Green Mountain-Chapter 587 - 444: Black Boots and Straw Sandals

Chongli Pass, the Ning Dynasty’s most formidable barrier.

Riding north from the Imperial Capital, one can reach it in three days at a fast gallop.

Further north, beyond the Dama Mountains, lies the Jing Dynasty’s Western Capital Road in Fengsheng State. The nearest Jing Dynasty city is Baidadan City, about two hundred li away.

On the official road south of Chongli Pass, a caravan slowly emerged on the horizon, with copper bells hanging on the necks of the mules in the team, jingling incessantly.

Chen Ji rode Zaozao alongside the caravan and tossed a copper coin to the man leading a mule: "Old brother, are you all going to the Jing Dynasty for business?"

The man, with wind-swept wrinkles on his face, tossed the copper coin into a pouch slung over his shoulder: "How could that be? To leave Chongli Pass, you’d need travel documents, and that requires connections as high as the heavens."

Curious, Chen Ji asked, "Where are you transporting these goods then?"

The man fell silent.

Chen Ji smiled and threw another copper coin, prompting the man to reply, "These are all headed to the Chongli Pass Military Market, from needles and thread to fine wine and smoked meat, we’ve got it all."

Chen Ji looked back at the end of the mule team, where dozens of mules carried women. The women sat sideways with their heads lowered, wrapped tightly in large blue scarves, revealing only their eyes.

He tossed the man another copper coin: "Are these military families, or...?"

The man grinned, revealing yellow teeth: "Sir, you’re joking; why ask a question you already know the answer to?"

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows and tossed another copper coin: "Doesn’t Chongli Pass care? I heard the Imperial Three Camps have strict military discipline, how could they allow this?"

The man stuffed the coin into his pouch and laughed: "Sir, you don’t even know this? The Imperial Three Camps usually train in Xuanhua Prefecture. It’s only the Night Patrols from each division that are outside the pass on regular days; others don’t go to Chongli Pass unless there’s a war."

Chen Ji made a sound of acknowledgment.

He had often heard that the Imperial Three Camps were stationed at Chongli Pass, thinking these three Capital Camps always stayed there, but they were actually stationed in Xuanhua Prefecture, a hundred li away.

Chen Ji curiously asked, "Old brother, how many are stationed inside Chongli Pass usually?"

The man suddenly became wary, scrutinizing Chen Ji before declaring earnestly, "Chongli Pass usually has a formidable force of three hundred thousand soldiers. If the Jing Dynasty invaders come, they won’t return... By the way, sir, what brings you to Chongli Pass?"

Chen Ji casually replied, "To join the Night Patrol at Chongli Pass."

The man looked him up and down: "A Night Patrol? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?"

Chen Ji, intrigued, said, "What do you think I’m here for?"

The man looked at Chen Ji’s attire and at the horse Zaozao he was on: "You look like a nobleman from the Capital out on a journey."

Chen Ji smiled, saying no more, and slowed his horse to shelter behind the caravan from the wind and sand.

...

...

When leaving the Capital this time, Chen Ji didn’t inform anyone, and with the Ministry of War’s document, he set off immediately, but was still blocked by Zhang Zheng at the city gates, who handed Zaozao to him.

He initially didn’t want to accept, but Zhang Zheng insisted that without a good horse, he couldn’t serve on the Night Patrol.

What could have been a three-day fast ride to Chongli Pass turned into a twelve-day journey with the caravan, starting and stopping, by the time they arrived, it was already the first of April.

In the afternoon, he saw from a distance a section of the Great Wall stretching and winding through the steep mountains, like a giant dragon vanishing among the ranges. Every mountaintop built with a beacon tower, from which the red banners of the Daning Dynasty fluttered in the mountain winds.

Chongli Pass stood like a giant green stone gate wedged between two mountain canyons, towering a hundred zhang, capturing the essential route for the Jing Dynasty’s southward advance.

Following the caravan, Chen Ji saw dense clusters of yellow cloth tents scattered outside the Pass before reaching its base. Men and women moved among them, and hundreds of cooking smoke trails rose high into the sky, wafting beyond the heavens.

As the caravan entered the Military Market, countless people swarmed forward, with one loudly asking, "Did you bring any wine?"

The merchant laughed and replied aloud: "Brought some, brought some!"

Another voice shouted from the crowd’s perimeter, "I want tea bricks!"

The merchant, leading a mule, said: "Don’t rush, don’t rush, I brought a lot of goods this time, enough for everyone. After you’ve divided them, I’ll head back to the Imperial Capital the day after tomorrow, make a few more trips before the hot season; otherwise, it’ll be slow-going for the mules once the hot season starts."

Chen Ji didn’t bother with others, leading Zaozao alone through the Military Market.

The tents stretched for a mile, most of them simple, with only a few large ones covered with felt, towering like cranes among chickens.

The women previously carried by mules were sent to these large tents.

Chen Ji arrived in front of Chongli Pass, the South Gate open wide.

Before the gates stood three layers of chevaux-de-frise, with twenty defending soldiers standing behind them, resting on their spears.

Before Chen Ji could advance, he saw the man he had questioned earlier emerge from the side, pointing at Chen Ji and shouting: "Esteemed soldiers, this boy has been inquiring about the affairs of Chongli Pass the entire way, constantly asking me how many troops are stationed inside. He must be an enemy spy!"

