Routine Investigation (Part Five)
“Third young sir, there is some shade here. How about we stop here to rest?”
The group led by Gu HanMo rode west without rest until they arrived at the Lesser Zhu Pass, near Zhu Guan. It was then that the soldiers were unable to continue on.
The spring sun was quite warm, and they were soaked in sweat from riding this entire time. Their clothes were thoroughly soaked from their sweat.
Seeing a small patch of shade provided by the small forest, they were extremely eager to stop and get a drink of water to cool down.
Gu HanMo brought his hand up to provide shade for his eyes and carefully looked around the small forest. There were no other places to rest, thus he said: “Alright, but do not enter the forest. We will rest out the forest’s outskirts.”
Up to their arrival at the Lesser Zhu Pass, there had been no news from the border. It was clear that Western Kun had not made any movements, thus they were not in any rush.
Gu HanMo removed the bundle from his horse’s back, “Boil these medicinal herbs then add the brewed result to our comrades’ waterskins.”
A soldier happily received it, “Young miss Yu Fu’s medicines really are amazing. Whenever I take them, I feel very at ease. Even the comrades who hate drinking water like drinking this!”
Unlike the usual medicines that were bitter, these medicinal herbs tasted more like tea and had a stronger taste than water.
Gu HanMo smiled and said: “Yu Fu knows that we will be traveling a great distance and will be tired, thus she specially told me to bring them along. Quickly take them and boil them.”
The soldiers started a fire, but Gu HanMo did not rest. Instead, he walked around the edge of the forest and looked around.
There was nothing strange in the forest.
They had already arrived at the Lesser Zhu Pass. Why was there still nothing abnormal?
He seemed to have something on his mind, and he looked back in the direction that they had come from. He thought to himself that if that person did not act now, they would arrive at Zhu Guan.
The military camp at Zhu Guan had 50 thousand troops from the Gu family’s army. Once they arrived, it would be too late for the enemy to act…
A smoke trail rose from the fire, and a soldier stationed on Zhu Guan’s city wall saw the smoke in the distance. With a smile, he joked with his patrol partner, “Hey, look over at the forest. Is there someone roasting a pheasant?”
The other person quietly scolded him, “Keep it down. All you think about is pheasant! Where would we even find pheasants around here? Just finding a rabbit to roast would be considered fortunate!”
He then turned to take a look, as a middle-aged man in court clothes quietly stood behind them and listened to their conversation.
He had a large belly and wore a fourth-rank official’s court cap with a sapphire inlaid in it. Was this not the prefect of Zhu Guan?
In Eastern Ling, regardless of whether it was the central region or anywhere else, military and political affairs were separate. This was especially true in border cities, where fighting was common. The military had even more power than civil officials.
Even with this being the case, the two soldiers adhered to the rules and saluted the prefect.
“Lord prefect, what have you come here for?”
The fat prefect maintained his smile, “This official just heard you two say that someone is roasting a pheasant in the forest. A few days earlier, the special envoy from Western Kun just passed through to escort their princess to the capital. As a city on the border, we must be extra vigilant. Go and take a look at who is roasting pheasants in the forest. Bring a few more people with you!”
The two soldiers looked at each other.
It was a passerby stopping in the forest for a break. Who cared whether he was roasting a pheasant or a wild rabbit? How was it something for the soldiers to concern themselves with?
Also, they were clearly coming from the middle of the country and not from Western Kun. What was he so nervous about?
“Lord prefect, you probably don’t understand our situation. Take a look. There are a large number of soldiers stationed below conducting searches. If there is anyone suspicious, we will definitely find them. Now that some passerby is roasting… pheasant in the forest nearby, what good would come from us scaring the citizens?”
The prefect saw that the two were unwilling to listen to his orders, thus he put on a stern expression, “What is it? Is this official no longer able to move you with my orders? Do you need this official to bring your General Xu out here for you to be willing to go and investigate?”
