Chapter 302 Night Snow
In the sixth year of Guanghe, it was night, November 9th, and the stars were dim.
The snow is getting heavier and heavier. After God's testing in the past few days, God finally figured out the reality of the world and began to let out the endless ice and snow to his heart's content, freezing the world.
I heard from the old man at Juqiaoyi that Jizhou has not seen such heavy snow in twenty years. With such auspicious snow, the coming year should be a good year, but it is a pity that this world...
Juqiaoyi has a long history. It is said that it was the place where King Zhou of Shang used his wine pond and meat forest to collect grain. After thousands of years, the princes, generals and prime ministers who enjoyed themselves here in the past have long since died, but the mountains and rivers remain the same.
At this time, Juqiao Post was a transportation post to the north of Chaoge. It was originally an important post for Chaoge to contact central and southern Hebei. In the past, there were endless business trips, and it was one of the largest post houses in Hanoi.
But this year, the Yellow Turban uprising in Hebei caused chaos and unrest in all directions, and business travel has long been cut off. This Juqiao Station naturally became depressed.
In the heavy snow, the lights of Juqiao Station are like beans, so warm and safe in this cold night.
"Crunch"
A postman went out wearing a fat and tattered winter coat.
The reason why he had to go out on such a cold night was because there were three stage horses in the post station that needed his care. They are more precious beings than him.
The thin postman first looked at the stable and was half relieved when he saw that it was not crushed by the snow.
He first cleared the snow from half the shed, and then added some clean turf to the three horses. This is the saying goes that a horse will not be fat without weeds.
The postman's name is Xiao Han, and he is the son of the postmaster who was picked up by the postmaster in the ravine. The reason why he was abandoned was not because Xiao Han had any flaws, but simply because he couldn't survive.
The postmaster is Lao Han, who has been the postmaster at Juqiao Post for generations, but he has never given birth to a son in his generation. So, he adopted Xiao Han as his adopted son.
However, Old Han did not intend to leave his position to Xiao Han in the future. After all, he was only forty this year, and he still wanted to work hard and have a son.
Xiao Han had never thought so much. In this inn, what he cared about most were these stage horses. He felt they were more human than humans.
As the war intensified, the good horses in the post station had long been confiscated by the Han army and sent to the Qishui camp, so what was left in the post station at this moment was actually three old horses that could not be driven.
The consumption of horses in the inn is very large. Because how the Han Dynasty in Kyoto ruled this thousands of miles of territory relied not only on those loyal officials, but also on the network of inns that spread all over the world.
In order to maintain smooth and timely information, each station must have multiple horses on hand, and these horses must be at least above average.
There is a saying, "The so-called thousand-mile horse always exists, but Bole does not always exist."
But in fact, there may be Bole, but there is really no such thing as a thousand-mile horse. There is no such thing as a thousand-mile horse that can travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night.
Generally speaking, as far as a single horse is concerned. An ordinary horse can travel one or two hundred miles a day. The best horses can travel about three hundred miles a day. And that kind of famous horse that is unique in thousands of miles can travel four hundred miles a day, but it can only travel five hundred miles at most.
Therefore, the speed limit of the horse is here.
In normal times, in order to quickly convey messages between stations, the messengers who deliver military orders have to change horses instead of people. When they are often driven to the extreme, many horses in the stations will naturally become useless.
But even so, this horse is a very valuable property and can be rented to the countryside to pull plows. The same is true for Juqiao Station. Now these three horses are an important way to subsidize the station.
Therefore, Xiao Han does his best for Sanma, whether emotionally or financially.
Just when Xiao Han was combing the hair of the three horses, suddenly the three horses neighed together, and Xiao Han was still surprised. In the dark night to the north, a group of people leading horses came walking through the snow in shadows.
Xiao Han was startled and looked again. No, it was not a group of people.
That endless long dragon, this is an army! And they are all cavalry.
Feeling blessed, Xiao Han did not shout, but just froze there, hoping that those people would not see him.
But unfortunately, these people came straight to this inn.
In the wind and snow, most of the black figures stopped, and only about a hundred people broke into the inn.
Their leader was a man wearing a bamboo hat with frost and snow on his face.
What did this person say? Xiao Han couldn't tell, he just felt that this person was not an ordinary person.
Before this man came in, the soldiers beside him jumped into the inn like tigers and wolves. Afterwards, there was a chaos, and the four postmen in the post station, including Xiao Han, were executed.
Xiao Han looked at the thief in confusion and listened to his words.
Elder Han of Yi knew a lot more than Xiao Han, and he was trembling all over at this moment.
