Green Mountain City

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Green Mountain City (青山城)
Type	Walled county city
Location	Northwest of the Shu Region; Shuang'an Town lies nearly one hundred li away, while Ox-Crouching Mountain lies more than one hundred li to its west. Yangshan Town lies about fifty li away near the southwestern mountain ranges. 21 84 146 177
First Appearance	Chapter 12 (mentioned as the jurisdiction of Li Dingfang's Six Gates branch) 12

Geography & Layout

Green Mountain City is vastly larger than Shuang'an Town, enclosed by long blue-gray walls, battlements, watch patrols, banners, and imposing gate towers. Chen Jing enters through its southern gate after surviving the Clear Wind Stronghold ambush. 26

• North City — The administrative and elite district, containing the Six Gates command office, county yamen, and residences of noble and influential families. Patrols and defenses here are much denser than in the south. 42
• East Market — Home to Flower Moon Street, the city's principal entertainment district. 44
• Flower Moon Street — A brightly lit entertainment street lined with pleasure houses, theaters, brothels, and guild halls; it is exempt from the city's nighttime curfew. 44
• Southern Gate — A documented entry point where guards inspect household registrations and travel permits, particularly when travelers arrive under suspicious circumstances. 26
• Western Gate — A departure point for Six Gates operations toward Shangchuan Town and Yunlan Mountain in the city's western outskirts. 161
• Surrounding mountain roads — The route from Shuang'an Town ordinarily takes Wang Chong and Chen Jing two days on foot, including an overnight stop, or approximately one day on horseback. Small roadside villages provide lodging for merchants and travelers. 21
• Ox-Crouching Mountain — The concealed mountain base of Clear Wind Stronghold west of the city. Its name was devised by the stronghold's strategist and does not appear on ordinary maps; interconnected mountains and winding valleys make it difficult to locate without a guide. 80 146

Governance & Security

• Six Gates — The city's principal law-enforcement force, headquartered in North City. Its officers investigate major crimes, conduct patrols, operate covert agents, and coordinate campaigns against bandits. 42 101
• Six Gates leadership — Yin Zhengping serves as the city's Purple-Clad Head Constable, while Li Dingfang is an eighth-rank Green-Clad Head Constable. 76 After Chen Jing's promotion to Green-Clad Officer, the city's senior contingent consists of one Purple-Clad Officer and two Green-Clad Officers. A county city requires only one Purple-Clad official in charge, making Chen Jing's subsequent promotion a reason for his transfer to Jin City. 144 196
• Six Gates armory — Supplies cultivation resources and martial manuals as official rewards or exchanges, including Qi-Condensing Pills and stages of the Demon-Sweeping Heart Method. 140 160
• City-defense troops — Guard the walls and gates and work with Six Gates against threats near the city. Their existence deters Clear Wind Stronghold from openly deploying large forces near the walls. 26 49
• County yamen — Shares North City with Six Gates and oversees civic administration, including access to government troop drill grounds for the Green Mountain Martial Tournament. County Magistrate Song Zhuoqun is later removed for masterminding Clear Wind Stronghold's activities and replaced by Magistrate Zhou. 42 53 172 177
• Imperial Prison — Holds major criminal and political prisoners, including captured Clear Wind Stronghold and Shangchuan Sect figures. 166 175
• Curfew — Most districts close down after nightfall, with Flower Moon Street as the major exception. 44
• Armaments security — The discovery of more than twenty standardized military crossbows in Clear Wind Stronghold's hands exposes corruption or infiltration in the city's military-equipment allocation, transport, storage, and issuance system. Six Gates subsequently purges a batch of armament officials, though further moles remain a concern. 101 110

Martial Culture

Green Mountain Martial Tournament

The Green Mountain Martial Tournament is a ten-day martial gathering jointly organized by the city's wealthy and powerful families. It gives local and visiting martial artists a venue to challenge one another, accumulate points, and attract the attention of the imperial court, major clans, and martial sects. 51 53

Element	Details
Venue	Government troop drill ground on the outskirts, fitted with ten arenas 53
Format	Open challenges; victories add points and losses deduct them, with daily public rankings 53
Participants	Martial artists from Green Mountain City, nearby towns and villages, established martial halls, and independent practitioners 53 54
Notable martial halls	Four Seas, Iron Arm, Shunchang, Green Pine, and White Crane Martial Arts Halls are among more than a dozen local schools 54
Selection role	Creates opportunities for major factions, including the Shangchuan Sect, to identify potential disciples; however, the Shangchuan Sect ultimately rejects all ten highest-ranked competitors in Chen Jing's tournament. 51 64
Prize	Chen Jing receives five Blood-Qi Pills after winning the tournament's top seat. 53 64