General Xu was the head general of the Lesser Zhu Pass and had a higher position than the prefect, but he was a very gentle person and gave the prefect a bit of wiggle room.
The truth was that they would feel quite embarrassed to trouble the general over such a trivial matter.
“No need, no need, we’ll go. Lord prefect, please wait.”
The soldiers waved to the side and left the city with a handful of soldiers for the forest.
Gu HanMo was seated below a tree, drinking the medicine that had been boiled. Suddenly, he heard a soldier say: “Third young sir, there are people coming toward us from the direction of the Lesser Zhu Pass. They’re wearing military uniforms.”
Gu HanMo thought for a moment, “Who is the general stationed at the Lesser Zhu Pass?”
“Beyond the Lesser Zhu Pass is Zhu Guan. Zhu Guan is the city closest to Western Kun, and the Lesser Zhu Pass is the second line of defense. That’s why it’s not led by someone from the Gu family army. Instead, it’s Xu Zhou, General Xu, who commands the troops around here.”
This was the first time that Gu HanMo had come to the border on his own. In the past, he had come with his father and older brothers. He truly did not know who led the troops of the Lesser Zhu Pass.
He did not have much of an impression of Xu Zhou, so he must not be of a very high rank.
His gaze landed on the fire that had been used to boil the medicine and the faint trail of smoke that rose from it, “Western Kun’s special envoy just passed through here. It’s possible that they are on high alert and came to investigate after seeing our numbers. Do not expose my identity when they come. Just say that we are part of the Gu family’s army and must get to Zhu Guan.”
“Yes, third young sir.”
The handful of soldiers from Lesser Zhu Pass arrived and saw the group of 20 strong men seated under the shade of the trees. For a moment, they were afraid to step forward.
Looking carefully, although they were wearing informal clothes, they had a military bearing. They had even more killing intent than they did.
This sort of bearing made it immediately clear that they were part of the military.
The soldiers who came to investigate cupped their hands, “We are soldiers stationed at the Lesser Zhu Pass and have come to investigate. Who are you?”
Routine Investigation (Part Five)
“Third young sir, there is some shade here. How about we stop here to rest?”
The group led by Gu HanMo rode west without rest until they arrived at the Lesser Zhu Pass, near Zhu Guan. It was then that the soldiers were unable to continue on.
The spring sun was quite warm, and they were soaked in sweat from riding this entire time. Their clothes were thoroughly soaked from their sweat.
Seeing a small patch of shade provided by the small forest, they were extremely eager to stop and get a drink of water to cool down.
Gu HanMo brought his hand up to provide shade for his eyes and carefully looked around the small forest. There were no other places to rest, thus he said: “Alright, but do not enter the forest. We will rest out the forest’s outskirts.”
Up to their arrival at the Lesser Zhu Pass, there had been no news from the border. It was clear that Western Kun had not made any movements, thus they were not in any rush.
Gu HanMo removed the bundle from his horse’s back, “Boil these medicinal herbs then add the brewed result to our comrades’ waterskins.”
A soldier happily received it, “Young miss Yu Fu’s medicines really are amazing. Whenever I take them, I feel very at ease. Even the comrades who hate drinking water like drinking this!”
Unlike the usual medicines that were bitter, these medicinal herbs tasted more like tea and had a stronger taste than water.
Gu HanMo smiled and said: “Yu Fu knows that we will be traveling a great distance and will be tired, thus she specially told me to bring them along. Quickly take them and boil them.”
The soldiers started a fire, but Gu HanMo did not rest. Instead, he walked around the edge of the forest and looked around.
There was nothing strange in the forest.
They had already arrived at the Lesser Zhu Pass. Why was there still nothing abnormal?
He seemed to have something on his mind, and he looked back in the direction that they had come from. He thought to himself that if that person did not act now, they would arrive at Zhu Guan.
The military camp at Zhu Guan had 50 thousand troops from the Gu family’s army. Once they arrived, it would be too late for the enemy to act…
A smoke trail rose from the fire, and a soldier stationed on Zhu Guan’s city wall saw the smoke in the distance. With a smile, he joked with his patrol partner, “Hey, look over at the forest. Is there someone roasting a pheasant?”
