Chapter 4: Wintering (Part 2)

  On the first day of the new year, Yang Yingqi wrote four large characters on a mountain wall, with "Tian Di" on one side and "Zu Zong" on the other. Then, led by Zhe Yan Chong and Di Yu, more than 500 people paid their respects together. The over 500 people were divided into 52 small teams, standing behind Di Yu, Zhe Yan Chong, Ou Yang Shi, A Lu Man, and Yang Kai Yuan, in neat rows, not a single person out of place.

  This Spring Festival, over 500 people spent it in the valley. All kinds of living materials were still scarce, and even whether they could survive leaving the valley was a big problem, but most people felt an unprecedented sense of belonging, vaguely feeling that no matter what happened, they had something to rely on.

  Everyone boiled hot water as wine, congratulating each other on surviving the disaster and praying for an early spring.

  "Ah! Such big snow!" someone exclaimed.

  Zhou Sheng sighed with a fondness for farming: "What a pity! If I were outside, with a few acres of land, this year would definitely be a bumper harvest!"

  The snow is getting heavier and colder, everyone has retreated to their sheds. Relying on the heat generated by the honeycomb coal stove to fight against the cold wind and snow.

  On the third day of the new year, after receiving their first rations, Ouyang Zhan heard from a contract that the Khitan people were planning to sell those who had recovered.

  Yang Yingqi was shocked after hearing a few sentences and said: "What did you say?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "After the spring has passed, those of us who are not sick will be sold in batches to the nobles and dignitaries of Goryeo and Mongolia. That's how it is."

  Yang Yingqi angrily said: "Is this news accurate?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "I don't know if it's accurate or not, but the possibility should be very high. After all, most of us were originally just heads under households, or simply slaves or captives. It's normal for the Khitan people to do this, do you still hope they will give us freedom and divide some land for us to cultivate?"

  Di Yu nodded and said, "I think this news should be true, even if it's not, it's not far from the truth. Selling us to Mongolia and Korea can earn some small money, and secondly, in case there are still people with epidemic diseases among us, we can also shift the blame to a distant country."

  "Then let's just fight our way out."

  Yang Kaiyuan said: "I don't want to be a slave either, I'd rather die in battle!" In the two years since his family was destroyed and his people were scattered, this refined young man's face had already taken on a weathered look.

  Yang Yingqi said, "The Khitan people guarding the valley entrance are unknown in number, and they have the geographical advantage. Killing our way out isn't the best option... Ah, it's better..." He suddenly ran out, and Di Yu and others were stunned for a moment before following him to the bottom of the steep cliff with iron arrows nailed into it.

  "Look!" Yang Yingqi exclaimed excitedly: "Maybe I succeeded!"

  The water bags had a poor waterproof function, so they leaked out a small half early on and flowed onto the two wings of the iron arrow that opened below. When the weather turned cold, they all froze into hard ice blocks, stuck to the snowflakes, blown by the cold wind, and frozen onto the cliff wall, like a staircase made of ice.

  Zhe Yan Chong said: "I don't know if it's solid enough. The ice is very slippery, I'm afraid it's not easy to climb."

  Yang Yingqi said, "I left a hole at the end of each arrow that can be threaded with a rope. Moreover, as long as someone can climb up and find a fulcrum to tie the rope, we can hoist you all up one by one."

  "Alright, I'll go find Chen Ahou and give it a try."

  Di Yu said: "Let's talk about it after the snow stops, climbing mountains in the snow, don't you guys want to live?"

  The heavy snow on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year had slightly stopped, but the weather was still cold. The group climbed up onto that platform - there were always ropes hanging down from this place, so although it was snowy, it didn't take much effort to get up.

  The iron arrow at the very bottom was only one person high, and Chen Ahou could touch it by stretching out his hand. He shook his head with great joy and said: "Good! It's really solid! Young Master Yang is really amazing! This method can also be thought of, it must be Zhuge Liang reborn!" As he spoke, he took the rope and climbed up, buckling the rope to the hole at the end of each arrow. After climbing up, he found a corner of a rock and tied it with a long rope that had been prepared in advance, hanging down.

  The wind was strong above, but Di Yu and others almost cheered up as soon as they came up: the other side of this mountain turned out to be a gentle slope!

  Ouyang Yi smiled and said: "Alright, alright! This slope is quite gentle! We can definitely go down!"

  Di Yu said, "It seems like there's no problem with the eyes, but everything is still to be investigated. Let's do this, Yan Chong and Ouyang you two go down first, tell Xing Qi about the situation, discuss it, and see what to do next. I'll go explore the road with Alu Man and A Hou."

  After getting off the mountain, Ouyang Shi told Yang Yingqi about the situation above. Yang Yingqi pondered for a moment and said: "This road can probably be walked through, next is how to mobilize everyone."

  Di Yu and the other two didn't return until the next day. When they went out, they didn't bring any food, but on the way, they caught a wild rabbit to fill their hunger. When they returned, they were only tired - they didn't dare sleep outside in this cold weather, without a fire, for fear that once they fell asleep, they wouldn't wake up again.

  Di Yu drank a few mouthfuls of hot water and said, "I know everyone is anxious, but I'm really exhausted now. Let me sleep for a while before we talk again. Don't worry, it's good news."

  In this thatched hut, there was a stone with an upward part that was very flat. Two months ago, Di Yu discovered it and had someone move it in specially. After waking up, he picked up the charcoal and drew a rough topographic map on the stone: "We've already found a way out, and we've made marks along the way."

  Yang Yingqi had guessed something from Di Yu's words before he went to sleep, saying it was "good news", but when he heard this sentence, he couldn't help but cheer.

  Di Yu said: "I've been back and forth in the Yan Yun area many times, so I'm very familiar with both the main roads and small paths. Therefore, as soon as we walked out to this place..." He pointed to a spot on the map: "I was able to determine our location."

  Yang Yingqi said: "I don't understand the specific road, what I want to know most now is where we can go."

  "Where do you want to go?"

  Yang Yingqi said, "I thought a lot that day. Although I said I didn't like the Zhao family, Central Plains is after all our hometown. Besides, once we leave, in Khitan we become fugitive slaves and can't stand firm in the north, so we had to head south."

  Di Yu nodded and pointed to the map, saying: "Our people say it's not too little, nor too much. Now the Liao State's defenses are lax, far from being as strict as they were in the past. I know of a small road, if all goes smoothly, we can reach Xiong Zhou within four days."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Does 'four days' refer to the time it takes to walk?"

  Di Yu said: "I have taken into account our climate and the physical strength of all 500 people."

  Yang Yingqi said: "It will take us five hundred people half a day to climb up this precipice, and it will take another half day to walk to the pass you mentioned. So in total, it will take more than five days."

  Ouyang Zidao said: "The Khitan people distribute rations once every ten days, we can completely deceive them. But the question is, will the commander of Xiongzhou let us pass?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "If Yongzhou doesn't work out, other border towns are probably the same. If we can't head south, where else can we go?"

  "Can we go to the seaside?"

  Di Yuqi said: "By the sea?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "I have an uncle..." He suddenly shook his head and said: "No, no one can get in touch with him, how can he come to meet us? Besides, it's hard to say whether he will accept us or not."

  "Except for going south, there is only going north. Still taking the small road, avoiding the main road, passing through Zijin Ridge, sneaking past Weizhou from a secluded path, crossing the Sanggan River, bypassing Datong Prefecture, and crossing the Great Wall, you can enter the grasslands."