Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 169 Giving a Suitable Hope
The statement that Chang'an and Luoyang would no longer be the centers of the Han Dynasty for a very long time reveals a great deal of information.

At least, powerful figures like Cao Kun's father no longer value Chang'an's opinions.

The most important matters of state are sacrifice and warfare, and these two are not to be encroached upon by feudal lords. This was an ironclad rule of almost every dynasty.

Now, Qiuhezhou is starting to encroach on the Great Wall defense line, which is as rude as when the State of Chu sent someone to ask the King of Zhou about the weight of the bronze tripod during the Spring and Autumn Period.

"So, has the fierce battle between the Grand Marshal and the Emperor come to an end?"

"We can't keep fighting. If we continue, it will be a lose-lose situation. Once we run out of strength, no matter who wins or loses, they will all be losers."

Let's make this clear first: you've already taken Jingkou Pass, so it's yours, and we won't contest it. However, the Cao family intends to try and secure the passes on either side of Jingkou Pass.

Once we win over the Cao family, we'll buy all the grain and fodder supplies for those passes from you. How about that? I'm a decent brother, aren't I?"

Yun Ce said, "This time you're really generous. But you also have to tell me why your treacherous old butler is being so kind to me?"

Cao Kun angrily replied, "It was I who was generous."

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "I believe you are generous to me, but even if you want to be generous, your family will not agree to this level of long-term cooperation."

Cao Kun said, "Do you still remember those heads you gave me?"

Yun Ce said, "That's for paying off debts."

"I knew it was to pay off a debt. I used a folk song to send the most beautiful head to Chang'an, saying that I had killed it in battle at Ghost King Mountain."

Oh, I didn't tell you about this beforehand. Don't thank me; it's what I should do as your brother helps you out.

Yun Ce looked down at his miserable body and sighed, "You could be any more shameless."

Cao Kun laughed loudly: "In this battle for Chang'an, a lot of criminals were arrested. These criminals were originally to be exiled to the Jimi Prefecture. I begged my father to get you a batch. Let me tell you, scholars make up 30% of this batch, young women make up 30%, and according to your preference, the remaining 40% are boys and girls, totaling 8,000 people."

Are you feeling much better now?

Yun Ce laughed happily, "He is indeed a good brother, no doubt about it. That Jade Bamboo Prince must have been obtained by Brother Cao in the battle of Ghost King Mountain. If Brother Cao needs it, I and my five hundred warriors will be your witnesses."

Cao Kun, unusually earnest, said to Yun Ce, "You're welcome. You deserve it."

Yun Ce said softly, "Does the Cao family also not think highly of Iron Enclosure Pass?"

Cao Kun pondered for a moment and said, "My uncle told me that we need to start preparing mentally for the possibility of the Iron Fortress being breached, and the Cao family also needs to start preparing countermeasures after the Iron Fortress is breached."

"Is the Great Wall defense line your prepared countermeasure?"

"That's just one of countless countermeasures, since Qiuhe Prefecture is right behind the Great Wall defense line."

Yun Ce remained silent.

Yun Ce is not the only visionary in this world, nor is he the only one who knows how to plan ahead. Over the years, although they have not developed much technology, their minds are just as intelligent as Yun Ce's.

He killed two thousand elite Japanese soldiers at Ghost King Mountain. The only people who truly valued this achievement were Qin Shu and his men, who were present on the battlefield. As for others, in the long and complex war of a thousand years, the feats of killing two thousand Japanese soldiers were countless and not worth writing about in detail. To write too much about it would reveal the pettiness beneath the big man's fur coat.

Because of the collapse of Ghost King Mountain, the Guifang people believe they have been punished by heaven and need to return to the plateau to reflect. They estimate that once they find the person who made the mistake and kill them, their reflection will be complete.

Taking advantage of the absence of Japanese soldiers in the wilderness, Cao Kun left Yun Ce with a considerable amount of supplies and then returned to Qiuhe Prefecture with many empty carts.

Yun Ce's skin gradually recovered. He was exposed to the sun during the day and burned by the fire at night. He also applied Peng Zeng brand growth serum before going to bed. By the fifth day, his skin had recovered, except that the blistered areas were red and the areas without blisters were white. He looked like a Dalmatian.

The chestnut horse didn't have this worry. It liked its newly grown red coat. After its whole body was covered with a layer of beautiful and soft new fur, even its inherent wildness seemed to have disappeared a lot. It would occasionally leave the camp to wander in the Gobi Desert, but it never went near Ghost King Mountain again.

Yun Ce's injuries have healed, and most of the wounded in the team have recovered as well. As for those who cannot recover, Yun Ce does not have any limb regeneration techniques and cannot help them.

On the seventh day, just as Yun Ce was preparing to lead his men back to Jingkou Pass, an envoy from Tiewei Pass arrived.

He thought the person who came would be arrogant, but to his surprise, it was Xue Wo, a middle-aged military officer with anxious eyes. As soon as he saw Yun Ce, he hurriedly said, "A young man like you can make a name for yourself anywhere. You should leave Tiewei Pass as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, He Qingfang's eyes reddened, and she choked up, saying, "We killed more than two thousand elite Japanese soldiers, three hundred heroes lost their lives on the battlefield, and the general almost died in the fire. What did we do wrong? As Han Chinese, why should we be driven out of Tiewei Pass?"

