Sige Town greeted the last heavy snowfall of late winter.
The Bro River in winter did not freeze, but its waters were bone-chilling cold.
The military servants waded into the frigid water up to their waists, stepping along the towpath, pulling the ropes.
Relying only on manpower, they hauled the boats against the current.
The trackmen were an ancient profession, an indispensable link in ancient transportation systems.
But the winter conditions were treacherous, incomparable to any other season.
Roman's need for trackmen was immense, drafting four hundred military servants and an additional three hundred farmers.
Having been well-fed and warmly dressed over the past few months, they were capable of taking on such grueling tasks.
A small boat that could carry ten people only needed four or five trackmen to pull it.
But a medium-sized merchant ship required over a dozen trackmen.
Fortunately, Silver Dragon Canyon was not long, merely twenty li.