The other person quietly scolded him, “Keep it down. All you think about is pheasant! Where would we even find pheasants around here? Just finding a rabbit to roast would be considered fortunate!”
He then turned to take a look, as a middle-aged man in court clothes quietly stood behind them and listened to their conversation.
He had a large belly and wore a fourth-rank official’s court cap with a sapphire inlaid in it. Was this not the prefect of Zhu Guan?
In Eastern Ling, regardless of whether it was the central region or anywhere else, military and political affairs were separate. This was especially true in border cities, where fighting was common. The military had even more power than civil officials.
Even with this being the case, the two soldiers adhered to the rules and saluted the prefect.
“Lord prefect, what have you come here for?”
The fat prefect maintained his smile, “This official just heard you two say that someone is roasting a pheasant in the forest. A few days earlier, the special envoy from Western Kun just passed through to escort their princess to the capital. As a city on the border, we must be extra vigilant. Go and take a look at who is roasting pheasants in the forest. Bring a few more people with you!”
The two soldiers looked at each other.
It was a passerby stopping in the forest for a break. Who cared whether he was roasting a pheasant or a wild rabbit? How was it something for the soldiers to concern themselves with?
Also, they were clearly coming from the middle of the country and not from Western Kun. What was he so nervous about?
“Lord prefect, you probably don’t understand our situation. Take a look. There are a large number of soldiers stationed below conducting searches. If there is anyone suspicious, we will definitely find them. Now that some passerby is roasting… pheasant in the forest nearby, what good would come from us scaring the citizens?”
The prefect saw that the two were unwilling to listen to his orders, thus he put on a stern expression, “What is it? Is this official no longer able to move you with my orders? Do you need this official to bring your General Xu out here for you to be willing to go and investigate?”
General Xu was the head general of the Lesser Zhu Pass and had a higher position than the prefect, but he was a very gentle person and gave the prefect a bit of wiggle room.
The truth was that they would feel quite embarrassed to trouble the general over such a trivial matter.
“No need, no need, we’ll go. Lord prefect, please wait.”
The soldiers waved to the side and left the city with a handful of soldiers for the forest.
Gu HanMo was seated below a tree, drinking the medicine that had been boiled. Suddenly, he heard a soldier say: “Third young sir, there are people coming toward us from the direction of the Lesser Zhu Pass. They’re wearing military uniforms.”
Gu HanMo thought for a moment, “Who is the general stationed at the Lesser Zhu Pass?”
“Beyond the Lesser Zhu Pass is Zhu Guan. Zhu Guan is the city closest to Western Kun, and the Lesser Zhu Pass is the second line of defense. That’s why it’s not led by someone from the Gu family army. Instead, it’s Xu Zhou, General Xu, who commands the troops around here.”
This was the first time that Gu HanMo had come to the border on his own. In the past, he had come with his father and older brothers. He truly did not know who led the troops of the Lesser Zhu Pass.
He did not have much of an impression of Xu Zhou, so he must not be of a very high rank.
His gaze landed on the fire that had been used to boil the medicine and the faint trail of smoke that rose from it, “Western Kun’s special envoy just passed through here. It’s possible that they are on high alert and came to investigate after seeing our numbers. Do not expose my identity when they come. Just say that we are part of the Gu family’s army and must get to Zhu Guan.”
“Yes, third young sir.”
The handful of soldiers from Lesser Zhu Pass arrived and saw the group of 20 strong men seated under the shade of the trees. For a moment, they were afraid to step forward.
Looking carefully, although they were wearing informal clothes, they had a military bearing. They had even more killing intent than they did.
This sort of bearing made it immediately clear that they were part of the military.
The soldiers who came to investigate cupped their hands, “We are soldiers stationed at the Lesser Zhu Pass and have come to investigate. Who are you?”
