Late Ming Dynasty: Starting with the overthrow of the county magistrate, a rebellion was launched to

Shanmu'ao

This place is located at the end of the Xuefeng Mountain range. Because it is rarely visited by people, the ancient fir trees reach the sky and block out the sun. Their intertwined branches block out the moon. In addition, it is nighttime, which completely blocks out the already weak light.

The mountain wind swept through the forest, stirring up the layers of decaying leaves and pine needles that had accumulated several inches on the ground. Occasionally, a night bird would be startled by this commotion and take flight, the sound of its flapping wings suddenly exploding in the deathly silence, making the place seem even more eerie and terrifying...

Of course, Zhang Da was quite pleased with this environment at the time—under the cover of such darkness and dense forest, even if the garrison commander was skilled in warfare, he would hardly have expected to take this path!

However, the darkness greatly hampered the march, making it necessary for scouts to lead the way and find the best route.

Zhang Da hid behind an ancient cedar tree that would take several people to encircle, blending into the darkness, and began to give orders.

"Pass down the order: send out sentries every five steps and scouts every ten steps. Add four more scout teams to explore the route in four directions: front, back, left, and right. Find the widest and most open path and make sure the main force passes through here as quickly as possible."

Upon hearing this, the guards beside him naturally bowed and accepted the order, then silently withdrew. A moment later, four slender black figures separated from the ranks, darting into the depths of the dense forest like nimble cats, and disappeared in an instant.

Seeing this, Zhang Da raised his hand to signal the team to move forward slowly.

The procession, like a long snake, slowly wound its way through the dark forest, heading deeper into the Fir Tree Pass.

At the forefront of the column, a scout team dispatched by Zhang Da was galloping forward to scout ahead and reconnoiter the troops behind them.

The leader was named Chen Sanzhu, a native of Xinhua County, Baoqing Prefecture. He was twenty-five years old and came from a farming family. He had been cutting firewood and hunting in the mountains since childhood, which gave him excellent skills in finding directions and tracking targets.

In the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, his family suffered from a drought. The grain commissioner levied exorbitant taxes, and his parents starved to death. Chen Sanzhu had nowhere to turn and begged for several months. Just then, Zhang Da raised an army in Shaoyang, killing corrupt officials and distributing land, so he joined the army.

Because he was familiar with the mountains and forests from a young age, was agile, and had a meticulous mind, he was selected to join the scout camp, where he has been for more than a year now.

So, during that year, he followed Zhang Da through more than ten battles, large and small, and was always present during reconnaissance and scouting missions.

He once single-handedly scouted the Ming army's grain and fodder storage area, helping Zhang Da launch a night raid to defeat the enemy; he also ventured deep into the mountains and forests to expose hidden government spies, earning several merits. Now he is the captain of a scout squad, in charge of nine brothers. His monthly salary is 30% higher than that of ordinary infantrymen, and he is also allocated ten acres of fertile land. Last year, he married the daughter of a hunter from a neighboring village, and his life is stable. As such, he is naturally loyal to Zhang Da and has long entrusted his life to the lord who gave him a way to live.

At this moment, Chen Sanzhu reined in his horse, raised his hand to signal the group to stop, and listened intently to the sounds coming from the woods.

Although the nine scouts behind him were all seasoned veterans, they were exhausted from scouting day and night, and their faces were pale and tired in the dim light.

"Squad leader, how many times have we scouted this route now?"

Behind them, a thin scout named Gou Er complained in a low voice, his tone full of exhaustion, "We've been scouting all day without our feet touching the ground, and we still have to go in at night. This forest is so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face, you can't even see the road. If we keep going, the brothers will all collapse from exhaustion."

Upon hearing this, the other scouts echoed him, their voices low but unable to conceal their resentment.

"Yes, Captain, this place is so gloomy and eerie. You hardly see anyone, not even birds or beasts. What bandit army could there possibly be?"

"My lord, you're really something. Why not take the proper official road instead of this treacherous path through the woodcutters? Our scouts are the eyes and ears of the army; we can't use them to our deaths like this."

"We've been traveling for days without even a moment to close our eyes. If this continues, we'll collapse from exhaustion before the enemy even has to lift a finger."

Seeing the group begin to complain, Chen Sanzhu frowned, turned and swept his gaze over them, his eyes serious, and reprimanded them in a low voice.

"Shut up, all of you! What's the point of complaining?"

"We are scouts, the night watchmen under our lord's command. This is the job we make, living on the edge!" Chen Sanzhu began to reassure the troops. "Compared to farming back home, toiling in the fields from dawn till dusk, reaping no harvest year after year, being extorted by the grain ration officer, and being beaten at the drop of a hat, is this job any worse?"

After suppressing the grumbling from the crowd, Chen Sanzhu looked at Gousheng and softened his tone.

