The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 125 Sweeping Away the Trap

Xu Changshan smiled at Jia Chen.

He understood what Jia Chen meant.

His presence in Datong Prefecture made many people feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

As long as I'm here, they can't be too unrestrained.

No matter what dirty and despicable means they used before, he would persist for the sake of the people and for some of his own convictions.

It would certainly make many people happy if someone asked them to leave Datong Prefecture.

"What can an old man like me do at the Fortress?" Xu Changshan asked with a smile.

"That's right," Jia Chen said. "Too many soldiers at Juqiang Fort are illiterate, so I thought that since Xu Gong is so learned and can teach children to read, he should be able to teach them as well."

Xu Changshan fell silent.

To be honest, he wasn't interested in Jia Chen's so-called teaching of soldiers to read.

Now, all he has left is to use his remaining years to fight for some benefits for the people, so that their lives won't be so difficult.

Even if his strength is insignificant, he wants to persevere.

"Master Xu, I know why you want to stay here, but can you really change anything here?" Jia Chen continued.

"The old lady's words carry little weight and cannot change anything, but if nothing is done, there is even less possibility of change," Xu Changshan said in a deep voice.

Jia Chen sighed inwardly, realizing that some of these officials did have noble ideals; not all of them were corrupt officials, and there were indeed upright officials.

Xu Changshan is probably one of them. He always has his own principles, and he will persevere no matter how difficult it is.

Judging from his actions over the years, Xu Changshan has indeed put these things into practice and is fighting against the powerful and influential people in Datong Prefecture.

"I think you'd be better able to achieve what you're looking for by going to the Fortress," Jia Chen said.

"What makes you say that?" Xu Changshan asked.

He did become somewhat interested in Jia Chen.

Of course, he was also a little curious about Jia Chen, after all, he had such military achievements at such a young age, and all of them were recognized by everyone, and the heads of the Northern barbarians were genuine.

Therefore, he was willing to talk to Jia Chen.

Otherwise, he wouldn't want to bother with anyone else.

"If the border is pacified and there is no more war, is that what Lord Xu would like to see?" Jia Chen asked.

"Of course, it would be a blessing for the world if the people were no longer ravaged by war and could live in peace and prosperity," Xu Changshan nodded.

"I, Jia Chen, am not talented, but I wish to repel the Northern barbarians as much as possible, protect the border, and perhaps one day even sweep them away completely and resolve the border threat from the Northern barbarians," Jia Chen said firmly, staring at Xu Changshan.

Xu Changshan took a deep breath; he could feel Jia Chen's unwavering determination.

He had met many military generals, but none of them had such ambition.

In his view, the military officers in the border towns, whether they were deputy generals or commanders-in-chief, were all just getting by, hoping that the northern barbarians would not go south. If they really did go south, they would pray to God that they would plunder enough and then return north.

I never thought of completely eliminating the Northern Barbarians.

The Great Hong Army has completely lost the indomitable spirit and fighting spirit it had in the early days of its founding.

"Such arrogance," Xu Changshan said with a faint smile. "Young man, you need to be down-to-earth and avoid being overly ambitious. I know you've won a few battles, but you shouldn't be too proud."

"Master Xu, Jia Chen only sets this as his goal; he dares not say he can achieve it. Just as Master Xu said, if we do nothing, there is even less possibility of change," Jia Chen said.

Xu Changshan smiled. He hadn't expected this kid to use his own words to shut himself up. That was interesting.

"So what do you want to do?" Xu Changshan took a breath and chuckled.

"So I would like to invite Lord Xu to Juqiang Fortress," Jia Chen replied.

"I don't understand. What does this have to do with me teaching the soldiers to read?" Xu Changshan asked, putting down his teacup, somewhat puzzled.

"This is extremely important," Jia Chen said immediately. "Master Xu, please let me explain in detail—"

Jia Chen recounted the importance of literacy for the soldiers below him.

Xu Changshan was somewhat confused, as he was not very familiar with military affairs.

However, having had some contact with him, I vaguely felt that Jia Chen's statement made some sense.

If the soldiers were literate, they would be able to better understand the orders given, comprehend military texts, and naturally be more adept at fighting the enemy.

"Master Xu, I heard that your situation in the city is not very optimistic. Many of the children you teach are afraid to come. Their parents must have been threatened, right?" Jia Chen said. "In that case, why not come to Juqiang Fort and give it a try? If Master Xu ever finds Jia Chen's words useless, you can always come back to Datong Prefecture City."

Xu Changshan reached out and gently stroked his beard, his mind replaying Jia Chen's words.

I have to say, there's some truth to what that kid said.

Recently, the other side has clearly increased its threats to those around him, and he doesn't want them to be affected.

"Very well, then I'll go and take a look around the Fortress. But let me make this clear: if I find anything different from what you've said, don't get angry," Xu Changshan said.

Perhaps going out for a walk would be good; it could change my mood.

Of course, the most important thing is that even a skilled cook can't cook without rice.

Those guys are getting more and more despicable. If this continues, he's afraid he'll starve to death.

A true man can bend and stretch; fighting them won't be a quick affair.

"Of course, if Jia Chen does anything wrong in the future, you can criticize him more," Jia Chen said with a smile.

The other party is a big shot who has served as a vice minister.

Jia Chen's intention in bringing him to the Fortress of Resistance was not merely to have him teach and learn to read.

It would be best if you could help sort out the administration of the Fortress of Resistants.

Jia Chen was really having a headache because of all this.

