From the fake emperor to the concubine

He tugged at his cuffs and said, "A month ago, a nomadic tribe from the grasslands, posing as merchants, entered the country seventy miles north of the border and robbed two post stations, as well as attacking small villages along the way. Therefore, the border guards in Beining have tightened border controls, and no groups of foreigners are allowed to enter without authorization, pending verification."

That makes sense.

It's not a single attack on the Black Rock Division.

It's because of the recent incident involving "foreign merchants" on the border that the border troops have tightened their control even more.

Wu Chen, Yan Ao, and the others couldn't understand all of the official language, but they did understand the words "pretending to be merchants," "robbing post stations," and "border restrictions," and their expressions all turned serious.

Zheng Yi immediately seized on one point: "The magistrate said 'pending verification,' not 'never allowed to enter.'"

The clerk's eyes flashed.

"You're good at reading words."

“Because the path is often hidden in the words,” Zheng Yi said. “We are here today to inspect and verify. The goods are here, and the people are here. We have passed through Qing Shi Town, crossed the hunting trail, and taken the open road without any concealment. If we block all the routes from the northern tribes just because someone caused trouble recently, who will dare to bring goods from there in the future? How will Bei Ning City collect goods from the north?”

These words finally hit a nerve with what officials would actually care about.

The reason why Beining City can support so many border inns, fur shops, medicine and bone shops, and passing merchants is because of the constant supply of border goods. If the route from the north were completely blocked, it would save trouble for the border troops in the short term, but in the long run, those in the city who make a living from this would be the first to object.

The clerk looked at Zheng Yi but did not reply immediately.

Zheng Yi continued, “We didn’t come without proof. Manager Du of the leather goods store, the Chen family of the general store, and Manager Song of the pharmacy in Qingshi Town all saw our goods on the last trip and did business with us. If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to ask. If we go a little further south, I can find someone even more reliable to vouch for us.”

"Who?"

"People from Hongyun City."

Upon hearing this, even the usually composed clerk's expression changed slightly.

"Hongyun City?"

“Yes,” Zheng Yi said. “I have a past connection with Hongyun City. If you feel that the name of the northern tribes is not credible, then write to me in the name of the great city in the southern border.”

The clerk stared at him, as if it were the first time he was truly looking at him seriously.

He knew exactly what Hongyun City was.

That's not something a border town like Beining can compare to. If the other party really has a connection with Hongyun City, then things will be different. Because once Hongyun City is involved, it's not just a matter of whether or not to release this shipment, but that there might be a much larger shipment route landing on the Beining border in the future.

The man who looked like a soldier whispered something in the clerk's ear.

The clerk didn't answer, but looked at Zheng Yi and asked, "How can you prove it?"

Zheng Yi thought for a moment and took out an old wooden plaque from his pocket.

The wooden plaque wasn't particularly luxurious, and the edges were even worn a bit, but it had a very inconspicuous "鸿" (Hong) character stamped on it, along with a fine engraving that was difficult for outsiders to recognize.

This is not an official license plate.

It is not a guild document.

Instead, it was a "way sign" that someone had insisted on giving him after he helped someone out of a big problem in a shop in Hongyun City. It was useless to ordinary people, but if you actually went to the door of those shops, inns, and foreign affairs offices and handed it out, at least they would open the door and give you some face.

The clerk naturally did not recognize the specific origin of the plaque.

But he recognized the old shop signs and could tell that they weren't just something made to deceive people.

Zheng Yi said, "If you don't believe me, sir, you can send a fast horse or a messenger falcon to Hongyun City to ask. However, it takes time to get a reply, and our group of people and goods cannot stay frozen on the sidelines indefinitely."

The clerk sneered: "Then what do you want?"

"Give us temporary permission," Zheng Yi said. "Once we enter Beining City, we must not separate or travel at night. The goods can be held at the official warehouse or designated cargo yard until they are verified before we can proceed with the transaction. If the feedback from Hongyun City is incorrect, or if Qingshi Town cannot find any trace of our goods left behind, then you can send us out. It's not too late."

This arrangement effectively blocked out the areas where the other party was most afraid of taking responsibility.

The idea is not to simply allow them to enter the city to do business, but rather to "deposit first, then inspect."

The border troops have face.

There is room for maneuver on the official front.

They won't just freeze to death on the border.

The clerk's expression changed several times.

The soldier frowned, as if he were weighing the pros and cons of the matter.

The border soldiers behind them initially thought these were a group of northern barbarians, but now that they saw Zheng Yi talking point by point, actually turning "absolutely not allowed to enter" into "can be detained first and then inspected," their eyes couldn't help but show a strange look.

Yan Ao muttered under his breath, "So talking to them is like hunting; you have to block their escape routes first."

Wu Chen said, "It's more troublesome than hunting."

