The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

As he spoke, Hu Youcai's face showed deep heartache.

He knew all too well that it would be incredibly difficult for these border towns to actually behead the northern barbarians.

Although every year there were reports to the court saying how many northern barbarians had been killed, he knew that there was a lot of exaggeration in those reports.

The officials in the imperial court weren't actually unaware; they were just pretending to be deaf and dumb.

Hu Youcai was too lazy to talk about all the dirty deeds involved.

"Father-in-law, it's no pity, there are only a few, it doesn't matter," Liu Daniu said.

"What do you know, kid? What do you mean by 'just a few grains'? That's a huge achievement!" Hu Youcai glared at Liu Daniu.

Liu Daniu involuntarily shrank back, frightened by Hu Youcai's expression.

He had never met any important figures before. Although the man in front of him was a eunuch, he was also a military supervisor of the Beijing Garrison. He had never heard of such an important figure before, let alone seen him in person. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Father-in-law, the situation at the time did not allow it," Jia Chen said.

"I know, I know, it's just a pity. It's so rare to kill a Northern barbarian, but we can't bring back his head," Hu Youcai said with a regretful expression. "Otherwise, I could have better recommended you for credit."

Jia Chen and the others saved them, but it's not something I can easily mention to my superiors as credit for that.

In that case, Hu Youcai would have a hard time explaining how he ended up in the hands of the Northern Barbarians.

Hu Youcai was grateful to Jia Chen and the others for saving his life.

For him, it was too easy to record a credit for Jia Chen and the others.

Especially since Jia Chen and his men had genuinely killed the Northern Tartars, their heads couldn't be faked, and they weren't afraid of being investigated by their superiors.

"Father-in-law, it was all thanks to your wise guidance that Qianshandun was able to achieve such a great victory," Jia Chen said immediately.

Hu Youcai smiled, thinking to himself that this kid knew how to flatter.

Even if the northern barbarians are difficult to kill, two heads can hardly be considered a great victory.

Although it was a remarkable military achievement for Jia Chen and his men, he, as the dignified supervisor of the Beijing Garrison, wouldn't care about two heads and wouldn't share their credit.

"A great victory, indeed. Compared to other fortresses and watchtowers, you have truly achieved a great victory." Hu Youcai still praised Jia Chen.

The northern barbarians' southward invasion must have caused heavy losses to Datong Town, as can be seen from the escorting convoy here.

Having two heads on a single beacon tower is indeed a pretty good victory.

Everything needs to be compared.

Jia Chen could tell that Hu Youcai wasn't too interested in the two heads.

This is human nature.

"Father-in-law, we killed nearly a hundred enemies and wounded several hundred at Qianshandun, and obtained 55 heads," Jia Chen said.

"Huh?" Hu Youcai was taken aback. "Jia Chen, you're not joking with us, are you? 55 people? It's 5, isn't it?"

If we include the Northern barbarian cavalry that Jia Chen and his men just killed, there are at least five of them.

"Father-in-law, we have all the heads, 55 in total. You can count them," Liu Daniu said hurriedly, somewhat agitated as he saw that Hu Youcai didn't believe him.

"Father-in-law, please look over there." Jia Chen said, pointing to the base of a parapet on the top of the mound before Hu Youcai could speak.

The corner was covered with a layer of tarpaulin, so Hu Youcai couldn't see what was underneath.

Liu Daniu ran over quickly and lifted the tarpaulin.

"Huh?" Hu Youcai exclaimed again.

Below were human heads, all of them shriveled up.

He had heard that the army used various methods to dehydrate the heads of the northern barbarians in order to prevent them from rotting.

This was the first time he had ever seen it.

Hu Youcai was no longer so afraid of dead heads, and quickly walked to the foot of the wall.

He could tell that these were indeed the heads of the Northern Barbarians, whose appearance and hairstyles were very different from those of the people of the Great Hong Dynasty.

Given the conditions here at Jia Chen's place, it would be impossible to fake it even if they wanted to.

"How can there be so many Northern barbarian heads?" Hu Youcai was a little confused; the number was simply too many.

Is this something a small platform can do?

In the past, this number of heads would have been obtained only with the mobilization of at least several thousand people and a major victory.

"My lord, we have already fought several battles with the Northern barbarians before this."

Jia Chen recounted the events that had occurred in detail.

Hu Youcai's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened, his heart pounding with excitement, as if he himself were guarding the front beacon tower and sneaking into the camp...

Putting aside the fact that he was certain these heads were real, there was also the evidence Jia Chen mentioned about the warhorses.

If Jia Chen and his men hadn't won such a great victory, how could they have obtained the Northern Barbarians' warhorses?

It's such a pity that more than half of the warhorses were killed or wounded.

Even so, there are still more than twenty warhorses at Qianshandun, which is also a military achievement.

Hu Youcai's heart was pounding, and his face flushed with excitement.

He could have been indifferent to the merit of taking three or five enemy heads, but now, with 55 enemy heads, hundreds wounded, and captured warhorses, he could no longer remain indifferent.

"Jia Chen, we weren't here when you were fighting the Northern Barbarians," Hu Youcai said after a moment's hesitation.

"Your Excellency was concerned about the troops outside the palace and came to inspect and visit them personally. Unexpectedly, the Chahar tribe marched south. It was only because Your Excellency led us to resolutely resist them that we achieved such a great victory," Jia Chen said without hesitation.

He had already prepared a reason for Hu Youcai.

How did Hu Youcai end up here?

It certainly can't be said that he was captured by the Northern barbarians and then rescued by himself.

Since he wanted to get in touch with Hu Youcai, Jia Chen knew very well that besides saving Hu Youcai, he also owed some credit to Hu Youcai.

He should even get the lion's share of the credit.

Even if everyone is somewhat unwilling to accept this, there's nothing they can do about it.

If we don't do this, we might not be able to keep such great military achievements.

Hu Youcai's breathing became unusually rapid.

He certainly wanted the credit, but he didn't expect Jia Chen to be so understanding.

"Jia Chen, you...you can bear to part with him?" Hu Youcai asked, taking a deep breath.

"Father-in-law, to be honest, if you weren't here, we probably wouldn't dare to report 55 heads. Even if we reported 10, we were afraid that we wouldn't get any credit in the end," Jia Chen said with a wry smile.

Hu Youcai understood Jia Chen's meaning; such things were all too common in the military.

"Good, very good." Hu Youcai laughed loudly. "Jia Chen, we've all seen your valiant fighting, and you'll certainly receive your due credit. So, what about these heads and warhorses?"

"I'll leave everything to your father-in-law," Jia Chen replied immediately.

Hu Youcai patted Jia Chen on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I appreciate your kindness. Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly."

It has to be said that Jia Chen gave him a very generous gift.

He originally thought that even if he was rescued, he would probably be held accountable when he returned, and his fate might be quite tragic.

Unexpectedly, their luck turned around, and they ran into Jia Chen and his group.

This incredible achievement just fell right on his head.

Since Jia Chen was a member of the Jia family, Hu Youcai was willing to take some care of him.

Because his adoptive father, Dai Quan, had a past relationship with the Jia family, and because Jia Chen was genuinely giving him benefits this time.

Jia Chen expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

He can only trust Hu Youcai now. If Hu Youcai takes all the credit, then the rest of them probably have no recourse.

Compared to Hu Youcai, people from Datong Town are even less trustworthy.

After all, Hu Youcai was from the Beijing Garrison, so he was considered one of their own.