Chapter 13

When Shen Yi received Xue Heng's letter again, he had taken it off the white dove he had previously sent to Wei Qianyu. He untied the bamboo tube tied to it with trembling fingertips, poured a small piece of silk cloth into his palm and slowly unfolded it.

The small space was filled with Xiujuan's small handwriting. Shen Yi lit a candle and leaned over to recognize the words in the light. He knew that Longxi had just had the first heavy snow of the year, which was up to the knees, so it was difficult for people and vehicles to travel west.

Seeing this, Shen Yi's fingertips trembled even more violently. According to the time, Xue Heng should have reached Yumen Pass by now. Longxi was originally poor in land. Although he had never been there, he knew that there was no food stored in the pass where bloodshed had always been.

No matter how fast a pigeon could deliver a message, it couldn't be much faster than a galloping horse. He suddenly couldn't bear to think about what his grandfather would be like now if he hadn't waited for the food and fodder from the rear.

He thought of the silver spear with a red tassel, the sturdy horse, but also of the old steward's somewhat cloudy eyes. No matter how strong the sandstorm in Longxi was, it couldn't feed the troops gathered in the north. Moreover, it was wartime, and insufficient food and fodder was a serious taboo.

Even the cavalry general who had won many battles could not feed his soldiers with nothing, and he was helpless against the court's supply to Longxi.

Seeing some more words on the back, Shen Yi bit his lower lip and forced himself to read. His fingertips continued to tremble, but his chaotic thoughts calmed down a little with the remaining news. However, before the snow fell, the grain carts were not far from Yumen. Now, they just had to wait for the snow to melt before they could continue their journey to Yumen.

On the way of escorting the grain and grass, they only saw a few small groups of Hu soldiers. The soldiers around them fought them in time, and only one cart of grain and grass was lost, which was distributed to the people in the city.

The old general had already stationed his troops at Yumen Pass, blocking the Hu cavalry at the gate. Yumen Pass was easy to defend but difficult to attack, so he just had to wait for the Hu people to run out of food and grass, and then they would naturally retreat.

He clenched the silk cloth in his hand and read the small words written on it again. He made sure that he had not missed anything before folding it again.

In previous winters, Chang'an City had snow piled up to half a person's height. However, after the snow stopped, every household with someone would sweep the snow in front of their door. In less than a day, a small path for people to pass through would be left. The vendors would set up stalls all over the street the next day, reawakening the bustling crowds of the past.

He folded the half piece of silk cloth along the creases and smoothed it out. After using the bamboo tube, it no longer stained with too much sand. Shen Yi wanted to temporarily hide the letter in his sleeve, but then he felt that he shouldn't be so careless after reading it. In the end, he took the empty wooden box he had vacated earlier.

He flipped the locked mechanism layer by layer between his fingers and spread the silk cloth on the bottom, leaving just half a space.

Longxi is mostly barren land, and even though it's sparsely populated, the snow shouldn't melt for more than a month. Shen Yi guessed the timeline, and from the moment he received the letter today, it would be less than two weeks before Xue Congzhi would meet his grandfather.

He put the wooden box back to where it was originally hidden, sat back at the table and stared at the candlelight swaying in the wind, the flames flickering in front of his eyes.

Shen Yi recalled the heavy snow that had fallen in Chang'an City before. If it had happened in a deserted wasteland, the wind from Longxi would have blown even harder.

Without timely supplies of food and fodder, it would be difficult for the old man to defend the city. Those Hu people herding horses would also be trapped by the heavy snow.

His fingertips rested on the table, sketching the map he had memorized. West of Yumen Pass lay a barren expanse of flat land, devoid of grass. If heavy snow fell, it would only make life even more difficult for the enemy troops stationed there.

Moreover, now that there is a war going on, most merchants are forbidden to travel in and out of the city. Without the charcoal shipped from Hou Shang, I am afraid that the Hu people will not be able to hold out any longer. Their war horses, which they have always been proud of, will suffer from injuries because they cannot withstand the severe cold.

After a long moment of deliberation, Shen Yi finally curled his lips. This heavy snow seemed to have arrived just in time. Now, they could just wait until the barbarians ran out of food and supplies, then defend against a final assault. The enemy would naturally retreat beyond the Great Wall.

By then, the day his grandfather returned to the court wouldn't be too far off. If everything went smoothly, the silver spear would have been placed back on its wooden frame before it could even drink blood again.

Shen Yi recalled Huo Yue's sigh when he mentioned the past, and couldn't help but sigh a little. However, if they won a big victory this time, the one from the Heavenly Family would also notice it.

After all, the General of Cavalry, who is praised by everyone, is almost seventy years old. No matter what happens, he will never interfere in the affairs of the court.

That was all later, he consoled himself, lifting the lid to watch the tea reflected in the firelight, then drinking it and savoring its bitterness. Having been sober for nearly two months, he could now taste the lingering aroma of the tea, and it no longer felt so hard to swallow.

The old man returned triumphantly this time, and he must have brought back his eagle, the old friend he had been thinking about for a long time, even more than the fine horse in the stable.

He only kept a flock of white pigeons in the Marquis's mansion. Before following Huo Yue's lead in training hawks, it would be a good idea to first see the hawks trained by his grandfather. Even though he had never been to Longxi, it would be difficult for him to leave Chang'an again in the future. He should always remember the yellowed sand and gravel of Longxi, and the wind of Longxi.