Chi Ya only half understood what Zheng Yi was saying, but he was incredibly impressed by how the civil official's expression had changed so much after just a few words from Zheng Yi.

After a while, the clerk finally spoke.

"My surname is Zhou, and I am in charge of the records and verification of border affairs in Beining." He paused for a moment, then said, "The method you suggested is worth a try. However, there are three conditions."

"please say."

"First, your group is not allowed to bring long weapons into the city. Spears, heavy chisels, and large bows should be stored in the official armory. Short swords may be left behind for personal defense."

"can."

"Second, the goods must first be stored in the Beining Outer Goods Yard and must not be moved privately. They will be allowed to enter the market only after inspections are conducted at Qingshi Town and Bianlu."

"can."

"Third—" Zhou Li squinted at him, "You used Hongyun City as your guarantor, and I'll remember that. If it turns out that you have no real connection with Hongyun City, or that what you said today was even half an exaggeration, not only will their group be expelled, but you yourself won't be able to get away easily either."

Zheng Yi remained expressionless: "Okay."

Zhou Li stared at him for a few more moments, as if trying to find a trace of guilt on his face, but found nothing. Finally, he waved his sleeve.

"Open half the gate."

The captain at the gate was clearly taken aback, but reluctantly, he still raised his hand and gave the order.

The heavy wooden fence was slowly moved halfway to one side, leaving an opening large enough for people and goods to pass side by side.

At that moment, none of the thirty-odd tribal hunters behind him spoke.

But the breath that had been stuck in his chest was finally slowly exhaled.

Yan Ao was the first to be unable to hold back, and gave a cold smile in the direction of the captain.

"So it wasn't completely forbidden to enter after all."

The captain's face turned ugly, but he could only pretend he hadn't heard.

Zheng Yi turned around and said to Wu Chen and the others, "Do as I said before. Keep the weapons and long weapons in stock, don't let the goods scatter, and don't wander around or look around randomly when you enter the city."

Wu Chen nodded: "Understood."

Although Yan'ao was clearly unhappy, he eventually conceded.

The next section of the barrier was even tighter than the previous one.

The border guards examined the weapons piece by piece, rummaging through the packages one by one. When the best leather was turned over, even the veterans, who had been stern-faced, couldn't help but take a second look. Several hunters from a small tribe, seeing the southern border's weaponry and gates up close for the first time, had sweaty palms, fearing they might inadvertently cause trouble for the tribe.

When Chi Ya handed over his short bow, his hand trembled slightly.

The border guard glanced at him: "First time entering the pass?"

Chi Ya wanted to retort, but remembering Zheng Yi's words, he held back and simply nodded.

The soldier didn't make things difficult for him, just flipped the bow over and tossed it back to him: "Keep the short bow, don't show it off."

Chiya took the bow, feeling a little uneasy, and honestly agreed.

When the entire group and their goods had officially crossed the half-open gate and truly set foot on the southern border road, everyone felt an extremely surreal feeling.

The ground beneath his feet, though still cold earth, frozen snow, and wind, suddenly felt separated from the wasteland behind him by an invisible boundary. Zheng Yi didn't turn back to look at the fortress, but instead looked at the taller, more solid city silhouette shrouded in the evening light in the distance.

Beining City.

We've finally taken that step.

But he also knew very well that this was not yet a victory.

It's just that we've crossed the threshold.

The subsequent steps—from finding a cargo yard, inspection, market entry, pricing, locating suppliers, and building connections with officials—were all much more difficult than in Qingshi Town.

Moreover, by bringing up the name "Hongyun City" today, he's essentially placing a bigger card on the table. Once that card is revealed, if the rest can't be played, not only will this journey be difficult, but future attempts by northern tribes to use that name to pave roads will also be affected.

Wu Chen walked to his side and whispered, "That's too much."

Zheng Yi hummed in agreement.

Yan'ao, carrying the empty long chisel sheath, glanced back at the gate and said coldly, "I've memorized this place."

Zheng Yi said, "Remember that, but don't keep thinking about coming back to smash things."

Yan Ao snorted: "Do I look that brainless?"

Chiya whispered, "It looks like it."

Flame Hound was about to slap him, but Red Fang dodged it, and the atmosphere eased a little.

The group continued heading towards Beining City.

The border troops gave two guides and told them to go straight to the outer cargo yard. On the way, they encountered several scattered groups and local border residents. When those people saw this large group of people, whose attire was clearly different from that of the usual border residents, and who had soldiers leading the way, they couldn't help but take a second look.

Some people see it as curiosity.

Some people are on guard.

Some people, upon seeing truckloads and packages of skin, bones, and medicinal herbs, couldn't suppress the shrewd glint in their eyes.

Zheng Yi saw all of this, but didn't rush to do anything.

He knew that today's blockade had inadvertently boosted their momentum.

