The cold wind howled, and the snow particles made a snapping sound on the clothes.
A group of knights trekked through the snowy field.
"What a damn weather!" The strong-bodied Xianbei man with braided hair wrapped himself tightly in a braided sheepskin coat, wiped the snow foam from his face, spat, and said in Xianbei dialect: "Damn Han people are like cattle and horses.
Drive us."
Not even the meanest slave would be driven out of his tent in such cold weather.
The poorest dog will not be kicked out of the kennel by its owner and stalk its prey in such heavy snow.
Another Xianbei knight glanced at him, snorted, and sneered.
They were subordinates of Xianbei Suli, and were sent out by the nominal general Liu He to track down the team that broke out from Yijing.
The leader of that team was very cunning, wandering around the plain like a fox, so that they could not get to the beginning and end of the team, and could only follow him from a distance.
The sudden heavy snowfall disrupted the rhythm of both sides. No matter how cunning the team was, it was expected that they would be trapped in a situation where they were short of men, horses, food and grass, and were trapped somewhere.
While the big shots were sitting in a warm tent, enjoying the plundered Han women, their group of unlucky guys were sent out to look for traces.
"Stop talking nonsense! Go another five miles north and turn back."
How could Liu Yu, the son of Liu Shijun, who was bent on revenge, know about Xueyuan's violent temper?
He has long been overwhelmed by hatred, but they are not stupid. Who would sacrifice their lives for his hatred?
In such cold weather, if we continue walking, they will kill people.
Just when Xianbei Tanqi was lazy after discussing it.
Their prey did stay somewhere.
But unlike what some people expected, food and grass were cut off, and people and horses were exhausted.
On the contrary, the temporary deserted village camp was like a large construction site, with people coming and going.
Common people in the Han Dynasty used burlap and other threads to weave into rough, clumsy brown clothes with poor warmth, and the fillings were mostly linen or reed catkins.
There are still people who can't wear these poor clothes. Most of the common people are hungry and close their homes. Cats rely entirely on their own will to survive at home.
Nowadays, people who travel to deserted villages have a windproof, velvet and thick cotton coat, which can be called a luxury.
This kind of scene of working in full swing in the snowy cold wind was rare before the widespread popularity of cotton in the Ming Dynasty.
A series of shacks made of grass and trees were quickly built based on the collapsed and abandoned houses in the deserted village.
The seemingly simple shack was dark and short, with wet mud mixed with straw filling the gaps, and it could barely keep out the wind and snow.
But it is enough as a temporary resting point.
In the hospital
Gongsun Yan was sitting on the haystack at the top of the hall, with Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan sitting under him. A bonfire was lit in the middle. Gongsun Cheng was handed over to Wang Wu, who was on duty outside the house, to take him to the kitchen to warm himself by the fire.
Like a warm host, he entertained the men covered in frost and snow to eat noodles.
Although Wang Wu was responsible for cooking the noodles, it did not prevent Gongsun Yan from joining their discussion after they finished eating.
Zhao Yun, who was the quickest to react, understood her purpose and brought her into the main room very naturally and respectfully. He invited her to sit down and carefully reported to her the situation of food and fodder and the security arrangements.
Gongsun Yan, whose purpose was to sneak into the main team, cast a grateful look at Zhao Yun when Xia Houlan was not paying attention, and Zhao Yun only smiled slightly.
Compared to Zhao Yun who was calm and cooperative, Xia Houlan was a little dissatisfied. In Xia Houlan's opinion, how could they let a little girl sit on top and dictate?
However, Zhao Yun, as the actual leader, has already recognized Gongsun Yan's superior status, so Xia Houlan has no way of getting angry.
Gongsun Yan actually didn't want to interfere in everything in the team, she just wanted to find something to do.
Zhao Yun doesn't hide anything about everything, but she is very self-aware.
It only took over the logistics and military supplies, and the military did not have any involvement.
After a brief discussion, Xia Houlan felt a little breathless and resigned.
Only Zhao Yun and Gongsun Yan were left.
"Thank you, General Zilong." Gongsun Yan breathed a sigh of relief and systematically established his own power. For Gongsun Yan, a woman in this era, it was already not easy at the beginning.
The status of women in the late Han Dynasty can be said to be very high compared to that in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, there was Lu Pheasant before him and there were no queens after him. It has almost become a consensus that women can interfere with politics, and women are still far away from politics.
She can sit at the top now not only because she is Gongsun Zan's daughter, but more importantly because of Zhao Yun's support and cooperation.
"You're welcome, ma'am." Zhao Yun did not take any credit. In his opinion, Gongsun Yan's ability was enough to overcome all barriers such as gender and class.
In fact, after witnessing that kind of ability with his own eyes, Zhao Yun was very worried. What is the price for that kind of ability that goes against the will of heaven?
After tossing and turning all night, Zhao Yun made some determination after seeing the sergeants overflowing with satisfaction after eating and drinking.
So what if the power is weird? As long as it can save this troubled world.
Zhao Yun's eyes were fixed on the girl sitting at the top.
She is considered tall among women, but still thin.
I don't know whether this kind of power is a blessing or a curse for a girl like this.
Zhao Yun was sighing in his heart when he heard Gongsun Yan calling him.
