The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 122 is written in great detail

Hu Youcai feels extremely insecure now; he feels safe nowhere outside.

Even if his whole body falls apart, he has to keep going, because it concerns his life.

Since Hu Youcai insisted on this, Jia Chen had nothing more to say.

No one seemed to have any objections to traveling through the night.

For them, the most important thing was to escort Eunuch Hu back to Datong Prefecture safely.

If Hu Youcai were to have an accident on the road, even if they survived, they would still be punished.

Jia Chen and his men galloped wildly along the official road with more than four hundred horses, which naturally attracted a lot of attention and surprise.

At first glance, it looked like the northern barbarian cavalry had marched south again, which frightened many passersby who cried out and hid.

Someone reported this to some of the fortresses along the route.

Because Jia Chen and his group were moving too fast, and it was getting dark, the people sent by the fortress were not so proactive, fearing they might encounter danger. By the time the fortress sent people to investigate, Jia Chen and his group had long since disappeared.

In the middle of the night, Jia Chen and his group finally arrived at the city of Datong.

Jia Chen admired Hu Youcai somewhat; his perseverance was commendable.

They really didn't stop to rest along the way; even drinking water and eating some dry food were done on horseback.

"Who goes there!" The guards on the city wall sensed the commotion below and immediately shouted.

Torches were raised on the city wall, clearly as a warning.

"Eunuch Hu, the garrison commander of Datong, is returning to the city! Open the city gates quickly!" Jia Chen shouted as he stepped forward.

By this time, the city gates had long been closed.

If there's nothing important, you can wait until tomorrow morning to start.

However, Hu Youcai's status was extraordinary, so the city gates could still be opened as an exception.

Upon hearing that Hu Youcai had returned, the guards above dared not be negligent.

Then it involves reporting up the chain of command.

Even if they wanted to open the city gates, they had to go through procedures and verify Hu Youcai's identity, etc.

After all this trouble, it took almost half an hour before Jia Chen and his party were finally able to enter the city.

"Father-in-law, why is this?" Chen Tai came to visit him personally.

Hearing that Hu Youcai had returned to Datong Prefecture late at night, he felt a little nervous. Could it be that something important had happened?

Otherwise, why would Hu Youcai be in such a hurry?

Especially when he saw Hu Youcai's miserable state, his heart tightened.

What happened?

Hu Youcai was lying face down on the bed, groaning in pain.

Hu Youcai felt like his whole body was falling apart, especially his buttocks, which were almost crushed from the jolting. His inner thighs were also red and swollen, and he was in unbearable pain.

He had been holding his breath on horseback and hadn't felt anything, but once he arrived in Datong Prefecture, his anxiety was temporarily relieved, and the pain from a day's journey immediately erupted, making him suffer terribly.

At this point, even if Chen Taixiang asked, he wouldn't be in the mood to answer.

Seeing that Hu Youcai was having trouble answering, Chen Tai immediately turned his gaze to Jia Chen, who was present.

"Jia Chen, tell me, what exactly happened?" Chen Tai asked in a deep voice.

This is highly unusual.

Judging from Hu Youcai's current appearance, and the fatigue on Jia Chen and the others' faces, they had obviously been traveling at high intensity for a long time.

He knew that after Hu Youcai and Jia Chen left the capital, they first escorted Abunai to Xuanfu Town.

There's no need to rush along the way; we can just take our time getting back.

Could it be that something has happened again in the Chahar region?

Thinking of this, Chen Tai's heart couldn't help but jump.

If the Chahar tribe moves south, their Datong town will most likely be affected as well.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, we were ambushed on our way back—" Jia Chen had nothing to hide and quickly recounted the situation, including how they rushed back to Datong Prefecture without stopping.

"Don't worry, Eunuch Hu, this matter must be thoroughly investigated," Chen Tai said with a gloomy expression.

Regardless, Hu Youcai was the garrison eunuch of Datong Town, and this matter had to be reported to the imperial court.

Even if it wasn't certain people from Xuanfu Town who did it, they can't escape being implicated.

After all, this happened in Xuanfu Town, so someone there has to take responsibility.

"Ouch, I won't let them get away with this. If I find out who did it, I'll skin them alive! Ouch, it hurts so much!" Hu Youcai managed to say, but he was in excruciating pain.

"Father-in-law, please rest well," Chen Tai said. "Leave the rest to me."

After saying that, Chen Tai gave Jia Chen a look.

Jia Chen followed Chen Tai out.

"Jia Chen, could you tell me some more details?" Chen Tai called Jia Chen aside to continue asking about the circumstances at the time.

Jia Chen could only recount the events again, this time in greater detail than before, including some specific details, which Chen Tai would then interject with questions about.

"Can you tell if those horses are from the army?" Chen Tai asked.

"Your Excellency, we cannot confirm whether these are horses from the army," Jia Chen replied.

They had already checked these.

Moreover, if it really was done by people from the Xuanfu garrison, they wouldn't be foolish enough to use their own warhorses.

"Providing those bandits with five or six hundred horses, what a grand gesture," Chen Tai said coldly.

He could basically conclude that the Xuanfu Garrison Commander's Office was likely involved.

