09 Boundaryless

Batzorig and ten of his captains were in his tent discussing how to train new recruits when a soldier stormed into the tent.

The soldier said, "General Batzorig, two of Captain Haitao's men fought."

Batzorig stood up and said frantically, "Ridiculous. Who are they?"

The soldier said, "Timicin and Chinua."

Batzorig and ten captains rushed to the scene of the battle, and once there they saw many soldiers standing around Chinua and Timicin, cheering and muttering to themselves.

Batzorig anger rose up to the tip of his tongue. He raised his voice and shouted, "What are you doing?"

The surrounding soldiers quickly moved away from Chinua and Timicin. When Batzorig and the ten captains walked in, they saw that Chinua still had Timicin in a headlock position.

Batzorig stood in front of Chinua and Timicin, "You know, the first rule of the army is that there can be no fighting between you and your comrades?" He shouted loudly in Chinua's face.

Chinua and Timicin didn't answer, staring at Batzorig with their heads looking down on the ground.

Batzorig looked at the ground and found that there were grains of rice all over the ground, and the vegetables on the ground were completely crushed by Chinua and Timicin's footsteps. He frowned frantically, "If these..." He pointed to the food on the ground. "Not just that, this is what the two of you are going to send to the thousands of soldiers fighting on the front lines?" He scoffed angrily at Chinua and Timicin. "Without supplies, the army will be defeated, all because the two of you cannot put aside your differences." He looked at Chinua and shook his head. "Especially you..." Batzorig looked at Chinua and Timicin angrily. "Since you two don't understand the value of rice, I'll teach you two the value of rice."

Chinua looked at Batzorig, she understands what Batzorig wants to teach the new recruits. She sighed and said, "General Batzorig, I understand. It was my fault. I'm sorry, I should be the bigger person."

Batzorig said, "Now that you understand, you should also understand the consequences of violating military regulations."

Chinua said, "I understand."

Batzorig ordered, "Captain Haitao, since they are your subordinates, you should punish them according to military law."

Khunbish quickly interrupted, "Batzorig, how dare you!"

"How could I not?" said Batzorig in a huff. He stared coldly at Khunbish. "Once you step into this training camp, anyone who violates military law will be subject to military punishment, and the king himself is no exception!" He turned to Haitao. "Make sure the punishment is severe and set an example for the other recruits." He pointed to the recruits standing around, Chinua and Timicin.

Haitao said, "Yes general."

Batzorig shouted at the recruits, "Why are you still standing here! Go back to your tent!"

Haitao stood there as the soldiers began tying four bags of rice to the wooden pole. After the soldiers finished, Haitao looked at Chinua and Timicin and said, "Pick up your pole and stand here until noon tomorrow." He sighed. "If you don't want to train with me, just say so, there's no need to fight to prove my incompetence as captain." He shook his head and walked away.

Standing in the center of the training ground, Chinua and Timicin each held a small pole with a bag of rice tied to each end of the pole on their shoulder.

In the middle of the night, when all the lanterns around the camp had gone out and the only light that could be seen was the torches that illuminated only the camp walls, Chinua stared at the dimming lights, then looked up at the stars. The night sky, she realized, in the vast sky, she was just a little spark, like those distant stars.

Timicin looked at Chinua and asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I was just thinking, we're like stars in the sky," Chinua said. "This land is a vast land of unknown rulers, both good and bad."

Timicin looked up at the night sky, then at Chinua. He asked, "What do you mean?"

Chinua sighed and said, "There are too many rulers, and not enough land to divide between them. We live under one sky. Since the sky has no boundaries between the stars, why should the land have boundaries?"

"Of course, there are borders, because any ruler wants his kingdom to be the biggest," laughs Timicin . He looked at Chinua. "You're talking about unification, and you're not the first to dream of unifying the land." He looked at Chinua. "Many rulers have tried, but none have been successful."

Chinua said, "Unification comes with a high death toll. Why waste precious lives when we can live in peace." She sighed.

Timicin mocked, "Ambitious people don't think like you. If there is no death, how can it be possible to obtain land?"

Chinua looked at Timicin and asked, "Are you able to sleep at night knowing that the inch of land you acquired is trade with the lives of other people's fathers, husbands, and sons?"

Timicin opened his mouth, his jaw dropped, and he was speechless. Then he asked, "Does Khunbish know General Batzorig?"

