Chapter 192: Captured Huangsha Pass in Just One Morning

When the voice faded, everyone remained silent for a long while, then the sounds of weapons dropping to the ground began to rise one after another.

First a faint clatter, then a loud clanking.

The Yu Guo civilians and soldiers finally tossed aside their knives, shed their iron armor, and began to line up.

A small portion rushed quickly toward the area where their families were.

Although the scene was still somewhat chaotic, it already meant that Huangsha Pass had been taken by Daxuan.

Very quickly, the news was relayed via Walkie-Talkie from one checkpoint to another, each only a few kilometers apart, set up along the Daxuan army's expedition, and reached Lin Xian Cheng.

It was just noon, and Xiao Qidi and Ning Jingli were only just finishing the hot‑pot ingredients.

The clear broth contained only a few scallion pieces, ginger slices, dried dates and goji berries, plus two unique wild fruits that grow only in Zhuiyingjian; as the broth boiled, a steaming aroma rose.

The two sat at the table, about to eat, when they heard the rapid news from Huangsha Pass.

Xiao Qidi said proudly, "See? I told you it would take only half a day."

"Yes, yes, yes, you're impressive," Ning Jingli laughed, picking up a slice of lamb, dropping it into the hot pot, blanching it for a few seconds, then retrieving it and placing it into the bowl before Xiao Qidi, "Since you're so great, the first bite is yours."

The fresh, tender lamb was cooked to perfection, marbled with fat and lean, its color inviting.

The rich meat aroma, combined with the broth's scent, made mouths water.

Xiao Qidi could not wait, shoved the slice into his mouth, exclaiming it was a supreme delicacy, and hurriedly offered Ning Jingli a taste.

Ning Jingli immediately swirled a chopstickful.

The moment she tasted it, she knew Xiao Qidi's claim of supreme flavor was no exaggeration.

Besides the Zhuiyingjian wild fruit's magical seasoning effect, the lamb itself was already top‑grade.

Like the radish they had eaten before, which was a common modern variety, once cultivated here in Lin Xian Cheng its quality became surprisingly excellent.

Ning Jingli asked while eating, "Little brother, now that Huangsha Pass is taken, according to Duan Wu there are about three hundred thousand Yu Guo civilians there; how do you plan to handle them?"

Xiao Qidi replied, "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Hehe, I have plenty!" Ning Jingli said excitedly, "Look, this border area between Daxuan and Yu Guo includes Lin Xian Cheng, which can produce oil; Yuqi Peak, rich in wild flora and fauna; Yaowang Gu, where scarce medicinal herbs can be cultivated; and vast lands suitable for livestock. I can keep supplying the tools and supplies needed for development; what we lack most are people, so you must treat those three hundred thousand Yu Guo civilians well."

Xiao Qidi nodded, "Then let's discuss the concrete steps and implement them as soon as possible."

——

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Inside Huangsha Pass.

After the Daxuan army's census, there were over 280,000 Yu Guo civilians.

About 50,000 of them were male household members, all the elderly, weak, women and children.

The remaining over 230,000 were robust adult male civilians conscripted by Yu Guo into the army.

The grain, fodder and supplies in several warehouses of Huangsha Pass's city were also distributed per capita.

When these Yu Guo civilians received the items, and the elderly, weak, women and children not only avoided abuse or slaughter but even received extra rations, they truly began to believe the Daxuan army was different from previous forces.

On one side, the Yu Guo King disregarded their lives, forcibly conscripting men to war, seizing families for forced service, while the supreme General left them unattended; on the other side, the Xuan Guo army distributed food and supplies to them, treating them kindly.

Such a huge difference allowed anyone to discern who was good and who was bad.

So, after the food and supplies were handed out, even though Duan Wu said anyone who wanted to leave could go, in reality fewer than ten thousand actually left.

They wanted to return because their hometown still had relatives.

As for the rest, a small portion of male families had already been stationed at Huangsha Pass due to forced service, while the majority had lost their families because of the Yu Guo King's massive conscription and had nowhere to go.

Moreover, they had no household registration; if they went elsewhere in Yu Guo, they would become displaced persons and might be captured again for forced service.

The sun was about to set.

A small number of men and their families moved into the dwellings General Duan had assigned them in the city, enjoying a relaxed reunion they had never imagined.

The rest, mostly solitary men, stood outside watching the fading sunlight on the ruined walls, sinking into bewilderment and melancholy.

Their hometown was unreachable.

They also could not go to other parts of Yu Guo.

Staying in Huangsha Pass was safe, and they had some distributed food and clothing, which allowed them to survive for a while.

But then what?

