Chapter 224: Direct Disciple

In the winter of the thirty-first year of Jianning, on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, outside Guyuan, a strong wind whipped up yellow dust, which flew into the sky before gently drifting down, falling on people with a sound like rain on sand.

On the Guyuan city wall, soldiers with gray cloth scarves covering half their faces leaned against the battlements, dozing.

A burst of camel bells sounded in the distance.

The soldiers pulled down their scarves slightly, raised their eyes, and looked towards the city's outer road. Along the endless yellow dirt official road, a long line of camels approached from afar.

The roads here were rugged, and even the official roads were full of potholes. Carriages and ox carts could not pass through. After only a few dozen li, wheels had to be changed. Merchants from the Central Plains had to change to camels and mules at Taiyuan Fu before continuing.

The soldiers squinted, sizing them up, and softly muttered, "It's almost New Year's Eve, and there are still people coming to this ghost place, officials."

They saw that within the camel team, a servant led the reins at the front, while those behind were tightly covered and sat on the camels' backs.

If it were a merchant team, the merchants would be desperate to load their camel humps full of goods and would absolutely not be willing to ride themselves; only officials would do so.

Not long after, the camel team arrived beneath the city. The soldiers pressed their hands on their waist knives and shouted loudly, "Who is it?"

A servant with the reins in his hand cupped his fist and said, "This military sir, my master is Chen Liqin, the fourth-rank Shao Zhan Shi of the Zhan Shi Fu, who has come on the order of the Crown Prince! Quickly open the gate!"

"Oh, so it's someone from the Crown Prince," the soldier's face slowly sank, and he said lightly, "Wait, I'll go report."

The camel team waited in the wind and sand for a full half shichen, but the city gate was still not opened. No matter how the servant called from beneath the city wall, no one paid attention.

Zhang Xia, Zhang Zheng, Chen Ji, and Xiao Man at the rear of the camel team wrapped red scarves over their mouths and noses. The scarves were layered thickly on their necks and shoulders, yet they still couldn't block the wind and cold.

Zhang Xia sat on the saddle, half her face hidden by the scarf, and said in a low voice, "Something's not right. Guyuan is a borderland. Why would a fourth-rank official from the Crown Court and a subordinate of the East Palace have such a reason to be here?"

Chen Ji hummed in response, lifted his head, and sized up the city fortress. The fortress was extremely high, making his neck sore just looking up. The blue bricks on the city wall had been eroded by the wind; who knew how many years it had stood there.

Ancient and majestic, this was Chen Ji's deepest impression of the military town of Guyuan.

Guyuan was surrounded by mountains on both sides. This city was built as if in a huge canyon, blocking the route south for the Jing Dynasty cavalry.

With a creak, the city gate slowly opened.

Two teams of armored soldiers holding long halberds lined up, vaguely surrounding the camel team.

Chen Liqin looked tiredly and said, "What are they doing?"

Wang Gui, who was helping him with the reins, diligently said, "Master, I'll go ask."

"Go."

Wang Gui was not yet tired. He was not a steward now and didn't need to manage these matters himself. But if he didn't find something to do, he probably wouldn't be able to become a steward again in this lifetime.

Wang Gui went forward and asked, "Various generals, why are you surrounding my family's camel team? We are the family members of Shao Zhan Shi Chen Liqin."

An armored deputy general smiled, "Don't be anxious. Guyuan is a military stronghold. Recently, there have been Jing Dynasty spies sneaking in to gather information. To avoid losses, everyone's luggage must be searched."

Wang Gui's face changed, "The Crown Prince's handwritten document and road permit are all here. How dare you search our luggage?"

That deputy general's right hand pressed on his waist knife, and he let out a cold laugh, "We border army soldiers throw our heads and spill our hot blood here. We only care about killing enemies and catching spies, not about what third-rank or fourth-rank officials, or even the Minister of War or the current cabinet elder, are! The same applies to them, they must be searched!"

Wang Gui was speechless. From the capital to Luocheng, he was used to being held in high regard, but he didn't expect this border army wouldn't even show face to a fourth-rank official!

How did it come to this?

