Border Soldier: My fiancée snatched credit and broke off the engagement, so I promptly became a marq

When the military inspector arrived at Black Stone Fort, the three tables on the drill ground had not yet been removed.

The snowstorm has stopped.

The sky, however, grew even darker.

A group of twelve people entered through the fortress gate without carrying a flag, except for a small bronze plaque hanging next to the saddle of the leader.

There are two characters engraved on the sign.

military discipline.

The people of Blackstone Castle did not recognize the middle-aged civil official who was leading the group.

Han Zhao knew him.

So his expression was even worse than before.

The middle-aged civil official dismounted and dusted the snow off his sleeves.

He didn't look at Lu Shuangyi first, nor did he look at Han Zhao.

He first went to the list of military merits.

Start with the first line.

Chen Mu.

Seventeen soldiers of the cookhouse.

South Gate.

Black Wolf Guard.

North wall.

White Fox Flag.

Su Wan's protective book.

The Fire Head Camp relieved the Black Tiger Camp's encirclement of the flank valley.

The seven cavalrymen of the Black Tiger Camp testified.

The pages were blown about by the wind; he held them down with his hand and slowly read through them.

No one was urging them on in the training ground.

Han Zhao dared not urge them any further.

After reading it, the middle-aged civil official asked, "Who was in charge of recording it?"

He asked very slowly.

Each word is as if it has been weighed on the tip of the tongue first.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the border fortress military merit cases.

Claiming credit, stealing rewards, and killing innocent people to fill quotas are common occurrences at the border every year. But this is the first time he has ever seen a place like Black Stone Fortress, where the cooks, the Black Tigers, the Zhao family, the Northern Barbarians, the female spies, and the commander-in-chief are all listed on the same notice board.

What's even stranger is that the list wasn't messed up.

Every transaction has a certificate.

Each certificate has an item.

Next to each item is a name.

The clerk stepped forward.

"Your humble servant is Su Wenyuan."

Who will preside over the trial?

Lu Shuangyi said, "Me."

"Who's in charge of the tent?"

All eyes were on Chen Mu.

Chen Mu stood beside the table, leaning on his long spear.

His injuries hadn't healed yet, and his face was as white as paper, but his eyes were steady.

"Chen Mu".

The middle-aged civil official looked at him.

"Official position".

"Squad Leader."

Someone in the crowd paused, taking a deep breath.

Corporal.

The two words seem too insignificant when placed before these three desks.

The middle-aged civil official nodded.

"The squad leader is in charge of the tent."

"interesting."

Han Zhao finally spoke.

"Lord Ji, Black Stone Fortress has been illegally conducting military interrogations. Lu Shuangyi has allowed the squad leader to disrupt border defenses. We urge you to investigate thoroughly, my lord."

Lord Ji glanced at him.

"Are you Han Zhao?"

"Exactly."

"Where are the two letters you brought from the Commander?"

Han Zhao paused.

The clerk behind Lord Ji stepped forward and took the two documents.

Fire test mark.

Look at the paper folding.

Smell the wax.

Then, gently scrape off a little wax residue from the edge with a knife and place it on a piece of white paper.

After a moment, the clerk whispered, "Sir, the old wax has been remelted, and there are repair marks on the edge of the seal."

An uproar erupted in the drill ground.

Han Zhao's expression changed.

Lord Ji asked, "What do you mean?"

The clerk said, "It wasn't newly appointed at the White Wolf Pass that day."

"It looks like someone used an old stamp to re-stamp it."

Han Zhao immediately replied, "I am unaware of how the military command documents are issued."

Chen Mu spoke.

"remember."

The registrar picked up his pen instinctively.

Lord Ji glanced at Chen Mu but did not stop him.

The registrar wrote: "The inspector's clerk verified the order; the old wax had been melted back, not newly sealed by the main hall. Han Zhao claimed ignorance."

Han Zhao's face twitched.

He discovered for the first time that even when the imperial inspector arrived, Chen Mu was still keeping accounts.

Lord Ji asked, "Why did you write this down?"

Chen Mu said, "I'm afraid I'll forget."

"Who's afraid of forgetting?"

Chen Mu looked at the cooks' camp under the list of military merits.

"them."

Lao Chai and the others stood up straight.

When they were called upon, their faces were covered in dust, their clothes were tattered, and they were not carrying proper weapons.

Lord Ji glanced at these people.

"The cookhouse?"

Old Chai clasped his hands in a fist salute, his movements clumsy.

"Old Chai is temporarily serving as the squad leader of the cookhouse."

Lord Ji asked, "Was it you who relieved the siege of the Black Tiger Camp in the side valley?"

Old Chai glanced at Han Zhao, then at Chen Mu.

"Yes."

"Who wrote that down?"

"Chief Chen".

"Does the Black Tiger Battalion recognize them?"

Just as Han Zhao was about to speak, the seven cavalrymen who had stepped forward earlier knelt down.

The young cavalryman whispered, "I admit it."

"Yesterday's incident in the side valley was indeed caused by the fire brigade setting fire to relieve the siege."

Lord Ji looked at Han Zhao.

"Your soldiers recognize you."

Han Zhao's eyes were cold and sinister.

"The battlefield is chaotic, and it's possible they misjudged."

Chen Mu said, "Then let's do as Commandant Han says and record it for future verification."

"But we can't forget to remember it."

Lord Ji looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"You corporal, you've got some nerve."

Chen Mu said, "A lowly soldier is timid and easily loses his name."

Over at the fire station, someone's eyes suddenly reddened.

Old Chai lowered his head and rubbed his rough hands on the hem of his clothes.