Xue Wo lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before speaking with difficulty: "You should have realized that Tiewei Pass does not trust outsiders. You always think that Tiewei Pass is cold and inhumane, but you don't know that Tiewei Pass also has its own difficulties."

For a thousand years, every Han soldier who died beneath the Iron Fortress Pass was a man of unwavering courage and integrity. Now, time is of the essence. We will no longer launch proactive attacks to provoke the Guifang forces, hoping that the Iron Fortress Pass can hold out a little longer, awaiting the day when our great Han Dynasty rises again.

Yun Ce said, "So you're aware of the decline of Tiewei Pass?" Xue Wo forced a smile and said, "The Guifang people are also well aware of it."

Yun Ce said: "Defend?"

Xue Wo nodded and said, "Hold on to the death."

"Aren't we going to consider other options?"

Xue Wo shook his head and said, "Over the past thousand years, we have tried every possible method and tested it countless times, but the final results have not been very good."

Although retreating and abandoning Tiewei Pass to fight the Guifang people closer to the Han Dynasty would have been the best course of action, unfortunately, for many years Tiewei Pass had become a cherished dream of the Han people, and abandoning it was no longer an option. Because if they abandoned it, the backbone of the Han people would be broken, and no one dared to defy the world.

Xue Wo's words were very pertinent and must have been the truth. Any minor changes, such as Yun Ce killing two thousand three hundred Japanese soldiers this time, were not enough to improve the overall situation at Tiewei Pass.

Those who carry totems will surely have a hard life. When ideals become burdens, their progress will become heavy and slow.

When Yun Ce recalled his first meeting with Zhou Chengming, he noticed that Zhou always had a gloomy expression on his face, and it seemed that he was never happy.

At that time, Zhang Min said he was worried about Tiewei Pass, worried that it would not be able to be defended. For the sake of Tiewei Pass, people like Zhou Chengming began to scheme for tribute, and even the poorly trained cavalry were hastily taken away.

From Xue Wo's words, Yun Ce could tell that in the past, there were Gui Fang people who pretended to be heroes supporting Tiemen Pass. At that time, Tiemen Pass trusted those heroes who came to defend Tiemen Pass on their own initiative. As a result, it was this trust that made Tiemen Pass pay a heavy price.

The next day, Yun Ce led his troops to break camp and return south.

Xue Wo escorted them thirty miles away, and then stood on a high place to watch Yun Ce and the others depart. It was clear that after spending two days together, he was willing to trust Yun Ce and the others and hoped that they could stay in Tiewei Pass. He even sent a messenger bird to deliver a message to Tiewei Pass. Unfortunately, there was still no news from Tiewei Pass until Yun Ce broke camp and left.

"The moon of Qin shines on the pass of Han, the soldiers on the long march have not returned. If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would not dare to cross the Black Mountain."

This is a poem that Yun Ce gave to Xue Wo when they parted ways.

Xue Wo liked it very much, and after reciting it over and over again, he would fold it up and hide it in his chest.

Qin Shu had also read the poem, and He Qingfang had naturally seen it as well. After reciting it many times, she looked at Yun Ce, who was riding a chestnut horse at the front, and said to Qin Shu, "He can actually write poetry, and he writes it so well."

Qin Shu looked up at Yun Ce, who was singing loudly, and said nonchalantly, "He's a nobleman... that's normal."

He Qingfang said angrily, "Don't push everything onto the nobles. I've seen nobles before, and many of them are as stupid as pigs and as dumb as oxen."

Qin Shu laughed and said, "That's not a nobleman, that's a pig, that's a cow. The one in front of you is the real nobleman."

He Qingfang shook her head dismissively, rode her horse to Yun Ce's side and said, "General, we don't have enough supplies. If we want to build a city in the area you have designated, the first thing we need to do is to prepare supplies. I am willing to go ahead and contact the various merchant caravans to see if we can get their support."

Yun Ce looked at He Qingfang in surprise and said, "You actually know about exchanging trade routes for merchants' support?"

He Qingfang said, "We have nothing but this one road to take."

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "No need, this matter has already been taken care of."

"That nobleman from Qiuhe Prefecture?"

“That’s right. In the future, we will use the products from the area near Jingkou Pass to exchange for goods, and eventually form our own caravans to complement those from Tiewei Pass. This is a method that was decided a long time ago.”

He Qingfang looked at Yun Ce suspiciously and asked, "It's already started?"

Yun Ce smiled and said, "It has already begun."

"how many people?"

"With 11,000 people and 300,000 mu of land already cultivated, we planted various kinds of rice and grains in the spring, and we will have our first batch of produce before autumn."

After hearing Yun Ce's words, He Qingfang silently retreated to Qin Shu's side and said to him, "You are right, he is indeed a true nobleman."

A smile appeared on Qin Shu's face as he said to He Qingfang, "I think we can have a child now."

He Qingfang laughed and said, "I also think that if I don't have a child now, I won't be able to have one anymore."

　One more chapter

　　
　
(End of this chapter)