Because he knows who these people are? They are the Taishan giants who are confronting the Han army at this moment.
That yellow turban and that special armband are indeed the Taishan giant thief.
When you think about this cavalry regiment descending here in the snowy night, you can imagine what they did? Isn't it the Chaoge not far away?
And since it was a covert operation, how could they survive if they bumped into it?
Old Han ghost knows this, that's why he's shaking like this.
Old Han was not mistaken. This cavalry regiment coming through the snow was none other than our Soaring General Zhang Chong and his two thousand assault cavalry.
They were the Han troops who sneaked out from Yecheng on the 8th and prepared to attack Chaoge at night. But an unexpected heavy snowfall not only delayed them for a day, but also caused them to lose their way.
That's why they came to this inn, just to ask where they were at this time.
The one at the front of the crowd, wearing a bamboo hat, was Zhang Chong.
He looked at the old official who was shaking like a dog and said warmly:
"Old man, don't panic. I just want to ask you something, where are we? How far is Chaoge from here?"
Hearing this, Old Han shivered even more. He even heard the bandit saying that he was going to Chaoge, so there was no way to survive.
At this moment, Lao Han just lay there exhausted, thinking that he still had no children, so he would go to the underworld and humiliate his ancestors. For a moment, Lao Han burst into tears.
Zhang Chong saw Lao Han crying and not saying anything, so he smiled and said nothing.
Guo Zu on the side was about to scold the old man, but Xiao Han on the other side suddenly said:
"Our place is called Juluyi, which is more than ten miles away from Chaoge."
After hearing this, the cavalrymen surrounding Zhang Chong couldn't help but smile. They were finally arriving at Chaoge. This damn road, this damn Han army, this damn snow.
Zhang Chong does not intend to kill these people. Some people will not be killed if they can. Where can they go under this heavy snow?
So, Zhang Chong prepared to lead his generals on their way through the frost and snow, but he still lacked a guide.
Thinking of this, he looked at Xiao Han.
But before Zhang Chong could ask, Xiao Han suddenly raised his head, looked at Zhang Chong and said the most important sentence in his life:
"General, I want to take you to Chaoge!"
As soon as these words came out, Lao Han, who was trembling since then, became anxious. Just when he was about to scold Xiao Han, he saw the evil man next to the thief's head staring at him fiercely, so he suppressed his words again.
After hearing what Xiao Han said, Zhang Chong asked:
"Don't you know this is a thief? If you stay in this inn, you might have a good life."
Xiao Han shook his head and revealed his true thoughts:
"I am the postman at this post station and I take care of three old horses. They were good horses that could travel hundreds of miles a day a few years ago, but now their legs are shaking every step of the way. These horses were originally capable of going to the battlefield. It’s a good horse, but it’s so useless in this station, so I’m thinking that if these horses had a choice, they might choose to be a war horse.” Zhang Chong thought this person was interesting and asked:
"So you want to go to the battlefield? Don't want to die here?"
Xiao Han still shook his head and said honestly:
"I don't want to go to the battlefield. In fact, I don't know what I want to do. It's just that I think the general is a great hero, so I want to follow him."
Xiao Han's words made the generals laugh. This man couldn't see that he still had this vision and knew that Qu Shuai was a great hero.
That's right, our General Soaring to Heaven is the greatest hero in this world!
Amidst the laughter of the generals, Xiao Han's face turned hot, and he was a little at a loss.
Zhang Chong did not directly agree to Xiao Han, but asked:
"Do you know how to get to Chaoge?"
Xiao Han nodded and said:
"My adoptive father often asked me to go to Chaogegu to sell wine. I'm familiar with it."
Zhang Chong asked Xiao Han again:
"Many times, although your current peace is ordinary, it may be the happiest time for you. If you follow us, you may never encounter this peace in your life. So, have you really thought about it?"
Xiao Han wanted to say something else, but Old Han beside him suddenly kowtowed to Zhang Chong:
"General, please be kind to Xiao Han. He is a child and loves the general's majesty and majesty, so he said some mindless words, but I don't think Xiao Han has thought clearly."
Speaking of this, Lao Han looked at Xiao Han aside, with a complicated expression, but said firmly:
"I have raised this child since he was a child, and I have seen it with my eyes. He is just like those horses. Some good horses are mixed among bad horses, and they just think that they are also bad horses. But as long as it falls in the eyes of a real Bole, a thousand-mile horse will be a thousand-mile horse after all. It’s about running to a wider world.”
"So..."