Chinua said, "No."

Timicin was dissatisfied with Chinua's answer and continued to ask, "If he doesn't know General Batzorig, how dare he call General Batzorig by his name?"

Chinua said, "When people are angry, they speak their minds."

Timicin said, "It doesn't make sense."

Chinua sighed and closed her eyes, ignoring Timicin.

Timicin asked, "Tell me Chinua, why would a woman like you go into a camp full of men?"

Chinua didn't answer.

Timicin said, "Tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to walk into General Batzorig's tent tomorrow and tell him you're a woman in disguise." He turned to look at Chinua. "Sorry, I happened to touch your chest when we were pushing and pulling."

Chinua scoffed, "Don't use this to blackmail me, I'm not afraid of your threat, and I won't stop you."

Timicin said, "Are you really not afraid of this secret?"

Chinua said, "Secret? Only you think it's a secret. Also, what are the rules in Hmagol that prohibit women from joining the army?" She looked at Timicin coldly. "I'm not breaking any rules, why should I be afraid?"

Under the moonlight, Timicin saw Chinua's eyes clearly, and Chinua was not afraid that Timicin would reveal her disguise. He had never seen a woman like Chinua, so bold, not at all feminine except for her voice, but with a charisma he couldn't explain.

Timicin cleared his throat and said, "Don't dare, I really will tell."

Chinua said, "The secret is in your head, and the words are on the tip of your tongue. I can't control whether you open your mouth or not. So, I don't care."

Timicin shook his head and said, "You wait and see what I can do." He waited for a while for Chinua to speak, but Chinua didn't speak to him again. "Hey, talk to me, it's still early. Talk to me..."

Batzorig yells at Timicin, "Stop talking...you should be here to reflect on your wrongdoing. This is punishment; don't stargaze with your friends at night."

Timicin said, "General Batzorig, I have something urgent to tell you."

Batzorig said, "Whatever you need to tell me, tell me tomorrow when you're done with your punishment."

Timicin said, "But it's really urgent."

Batzorig said, "Tomorrow." He walked away from Chinua and Timicin.

When General Batzorig returned to his tent, he saw the lights in the tent come on. He walked quickly into the tent, saw the person sitting on the chair, and hurriedly knelt to the ground.

Batzorig said, "Prince Dzhambul, I didn't know you would visit at this hour."

Dzhambul looked at Batzorig and put down the book he was reading, "Get up."

Batzorig got up quickly.

"I heard you hid a woman in the camp," Dzhambul said. "I didn't believe what I heard, so I decided to come and see for myself."

Batzorig sighed and said, "We did have a woman in the training camp."

Dzhambul slapped his hand hard on the table and said viciously, "General Batzorig, you are the general of the Northern Army, and you know the rules forbidding women from entering a camp full of men." He stood up. "Guards."

The two guards outside walked briskly into the tent and knelt in front of Dzhambul.

Dzhambul said, "Where did you hide her?"

"I didn't hide her anywhere," Batzorig said. "She is currently serving her punishment in the training ground with Timicin."

Dzhambul said, "Fine, take her to the execution ground."

Batzorig said, "Prince Dzhambul, His Highness cannot execute her."

Dzhambul approached Batzorig and asked, "Why not?"

Batzorig said, "Because Her highness was sent here by King Batukhan."

Dzhambul was taken aback by Batzorig's word, "The royal father sent her... Who is she? Father's concubine?"

Batzorig shook his head and said, "No, she is Princess Chinua, but in King Batukhan's letter, King Batukhan wants Her Highness's identity to be kept secret."

Dzhambul asked, "Do you know why father sent her here?"

Batzorig said, "I do not know."

Later that night, in Dzhambul's tent, his bodyguard stood beside him and sat at his desk. He said, "Lixin, why do you think father sent Chinua here?"

Lixin said, "I believe this is not the ideal of King Batukhan, but more like Crowned Prince Batsaikhan's. Princess Chinua and Prince Batsaikhan are both children of Queen Qara, because Prince Batsaikhan can't walk, so he made Princess Chinua walk for him while he was behind the scenes hosting the show."

Dzhambul said, "The training is long. We have many chances to get rid of her. One disabled child might not be enough for Queen Qara. Maybe she wants two..." He closed his eyes, deeply took a deep breath. "Lixin, let Altan be our eyes and ears."

Lixin said, "Yes, Prince Dzhambul."