The tournament's results become a subject of street storytelling and teahouse conversation. Public interest moves from the contest for first place to the destinations of the top ten competitors and the rising talents produced by individual martial halls. 65

Notable Institutions

• Lianshan Martial Arts Hall — Cheng Lianshan's school and Chen Jing's martial home after his arrival in the city. Its master was once a notable local martial artist capable of contending with ordinary sect elders. Chen Jing later obtains official credentials to establish it as a sect. 21 117 292 Cheng Lianshan founded the hall after retiring from the border army, where he had been Wang Chong's centurion. Wang Chong brings Chen Jing there to call in that connection and secure martial instruction for him. 21
• Shangchuan Sect — The internal-school sect closest to Green Mountain City. Its conflict with Lianshan Martial Arts Hall began after Cheng Lianshan punished an elder's son for bullying civilians. 51 The sect occupies Yunlan Mountain and is admired by many commoner martial artists in the city. 161
• White Horse Pharmacy — A major pharmacy with a Green Mountain City branch; its young master, Bai Zhixing, is rescued by Chen Jing and Wang Chong on the road to the city. The branch's long-serving chief shopkeeper, Zhou Yunhan, is later exposed as a Clear Wind Stronghold insider who had supplied the bandits with medicinal herbs, silver, and intelligence. 21 26 43 47
• Wei Yuan Escort Agency — Provides guards for White Horse Pharmacy's medicinal-herb caravan, whose escort force is nearly annihilated by Clear Wind Stronghold. Mei Qinghe comes from the agency, which belongs to the wider Escort Alliance. 21 26 51
• City slaughterhouse — Chen Jing's workplace after settling in Green Mountain City. He seeks employment there through Liu Yunfei's local connections and continues slaughtering pigs alongside his martial training. 38 42 53

History

Chen Jing travels to Green Mountain City with Wang Chong to enter a martial hall, reaching the city after escaping Clear Wind Stronghold's attack on a White Horse Pharmacy caravan. His arrival establishes the city as the center of his martial training and later Six Gates career. 21 22 26 After joining Lianshan Martial Arts Hall, he returns to his former trade by finding work at the city's slaughterhouse. 38 42

Before the tournament, Six Gates identifies Zhou Yunhan, the chief shopkeeper of White Horse Pharmacy's city branch, as a Clear Wind Stronghold plant. His exposure reveals that the stronghold had used a trusted commercial position in the city to procure medicinal materials, funds, and information. 47 Li Dingfang orders Bai Deyuan to cooperate with a sweeping investigation of the pharmacy. Hundred Flowers Pavilion subsequently burns down, with Clear Wind Stronghold blamed for the fire. 48 49

The city hosts the Green Mountain Martial Tournament, where Chen Jing takes first place. His victory draws recruitment offers from prominent local families, trading firms, and transport interests, though he refuses them. 53 64 In retaliation for the loss of Zhou Yunhan and the stronghold's humiliation at Hundred Flowers Pavilion, the bandits attempt to use Sun Ping to cripple Chen Jing and Cheng Qingshi during the tournament. 65

Clear Wind Stronghold becomes Green Mountain City's central internal threat. Unlike the many mountain strongholds previously eliminated by Six Gates and government troops, it survives for more than a decade through its hidden location, mobile operations, and extensive network. The bandits maintain infiltrators within Six Gates, the yamen, government troops, and local business networks; the discovery of military crossbows in bandit hands exposes a serious breach in the city's control of armaments. Although the stronghold was initially rumored to lie deep in Little Green Mountain, its actual fortress is eventually identified in the maze-like terrain of Ox-Crouching Mountain west of the city. 22 97 101 110 146

The exposure and interrogation of Xu Anyuan confirm that the stronghold's infiltration extends beyond Six Gates to the yamen and government troops. Its agents maintain separate contacts with the stronghold, limiting how much any captured informant can reveal about the wider network. 110

The North City noble families possess extensive influence over the city's economic life, including grain shops, cloth stores, medicine shops, and money houses. Investigations ultimately uncover evidence that some noble families colluded with Clear Wind Stronghold through medicinal-herb trade and other support. 123 130

After Yin Zijing's forces destroy Clear Wind Stronghold, prisoners are paraded through Green Mountain City to public acclaim. The campaign's aftermath also reveals hostages who had been used to coerce city informants into serving the bandits. 154 155 Chen Jing participates in the triumphant return and is publicly celebrated as the city's youngest Green-Clad Officer. 155

