Chapter 876 - Assaulted by Hea (1/2)
Assaulted by Heat
Xi Fang’s words were not an exaggeration in the slightest. When dawn came and the first rays of sunlight hit Sha Ping City, these soldiers really did cry.
It was too hot! It was so hot that they could not endure it!
Although the heat was already stifling ever since they entered Luo Province, in any case, they could endure it. It was not to the point like in Sha Ping City where there was no place to hide. Xuan Tian Ming told them: “There is a Southern boundary between Gu Shu and Da Shun. It does not look apparent; however, this boundary is like a band of heat that keeps Da Shun separated from the desert. Perhaps you feel that Lan Zhou and the heat in the South was bearable, but once we have entered a true desert environment and entered Gu Shu’s border, this sort of heat is very hard to endure. The reason that this prince chose to attack Gu Shu’s first city last night was that the nights are cool. Before you have been assaulted by the summer heat, and before any problems arose with your bodies, us forcefully taking the first city would be a shock to Gu Shu. At the same time, it would buy our army some time to help you successfully get past this difficult hurdle.”
While he spoke, the people were not completely sold on this explanation. Although it was already hotter than they could bear, they did not think that there would be any problems with their bodies, much less to the point where the problem would be big enough to hinder their ability to set foot on the battlefield.
But this sort of thinking did not last long. That day at noon, a large number of soldiers began to suffer from diarrhea and heatstroke. There were also some that began to faint. Even Xuan Tian Ming himself, if he was not secretly using his inner strength to fight off the heat, he himself might not have been able to endure the heat of the desert.
Gu Shu was the first country from the border of the desert. Because it did not extend too deep into the desert, its domain was quite a bit bigger than the smaller countries in the desert. There were a total of 12 cities, and its capital city was a bit South of the middle of the country and was after the fourth city. Sha Ping City was the closest to Da Shun. Although it was not in the heart of the desert, the city was completely surrounded by sand, but the roads inside the city were still paved. The paving stones were clearly imported from Da Shun. It was for the sake of making it so that the people would not be left incapable of going out if the wind blew too strong.
Each city and country in the desert was built near a source of water. It could be said that the people in the desert were very accurate and sensitive to finding water. They lived their lives depending on these sources of water. For the sake of protecting the sources of water, nearly all cities would be built around the sources of water, and they were even guarded by soldiers. It could be said that these sources of water were the foundation that allowed people to live. They could not afford to be negligent.
Sha Ping City had a river running through it. It was the river that took care of the citizens of Sha Ping City. In truth, Sha Ping City’s people did not react too negatively to the city being taken by Da Shun. They were already living close to Da Shun. Back when Gu Shu was obedient toward Da Shun, trade between the two countries occurred very frequently. There would always be merchants from Da Shun that went to Sha Ping City to buy their specialty goods, for example, the fruits and spices, as well as the delicious jerkies that were unique to the desert. As for Gu Shu’s merchants, they would also travel to Lan Zhou to buy some fabrics, vegetables and grains. It could be said that the food eaten by the people of Sha Ping City were mostly brought in from Da Shun. Their understanding of Da Shun might have been limited to Lan Zhou and Luo Province, but they still yearned for those fertile lands in Da Shun.
After Xuan Tian Ming’s army entered the city, they did not destroy any of the structures, nor did they do any damage to the citizens’ family homes. Aside from the mess caused by Gu Shu’s army fleeing, it was as though there was nothing wrong with the city. Xuan Tian Ming even led the soldiers whose bodies were faring well to begin a cleanup. He also protected the important river.
When the people of Sha Ping City saw the soldiers of Da Shun being so reasonable and kind, they were no longer afraid. They all came out of their homes with cleaning tools and went to help. When noon came around, they even invited the soldiers inside to eat. There were even some citizens that asked: “Will our Sha Ping City now be governed by Da Shun? Then will it no longer be as harsh to travel between Gu Shu and Da Shun?”
That person happened to ask He Gan, but He Gan was puzzled: “No longer be as harsh?”
That person nodded: “That’s right! Although there had not been any battles at that time, the two countries allowed trade between the two, but the taxes were too heavy. For every 10 taels that were earned, five taels would be taken. Calculating it, only a pittance could be made. Also, regardless of whether it’s going from Da Shun to Gu Shu or Gu Shu to Da Shun, we need to go and file a report with the government office. We then need to go to the government office to get a certificate to grant passage. Only then could we cross the border. But the travel would take at most ten days, and we needed to pass through the desert. We all rode camels and traveled hastily. We could not stay more than a few days in Da Shun’s borders.”
He Gan nodded, “So it was like that. Right now, Sha Ping City has only just been taken. The flow of trade should only recover after a bit of time, but Sha Ping has already become part of Da Shun. Trade between merchants should not be as difficult. Later on, I will go and speak with our head general to ask if he has any opinions and to try and make things easier for you.”
That person was very happy to hear this and had He Gan drink a bit more of the specialty wine that they had made. It was said to be able to ease the heat.
These days, the busiest were Song Kang and the military doctors. There were too many people that had suffered from heatstroke. Song Kang hated that he could not skip sleeping and continue treating them. Unfortunately, this could not do. In these conditions, he could not forcefully push himself. He needed to eat well and sleep well. Only like this could he ensure his own strength. After all, he was someone that had come from the North. He was accustomed to the cold. In regards to the scorching heat, his ability to endure it was a bit lacking. Fortunately, Xuan Tian Ming and the other soldiers knew that no matter who was made to suffer, the military doctors must not suffer. Once the doctors collapsed, the soldiers would have nobody to take care of them. Thus the cold tea that had been prepared would be given to Song Kang and the doctors to drink. Xi Fang even brought in a local girl to fan Song Kang and the others. Wherever he went, the fan would follow. In any case, there would be a bit of a breeze.