Chapter 1429: Crescent Gate <<<
Two soldiers rushed over, not even glancing at Li Chen and his party. They lowered their heads and skillfully lifted the corpse of the dead soldier onto a stretcher. Then, one of the soldiers naturally shoved the steamed bun from the dead soldier's hand into his mouth before looking up at Li Chen, "More?"
Next to Xu Wei, enraged, said: “This is desecrating the dead!”
That soldier sneered, “What’s all this about desecrating the dead? That high-falutin' talk goes in one ear and out the other. All we know is that buns are good stuff, and it's been ages since we've had any meat in camp.”
Another soldier rolled his eyes and urged, "They're probably done for. Let's get going. We need to clean up these bodies before nightfall. We're on watch duty at the South Wall tonight, so we can't be late."
With a steamed bun in his mouth, the soldier deftly tore it in half with his hand, giving one half to his impatient comrade. Then, the two of them, one after the other, carried the stretcher away.
"Wait a minute."
Li Chen called them back, taking the bag of steamed buns from Xu Wei's hand and handing it to one of them. "This stuff is useless to the dead," he said. "Take it and share it among yourselves."
There were seventeen or eighteen steamed buns in the bag, and the soldier's face lit up with a smile. He chuckled at Li Chen and said, "Sir, you're generous! Most ordinary people here at Yueya Pass have already fled. It's rare to meet someone as generous as you. If sir doesn't mind, please come to our camp and donate."
"What does 'donate' mean?" Li Chen asked.
Although this soldier was on military duty, seeing the bag of buns, he still replied: "Our General Wu has an order that all those who are willing to donate to the army can come to the camp to register their donations. Anything from gold and silver treasures to firewood, rice, oil, and salt will be accepted. The army will record every donation and, once the war is over, we will make compensation and awards."

Li Chen nodded understandingly.
This is also a pretty good way to do it.
However, it also clearly shows how dire the situation was with the supplies of the Moonlit Gate defenders.
Two soldiers carried the stretcher away, and this time Li Chen did not stop them.
He walked heavily through the throngs of wounded, into the city of Yueya Pass.
While Yueya Guan wasn't established as long ago as many other fortresses in the Central Plains region, Li Chen felt a powerful sense of history and vicissitudes the moment he arrived.
The city walls were mottled, with cracks revealing the distinctive earthen bricks of the Loess Plateau. There was no moss, a common sight in humid southern regions, only black blood staining the crevices.
Those bloodstains, I don't know from which war or conflict they came.
There must be Qin troops, but also Liao troops.
The entire area of Yueya Guan could be described as devastated.
There were scarcely any proper houses to be seen, only the dilapidated foundations left behind after hasty demolition. Even the beams and bricks had been removed, repurposed to fortify this strategic pass.
Moonlight Pass is not very large. What makes it most magnificent and imposing is its towering city wall. It was primarily built to prevent incursions by the Liao army, so its walls are far higher and thicker than those of other cities in the Central Plains region.
While standing inside the gate, the main thoroughfare was wide and well-connected in all directions. It was designed to facilitate troop movements, allowing large armies to maneuver quickly and efficiently to support any besieged walls at a moment's notice.

(Editor in charge：james novel)