The moonlight sprinkled on the entire Yumen Pass, as if it was covered with a layer of white frost. The city was still brightly lit and bustling with people.
The Yumen Pass at this time was not the Yumen Pass built during the Han Dynasty, but the one that was abandoned during the Later Han Dynasty and has not been used since then.
The current Yumen Pass was built during the Sui Dynasty and is offset from the Yumen Pass of the Han Dynasty by dozens of miles.
The entire Yumen Pass is strategically located, surrounded by mountains and rivers. Due to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, it has been expanded again and again and has now become a small city of considerable size.
Beacon towers have now been built on the surrounding mountain tops, various intersections and checkpoints ahead, including the river channel. Coupled with the dangerous terrain, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The entire Yumen Pass is like the gate between the Western Regions and the Central Plains, and it is also the only entrance and exit.
Most of the people in Yumen Pass are merchants from various countries, and together with the troops stationed here all year round, they account for nearly two-thirds of the population of Yumen Pass.
The small town of tens of thousands of people did not attract the attention of the merchants staying here after the 20,000 troops led by Li Hong entered. After all, as a military fortress, and because the merchants traveled all year round, they had seen many armies, so no one seemed uneasy because of the 20,000 troops.
Li Hong was wearing a white fur coat, and he put his hands to his mouth and blew hot air, saying, "I always thought Yumen Pass was very small, but I didn't expect it to be so big now."
The general of the Yumen Pass Guard who was accompanying him on the city wall had already received an order from the Ministry of War that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would arrive at Yumen Pass soon and any of his demands must be met.
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I originally thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would make some unreasonable demands after his arrival, but unexpectedly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was very easy-going. Apart from having dinner served by his palace maids, he did not make any further requests.
"How many people are stationed here now?" Li Hong asked, looking at the white moonlight that was emitting this cold glow.
"Reporting to the Grand Protector, there are now 10,000 soldiers stationed here." General Wei replied respectfully.
"What about the merchants who come and go in the city every day? Although you are only guarding a pass now, your duties are no different from those of a protector general. At most, the area under your jurisdiction is smaller, but no one's place is more important than yours, right?" Li Hong paced slowly on the city wall, looking outside the city and then inside the city.
"Now that winter has arrived, according to past practice, the huge number of merchants should have basically decreased. They will return to their homes before New Year's Day after coming and going. In about ten days or half a month, fewer people will enter the country and more will leave." Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was easy-going, Yuan Shuji also relaxed.
"Is there anyone on the beacon tower for twelve hours?" In the hazy night, the beacon tower seemed to be looming.
"Yes, Grand Protector. Each beacon tower is guarded by twenty people, and there will be fewer people during the day."
"Take me to see your camp." Li Hong tightened his fur coat. There was no other way. The weather here was really cold. Even though they had not yet walked out of Yumen Pass and entered the desert, it was enough to freeze people to death at night.
"Yes, Grand Protector." Yuan Shuji was about thirty years old. He was not very strong and not very tall, but he exuded a murderous temperament honed from years of fighting on the battlefield, which made people look at him with sidelong eyes.
Under the leadership of Yuan Shuji, Li Hong and his party walked to the side of the city gate facing the Western Regions at Yumen Pass. Although there were lights here as well, it did not seem to be crowded.
The gate slowly opened after Yuan Shuji showed the token. The soldier held a lantern in one hand and a sword in the other, and looked at Li Hong and others with vigilant eyes.
"Yes, it can be seen that although you are not under the command of the Anxi Protectorate, your vigilance has not been lost because they are stationed in the four towns of Anxi." Li Hong looked at the soldiers at the door and said lightly.
"Thank you for the compliment, Grand Protector." Yuan Shuji seemed to have never smiled before.
Following Yuan Shuji, we walked into rows of stone houses. The soldiers inside were bored, and some officers had already run into the city and gone crazy.
I randomly found a soldier's room, which could accommodate 50 people. According to the military system of the Tang Dynasty: 10 people in a fire group, 50 people in a team, and 300 people in a regiment.
So there are as many as forty or fifty houses like this here, plus the barracks in other places in Yumen Pass City, it seems that accommodating tens of thousands of people is no problem.
Seeing a soldier immediately signaling others to stand up with him after Yuan Shuji came in, Yuan Shuji nodded to them. The captain walked up to Yuan Shuji and said, "General, is there something important?"
"Nothing, just come over for a walk." Yuan Shuji finally smiled.
When he was about to introduce Li Hong to the team leader, Li Hong stopped him with his hand.
Li Hong took two slow steps forward, walked to the front of the team, looked them up and down, and then asked, "Are you going to take off your armor?"
The team rolled their eyes and frowned at him.