He thought of Ma Liu, who died in the side valley, his three brothers who were carried off the north wall, and many more of the lowly soldiers who died years ago and whose sheds were left unattended.

Back then, once a name was lost, it was lost forever.

No one asked.

Now, Chen Mu's words, "Names are easy to forget," are like digging up all those graves that no one had visited in the past, from the snow.

Lord Ji stopped laughing.

Give me the original scroll.

The registrar presented the three booklets, the list of evidence, and the confessions one by one.

The clerk behind Lord Ji began to verify the information.

Page by page.

The sound of paper being scribbled echoed across the drill ground for a long time.

No one dared to speak loudly during that time.

Han Zhao's complexion grew increasingly worse.

Zhao Hong could no longer stand steadily.

Zhao Chenglie lowered his head, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes tightly.

Su Wan stood behind the registrar, her hand still aching, but she didn't back down. Watching the booklets being turned page by page, she suddenly realized that what she had snatched from the fire wasn't just paper.

It was the path Chen Mu left for the dead.

Anato knelt beside her, her eyes changing.

She had seen strong men kill with knives on the grasslands.

But I've never seen a squad leader use his tent to silence a group of officers.

After a long while, Lord Ji closed the booklet.

"Preliminary review comments".

Everyone was shocked.

"Zhao Hong is suspected of colluding with the enemy, stealing credit, and harboring inside agents; he has been arrested and detained."

Zhao Hong's face turned deathly pale, and he suddenly shouted, "I refuse to accept this!"

Zhou Tie kicked his knee, bending it and pinning him down.

Lord Ji continued, "Zhao Chenglie was implicated in the fabricated rescue operation and confessed to his crime. However, his service in protecting the commander of the North Wall and injuring the White Fox Guard will be recorded separately as merits and demerits. He will be detained for further investigation."

Zhao Chenglie closed his eyes.

It felt like half of my soul had been ripped out.

"Han Zhao"

Han Zhao looked up.

Lord Ji looked at him.

"The two orders held by the Black Tiger Battalion are questionable. Regarding the Black Tiger Battalion's night raids, the failed attempt to burn the notice board, and the protracted battle in the side valley, the Black Tiger Battalion's right to enter the fort is temporarily revoked."

"I am not allowed to leave the fortress, pending verification of the official seal at White Wolf Pass."

The drill ground exploded.

Han Zhao finally changed his expression.

"Lord Ji, you have no right to seize my command!"

Lord Ji said calmly, "Temporarily relinquish the right to enter the fortress, but not the command of the camp."

"Your camp is still outside the fort."

"You stay here."

Lu Shuangyi pushed her knife forward half an inch.

The cavalrymen behind Han Zhao tried to move, but were blocked by Zhou Tie and the Lu family guards.

What chilled Han Zhao even more was that the seven cavalrymen from the Black Tiger Camp who testified did not move.

They bowed their heads and knelt on the spot.

Han Zhao suddenly realized that his biggest defeat today was not losing to Chen Mu's words.

It was because of that account book that we lost.

The tent also cut down his soldiers.

Lord Ji finally looked at Chen Mu.

"Chen Mu, a former cook, is temporarily serving as a squad leader."

"Guard the south gate, guard the north wall, protect the military merit register, organize the merits of the cooks, and await verification at Bailang Pass."

"Before the review, he is permitted to temporarily lead a mixed team of cooks, remnants of the South Gate troops, and guards of the North Wall."

"Named as..."

Lord Ji paused for a moment.

"Meritorious Service Team".

The drill ground fell silent for a moment.

This name doesn't sound impressive.

It wasn't as fierce as the Black Tiger Battalion, nor as dazzling as the Imperial Guard Battalion, nor did it resemble the border troops' battalions known for their swords, wolves, and tigers.

But when the cooks heard this, it was as if they had been burned by fire.

Merit-recognition team.

They weren't food deliverymen, corpse carriers, or menial laborers who were simply thrown in wherever there was a shortage of people.

Old Chai's lips moved for a long time, as if he wanted to laugh, but also as if he wanted to cry. He used to dread roll call the most. Roll call was mostly because there was a shortage of people to move corpses, carry grain, or patch holes in the most dangerous corners of walls.

Roll call will be held again today.

What can be identified is a team.

The stone still had a strip of cloth hanging from its shoulder, but its other hand was tightly gripping a broken pot lid, as if it were not a pot lid but a newly issued military license plate.

They finally had a name that could be written in the register.

Then the cookhouse was blown up.

Old Chai was the first to kneel down.

"Thank you, sir!"

The stone knelt down.

"Thank you, Corporal Chen!"

More and more people knelt down.

It's not about kneeling before Lord Ji.

They kneel on the list of military merits.

Chen Mu did not laugh.

He looked at the names on the list and felt only a slight sense of relief.

The account has been saved for now.

But Han Zhao hasn't fallen yet.

The official seal of the military commander has not yet been checked.

The person behind White Wolf Pass has not yet shown up.

Just then, a long horn sounded from outside the fortress.

It's not the horn of the northern barbarians.

It is the bugle call of the Great Liang army.

A sentry rushed into the training ground.

"Report!"

"General Han, the deputy commander of Bailang Pass, has his personal troops outside the fortress!"

"They said—"

The sentry swallowed hard.

"Please, Lieutenant General Lu, hand over Chen Mu, who fabricated military achievements and incited unrest."

Han Zhao slowly raised her head.

He looked at Chen Mu, a slight smile returning to his lips.

"Squad Leader."

"A tent can kill an official."

"It can also attract higher-ranking officials."