The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chen Tai felt a little disappointed.

Even with five more heads, it still didn't reach ten.

However, he quickly made a self-deprecating joke.

There are only three heads on the entire North East Road, and I was hoping that this small platform could hold a lot more.

There are five here, more than all the others combined. What more could I possibly want?

"Five heads are quite a lot," Liu Tianwang sighed.

With these heads and warhorses, the Beijing garrison's contribution is quite remarkable.

They were not local border troops; they were there to assist in defense.

Therefore, the responsibilities they bear are relatively light.

Local border troops like Chen Tai bear the primary responsibility for this raid by the northern barbarians.

Even if all five heads were given to Beidonglu, this small contribution would not be enough to offset his crimes; it would only lessen his punishment.

Of course, Liu Tianwang knew very well that these border troops would exaggerate their achievements and fabricate some Northern barbarian heads to make up the numbers.

The imperial court mostly punished or dismissed some unimportant people from their official positions, while the rest probably just faded away in the end.

In the past, this was pretty much how we dealt with raids by the Northern Barbarians or the Later Jin.

Hu Youcai was very satisfied with their reaction and laughed, "In this great victory at Qianshandun, we wounded hundreds of enemies, killed nearly a hundred, and captured 55 heads of the northern barbarians."

Upon hearing Hu Youcai's words, Chen Tai and Liu Tianwang's eyes widened in surprise.

They all wondered if they had misheard.

"No doubt about it, it's 55." Hu Youcai emphasized again.

He wasn't surprised at all by their reactions.

Wasn't I the same way back then?

It's truly astonishing. Who could have imagined that the achievements of a single beacon tower would be so extraordinary?

Even counterfeiters wouldn't dare to go this far.

Hu Youcai gestured to Jia Chen, who immediately went into the small hut on the mound and quickly brought out three baskets covered with tarpaulins.

In front of the group, Jia Chen lifted the oilcloth.

When Chen Tai and Liu Tianwang saw the human head in the basket, they couldn't help but gasp.

Unlike Hu Youcai, who was startled upon seeing the human head, the two immediately approached and carefully examined its authenticity.

Most of the heads here are shriveled, clearly indicating that they have been processed.

Some of them were still covered in blood; they were fresh, obviously just cut off, and had not been treated.

Chen Tai had excellent eyesight; he had dealt with the Northern Barbarians for countless years, and he could tell at a glance that it was a genuine Northern Barbarian head.

"Unbelievable," Chen Tai said, putting down a shriveled fruit.

The same applies to Liu Tianwang.

He had previously served in the Beijing garrison, but he still had some understanding of the situation in the border towns.

When the border troops truly fought against the northern barbarians, it took at least several men working together to kill one of them.

In reality, the situation was likely even worse; a few northern barbarians could easily overwhelm a dozen or twenty border troops.

Because the border troops dared not fight the northern barbarians to the death, and they were also suffering from hunger, cold, and inferior weapons.

In short, killing the Northern barbarians and obtaining their heads would be extremely difficult.

Even if the soldiers on the surrounding watchtowers were gathered together, there would only be twenty or thirty men on the front mountain watchtower. They couldn't imagine how Jia Chen and his men had managed to do it.

"Jia~~" Chen Tai looked at Jia Chen, but couldn't remember the name for a moment.

"Jia Chen," Hu Youcai reminded him.

"Jia Chen, tell me, what exactly happened? How did you manage to do this?" Chen Tai looked at Jia Chen with a complicated expression.

How come such a young man isn't from Datong Town?

Given the current situation, it's probably going to be difficult for them to claim all the credit, or even get the lion's share.

However, he understood why Hu Youcai was showing him these things.

Hu Youcai was willing to share the credit.

That's good. I was worried that the Beijing garrison would try to monopolize the spoils, which would be troublesome.

As things stand, we can discuss things slowly later.

Jia Chen did not hesitate and gave a detailed account of the battles with the Northern Barbarians over the past few days.

"Good, good! You have fought bravely against the enemy. I will personally recommend you for commendation." Chen Tai was very moved after hearing this.

He could imagine the scene; it was terrifying.

If things go wrong, Jia Chen and his men will be completely wiped out.

"It was only under the wise command of you gentlemen that we were able to defeat the Northern Tartars," Jia Chen said.

Jia Chen's words startled Chen Tai, who couldn't help but look at Hu Youcai.

Hu Youcai smiled slightly and said, "That's exactly right."

Chen Tai's eyes lit up.

He hadn't expected Hu Youcai to be so generous, not only giving him a share of the manpower but also offering him even more credit.

"We admire your courage in facing the northern barbarians and personally visiting the front beacon tower. We'd like to discuss how to report this matter later," Chen Tai said calmly. "Sir, how should we distribute the heads and warhorses? Shouldn't we think about that first?"

"I have no objection," Liu Tianwang said immediately when he saw Hu Youcai looking at him.

This time, he really got the better of Hu Youcai.

It's rare that I find this eunuch pleasing to the eye.

Jia Chen did not stay on the top of the beacon tower, and he was no longer qualified to participate in how the three of them distributed the merits, such as the distribution of heads.

However, Hu Youcai had assured him that he would definitely leave at least ten heads for Qianshandun.

Jia Chen could only trust Hu Youcai and wait for the final result.

When Emubu saw Jia Chen come down, he walked over with a smile.

He had just met Chen Tai; he knew Chen Tai because he had visited Ma City many times.

With the arrival of the border troops in Datong, he knew he was truly safe. The Chahar troops had returned north, and he would be able to go back soon.

"Chief Jiadun, these cattle and sheep are a gift to all the soldiers," said Emubu.

"Omubutaiji?" Jia Chen was taken aback.

These cattle and sheep were originally brought to the horse market by Emubu to exchange for goods from the Dahong Dynasty, and they were of considerable value.

"Jia Duntou, do you think I can still take these cattle and sheep with me?" Emubu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Jia Chen fell silent.

He didn't intend to seize all the cattle and sheep, but now that the border troops were here, the ownership of these cattle and sheep was not something they could decide.

Even Omubu, the nephew of the Prince of Shunyi, probably couldn't stop it.

"But I won't lose out this time either; I'll actually make a big profit," Omubu said in a low voice. "Chief Jia, I'll be back as soon as I get back, and you'll get your share of the silver."

"Alright, then thank you very much, Taiji. I will report this to Eunuch Hu and the other officials later. I believe they will also appreciate Taiji's generosity," Jia Chen said with a smile.

Yes, and the goods from the Sun family's caravan.

Even if Emubu lost these cattle and sheep, he could still make a profit by exchanging 2000 taels for the caravan's goods.

The area around Qianshandun was bustling with activity as Sun Tiechong and others were busy cooking.

When the northern barbarians attacked before, most of their cattle, sheep, and horses were killed or wounded.

I was worried that with so many dying at once, they would rot before we could eat them all.

Although salting can preserve meat for longer, and we obtained a lot of salt from the caravan, it was still far from enough to cure the meat.

With several thousand people here now, there's no fear of not being able to eat or wasting food.

Before long, Jia Chen saw Hu Youcai and the other two laughing as they came down from the platform.

It seems that the three men's negotiations went smoothly and they should have reached an agreement on how to distribute the military merits.

Jia Chen immediately went to greet him.