"Right, right," the man added, "he doesn’t even know that the Imperial Three Camps are usually stationed in Xuanhua Prefecture!"

The city guards’ expressions changed upon hearing this, and they immediately turned over the wooden barriers, surrounding Chen Ji in the middle.

Chen Ji looked around at the cold gleam on the gun tips: "A misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" the commanding officer said in a deep voice, "Why are you probing into the affairs within Chongli Pass? What are your intentions?"

The man shouted from the side: "Capture him, officers, and interrogate him thoroughly, I’m sure you can extract something!"

Chen Ji took out a document from his pouch: "General, I am a small flag officer from the Imperial Capital coming to the Chongli Pass Guard Station, Chen Ji. Here is my travel permit and the Ministry of War documents, please examine them."

With suspicion, the commanding officer took the document, only to see it sealed with the Ministry of War’s wax, addressed to "General Zhang Lanjin of the Chongli Pass Guard Station."

Not everyone can look into an unopened document from the Ministry of War.

Thinking briefly, the commanding officer handed the document to a colleague nearby: "Take this to General Zhang for verification."

A soldier ran into the pass.

The commanding officer sized up Chen Ji. When he noticed Chen Ji’s boots, he suddenly realized: "Another one wearing black boots coming to gild himself at Chongli Pass."

Chen Ji looked down at his own black boots, then at the soldiers’ feet, which were all in straw sandals, their feet exposed to the cold wind, toes turning blue from the cold.

The commanding officer sneered, pointing at Chen Ji: "Search him! Don’t let a Jing Dynasty spy into the pass!"

Chen Ji did not resist, obediently raising his arms, allowing the guards to search him thoroughly.

The commanding officer added: "Remove the boots!"

Chen Ji took off his boots in public.

One of the guards drew a dagger, slitting open the soles, then cutting open the lining, confirming there were no hidden items before tossing them aside.

The commanding officer, still unsatisfied, personally used a dagger to tear open the seams of Chen Ji’s clothes, leaving them in tatters.

Chen Ji wasn’t angry: "General, do you check everyone this thoroughly?"

The commanding officer replied stiffly: "Yes, it’s better to be thorough."

Chen Ji responded with a smile: "Indeed, it’s better to be thorough."

The commanding officer was taken aback; he had guessed Chen Ji was a young noble from the Imperial Capital, intending to vent his frustration before verifying the document, as it wouldn’t be appropriate afterward.

But looking at Chen Ji’s face, he found that Chen Ji truly wasn’t angry.

At that moment, the soldier who went to verify the document returned, panting: "The General said it’s true."

The man who reported the case cursed his bad luck, turned around, and walked toward the military market: "Who knows where that moron came from, thinking he could earn a reward."

Now, the commanding officer blandly asked: "Did the General give any other orders?"

A soldier beside him whispered: "The General said, no need to take him to the government office. We’ll directly send someone to lead him to the forward thousand households at Xuanfu, find a place to leave him, as long as he doesn’t die on our territory."

The commanding officer understood the implication and looked at Chen Ji’s horse, Zaozao, admiring it: "Good horse, just wonder if the person matches the horse. Come on, let’s take you to the forward thousand households at Xuanfu. Stay there as a small flag, don’t wander around without reason."

Chen Ji sincerely said: "Sir, I’m here to work as the Night Patrol."

The soldiers guarding the city were taken aback, then looked at each other, finally bursting into laughter: "You? Night Patrol?"

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Is it not written in the Ministry of War document?"

The soldier who had gone to verify the document laughed heartily: "The document only states you’re here to be a small flag officer at Chongli Pass, not to be a Night Patrol. Besides, what kind of position is a Night Patrol? We’ve never seen it mentioned in official documents."

The Night Patrol is a well-known title, but not written as such in official documents; it only indicates the formal position: Chongli Pass Guard Station, small flag officer, Chen Ji.

Thus, in the Ministry of War’s document, it only stated his role as a small flag officer at Chongli Pass, not his role as a Night Patrol. This was the civil servants’ subtlety; everything His Majesty instructed was done by the book, yet this particular matter couldn’t be accomplished.

The commanding officer patted his shoulder, his tone softening a bit: "Lad, to be a Night Patrol requires skill in archery and horsemanship, and you must be battle-hardened. Many want to be a Night Patrol at Chongli Pass, but it’s not something you can just choose to do; it requires approval from the General and Deputy General. Furthermore, the Night Patrol is a tough job; you rich boys can’t handle that kind of hardship, not letting you take it up is for your own good. Follow me, and let’s first assign you to the forward thousand households at Xuanfu."

Chen Ji fell silent for a moment, then agreed with a smile: "Alright."

As the commanding officer walked into the pass, Chen Ji looked at the tattered black boots on the ground, then stepped barefoot on the cold stone pavement, following along.

Leading Zaozao through the gate, he was immediately enveloped in a massive shadow, the imposing pass blocking the sunlight, leaving the whole of Chongli Pass shrouded in gray.

Glancing back, the commanding officer casually instructed: "If you want to earn enough battle merits early and return to the Imperial Capital, find Hong Zuer and Zhang Baishi to buy ears from them; they have plenty, maybe enough for you to ascend to a thousand households and enjoy a good life when you return. Although not cheap, it spares you the hardship and danger."

Chen Ji curiously asked: "Who are Hong Zuer and Zhang Baishi?"

"Night Patrol."