Chapter 376 Snow Wolf

From Chang'an all the way northwest.

From the first month to the second month.

The days are approaching spring, and the army of Da Qi is heading towards winter.

Everyone wrapped themselves in heavy winter clothes and tried to open their mouths as little as possible.

I opened my mouth to take a breath, and my teeth were chattering from the cold air.

When we set up camp and rested in the evening, everyone gathered around the campfire, their faces illuminated by the warm firelight, and they felt a little more relaxed.

Kong Wu easily carried several bundles of firewood, added the firewood to the fire, and watched the fire burn more and more vigorously.

There were several large pots on the campfire, with soup boiling in them.

Qiu Jinyu threw in the soup ingredients as before, and everyone lined up in several rows, and each person received a bowl of soup.

The logistics team distributed dry and hard flatbreads to the soldiers and asked them to eat them with soup.

It was cold and we were short on time, so we could only have a simple meal like this.

The food that Su Zhizhi, Murong Di and others ate was the same as that of ordinary soldiers, which was dry noodles with soup.

After Su Zhizhi finished her meal, she washed her own bowl and still had the energy to help with other things in the military camp.

If nothing happened, she could still build a snowman with Kong Wu.

"Ah, ah, ah." Kong Wu was very happy when making a snowman.

He was only one or two years old when he was picked up and adopted by Old Man Qin in the northwest, and he had no memory of what snow looked like.

Therefore, when Kong Wu followed the Black Mountain Army to the north and saw the snow, he was very happy, even happier than Su Zhizhi.

When Kong Wu was in Chang'an, he liked to roll snowballs and build snowmen.

The thicker the snow, the bigger the snowball he could roll.

After entering the northwest, it snowed for the past two days, and Kong Wu wanted to make a snowman again.

Kong Wu should be in his early twenties now, and his physique is a little stronger than a few years ago.

Whenever he stamped his foot, the ground around him would shake.

But he is still a simple-minded person, always easily satisfied, and a small thing can make him happy for a while.

The snowman he built was a bit heavy.

Su Zhizhi found some branches to decorate the snowman:

"It looks better this way. Brother Kong Wu, your snowman is as tall and strong as you. No one else can build one this big."

"Ah, ah." Kong Wu also inserted the branch.

Old Man Qin dug out two beautiful colored stones from under some snow and gave one to Zhizhi and one to Kongwu.

"Stuff them into the snowman's head for eyes."

The stone is shiny and very translucent.

Kong Wu did not put the stone on the snowman's head, but held it in his arms as if it were a treasure.

Qin Xiao and Wei Dashuan watched from the side and felt emotional:

"Young people have good physiques. Walking around in cold weather will warm them up and give them plenty of energy."

"We used to be like this when we were young. We could still have a fight after a tiring day."

Murong Di, who had set up the tents with the soldiers, came over:

"Grandpa Qin, Grandpa Wei, the tents are ready. If you're tired, go and rest as soon as possible."

During the past few years in Lingnan, Murong Di has witnessed the dedication of Qin Xiao and Wei Dashuan.

Given their age, it was truly rare for them to be able to lead an army from Lingnan to Chang'an and drive away the Hu people.

When they came to the northwest this time, Murong Di and some other generals of the Black Mountain Army had originally advised Qin Xiao and Wei Dashuan to recuperate in Beijing.

But Wei Dashuan was determined: "I must go, even if I have to lie down and crawl on my stomach."

Some generals and soldiers who were not aware of the situation did not understand why Wei Dashuan was so persistent.

But Pei Lingyun and Murong Di knew that Wei Dashuan still had some worries, so seeing that he was so determined, they did not stop him.

Since Wei Dashuan wanted to go, Qin Xiao naturally had to go with his old brother.

Ning An also wanted to come with Qin Xiao, but her mother was reluctant to let her go, and the capital also needed someone to guard it, so Ning An and Yuan Caiwei stayed in the capital together, and they were considered the backbone of the Black Mountain Army stationed in the capital.

