Green Mountain Pass

The other two boys in the carriage were named Li Yu and Li Shan. They were only eleven or twelve years old; being able to become apprentices naturally meant their families were somewhat better off than Li Yan's. Their village had only twelve or thirteen households, so the three boys were quite familiar with one another. As the scenery along the road kept changing, their youthful natures emerged. Their gradually sinking moods were replaced by the novelty of the passing sights. The two began chatting, and as the landscape continually shifted by, Li Yu and Li Shan grew increasingly excited. Their hearts warmed like the sunlight in the sky, which was becoming hotter and hotter. They began dreaming of the future and talking loudly without pause.

Li Yan, meanwhile, remained mostly silent, only occasionally answering or echoing some of their topics. His mind was a tangled mess, all kinds of thoughts flooding into his heart. One moment he thought about the future, the next about his family. At last, he secretly made up his mind. This time, I must work hard and earn more silver. When I return to the village someday, I'll build two large courtyards. One for Third Brother, so he can marry a wife; the other for me, Father, and Mother, so the two elders can live good lives. During the New Year and other festivals, I'll bring my three elder sisters home too, and the whole family will be reunited, never to be separated again.

This was the way of a young boy's mind. He only considered getting a wife for his third brother while he himself stayed alone with his parents, never considering that he too would need to establish a family of his own. His thoughts continued to churn in confusion.

Along the way, Li Guoxin found an opportunity to quietly instruct Li Yan. He told him that after joining the army, he had to perform well and strive to win the favor of his superiors. That way, he might be assigned to a better camp. The Imperial Guards might also be called upon to defend the city, though of course he only said it was possible; basically, it would not happen. He was trying to remind Li Yan without speaking too harshly and frightening him.

Li Guoxin's interruption pulled Li Yan somewhat out of his daze. Li Yan nodded quietly and agreed, which put Li Guoxin's heart a little more at ease.

After explaining these matters to Li Yan, Li Guoxin raised his voice slightly and continued, "Li Yan, if you join the Imperial Guards, you probably won't have a chance to visit home for the first few years unless you earn military merit. But the chances of earning merit just after enlisting are very small. If you have anything or any letters to send home, leave them with Li Yu or Li Shan. People from the village often come here, and whenever they do, have them make a trip there. If there are letters or anything else, let the villagers take them back and give them to your father and mother. Besides, although there were also..."

...other people from the village working or apprenticing in the city, there probably would not be time today to show him the way. "But you can first go to where Li Yu and Li Shan are headed. Once their fees are handed over to their masters and contracts are signed, their matters will be settled. It will be quick. Yours will probably take longer before it can be decided."

Li Yan said, "Uncle Guoxin, when people from the village come, couldn't they just stop by where I am? The barracks should be easy enough to find, shouldn't they?"

"You child, why do you think things are so simple? Still, I can't blame you. How could military camps be places ordinary people could just visit? If they went there foolishly, being questioned would be unavoidable. And if they were mistaken for spies from an enemy kingdom and thrown into prison, that would be terrible."

"Oh, I didn't know that." Li Yan scratched his head awkwardly.

"But once you've been in the army for a few years, or become a high-ranking officer, we'll be able to come find you openly. But when that time comes, you'd better still recognize your Uncle Guoxin," Li Guoxin joked.

Before Li Yan could answer, Li Yu hurriedly said, "Uncle Guoxin, once I've mastered cooking, every time you come, I'll make the most delicious food for you for free. It'll be the most fragrant!"

Li Shan also rushed to say, "Uncle Guoxin, when that time comes, I'll forge the best sickles, hoes, and hunting knives and spears for your family—hm, and for every household in the village!"

"Hahaha, good, good! In the future, Li Family Village will depend on your generation. With you all around, when we grow old, we can warm a pot of wine each day, eat wild game, watch the sunrise and sunset over Great Green Mountain, and live free and carefree!" Li Guoxin laughed loudly.

Once the topic was opened up, the carriage immediately became lively. Li Yan also spoke up from time to time, joining in with anticipation.

The county town lay south of Li Family Village. After turning out from the foot of Great Green Mountain, the carriage traveled south all the way. Li Family Village was actually located near Great Green Mountain's main peak, while the mountain range stretched endlessly both north and south, with no end in sight.

At noon, they found a shady spot by the roadside and stopped the carriage. Li Guoxin took out food and called for the boys to rest and eat.

