The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"Lord Chen, don't underestimate the soldiers at Qian Shan Dun," Hu Youcai said with a smile.

Chen Tai surveyed the area around Qian Shan Dun and found traces of blood and craters left by various explosions, indicating a fierce battle had taken place there.

He believed what Hu Youcai said.

Otherwise, the origin of these warhorses cannot be explained.

It could only be that the soldiers at Qianshandun defeated the northern barbarians and captured these warhorses.

"What fine horses!" Chen Tai circled the warhorses several times, praising them. "Someone, take these horses away and feed them properly."

"Wait!" Hu Youcai and Liu Tianwang spoke almost simultaneously.

"Lord Chen, these warhorses rightfully belong to my Beijing Garrison," Hu Youcai said.

Liu Tianwang shared the same idea, and when Hu Youcai spoke, he remained silent.

Although he was the commander of the rotation training battalion, he was just a guerrilla general, and his importance in Chen Tai's heart was not as great as that of Hu Youcai.

There was nothing he could do. Regardless of whether he looked down on Hu Youcai or not, Hu Youcai came from the palace, and even Chen Tai was wary of him.

However, Hu Youcai has rendered meritorious service to their Beijing garrison this time.

Twenty-odd warhorses weren't many for the Beijing garrison, but they represented a significant achievement.

The northern barbarians marched south, burning, killing, looting, and capturing civilians.

If the local area doesn't produce any achievements to show for itself, it's likely that it will be impeached by the civil officials in the imperial court.

"Eunuch Hu, I understand now. The vast majority of them are garrison soldiers, from my Datong Town," Chen Tai said with a smile. "How many men did you bring?"

Chen Tai's meaning was clear: these garrison troops were all from Datong Town, while the troops of the Beijing Garrison were all in the fortified city. Therefore, this credit should be attributed to the Northeast Route.

Liu Tianwang's expression changed.

He realized the problem: the guards here had nothing to do with their Beijing garrison.

In other words, even if Hu Youcai brought some people, it probably wouldn't be too many.

That really is thanks to the soldiers stationed there. It's going to be difficult for the Beijing garrison to claim any credit, at least they won't have a chance to get the lion's share.

It's not easy to claim credit for something.

"Sigh~~" Hu Youcai's face showed sadness.

"Father-in-law, why is this?" Chen Tai asked, puzzled.

What is this eunuch trying to do?

"All the soldiers who came with us have died in battle," Hu Youcai said sadly. "But they fought bravely against the enemy, and we must recommend them for merit."

"Please accept my condolences, father-in-law," Chen Tai said.

That's what he said, but he was already pondering it in his heart.

They all died in battle?

There are probably not many people.

Then I can't possibly let this credit slip by.

"Jia Chen, have you come to greet these officials?" Hu Youcai called out.

Jia Chen stepped out from behind him: "Jia Chen, the head of the front mountain stronghold, greets the military commander, the guerrilla commander, and all other officials!"

"So you're the leader of the front mountain? You're quite young. Good, good, good. You're a true hero of my North East Road. Tell me, what's the story with these horses?" Chen Tai took a few steps forward, patted Jia Chen on the shoulder, and laughed loudly.

"Haha~~ Lord Chen, you're mistaken." Hu Youcai laughed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Chen Tai didn't understand the meaning behind Hu Youcai's words.

"Jia Chen is a soldier of my Beijing Garrison," Hu Youcai said.

"Really?" Liu Tianwang's eyes lit up.

"Impossible. How could someone from the Beijing Garrison be the head of the front beacon tower? Oh, I see. You appointed him, didn't you, sir?" Chen Tai said with a slight smile. "You're being unfair, sir! In the end, it was my Datong Garrison soldiers who did the work."

"Jia Chen!" Hu Youcai called out.

"General, I am the captain of the third squad of the left detachment of the left division of the rotational training battalion. I received orders a few days ago to take up the post of the head of the front beacon tower," Jia Chen said loudly. "Two other people from the third squad, Liu Cheng and Jia Mao, also came with me."

