Aoyama

Chapter 446 Master Hong and Ah Sheng

Chen Ji followed the centurion barefoot, passing through a cacophony of clanging metal.

He asked curiously, "How much silver is one ear?"

The centurion replied without turning his head, "One ear can be exchanged for ten taels of silver at Chongli Pass. I'll sell it to you for one hundred taels, and everyone will be happy. Three ears will guarantee you promotion to squad leader, and ten ears will guarantee you promotion to centurion."

Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought: "What about the commander of a thousand households?"

The centurion casually remarked, "Being promoted to commander of a thousand is a matter of luck. There won't be any major battles recently, so there won't be any opportunities to break through enemy lines, capture flags, be the first to scale the walls, or slay generals. You'll have to kill two of the Jing Dynasty's 'capture-alive generals' to get promoted."

"Capture the live general?"

The centurion said in a deep voice, "They're similar to the night watchmen of our Ning Dynasty. If you're going out to cut down trees, you'd better kowtow to the Buddha a few times beforehand and pray that you don't run into them."

Chen Ji hummed in agreement: "But the imperial court doesn't care about buying military merits so directly?"

The centurion scoffed, "You should just go and smooth things over with the officials sent by the court to record our merits. They investigate us for half a year as if our mothers have died when we make merits. But when you make merits, they turn a blind eye. After all, they don't want to stay in this despised place forever, and they can't afford to offend you."

Chen Ji tentatively asked, "Are there other people like me inside Chongli Pass?"

“Yes,” the centurion said casually, “there are about ten other people like you. They have all been promoted to centurions and are waiting to be promoted to commanders of a thousand before they leave. But it’s not easy for Hong Zu’er and the others to kill a captured general. They can only wait their turn.”

Chen Ji said "Oh," and asked, "How much silver would you sell the head of a captured general for?"

The centurion suddenly stopped and turned to look at Chen Ji: "It depends on who's willing to pay. The last head of the captured general sold for two thousand taels. If you want to buy it, I can help you make a connection."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "No rush, I'll wait and see."

The centurion calmly said, "This is your first time at Chongli Pass, so there are a few things I need to remind you. Once the evening drum sounds, it's curfew, and you're not allowed to move around freely. If you're caught by the military supervisor sent by the court, that's fine, since you sons of officials and nobles have plenty of connections to pull strings. But if you're caught by the General's personal guards, you'll be skinned alive, if not killed."

He glanced at Chen Ji's bare feet: "I'm only talking to you this much because I see you're not arrogant. There are plenty of young men who come to Chongli Pass to make military merits, but Chongli Pass doesn't buy into your ways. If you don't want to be inexplicably killed by your colleagues, then stop your usual behavior. Otherwise, the old soldiers of Chongli Pass have a hundred ways to kill you... You're all just worthless lives, and those with nothing to lose aren't afraid of those wearing shoes."

Chen Ji politely cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for the reminder, sir."

The centurion continued walking forward: "Once you've earned enough military merits, leave as soon as possible. This isn't a place for you."

Chen Ji saw that the wells inside the pass were guarded by special personnel, and soldiers were pushing wheelbarrows back and forth, some transporting grain and fodder, and others transporting bricks, stones and timbers.

Rows of brick houses stand tall, but there are no shops or ordinary people in sight.

Chongli Pass is completely different from Guyuan.

If Guyuan is a frontier town, then Chongli Pass is a true war fortress. There are no civilian households inside the pass; they are all military households that have lived there for generations. The horse breeders have been grooms for generations, and the blacksmiths have been blacksmiths for generations.

As Chen Ji followed the centurion through the street, some people on the street cast curious glances at him, looking at his tattered clothes, but he didn't care at all.

Just then, the north gate of Chongli Pass opened wide, and cheers came from afar: "Master Hong and Ah Sheng are back!"

Chen Ji looked up and saw a middle-aged man wearing a melon-shaped hat and a gray cloth robe, riding a horse, looking travel-worn. Behind him was a thin boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old, also riding a horse.

The man had a string of ears tied to his horse, while the boy was leading two empty horses.

The blacksmiths working by the roadside and the foot soldiers pushing wheelbarrows carrying bricks and stones all dropped what they were doing and gathered around him, like stars surrounding the moon.

Someone shouted, "Master Hong's seclusion this time won't be short; it'll probably be more than twenty days!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Hong!"

Hongye didn't answer. He dismounted and casually tossed the reins to the groom: "Feed it some fried beans and two eggs. It's worked hard on this trip, so we need to fatten it up."

The coachman beamed, "Alright!"

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Master Hong said, "The horseshoes should be replaced too."

The blacksmith said loudly, "Don't worry, Master Hong, I'll fix its hooves and get it a good pair of horseshoes tomorrow."

Someone asked loudly, "What did Master Hong gain on this trip?"

Hong said hoarsely, "This harvest was not good. I encountered two hunters who captured animals. I fought with them for more than ten days. If it weren't for Ah Sheng's quick thinking, I'm afraid I would have died in Huangjia Kiln."

Everyone looked at Ah Sheng behind Master Hong and smiled with a hint of indulgence: "Ah Sheng has done a great job!"

Ah Sheng said shyly, "Master Hong taught me well."

At this moment, someone suddenly wondered, "Huangjia Kiln? How come the hunters are so close? They don't usually come to the mountains."

Master Hong shook his head: "Those Jingchao thieves are like madmen, who knows what they're thinking. I saw them hanging up their ears from afar earlier, but I don't know which banner's brothers have been killed this time. By the way, have Baizi and Xingxing returned yet?"

