The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Zhao Zheng, who was behind Jia Chen, put down a jar of wine, along with some roasted beef and mutton.

"I also have to thank Taiji for the cattle and sheep he gave us," Jia Chen said.

These cattle and sheep were donated voluntarily by Omubu.

Of course, even if Omubu doesn't take the initiative, Jia Chen and his group won't just stand by and do nothing about these cattle and sheep.

For them, they don't even know if they'll survive tomorrow.

Now that there's something delicious to eat, why should we save it?

Even death row inmates get a good meal; they'll die with a full stomach, after all.

"Not at all, it's nothing. You are all brave warriors, and I admire you greatly. The Chahar tribe is the mortal enemy of my Tumed tribe. This time, you have helped my Tumed tribe vent its anger." Omubu laughed.

This is true; the Tumed tribe were actually descendants of the Later Yuan Dynasty's Golden Family.

However, the Khan's court was located in the Chahar tribe, which considered itself the overlord of all tribes. This was why Ligdan Khan wanted to unify all the tribes.

In terms of status, the Tumed and Chahar tribes were similar, but the Tumed tribe was more special and held a more prestigious position compared to other tribes.

Ligdan Khan wanted to unify the various tribes of the Later Yuan Dynasty, and the Tumed tribe was his primary target for conquest.

Over the years, the Tumed tribe has been under great pressure. Their strength is inferior to that of the Chahar tribe. However, because the Great Hong Dynasty favors the Tumed tribe, the Tumed tribe has not been destroyed or annexed by the Chahar tribe.

The Tumed tribe was located roughly north of Datong Town, while the Chahar tribe was actually north of Xuanfu Town, northeast of Datong Town.

In previous years, the Chahar tribe's main targets for raiding were the nearby Xuanfu Town, while Datong Town was a secondary target, and even if they raided there, it was only by small groups.

This year is different. Perhaps they feel that Datong Town hasn't experienced large-scale looting for a long time, so they can seize more valuables and abduct more people.

"Taiji, there are still Chahar troops around. If you want to go back now, it will be very dangerous," Jia Chen said.

That's the truth. The Chahar tribe still has some troops behind them, mainly to prevent the Tumed tribe and other tribes from causing trouble for them.

There were quite a few Chahar cavalrymen roaming around, and if Omubu and his men wanted to return to the Tumed tribe at this time, they would have a hard time avoiding their detection.

"That's what I think too. We can only consider returning after the Chahar tribe has completely retreated," Omubu nodded.

He wasn't quite sure whether Jia Chen didn't want him to leave or was genuinely concerned for his safety.

For now, he can only take it one step at a time.

At least for now, he hasn't realized that Jia Chen intends to kill him.

If they really wanted to kill the three of us to silence us, they could have done it long ago. Why wait until now?

Despite his thoughts, Emubu's unease was still difficult to completely dispel.

"Head of the garrison, what should we do with the goods on those carts? If the Northern barbarians really come to retaliate, the goods on the carts will probably be destroyed." Wang Baisheng shouted as he walked over.

There's nowhere to put these carriages here on the platform, so leaving them out in the open is indeed a hassle.

"That goes without saying. Just find a place, dig a hole, bury the stuff in there, and dig it out when the Northern barbarians retreat," Wu Jiangsheng said after hearing this.

"That's right, that's right. There's simply not enough room on the platform. If the Northern barbarians return, we won't be able to protect these things," Zhou Shitou agreed.

"And what about that tea and stuff? We don't need it. We'll have to find a way to secretly sell it later. What a hassle..." everyone chimed in.

For them, the most useful thing right now is alcohol.

The rest can only be converted into silver once they survive.

Jia Chen was deep in thought.

It must be said that Wu Jiangsheng's statement is reliable.

These vehicles can only be placed at the foot of the watchtower. When the Northern barbarians come to retaliate, most of us will still have to go up to the watchtower for defense. Then these things will fall into the hands of the Northern barbarians again.

Hiding them temporarily is one option.

However, Jia Chen had another thought in mind: if he managed to survive, what should he do with the goods?

If we sell it in the fortress, the Sun family might notice something amiss, and that would be terrible.

But if you want to cash in, you have to sell it, which is a bit of a dilemma.

Jia Chen suddenly chuckled to himself, realizing he had been thinking a bit too far ahead.

Whether we can survive is another matter entirely; thinking about that is just asking for trouble.

It's fine to dig a hole and hide it first.

"Jia Duntou, may I say something?" Emubu suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing what the soldiers were saying about the goods, Omubu's heart stirred.

"Taiji, just say what you have to say," Jia Chen said with a smile.

"If it's convenient, I can buy those goods." Seeing Jia Chen hesitate for a moment, Omubu quickly added, "I can pay with silver. Silver is lightweight and easy to carry, and it won't attract attention."

Emubu was able to guess some of Jia Chen's thoughts.

How to handle these goods was clearly a concern for Jia Chen. Since that was the case, he might as well keep them for himself.

In addition, Omubu wanted to rely on this move to better save his life.

As long as I am of value to Jia Chen and his group, they probably won't kill me to cover it up.

Jia Chen's eyes lit up. Selling it to Emubu was indeed a good choice, as it wouldn't leave any trace.

He couldn't help but give Omubu a deep look; it seemed that this guy had seen through some of his thoughts.

Of course, Emubu was overthinking it.

Jia Chen didn't intend to kill him.

In fact, Jia Chen was thinking that he might be able to use Emubu's power to get some things done.

If he and his men were to survive, then the question of how to determine the value of the Northern Barbarian heads and military merits would become a serious matter for him to consider.

There are far too many cases of falsely claiming military merits, and it is all too common for superiors to steal credit.

Especially for low-ranking soldiers like myself, who have no background or support here, most of the military merits we earn through hard work end up benefiting others.

Jia Chen didn't want to be a sucker like that.

Omubu's status was somewhat special. No matter how much the Great Hong Dynasty looked down on the various tribes of the Later Yuan Dynasty, the Tumed tribe, with the title of Shunyi King, would still give Omubu respect on the surface.

In other words, if Omubu helped them prove their innocence, then even if the higher-ups came to demand heads, they would at least leave some for them.

Based on their remaining military merits, everyone can expect to reap some benefits, such as promotions or silver rewards.

It's not like we'll end up with nothing.

Something is better than nothing, and Jia Chen was also helpless about it.

"I wonder how much silver the Taiji can offer?" Jia Chen asked.

After some haggling, the two agreed on a price of two thousand taels.

Although Jia Chen thought these items could be worth tens of thousands of taels or even more when transported to the Later Jin, that would be for the Later Jin. If given to the Tumed tribe, they would obviously not be worth that much.

Moreover, Jia Chen would not sell those gunpowder.

It's already quite good to get two thousand taels for these goods that I can't handle myself.

Besides, even though Omubu is Bushitu's nephew and holds a very high position in the Tumed tribe, taking out two thousand taels is still a large expenditure.

They usually traded cattle and sheep hides for what they needed, and the tribe did not have much gold or silver.

This time, it was Emubu who bought it in his private capacity, and for him, coming up with two thousand taels was quite a burden.

Of course, if Omubu takes this batch of goods, whether he keeps it for himself or resells it to other tribes on the grassland, he will make a huge profit.

An agreement has been reached, but whether it can be fully implemented depends on whether everyone survives.