Six Gates subsequently turns against Shangchuan Sect for its financial and material support of Clear Wind Stronghold. Chen Jing leads the arrest operation against the sect, captures Sect Master Luo Congnan, and escorts him back to Green Mountain City for imprisonment alongside other implicated sect members. 162 163 166

Yin Zhengping uses the captive strategist Shang Youyan to pressure the North City families. In response, family representatives secretly discuss rescuing or killing Shang and propose a Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival on Flower Moon Street to create an opportunity. 167 During the festival, coordinated fires engulf Flower Moon Street. Six Gates mobilizes to fight the blaze, treat casualties, and restore order. 168 Cheng Lianshan and other martial artists also assist civilians and the firefighting effort. 168

Subsequent investigations expose County Magistrate Song Zhuoqun as the mastermind behind Clear Wind Stronghold; a new magistrate later takes office. 172 177 Song's exposure shocks the authorities because his reputation rests on public charity, disaster relief, and his prominent role in organizing the response to the Flower Moon Street fire. Chen Jing arrests him and escorts him into the Imperial Prison. 172 175

The investigations also bring arrests against the Wang, Xu, Han, and Yang families of North City, whose members are connected to the stronghold's network. Though the implicated branches suffer severe losses, the city's century-old great families are not entirely destroyed. 172 175 176

On taking office, Magistrate Zhou visits the scorched ruins of Flower Moon Street, orders public notices reassuring residents, commits county funds to rebuilding, and exempts affected merchants from taxes for half a year. These measures win the new magistrate public gratitude. 177

Following the stronghold's destruction and the purge of implicated figures, the city experiences several months with no major cases and a marked reduction in street crime. 177 Chen Jing eventually completes his handover and departs for Jin City after earning promotion to Purple-Clad Officer. 196 197

After serving in Jin City for half a year, Chen Jing returns to Green Mountain City and reunites with Lianshan Martial Arts Hall. He brings official credentials enabling the hall's establishment as a sect; Cheng Lianshan grants him a fifty-percent share in the future sect, and Chen Jing visits influential local figures while advising his master on its development. 290 292

Chen Jing later passes through the city again while traveling north to Liang Prefecture, briefly reuniting with Cheng Lianshan and Su Ru before continuing his journey. 294

Relationships

• Six Gates — Green Mountain City's primary law-enforcement organization; its command office is located in North City and leads the campaign against Clear Wind Stronghold. 42 146
• Clear Wind Stronghold — A long-running mountain-bandit force that infiltrates the city's institutions and commerce before being destroyed by Six Gates. 22 101 155
• North City noble families — Powerful local clans controlling much of the city's commercial lifeline; several are implicated in supporting Clear Wind Stronghold. 123 130 172
• Lianshan Martial Arts Hall — A prominent local martial school associated with Cheng Lianshan and Chen Jing. It is later granted credentials to develop into a sect. 21 117 292
• Shangchuan Sect — Nearby internal martial sect with a longstanding grievance against Lianshan Martial Arts Hall. Its collusion with Clear Wind Stronghold later leads Six Gates to arrest its sect master and implicated members. 51 162 166
• White Horse Pharmacy — A leading city pharmacy whose caravan brings Chen Jing to Green Mountain City and whose young master, Bai Zhixing, owes him and Wang Chong a debt of gratitude. Its city chief shopkeeper Zhou Yunhan secretly served Clear Wind Stronghold until his exposure. 26 43 47
• Chen Jing — Settles in the city to study at Lianshan Martial Arts Hall, works at its slaughterhouse, wins its martial tournament, and becomes a Six Gates officer. Although his promotion takes him to Jin City, he returns to visit his martial family and support the hall's development into a sect. 26 38 64 196 292
• Jin City — A larger and substantially more prosperous city whose Six Gates commandery office is more imposing than Green Mountain City's branch. Chen Jing transfers there when promoted beyond the needs of the county city's command structure. 195 196

Trivia

• Green Mountain City “honors the north and looks down on the south,” reflected in North City's concentration of government offices, wealthy clans, and heavier defenses. 42
• A household of five can reportedly live in the city for a year on twenty taels of silver without worrying over food and drink. 64
• Winter brings frequent ground frost and visible clouds of breath due to the city's high elevation in the northwest of Shu. 177
• At year's end, the city's streets fill with New Year goods, red lanterns, spring couplets, firecrackers, sweet cakes, cured meat, and dried fruits. 179
• Despite Flower Moon Street's local reputation as a lavish entertainment district, Chen Jing later finds it modest compared with Jin City's bustling East Market. 44 200

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