Chapter 16: If you can’t kill a man, you can’t kill a dog

Fortunately, Cheng Chumo stole a jar of grape wine to drink. He took a sip, and the warm wine made his temper rise. He slapped Cheng Chumo’s hand holding the bowl.

“You’re wasting it. How can you drink grape wine without ice?”

“I know that grape wine tastes great when it’s chilled, but this is Longyou. We’re here to suppress the Qiang people. Even the emperor won’t let us enter Lanzhou City, so we can only camp in the wilderness. Where can I get ice?” Cheng Chumo was clearly complaining. There was nothing he could do. Emperor Li Er was planning to reorganize the army at this time and would never allow the army to harass the local people. It is estimated that the soldiers of the entire Tang Dynasty were living in tents at this time.

“Living in the city is a dream, but it is still possible to get some ice. As long as you find saltpeter, I can make ice.”

Hearing Yun Ye say this, Cheng Chumo didn’t even bother to ask how, and he got up and went to the logistics camp. He remembered that there should be saltpeter there, and there was this thing in the smoke signal.

In a matter of time, Cheng Chumo returned with a large bag of saltpeter. Yun Ye found a large jar and poured the saltpeter into it, then poured in half a jar of water. He saw the water and saltpeter react violently, with water splashing and rolling, and the sound of explosions coming out from time to time. When the water surface was stable, Yun Ye poured the prepared cold boiled water into the copper basin and let it float on the water. Soon, under the watchful eyes of Cheng Chumo, white ice patterns began to appear on the surface of the water. Within a short time, the surface of the water tank was covered in white ice, and the water in the copper basin began to freeze. Cheng Chumo carefully touched the ice with his hand and gasped in surprise: “Brother, how did you do it? Ice in the dead of summer? Who would believe it?”

“Shut up, don’t ask if you don’t know. Next year, we’re going to get rich off of it. You don’t know that I’m still a poor wretch.”

Cheng Chumo scratched his head and indeed stopped asking. He always felt that it was not difficult for his brother to make money, and there was no need to prepare for it now. However, being able to drink chilled grape wine was the real thing.

The two brothers lay on the tall haystack, drinking the refreshing iced grape wine, and the summer heat was completely gone. The ice cubes clanged against the walls of the bowl, which sounded like a beautiful song at this time. It made the two feel comfortable from the top of their heads to the soles of their feet, and neither of them had the heart to speak, just staring at the stars in the sky.

Cheng Chumo drained the wine in the bowl in one gulp and fell asleep, enjoying the coolness. Yun Ye sipped the wine in the bowl little by little, looking at the Milky Way and the Cowherd star and smiling wryly. Could that be a true portrayal of himself? Legend has it that they will meet again one day a year, but I am separated from my wife and son by 1380 years. I am afraid that I will never see them again in this life. I raised the remaining wine in the bowl and respectfully saluted the Vega. I whispered, “Take care,” and then drank the wine and threw the bowl far away into the unknown darkness.

The Turks retreated, taking not only 30,000 Han slaves with them, but also the promise of mutual non-aggression from Emperor Li Er. The treasury of Chang’an was emptied. These triumphant bandits left Yuan Prefecture and Ling Prefecture, fleeing into the vast grasslands.

Cheng Yaojin, holding a letter from Emperor Li Er, wept bitterly. Twelve thousand soldiers, dressed in full armor, bowed before the general’s tent. Several fierce generals, with their hair and faces covered in blood, begged to go into battle, determined to wash away the shame brought by the alliance at the Wei River with their blood.

Cheng Yaojin and the deputy commander Niu Jinda cut their wrists and vowed that they would not be human until they had avenged this humiliation. But our army is weak, our equipment is not complete, our rations are insufficient, there are rebellions in the country, and the Tibetans and the Togus are watching us closely. If we are not careful, the Tang dynasty will be in danger of collapsing. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. Moreover, we will be able to wipe out the rebels in the country, and when our soldiers are well-trained and our rations are sufficient, we will definitely go hunting with you on the grasslands and fight a decisive battle with the Turks.

The soldiers cried and returned. For a time, the camp was full of angry voices and the air was filled with anger. In order to vent the army’s anger, the remaining Qiang people in Lanzhou and Suzhou were wiped out. In order to hunt down the rebels, the army marched into Hezhou. The Tufan people were on edge. While the army marched to the border, they sent a messenger to Chang’an to negotiate.

Yun Ye had been with the army, running around the land of Longyou, and had witnessed the disappearance of the once-glorious Qiang people from the ethnic group. Except for a few Qiang people who fled into the mountains and deserts, the rest of the young and strong Qiang people were all killed, and the women and children were enslaved. It can be said that the entire Qiang tribe paid a heavy price for a moment of pleasure. Seeing the destruction of a race with his own eyes had a great impact on Yun Ye’s soul.

The rise and fall of dynasties, the rise and fall of a nation in a single night. The Han people have stood on the earth for five thousand years, weathering many storms and setbacks, but they have also grown new branches from old trees. How difficult and how fortunate it is. And now, the Han people are about to usher in a new round of prosperity. Yun Ye thought to himself, could his arrival make the coming era of prosperity even more perfect?