Qin Xiao exhaled a puff of white smoke:

"In about two more days, we will reach Yuhan Pass. After passing Yuhan Pass, we will be close to the soldiers in the northwest."

When Wei Dashuan heard the words "Yuhan Pass", his temples jumped a few times.

Many years ago, before he entered Yuhan Pass, he was stopped by He Tingfang with a secret imperial edict.

Wei Dashuan rubbed his temples and felt that as he got older he would start to think too much.

You shouldn't dwell on the unlucky things in the past.

It was getting dark.

Except for the soldiers on duty, everyone fell into a deep sleep.

At night, there was another night of wind and snow.

Fortunately, the next two days were sunny, which was suitable for traveling.

Two days later in the evening, they finally approached Yuhan Pass.

The mountains on both sides in front are rolling and very high, with snow on the top that never melts all year round.

Only the large canyons where the mountains are interrupted are passable.

This pass is Yuhan Pass.

The setting sun is slanting down, and golden light is shining from the west.

The pointed snow-capped peaks seemed to emit golden light.

Su Zhizhi pointed to the top of the snow-capped mountain and said to Wu Yingniang:

"Look, mother! The sun is shining on the golden mountain!"

Su Zhizhi remembered that the last time she came to the Northwest, she and her father came, but her mother did not come. She really wanted her mother to see the scenery of the Northwest with her own eyes.

Wu Yingniang laughed: "It does look like a golden mountain, but I can't touch it."

Old Xu said, "Even if I can get close, I can't spend it."

They talked and laughed.

When they enter the customs tomorrow, they will be faced with an unknown bloody storm, and they might even die laughing.

Live every moment, smile as much as you can.

The scout who was exploring the way ahead came back on horseback at this time.

No one could laugh anymore.

Because the scout came back anxiously and reported:

"It snowed heavily a few days ago, and the Yuhan Pass was blocked by snow. I'm afraid it will be difficult for the army to pass through now."

The surprise attack team led by Wu Yingniang acted as the vanguard to verify the situation at this time.

They rode their horses all the way to the pass and found that the canyon was indeed covered with snow about one person high.

If a path is not cleared, the army will not be able to pass.

Wu Yingniang came back and discussed with several generals:

"If we take a detour, it will take nearly a month longer, and that would be too late."

"Why not set up camp right here and have the entire army clear the roads and shovel the snow? Fortunately, we have a lot of people, so it won't take too long."

"Although it will take a few days, it's better than taking a month-long detour. Besides, no one can guarantee that the other road won't be blocked by heavy snow..."

So the army had to camp outside the canyon and the soldiers went out to shovel the snow.

By the evening, everyone was exhausted.

It's late at night.

There is no snow and no moon tonight.

There was only the pitch-black night and the flickering flames of the torches.

Su Zhizhi's eyes were wide open at night, as alert as an owl.

It's Su Zhizhi and the others' turn to be on duty tonight.

The sound of the wind came from far away, across the canyon.

Woo-woo-woo

A faint whimpering sound was heard in my ears, like the sound of the wind or the howling of a wolf.

Su Zhizhi whispered to Hua Erniang behind her:

"It would be great if there were wolves. We could kill a few and stew them in soup tomorrow as a snack for everyone."

Hua Erniang didn't know what she had eaten before going on duty, but she didn't feel sleepy at all that night. Her eyes were bright and she told Su Zhizhi a story about her hunting wolves in the northwest:

"Let me tell you, there's a kind of wolf here called the snow wolf. They're very big, a lot bigger than the wolves in Lingnan."

"The only time I went out of the valley with everyone to fight when I was a kid, we encountered a pack of wolves. Several elders in the valley spread out all the poison they wouldn't normally use..."

As Hua Erniang was speaking, several half-human-high black shadows appeared outside the military camp, their dark green wolf eyes flickering like will-o'-the-wisp.