Although I didn't know the person in front of me, but looking at the big white fur coat he was wearing, I knew he was either rich or noble. He looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, but I thought he must be the son of a high-ranking official.
But even so, the captain seemed not to hear what Li Hong said, and just watched Li Hong walking around the room.
"Fifty people in one room is good. At least it can provide some warmth in winter." Li Hong didn't care that the captain didn't reply to him. After turning around, he walked in front of the captain again and said lightly, "Take off your armor."
"Why? There is an order in the barracks that no one is allowed to take off armor before going to bed." The captain said quickly before Yuan Shuji could stop him.
"Grand Protector, these soldiers have always been rude. Even I am a rude person, so please don't blame me." Yuan Shuji explained although he was apologizing.
Li Hong didn't care. He just continued to look at the captain, then turned around and took two steps. He squatted down and touched the couch with one hand, and said lightly: "Then let him take off his armor first."
After saying this, Li Hong didn't look back. He touched the mattress on the couch to feel its thickness, then lifted the mattress and touched the straw mat underneath. He didn't turn around until he picked up the other person's quilt and felt its thickness. Only then did he turn around with satisfaction.
The captain also took off his armor under Yuan Shuji's order. At this moment, he looked at Li Hong with more or less awe. Even his general called him the Grand Protector. He could not afford to offend him.
Li Hong's face remained calm the entire time. He walked up to the captain and reached out to touch his shoulder. He found that the clothes on the captain were just made of two or three layers of thick cotton cloth. These were not the cotton clothes provided free of charge by the Ministry of Revenue to the Ministry of War, transported to the Western Regions, and distributed to soldiers on the roads of Yunzhong and Liaodong.
"Order everyone to take off their armor." Li Hong reached out and touched the man's pants again. They were still made of two or three layers of cotton cloth.
Before cotton appeared in the Tang Dynasty, this was the clothing that ordinary people wore to keep warm. Only wealthy families could use fur coats and other animal furs to keep warm in winter.
Yuan Shuji looked at Li Hong in confusion, but still obeyed the order and asked everyone to take off their armor.
"It's the first month of the year and the last month of the year. Let's go and take a look." Li Hong glanced at everyone in the room under the dim oil lamp.
After a while, Hua Meng and Mang Zhong shook their heads at him and said in unison, "They are all cotton clothes."
After listening to this, Li Hong sighed and stared at the team leader and asked, "Have you ever been issued cotton clothes? The cotton clothes that were issued to you for free by the court, do you know about this?"
Yuan Shuji suddenly understood. At first, he didn't understand why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince touched the other person's bed and asked him to take off his armor. Now he knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wanted to see if the cotton clothes had been distributed.
The team was looking at Li Hong's somewhat cold eyes. The young man who was easy-going just now now had an aura of authority without being angry. Those sharp eyes seemed to see through him completely.
Suddenly, he felt guilty and embarrassed. He didn't dare to look at Li Hong's eyes again. He said softly, "In reply to the general, I and others have received the cotton coat."
"How many sets?" Li Hong stared at the captain with cold eyes. He wanted to see if the captain would look at Yuan Shuji when answering him. If he did glance at him, then there must be something fishy.
"Two sets." The captain didn't dare to look anywhere else. He just stared at his feet and answered in a low voice.
"Then why don't you wear it? Why are you only wearing such thin clothes?" Li Hong continued to ask.
The captain's eyes flickered. After looking at Li Hong, he lowered his head again and said in a low voice embarrassedly: "I...I sent the cotton-padded jacket back home."
"Why?" Li Hong pursued closely.
"Because... because... my family has never worn such good clothes for the winter, so... so... I will..."
"How many years have you been a soldier? Have you been stationed at Yumen Pass?"
"Yes, I have been a soldier for five years."
"Then you should have at least ten sets of cotton clothes, all given to your family members?" Li Hong asked in surprise.
"Yes." The captain could hardly lift his head because of Li Hong's questioning.
"Are they all the same as you?" Li Hong asked, glancing again at the soldiers who had not yet put on their armor.
"Yes, they are all the same as me." The captain answered honestly.
Cotton has been introduced into the Tang Dynasty for ten years. Is it possible that it has not yet become popular? Or is there another hidden reason?
Li Hong waved his hand, signaling them to put on armor, and then, accompanied by Yuan Shuji, he visited several barracks. Basically all the soldiers sent the cotton clothes issued by the court back home, and no one was willing to wear them.
Walking on the busiest street of Yumen Pass, this street runs east-west, facing the two gates of Yumen Pass, the East Gate facing Guanzhong and the West Gate facing the Western Regions.
Although the entire street is not as prosperous and lively as the ordinary streets in Chang'an City, it is also brightly lit and bustling with people.
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