The more a team is blocked by the border troops and then eventually leads its troops into the city, the more it will be noticed by some of the people in the city who actually make a living from this.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the freight yard outside Beining City, before they had even settled in properly, two groups of people came from afar to look them over.

A group of people who looked like they were from a fur trading company.

The other group was more like shop assistants in grocery stores and medicine shops.

They didn't rush up; they just watched.

Let's see what kind of goods these northern tribes brought, and how they were able to get in.

Zhou Li was quick on his feet.

Since he had agreed to "deposit first, inspect later," he didn't deliberately delay. He designated a separate storage area for Zheng Yi and his group, and assigned two clerks to register the types and quantities of goods on-site, then sealed each package one by one. On the surface, this was to prevent them from moving the goods, but in reality, it was also paving the way for their later entry into the market—with this official registration, it wouldn't be so easy for others to claim that their goods were of dubious origin when they actually started selling them.

By the time I finished all that, it was already dark.

The border official allocated two rows of old houses behind the warehouse for them to stay temporarily. Although they were simple, at least they had walls and doors, which was much better than camping on the snow.

Everyone was finally able to catch their breath.

As soon as Yan Ao entered the room, he slammed his boots on the ground and cursed, "People from the south do things like peeling skin off a person, layer after layer without end."

After sitting down, Wu Chen said, "But after peeling away these layers, we really managed to get through the road."

Chiya was lying by the window, still secretly watching the lights in the distance.

"This is Beining City? It's so much brighter than Qingshi Town."

Zheng Yi sat by the brazier, ignoring their idle chatter, and instead thought about tomorrow.

The verification process in Qingshi Town will take at least one or two days.

Hongyun City is even further away.

But he wasn't really going to just sit and wait.

Once you start waiting, the initiative will be back in someone else's hands.

He has to find the person himself first.

We need to find someone in Beining City who truly understands the products, someone willing to work with the northern tribes on a long-term basis, and someone who can carry on the "Hongyun City" brand.

The old woman was right; the most troublesome ones were never the merchants, but the officials.

But those who can truly expand a road are never just officials.

He poked at the fire, then suddenly said, "Starting tomorrow, we'll split into three groups."

Wu Chen looked at him: "How do we divide it?"

"You and Yan'ao will each lead a team to guard the goods, and they must not scatter. The other team will come with me into the inner city to find the two types of people first."

Which two?

“A discerning connoisseur.” Zheng Yi raised his eyes, a glint of fire in them. “And someone who can speak with Hongyun City.”

Yan Ao raised an eyebrow: "You really intend to bring Hongyun City out here?"

“Since we’ve already used it as collateral, we can’t just talk the talk without walking the walk,” Zheng Yi said. “If we take this step firmly, then going to Hongyun City won’t be just a pipe dream.”

Wu Chen remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Then I'll go to town with you tomorrow."

Zheng Yi said, "Okay."

Chiya immediately raised his hand: "Me too!"

The three of them looked at him together.

Chiya shrank back under the gaze, but still forced himself to say, "I...I can run fast."

Yan'ao chuckled: "You still know your only use."

Zheng Yi didn't reject it outright. He thought for a moment and said, "You go, but you're only responsible for running errands and keeping watch. You're not allowed to say anything out of line."

Chiya's eyes lit up immediately: "I promise!"

The next day, before dawn, Zheng Yi woke up after the third beat of the drum at the freight yard outside Beining City.

It's still very cold inside.

Even if the dwellings in the border town were better than the tribal stone houses, the improvement was only marginal. At night, the wind seeped in through the cracks in the walls and the edges of the paper windows, dimming the firelight. Red Fang, having been too excited last night, only fell into a deep sleep in the latter half of the night; he was still wrapped in his fur robe, huddled in a corner, his nose red from the cold. Flame Hound, on the other hand, had woken up early and was sitting by the door sharpening his newly acquired skinning knife, the blade making a soft, grating sound as it moved back and forth.

Wu Chen, wearing a cloak, stood outside the door. When he saw Zheng Yi come out, he only said, "There are people outside."

"Who?"

“They’re not officials.” Wu Chen gestured with his chin toward the other end of the freight yard. “Like those groups that were watching us last night.”

Zheng Yi looked in that direction and indeed saw several people standing far away by the entrance to the freight yard.

Their clothing wasn't uniform, but none of them resembled ordinary border residents. Two were wearing the thick coats commonly seen in the fur trade; one wore a silk-lined jacket over it and had a copper abacus hanging from his waist, suggesting he was a bookkeeper. The other, older than the other, stood with his hands tucked in to the wind, his eyes constantly scanning the pile of goods, clearly looking at the merchandise that had been sealed off the previous night.

Zheng Yi smiled.

"They arrived earlier than I expected." (End of Chapter)