Chapter 192 Huangsha Pass Captured in Just One Morning
After the words were spoken, everyone remained silent for a long time, and then the sound of weapons falling to the ground could be heard one after another.
First it was sparse, then it became a torrent.
These civilian soldiers of the Yu Kingdom finally put down their swords, took off their armor, and began to line up in formation.
A small number of them ran quickly towards the area where their families lived.
Although the scene was still somewhat chaotic, it already meant that Huangsha Pass had been captured by Da Xuan.
Soon, the news was quickly relayed to Linxian City through walkie-talkies from one outpost after another, which were only a few kilometers apart, set up by the Great Xuan Army along the way.
It was only noon, and Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli had just finished preparing the ingredients for their hot pot.
The clear broth base contained only a few scallion segments, ginger slices, dried dates and goji berries, plus two unique wild fruits found only in Zhuiyingjian. As the broth boiled, it released a steaming aroma.
The two sat down at the table, about to start eating, when they heard the good news from Huangsha Pass.
Xiao Qidi said proudly, "See? I told you it would only take half a day."
"Yes, yes, you're amazing." Ning Jinli smiled as she picked up a slice of mutton and put it into the hot pot. After simmering it for a few seconds, she took it out and placed it in the bowl in front of Xiao Qidi. "Since you're so good at this, I'll give you the first bite."
The tender lamb was cooked to perfection, with a perfect balance of fat and lean meat, and an enticing color.
The rich aroma of the meat, combined with the fragrance of the broth, makes it even more mouthwatering.
Xiao Qidi couldn't wait to put the slices of meat into his mouth, exclaiming that it was absolutely delicious, and quickly told Ning Jinli to try it too.
Ning Jinli immediately took a bite as well.
The moment I tasted it myself, I knew that Xiao Qidi was not exaggerating at all when he said it was an exquisite delicacy.
Besides the magical flavoring effect of the wild fruits from Zhuiyingjian, the mutton itself is also of the highest quality.
Like the radishes we ate before, they were originally the most common varieties in modern times, but after being grown in Linxian City, their quality became exceptionally good.
While eating, Ning Jinli asked, "Little brother, now that we've captured Huangsha Pass, according to Duan Wu, there are about 300,000 Yu Kingdom people there. What are your plans for them?"
Xiao Qidi asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"
"Hehe, I'm so excited!" Ning Jinli said with great interest. "Look, this area where Da Xuan and Yu Guo meet now has Linxian City, which can produce oil; Yuqi Peak, which is rich in wild flora and fauna; Yaowang Valley, which can cultivate rare medicinal herbs; and a large area suitable for animal husbandry. I can continue to provide the necessary tools and supplies for development and production. What we lack most is people. You must treat those 300,000 people of Yu Guo well."
Xiao Qidi nodded. "Then let's discuss the specific steps to take and implement them as soon as possible."
——
Before we knew it, it was evening.
Inside Huangsha Pass.
After investigation and statistics by the Da Xuan Army, a total of more than 280,000 people of the Yu Kingdom were found.
Of these, about 50,000 were male family members, mostly elderly, weak, women, and children.
The remaining 230,000-plus people were able-bodied male civilians forcibly conscripted into the army by the Yu Kingdom.
The grain and supplies in the warehouses of Huangshaguan city have been distributed according to the number of people.
When these people of the Yu Kingdom received the supplies, and when the elderly, weak, women, and children were not only spared from abuse and slaughter, but even received extra food, they truly believed that the Great Xuan Army was different from previous armies.
On one side, the king of Yu Kingdom disregarded their lives, forcibly conscripting men to fight and abducting their families to serve in the army, while the general who commanded them abandoned them; on the other side, the army of Xuan Kingdom distributed food and supplies to them and treated them with kindness.
Such a huge difference makes it easy for anyone to tell who is good and who is bad.
Therefore, after the food and supplies were distributed, even though Duan Wu said that anyone who wanted to leave could leave, in reality, less than 10,000 people left.
They wanted to go back to their hometown to reunite with their relatives.
As for the rest, a small number of the men's families were already at Huangsha Pass because they had been conscripted into the army, while the majority of the rest had lost their families and had nowhere to go because of the large-scale forced conscription by the Yu Kingdom's king.
Moreover, they no longer have household registration. If they go to other parts of Yu Kingdom, they can only become refugees, and they might be conscripted into the army again.
The sun was about to set.
A small number of men and their families moved into the residences that Duan Wu had assigned to them in the city, enjoying a relaxed and joyful reunion that they had never dreamed of.
Meanwhile, most of the other men, now all alone, stood outside, gazing at the fading sunlight on the crumbling city walls, lost in bewilderment and melancholy.
I can't go back to my hometown.
