My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 10 The harsh winter in Huai Shuo is bitter; the roads are littered with the bones of those frozen to death.
Gao Yu was dumbfounded!
Don't you recognize the Lou family's daughter?
Go find the daughter of the Han family to offer betrothal gifts and propose marriage?
Could it really be that the world line has been altered?
Don’t!!
Gao Yu remembers it very clearly!
The reason why Gao Huan was able to rise from a poor military household to become the powerful King Gao of Eastern Wei in an era that placed great importance on one's background is because of this.

The dowry of the Lou family's daughter served as his initial capital, and the Lou family's extensive network of connections was also a crucial factor in Gao Huan's later being treated as an honored guest when he sought refuge with Erzhu Rong!

The Lou family!

It was an important stepping stone for Gao Huan to achieve upward social mobility and a stepping stone to enter the circle of powerful families.

Only by entering the circle can one have the opportunity to sit at the table of power and be qualified to wield authority.

"what happened?"

Gao Huan was very curious about Gao Yu's unusual behavior and pressed him for an answer, "Why are you reacting like this?"

"No."

Gao Yu shook his head, but fearing Gao Huan's suspicion, he could only force a joke, "I just heard that the Lou family is a powerful clan in Huai Shuo. I suppose the head of the Lou family must have sons and daughters. With a handsome man like you, what if... the Lou family's daughter takes a fancy to you and insists on marrying no one but you?"

Gao Yu wasn't a history expert, but he had watched quite a few interesting historical review videos.

He is very clear.

Gao Huan, as a representative of 'living off a woman', is someone who could be considered a member of Mount Rushmore throughout five thousand years of history.

Lou Zhaojun, the daughter of a powerful family, only glanced at Gao Huan and then insisted on marrying him, simply because she was attracted to his body and good looks.

After all, we can see this from Lou Zhaojun's subsequent attitudes toward her several imperial sons.

Lou Zhaojun was definitely a "face-obsessed" person.

Gao Yang, the most famous "heroic emperor" of the Northern Qi Dynasty, was disliked by Lou Zhaojun from a young age simply because he did not inherit the high-value DNA of the Gao family and had a skin disease as a child. Gao Yang eventually became mentally ill, partly due to genetic factors and partly due to the high-pressure environment he was in.

Before meeting Lou Zhaojun, Gao Huan was a handsome but down-on-his-luck military household member.

It's highly unlikely that Gao Huan suddenly trembled and unleashed his imperial aura.

It's very simple.

One is handsome, the other is obsessed with looks.

"You would think so."

Gao Huan was both amused and exasperated, but didn't think much of it. Instead, he instructed, "Now that you've come with me, you must study martial arts more in the future."

"Don't worry, brother."

Gao Yu patted his chest and guaranteed it!

After waking up, Gao Yu had already mentally prepared himself!

In ancient times, when resources were scarce, people at the bottom of society had no choice but to do this in order to survive.

If he doesn't kill others, others will kill him!
What's wrong with trying to save one's own life?
"Then you should get some rest. I still have to stand guard at the city gate tonight."

Gao Huan got up and left.

After sitting for a while, Gao Yu lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

After thinking it over carefully, Gao Yu finally realized what was going on and suddenly sat up!

He was too fixated on whether Gao Huan and Lou Zhaojun knew each other.

Do we need to get to know each other?

Historical records state that the two fell in love at first sight, which sounds far-fetched, but as someone who has witnessed things in modern society, Gao Yu knows better than anyone else...

Being handsome can make people give themselves to you for free, or even pay you to do it!

How many young girls have fallen into prostitution, all to earn money to support men?

All he needs to do is find an opportunity for Lou Zhaojun to see Gao Huan, so that the two can fulfill their destined meeting.
"I need to go see Hou Jing tomorrow to ask about the Lou family, and then make a detailed plan..."

…………

Gao Yu did not get what he wanted.

When he went to find Hou Jing, Hou Jing had already gone out with the army to change garrisons in the surrounding areas.

Huai Shuo was not an isolated military town, but rather a complex of fortified villages and fortified settlements built outwards from the town center.

Hou Jing's father died two years ago.

As a military household in one of the six garrisons, one male member of the family must enlist in the army. If the father dies, the son takes his place.

Two years ago, Hou Jing was too young, so he was left in the military town as a reserve soldier for training. Now that he is older and has come of age, he will naturally be sent out to participate in various rotational missions.

"Hou Jing is a great general whose name is recorded in history. He will go to Southern Liang to harass Xiao Pusa in the future. He should be fine."

As the saying goes, autumn is high and horses are fat, and the harsh winter is just around the corner! This is the time when northern nomadic tribes most like to raid southwards.

