Zhang Yuanyan came to the public kitchen to eat.
It was impossible to cook in the underground palace, so the dozens of carts of food they brought were all handed over to the fort in exchange for daily meals.
When he saw the two notices at the door, he stood there for a long time without saying a word.
And at this time.
Liangzhou, Wuwei County.
Wei Mingyuan led the remaining soldiers and found a cave at the foot of the mountain.
The cave is very deep and can accommodate all the soldiers, blocking the wind and snow outside. There are water drops dripping down the stalactites at the top, which can solve the water problem.
After being stationed at the border for many years, the soldiers were familiar with some wilderness survival skills. Soon they lit a bonfire in the cave and began to boil water and cook.
The food they looted from the villages along the way, and among this group of remaining soldiers were also some surviving civilians rescued along the way.
Outside the cave, it was covered with ice and snow, and the tragedy outside was hidden by the snow.
Everyone in the cave had sad faces, it was silent and there was no sound, and the fatigue and despair on their faces could not be concealed.
Wei Mingyuan sat at the position closest to the cave entrance, his hair and beard disheveled, but he did not look depressed at all. He kept the weapon in his hand with a resolute expression as he looked at the wind and snow outside.
"Father." Wei Ling brought the freshly prepared soup and placed it in front of him.
The bowl is made of a bamboo tube, and the wheat in the bowl is not shelled and is directly put into the pot for cooking. Some light shells float on the surface of the soup, and few grains of rice can be seen.
Wei Mingyuan looked up and reached out to take it.
He and his wife had three sons and one daughter. When the disaster broke out and he rushed back home from the camp, no one in his family was spared. Only his eldest son, who was training with him in the military camp, was still by his side.
Thinking of his mother and younger siblings, Wei Ling looked sad. He took his share of rice and sat down next to his father.
"Father, what should we do next?"
Liangzhou fell, and monsters were everywhere inside and outside the border. It no longer made much sense for them to continue to stay in Liangzhou.
However, without receiving a transfer order, the Wei family army was not allowed to leave Liangzhou at will.
Not knowing the situation in other states and counties, and having not yet gathered any information, the group had a difficult time moving forward.
Wei Mingyuan stared at the hard-earned food in the bowl and replied calmly, "When the wind and snow subside, we will first help the people of Wuwei County capture Cangsong County and provide them with a place to settle down."
First?
What then?
Wei Ling lowered his eyes and didn't ask.
"After that..." Wei Mingyuan seemed to know the doubts in his heart, "rush to Jincheng to find your fourth uncle and his family, and then find a way to return to Yizhou together." Jincheng is not far from here, and I hope that the fourth uncle's family can be lucky enough to survive.
Wei Ling suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with surprise, "Father is going back to the clan?"
It's not easy when we are thousands of miles apart.
The Wei family army was ordered to garrison this place. As an imperial army, they left their post without permission. If they are held accountable in the future, then...
Wei Mingyuan looked at the falling snow outside and did not answer immediately.
The weather was cold and the rice soup cooled down quickly, but after a few words of conversation, the boiling soup was already warm.
A moment later.
Wei Mingyuan raised his head and poured the rice soup into his mouth, then put down the empty bowl. "I have to go back and take a look, only then can I feel at ease."
Before the epidemic spread throughout the country, Wei Mingyuan received a letter from the clan leader informing him of the situation in the south.
After the disaster, he immediately thought of the contents of the letter and organized the Wei family army to fight the enemy in an orderly manner. However, the military camps were mostly tents and could not withstand the zombies at night.
Wei Mingyuan acted decisively and led the surviving soldiers out of the barracks, fighting and retreating.
They originally found a village to stay in, but as the weather changed and the monsters became stronger, the village was no longer safe, so the group had to leave and look for a safer place to stay.
There is no news from the court at the moment, and sticking to the rules will only lead to destruction.
Wei Mingyuan had a sense of justice in his heart and could not ignore the current tragic situation. What he could do was to help the local people capture a safe city and provide a safe place for the survivors.
But people are divided into close and distant relatives. His wife and children suffered misfortune, and his cousin who was working in Liangzhou was in a state of uncertainty about his life and death, and the clan had lost contact.
No matter how far the distance is, he will try his best to go back and take a look.
…
Before we knew it, the twelfth lunar month had passed and the New Year was here.
Inside Wei's Wubao.
The public kitchen brought out the pickled meat and eggs from the clan village. On New Year's Day, people who dined in the public kitchen did not need a name card, as it was considered the New Year's Eve dinner prepared by the Wei clan for everyone.
With tears in their eyes, the people, strangers who didn't know each other, gathered in the fort to spend the first New Year of the disaster year.
Wei Xiyin took her younger brother and rushed to the women's residence early in the morning to pick up Wei Wenkang, and took the children to kowtow to their grandfather to wish him a happy new year.
Wei Ji sat at the head of the table as in previous years, and after the younger generation had kowtowed, he gave each of them a red envelope.
What is different from the past is that the red envelope looks bulgy, and when you open it, there is a red egg inside, which is considered a luxury nowadays.
It was the first time Wei Lang received an egg as a gift. He felt very surprised and kowtowed three times to his grandfather in joy.
After finishing their meal in the public kitchen in the evening, the eldest and third families stayed up together to celebrate the New Year. They also called Wei Ting over. With the children around, Wei Lang's childish talk, and Wei Li's jokes, the house was bustling with activity.
Every festive season makes one miss family more. The more lively it is, the more melancholy Wei Xiyin feels in her heart.
She sat aside with her eyelids drooped. At this moment, she especially missed her parents and brother who were still in Kyoto. This was the first time in more than ten years that the family had spent the New Year apart.
The situation outside is getting worse and worse.
Wei Xiyin used to deliberately not think too much about it, for fear that she would not be able to suppress the impulse in her heart and act on her own without considering the consequences.
It was clearly a time to relax during the New Year, but her mind was full of various arrangements for her future actions, and she seemed unable to rest for a moment.
The New Year passed quickly, and it was the first day of the first lunar month.
Early in the morning, all the people from the tribe came to pay New Year's greetings to the tribe leader and the three elders. Gong Liulang and Zhang Yuanyan also came to visit. The passage was crowded with people coming and going.
Wei Xiyin led his younger brother and stood outside the house to greet the clan members. Peers exchanged greetings and elders paid New Year's greetings.
The second day of the first lunar month.
At this time of year in previous years, the clan would hold a grand ceremony to worship their ancestors. The Wei clan members would gather in the square to mourn their deceased ancestors, recite sacrificial poems together, trace their roots, pass on filial piety, and welcome the new year.
Due to limited conditions this year, Wei Ji ordered that everything be kept simple.
Before daybreak, the Wei clan members dressed in plain clothes, braved the wind and snow, and endured the cold to leave the underground palace and wait outside the ancestral hall.
Wait until the clan leader and the three clan elders arrive, open the gate of the ancestral hall, enter in turn, place the offering table, and arrange the incense burner and offerings.
In the past, sacrifices required three or five kinds of livestock, fruit plates and cakes. Now there was nothing in the fort, so they just killed a chicken and placed it respectfully on the altar, hoping that the ancestors would not despise it.
The time has come.
The three clan elders read the sacrificial words and presided over the ceremony. The clan leader presided over the ceremony, burned three incense sticks, kowtowed, prayed for peace, and wished the ancestors a happy new year.
The tribe suffered a great disaster and countless relatives died. Although the sacrifice this time was simple, the atmosphere was extremely heavy.
All that could be heard was the three elders reciting the sacrificial words aloud on the stone platform.
"May our ancestors bless us, and may the Wei family's legacy be long and prosperous..."
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