See with your own eyes the eagle that has been staying in Longxi, see its beak as sharp as a silver spear, see its long, colorful feathers that are enough to cover the sky, look at its sharp eagle eyes, and listen to the eagle's cry as it circles down from the sky.

That is the epitome of the old man's military life. That should be his grandfather, who should be admired by the people and should come and go like the wind, riding a horse for thousands of miles.

The red tassel on the silver spear should be replaced with new cloth again. Huo Yue took it away personally and brought it back from the desert. Thinking of this, Shen Yi extinguished the candle in the room and lay back on the couch with his clothes on.

That silver spear would eventually be passed down to him. He understood this very well, and regardless of whether his grandfather would look down upon his physique after his return, he would always teach him all the spear techniques he had created throughout his life.

The general's family had only one legitimate daughter, Huo, who married Marquis Jianxin. She was also Huo Yue's daughter, born in his middle age, and the old man's only daughter. He doted on Huo enough on a daily basis, and when he was willing to return to the capital to receive a higher position, it was probably to support his newly married daughter.

Shen Yi clenched his fists, as if he were about to receive the silver spear. As long as his grandfather was there, the Huo family would not fall, and the descendants of the Huo family would not become like Shen Qian, bowing their heads and doing abominable things, lacking the integrity of a scholar or the loyalty of a military commander.

His maternal grandfather would surely return safely from Longxi. When the time came, he would go to the temple and have the priests predict an auspicious time, and then it would be time for him to be crowned and given a name.

Chen Yi closed his eyes, carrying the peace and wishes of the moment into his dreams. The wind outside the window whistled through the courtyard. The caged pigeons tilted their heads, combing their messy down with their beaks, and then huddled together for warmth before falling asleep.

When he was awakened by the noise in the room again, he fastened his waist belt and got off the bed, and saw the servants carrying a heater in, and the room was filled with heat.

Shen Yi quickly opened the window, not even bothering to put on his cloak as he hurried into the courtyard. He stretched out his hand to catch the falling snow, and the soft cold immediately melted into a small puddle of water in his warm palm.

He looked up again at the clouds that almost covered the entire sky, as if enveloping the entire city of Chang'an. Snow had already covered the entire courtyard, and the fallen snow on the dead branches turned the courtyard into a garden of pear blossoms.

The white pigeons also disliked the heavy snow today and hid in their cages, waiting for the servants to come and feed them. Shen Yi stood alone in the courtyard for a while, until a lot of snowflakes fell on his hair, then he went back to the house and put on his cloak.

In less than half an hour, the stove had heated up the entire room. Shen Yi sat aside, warming his cold hands, his eyes still fixed on the window.

The heavy snow had only begun to fall after the cockcrow, and at first it had only formed a shallow layer. He watched as the flakes grew softer and softer, then piled up deeper.

He had no way of telling where the courtyard was and where the sky was. All he could see was a rapidly falling solid object, like white down feathers falling from the sky.

Falling in the empty courtyard, it dispelled the usual bustle of Chang'an City. The charcoal fire in the stove burned brightly, occasionally making subtle noises that echoed the quiet snow outside the window.

Shen Yi watched the heavy snowfall, seeing no sign of it stopping. He smiled again, feeling it was fate. Perhaps it was the westerly wind that had been blowing all the way from Longxi on that winter night that had brought the snow here.

Although I don’t know when the snow will stop, I always have some inexplicable premonition.

The snow in Longxi and the snow in Chang'an seemed to fall from the same cloud. Through this snow, he could imagine what Longxi must be like now, and perhaps even calculate the time, figuring out when Xue Congzhi would set out from the pass and how many days it would take to reach Yumen.

The charcoal fire burned into a red block, and flames leaped up. Shen Yi sat back at the table, rarely picking up the scroll to review the classics he had read before. Although he said he was reading, he would occasionally glance out the window, waiting, waiting for the snow to fall.

The heavy snow continued to fall until late at night. He put a new piece of charcoal into the stove, but he could not bear it any longer, so he undressed and went to sleep.

Snowy nights were always this quiet. The servants in the mansion no longer had to keep watch, and the long streets were deserted. The only movement was probably the creaking of dead branches, unable to withstand the heavy weight of the snow, dropping their loads to the ground, creating shallow dents that were then covered tightly by the falling snow.

Perhaps it was because the heating in the house was strong enough, Shen Yi slept exceptionally deeply that night. After waking up, he remembered everything clearly. He did not have any dreams the whole night, but slept exceptionally soundly.

He stood under the eaves, watching the servants laboriously clear a path wide enough for people to walk on. The snow had stopped, but the gloomy dark clouds still hung heavy in the sky, bringing a biting cold to the city.

Seeing that snow water had begun to drip slowly from the lower ground, Shen Yi moved to the side. When he looked up again, he saw Shen Qian returning from outside the mansion. His official robe was covered with wet marks. The servants hurriedly handed him a clean cloak, but he waved his hand and walked towards Shen Yi step by step.

Shen Yi watched him approach step by step, wondering what had happened. He also thought that Shen Qian was probably frustrated in the party struggle and was using this opportunity to tell him some nonsense - in his opinion, it was nonsense that advocated cannibalism between the emperor and his ministers.

So when Chen Qian spoke, he didn't hear the words clearly, or perhaps he really didn't want to hear this sentence, a sentence that would not even appear in a nightmare.

"Urgent report from the army: your great grandfather has lost Yumen Pass—"