Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 163 Weize Pass

On the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains, the wind is fierce and the frost is sharp.

The blizzard that had raged for several days finally showed signs of fatigue, but its lingering power remained.

Lead-gray clouds hung low over the rugged mountain ridges, kneading the sunlight into a hazy, pale white.

The gale whipped up the fresh snow piled up in the shady part of the mountain, forming howling, swirling columns of white smoke that lashed against the bare rocks and sparse, withered trees, emitting sharp hissing sounds.

The temperature was so low that it felt as if the air itself was freezing. Every breath was like being cut by a knife, and the white breath exhaled instantly condensed into a thick layer of frost on the eyebrows, beard, and the edge of the fur hat.

This is the eastern section of the Taihang Mountains, where the terrain becomes increasingly precipitous.

The official road, like a dead giant python, meandered laboriously between steep mountain walls and bottomless icy ravines.

The migrating caravans here were squeezed by the terrain, making them exceptionally bloated and slow.

The wheels of the heavy supply cart sank deep into the knee-deep snow. No matter how hard the oxen and horses struggled, the axle groaned painfully, and the cart could hardly move forward an inch.

People trudged through knee-deep snowdrifts, each step exhausting them, their breath freezing on their eyelashes.

Xiahou Lan stood on a relatively open slope in the middle of the group, his black armor and cloak already covered with a thick layer of ice and snow, making him look like a moving snow sculpture.

"Manager, many carts and horses are stuck and can't move!" Several village chiefs approached and reported.

Xiahou Lan breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as we get into Taihang, that's good. We're not in a hurry, we can take it slow. Have everyone set up the yurts and tents. If we can't walk anymore, we'll stop and rest!"

"promise!"

Just after the village chiefs responded, strange noises suddenly rang out from several locations on the mountainside.

"Woo-woo-woo-woo!"

A mournful, long howl, with a strange, penetrating power, came without warning from above the steep cliff on the left! The sound was not from a single wolf, but from dozens of wolves howling in response to each other in the wind and snow.

"Wolves?" Xiahou Lan looked in the direction from which the sounds came.

He then laughed and said, "Have the brothers prepare! We'll have an extra meal today!"

"promise!"

Just as Taoyuan Zhuanghu was laughing and shouting, preparing to take action.

"call out--!"

A sharp, short whistle, like tearing silk, suddenly pierced through the wind, snow, wolf howls, and the clamor of the crowd, clearly reaching Xiahou Lan's ears!

"Awakening of Insects" whistle?

Xiahou Lan suddenly looked up, her sharp gaze shooting towards the direction from which the whistle came, as if it were a tangible object. It was the whistle of Peach Blossom Spring, conveying different messages with different rhythms.

Those few words just now were saying "our own people".

On the right side of the cliff, there is a steep slope with strangely shaped rocks covered in snow!
Almost the instant Xiahou Lan looked up, he saw dozens of snow mounds, almost identical in color to the snow, rushing towards him from afar! Amidst the swirling snow, figures as agile as leopards glided across the snow!
They were completely wrapped in thick sheepskin coats with messy gray and white patches of cloth sewn on, wore matching gray and white leather hats, and had thick cloth masks covering their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed. They blended almost seamlessly into the snow and rocks of the mountain, and were indistinguishable from the wind and snow unless they deliberately revealed themselves!

These people moved with incredible speed, all wielding short-handled, broad-bladed hook axes that gleamed with a cold, eerie light! Several others carried strangely shaped crossbows with short, thick arms on their backs.

The leader was a muscular man with particularly agile movements.

With a few leaps, he slid down the steep snow slope, landing silently, like a snow fox.

"Whoosh—Pfft!"

The mournful howl of the wolf came to an abrupt halt! A massive alpha wolf had been struck precisely in the neck by a heavy hand axe! The wolf stiffened abruptly, then plummeted straight down from the rock, crashing heavily into the snow below. It twitched a few times and then lay still.

"Kill!" came a low, short shout from beneath the mask of the wiry "snowman" leader, his accent thick with Jizhou dialect.

Dozens of figures behind him dispersed like ghosts, some wielding powerful crossbows, nocking and firing arrows with lightning speed, the cold bolts instantly pointing at the wolf pack in the mountains.

Before long, and before Xiahou Lan and the other guards of Taoyuan Manor could do anything, more than a dozen wolves were killed.

The few survivors fled as quickly as stray dogs.

Having dealt with the wolf pack, the elite snowman at the head of the pack descended the steep slope using whistles that the guards of Peach Blossom Village could understand.

He walked straight up to Xiahou Lan.

He ripped off the thick cloth mask covering his mouth and nose, revealing a young but weathered face with several fresh chilblains on his cheeks and chapped lips, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness, revealing a sharpness and composure honed by life and death.

