"It's snowing so heavily today. It seems like there won't be any troops heading to Jade Gate Pass today." At the east gate of Wuwei City, a soldier guarding the gate looked at the snowflakes outside the gate and sighed.
Since the Western Expedition, a large number of soldiers and provisions passed through Wuwei City. The peace of Wuwei City was disrupted. Wuwei City had become extremely busy because of Gao Chang's Western Expedition.
Recently, the snow had blocked the roads. With such heavy snow, even birds and beasts were nowhere to be seen, let alone people. Wuwei City, which had been busy for many days, finally regained its peace.
"Of course. Such heavy snow is probably rare in recent years. Even horses would find it difficult to walk. In addition, the weather is so cold. Even an iron man can't bear it!" His companion nodded. In this terrible weather, everyone in Wuwei City was hiding in their houses to keep out the cold. If they didn't have military duties, they wouldn't have to suffer here.
"Fortunately, I have a military coat. It's not as cold as previous years." The gatekeeper patted his military coat. This was the most popular military coat this year. It was extremely cold. This year's gatekeeping mission was not so difficult because of this treasure.
"Yes!" His companion wrapped himself in the military coat. Thinking about the cold of previous years, he couldn't help but nod with lingering fear.
The sky gradually darkened. Seeing that the sky was about to turn dark, the gatekeeper looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky and frowned. "It's late. It's impossible for any troops to come. Let's close the gate!"
The gatekeeper turned around, but his companion didn't move. His eyes were fixed at the end of the snowy road.
"What's wrong?" The gatekeeper asked in surprise.
"A carriage is coming!" His companion exclaimed.
The gatekeeper suddenly turned around. At the end of the snowy road, a sixteen-person carriage was coming. Behind it were two rows of snow dragons.
Soon, the sixteen-person carriage had arrived at the gate of Wuwei City. Then, the second and third carriages with strange shapes also arrived. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the originally difficult snowy road had turned into a snowy ground that was only a few fingers thick. It was enough for people and horses to pass through without hindrance.
"What a marvelous skill!"
"In this way, no matter how heavy the snow is, the army can still move forward as usual."
The two guards exclaimed in surprise.
Sure enough, behind the three carriages, an army covered in snow walked over. The strangest thing was that this army was all wearing strange hats that covered their heads, ears, and most of their faces. It was no wonder that they could march in such a snowy weather.
"May I ask if you are General Su who is escorting the provisions?" The gatekeeper asked respectfully as he looked at the huge word in front of the carriage.
Since the Western Expedition against Gao Chang, Su Dingfang's fierceness had gradually spread on the Longhai Route. His delivery of provisions had never been late, moreover, it was incomparably fast. It had already been recognized by everyone.
"The Firearms Supervisor has led an army here. Wuwei City, please receive them." Xue Rengui stepped forward and said loudly.
"Firearms Supervisor!"
"Mo Jiazi!"
"It's me, Mo!" Suddenly, a clear voice rang out.
"Happy new year, Merton!"
The two guards exclaimed and saluted. On the Longhai Route, if there was someone more famous than Su Dingfang, then Mo Jiazi would definitely be one of them.
Mo Jiazi's name was naturally known by everyone. Not to mention, the brick road under their feet was created by Merton. Moreover, it was said that Su Dingfang's method of transporting provisions benefited from Merton's guidance.
Today, the two guards once again saw Mo Jiazi's miraculous ability. He actually used a war chariot to travel through the snow.
"Get up. To be able to carry out your duties in such a snowy weather, you can be considered a dutiful person." Merton nodded and praised.
"Many thanks for Merton's praise." The two guards couldn't help but be overjoyed. To be able to receive Mo Jiazi's praise, it would definitely become something they could brag about in the future.
Wuwei City was an important town. Many soldiers passing by would rest and reorganize here. There was already a camp set up to receive the incoming soldiers. The Firearms Supervisor had less than a thousand people, so it was naturally easy to settle them down.
After the two guards verified that the Firearms Supervisor's waist tag was correct, only the soldiers led the Firearms Supervisor to set up camp.
After the Firearms Supervisor's soldiers left, the news of Mo Jiazi traveling through the snow immediately spread throughout Wuwei City. Many people braved the snow to come and see the brick road. When they saw the extremely smooth snow road between the left and right snow ridges, they couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
The cold wind whistled through the night, and the wind and snow mixed together. When the next day dawned, the wind and snow finally stopped. The outside of the camp was covered with a thick layer of snow. Even the snow road opened by the war chariot yesterday had been completely covered.
"The snow stopped!"
The entire Firearms Supervisor's soldiers cheered. The snow stopped, and they finally didn't have to brave the snow to travel. Although they had Merton's hat and gloves, which were enough to keep them warm, they still suffered a lot in the snow.
In the camp, Meton heard the news that the wind and snow had stopped, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of joy.
"Lord Chancellor, something bad has happened." Xue Rengui hurried over and said with a dignified face.
Meton frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Lord, although the wind and snow has stopped, the weather is even colder. The snow on the official road has frozen. The snow attack chariot can't move anymore. "Xue Rengui said with a bitter face.
Meton's heart sank. "The snow is frozen."
