Chapter 32: Heavy Snow
“Warhorses can’t be given to you, although they are spoils of war. We urgently need them now and can only temporarily occupy them. Once we have a spare, I’ll compensate you!” Yang Zhengshan’s gaze fell on the dead horses, and Zhou Lan spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
Previously, Yang Zhengshan had saved their lives. Maybe they could have escaped to the mountains, but by the time they reached the mountains, there wouldn’t be many people left. So she had been expressing her gratitude for saving their lives.
Someone had saved their lives, yet they still wanted to occupy the spoils of war, making Zhou Lan feel extremely embarrassed. Yang Zhengshan looked at the items without refusing, nodding his head in gratitude, “Thank you, General, for your benevolence!”
The items were indeed necessary for Yang Family Village. The young men who died or were injured in the previous battle needed financial support.
Money couldn’t buy back lives, but for ordinary people, money was life, and food was life. Although the items looked messy and worthless, their actual value was considerable. For example, the damaged armor could be exchanged for ten to twenty silver taels, and the dead horses could be sold for a lot of silver. Even if they couldn’t be sold, they could be distributed for everyone to eat.
“There’s more!” Zhou Lan pulled out a cloth bag from behind her.
The cloth bag fell to the ground, making a clear, metallic clinking sound. Yang Zhengshan’s eyes narrowed, and he reached out to take the bag.
The bag was filled with silver coins!
“Is all of this for us?” Yang Zhengshan asked in surprise.
“Yes, we need battle merits more than silver coins!” Zhou Lan replied.
Yang Zhengshan weighed the bag, estimating it to be around seventy to eighty pounds. Seventy to eighty pounds of silver coins, even if most of them were copper coins, would still be worth hundreds of silver taels.
What a kind person! Could such kind people be any more abundant?
Yang Zhengshan looked at Zhou Lan with a face full of wonder.
The other items could be said to be given as a token of goodwill because they were too cumbersome to take away, but these silver coins proved that the other party genuinely wanted to compensate them.
“Then I won’t refuse!”
“Yes!”
Zhou Lan naturally didn’t know that Yang Zhengshan had given her a “good person” card. In reality, with her identity, she didn’t care about these hundreds of silver taels. If she hadn’t been carrying no silver coins on her, she would have wanted to give even more to Yang Zhengshan.
“I still have urgent matters to attend to, so I won’t stay any longer. Let’s exchange pleasantries again once we’ve chased away those Hu bandits!”
With that, Zhou Lan bowed to Yang Zhengshan and left with her soldiers.
Yang Zhengshan watched their backs, deep in thought.
Chase away the Hu bandits? Could they do it?
“Dad, are these all ours?” Just as Yang Zhengshan was wondering if the border troops could chase away the Hu tribe, Yang Mingzhi ran over with a happy face.
“That’s right, they’re all ours.” Yang Zhengshan swept his gaze over the cloth bag and the distant items, saying calmly, “Send all these items to the clan leader’s place.”
“Okay!” Yang Mingzhi enthusiastically arranged for people to start transporting the goods.
In the afternoon, Yang Zhengxiang finally tallied up the items: eighteen dead horses, twelve sets of intact armor, thirty-four damaged armor, twenty-four bows, and seventy-two swords.
There were 483 silver coins and many miscellaneous items like daggers, short swords, saddles, dried meat, and grain.
To be honest, the border troops had been very thorough in their cleanup, not even leaving out the saddles.
Unfortunately, the Hu tribe didn’t like using long guns, and Yang Family Village’s young men weren’t skilled in using long swords.
“How should these items be distributed?” Yang Zhengxiang asked Yang Zhengshan.
Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment before saying, “We’ll slaughter all the dead horses and distribute them according to each household’s population.”
“Let’s see if we can repair the damaged armor to make a few more complete sets. I’ll take care of the distribution later.”
“As for the bows and arrows, I’ll see if there are any people who know how to use them. If there are, we’ll distribute them.”
“Silver coins!”
He pondered for a moment before saying, “Two silver coins for each person who participated in the battle, four silver coins for those lightly injured, ten silver coins for those severely injured, and twenty silver coins for those who died in battle.”
“Let’s sell the other items later and use the money to buy some village products. What do you think?”
Yang Zhengxiang stroked his beard and said, “Considering both training and battles, you’ve contributed the most. You should take more.”
Yang Zhengshan shook his head, saying, “We’re not a military unit. In the army, the officers take the lion’s share, but we’re all clan members and should take care of each other. They need the silver coins more than I do!”
He wasn’t particularly lacking in silver coins, although he had spent almost all his previous earnings. However, he could earn silver coins more easily than others, so there was no need to compete with the villagers for these few silver coins.
“Of course, I’ll also pick some items as a reward for my efforts!” Yang Zhengshan chuckled.
Earlier, he had seen some useful items amidst the chaos, not necessarily valuable but practical. For example, he quite liked a short sword.
Yang Zhengxiang also smiled, “Alright, you decide!”
Yang Zhengshan selected a few good items to take with him, leaving the rest for Yang Zhengxiang to distribute. He didn’t need to worry about it anymore.
Now was not the time to relax, although they had repelled the enemy the previous day. Who knew if there would be more enemies coming?
Moreover, Yang Zhengshan was still worried that the Hu cavalry might return for revenge.
So, after discussing with Yang Zhengxiang, he immediately threw himself into Yang Family Village’s defense work.
However, his concerns seemed unnecessary, as no Hu cavalry appeared in the vicinity of Yang Family Village for several days.
…
Anning County was hit with heavy snow again, with thick flakes falling from the sky, transforming the landscape into a winter wonderland.
Yang Zhengshan woke up early, but the snow was already knee-deep when he opened the door.
“Dad!”
As Yang Zhengshan emerged, the Yang Family villagers, who were clearing the snow, greeted him with a wave.
Yang Zhengshan’s face was calm as he nodded in response, then turned his head to gaze at the mountain behind.
The entire mountain range was cloaked in silver, as if the whole world had turned into an icy landscape.
Seeing this, Yang Zhengshan’s eyes lit up.
“The war should be ending!”
The heavy snow would restrict the Hu cavalry’s movements, and they would have to retreat within the Great Rong territory.
The snow would limit the border troops’ pursuit, but since they were in the Great Rong territory, the Hu tribe couldn’t stay for long.
One heavy snowfall could change the course of the war.
And this heavy snow should be able to shorten the Hu tribe’s plundering time.
“Dad, the snow on the mountain must be very thick!” Yang Mingchen, who was worried about Yang Yunyan and the Jiang family, said as he walked to Yang Zhengshan’s side.
Yang Zhengshan nodded, saying, “You go check on the mountain later!”
He knew what Yang Mingchen was worried about.
The Jiang family and Yang Yunyan.
Last year, the Jiang family village suffered a disastrous loss, and now they had to face the Hu cavalry’s plundering. So, the Jiang family villagers had taken refuge in the mountains early on.
Living conditions in the mountains were harsh, and Yang Yunyan was pregnant.
Calculating the days, Yang Yunyan’s pregnancy had already reached seven months.
Ancient childbirth was difficult, and now Yang Yunyan was hiding in the mountains, which made it even more precarious. A slight mistake could result in a loss of life.
“Take Minghao with you! Be careful!” Yang Zhengshan instructed.
The mountains were even more dangerous after the heavy snow, so it was better for Yang Mingchen and Yang Minghao to go together. If they encountered any accidents, they could take care of each other.
“I know, Dad!” Yang Mingchen grinned.
(End of chapter)
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