"General Zilong."
"The end will be here."
"My feet are numb, please give me a lift!"
"?"
With an inexplicable expression, Zhao Yun helped Gongsun Yan up, whose legs were numb from sitting upright, and looked at him rubbing his calf with a painful look on his face.
The heart that had been firm not long ago was a little shaken.
Is she really okay?
……………………
Although he had just been embarrassed because he was not used to sitting upright in ancient times, Zhao Yun was very considerate and did not mention it, and Gongsun Yan also hurriedly put his work status into order to resolve the embarrassment.
After confirming that Tian Kai was still unconscious, Gongsun Yan took out a small book out of thin air in front of Zhao Yun and discussed with him in a low voice the list of supplies that should be replenished next.
"We still need to rest here until the snow stops before setting off." Gongsun Yan bit her pen. In order not to experience that embarrassing scene again, she quickly bought two small folding horses and sat next to Zhao Yun by the fire pit.
Although this was not the first time he saw her taking something out of thin air, Zhao Yun still felt a little shocked and moved a little. He felt that the small thing sitting under him was not as stable as the military stool.
"You have to add enough grain and horse feed."
Eating noodles all the time can only mean that you are full. To maintain the fighting power of the team, you must also take in protein, salt, etc.
As far as the Han people Gongsun Yan has seen so far, the tallest is Zhao Yun, who is estimated to be 185 and up, followed by Xia Houlan, who has broad shoulders and long arms, and his body shape is no worse than that of modern people, but their complexions are not very good, I don’t know
Is it because of lack of nutrition or because of injuries?
Not only do you need to supplement nutrition, but you also need to…
Gongsun Yan raised his head and looked at Zhao Yun. He was wearing a military coat and could not see the bandages on his arms. "There are also medicines, bandages, and disinfectants for first-aid dressings."
Zhao Yun looked stunned. Everything Gongsun Yan reported contained a huge amount of information. He thought he could bring out food and clothes, and the pot with weird material was scary enough, but he didn't expect it could even use medicinal materials?
Zhao Yun imagined countless possibilities in his mind in an instant, and each one made him feel incredible.
However, he was a cautious and restrained person, and did not speak to disrupt Gongsun Yan's train of thought. When Gongsun Yan asked him about the daily food intake of his war horse, he replied, "The war horse eats twenty kilograms of soybean meal concentrate every day."
Twenty pounds??
So edible??
This number scared Gongsun Yan and shook his hands.
A war horse eats almost twenty kilograms of soybean meal concentrate a day...
Gongsun Yan looked at Zhao Yun with a confused look on his face. Did he report the wrong number and soybean meal? "Isn't it okay to just eat grass?"
Seeing her eyes widen in surprise, Zhao Yun explained patiently: "War horses are different from ordinary horses. They still need to be fed enough refined food on the battlefield, otherwise the war horses will have no fighting power and will soon be overdrawn, sick, and die."
A war horse needs twenty kilograms of refined grains and soybean meal every day. No wonder Gongsun Zan made people angry by plundering everywhere in order to feed his cavalry.
The knights themselves cannot eat too poorly and must keep up with their nutrition.
Sometimes one person, two horses or three horses are needed in order to carry armor and have mobility.
Plus the cost of transporting food and baggage on the road.
Gongsun Yan took a breath, no wonder the cavalry is a high-end unit that ordinary poor people cannot afford.
"Madam, you don't have to be like this." Seeing the frightened look on her face, Zhao Yun said hurriedly: "If the supply of soybean meal and refined grains is difficult, hay will also..."
Gongsun Yan raised his hand to interrupt him.
These three hundred cavalry were almost her only source of wealth. If she wanted to survive in the north, the Wuhuan cavalry and the Xianbei cavalry were her primary enemies. The cavalry must be elite and all of them must be elite.
People also need to be raised, and horses also need to be raised well.
"General Zilong, don't worry." Gongsun Yan gritted his teeth, "I can do it."
But you look so desperate.
Zhao Yun opened his mouth but did not say anything.
Gongsun Yan searched for horse feed on the trading platform, and the cheapest ones made her feel toothache.
Finally, we selected a feed whose main ingredients are oats, alfalfa, corn flakes and wheat grains, with the addition of herbivore nutritional supplements, multivitamins, salt powder, and glucose. One material point is 8 pounds.
This kind of horse feed is relatively cheap, and the unit price is still more expensive than human food.
"What is this?" Zhao Yun looked at the yellow kraft paper bag that appeared on the ground. Seeing Gongsun Yan nodding, he picked it up and looked at it.
"Can you open it and take a look?"
After Zhao Yun asked for instructions, he pulled out the short dagger from his boots and cut open the bag.
The aroma of grain hit my face, but there was not a single grain in sight. The bag was full of oblong green pellets.
Zhao Yun picked up a grain and even after crushing it with his fingernails, he couldn't tell what grain it was made of.
After pondering for a while, he apologized and went out to call Wang Wu. He asked Wang Wu to fetch a horse with an injured hoof and try feeding it to see if the horse would feel any discomfort after eating it.
Wang Wu came in in response, holding a brown paper bag and taking his little follower Gongsun Cheng to feed the horses.