"I originally wanted to let the snow attack chariot open the road first, but I didn't expect that it couldn't move at all." Xue Rengui shook his head. Although the wind and snow yesterday was very heavy, the snow was extremely soft. The snow attack chariot with sixteen horses was able to open the road smoothly.
Now the snow had frozen, and even the snow attack chariot with sixteen horses had little effect. Its speed was extremely slow.
Meton walked out of the military tent, and suddenly a gust of cold air hit his face. However, he didn't care at all. He went directly to the brick road and stretched out his hand to touch the snow on the ground. Sure enough, it was no longer loose and needed a little strength to scatter it.
This strength was naturally nothing for a person, but with so much snow on the official road, even sixteen horses would quickly exhaust their strength and couldn't go far.
"Lord Chancellor, why don't we set up camp in Wuwei City now and wait until the snow melts before we set off?" Xue Rengui said helplessly.
Now the snow had blocked the road, and the weather was bitterly cold. Even if the chariot was used to attack the snow, it would be extremely difficult. It was simply not enough for the army to pass.
Meton pointed to the mud official road on both sides of the brick road and shook his head. "Absolutely not. You should know that there are not many brick roads after Wuwei. Once the snow melts, the official road will definitely become muddy, and the march will be even more difficult than now."
Xue Rengui's heart suddenly sank. He only thought that it would be difficult to travel in the snow, but he didn't consider that when the snow melts, the firearms supervisor would probably face an even more severe test. Only half of the brick road from Lanzhou to Jade Gate Pass was built. Not long after Wuwei, the brick road would be used up. The firearms supervisor had a lot of supplies, and it would be even more difficult to travel on the muddy road.
"In this case, I'm afraid the firearms supervisor can't escape the crime of missing the deadline," Xue Rengui said solemnly.
Meton suddenly stood up and said, "The firearms supervisor can't bear the crime of missing the deadline. There must be a way."
"I'll go and gather the horses to take turns to clear the road. No matter how hard the snow is, I'll open the road," Xue Rengui said helplessly.
"No need. Since it's useless to attack the snow with chariots, it's useless to force the road open. We won't be able to go far at all," Meton shook his head and said.
"We can't go, and we can't stay." Xue Rengui was as anxious as an ant in a hot pot.
At this moment, the 16 chariots in front of them suddenly exclaimed. The chariots, which were built in a hurry, could no longer bear the heavy load because of the thick snow. The wooden planks directly loosened and broke.
"Young Master, I'm incompetent. I've let you down." Zhang Mu came to Meton with a broken plank and said dejectedly.
Meton took the plank and looked at the iron nails on it. Suddenly, he thought of something and said, "Do you know why the iron nails can be nailed into the plank so easily?"
"That's because the iron nails are very sharp!" Zhang Mu replied.
Meton smiled and said, "Yes, it's because the iron nails are very sharp. If the snow is compared to the plank and our legs are the iron nails, it's natural that we can sink into it easily. But what about this?"
Morton tossed the wooden plank in his hand onto the snowy ground, then leaped up and stepped onto the plank. Under the effect of the plank, even though it bore the weight of Morton's body, it only sank slightly. It actually held on and did not sink any further.
"What's going on?" Xue Rengui was puzzled.
"This is the force studied by the Mo family. The smaller the contact point between an object and other objects, the greater the pressure, and the easier it is to penetrate the object. The larger the contact area, the smaller the pressure, and the harder it is to penetrate the object," Meton explained.
After Meton finished speaking, he found that there was no sound. He looked back and saw that everyone was confused. He immediately realized that he was playing the lute to a cow. He couldn't help laughing angrily and said, "This is the reason why we need to sharpen our weapons."
"Oh!" This time, all the soldiers in the Firearms Supervisor were suddenly enlightened.
"I know that. It's easy to cut bones with a freshly sharpened knife, but it's difficult to cut meat with a blunt knife." Xue Rengui looked enlightened.
Meton said helplessly, "It's the same principle. The sudden cold weather this time made the snow and ice freeze. Although it increased the hardness, it also increased the carrying capacity. We just need to replace the wheels at the bottom of the chariot with wide planks so that the chariot won't sink into the snow. "
Zhang Mu was stunned and said, "If the chariot doesn't have wheels, how can it run?"
Xue Rengui immediately looked at Zhang Mu with contempt and said, "Zhang Mu, you're really a blockhead. Haven't you played on the ice in the river in winter? It's extremely slippery. It doesn't take much effort for one person to pull several people. Isn't this snowy land just a thick layer of ice?"
Zhang Mu suddenly saw the light and said excitedly, "Yes, we can also polish the bottom of the planks, which will be smoother and more labor-saving."
"We can also raise the two ends of the planks, which can press the snow in front under the chariot and prevent it from being blocked by ice and snow."
The more Zhang Mu spoke, the more excited he became, and the more inspiration he had.
"Great. This time, let's have a horse sleigh." Xue Rengui laughed loudly, but he didn't know that he had guessed the name of the sleigh right.
The other soldiers in the Firearms Supervisor also felt proud. They admired the Libation Lord so much, as if there was nothing in the world that could baffle him.
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