The groom replied, "Not yet, but when the Wansui Army's Gaoyuan returned, he said he saw him in Liutiaogou. Nothing happened."

Upon hearing this, Master Hong frowned, then suddenly squatted down and began drawing a map, as if he were calculating something.

The next moment, he stood up, grabbed Ah Sheng's reins, and mounted his horse: "Zhuo Sheng is too close to him, I'll go and meet them."

Having said that, Master Hong, who had just returned to the pass, rode off again.

Chen Ji looked from afar and asked curiously to the centurion beside him, "Is that Hong Zu'er?"

The centurion said enviously, "That's right, he's the most famous night watchman in my Chongli Pass. Even the night watchmen of the three Imperial Guards can't compare to him. Gao Yuan, the former commander of the Longevity Army, even tried to recruit him, but Lord Hong didn't go anywhere else and stayed in my Chongli Pass."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "That Asheng is so young, how can he be a night watchman?" The centurion smiled and said, "Asheng isn't a night watchman yet. He's just practicing his skills with Master Hong. He's a military household from the pass. His parents died early, and Master Hong adopted him."

Chen Ji tentatively asked, "What level of officialdom does Master Hong possess?"

The centurion glanced at him sideways: "Why are you asking about this? Let's go, I'll take you to the barracks."

……

……

Ningchao Guards consist of 5,600 men in one guard and 1,120 men in one garrison.

The soldiers stationed at Chongli Pass numbered only two guards, far fewer than the 300,000 men the caravan had previously claimed.

Chen Ji was assigned to the military camp of the Xuanqian Prefecture Thousand-Household Office, which was located in the northeast corner of Chongli Pass. It took him half an hour to get there.

The barracks consisted of twenty large brick houses. Each brick house had a large communal sleeping area for more than fifty infantrymen. A junior officer commanded ten infantrymen, and a senior officer commanded fifty infantrymen, which filled one brick house.

Only those who rise to the rank of 100 or 1000 households can be allocated their own small, independent house.

Wild vegetables and dried radishes were drying on the roof of the brick house, and clothes were hanging out to dry in the yard.

Chen Ji originally thought the infantrymen had all gone to drills, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw nine infantrymen sitting cross-legged on the ground, weaving straw sandals.

The centurion glanced around the courtyard: "Where are the others?"

A foot soldier lazily replied, "Sir, they have been sent out to repair the city wall. Our squad is said to be staying, and new junior officers will be assigned to it soon."

The centurion pointed to the ruins: "These are your flags, all of you, stand up and greet them."

The infantrymen were taken aback. After looking the remains up and down, they showed disappointment and none of them showed any intention of standing up.

The centurion went inside to retrieve the roster and called out, "Zhang Tonggou."

A foot soldier, while weaving straw sandals, casually replied, "Here it is."

"Li Ahu".

"Here it is."

"Li Erbao".

"this."

The centurion counted the nine men in turn, then instructed Chen Ji: "Remember what I said. The horse you brought is tied up in your yard. You must keep a close eye on it so it doesn't get stolen. But remember, you are just a banner officer. Chongli Pass will not take care of your horse. If you want fodder, you have to buy it yourself from the groom. Give him a sum of money, and he will deliver the fodder to you every day."

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, sir."

The centurion has left.

The courtyard became noisy. Zhang Tonggou said, "I bet he's from the capital. Who's willing to bet with me?"

Li Erbao said, "These years, the officials and nobles in the capital have all gone to the Imperial Guards and haven't come here. I guess they came from Shanzhou."

Li Ahu thought for a moment and said, "Look how good the horse he's leading is. If you want to find such a good horse, you'd probably have to go to Shanzhou."

Zhang Tonggou looked up at Chen Ji: "Hey, where did you come from?"

Chen Ji saw that these infantrymen were blatantly using him as a wager, which was actually an attempt to show that they didn't care about him.

But he did not get angry; he simply smiled and replied, "I came from the capital."

Li Erbao, Li Ahu, and the others cursed and pulled out a copper coin from their sleeves, throwing it to Zhang Tonggou: "Lucky bastard."

Chen Ji tied Zaozao to the yard, sat down on the ground, grabbed a handful of straw, and began to weave straw sandals like the foot soldiers beside him.

The foot soldiers exchanged glances.

Zhang Tonggou scratched his chin: "This is the first time we've ever seen a noble young master from the capital weaving straw sandals. It's quite a novelty."

Chen Ji, mimicking Li Erbao by twisting straw into 'warp ropes,' replied without looking up, 'We need a pair of shoes first... By the way, why are you making so many straw sandals?'

Zhang Tonggou chuckled: "Straw sandals aren't sturdy. They'll fall apart after walking a few dozen miles. It's common for a pair to wear out every day. I never know when I'll be sent to the border region, so I naturally have to make some in advance. I won't feel at ease if I don't have five or six pairs of straw sandals with me when I leave the border."

Chen Ji nodded: "Understood."

Just then, a clear voice rang out from outside the door: "Who is Chen Ji... It's you, isn't it?"

Chen Ji looked up and saw the young man, A Sheng, standing in front of the door, looking at him with bright eyes.

He asked, "Is there something you need?"

Ah Sheng has big eyes and long eyelashes, so her smile is extremely bright, and you can tell at a glance that she is clever and warm-hearted.

Ah Sheng said with a smile, "I met Brother Si on the way here. He said you need military merits, so I came to ask you about it."

(End of this chapter)