He grinned as he looked at Xiahou Lan on horseback!
"Alan! I've finally run into you guys!"

"Tiger Cub!"

Immediately, Xiahou Lan also exclaimed in surprise.

The person who came was none other than Zhao Hu, the tiger cub, who had been his childhood friend when he left the small mountain village!

"Zhao Hu, Military Commander of the Second Battalion of the Fire Battalion of the Armored Cavalry, Protectorate of the Xiongnu!"

Zhao Hu's voice was hoarse but full of joy: "I have come to meet you on the orders of my lord!"

Behind them, dozens of soldiers from the Fire Battalion also carried wolf carcasses down the steep slope.

Xiahou Lan dismounted and warmly hugged Huwa: "Well, you're quite the lad now, a military commander, and you've really gotten a lot stronger!"

After the two sides met, the group from Taoyuan felt relieved.

Tiger Cub patted Xiahou Lan on the back: "It's such a pity you didn't come this year. You have no idea how powerful Brother Xian is in Bingzhou now!"

The two let go of each other, and Huwa glanced at the long convoy and made a few hand gestures to the back.

The dozens of soldiers from the Fire Battalion ran away from the group and went further away. They were the first to provide support, and there were many more soldiers from Bingzhou behind them.

Xiahou Lan also noticed their movements and asked Huwa, "How many men did Brother Xian send to provide backup? Are there more coming?"

Huwa nodded: "That's right. Several dangerous spots in the Taihang Mountains are being reinforced and widened. We have quite a few people in the mountains, but not all of them are there to support you. Brother Xian is going to set up a battalion at Jingxingkou on the east side of Taihang to prepare for the future."

"I understand." Xiahou Lan nodded and looked at the long convoy behind her.

"But we can't move now either, the snow is too thick and it's difficult for vehicles and horses to travel."

"No rush. Even if you wanted to cross the well path now, you couldn't. The heavy snow is also hindering construction in this dangerous area. Brother Xian sent us here not only to provide support, but also to lead you to Weize Pass first."

"Once the dangerous terrain is cleared, we'll return to Bingzhou." Huwa grinned and patted Xiahou Lan's arm. "When that time comes, I'll definitely get General Hansheng to recruit you into the army, preferably the Fire Battalion. I want to train you, Alan! Hahaha."

Xiahou Lan glared at him, annoyed: "How old are you? Why are you still so immature? How is A-Yun?"

He asked Zhao Yun a question.

Huwa shrugged: "I suffered a bit, but it wasn't a big deal. Now Brother Xian has demoted me to a regular soldier, but everyone knows that this is just Brother Xian testing me."

"By the way, A-Yun's courtesy name is now Zi-Long. Brother Xian personally put the crown on him. All of us brothers are thinking about whether we should also have Brother Xian put the crown on us."

Tiger Cub kept talking nonstop.

After he finished speaking, Xiahou Lan pointed to the back of the convoy and said, "Are you sure you want Brother Xian to put the crown on you? Your mother is in the group too, why don't you go and ask her?"

"..." Huwa was stunned for a moment, then became overjoyed. He hugged Xiahou Lan tightly and then ran towards the back of the caravan, laughing loudly.

"Haha, good brother, no doubt about it!"

The wind and snow in the direction of Weize Pass seemed to have been cleaved open by the ridge of the Taihang Mountains. Although it was still fierce, it was less violent and devastating.

The migrating caravan, like a dormant dragon, led by the soldiers of the Fire Battalion brought by Huwa, temporarily broke away from the official road and moved slowly and steadily southwestward along an old valley road that had been trodden by predecessors and was half-covered by fresh snow.

The pace wasn't fast, but every step was taken steadily.

Tiger Cub Zhao Hu wrapped his multicolored fur coat tighter around himself and walked alongside Xiahou Lan in the middle of the group.

The horses' hooves pounded on the thick snow with a dull "plop" sound.

He pointed ahead to the towering mountain silhouettes that resembled the fangs of a giant beast piercing the leaden-gray sky, and the white breath he exhaled was quickly dispersed by the wind.

"See that? That's Weize Pass, but Brother Xian always calls it Niangzi Pass. Magistrate Xun and Mr. Gongzhi have reminded him many times, but he still hasn't changed it."

Tiger Cub's voice carried a calmness and excitement, as if he were meeting his loved ones.

"Brother Xian values ​​this place highly! He says it's the fifth most important of the eight passes of Taihang, the throat that connects Jizhou and Bingzhou! We're heading there now. There are barracks and cellars for storing grain inside the pass, which is much better than camping in this desolate wilderness!"

Xiahou Lan followed his gaze, and through the misty snow, only the indistinct outline of a massive mountain could be seen. He nodded slightly: "How is the pass now? Can it accommodate all of us?"

Tiger Cub grinned, his lips, which were purple from the cold, tugged into a smile that was both proud and helpless.