The terrain of Huangsha Pass, as its name suggests, was mostly a pale yellow expanse of sandy stone desert.

With the drought ending, many areas began to revive, ready for cultivation, yet they lacked tools and even seeds.

Once autumn passed, winter would follow.

They truly did not know how to cope.

Some felt lost and uneasy, some grew increasingly fearful, and some considered asking the Daxuan army whether they needed to be recruited.

It seemed that becoming a member of the Daxuan army might be the only way out.

However, those with such thoughts worried the Daxuan army would look down on them; after all, their equipment was so superior that even the iron armor and weapons issued by the Yu Guo army paled in comparison.

The overwhelming heaviness and dread spread throughout the city as night fell.

At that moment, the Daxuan army lit torches throughout the city.

Then countless Drones flew by, and General Duan's voice rang out in the air, "Citizens, there are still many of the iron armor and weapons you have taken off inside the city; you are now assigned to clean them up. Please bring those items to the city gate."

Although the crowd did not know General Duan's intention, at least there was something to do, and perhaps by being useful to the Daxuan army they might receive assistance.

So everyone sprang into action.

They gathered the scattered iron armor and weapons and hurried to the gate.

Upon arrival, the Daxuan army formed ranks and ordered them to place the items at the designated spots.

After the first person arrived and complied, they rubbed their hands and asked cautiously, "Commander… what else do you want us to do?"

A leading officer pointed toward the gate and said, "Go over there to collect the items."

"Collect the items?" he asked, his face full of surprise.

The people queued behind him were also at a loss.

Wasn't all the food and supplies in the city already distributed during the day? What else is there to collect?

The commander looked at their strained expressions, smiled, and said, "It's definitely something you really need. Hurry up and go—you'll know once you get it."

"Good, good, good, thank you, commander!"

The first person repeatedly bowed, then hurriedly ran in the direction the commander pointed.

Upon reaching the city gate and looking outside, he was instantly stunned.

Outside, unbeknownst when, there were countless carriages.

More than ten carriages formed a row, with the following carriages lining up one after another in a long queue.

Lanterns hung on the carriages, making the procession look like a giant dragon dotted with light; under the night sky, its end could not be seen at a glance.

Soon after, people who had finished moving the iron armor and weapons came over, and seeing this scene, they too stood frozen in place.

"Hurry up!" a Xuan Guo soldier waved by the first carriage, saying, "Form groups of five, come on!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" the five people at the front came to their senses and quickly walked to the front of the carriage.

Then the spacious carriage's compartment was opened.

Two Xuan Guo soldiers carried things out from inside, one of them responsible for explaining.

"This is a handcart."

"The handcart holds shovels, spades, labor protection clothing, shoes and gloves—enough for five people."

"You five form a team; from now on, use these tools to reclaim farmland at Huangsha Pass."

The five stared at these never-before-seen novelties, hearing terms they'd never heard; aside from understanding that "five people forming a team to reclaim farmland" meant, their minds were filled with confusion.

"Knowing it's hard for you to understand now," the soldier took out a palm-sized booklet, demonstrated how to flip through it, then handed it over, saying, "This is a user manual, specially made by the Jinli Fairy of Lin Xian Cheng to help the populace understand; it's all illustrated diagrams, so even the illiterate can grasp it—take it and study the pictures slowly."

"How is this... made?" the five gathered together, eyes wide.

They had only ever seen writing and drawing on bamboo slips or cloth; they had never seen anything in the world that was neatly arranged, square, thinner than a leaf, and could be flipped page by page.

Even the illustrations on each page were extremely clear, with rich colors.

The soldier replied, "It's made of paper—don't ask me what paper is; you'll find out later. Alright, quickly push the cart we gave you away and go study the pictures slowly."

"Yes, yes, yes!" the five nodded and bowed, then together pushed the handcart loaded with goods away.

Just like that, batch after batch of people kept coming to transport iron armor and weapons; after receiving the items, another batch after batch returned to the city.

The carriages, once emptied, loaded those iron armaments and weapons into their compartments, then returned along the same route to Lin Xian Cheng.

This situation continued for several days straight.

During this period, Xiao Qidi summoned over ten thousand people from Lin Xian Cheng to teach the experience of building Lin Xian Cheng to the over two hundred thousand residents of Huangsha Pass.

And Duan Wu, following Xiao Qidi's orders, left the one hundred thousand Daxuan troops he had brought here to help.

After everything was arranged, Duan Wu led ten thousand Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army away from Huangsha Pass to attack the natural fortress where General Yu, leading several thousand elite remnants of Yu Guo, had made their last stand.

On the Lin Xian Cheng side.

