The Blue Mountain (The Forbidden List Book 2) (15 page)

Haung stepped from the Dragon Gate alongside Gang and Liu. Light spilled through the open door and the solitary window high up in the stone wall. The large room was filled with tables and chairs. Congregated around each table were groups of officers. Administrators weaved through the crowd, passing scrolls back and forth between the tables. There was a hum of conversation and despite all the noise and people there was a sense of order and purpose to it all.

All conversation stopped as Haung’s foot hit the floor and the Dragon Gate faded away. The crowd of officers, soldiers and administrators parted and a short, balding man walked towards the three newcomers. He halted a few paces from Haung and held out a waiting palm. Haung bowed, recognising that the man outranked him, and placed the Emperor’s scroll into the open hand. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gang rest his gigantic hammer on the floor and lean upon it, a picture of nonchalance.

The officer who had taken the scroll frowned at Gang, who smiled back. With a wrinkle of his nose the officer turned his attention to the scroll. Haung watched him check the seal, turning it a little to catch the light, and when he seemed satisfied of its authenticity, break it open. His arm ached and he took a calming breath, releasing the stranglehold he had on the hilt of his
Jian
sword. No one in the room had moved.

As the man read the scroll, he kept glancing up at Haung, then Gang and finally Liu. The man’s expression did not alter from the look of disgust it had adopted upon spying Gang. At last, he finished reading.

“Corporal Enlai.” The officer had a surprisingly high pitched voice for such a short, fat man and Haung made the effort to keep his thoughts from revealing themselves in his expression. Gang and Liu did not feel under the same obligation and snorted. The officer shot them both murderous looks. “Corporal Enlai, escort Captain Haung and his two companions to the officers’ barracks. Ensure they are settled in and well-fed.”

A man at the back of the crowd made his way forward and bowed to Haung’s group. “If you’ll follow me, please.”

“I’ll expect you all at the pre-dinner briefing this evening,” the officer said. Haung bowed to him in agreement. “Good. Till this evening then.”

The short man turned his back to Haung and started waving the other officers and administrators back to work. Haung followed the corporal from the room, through the only door, and out into the sunshine.

The wall, the great wall, before him, stretched on and into the distance. Haung could see that they had exited one of the regularly spaced towers that were dotted along the wall at regular intervals. This one was larger than the others and set back from the walls, but maintained the same square, brick built design. A wide walkway connected it to the wall proper. To the west, the wall descended into a valley before rising up and over the hills. To the east, the wall rose and fell with the landscape. To the north, a compacted mud road descended the hill to the plains below. The plains themselves continued into the distance, looking more like a sea of green, low hills like waves across its surface. South was the Empire and, nestled below the wall and tower, a town.

The encampment close to the wall was laid out in a grid pattern, just as every good army encampment should be. Haung could see that, from his position high up on the walkway, the town itself spread beyond the army encampment. A sprawl of crudely constructed buildings and, further out, clumps of tents huddled together alongside the main road that led deeper into the Empire.

“This way, please, Captain,” the corporal said and indicated the stone staircase that led down into the army camp.

“Who owns the buildings outside the camp?” Haung asked.

“The
Nei Menggu
, sir.”

“And the general allows them to?”

“Yes, sir,” the corporal said as he led the way down the stairs.

“Why?” Haung asked, absently rubbing his right forearm.

“Don’t know, sir. The general has not confided that to me, sir.”

Haung smiled at the corporal’s back, recalling what it was like to in the lower ranks and having to answer questions that might lead to trouble. “That was the general?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, Corporal, if you had to guess why, what would you say?”

“If I had to guess, sir, I would guess that they had nowhere else to go and saw a chance to make some money off the army.” The corporal neared the final step. “The army is very good for having everything an army needs to fight, but we have been here quite a time and the men need somewhere to spend their money for purposes of relaxation, if you understand my meaning, sir.”

“I think I have caught the gist of your guess, corporal. Would you further hazard that those in the tents were the workers in these establishments of relaxation, or in some other way provide a service to the army?”

“That would be my guess, sir. Though I might wonder, as you may have noticed, that the tents seem to cluster?” The corporal turned at the bottom of the stairs and looked back up at Haung and his companions. Haung nodded. “Well, sir, it seems that the
Nei Menggu
don’t always get on well with one another. The tents can be a dangerous place to wander around at night. The general has forbidden soldiers to venture into the tents at any time, night or day.”

“And would you be aware whether or not that order was obeyed by every solider?” Haung smiled at the corporal. There was something likeable about him, though he was a little old to still be a corporal, he had the soldier’s wisdom that only came from long service and experience. Haung scratched at his forearm through his uniform.

“If I was a betting man which is, of course, forbidden while on duty, I would bet that the order is not as closely regarded as the general might wish, sir. Is your arm ok?”

“Think I have been bitten,” Haung said and forced himself to stop scratching.

“Fresh meat, if you’ll pardon the expression. Rest of us have been bitten by everything that lives round here. They’re bored of our taste. I’d sleep under a net tonight if I was you. Just to be sure. I’ll have the quartermaster deliver one to your room.”

“Thank you, Corporal,” Haung said.

“Officers’ quarters are this way, sir.”

