Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 322 This is a war of the whole people

If you look at the Guifang people from their own perspective, you'll find that they are actually quite nice.

Words like hardworking, hospitable, generous, and magnanimous, which are generally used to praise one's own family or community, can also be applied to them.

Especially this little girl from the Guifang tribe, Nana, has no other faults except that she wants to kill all the Han people, including Yun Ce.

Seeing her adorable, greedy way of eating barbecue, Yun Ce wanted to let her experience the pain of separation and death as soon as possible. After all, she was a child who had been well protected by her elders and did not know the hardships of life.

Nana's grandfather, the old man who came down from the battlefield of Tiewei Pass, had collected three heads of Han soldiers under his command. He used the merit of these three heads to obtain a lot of rewards, and finally he was able to get money and livestock to start a family. Although his son died in the explosion at Guiwang Mountain, he was left with a lovely granddaughter like Nana.

If the old man, with his only remaining bloodline—a beautiful, lively, and foul-mouthed granddaughter—continued to herd livestock and gather for a living on the Qinghe Plateau, they would be a happy family.

He insisted on taking his granddaughter to Han soil again, wanting to relive his past glory of killing three Han people. That would be bad. Not to mention, the old man was clearly a very wise person with a clear understanding of the Han people. Yun Ce would have been fine if he didn't know such a person, but now that he did... it was just a matter of course.

After Nana finished eating the meat, she used her fine teeth to gnaw on the scraps of meat on the skewer. Only after she had even gnawed away all the bark on the skewer that was soaked in meat juice did she reluctantly put down the skewer and ask Yun Ce, "Brother Lin, is this the Han Chinese way of grilling meat?"

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "Not really, it's just a way of grilling meat in the army, nothing strange about it."

"Hehe, the fiercer the battle with the Han army, the more good things we can learn from the Han people. Yu Luo, being brave in battle is important, but learning some good skills from the Han people is even more important."

This time, once we enter Han territory, we probably won't be going back. The land at Cangying Mountain no longer grows crops, and the livestock have almost completely grazed the grass.

If we don't move to a different place, we'll starve to death.

Entering Han territory is one thing; whether we can hold it is another. The Han people are weak. I never worry about whether our warriors can defeat them; I worry that we will have the Han people's fertile land, yet be unable to feed ourselves.

Yun Ce asked in bewilderment, "Fertile land can grow crops. We can just go and gather them. There is water and grass there, and livestock can live there. How can we not be able to feed ourselves?"

Nana chimed in, "Yes, yes, I'm very diligent. I can pick a whole basket of snow wheat in a day."

The old man smiled and shook his head, saying, "This time, the Priest of the Prison said that we need to set aside a large area of ​​land specifically for planting those crops that originally grew wild."

I heard that in Chang'an, a Han Chinese man planted crops that grew in the wild into the ground. Later, he harvested a great many crops. The prison priest said that this method is very suitable for our current situation, allowing us to grow a large amount of grain in the rear.

Rain is falling, and you will soon be going to the battlefield. Once you get there, remember to search for Han Chinese who know how to farm, especially prisoners. Don't kill them easily. Ask them clearly: killing those who don't know how to farm is a military achievement, while capturing those who do know how to farm to help you farm is a treasure.

When the troops are being trained, remember to tell everyone this news; it's very important to us.

Yun Ce asked in surprise, "You know Master Lingyu?"

The old man chuckled and said, "Although Master Lingyu commands my Ghost Fang army and is supreme, he is the most approachable person. He can work with the artisans in the city, gather with the women who gather, herd livestock with the shepherds, and fight alongside the soldiers. There is nothing strange about seeing him."

Nana jumped up and hugged the old man's neck, saying, "I want to be Master Lingyu's maid."

The old man hugged Nana and laughed, "My Nana is so beautiful, Master Lingyu will definitely like you."

Yun Ce scratched his head and said to Nana, "I just gave you meat, and you said you wanted to marry me."

Nana shyly threw herself into the old man's arms, and the old man laughed heartily, making the already cheerful camp even more cheerful.

When the crescent moon was high in the sky, Yun Ce rode his great horned horse to go on night patrol. His commotion was quite loud, which awakened many vigilant Gui Fang people. The old man, lying in his thick sheepskin coat, said to Yun Ce, who had already finished getting ready, "Be careful."

Yun Ce nodded, bid farewell to the people in the camp, and rode his horned horse into the dimly lit wilderness. No one saw a long, thin thread shoot up from the ground, burrow into the old man's nostril, and head straight for the back of his head.

When Yun Ce returned to the camp after patrolling the wilderness until dawn, he found that the camp, which had been cheerful and lively the night before, was now filled with sorrow.

Only after inquiring did I learn that the highly respected elder Ma Mingde had quietly passed away last night, presumably from a sudden illness.

