has been the case for the past few days.

Some even suspected that the foolish governor of Pingyang was planning to break the agreement between the two sides.

Chief Wugulun Alie didn't take this to heart. Young people just lacked patience; the heavy snow a few days ago would naturally slow the caravan down. He just needed to wait patiently. As for the Pingyang Prefect Qian Yaozu, he was a cowardly good-for-nothing, worse than a groundhog; he didn't have the guts to break the agreement.

"Here they come. Here they come."

Inside the tent, Wugulun Alie, who was dozing, suddenly heard the commotion outside. He opened his cloudy eyes, and although he told himself he didn't care, a restless feeling still welled up inside him. When he got outside the tent, he saw many young men from the tribe already mounted their warhorses, brandishing whips and charging forward in a vast, overwhelming wave, accompanied by the unique shouts of the Jurchens.

Some even drew their scimitars, which gleamed with a chilling light in the moonlight.

(End of this chapter)