There was no way to go to other parts of the Yu Kingdom.
Although staying in Huangshaguan was safe, and they had some distributed food and clothing, they could survive for a while on these.
But then what?
As its name suggests, Huangshaguan is mostly a vast expanse of yellow sand and gravel desert.
With the end of the drought, many places began to recover and were able to cultivate the land, but they had no tools and no seeds.
Once autumn is over, winter will follow.
They really didn't know how to deal with it.
Some were confused and uneasy, some became more and more fearful, and some even planned to ask the Great Xuan Army if they needed to be recruited into the army.
It seems that becoming a member of the Great Xuan Army is perhaps the only way out.
However, those who had this idea worried that the Great Xuan Army would look down on them, after all, their equipment was so sophisticated that even the iron armor and weapons issued by the Yu Kingdom's army could hardly compare.
An overwhelming sense of heaviness and fear spread throughout the city as night fell.
Just then, the Da Xuan army lit torches throughout the city.
Then countless drones flew by, and General Duan Wu's voice rang out in the air, "Fellow citizens, there are still a large number of the armor and weapons you have taken off in the city. Now we are assigning you to clean them up. Please bring those things to the city gate."
Although no one knew what General Duan's intentions were, at least they had something to do and could be of some use to the Great Xuan Army, and perhaps they could get their help.
So everyone sprang into action.
They picked up the scattered armor and weapons and hurried towards the city gate.
Upon arrival, the Great Xuan Army lined up to direct them, instructing them to place all the items in designated locations.
The first person to arrive did as instructed, then rubbed his hands together cautiously and asked, "Sir... is there anything else we can do?"
A general leading the group pointed to the city gate and said, "Go over there to collect your supplies."
"Get something?" He looked surprised.
The people queuing behind them were also completely baffled.
Didn't we already collect all the food and supplies in the city during the day? What else is there to collect?
Seeing their strained expressions, the general smiled and said, "This must be exactly what you need. Go quickly, and you'll see once you get it."
"Yes, yes, thank you very much, sir!"
The first person bowed repeatedly and ran quickly in the direction the general pointed.
When he arrived at the city gate and looked outside, he was immediately stunned.
Countless carriages had appeared outside at some point.
More than ten carriages lined up in a row, with the carriages behind them forming a long queue.
Lanterns hung on the carriages, making the procession resemble a giant dragon adorned with light, stretching as far as the eye could see in the night.
Soon, more people who had finished moving the armor and weapons came over, and they too were stunned when they saw this scene.
"Hurry up!" A soldier from the Xuan Kingdom waved to the first carriage, "Five men in a group, come on!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The five people in front snapped out of their daze and quickly walked to the carriage.
Then the spacious carriage doors opened.
Two soldiers from the Xuan Kingdom were carrying things out of the house, while another soldier was explaining the situation.
"This is a handcart."
"The handcart contained hoes, shovels, work clothes, shoes, and gloves, enough for five people."
"You will form groups of five and use these tools to cultivate land in Huangshaguan."
The five of them looked at these novel and unfamiliar things and heard terms they had never heard before. Apart from knowing what it meant for five people to work together to cultivate the land, their minds were completely confused.
“I know you’re having a hard time understanding this right now,” the soldier said, taking out a small booklet about the size of a palm. He first demonstrated how to flip through it, then handed it over. “This is called the instruction manual. It was specially made by Fairy Jinli of Linxian City to make it easier for the people to understand. It’s full of illustrations, so even those who can’t read can understand it. Take it and read it slowly.”
"How...how was this made?" The five people huddled together, their eyes wide with disbelief.
They had only ever seen writing and drawing on bamboo slips or cloth, and had never seen anything so neat and square, thinner than a leaf, that could be turned over piece by piece.
Even the pictures on each piece are incredibly clear and rich in color.
The soldiers replied, "This is made of paper. Don't ask me what paper is; you'll find out later. Alright, hurry up and take your carts away so you can study the pictures at your leisure."
"Yes, yes, yes!" The five people nodded and bowed, and together pushed the handcart full of things away.
And so, batches of people brought in armor and weapons, and after receiving their supplies, they returned to the city in droves.
After emptying the carriages, the iron armor and weapons were loaded into the carriages, and then the carriages returned to Linxian City along the same route.
This situation continued for several days.
During this period, Xiao Qidi transferred over 10,000 people from Linxian City to teach the more than 200,000 people in Huangsha Pass the experience gained from building Linxian City.
Duan Wu, following Xiao Qidi's orders, left the 100,000-strong Da Xuan army he had brought with him to help.
After everything was arranged, Duan Wu led 10,000 Xuanjia soldiers away from Huangsha Pass to attack the strategic fortress where General Yu and his remaining tens of thousands of elite troops from the Yu Kingdom had retreated.