"Hey, don't even mention it! As soon as Brother Xian issued a military order, the brothers of our Fire Battalion and Forest Battalion, along with the laborers conscripted from nearby counties, almost leveled the mountain over there! They reinforced the pass walls, widened the pass roads, and built a large area of ​​barracks and shacks in the sunny and sheltered mountain valleys behind the pass!"

In the dead of winter, the frozen ground was as hard as iron; one strike with a pickaxe and you'd get a white dot! Almost every one of my brothers had hands covered in blisters and frostbite!

He stretched out his hands, which were covered in calluses, with large knuckles, and fresh cracks and chilblains on the backs of his hands and between his thumbs, and waved them. His tone was not one of complaint, but rather one of enthusiastic energy.

"But there's nothing we can do. Brother Xian said that Jingxing Pass is the lifeline of our Bingzhou! Now the heavy snow has blocked the mountain pass, and the main road is temporarily impassable, but Weize Pass must be captured and reinforced as soon as possible to prepare for receiving refugees and transporting supplies in the future."

"That's why our Fire Battalion took a detour. Hearing you came from Taoyuan, Brother Xian immediately sent us to meet you! He also allocated a batch of provisions and winter supplies, which are already prepared inside the pass!"

"Brother Xian not only stockpiled grain at Weize Pass, but also urged us to speed up the repair of the barracks, so that this place could become a temporary 'Shangri-La' and a place for the villagers who fled from Jizhou to catch their breath and survive."

"Once you arrive at Weize Pass, you can lend a hand and bring our Taoyuan methods there so that it can be established more quickly!"

Xiahou Lan listened silently, her heart filled with turmoil. Her brother Xian's gaze had already moved beyond a single city or region, and was now fixed on the strategic point where Bingzhou and Jizhou intersected.

By relying on Weize Pass to regulate the Jingxing Pass and orderly guide the refugees, this strategy was both stable and ambitious.

He said in a deep voice, "Tiger Cub, don't worry. Many of the eight thousand people in Taoyuan were built from scratch by Brother Xian. When we get to Weize Pass, they will definitely do their part!"

"Haha, I knew it!" Tiger Cub slapped his thigh happily.

"When the time comes, we brothers will fight side by side!"

As the two were talking, a burst of children's clear laughter came from the rear of the procession, adding a touch of life to the otherwise desolate migration route.

Next to a "warm-up van" pulled by two strong old oxen, with a simple canopy and thick felt, a corner of the thick straw curtain was lifted, and two small heads peeked out.

Huang Xu and Li Zhen were both bundled up like two chubby little bears, with only their rosy cheeks and bright eyes peeking out from under their thick cloth hats.

"Sister Zhen'er, Brother Huwa was so impressive just now! With just a few 'whoosh's, he brought all those wolves down!" Huang Xu pointed at Huwa on horseback ahead, his tone full of admiration.

His physical condition was much better than a year ago, but in this bitter cold and long journey, his face still looked a little pale. He was wrapped in a thick wool blanket, with only his eyes showing.

Li Zhen was much bolder, with almost half her body sticking out of the car. The cold wind blew her bangs all over her forehead, but she didn't care and waved her little hands excitedly.

"Of course! Brother Huwa fought in Bingzhou with the head of the family! Fighting a few wolves is nothing!" She puffed out her chest like a little adult, as if she were proud of it.

A year has passed, and she has grown much taller, with an even greater liveliness and boldness in her eyes.

Then she tapped Huang Xu on the head again: "You idiot, your dad is definitely more capable than Brother Huwa, otherwise how could he be a general!"

Huang Xu covered his head and chuckled a few times.

Then she asked in a low voice, "Sister Zhen'er, do you think... once we get to Bingzhou, we'll still be able to see Father?"

The father he was referring to was, of course, Huang Zhong, who was far away in Bingzhou.

"Of course!" Li Zhen answered without hesitation, her little fists clenched tightly.

"Maybe once we've settled in Weize Pass, Uncle Hansheng will come to see us on horseback! Then, we can have him teach us how to wield the broadsword!"

As she spoke, she even made a gesture of swinging a knife, which made Huang Xu laugh again.

Inside the carriage, Huang Xu's mother listened to the conversation between her two children. Her hand, which was stirring the porridge, paused slightly. A complex expression flashed in her eyes, a mixture of longing and worry, but more than anything, a deep expectation.

She sighed softly, then smiled gently.

"Xu'er, Zhen'er, quickly move back! Be careful not to catch a cold!"

She and another woman in the same carriage were carefully tending to a small clay stove with charcoal fire burning. On the stove was a small earthenware pot, inside which a thick millet and meat porridge was bubbling away. The rich aroma, mixed with the spiciness of ginger slices, filled the small carriage, making it warm and drowsy.