Seeing that negotiation wouldn't work, Chen Liqin dismounted from the camel with the help of a servant: "This general, if we have offended you in any way, I apologize on behalf of my subordinates."

The deputy general said with a fake smile, "Master Chen is too serious. We are just doing our duty. Look, if this pass behind me is seized by the Jing Dynasty, the people of Ning Province and Shan Province may suffer. Don't you think so?"

Liang Shi wrapped herself tightly with her scarf. She signaled to Wang Gui, who immediately took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and quietly stuffed it into the deputy general's hand: "My master knows that border soldiers work hard. Please be accommodating."

"What do you take us border army soldiers for?" The deputy general threw the silver ingot onto the yellow dirt, "We are just following orders. If you obstruct us again, we will catch you all as Jing Dynasty spies! Search them!"

Wang Gui was anxious, "Hey, stop!"

He stepped forward and pulled the soldier's arm, but the border army soldiers had a sharp killing aura. They actually directly drew their waist knives with a clang: "Get away!"

Wang Gui looked at the bright knife light and awkwardly retreated several steps.

Zhang Zheng, at the rear of the camel team, happily said, "Fortunately, we have no luggage and are not afraid of being searched."

Chen Ji laughed heartily, "Brother Zhang is indeed optimistic by nature and lives a happier life than others."

Zhang Zheng was praised and said joyfully, "Yes, I must tell my father when I get back to absolutely not come to the border, otherwise he will still have to suffer this humiliation of being searched."

Zhang Xia glared at her own brother, then turned to Chen Ji and said in a low voice, "I don't know what the Crown Prince did in Guyuan exactly, it seems to have provoked public anger. My father also once said that since General Wen Tao was executed by lingering death, the border army has been having continuous problems, and there have even been instances of border army soldiers defecting to the Jing Dynasty..."

Chen Ji asked doubtfully, "What crime is lingering death?"

"Colluding with the enemy." Zhang Xia glanced at the border army soldiers not far away and said in a low voice, "In previous years, the people of Ning Province still secretly built a shrine for General Wen Tao, but it was discovered by the court and all torn down. At that time, there was a border army mutiny, and the Jing Dynasty cavalry came south. If it weren't for Master Wang temporarily taking command and leading the soldiers to suppress the rebellion, it probably would have brewed a great disaster."

Zhang Zheng laughed, "I heard about this matter. It is said that a thousand households mutinied, and Master Wang, as a civil official, entered the thousand households alone on a horse and quelled the rebellion overnight. Later, Master Wang was promoted to guard commander and led five thousand households to raid the Jing Dynasty's supplies, forcing back the Jing Dynasty cavalry. He is a well-known Confucian general in the capital households... My father originally thought Master Wang could enter the Ministry of War this time, but he doesn't know who blocked the imperial edict. What a pity. My father said that if Master Wang were in the border town, he could protect twenty years of peace without worry, and then he could do many things in peace."

Chen Ji suddenly realized. No wonder Master Zhang was so desolate when he didn't see Master Wang's promotion document in Luocheng.

At this time, the border army soldiers took down the Chen family's luggage from the camels' backs and opened them one by one to search. They actually threw the gold, silver, and fine silk onto the ground. The opponents didn't carefully check the items inside, they just wanted to open them and throw them on the ground.

This was not searching for Jing Dynasty spies; it was clearly intended to humiliate the East Palace subordinates.

When the soldiers searched up to Chen Ji, a soldier saw the long, strip-shaped cloth-wrapped whale knife horizontally placed in front of his saddle and immediately asked in a cold voice, "What is this? Is it not a weapon?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

That soldier called over a colleague: "Come here, this person has a weapon on him! Capture these few riding horses and send them to the general for disposal!"

Hearing that someone was carrying a weapon, more than ten soldiers surrounded them, pointing their long halberds at Chen Ji and the others in a neat and uniform manner. Date Date restlessly sprayed white mist, its sturdy hooves stepping on the yellow land.

The shout woke up Xiao Man, who was dozing on the small pony. She gripped the reins tightly and asked in a low voice, "Young master, what should we do?"

A black cloud rose from Date Date's head, coldly staring at all the soldiers.

Chen Ji said lightly, "Do not move lightly."