YA Ch29: Sacrifice for the Country

The main camera followed the protagonist throughout, occasionally turning to supporting characters for brief scenes.

Lu Yu and Ming Yan didn’t plan to appear in this episode, so they wouldn’t be in the main frame. However, they set up a split-screen camera, allowing viewers to choose to see what they were doing off-storyline.

Most viewers, eager to follow the plot, didn’t notice, but some multitasked and watched the small screen of the two of them.

The Cold City was a gateway, surrounded by mountains.

Lu Yu stood on a snow-covered hill, shivering, “Ah, it’s so cold; this is too real.”

Ming Yan spread his hands, a white jade-like pencil appearing in his palm. He quickly drew a fur cloak around Lu Yu and a worn leather jacket for himself.

Lu Yu, wrapped in a thick cloak, finally felt warm. Moments later, he noticed something was wrong, “Why is this the same style as the eunuch’s?” He pointed to the fat eunuch lying in the blood pool in the distance.

“This is the warmest; it’s fox fur,” Ming Yan said innocently.

“Is that the point? Now I’ve become an eunuch party dog,” Lu Yu flipped over the inside of the fox fur, revealing the embroidered characters “eunuch party.” Such attention to detail!

Ming Yan patiently explained, “Things that already exist in the book and have been used as material, I can draw out directly, but if I have to design a new one for you, you have to type out the settings to make sure it keeps you warm. It’s time-consuming and laborious.”

Lu Yu was almost freezing to death earlier, and slowly drawing him a new outfit wasn’t feasible.

“Oh,” Lu Yu nodded, “Then why don’t you wear this?”

Ming Yan’s shabby leather jacket didn’t look warm at all, and his nose was already red.

“I don’t fear the cold,” Ming Yan said with a straight face, turning his back, his shoulders trembling slightly, “I don’t want to be part of the eunuch party.”

This guy was actually laughing!

This was unbearable! Lu Yu pounced, wrapping Ming Yan inside the fox fur and covering him.

The two of them squatted in the snow, wrapped in the black fox fur, with their heads sticking out one after the other, looking particularly funny, like a two-headed black eagle.

The viewers who had the small screen on were laughing hysterically, spamming the chat:

[Help, what are they doing?]

[Hahaha, this ruins the atmosphere so much. I need to turn off the small screen, my rising heroic spirit is instantly gone.]

Lu Yu also found it funny and rubbed his chin on Ming Yan’s head, “Do you know what we look like now?”

“What?” Ming Yan made the shabby leather jacket disappear; otherwise, it would be too hot wrapped in two layers.

Lu Yu: “A mountain eagle.”

Ming Yan was speechless for a moment, then suddenly thought of something: “…Will Wenyuan see us, we’re so obvious?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Wenyuan suddenly looked over.

“Damn!” Lu Yu was startled, quickly extending a hand from the fox fur cloak, palm down, shouting, “Keyboard, come!”

In an instant, the light turned into a black keyboard. Lu Yu circled his hands around Ming Yan and quickly typed on the keyboard:

[Hua Wenyuan saw a black spot on the hillside and judged it to be a black eagle resting by chance. He regretted not being able to leave the city to hunt the bird for food and then looked away.]

He wrote this line with astonishing speed and hit enter. Sure enough, Hua Wenyuan looked for two seconds and then looked away.

Lu Yu let out a breath, withdrew his hand back into the cloak, letting the keyboard disappear into the air, “I forgot this kid has eagle eyes.”

General Hua, who could shoot an arrow a hundred paces away, naturally had exceptional eyesight.

Hua Wenyuan withdrew his gaze and looked at General Qian, who had surrendered voluntarily, tied up and kneeling in front of him, “Since you are here, did you bring provisions?”

General Qian shrank a little and said bitterly, “No. The route to transport provisions is completely impassable, the rebels have already reached Jizhou. The Emperor sent me to actually deploy the northern troops to aid the capital.”

Hua Wenyuan found it laughable, “Are there any troops left in the north?”

With provisions cut off, the army had long been exhausted. How could they aid the capital? Even if there were troops, deploying them would mean losing Hancheng Pass, allowing the Tartar cavalry to sweep through the Central Plains.

At this moment, a rider galloped over from afar and fell at the city gate, crying out hoarsely, “General, Rongcheng has fallen, the Tartars have massacred the city, urgh…”

The man cried and vomited blood simultaneously.

The city gate tower fell silent.

Rongcheng was the pass between Hancheng Pass and the capital. With Rongcheng fallen, Hancheng became an isolated city.

Hua Wenyuan took a slow breath and said in a hoarse voice, “Bring the person up.”

Everyone was silent but still followed orders promptly.

Hua Wenyuan asked the deputy general, “How much food is left?”

The deputy general, with tears in his eyes, replied, “The food has long been exhausted, countless old and weak people have starved to death in the city. You ordered the sick and weak warhorses to be slaughtered for food, but it wasn’t enough. Now there’s only half a bag of horse beans left.”

