Chen Ji followed the Centurion barefoot, passing through a din of hammering iron.

He asked curiously, “How much silver for one ear?”

The Centurion replied without looking back, “One ear is worth ten liang of silver at Chongli Pass. We sell them to you for a hundred liang, and everyone’s happy. Three ears guarantee you a promotion to Chief, ten ears guarantee you a promotion to Centurion.”

Chen Ji mused, “What about a Chiliarch?”

The Centurion casually said, “To become a Chiliarch, it’s a matter of luck. There won’t be any major battles soon, so there’s no chance for breaking ranks, capturing flags, being the first to ascend, or slaying generals. You’d need to kill two Jing Dynasty ‘Zhuosheng Generals’ for that.”

“Zhuosheng Generals?”

The Centurion said in a deep voice, “They’re similar to our Ning Dynasty’s Ye Busou. If you’re going out to chop wood in the mountains, you’d best kowtow to the Bodhisattva beforehand, praying you don’t run into them.”

Chen Ji hummed, “But if military merits are bought so directly, doesn’t the imperial court intervene?”

The Centurion scoffed, “You just need to get in good with the merit officers sent by the court. They scrutinize our achievements for half a year as if their mother died. But if you’ve made achievements, they’ll turn a blind eye, because they don’t want to stay in this detested place forever, and they can’t afford to offend you.”

Chen Ji tentatively asked, “Are there others like me inside Chongli Pass?”

“Yes,” the Centurion said casually, “There are about ten others like you. They’ve all been promoted to Centurion and are waiting for military merits to become Chiliarchs before leaving. But it’s not easy for Hong Zu’er and his group to kill a Zhuosheng General, so they can only wait their turn.”

Chen Ji murmured, “Then how much silver does a Zhuosheng General’s head sell for?”

The Centurion suddenly stopped and looked back at Chen Ji, “That depends on the bidder. The last Zhuosheng General’s head sold for two thousand liang. If you want to buy one, I can help you make a connection.”

Chen Ji smiled and said, “No hurry, I’ll wait and see.”

The Centurion calmly said, “This is your first time in Chongli Pass, so there are some things I need to remind you. Curfew begins when the evening drum stops, and you must not wander around freely. If you’re caught by the Imperial Censor sent by the court, it’s still fine, as you young nobles have plenty of connections to smooth things over. But if you’re caught by the Garrison Commander’s personal guards, you’ll be skinned alive, even if you don’t die.”

He glanced at Chen Ji’s bare feet, “I’m telling you all this because I see you’re not arrogant. There are plenty of young masters who come to Chongli Pass to earn military merits. Chongli Pass doesn’t tolerate your kind of behavior. If you don’t want to be inexplicably killed by your own colleagues, rein in your usual ways, otherwise, the old soldiers of Chongli Pass have a hundred ways to get rid of you… We all have rotten lives, and those with bare feet don’t fear those with shoes.”

Chen Ji politely clasped his hands and said, “Thank you for the reminder, sir.”

The Centurion continued walking, “Earn enough military merits and leave early. This isn’t where you should be.”

Chen Ji saw that the wells inside the pass were guarded by special personnel, and soldiers pushed single-wheeled carts back and forth, some transporting provisions, others bricks and timber.

Rows of brick houses stood, but there were no shops or ordinary people.

Chongli Pass was completely different from Guyuan.

If Guyuan was a frontier town, Chongli Pass was a true military fortress. There were no civilian households within the pass, only generations of military households. Those who raised horses had been horsemen for generations, and those who forged iron had been blacksmiths for generations.

As Chen Ji followed the Centurion through the streets, people along the way cast curious glances at his tattered clothes, but he paid no mind.

Just then, the North Gate of Chongli Pass opened, and cheers came from afar, “Grandpa Hong and Ah Sheng are back!”

Chen Ji looked up and saw a middle-aged man wearing a skullcap and a gray cloth robe, riding in on horseback, covered in dust. Behind him followed a thin boy of thirteen or fourteen, also on horseback.

A string of ears was tied to the man’s saddle, and the boy was leading two empty horses.

Blacksmiths by the roadside and infantry soldiers pushing single-wheeled carts carrying bricks and stones all dropped their work and gathered around, like stars surrounding the moon.

Someone shouted, “Grandpa Hong has been out of the pass for quite a while this time, perhaps over twenty days?”

“Grandpa Hong, you’ve worked hard!”

Grandpa Hong didn’t answer. He dismounted, casually tossing the reins to a groom, “Feed it some fried beans mixed with two eggs. It’s worked hard this trip too; it needs to fatten up.”

The groom grinned, “Alright!”

Grandpa Hong suddenly remembered something, “The horseshoes need changing too.”

The blacksmith shouted, “Don’t worry, Grandpa Hong, I’ll trim its hooves and change to a good pair of horseshoes tomorrow.”

Someone asked loudly, “What did you gain from this trip, Grandpa Hong?”

Grandpa Hong said hoarsely, “The harvest wasn’t good this time. We ran into two Zhuosheng Generals and maneuvered around them for over ten days. If Ah Sheng hadn’t been clever, I might have perished at Huangjia Yao.”

Everyone looked at Ah Sheng behind Grandpa Hong, smiling somewhat dotingly, “Ah Sheng has earned merit!”

Ah Sheng was a little shy, “Grandpa Hong taught me well.”

At this moment, someone suddenly asked in confusion, “Huangjia Yao? How are the Zhuosheng Generals so close? They usually don’t come into the mountains easily.”

Grandpa Hong shook his head, “Those Jing Dynasty bandits are like madmen; who knows what they’re thinking. I saw from a distance that they also had ears hanging from their horses, but I don’t know which banner’s brothers suffered. By the way, are Baizi and Xingxing back?”

