The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Jia Chen and the others were already waiting in front of the front hill mound.

He stood beside Hu Youcai.

The reason for hiding the heads was mainly to prevent the border troops of Datong from fighting over them.

Jia Chen and Hu Youcai didn't know if any of the people coming were from the Beijing Garrison.

If there were no troops from the Beijing Garrison, they were all border troops.

Once they discover the 55 heads of the Northern Barbarians, even with Hu Youcai around, it's unlikely they can save many heads.

So the two agreed to hide the head first and wait until the Beijing garrison arrived.

Jia Chen had already instructed the others to keep the matter of the heads a secret.

As for the warhorses, these cannot be hidden or concealed; we will simply admit that they were seized from the northern barbarians.

Jia Chen and his men agreed on how they seized the goods: they took advantage of the Northern barbarians' unpreparedness and raided their camp.

"Who is the leader? Come out and answer!" The three border soldiers who came over shouted loudly from ten paces away when they saw Jia Chen and the others.

They dared not approach. Although the northern barbarians had retreated, this watchtower seemed a bit strange. Why were there so many people here?

Maintaining distance before understanding the situation is also a way to ensure your own safety.

"Jia Chen from Qianshandun, may I ask which unit you belong to?" Jia Chen stepped forward and asked loudly.

"Hmph, we're from Victory Fortress," the man sneered.

Clearly, he looked down on Jia Chen, a soldier who was like a fire-breasted soldier.

After all, they were from Desheng Fort, the fortress where the Vice Commander of the Northeast Route was located. Their army was directly under the command of the Vice Commander, so their status and position in the Northeast Route were naturally the highest.

He also wanted to ask what was going on at Qianshandun and why there were so many people there.

At this moment, Jia Chen said, "Eunuch Hu, the supervisor of the Beijing Garrison, is here. Please go back and report to him."

"Eunuch Hu?" The man was taken aback. "Nonsense, utter nonsense! How could Eunuch Hu be here?"

He certainly knew about the Beijing Garrison Supervisor.

He had seen the guerrilla general and the supervising officer of the Beijing garrison rotating through Desheng Fort a few times from afar.

"Why can't our home be here?" Hu Youcai said in a deep voice.

The man was surprised for a moment. He looked Hu Youcai up and down for a while and confirmed it was true.

It really is Eunuch Hu. Although I had seen him from afar before, I could still make out his features. There's no mistake.

He hadn't noticed it just now, because the current Eunuch Hu looked quite different from the one he had seen at Desheng Fort.

"Your humble servants greet you, Your Excellency." The three hurriedly dismounted and bowed to Hu Youcai.

"I'm asking you, did the Beijing garrison accompany you here?" Hu Youcai asked casually.

He felt a little apprehensive.

Without the support of the Beijing Garrison, he lacked confidence.

Especially since it involves those heads and those military achievements.

If the people from the Beijing garrison are not here, he needs to have someone find Liu Tianwang as soon as possible.

"Yes, Lord Liu is leading five hundred men to pursue the Northern barbarians with the Assistant General," the leader hurriedly said. "I will report immediately, Your Excellency, please wait a moment."

The three immediately rode back at full speed.

Hu Youcai's appearance here was quite unexpected for them.

They didn't care why Hu Youcai was there; all they needed to do was report the situation, and the rest was up to the higher-ups.

"Father-in-law, the guerrilla commander is here too, that's wonderful." Jia Chen whispered after the three returned.

"Hmph, Liu Tianwang did arrive just in time this time," Hu Youcai snorted.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

With Liu Tianwang's men there, even if there are only five hundred of them, I believe the people in Datong Town won't directly try to steal their heads and military merits.

"Father-in-law, what about the head?" Jia Chen asked.

"We'll tell them when they get here," Hu Youcai said. "Jia Chen, don't worry, you won't be shortchanged on your contributions."

Jia Chen smiled and said nothing more.

These heads will definitely be divided with Datong Town. As for how to divide them, that will depend on Hu Youcai and Liu Tianwang to negotiate with Datong Town.

In this way, they themselves can share in the credit.

Jia Chen was satisfied with having made a contribution.

People's words carry little weight; if someone above gives you a little something, you should be grateful.

Even if you earned all these credits by risking your life.

This is reality, and it's incredibly harsh.

With merit and some rewards, life will be better when we return to the capital.

Jia Chen didn't dare to think about anything else.

Upon hearing the report, Chen Tai, the deputy commander of the Beidong Road, and Liu Tianwang, the guerrilla general of the Beijing garrison, looked on with suspicion.

They were also puzzled by Hu Youcai's appearance at Qianshandun.

After confirming it several times, they decided to go there in person.

Although he was a eunuch, he was also a military supervisor, holding a special status.

Chen Tai and Liu Tianwang soon arrived at the front of the mountain mound.

Chen Tainian was about fifty years old, not very tall, and wore a full suit of armor and a red cloak. As a military officer, he was the highest commander here.

Liu Tianwang was in his early thirties, also dressed in armor. As a guerrilla general, he was definitely considered young for his age.

Behind them followed some guerrillas, garrison commanders, and soldiers from the Beijing garrison.

When Liu Tianwang arrived, he saw Hu Youcai from afar; the eunuch was indeed there.

"Huh... why is Eunuch Hu here?" Chen Tai asked curiously after the three met.

He almost didn't recognize Hu Youcai just now, because Hu Youcai looked rather disheveled.

His clothes were torn and covered in mud, and his hair was a mess.

He was a completely different person from when he was in Deshengbao.

"It's a long story," Hu Youcai sighed. "A few days ago, I was thinking about how hard it was for the soldiers guarding the border, especially those at the outer beacon towers, who were in a very dangerous situation. So I came to inspect and visit them, wanting to reward them. But I never expected that the northern barbarians would come south and I would be trapped at the front beacon tower."

Hu Youcai's words left Chen Tai, Liu Tianwang, and the others looking at each other in bewilderment.

They didn't believe what Hu Youcai said; they thought Hu Youcai was just a eunuch who was afraid of death.

Normally, they wouldn't dare to leave the fortress, and even if they did, they would have to be accompanied by a lot of soldiers for protection.

He had the audacity to travel dozens of miles outside the Great Wall to inspect and visit the beacon tower.

But Hu Youcai was indeed there, leaving them somewhat bewildered.

"You truly care about your soldiers, Father-in-law," Chen Tai said with a smile.

He doesn't want to dwell on this matter any longer. He believes that an investigation will reveal the truth about Hu Youcai's situation.

"General, what about those horses?" A guard behind Chen Tai pointed to the horse pen at the foot of the watchtower, where there were twenty or thirty horses.

They all have a good eye; they can tell at a glance that these are fine horses from the grasslands.

Chen Tai had actually seen it when he arrived, but hadn't had a chance to ask about it yet.

"Eunuch Hu, what exactly happened?" Chen Tai stared at Hu Youcai.

Hu Youcai laughed and said, "It was taken from the Northern barbarians."

"Could they be the guards from the fortified hill?" Chen Tai couldn't help but ask curiously.

He had already heard some information from his subordinates about the situation at Qian Shan Dun. There weren't that many soldiers at Qian Shan Dun; this included the soldiers at the other surrounding beacon towers.

Hu Youcai may have brought some people with him.

This is assuming that Hu Youcai came to inspect and reward people, which is true.

Even so, there were still too few people here. How could they possibly seize so many warhorses from the Northern barbarians with just a few dozen people?

They saw that there were still many horse carcasses lying there, probably no fewer than fifty warhorses in total.