"Auntie, I'm not cold!" Li Zhen said, but still obediently shrank back a little, watching curiously as Huang Xu's mother stirred the porridge in the earthenware pot.

"Auntie, there's so much meat in the porridge today!"

Huang Xu's mother smiled, scooped up a little with a wooden spoon, and blew on it: "Yes, thanks to General Zhao and the others, we just killed so many wolves."

Manager Xiahou said that although wolf meat is a bit coarse, it is still meat, so it should be distributed to each cart to give everyone some oil and sustenance to ward off the cold.

We even added extra ginger slices to this jar.

As she spoke, she looked lovingly at Huang Xu, who was wrapped in a blanket: "Xu'er, drink more later to warm yourself up."

"Mmm." Huang Xu nodded obediently, inhaling the enticing aroma in the air through his little nose, a blush appearing on his pale face.

He peered through the gap in the lifted carriage curtain at the slowly moving scene outside.

The long convoy wound its way through the snow-covered valley.

Strong men gathered in twos and threes around the oxcart stuck in the snow pit, shouting slogans, and using crowbars or simply carrying and pushing it out of the predicament.

Sweat rolled down their foreheads, instantly turning into frost in the cold wind, but their faces showed little distress, instead radiating the glow of hard work.

Some shouted loudly to their companions in the direction to exert force, while others teased each other about their frostbitten red noses; the rough laughter and curses echoed in the wind and snow.

"Hey! Give it your all, Brother Wang! If you push it out, you'll get an extra piece of wolf meat to eat tonight!"

"Screw you! I don't want your coarse meat! It's true you should hurry up, otherwise the kids will freeze if we dawdle until dark!"

"Don't worry! I guarantee we'll reach Weize Pass before dark! General Zhao said there's a heated kang bed inside the pass!"

The women were also busy.

During a brief respite when the convoy stopped to rest, they quickly unloaded small stoves and earthenware pots from their vehicles, shoveled snow to melt water, and took out beans, dried vegetable leaves, and finely chopped pumpkin strips brought from the cellar to start cooking a simple hot soup.

Wisps of smoke rise above the pristine snow, only to be scattered by the cold wind, yet they stubbornly carry the warmth of home and the aroma of food.

Children were allowed to move around within the adults' sight for a moment, clumsily chasing and playing in the snow in their bulky cotton coats, throwing snowballs at each other and laughing like silver bells, as if this long migration was just a novel outing.

Not far away, next to a baggage cart parked in a sheltered spot.

Several craftsmen sat together, with a small bonfire burning in the middle.

Despite the cold, they unloaded a small piece of wood and tools from the cart and, by the light of the fire, began to repair the broken axle of a wheelbarrow.

The flickering firelight illuminated their focused faces.

"Uncle He, Grandpa Li, dinner's ready!"

Li Zhen led Huang Xu over, watching the two repair the axle with great interest as she spoke.

He the blacksmith looked up at the two little ones, smiled and nodded: "You know, you little rascals. We'll go right away after we finish this."

"You two should get back in the car quickly, don't get cold."

Li Zhen nodded obediently, then led Huang Xu back to the carriage. As they passed some children having a snowball fight, the two of them happily joined in, throwing snowflakes that scattered everywhere.

"Xu'er, Zhen'er, stop playing!"

Huang Xu's mother carried two bowls of steaming porridge and called out to the two children not far away.

The golden corn kernels are plump and mixed with small pieces of dark wolf meat and bright green dried vegetable leaves, steaming hot and fragrant.

Li Zhen cheered and ran over eagerly to take the bowl. Ignoring the heat, she slurped it up in small sips, her eyes crinkling with satisfaction: "Mmm...it smells so good! Auntie's porridge is the best!"

"Can it be as delicious as your mother's cooking?" Huang Xu's mother smiled, her eyes crinkling.

Li Zhen's mother, Zhou Cui, had also gone to Bingzhou with the manor lord last time, entrusting her daughter to her care. Over the past year, she had come to regard Li Zhen as her own daughter.

Huang Xu also came over and picked up the small bowl, feeling the scalding warmth coming from his palm.

He imitated Li Zhen, carefully blowing on it and taking a sip. The warm porridge slid down his throat, carrying the sweet aroma of grains and the savory flavor of meat. A warm current instantly spread from his stomach to his limbs, even dispelling much of the chill from his fingertips.

A healthy blush rose on his somewhat pale face, and he couldn't help but take another big gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Drink slowly, don't burn yourself," Huang Xu's mother gently instructed, picking up a bowl herself and sipping slowly.

Looking out the car window at the slowly moving but orderly procession, and at the villagers supporting each other in the wind and snow, whose faces showed no signs of hunger or sorrow, the anxiety she felt about the road ahead was quietly soothed by the hot porridge in her hand and the children's laughter.

(End of this chapter)