War could break out very easily.

Once war breaks out, life and death become uncertain, and who can say for sure on the battlefield?

Several more days passed.

The weather was already cold and windy, and eventually it started snowing heavily.

Suddenly, like a night of spring breeze, thousands of trees and pear blossoms bloomed.

Fortunately, the snowfall wasn't too heavy and didn't cause a major snow disaster, but it was still incredibly cold.

Before transmigrating, Gao Yu was a post-90s generation. His family was not wealthy, and he had suffered hardships in his childhood, so he thought he could endure it.

But after personally experiencing the harsh winters of the ancient northern frontier, I realized that what I experienced as a child was hardly hardship.
Compared to that, it's like living the life of a god.

When you're hungry, you have something to eat; when you're cold, you can burn charcoal to keep warm.

But now!
That was truly a time of extreme hunger and cold.

The family didn't have much food stored up, so the daily ration was fixed. Even so... Gao Loujin still managed to squeeze out a little bit so that Gao Yu, who was growing, could eat a little more.

But it lacks oil and water, so it's not filling at all.

The Gao family was considered relatively well-off; although they lived frugally, they were still able to make ends meet.

As the coldest month of December arrives, Huai Shuo is like an ice cellar on the ground.

The rooftops and alleyways were covered with a thick layer of snow. Gao Yu walked slowly along the path, his footsteps crunching on the snow.

Suddenly, a strong wind arose.

Gao Yu truly experienced what it meant for the "six towns to be cold and sharp as knives"—the cold wind felt like it was cutting his face.

He pulled the felt hat on his head tighter. Gao Loujin had specially sewn a lot of wool along the bottom edge of the felt hat for warmth. The design was somewhat similar to a modern dog-skin hat that could cover the ears. The fur coat he was wearing also had wool sewn along the cuffs and collar to prevent the wind from blowing in as much as possible. After fastening the felt hat, he tucked his hands into his sleeves to retain as much heat as possible.

He braved the freezing cold to go out and deliver some food to Gao Huan, who was on duty at the city gate. The army wouldn't provide food if he wasn't out on duty or fighting.

The military households of the Six Garrisons basically served as soldiers at their own expense. In the past, they could seize supplies through wars with the Rouran, but after the Rouran sent envoys to seek peace, wars between the two sides rarely broke out. In addition to their own land reclamation, the Six Garrisons were also extremely dependent on the imperial court's supplies. However, the imperial court's supplies were cut at every level, so the soldiers at the bottom level had to be self-sufficient.

The wind was getting stronger, so he quickened his pace.

We walked out of the alley and onto the main road.

What you see next is a completely different scene.

The stark reality of people freezing to death on the road was clearly presented before his eyes.

Several scantily clad people huddled together for warmth, their exposed toes already blue and cracked from the cold, their faces covered with a thick layer of frost, clearly indicating that they had completely lost their temperature and had become corpses.

The few people huddled in the distance were also close to death. Hearing Gao Yu's footsteps, a disheveled woman raised her head. Despite her extreme weakness, her eyes were filled with a will to live as she looked into Gao Yu's arms. She tremblingly reached out her hand to Gao Yu, but because she was too weak, she could not make a sound when she opened her mouth.

Because Gao Yu had the warmed flatbread tucked into his bosom, the woman probably smelled its aroma.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the woman was tightly holding a scantily clad child in her arms, the child's eyes were closed, and it was unclear whether the child was dead or alive.

These scenes strongly impacted Gao Yu's soul, which originated from the modern world.

Grit your teeth!

Gao Yu squatted down, took out a flatbread from his pocket and handed it to the woman, then took out a few copper coins and placed them in her hand. He knew very well that a flatbread and a few copper coins were of little use in this harsh winter, but... he just couldn't bear to do it.

The woman's eyes widened, and with a sudden burst of strength, she took the flatbread and took a bite.

next second.

Gao Yu was stunned.

After chewing the flatbread, the woman did not swallow it. Instead, like a bird feeding its chicks, she slowly fed the flatbread from her mouth to the child's mouth.

Gao Yu felt a lump in her throat and simply turned her head away.

I strode forward, no longer daring to stop and look at either side of the road.

After giving the flatbread to Gao Huan, Gao Huan noticed that there was one less than expected, but he didn't say anything.

He also knew that Gao Yu had a sweet tooth, after all, he was at the age when he was growing.

"Erlang, you should go back now. Be careful on the road."

Gao Yu nodded and returned the way he came. When he passed the corner again, the woman and child were gone, as were the several corpses beside them. They had probably been taken out of the city by the soldiers and disposed of in a mass grave.

(End of this chapter)