There's not much evidence yet, and even if we investigate further, we probably won't find anything.

The bandits had no idea who was behind them.

As for that so-called Master Du, we can check him out, but we don't know if Master Du's surname is really Du or if he's a fake.

In short, it's extremely difficult to find out the truth about this matter.

Although he reassured Hu Youcai, the final outcome will likely be unresolved.

At most, the imperial court would reprimand the Xuanfu Town authorities, but there would be no real punishment.

After all, Hu Youcai was still alive, so it wouldn't warrant such a major mobilization of the emperor.

"Let's not talk about that now," Chen Tai sighed. "Jia Chen, you killed over five hundred people, and not a single one of yourselves died?"

"Yes, Lord," Jia Chen said, "but three people were injured."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tai was speechless, but more than that, he was amazed.

The three injured people Jia Chen mentioned were just those who tripped over rocks and twisted their ankles while rushing down the hillside in pursuit. It was nothing compared to what Jia Chen had done.

"Jia Chen, is this firearm really that powerful?" Chen Tai asked.

Judging from this battle, Jia Chen relied entirely on firearms such as muskets and three-barreled guns, and never engaged in close combat with the enemy.

"This?" Jia Chen thought for a moment and said, "My lord, actually, the situation was special this time. They were in a hurry to kill, so they had no choice but to charge forward. If they were just some bandits who only wanted to rob money, they could have retreated when they realized that things were not going well. I couldn't have killed that many people. Also, reloading firearms after firing is very tedious and troublesome. I had the advantage of terrain at the time, with my back against the cliff and no fear of being attacked from behind. In addition, I used some stones to slow down their advance, which gave the firearms team a chance to continue firing."

It could be said that luck played a large part in this, and that the band of thieves didn't dare to take the risk. If they had charged in from the start, with over six hundred men, I'm afraid my subordinate and Eunuch Hu wouldn't have made it back.

Chen Tai nodded.

Jia Chen's resounding victory this time was indeed due to a combination of various reasons.

The enemy's retreat and various delays were fatal mistakes.

Of course, no matter what, it cannot be denied that Jia Chen's calm judgment and proper command enabled him to return safely.

The matter of firearms is not so simple.

In other words, Jia Chen is currently able to befriend and utilize these people. If he were to actually send his men to use muskets or three-barreled guns, it would probably be worse than using swords.

Chen Tai didn't think much of it.

"Jia Chen, you have done a great service by protecting Eunuch Hu with your lives. I will report this truthfully to the court and request commendation for you," Chen Tai said with a smile.

Although protecting Hu Youcai was Jia Chen and the others' job, it was absolutely necessary for them to escape unscathed from so many enemies and report back to the court.

He already knew that the emperor had bestowed another reward upon Jia Chen.

It is clear that the emperor thought highly of Jia Chen.

Since the emperor favors Jia Chen, Jia Chen's outstanding performance only further demonstrates the emperor's discerning eye and that he has not misjudged the person.

Therefore, this matter deserves special mention.

To fight 600 cavalrymen with only 80 men, killing more than 500, with no one on either side dying, is no exaggeration to call it a miracle.

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Jia Chen said. "Your Excellency, I have a request."

"Just say what you want to say." Although Hu Youcai's matter annoyed him somewhat, he was still quite satisfied with Jia Chen.

"My lord, Juqiang Fort is short of horses. I would like to select some from the horses captured this time. I hope you will grant my request," Jia Chen said.

"Haha~~" Chen Tai laughed loudly, "No problem, no problem. I'll just talk to Eunuch Hu about it. Besides, these horses were all captured by you. Even if you go to Eunuch Hu about this, he'll give them to you."

"We should report this to the Lord," Jia Chen said respectfully.

Chen Tai nodded.

Although he knew that Jia Chen and Hu Youcai had a close relationship, he didn't have too many thoughts about it.

After all, Jia Chen knew Hu Youcai first.

He and Hu Youcai are now in the same boat, so there won't be any conflicts over these matters.

Jia Chen's humble attitude towards himself is very good.

Despite his young age, he is quite worldly-wise.

"Actually, I was also thinking that Lord Ye of Zhenqiang Fort should also increase his number of warhorses," Jia Chen added.

Chen Tai was surprised; he hadn't expected Jia Chen to ask Ye Fandong for a warhorse.

Of course, he also knew that Ye Fandong and Jia Chen's relationship was quite good now.

"This is not a matter of personal interest. I believe that if the three cities of Juqiang Fort, Zhenqiang Fort, and Qianshan Fort, which are jointly defended, do not have enough mobile forces, they may not be able to provide mutual support and exchange information in case of an enemy attack," Jia Chen added.

"That makes sense." Chen Tai nodded. "Alright, I will consider giving you more warhorses, including those for Qianshan Fortress."

The rest of the warhorses are mine.

Jia Chen smiled; that was natural.

It's impossible for Ye Fandong and I to feed over four hundred horses; raising horses is too expensive and requires too much feed.

Hu Youcai was the garrison eunuch, so he had no use for these horses. Most of the horses naturally ended up in Chen Tai's hands.

Jia Chen and his men are currently mainly focused on defending the city, and only need to be equipped with a small number of warhorses as a mobile force for emergencies.