Just as the Second Division was preparing to set off to carry out the "Sky Fire" plan, a new problem was discovered: At the end of October, the weather in the north was unusually cold, especially at night, and the temperature could drop to about minus 10 degrees.

In this era, cotton has not been introduced to China, and of course there are no cotton clothes and cotton pants, so keeping out the cold is a big problem. Guan Xing ordered the urgent purchase of winter clothes in Fanyang and the surrounding counties. This toss came in early November, and Guan Xing was very annoyed that the fighters had been repeatedly delayed, and the implementation of the "Tianhuo" plan had been repeatedly postponed.

At the same time, he also received news that Qincha Tianyu had arrived at the Xianbei Suli Department to appease the Suli Ministry, and once the appeasement was successful, the imperial court's policy towards Xianbei would change, and it was likely that he would lose the opportunity to fight against the Xianbei people, which also meant that he had lost an opportunity to make contributions and expand his territory.

At the beginning of November, the problem of winter clothing was basically solved, and Guan Xing ordered the army to set off to officially start the implementation of the "Tianhuo" plan. When it comes to the issue of winter clothing, it is actually quite complicated, and this complexity mainly refers to the composition of winter clothing.

A portion of the winter coat was purchased from the nearby Han Chinese, and the winter coat filling of this era can be mainly divided into plant-based and animal-based (protein) filling. The so-called plant-based fillers mainly refer to a variety of plant fibers, which are commonly used by the poor to keep out the cold. For example, "缊" refers to the mess of flax, and some poorer people simply fill their winter coats with some hay to keep out the cold, such as the wula grass in the Three Treasures of the Northeast.

In addition to these cheapest and cheapest plant fibers, there are also some high-grade ones, such as kapok, reed flowers, etc., these things are very warm, and the cold protection effect is very good, but the yield is small, and the collection is difficult, so it is more expensive and not something that ordinary people can use.

Animal fillings are more valuable, such as silk, wool wool and down, etc., which were used by ancient people to make quilts and winter coats, these things are warm and light, and they are good fillers, but these things are basically only used by rich people.

This time, the Second Division also purchased a small amount of these valuable winter clothes, which were basically distributed to officers at all levels. Those winter clothes filled with litter and even hay were naturally rationed to the soldiers.

There is also a part of winter clothes, in fact, they can't be called winter clothes, they can only be said to be cold materials, which come from those merchants who go deep into the grassland to do business with the Hu people. Some time ago, in order to reconnoiter the situation in the grassland, Guan Xing sent a large number of scouts into the grassland with the caravan.

Those caravans thought that now that they had the Han army as their backers, they could free their hands and feet to do business on the grassland, so they all behaved very actively, and while cooperating with the Han army to do a good job of reconnaissance, they also took the opportunity to do a big deal. What they bought from the Hu people was nothing more than furs, tendons, horns, horses, and a small amount of dried meat, dairy products, etc.

Because it is difficult to preserve, there are not many quantities of jerky and dairy products. Just as the Central Plains Dynasty embargoed iron and other strategic materials to the Hu people in the grassland, the Hu people also had embargo projects against the Han people. For example, animal sinews were essential for bows and arrows, and horses were an indispensable part of cavalry, and the Hu rulers had always forbidden their tribes to sell these things to the Han Chinese.

Of course, they also exported a small amount of horses to the Han people through official channels, which was called tribute. However, this kind of tribute they often received several times the same value from the Han dynasty, which was a very lucrative transaction.

Moreover, the number of horses exported in this form is not large after all, and it will not greatly enhance the military strength of the Han dynasty, which is within their control, so they are still happy to do so.

Therefore, this time, a large number of caravans entered the grassland to buy the most commodities are all kinds of furs, especially sheep furs. The wool skins were sent directly to the soldiers after a little nitrate, and it was too late to even make clothes, because the action was about to begin, and there was no time or so many leather craftsmen to sew tens of thousands of leather clothes.

The soldiers who received the fur could only cross the sea to show their powers, and most of them put a fur directly on their bodies, tied and fixed on their bodies with several straw ropes, although they looked weird, but the effect of keeping warm was just now. There are also those who have an ancestral craft and know how to cut pieces of fur into several pieces to protect many parts of the body.

As a result, in the Second Division, a strange phenomenon arose, the troops who were originally neatly dressed have now become a group of people wearing colorful and varied clothes, and many people can even be said to be dressed in strange costumes.

In other words, those soldiers in sheep's clothing, their image is not much better than that of snobbery, and they really deserve the comment of fancy dress. These soldiers in sheep's clothing are very Hu Feng, and at first glance, they thought they were uncivilized Hu people on the grassland, but looking at the hair ornaments on their heads, they were obviously Han people, and they were nondescript images anyway.

In any case, the matter of keeping warm is temporarily solved, but it can only be regarded as a temporary solution, because the weather will get colder and colder, and in the most severe winter, relying on these things is still not enough. Guan Xing also understands this, so this war can only be resolved quickly, and it must not be delayed, and after this battle, the troops must also withdraw from the grassland immediately like the first division, otherwise, as soon as the harsh winter comes, the second division will face the danger of annihilation without the enemy attacking.

Guan Xing chose a good day, swore to set off, and the army followed the Great Wall, day and night, and rushed to the Great Wall. The so-called nocturnal rise is to further reduce the possibility of being discovered by the Xianbei people. The army marched on the Great Wall at night, and when it was daytime, they went down to the inner side of the Great Wall and set up tents to sleep.

The Xianbei people basically operate on the outside of the Great Wall, so the people of the Second Division go down to the inside of the Great Wall to rest during the day, and they are not afraid of being discovered by the Xianbei people. And this method of traveling day and night, there is another consideration: the weather is too cold at night, and you can't light a bonfire to warm the fire, otherwise the blazing fire is easy to be discovered, even if there is a tent to block the cold wind, but at night when the temperature is so low, people can't sleep at all.

Since it's so cold that you can't sleep, then don't sleep at all, trot forward at night, exercise to produce heat, and people won't feel too cold. When the sun rises during the day and the temperature rises above freezing, it's perfect to sleep at such a warm time. Relying on this way of marching day and night, the 2nd Division soon had two brigades of troops and secretly moved to the outer Great Wall to the north of Kebinengshuai's tent.

The 1st and 2nd Brigades carried out the "Tianhuo" operation this time, while the 3rd Brigade remained south of the Great Wall and was ready to maneuver at any time. The division of labor between the 1st and 2nd Brigades was also different, the 1st Brigade was responsible for arson operations, and the 2nd Brigade stayed near the Outer Great Wall, responsible for receiving the 1st Brigade and covering the retreat of the 1st Brigade.