Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2650 Still Vigorous in Old Age 34.0
"Has it been repaired many times?"

Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian exchanged a glance, their faces showing disbelief.

"Why are you so surprised? Is it really that unexpected?" Chu Han smiled, looking at Shen Cha, who had a somber expression and seemed lost in thought, and said, "Xiao Cha?" Seeing her looking at him, he smiled and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Actually, it's not accurate to say that it was repaired many times, but rather," Shen Cha sighed, "was burned many times."

"Burned?"

“Hmm!” Shen Cha nodded, looked at the others, and said, “My two elder brothers must have arrived here later than me, so they may not know very well what happened here before the Shen family army was stationed at Jiaping Pass.”

“I’ve heard a little bit about it.” Xue Ruitian held up two fingers. “We originally wanted to look through the local chronicles, but they were burned to ashes long ago. If we wanted to know more, we could only ask the people in the city. But they couldn’t explain it very clearly either, and we didn’t understand it very well either.”

"It's not that they can't explain it, it's that they simply don't want to. In my memory, the first few years after I arrived were quite terrifying."

"Terrifying?" Shen Haolin grabbed Shen Cha's hand and said, "Why do you say that?"

“Besides that couple, what’s most worrying is probably the enemy army that could attack at any time.” Shen Cha sighed softly. “Although this is an important border town, we are short of troops. It’s not that the court was unwilling to send troops, but at that time, the rate of conscription couldn’t keep up with the rate of attrition.” She looked at Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian. “My two brothers should remember this. Even in the first year or two after the Shen family army arrived, it was the same situation, right? That’s why the late emperor and His Majesty allowed us to conscript our own troops.”

“That’s true.” Xue Ruitian rubbed his head. “Ugh, I can’t think about these things. The more I think about them, the more my head aches. I really don’t know how we got through those tough days.”

“Those were not hard enough. When we first arrived, and even earlier, those were the hardest times.” Shen Cha sighed softly and said, “Back then, not to mention the city gates, the whole city was dilapidated. There were very few decent houses or courtyards. Most of them were thatched huts built by the people themselves. Children like Hongye and others who had nowhere to go and no home could only live in dilapidated temples.”

"I have heard her mention this before; her childhood was extremely difficult."

"It wasn't just us who suffered, but also the government offices. Back then, government offices were a mess and didn't conform to regulations at all. The back rooms were dilapidated, some even without roof tiles. Before that magistrate ran away, he even slept in the hall."

"In the courtroom? In the courtroom?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, Xia Chen rubbed his face. "I never imagined it would be this difficult here."

"This is nothing. Although my experiences may not be comparable to those of my great-uncle, they are still very profound in my memory."

“It should be about the same.” Chu Han looked at Shen Cha and said, “Tell me first, I’ll listen.” “Many things are a blur in my memory, but some are very clear. The garrison was not located where we are now, but closer to the city gate. The north and south gates were where the troops were stationed. Each gate was guarded by about two thousand people, and another five hundred people were stationed inside the city.”

"I heard that these are all elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people?"

“It’s not that absolute, but it’s true for some.” Shen Cha sighed. “Every March, a new batch of recruits would be added, but these new recruits at that time simply didn’t have a few months of training. Once the enemy invaded, they had to fight like veterans. Many people were not prepared, and the result was…” She paused for a moment, “…to be separated forever.”

“These are all things we’ve experienced.” Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian exchanged a glance. “It’s because we’ve defeated the Liao and Jin dynasties in the past few years, and coupled with their constant natural and man-made disasters, they’ve calmed down a bit in the last year or two. It’s always been like this. In fact, even after going through basic training, suddenly being on the battlefield is too much for them to handle. However, we have plenty of manpower now, so we don’t need them to fight. They just need to get a feel for things.”

“Brother is right, but we didn’t have this opportunity before.” Shen Cha shrugged helplessly and said, “But the enemy doesn’t choose when to attack. They attack quite fiercely, and there are simply not enough people in the city. The yamen runners also have to go. If the losses are too great, the able-bodied men in the city will fill in.”

"Was it that terrible?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, Song Yaojia couldn't help but sigh. "It's hard to imagine how you got through that time."

"The best thing about this city is that no matter how chaotic it is on weekdays, once the enemy invades, they will join hands to fight the enemy together."

“If it weren’t for that, this city would probably have fallen long ago.” Song Yaojia nodded. “But no matter how well we work together, the sheer number of people is limiting; how can we possibly succeed?”

"When there weren't enough people, all sorts of methods were used. Back then, we used all sorts of methods to hold this place. There were two large oil drums in front of every house. The oil inside couldn't be touched. If it was touched, we had to find a way to replenish it. Because in critical moments, it was a lifesaver. If the enemy really wanted to break in, we also had a way."

"any solution?"

"My two brothers, do you remember that you once asked me what the three rows of deep pits at the city gate were for?"

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “You didn’t tell us, but you didn’t object when we were going to fill in that pit.”

“Since it’s no longer of any use, naturally no one will object.” Shen Cha smiled. “Those pits are traps. If the enemy rushes in recklessly, they will fall into the pit. The people guarding nearby will pour whole barrels of oil on it and throw in a torch, instantly forming a series of fire barriers. There are at least three rows of such fire barriers, and each time they are lit, they look particularly spectacular.”

“That’s right!” Chu Han nodded slightly and said, “I saw it with my own eyes once, when we first captured people and brought them here. I said back then that some people from Liao and Jin are not very bright. They know they will be burned, but they still fall into the traps every time.” He took a sip of tea and said, “Later I found out that if they didn’t charge, they would die anyway.”