Li Yan and the others also took out dried provisions from their bundles and spread them on the ground to eat together. Though it was only coarse grain, pickled vegetables, and a little preserved wild beast meat brought from home, they chatted as they ate and were quite happy.

Finally, around three or four in the afternoon, they arrived outside the county town. From afar, a city stood in a vast open expanse, its eastern and western walls built against the mountains. As the carriage drew closer, they saw that the gate and walls were more than thirty zhang high. Shadowy figures moved atop the walls, presumably soldiers patrolling the city. A golden banner bearing the character "Imperial" billowed in the wind, while three large characters were written above the gate: "Green Mountain Pass."

Li Yan and the other two boys stopped talking at once. Their mouths hung open as they stared blankly at the towering gate. Unlike the adults in the village, they had never been here before. Having grown up in the village, the furthest they had ever gone was wandering around its outskirts. When had they ever seen such a majestic, magnificent structure? Seeing this sight for the first time, they could not stop marveling.

There were not many people entering or leaving the city gate at this time, perhaps because it was already afternoon. Li Guoxin lightly tugged the reins, slowing the carriage, then turned back and said to the three boys, "The county town is built against the mountain range to the east and west, so it only has north and south gates. Inspections at the north gate are much more relaxed, but the south gate faces Meng Kingdom, so inspections there are extremely strict. The south gate is generally only opened for around three hours during the day. Although it is still more than ten li through a buffer zone after leaving the south gate before reaching Meng Kingdom's border, cavalry could cover that distance in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, Green Mountain Pass is connected to high mountains on both its eastern and western sides, leaving the enemy only one route of attack from the south. That makes the county town even easier to defend and harder to attack. The mountains on both sides are steep, with narrow ridges that cannot accommodate more than a few men and horses at once. Even if someone managed to climb up, getting down the mountain to attack would be a problem. Before they even came down, they would likely be discovered and shot dead by the city guards' crossbows."

Following his words, Li Yan and the others looked toward the towering walls. But the walls were too high, and they were on the north side of the city. From this angle, they could only vaguely see rows of black objects along the eastern and western sides, raised toward the sky and pointing at the peaks on either side.

Li Yan secretly pondered, Uncle Guoxin said the inspections at the north gate were relaxed. It was probably because the people coming from this side were basically...

...all citizens of our own kingdom. Those rows of black things atop the walls must be crossbows. Those ridges are so sheer and steep that they truly cannot hold several people at once. I couldn't climb such mountains; probably only two or three people in the village, people like Uncle Guoxin, could manage it, and even for them it must be extremely difficult. If someone lost their footing up there, they would only roll down and become a pile of mangled flesh. Even if someone climbed the mountain and descended from the summit to attack the walls on either side, the slightest movement would surely send loose stones sliding down. The soldiers below guarding the walls would definitely hear it beforehand. They would only need to fire a volley of crossbows, and the people above would be turned into hedgehogs. What a place of natural peril.*

Li Yu and Li Shan had also recovered from their shock by then. After hearing Li Guoxin's words, Li Yu asked, "Uncle Guoxin, with walls this strong and soldiers guarding them, the people of Meng Kingdom surely can't break in, right?"

Li Guoxin's expression tightened. "That's hard to say. I heard that Meng Kingdom's bandit soldiers have invaded several times in recent years. On one occasion, the enemy had already climbed onto the walls. Fortunately, Marshal Hong personally went up and fought a bloody battle, driving them back. Later, people in the city said that blood ran down the walls and flowed all over the city. The streets were covered in bloody water and crushed flesh, while corpses were piled like mountains atop the walls and outside the county town. Most were enemy soldiers who had attacked the city, but nearly half were people of our own Imperial Dynasty."

Li Yu and Li Shan turned pale at those words. They thought that if they were going to apprentice here in the future, would they not have to live in constant fear? They looked worriedly at Li Yan as well. Brother Yan is going to fight up there too, isn't he? Wouldn't that be even more dangerous?

As he spoke, Li Guoxin also realized something was wrong and immediately cut off the subject. He laughed awkwardly. "These are only rumors I heard, and they probably can't be taken seriously. Otherwise, the county town would not be so prosperous now."

In truth, he knew full well.

Because warfare frequently broke out along the borders, the Imperial Dynasty had long issued laws forbidding local people in border regions from relocating, to show the people's love for their country: every inch of land was their home, and even with powerful enemies beyond, they were to live and work in peace and contentment. Li Guoxin did not know the situation in other borderlands, but at least Green Mountain Pass had truly held back the enemy troops and preserved the current peace for the villages and towns behind the county town.