The corporal led them past the armoury, placed close to the walls so that archers and the siege weapons could be quickly resupplied, and then the administrators building, where all the intelligence and patrol reports would be collated before being sent to the general’s staff in the fort tower. They crossed the road that led through the wall, guarded by thick wooden doors covered in large iron studs designed to deflect and dent an attacker’s axe. The barracks took up the majority of the camp to the south and west. The east side of the road was restricted to the officers and administrators quarters. The paths were neat, clean and free from plants and weeds. Small open spaces were dotted throughout this side of the camp and the officers’ club was situated dead centre. The corporal guided them through the camp and to one of the small buildings on the far edge.

“Here you go, sirs.” The corporal waved at the one storey building with its single door and window. “Not that I’ve been in many, but you’ll find all the comforts you need inside. There’ll be four beds, though I can get some men to remove the extra if you don’t need it, and some tables and chairs. Each bed has a lockable chest. The keys you’ll find in the chest themselves. The privy is shared on this row, I am afraid, but the enlisted men keep it clean and tidy. If they don’t, just let the administrator at the officers’ club know and it’ll be sorted as quick as you like.”

“Thank you, Corporal Enlai,” Haung said and began to walk towards the door.

“Few more things, sir, if you’ll permit? The standing order is to be armed at all times. The camp being considered on active duty all day and all night. Secondly, the alarm signals are standard, but if you hear four sustained blasts from the horns you are to drop everything and anything and head to your stations on the wall. Those stations will be assigned during a briefing. Officers’ club is open all day and all night. Food is available at all hours. Other than that, everything else is as you’d expect.”

“This is not acceptable.” It was Liu’s voice that stopped Haung and the corporal in their respective tracts.

“Sir?” Corporal Enlai looked towards Liu.

“I require a room of my own,” Liu said.

“Sir, I am not sure we have...”

“Of. My. Own,” Liu repeated and the corporal paused a moment before answering.

“I’ll see what I can do, if you don’t mind waiting at the Officers’ club, sir?”

Liu nodded and stalked off towards the camp’s centre. Gang shrugged as the tall man with two axes marched away. “Just you and me then, Haung”

Haung nodded. “One question, Corporal. You called the people in the town the
Nei Menggu
, what do they call themselves?”

“Call themselves Mongols, Sir.”

* * *

The inside of the main tower was crowded for the evening briefing. Haung, Gang and the newly re-housed Liu stood at the back of the crowd and listened as the general invited reports from along the wall. The commanders who could ride to the briefing had done so. Those too far away had sent messengers. Beginning with the reports from furthest west and east, the messengers reported no activity out of the ordinary. A small skirmish here and there with the known bandit groups in the areas, and the odd dispute with some of the Empire farmers who wanted a higher price for their rice and vegetables. Regional forts were required to patrol outside the wall, but also keep the peace in the Empire lands surrounding them. There were no reports of any suspicious activity from north of the wall.

However, as the reports came closer to the main fort there began to be reports of refugee bands moving parallel to the wall, of rising columns of smoke far away on the horizon. Patrols had been sent out to discover what was going on, but had failed to gather any useful information. From the two forts directly adjacent, the reports of smoke and refugees increased still further.

“All of which is deeply concerning because, as you all know, we have seen no evidence of these bands of refugees coming through here for over two weeks. Rising smoke has been seen on the horizon and to the east and west. Our own patrols have come back with little information,” the general said. “I need to know what we are up against and where the enemy is.”

“Who are the enemy?” one of the officers asked.

“That remains an interesting question and one that we cannot answer as yet. The refugees have little useful information save that their villages are attacked at night. Those that run survive and they have no first-hand knowledge of the fate of those that stay. Some villages are fleeing before the enemy reaches them. Refugees pass on the information about the attacks to each village they come across. In that way the panic spreads. I do have some information from the Emperor, though I am not sure how we will be able to use it.”

The general cast a glance towards Haung before continuing.

“The Emperor tells me that an area deep inside the Empire, to the west and south of us, has been attacked. The report suggests that the enemy attacked via... unconventional means and were held back, though at a great sacrifice. I have asked the
Fang-Shi
to investigate the content of the Emperor’s report and see how we may apply it to our defence or information gathering efforts. I am told also that there are some people on the way who may be able to assist us.”

Haung stood straighter, this was information new to him, but echoed a warning the Emperor had given the previous Duke of Yaart. A warning the duke had decided not to take seriously, it had cost him his life. Haung scratched his arm as he recalled those events.

“You’ll have noted also that we have some guests with us this evening.” The general gestured towards Haung and the two who stood with him. “The Emperor has sent some observers who will report directly to him. Let me make that clear to you all, as it has been to me, they report to the Emperor alone.”

The general beckoned them forward to stand by his side. “Some of you will recognise Masters Gang and Liu. They have offered to train some of the troops and I am sure that will do wonders for morale. Please select a few of your most able soldiers and have them report to the training grounds tomorrow. We will try to rotate them in and out whenever possible and spread the training as far as possible while they are with us.”

Gang and Liu bowed the assembled officers.

“I promise to send most of them back to you in one piece,” Liu said with a smile.

“I don’t,” Gang responded.

“Our other observer,” and to Haung’s ears the general seemed to chew on that final word as if it was nasty lump of gristle that he was determined to spit out, “is Captain Haung. I am informed that he is to be given access to all information and will, should he wish, join our patrols. His brief is to discover, and report, the identity of the enemy to the Emperor. We will assist in all ways possible, is that clear?”

The assembled officers nodded.

“It will be worth remembering in your dealings with Captain Haung, that he is a fully trained and experienced
Jiin-Wei
.” Haung pondered over the tone for a moment before he completed his own bow to the officers. “That is all for tonight. We reconvene tomorrow for assignments.”