Although Ma Du has already taken on a lot of responsibility for land reclamation, there are still many other things to do.

He now has to manage not only military affairs, but also all sorts of matters, big and small, within the fortified area, and he's too busy to handle them all.

There is still a shortage of people, a lack of scholars, and a lack of literate people who can manage government affairs.

"We'll talk about that later. First, bring me a pot of wine, the best kind," Xu Changshan said.

Jia Chen smiled and hurriedly told the shopkeeper to bring over the wine.

"Sir, do we need to learn to read?" a guard asked in a low voice.

"Of course, you all have to learn," Jia Chen said.

"Huh?" the guards said with bitter faces. "Sir, you might as well make us run a hundred miles every day to teach us to read. How can we sit still like this?"

"Yeah, just seeing those words gives me a headache."

The guards began to complain.

"There's no room for discussion on this. When we get back, everyone has to learn it, and you all have to take the lead," Jia Chen said in an unquestionable tone, glancing at everyone.

Upon hearing this, the guards dared not say anything more.

Although they were suffering in their hearts, they knew that once adults made up their minds, they would not change them.

The real trouble is about to begin.

However, when they thought about how Wang Baisheng and the others should set a better example, and imagined the expression on Wang Baisheng's face when he heard the news, their mood immediately improved.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jia Chen and the others followed Xu Changshan to his residence.

Looking at the dilapidated mud house that let in drafts everywhere, Jia Chen's expression was complicated.

No matter what, Xu Changshan was once the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue; those guys in Datong Prefecture went too far.

"I don't have much, just some books to take with me," Xu Changshan said.

"Go find a carriage," Jia Chen said to Wei Dao.

Jia Chen had already seen that there wasn't much in the room, except for quite a few books.

The next day, Jia Chen and his party left Datong Prefecture.

They acquired a total of 50 horses this time, adding to the 10 they already had, bringing their total warhorse count at Qianshan Fort and Juqiang Fort to 60.

When Ye Fandong left Juqiangbao, he took all the horses with him.

Jia Chen didn't blame Ye Fandong, because with Wei Ya's death, all the horses originally owned by Zhenqiang Fort were transferred away by Liu Tianwang.

Chen Tai stated that 30 more warhorses would be added to Ye Fandong's Zhenqiang Fort.

For Jia Chen, the number of warhorses was sufficient.

Adding more burdens is a bit too much and may not necessarily be a good thing.

Chen Tai soon learned from his subordinates that Xu Changshan had also left with Jia Chen.

This surprised him somewhat.

He didn't know how Jia Chen got mixed up with that stubborn old man Xu Changshan.

Chen Tai didn't have any objections to Xu Changshan; in fact, he quite admired Xu Changshan.

While he admired Xu Changshan, he did not approve of some of his actions.

Chen Tai is now a little worried that Xu Changshan's arrival at Juqiangbao might affect Jia Chen.

Of course, the main concern was whether Xu Changshan would affect Jia Chen's chances of making meritorious contributions.

"Teaching literacy?" Chen Tai received confirmation from his subordinates.

Jia Chen took Xu Changshan away so that he could teach the people below to read.

Chen Tai was a little confused for a moment.

However, as long as it's like this, it won't have a significant impact.

He thought that although Jia Chen was not very old, he was quite steady in his actions. Since he took Xu Changshan away, he must have his reasons. Let's wait and see.

If anything goes wrong later, I can step in and intervene myself.

Xu Changshan's departure from Datong Prefecture was not only known to Chen Tai, but also to the powerful and influential figures in the city.

In fact, they probably received the information faster.

Because they had been secretly keeping an eye on Xu Changshan's every move.

Upon learning that Xu Changshan had left with Jia Chen, everyone was overjoyed.

That would be best; it would be ideal to keep Xu Changshan in the Fortress of Resisting Walls and never let him return.

Xu Changshan's people in Datong Prefecture gave them quite a hard time.

Xu Changshan sat in the carriage; he couldn't ride a horse like Jia Chen and the others.

Besides carrying Xu Changshan's books, Jia Chen also brought a carriage to make him more comfortable while traveling.

It's about 200 li from Datong Prefecture to Juqiangbao, and it takes two days.

Jia Chen wasn't in a hurry.

If we travel at full speed, we can arrive in less than a day.

However, Jia Chen valued this Master Xu Changshan very much. Since he had finally managed to invite him, he had to keep him here and take good care of him, especially since he was getting old.

When we arrived at the Fortified Fortress, it was already dusk of the second day.

Xu Changshan suddenly heard shouts coming from soldiers training outside.

He couldn't help but lift the carriage curtain out of curiosity.

"Huh?" Upon seeing this, his face was filled with surprise.

He noticed that there were quite a few women among the soldiers training.

Although they were dressed like the male soldiers, he could still recognize them as women, and he could also tell from their shouts.

The women, holding muskets and three-barreled guns, appeared to be loading ammunition at the command of one of the women.

"Jia Chen!" Xu Changshan couldn't help but call out.

Hearing the shouts from behind, Jia Chen turned his horse around and came to the carriage.

"Master Xu, what are your orders?" Jia Chen asked.

"Where did the woman come from in the army?" Xu Changshan asked, pointing to the woman in front of him.

"There are no women in the army," Jia Chen said with a smile after glancing around.

Upon hearing this, Xu Changshan couldn't help but puff out his beard and widen his eyes. He wasn't old and blind yet, and he could still tell whether someone was a man or a woman.

Jia Chen is completely lying through his teeth.