At this time, Lao Han kowtowed heavily to Zhang Chong and prayed:
"So, please ask the general to accept Xiao Han. He is the thousand-mile horse and does not belong to this station after all."
Xiao Han beside him was stunned. He had never heard this from his adoptive father. He seemed to understand why his adoptive father would shake his head and tell him every time he drank the wine he bought. It will be passed on to him.
Xiao Han burst into tears thinking that his adoptive father valued him so much. He never knew that in his adoptive father's eyes, he was like a horse with a thousand miles of horse.
Xiao Han was in tears, muttering what he wanted to say to his adoptive father.
Lao Han didn't see it, he just lowered his head and continued:
"Please, General."
At this time, Zhang Chong suddenly felt a little dazed. He seemed to have seen the old man Tian who was outside Xue's wall four years ago. This Tian Jun's father seemed to overlap with this old official at this moment.
Zhang Chong understood, he helped Old Han up, turned to Little Han and said:
"Now that you've made up your mind, just follow us. Do you have a name?"
Xiao Han looked at Old Han next to him, and then shook his head:
"I have been called Xiao Han since I was a child, and I haven't even got a name yet."
Zhang Chong nodded and first said to Lao Han:
"Old man, if you think I am not overstepping my bounds, I will give this child a name."
Lao Han suddenly cried. He bent over and cried to Zhang Chong:
"Thank you, General, for the name."
With that said, he took Xiao Han and knelt down together.
Zhang Chong looked at the heavy snow in the sky and said to Xiao Han word by word:
"My child, you will be called Han Gang from now on. You must remember this Gangyi where you were raised and know the painstaking efforts of your adoptive father."
At this point, Xiao Han, now called Han Gang, kowtowed heavily to Zhang Chong along with his adoptive father.
At the same time, Zhang Chong looked at the distance to the south hidden in the darkness with sharp eyes.
……
Zhang Chong's eyes penetrated time and space.
At this moment, above Chaoge City, Zhang Wen was also looking north.
Of course, he couldn't see Zhang Chong's gaze. The Zhendong general was wearing a thick cloak and silently looking at a group of cavalry standing outside the north of the city under the canopy.
This team of horsemen looked good at fighting, and no one made any noise even in the wind and snow.
They watched a bamboo basket fall to the bottom of the city, and then one of their leaders stepped onto the bamboo basket, and then climbed up to the top of the city with a creaking sound.
The reason for this is that the night is already dark and the four cities of Chaoge have fallen. This team of cavalry soldiers could not enter the city, so they could only enter the city in this way.
But because this person was too important, Zhang Wen, in order not to make this person feel neglected, directly received him personally at the top of the city despite the heavy snow.
At this time, when the Han official was pulled up to the top of the city, everyone in the city found that the man's hands were above his knees, which was really weird.
Zhang Wen braved the wind and snow and personally took off his cloak and covered him, and then said warmly:
"Xuande, I have received your teacher's letter and know your purpose of coming here."
Yes, this person is our old acquaintance, Liu Bei and Liu Xuande.
This person came here in the name of his teacher and led a cavalry team all the way through the Taishan Army's defense line. It took several life and death attempts to reach Chaoge.
After receiving Liu Bei, everyone no longer had to stay at the top of the city to enjoy the breeze. Zhang Wen took Liu Bei into a quiet room in the city. As for the cavalry soldiers who came with Liu Bei, they had their own people to warm and serve them wine after entering the city.
After changing into clean clothes, Liu Bei appeared in front of Zhang Wen again.
Zhang Wen stood up unconsciously and praised Liu Bei:
"Xuande is full of heroic spirit. No wonder your teacher praised you in his letter."
Liu Bei didn't dare to praise Zhang Wen, and even now, Liu Bei was still a little uneasy.
Just because who is Zhang Wen? General Zhendong of the Han family. He had just been waiting for him at the top of the city in the snow. He could no longer be called a corporal, but was completely inconsistent with etiquette.
What kind of person is Liu Bei? He is a small man who fights for food. He must bear the weight of receiving such a great gift. And how could Liu Bei not be frightened by something that even General Zhendong couldn't bear?
As expected, Zhang Wen invited Liu Bei to sit down and confided something to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei looked calm on the face, but his heart was already in turmoil.
……
"New Book of Shishuo" - "Jie Enlightenment Chapter":
[General Han Gang was originally a soldier, but he met him on a snowy night and begged to stay with the army. When his father asked him why, Gang said: "The Han Dynasty is about to decline, there are treacherous people, and there are no heroes to use force. What use can I be? The only one who can use me is General Zhang!"]
(End of chapter)