The groom replied, “Not yet, but when Gao Yuan of the Wansui Army returned, he said he saw him in Liutiao Gou, and he was fine.”

Grandpa Hong frowned upon hearing this, suddenly squatting down to draw a map, as if calculating something.

The next moment, he stood up, pulled Ah Sheng’s reins, and swung onto his horse, “The Zhuosheng Generals are too close to him. I’ll go meet them.”

With that, Grandpa Hong, who had just returned to the pass, rode out again.

Chen Ji watched from afar and curiously asked the Centurion beside him, “Is that Hong Zu’er?”

The Centurion said enviously, “That’s right, he’s the most famous Ye Busou in our Chongli Pass. Even the Ye Busou of the three Imperial Guard camps can’t compare to him. Earlier, Gao Yuan, the governor of the Wansui Army, even tried to recruit him, but Grandpa Hong wouldn’t go anywhere, choosing to stay in our Chongli Pass.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “That Ah Sheng isn’t old, how can he also be a Ye Busou?”

The Centurion smiled, “Ah Sheng isn’t a Ye Busou yet; he’s just following Grandpa Hong to hone his skills. He’s a military household from the pass. His parents died early, and Grandpa Hong adopted him.”

Chen Ji tentatively asked, “What level of Xingguan is Grandpa Hong?”

The Centurion gave him a sidelong glance, “Why are you asking about that? Let’s go, I’ll take you to the barracks.”

In the Ning Dynasty guard system, a Wei had 5,600 men, and a Suo had 1,120 men.

The permanent garrison in Chongli Pass was only two Wei of men, certainly not the 300,000 mentioned by the merchant from the caravan earlier.

Chen Ji was assigned to the barracks of the Xuanqian Fu Qianhu Suo, located in the northeast corner of Chongli Pass, and it took him half an hour to get there.

The barracks consisted of twenty large brick houses. A large communal sleeping platform in one brick house housed over fifty infantry soldiers. One Xiaoqi Guan managed ten infantry soldiers, and one Zongqi Guan managed fifty infantry soldiers, perfectly filling one brick house.

Only when promoted to Centurion or Chiliarch could one get their own small, independent house.

Wild vegetables and dried radishes were drying on the roofs of the brick houses, and clothes were hanging in the courtyard.

Chen Ji had thought the infantry soldiers were all at drill, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw nine infantry soldiers scattered on the ground, weaving straw sandals.

The Centurion glanced at the courtyard, “Where are the others?”

An infantry soldier lazily replied, “Reporting, sir, they were sent to repair the city walls. Our banner was told to stay; a new Xiaoqi Guan will be assigned soon.”

The Centurion pointed at Chen Ji, “This is your Xiaoqi Guan. Everyone, stand up and greet him.”

The infantry soldiers paused, sized up Chen Ji, and then showed expressions of disappointment, none of them moving to stand up.

The Centurion went into the room to fetch the roster and called out names, “Zhang Tonggou.”

An infantry soldier casually replied while weaving straw sandals, “Here.”

“Li Ahhu.”

“Here.”

“Li Erbao.”

“Here.”

The Centurion called out all nine names, then instructed Chen Ji, “Remember what I told you. The horse you brought is tied in your courtyard; you must guard it well so it isn’t stolen. But remember, you’re just a Qiguan. Our Chongli Pass will not take care of your horse. If you want fodder, you’ll have to buy it from the groom yourself. Give him some silver, and he’ll deliver the fodder daily.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, sir.”

The Centurion left.

The small courtyard became noisy. Zhang Tonggou said, “I bet he’s from the capital. Who wants to bet with me?”

Li Erbao said, “These past few years, the nobles from the capital have all gone to the Yulin Army; they don’t come here. I guess he’s from Shanzhou.”

Li Ahhu thought for a moment, “Look at the horse he’s leading, how beautiful it is. To find such a good horse, you’d probably have to go to Shaanxi.”

Zhang Tonggou looked up at Chen Ji, “Hey, where are you from?”

Chen Ji saw that these infantry soldiers were openly betting on him, which was actually a way to show their indifference towards him.

But he wasn’t angry; he just smiled and replied, “From the capital.”

Li Erbao, Li Ahhu, and the others grumbled, taking out a copper coin from their sleeves and tossing it to Zhang Tonggou, “Lucky bastard.”

Chen Ji tied Zaozao in the courtyard, sat on the ground, grabbed a handful of straw, and began weaving straw sandals, imitating the infantry soldiers beside him.

The infantry soldiers exchanged glances.

Zhang Tonggou scratched his chin, “This is the first time we gentlemen have seen a noble young master from the capital weave straw sandals. How unusual.”

Chen Ji, imitating Li Erbao, twisted the straw into a ‘warp rope,’ and replied without looking up, “One must first have shoes to wear, right? By the way, why are you weaving so many straw sandals?”

Zhang Tonggou chuckled, “Straw sandals aren’t durable. They rot after walking a few dozen li; it’s common to go through a pair a day. Who knows when we’ll be sent outside the pass, so we naturally have to weave some beforehand. If you go outside the pass without five or six pairs of straw sandals on you, you won’t feel at ease.”

Chen Ji nodded, “I understand.”

Just then, a clear voice sounded from outside the door, “Who is Chen Ji… Is that you?”

Chen Ji looked up and saw the young boy Ah Sheng standing at the door, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him.

He asked, “Are you looking for me for something?”

Ah Sheng had big eyes and long eyelashes, so his smile was exceptionally bright, immediately giving the impression that he was clever and enthusiastic.

Ah Sheng smiled and said, “I met Brother A Si on the road just now, and he said you needed military merits, so I came to ask you.”