Here in Linxian City.
After a rough count, more than 200,000 sets of iron armor were seized from Huangsha Pass. Although they were not the best iron armor used by the elite army of Yu Kingdom, their quality and workmanship were far better than the bronze armor commonly used by various vassal states.
In addition, there were countless other weapons such as iron swords and bows and arrows.
Such a large quantity of iron equipment produced by the Yu Kingdom would be an immense treasure for any other vassal state in the Central Plains.
It is enough to arm an elite army of 200,000, greatly enhancing its combat capabilities.
Even with Ning Jinli providing comprehensive support in terms of supplies and equipment, Xiao Qidi was reluctant to waste them. After thinking about it for several days, he still couldn't determine where to use them most appropriately.
The more than 100,000 Great Xuan Army troops in Linxian City and Huangsha Pass have better options, so they naturally don't need these.
That leaves two choices.
One option was to send them to several other border posts.
North of Daxuan, there are garrisons that must defend against nomadic tribes at any time.
On the east and south sides of Da Xuan, border troops from the other two neighboring countries were also stationed.
If these troops were distributed among the Great Xuan Army, it would naturally be of great benefit.
However, how to allocate the funds has become a difficult problem that requires careful consideration and weighing.
After all, everyone wants good things, and if they are not distributed properly, it could undermine morale.
The second option is to leave these iron equipment in Linxian City for further refining and forging.
Linxian City is developing rapidly and now has the conditions to build a small iron smelting workshop. In addition, Ning Jinli can provide relevant technology, so the equipment forged from pig iron can naturally become a better raw material than ordinary iron ore.
At that time, Linxian City will not only be able to start producing ironware on its own, but also enhance its iron smelting technology.
Just as Xiao Qidi was hesitating between the two options.
A secret report came from Qingyou Terrace.
After reading the secret report, Xiao Qidi immediately called Ning Jinli to discuss it together.
"What? The Wilderness Kingdom and the Peace Kingdom have secretly formed an alliance?" Ning Jinli asked in surprise. "Are these two countries planning to join forces to attack the Great Xuan?"
Xiao Qidi stood in front of a wall in the room, drinking the bubble tea that Ning Jinli had just brought him, while looking at the map of the seven kingdoms of the Central Plains drawn on the wall.
“You’re right. The Wilderness Kingdom and the Peace Kingdom are both neighboring countries on the eastern side of my Great Xuan, and they are also adjacent to each other. They began to secretly form an alliance when I first attacked the Yu Kingdom on the west side, obviously thinking that they could deal with my Great Xuan once they had the opportunity.”
Ning Jinli pouted, "They're dreaming."
Xiao Qidi said quietly, "The struggle for power has always been like this. The Wilderness Kingdom and the Peace Kingdom combined can spare a million troops to attack the eastern side of my Great Xuan. Once Great Xuan is caught up in a fierce battle with Great Yu, they will definitely send troops, leaving me vulnerable to attacks from both sides."
Ning Jinli slammed her hand on the table. "Then I'll send equipment and supplies to the Great Xuan border troops who are guarding against the Wilderness Kingdom and the Peace Kingdom, and upgrade them all."
Xiao Qidi looked helpless and distressed. “No, there are more than a dozen border passes on the east side of Da Xuan, with hundreds of thousands of troops stationed there. You’ve already had enough to do at Linxian City and Huangsha Pass. If you’re also asked to take care of the Da Xuan army and the border passes over there, even if you were a god, you wouldn’t be able to handle such a huge workload.”
Ning Jinli felt a warmth in her heart.
This guy still knows how to be considerate.
"Do you have any ideas on how to deal with the alliance between the Wasteland Kingdom and the Peace Kingdom?" Ning Jinli asked.
A sly glint appeared in Xiao Qidi's eyes. "Yes, but I need your help."
Ning Jinli narrowed her eyes. "You little brat, are you holding back something? Tell me, what do you need my help with?"
Xiao Qidi grinned and said, "Help me send the more than 200,000 sets of weapons and equipment from the Yu Kingdom that we seized at Huangsha Pass a few days ago to a certain place using the space-time channel."
"Send it to the border army on the eastern side of Da Xuan?"
"No, it's not for our own Great Xuan Army."
"Huh? Then who are they for?" Ning Jinli asked casually. "Don't tell me they're for the Desolate Kingdom and the Peace Kingdom."
As a result, Xiao Qidi nodded.
Ning Jinli walked up to him and reached out to touch his forehead.
Xiao Qidi asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
“You don’t have a fever either…” Ning Jinli looked up at his eyes, “Little brother, did you drink too much milk tea and it got into your brain? Those two are going to team up against us, and you’re still giving them equipment?”
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