“Last night when I was preparing for patrol, he told me to be careful,” Yun Ce said to the Gui Fang person beside him.

"Yes, I drank last night, and with this cold wind blowing on me, plus my age, sigh... good days were just around the corner, and now they're gone. Poor Nana."

Yun Ce glanced at her and saw that Nana was indeed a pitiful child. She was lying on a small grave made of piled stones, crying so hard that she was too weak to get up. Several women came forward to pull her away, but she refused to leave her beloved grandfather. It seemed that she had already felt the impermanence of life.

After another day of travel, when Yun Ce camped with the group again in the evening, he specially grilled a piece of meat for Nana. As a result, the sad little girl had a surprisingly good appetite and ate the grilled meat in just a few bites. After finishing, she said to Yun Ce, "I need to take good care of myself and eat my way up so that I can kill a few Han dogs to avenge my grandfather."

Yun Ce asked in surprise, "The old man fell asleep on his own. What does that have to do with the Han people?"

Nana angrily said, "I don't care, my grandfather was killed by the Han people, and they must pay for it with their blood."

Although Yun Ce knew that her grandfather was killed by him, a Han Chinese, and that Nana was directly blaming the Han Chinese without any evidence, he still felt that this little girl was being somewhat unreasonable.

Yun Ce searched for two days in the huge Gui Fang people's group, but did not encounter the prison master that the old man mentioned, who often chatted with ordinary people when he had nothing to do.

Lingyu is the second-ranked high priest of the Guifang. I heard that his strengths lie in wisdom and in commanding troops and arranging formations, but I haven't heard that he is particularly skilled in martial arts.

Yun Ce's main purpose in infiltrating this team was to assassinate the prisoner. If the assassination succeeded, that would be good. If it failed, Yun Ce felt there was no harm in it, since he could run very fast anyway.

After advancing fifty li, the army set up camp again. This speed was not a proper marching speed, but considering that 70% of the army members were civilians, fifty li was already quite an achievement for such a large force.

Yun Ce started grilling meat again. This time, he accidentally found a few dried spicy herbs, which made the meat taste even better.

Nana has clearly moved on from her grief. This is also a custom of the Guifang people, who stop dwelling on the dead and focus all their energy on planning for the future.

This custom is neither good nor bad; Yun Ce thinks it's quite reasonable.

Nana clearly prefers the spicy fried meat, especially since Yun Ce brought some rice today and steamed a pot of rice, which made this dinner even more special.

"It's no use you being nice to me. I'm going to be Master Lingyu's maid in the future. My grandfather arranged this with Master Lingyu a long time ago. Besides, you're just a lowly soldier now. If you can rise to become a centurion in the Wild Bull Cavalry, then you'll barely be worthy of me."

Yun Ce didn't say anything, but poured the oil rendered from the fried meat in the iron plate onto the snow-white rice and handed it to Nana, who had been waiting for a long time.

High-carbohydrate, high-energy meals are hard to resist for people who have been starving for a long time. No matter how much Nana resisted Yun Ce's food offerings, her hands still obediently took the bowl of rice.

Thick slices of meat, half an inch thick, three inches long, and two inches wide, are pan-fried over a low flame until golden brown on all sides. The skin is crispy, and the inside is juicy. One bite and your mouth is full of oil.

Nana took a bite, then looked up at Yun Ce in surprise and asked, "You're Han Chinese, aren't you?"

Yun Ce said, "Does our Gui Fang not have anyone who can cook such delicious food?"

Nana said, "Lin Yuluo, even if I eat your flesh, I can't give you my body. Otherwise, I won't be able to enter Master Lingyu's tent. I said I would be Master Lingyu's maid."

Yun Ce shook his head and said, "It's been five days since your grandfather passed away, and Master Lingyu hasn't come to take you back to your tent. I think Master Lingyu is just joking with your grandfather; he's long forgotten you exist."

Nana gave Yun Ce a half-smile, pulled open her collar to reveal a ghost eye tattoo, then quickly pulled her clothes back up and said to Yun Ce, "Even if Master Lingyu doesn't come, would you dare to offend me?"

Yun Ce sighed, lowered his head, and put another piece of salt-fried meat in Nana's rice bowl, whispering, "Eat it, I won't peek at you again."

“You grill meat well, and this kind of meat tastes good too. After I enter Master Prison’s tent, I’ll find an opportunity to recommend you to him. Maybe then you won’t have to be a grunt anymore.”

Yun Ce got up and looked around. It seemed that Master Lingyu hadn't come again, which disappointed him. He then looked disdainfully at Nana, who was enjoying eating meat with her eyes half-closed. He thought that if this girl were a little prettier, Master Lingyu would definitely remember her.

On the sixth day, the ground beneath their feet began to turn black, indicating that the army had set foot on Black Stone Plain and was less than a thousand miles from Iron Enclosure Pass.

(End of this chapter)