Gesi Pass was about five or six li away from Gefeng City. Flanked by the continuous Gesi Mountain Range, it served as the boundary between the Yan Kingdom and Quzhao. Crossing the mountains meant entering Quzhao territory.
The pass was about fifty meters wide, with rolling mountains on both sides forming a canyon-like terrain.
However, this canyon was very short, with the pass itself measuring less than ten meters deep. Otherwise, with this terrain, it wouldn't have been so easy for the northern barbarians to enter.
Riding on horseback was fast, and they arrived after covering the few li in no time.
Ahead of them, there were no barriers; the Gesi Pass was left wide open.
Jiang Jin let Little Red graze on its own while she and Zhou Sui walked toward the pass. "Was this place always like this? Weren't there any walls built?"
Zhou Sui shook his head. "Of course not. It used to be heavily guarded here. But now that both the inside and outside belong to the Quzhao people, they simply tore down the city walls."
In the past, high walls and watchtowers were built across the fifty-meter width of Gesi Pass, guarded and patrolled by soldiers.
After the Quzhao people conquered Gefeng, they dismantled the towers and walls for some unknown reason.
Walking closer, Jiang Jin saw that there were indeed stone foundations on the ground. Unfortunately, the earthen walls above had been destroyed, leaving only ruins and allowing the Quzhao people to come and go as they pleased.
The two followed the pass outward. Once outside, they saw a vast expanse of grassland in the distance, followed by relatively flat, rolling hills and prairies further away.
"When do the Quzhao people come here every year?" Jiang Jin asked, looking at the lush green grass.
The northern barbarians were originally nomadic, relying on animal husbandry and moving wherever the grass was lush and fertile.
Even after invading the Central Plains, they did not migrate their entire population for the attack. Many tribesmen and tribes remained on the grasslands, maintaining their nomadic habits to provide warhorses, cattle, and sheep for those attacking the Central Plains.
The silk, cloth, and grain they obtained from the Central Plains would also be transported back to their people on the grasslands, forming a positive cycle that improved their standard of living.
Zhou Sui exhaled. "Probably around April or May."
The north was cold. It began to cool down in mid-September, and snow would fall by mid-to-late November, or December at the latest, with temperatures dropping to dozens of degrees below freezing.
This temperature would last until March of the following year, so the grasslands wouldn't be full of greenery again until April or May.
Zhou Sui glanced at Jiang Jin and asked, "Does My Lord wish to rebuild the walls here?"
Jiang Jin nodded without hesitation. "Of course. But we still have too few people. I'm afraid it won't be possible this year."
If this pass wasn't blocked, she would constantly face the risk of being attacked from both the front and the rear.
Zhou Sui deeply agreed. "My Lord is very thoughtful."
Jiang Jin looked up at the hillsides on the left and right sides of the pass.
The hillside on the left was relatively flat with dense vegetation.
The hillside on the right, or rather a cliff, was very steep and incredibly high. Based on Jiang Jin's visual estimate, the peak near the pass was over a hundred meters high.
Her eyes lit up. If an observation post could be established up there, the viewing distance would be incredible.
Theoretically, without any obstacles, one could see a distance of about 35,777 meters from a height of 100 meters.
Of course, in reality, it was impossible to have no obstacles, such as wooded hillsides, houses, and walls, nor could human eyesight see that far.
But given the environment around Gefeng, seeing ten or twenty li away wouldn't be a problem. Plus, with her binoculars, the visible distance would be even greater.
She pointed to the mountain on the right. "Why don't we go up to the peak and take a look?"
Zhou Sui was stunned, his brows furrowing. "The slope is too steep; we won't be able to climb it."
Jiang Jin pointed to some vines on the slope and said, "How will we know if we don't try? Those vines look pretty sturdy."
Zhou Sui watched Jiang Jin walk forward enthusiastically and, feeling helpless, could only follow. He realized that the princess was a very bold person. Not only were her actions daring, but her ideas were sometimes quite peculiar.
It took a while for Jiang Jin to find a small slope that barely approached the vines. Although the slope was steep, there were many trees to help steady her body.
Before long, she reached the vines. They were very thick, growing out of the crevices in the cliff. She reached out and pulled on them; they were very secure.
Zhou Sui was a little worried. "My Lord, let me go first."
Jiang Jin shook her head. "I'm lighter, I'll go first."
When it came to agility, Zhou Sui really couldn't compare to her.
The place was truly steep, almost ninety degrees, and made entirely of rock. Jiang Jin felt like she was rock climbing. Fortunately, she had the vines to assist her, otherwise, she really wouldn't have been able to get up.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Jin finally climbed to the top of the slope, panting heavily.
Standing below, Zhou Sui felt like his neck was going to snap from looking up. He only secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jiang Jin reach the summit.
He imitated Jiang Jin's way of climbing, but he was indeed inferior to her in this regard.
Moreover, as he climbed higher and higher, he found that he didn't quite dare to look down; doing so made him a bit dizzy.
Come to think of it, this was his first time climbing so high. If he fell, he would probably turn into mush, right?!
Standing at the top of the slope, with a gentle breeze blowing, Jiang Jin felt a rare sense of comfort.
Not only could she see Gefeng County Town clearly, but she could also see the area in front of and around it with perfect clarity, giving her a commanding view of the surrounding landscape.
Turning to look north toward the barbarian lands, her line of sight was similarly extended by an unknown multitude of times, revealing layers upon layers of lush greenery.
Zhou Sui finally managed to climb to the top. With weak legs, he slumped onto the ground, realizing for the first time just how useless he could be.
He didn't yet understand that there was a term for this: acrophobia.
Jiang Jin smiled. "I think it would be great to build an observation watchtower here."
Zhou Sui felt a bit embarrassed. He forced himself to stand up and looked down, immediately understanding Jiang Jin's meaning. He had to admit that this was indeed an excellent observation spot.
However, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. "My Lord, I'm afraid ordinary soldiers won't be able to climb up here. Moreover, it won't be easy to build a watchtower here; transporting the materials alone would be difficult."
Jiang Jin waved her hand dismissively. "There are always more solutions than difficulties; it just depends on whether you want to do it or not. There's no rush for this matter. Let's finish building the city interior first."
The top of the slope wasn't wide, only about two or three meters. However, she shifted her gaze to a higher part of the mountain range, where there was a small flat area a few dozen meters away from where she stood.
This small flat area was wider, about five or six meters, which was perfectly fine for building a small watchtower.
She thought for a moment and said, "From now on, this place will be called Yilan Peak. What do you think?"
Zhou Sui was about to reply when he suddenly saw a scene in the distance and couldn't help but exclaim, "Hiss, what is that?"
Zhou Sui was usually very steady, the type who wouldn't change his expression even when facing a massive army. Hearing his exclamation, Jiang Jin was startled and quickly followed his line of sight.
She saw over twenty small black dots moving rapidly in the distance. Looking closely, she realized it was a group of people and a sounder of wild boars sprinting wildly!
The person at the very front was riding on the back of a wild boar, chased by over a dozen wild boars of various sizes. Behind the boar herd followed seven or eight people. It was absolute chaos.
Jiang Jin secretly ground her teeth. "Let's go. We're heading down the mountain."