Hua Wenyuan fell silent, then suddenly looked up at the darkening sky, as if clouds were gathering on the horizon, birds startled into flight. He shouted down, “Shunzi, get up here!”

The soldier Shunzi below was still trying to drag the dead warhorse up the wall, “General, we have meat to eat!”

“Swish—” Three arrows pierced Shunzi’s body, one in the leg, one in the waist, and one in the neck. The foolish boy, eager for meat, hadn’t even worn his helmet.

Blood gushed from his throat as he looked up at Hua Wenyuan, his mouth moving but no words coming out.

Countless arrows rained down; the Tartars were attacking.

“Meet the enemy!” Hua Wenyuan raised his hand, instructing the deputy general, “Tell the women to take the children into the mountains.”

At this moment, a disheveled woman ran over with a hatchet and said, “General, in this cold, we won’t survive in the mountains for a few days. The Tartars want to increase their population; they won’t kill the children. Women can also fight. My father, brothers, and husband have all died in battle. Let’s fight the Tartars. Killing one is not a loss, killing two is a gain.”

All the able-bodied men in Hancheng were dead, leaving only the remnants, women, and children. Even if the eunuch took over the military power, the only option left was to kneel and surrender the city to the Tartars.

Hua Wenyuan made no comment, only telling the deputy general, “Distribute the food the eunuch brought; let everyone have a good meal; we will open the gate.”

“Hahaha, good!” The deputy general laughed heartily and pulled out a wine pouch from his chest, “General, I still have half a jug of wine.”

Hua Wenyuan snatched the wine pouch, laughing and cursing, “You rascal, you really held out.”

Pulling out the wooden stopper, Hua Wenyuan took a swig of the strong wine, tossed the pouch back, drew his bow, and shot eighteen Tartar archers dead.

His quiver was empty, with only one red-feathered arrow left. Hua Wenyuan sighed, “What a pity.”

Even the Tartar commander feared him, not daring to show himself.

He drew his bow and shot through three men with one arrow.

“Creak—” The heavy city gate slowly opened, and the Tartar cavalry abruptly halted, not daring to advance.

The bright red armor appeared inside the gate, causing the front row of Tartar horses to scream and retreat.

Hua Wenyuan picked up his long spear, lightly squeezed the horse’s belly, and rode out of the city gate alone.

His bloodstained battle robe dyed the silver armor pieces red.

The general fought a hundred battles as a legendary archer, pierced by ten thousand arrows in the wind and snow outside the pass, dying for his country.

Watching that bright red figure charge into the midst of the enemy army from afar, Lu Yu reached out and touched Ming Yan’s face, “Are you cold?”

Feeling a drop of something wet at his fingertips, Lu Yu’s heart softened. Even the painter was so sentimental. He pretended not to notice, leaning close to Ming Yan’s ear, “Do you know why Shunzi is called Shunzi?”

“Why?” Ming Yan lowered his eyes, not wanting to watch any longer, and responded casually.

“Naming these minor characters without faces has a reason. The name is also a hint to their personality. He’s called Shunzi, indicating his parents hoped he would be safe and smooth, as well as showing he’s a compliant and quiet person. Now, risking his life for horse meat breaks his inherent character constraints. His accidental death is thus more touching.” Lu Yu passionately shared his speculation on the deep meaning behind the name given by Lu Dayu.

Ming Yan nodded. Though it was a subtle difference, the name Shunzi made him think of a child who had been obedient and unassuming all his life, only to die breaking free of that restraint for the first time, which was quite poignant.

“If he were called Huzi, it would seem like he deserved it.” Mrs. Ming, the enthusiastic teacher, continued giving examples, “If he were called Erzi, the atmosphere would become humorous. Then Hua Wenyuan would have to say, ‘Erzi, you big fool, if you don’t get up here soon, the arrows will stick in your butt!'”

“…” Ming Yan turned to glare at him, “You don’t have to joke at a time like this.”

______

Translator’s Note:

顺子 (Shunzi): This name suggests someone who is compliant, obedient, and quiet. “顺” means “smooth” or “obedient,” implying a person who goes along with things without causing trouble. Lu Yu explains that Shunzi’s name reflects his parents’ wish for him to have a peaceful life and indicates his inherently docile nature. His act of bravery in risking his life to retrieve horse meat, breaking out of his usual compliance, makes his accidental death more poignant and touching.

虎子 (Huzi): This name suggests someone fierce or tough. “虎” means “tiger,” which is often associated with strength and aggressiveness. If Shunzi had been named Huzi, his character would be expected to be strong and brave, making his death in such a manner seem more like a deserved fate for a reckless person.

二子 (Erzi): This name is humorous because “二” means “two,” but it can also imply someone simple-minded or foolish in slang. If the character had been named Erzi, it would create a comical atmosphere, suggesting he is a bit of a fool.