After a rough tally, the iron armor seized from Huangsha Pass amounted to over two hundred thousand sets; although not the top-grade iron armor used by Yu Guo's elite forces, its quality and craftsmanship far surpassed the bronze armor commonly used by the various feudal states.

Moreover, the various iron weapons such as swords and bows were too many to count.

Such a vast amount of iron equipment produced by Yu Guo would be an immense treasure for any feudal state in Zhong Yuan.

Enough to equip a force of two hundred thousand elite troops, greatly boosting combat capability.

Even though Xiao Qidi had full logistical support from Ning Jinli, he was reluctant to waste it, pondered for several days, yet could not decide where it would be best used.

The over one hundred thousand Daxuan troops stationed at Lin Xian Cheng and Huangsha Pass already had better equipment, so they naturally had no need for these.

So there remained two options.

One was to send them to several other frontier passes.

To the north of Daxuan, there were garrison troops tasked with constantly defending against nomadic tribes.

On Daxuan's eastern and southern flanks, there were also garrison troops stationed at the frontier passes guarding against the two neighboring states.

If these were given to those Daxuan troops, it would naturally be highly beneficial.

However, how to distribute them became a difficult problem requiring careful consideration and weighing.

After all, everyone wants good things; if distributed improperly, it would instead undermine troop morale.

The second option was to keep these iron implements in Lin Xian Cheng for further smelting and forging.

Now Lin Xian Cheng's development is progressing rapidly, already possessing the conditions to set up a small iron-smelting workshop; plus, Ning Jinli can provide the relevant technology, so these forged wrought-iron items can naturally become raw material superior to ordinary iron ore.

By then Lin Xian Cheng would not only be able to start producing iron goods on its own, but also thereby enhance its iron-smelting techniques.

Just as Xiao Qidi hesitated between these two options,

Qingyou Platform transmitted a secret report.

After Xiao Qidi read the report's contents, he immediately summoned Ning Jinli to discuss together.

"What? Wasteland Nation and An Kingdom have secretly allied?" Ning Jinli exclaimed in surprise, "Are these two nations planning to join forces to attack Daxuan?"

Xiao Qidi stood before a wall in the room, sipping the pearl milk tea Ning Jinli had just brought him, while gazing at the map of the Seven States of Zhong Yuan painted on the wall.

"You're right. Wasteland Nation and An Kingdom are both neighboring states bordering Daxuan's eastern side, and they are adjacent to each other; they began secretly allying at the outset of my campaign against the western Yu Guo, evidently thinking that if an opportunity arose, they could deal with Daxuan."

Ning Jinli pursed her lips, "They're dreaming quite nicely."

Xiao Qidi said wistfully, "Such is the way of worldly struggles. Wasteland Nation and An Kingdom combined could muster a million troops to attack Daxuan's eastern flank; once Daxuan becomes entrenched in a stalemate with Da Yu, they will definitely send troops, leaving me besieged on front and rear, unable to cope."

Ning Jinli slammed the table, "Then I'll send equipment and supplies to upgrade the Daxuan frontier troops defending against Wasteland Nation and An Kingdom entirely."

Xiao Qidi wore an expression of helplessness and heartache, "No, Daxuan's eastern side has over ten frontier passes, with garrison forces totaling hundreds of thousands; Lin Xian Cheng and Huangsha Pass have already exhausted you enough—if you also had to manage those Daxuan troops and passes over there, even if you were truly an immortal, you couldn't bear such a massive workload."

Ning Jinli felt a warm surge in her heart.

This guy, he still knows how to be considerate of people.

"Then what do you have to counter the alliance of Wasteland Nation and An Kingdom?" Ning Jinli asked.

Xiao Qidi's eyes flashed with a sly light, "Yes, but I need your help."

Ning Jinli narrowed her eyes, "You little brat, are you holding back a fart? Speak up, what do you want sis to help with?"

Xiao Qidi grinned, "Help me transport the over 200,000 sets of Yu Guo weapons and equipment seized at Huangsha Pass a few days ago via the spacetime portal to a certain place."

"Are you sending them to the great border army on Daxuan's eastern side?"

"No, it's not for our own Daxuan army."

"Huh? Then who are you sending them to?" Ning Jinli said casually, "You'd better not tell me they're going to Wasteland Nation and Peace Nation."

As a result, Xiao Qidi nodded.

Ning Jinli walked up to him and reached out to touch his forehead.

Xiao Qidi asked puzzledly, "What's wrong?"

"You don't have a fever either..." Ning Jinli tilted her head back, staring into his eyes, "Little bro, did you drink too much milk tea and flood your brain? Those two are going to team up to fight us, and you're still sending equipment to people?"