"Gousheng, you just got married last month. Where did the dowry and new house come from? With your looks and those few acres of meager land, if it weren't for following the master as a scout and earning a high salary, who would be willing to marry their daughter to you?"

Then he looked at the others: "And you all, who hasn't had enough of the oppression of the government, the destruction of your families? If it weren't for our lord raising an army, killing corrupt officials, exempting taxes, distributing land, and giving us a bite to eat, we would probably be starving to death in ditches by now, or being conscripted and dying in the chaos of war! Now that our lord trusts us and has entrusted us with the important task of scouting, we must risk our lives to ensure that this great undertaking is not ruined!"

These words filled everyone with shame, and they all lowered their heads, their resentment vanishing without a trace.

Seeing this, Chen Sanzhu nodded slightly and softened his tone.

"I know the brothers are tired, but this is a critical moment. The lives of 13,000 brothers are in our hands. Cheer up, explore further, and report back immediately once you have ascertained the road conditions."

"Yes!" the crowd responded in unison, their voices firm, their weariness lessening considerably. They gripped the reins tightly, ready to continue their journey.

So the group set off again, slowly making its way through the dark forest.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the leaden clouds that had been obscuring the moonlight slowly dispersed, and as everyone gradually adjusted to the night, a faint ray of silvery light pierced through the gaps in the branches and leaves, scattering into the forest. The view instantly widened several times over, and the outlines of the surrounding trees, vines, and rocks gradually became clear.

Just then, a scout beside him suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" in a puzzled tone and pulled on the reins.

"What's wrong?" Chen Sanzhu immediately became alert and turned to ask.

The scout asked in confusion...

"Squad leader, have we been here before?"

Hearing the scout's doubts, Chen Sanzhu carefully looked around. Although the forest was pretty much the same everywhere at night, based on his years of experience, Chen Sanzhu confidently shook his head.

"Stop being suspicious and keep going."

Chen Sanzhu was about to spur his horse forward, but the scout still showed no intention of attacking. Instead, he pointed to a broken branch of a cedar tree by the roadside and said...

"Squad leader, look at this. Since we didn't get lost or go in circles, who did these broken branches?"

Chen Sanzhu took it seriously this time, realizing something was wrong. He immediately dismounted and quickly walked to the branch. There, he saw a branch of a cedar tree, as thick as a bowl, broken off. The break was fresh and clean, the sap still wet, and there were obvious impact marks on the edges, which did not seem to be caused by a collision between birds or animals in the mountains.

"No, we were on a new path just now, we've never been here before, we didn't break this branch." Chen Sanzhu frowned, and besides, this was his opinion, and such a large branch breaking would definitely make a sound, there was no way Chen Sanzhu wouldn't have heard it...

"Captain! Look around." Immediately afterward, the other scouts on horseback pointed to several marks in the woods, "Here, there, and ahead, there are signs of broken branches and trampled vegetation."

Under the moonlight, these previously unnoticed traces suddenly appeared as if by magic.

"Such a mess and so brutal, it must have been done by another group!"

When a scout voiced the conclusion that everyone had in mind, they all agreed, but then a sense of unease crept in…

However, Chen Sanzhu was more concerned about something else than this.

The time when these traces appeared

So Chen Sanzhu squatted down, carefully examined the broken surface, and gently stroked the fresh wood with his fingers.

He was born a farmer, and having dealt with plants since childhood, he understood the principles of their growth and decay. The broken surface was brimming with sap, a vibrant green, indicating the break had occurred no more than an hour ago, and at most twelve hours later…

This fir forest is located in a remote area, rarely visited by people except for mountain dwellers gathering firewood. Moreover, at night, the probability of ordinary people daring to enter this dangerous forest is extremely low...

"Dismount and thoroughly search the surroundings!" Chen Sanzhu's voice suddenly deepened, and he sounded extremely tense. "Search carefully, don't miss an inch!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically, realizing the seriousness of the situation. They all dismounted and dispersed to search carefully in the forest.

A moment later, a series of low gasps could be heard.

"Captain, there are footprints here!"

"There are some here too, and even hoofprints!"

Chen Sanzhu strode forward and saw several footprints and hoofprints clearly imprinted on the decaying leaves. Due to the dampness of the forest, the marks were distinct and not covered by the decaying leaves.

Chen Sanzhu squatted down and placed his own foot next to it for comparison—the footprint was slightly larger than his own, the sole of the shoe had a rough tread pattern, indicating it was a military boot, but definitely not the style used by the Baoqing Army; while the hoofprint was deeper and larger, and the warhorse was much stronger than their own scout horses, so it must have been a military horse.

What's even more alarming is that the edges of the mark are smooth, without a speck of dust covering it, so fresh it's almost blinding, just like those broken branches, all of which were just left behind!

"Not one of ours..." A scout's voice trembled, his face pale, clearly already guessing who the marks belonged to.

"It's enemy troops! Enemy cavalry are passing through here!"