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"The snow is quite heavy today." When Song Ling entered the tent, he saw several deputy generals huddled together by a fire, indicating that they had only recently arrived.
She first took off her cloak and shook off the snowflakes on it at the doorway.
The fire inside the tent must have just been lit a short while ago, and it hadn't warmed up yet, so the snow footprints brought in on the ground hadn't melted.
"I heard the strategist was back last night, but it was too late to say hello." Wei Yan spotted him first and went to greet him: "The journey must have been difficult."
But someone else got there first, took the cloak from her, and handed her a teacup: "Drink some hot water to calm down."
Song Ling raised her head and looked into Yu Baizhou's slightly tense and restrained eyes.
When she paused, it was clear that his movements stiffened, and even his breathing became softer.
Song Ling smiled slightly and accepted the gift with a calm expression: "Thank you, General."
As if nothing had ever happened between them, they returned to their initial awkward and polite state.
Holding the water, Song Ling stepped forward and smiled as she replied to Wei Yan, "The road is indeed a bit difficult to travel. If we had come any later, we might have been trapped in the mountains."
Yu Baizhou stood still, withdrew his slightly trembling fingertips, and hung the cloak not far away.
In the blink of an eye, he regained his usual composed demeanor and walked with her to the several deputy generals, asking Shi Qing, who had rushed over overnight, "Did it snow in the other two prefectures last night? How heavy was the snowfall?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Qing touched his still-wet hair, at a loss for words: "Sigh, I don't know why, but in previous years, we in the three continents of Southern Xinjiang never saw a single snowflake."
"This God doesn't treat people like human beings at all, and he really knows how to pick his timing. We're still fighting a war here and it's snowing so heavily. Not to mention the icy roads..."
"It's hard enough for us soldiers to hide, how are we supposed to fight?"
"What the hell is this bad luck!"
The more Shi Qing talked, the angrier he became. His face turned red with anger, which made the deputy generals next to him laugh at him.
Enough with the rant, let's get back to the main topic.
Wei Yan patted him on the shoulder to calm him down, while he handed the scouts brought back by the soldiers to the general and Song Ling.
"Shannan Prefecture is doing alright, and Yun Prefecture is in a slightly worse snowfall. After all, there is still 'Fourth Master Jin' blocking the way to the north, so it seems that there will be no disaster for now."
The name "Fourth Master Jin" is actually the name of a mountain range that stands north of Yunzhou and Shannan Prefecture; it was not originally called that.
This is because during the previous dynasty, a notorious bandit leader emerged on this main mountain, who led his men to occupy several mountain peaks and monopolized the vital road from south to north for decades.
He was a master robber who would steal money when he had it and take lives when he didn't; even the imperial court couldn't do anything about him.
No one knew his name; all they knew was that the bandits from the surrounding mountain strongholds called him "Master Jin the Fourth".
This resounding reputation spread throughout southern Xinjiang.
If someone actually said that he could travel south right under "Master Jin's" nose, then that would be something to be truly impressed by.
Later, as people used various names for it, the mountain came to be known as "Master Jin Si," and its original name, "Yunwai Mountain," gradually faded into obscurity.
Upon hearing Wei Yan's words, Song Ling drew a sand diagram with a solemn expression: "Yes, the snowfall in Cangwu Prefecture and Yangzhou is quite heavy. I hope it truly is a sign of a bountiful harvest."
"After all, this summer and autumn were dry. With this snow, spring planting can begin next year."
Even so, Song Ling wasn't entirely sure herself.
After all, the snow came without warning, as if the entire earth had been frozen.
Perhaps it was too cold, but I felt a sense of unease.
Who could have imagined that just a few days later, an accident would actually happen?
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