Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

After I take up my post at the Linqing Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office, I will definitely become the focus of attention.

Those below might not know the truth and simply think of themselves as ordinary paratroopers.

But that fifth-rank commander, whose name is still unknown, would certainly not treat him as an ordinary subordinate.

Even a time traveler like myself, who had never dealt with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could tell how special Lu Bing's appointment letter was.

How could this commander not see it?

If he didn't even have this much sensitivity, he wouldn't have been able to rise to the position of head of the Jinyiwei branch in an important city like Linqing.

What image does he project to himself?

He was either a second-generation rich kid with a powerful background who had come to Linqing Thousand Household Office to gain experience and seniority, or a close relative of the Lu family.

Lu Bing's eagerness to find a lucrative position was all too obvious; he even skipped many necessary procedures.

After taking office in Linqing, besides this commander, at least one other person knew that he was special.

Lu Chen's position was that of a captain, not a direct subordinate of a commander.

Between himself and the commander of a thousand, there was a commander of a hundred.

Only a high-ranking official of the sixth rank, a centurion, would be your direct superior.

The only person who could see this appointment letter personally written by Lu Bing was probably the commander himself, but Lu Chen felt that he dared not fail to tell this centurion about his special qualities.

In his view, if this centurion really treated him as an ordinary deputy, he might cause a huge mess.

If Lu Bing felt that they had mistreated "Lu Chen", a mere commander of a thousand households would not be able to bear the consequences.

After taking up his post, although he was only a mid-level official in the Linqing Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was definitely a very special person.

Whether it was the centurion or the commander of the thousand, they all took good care of him.

Other colleagues and subordinates aren't blind; how could they not see it?

There will definitely be countless eyes watching you, both openly and secretly.

These people were all members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, not ordinary people.

No matter what he does in secret, it may fall into the eyes of some people, making it difficult to guarantee that he can completely sever ties with the identity of "Lu Chen".

We must be mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace and plan ahead for a rainy day.

While I'm on my way to my new post and no one is watching my free time every day, I'll make some arrangements in advance!

Using the spare half month, he activated the rare and clean identity of "Lin Chaoxi," which severed all ties and had no connection with "Lu Chen" whatsoever!

Lu Chen spread a sheet of white paper on the table and picked up a wax stone pen that he had obtained from the postmaster.

Combining the modern maps he had seen before his journey with the information he had gathered over the past few days, he sketched a simple route map of the various prefectures and counties of Xiangyang Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, and Runing Prefecture on a blank sheet of paper.

The identity of "Lin Chaoxi" must not be associated with the Embroidered Uniform Guard in any way!

Once you use the special privilege of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's "Unpredictable Talisman" to reach a certain point on the route from Queshan County in Runing Prefecture through Nanyang Prefecture to Xiangyang Prefecture on "Lin Chaoxi's" travel pass, you can no longer use it.

From that point on until he returned after finishing his business, he could only use the "Lin Chaoxi" travel permit.

Soon, a simple route map appeared on the white paper.

The normal route of "Lin Chaoxi" should have started from Queshan County, Runing Prefecture, first arriving at Biyang County, Nanyang Prefecture, then Tang County and Xinye County, and then heading south to Fancheng and Xiangyang Prefecture.

Using Lu Chen's travel pass, he had passed through Xiangyang Prefecture, Fancheng, and Xinye County. He could no longer go to these three places.

Queshan County is where the real "Lin Chaoxi" once lived, so of course you can't go there.

All that's left are Tang County and Biyang County!

Which one should I choose?

Lu Chen's finger traced across the white paper, finally stopping at the location of Biyang County.

Although no one in Tang County has probably seen him before, Tang County is only about 30 kilometers away from Wadian Town in a straight line, which is really too close.

Biyang County is nearly 100 kilometers away from Wadian Town, and Tang County is in between.

During the Ming Dynasty, it was very troublesome for ordinary people to leave their county; they needed a travel permit.

The probability of someone who has seen me in Wadian Town running into me again in Biyang County within the next two weeks is extremely low.

Tang County is also useful; it can serve as a place for Lu Chen, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard carrying the "Unpredictable Talisman," to carry out secret missions.

I'll set off from Sheqidian early tomorrow morning, riding south at top speed, and arrive in Tang County by noon.

He handed his mount over to the post station in Tang County, instructing the postmaster to take good care of it, and that he would come back to retrieve it in half a month.

He also ordered the postmaster to keep his arrival in Tang County a secret.

A lowly postmaster dared not disobey the orders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As a result, no one knows what Lu Chen, the Imperial Guard, was doing during his half-month stay in Tang County.

. . .

The third day, evening.

Biyang County, Nanyang Prefecture.

A horse-drawn carriage slowly passed through the Zhanbi Gate on the west side of the county town and entered Biyang County.

According to Lu Chen's original plan, he should have arrived in Biyang County last night.

Unfortunately, reality taught Lu Chen a lesson.

Looking at the map, the straight-line distance from Sheqidian to Tangxian, and from Tangxian to Biyangxian, is actually about the same, around 40 to 50 kilometers.

The morning's journey went smoothly. Lu Chen set off from Sheqidian and rode south at full speed, successfully arriving in Tang County by noon. As planned, he handed over his horse to the post station in Tang County.

However, the time required to travel from Tang County to Biyang County far exceeded Lu Chen's expectations.

It was impossible for "Lin Chaoxi" to requisition post horses; to go to Biyang County, he could only do so as an ordinary person using civilian transportation.

To avoid attracting attention on the road, Lu Chen ruled out the option of riding a horse himself and planned to hire a carriage with a side room and curtains.

After inquiring around Tang County, I discovered that even the fastest horse-drawn carriage could only travel from morning to evening to Biyang County.

If we set off in the afternoon, there's absolutely no way we'll make it in time.

Moreover, the cost of chartering a car was by no means low, given the price level during the Jiajing era.

A regular single-horse open carriage would cost one or two taels of silver for this trip, and the employer would also have to bear the costs of crossing rivers and passing through checkpoints.

The "cars" with carriages in Shuangma all started at two taels of silver.

Lu Chen carried five hundred taels of silver and one hundred taels of gold that he had won from Ma San Kui, so this expense was nothing to him.

No amount of money can make a carriage escape the limitations of physical laws.

Lu Chen could only stay in Tang County for one night before hiring a car to set off early the next morning.

"After rushing all day, we finally arrived in Biyang County before the city gates were locked."

After the carriage stopped by the roadside in the city, the driver turned to the person behind the curtain and asked,

"Sir, I drive this route from Tang County to Biyang County all year round, and I know Biyang County very well."

If you need to find anything in the city, I can lead the way.

"Alright, find me an inn. It needs to be clean and tidy. A slightly higher price is fine."

Lifting the carriage curtain, Lu Chen tossed three small silver ingots, each weighing one tael, to the other person.

"Here's the fare, keep the change."

"Thank you for the generous gift, sir."

The coachman put the silver ingot into his pocket, flicked the reins again, and the two horses pulled the carriage slowly towards the city center along the main road.