The sound of horses and chariots, the bow and arrows of the passers-by, the dust from the marching army, and the clanging of armor were all around. Cheng Chumo was wearing a full suit of armor, and in the sunlight he looked like a huge torch, blinding people.

A horse next to him stuck its head into the carriage, as if trying to hide from the light of the torch, but its tail kept wagging, showing its happy mood.

Cheng Chumo’s chestnut horse looked at Wangcai, who was empty on his back, with a sad look, and buried his head to continue carrying his heavy master forward with difficulty.

Wangcai certainly had reason to be happy. The carriage was cold, with a large piece of ice emitting cold air. The outside was sweltering, but inside the carriage was pleasantly cool. Yun Ye was sitting with his legs crossed, humming a little tune and occasionally throwing a bean into his mouth. Life was carefree.

Wangcai would occasionally lick a mouthful of melted ice water, and occasionally Yun Ye would grab a handful of beans and stuff them into Wangcai’s mouth. The man and horse looked extremely comfortable in the midst of the army’s flood.

Yun Ye’s carriage was followed by a long convoy of carts. This was the loot obtained by General Cheng when he broke into the Qiang people’s lair in Hezhou. Dozens of carts of salted lamb skins were seized. The money and goods were distributed to the soldiers, and the women, children, servants and slaves were sold by the local government. The income would be included in the national treasury. The morale of the army was high.

Yun Ye also had his share of the spoils. No one wanted the saltpeter, so he got ten carts full of it. Hezhou was a saltpeter producing area, and the saltpeter produced there was of high purity and low impurity, making it the best raw material for salted leather. Originally, only one cart would be loaded, but after General Cheng enjoyed the chilled grape wine, one cart became ten.

Cheng Chumo finally woke up from his dream of wearing the Ming Guang armor. He felt as if his body was trapped in a steamer, with sweat flowing down his neck and waist like a stream. His boots were full of sweat, and his horse was also wet.

Looking back at Yun Ye’s special carriage, and looking forward, the middle army banner was half a mile away from him. He shouted at the leading officer, Guo Yi, claiming that he needed to change clothes, and asked him to be careful. The most important thing was to inform him when he saw the general.

The thinly armored officer in a straw hat looked at the officer who looked like he had been pulled out of the water and said, “I’ll take care of everything.” Cheng Chumo patted his subordinate on the shoulder to express his gratitude and then rushed into Yun Ye’s carriage. The carriage creaked with overloading, kicked Wangcai’s head out first, and then held the ice without letting go.

Seeing this, Yun Ye picked up the ice-cold tea and stuffed the spout into Cheng Chumo’s mouth, pouring water into him like watering a flower. After drinking a pot of tea, a very comfortable sigh came out of Cheng Chumo’s mouth.

“Ming Guang Armor is simply the best target on the battlefield, a magnet for arrows. Who would wear this in the heat, except for those who are crazy and have a fever?”

Yun Ye looked at the morning with contempt and touched it with a cloth towel from behind and still put it on the guy’s face.

“Brother, I would like to have one. I have always wanted a Ming Guang armor in the capital, but my father didn’t agree. It’s too expensive to make one myself. I didn’t expect to find one in Longyou. You didn’t know that Yuchi Dasha had one. When we were in Chang’an, this guy wore it in front of us every day to show off. He didn’t take it off when he ate, and he used a knife to stab the food into his mouth. He said that this was the true nature of a man. Although he took it off after being beaten by his father, it still made me unhappy. Now that I have finally got it, when will I not wear it? Cheng Chumo wiped his face and explained in a muffled voice.

“When we get to Chang’an, I’ll design a suit of armor for you. You’re going to break the carriage if you throw this thing away. With such heavy armor and your weight, which horse do you expect to carry you into battle? You’re a general on horseback. Agility and speed are your strengths. Now that you’re wearing this piece of junk, you won’t be able to go far before the horse can’t take it anymore. Without a horse, how much combat power do you have?”

Yun Ye slowly persuaded Cheng Chumo. He took off the armor with his hands and Cheng Chumo was obviously much more relaxed. The 80-jin armor was sent to the baggage cart by his personal soldiers. After putting on the leather armor again, Cheng Chumo bit a large piece of ice and it creaked loudly, but he was not afraid of breaking his teeth.

Cheng Chumo got back on his horse. The sun was fierce, but military law was ruthless, even if he was the son of a general. Yun Ye could lie down in the carriage because he was not in the military, and because he had epilepsy, the general had given him permission to ride in the carriage.

This time, the Longyou rebellion was suppressed, and the Zuowei, as a reserve force, was mainly composed of new recruits in the army, who had never been to the battlefield. This time, they were also training in Longyou, and it was just right to use the Qiang people to train the Zuowei recruits. The appearance of this army that had seen blood was different from when they first arrived. When they first arrived, the atmosphere in the army was lively and boisterous. These new recruits almost laughed and joked all the way to Longyou. Now that the army is on the move, the entire team is silent, except for the sound of rustling armor and the thundering sound of boots hitting the ground. The blood-red Tang-character flag is fluttering in the wind.