Upon hearing their names called, Liu Cheng and Jia Mao hurriedly came out to bow.

Even though Liu Cheng was a veteran in the army and had met the brigade commander, and even the general and the military governor before, he still felt a little uneasy in the face of the current situation.

Being watched by so many important figures was a completely different feeling from when I looked at those important figures from afar before.

Jia Mao, who was usually carefree, didn't dare to say much at this moment.

"Lord Chen, Jia Chen and his men's identities are verifiable," Hu Youcai said. "Their transfer to Qian Shan Dun is also recorded. Jia Chen, as the commander of Qian Shan Dun, played an indispensable role in the battle against the Northern barbarians, killing them and seizing their horses. Of course, the hard work of all the soldiers at the command post was also crucial. Jia Chen can recount the details to you gentlemen later."

Seeing Hu Youcai's smiling face, Chen Tai's face turned green.

His men from the Northeast Road behind him also looked grim.

Liu Tianwang, on the other hand, had a face full of joy.

It was such a surprise and a delight to him.

Chen Tai never expected it to end like this.

How did this young man from the Beijing Garrison end up becoming the head of the Qianshan Mound?

If that's the case, then Hu Youcai's presence here might be explained.

Hu Youcai knew Jia Chen, which is why he came to see him specifically.

But if Jia Chen is related to Hu Youcai, how could he be sent to such a dangerous place as Qianshandun?

Chen Tai's mind suddenly went blank.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of these jumbled thoughts.

He wasn't thinking about that now; his concern was for the warhorses.

"Eunuch Hu, what did you just say? Murder and stealing a horse?" Chen Tai suddenly had a thought and grasped a key point.

Having seized so many horses, it's impossible that they didn't kill any Northern barbarians, right?

The origins of these horses would be difficult to explain when superiors came to verify their merits.

You cannot provide strong evidence that these horses were seized from the Chahar tribe, as they could also have been obtained through a trade at the horse market.

The best credit should still go to the heads of the Northern barbarians.

All eyes were on Hu Youcai and Jia Chen.

"Lord Chen, may I speak with you in private?" Hu Youcai said.

"Okay, I'll listen to my father-in-law." Chen Tai knew there was definitely something going on.

"Lord Liu, please join us as well," Hu Youcai nodded and said to Liu Tianwang.

Liu Tianwang didn't say much and followed.

"Jia Chen, lead the way," Hu Youcai said with a smile to Jia Chen.

"My lords, please ascend the platform!" Jia Chen said respectfully.

Chen Tai didn't know what Hu Youcai was up to, but he felt it probably wasn't anything bad.

So, led by Jia Chen, the group climbed to the top of the mound.

Standing atop the watchtower, Chen Tai glanced around and said, "Looking out from this watchtower, it feels quite different from the area inside the Great Wall."

"Lord Chen is right," Liu Tianwang agreed.

The front beacon tower stands isolated on the outside. If it weren't for the thousands of soldiers below, its loneliness would be something that the beacon towers inside the Great Wall do not possess.

Of course, the biggest problem is still the threat from the northern barbarians; this place is even more dangerous.

"Father-in-law, can you speak now?" Chen Tai asked.

"Lord Chen, you were right. Besides these warhorses, we also killed quite a few northern barbarians," Hu Youcai said loudly without keeping anyone in suspense.

"Okay, okay, how many did you kill?" Chen Tai asked hurriedly.

He desperately needs the heads of the northern barbarians.

The northern barbarians suffered heavy losses during their southward invasion of Datong.

Needless to say, the imperial court will definitely hold him accountable.

Since most of the troops were in the city of Duntaibao and dared not go out to fight, according to the information he had received, the number of northern barbarian heads captured in the entire Datong Town was very small.

Take his position in the Northeast as an example; the number of Northern Barbarian heads he received was only level three.

Of course, the number of Northern barbarians killed was definitely more than 5, but most of their corpses were taken away by the Northern barbarians, and it was not easy to cut off their heads.

Hu Youcai stretched out his right hand, spread his five fingers, and waved them in front of everyone.

"Five people?" Chen Tai asked, taken aback.