The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"What's wrong?"

"Beacon tower, if the northern barbarians really want to march south, how can we, with our simple fortifications, possibly stop them? We can't even say we can defend the fortress!" Sun Tiechong said.

Jia Chen paused for a moment.

He certainly understands these things.

The beacon towers outside the Great Wall are really too insignificant.

"However," Sun Tiechong paused for a moment, "if possible, making some preparations might increase our chances of survival."

"Tell me in detail."

Sun Tiechong then expressed his thoughts.

After listening, Jia Chen nodded secretly.

Sun Tiechong meant to increase defensive fortifications.

Even if Sun Tiechong hadn't said it, Jia Chen had the same idea.

He wanted to go back to Beijing, but he didn't want to die here.

Now that we're here, we can't just sit here and wait to die.

There's always something to do.

When we came here, we brought kerosene, wasn't it so that we could have some security and survive better?

He still has these subordinates who can do some things.

Jia Chen was originally an archaeologist, especially knowledgeable about the history and artifacts of the Ming Dynasty.

This Great Hong Dynasty was almost identical to the Ming Dynasty. Whether it was the court system, the level of technology, or the names of some civil and military officials, Jia Chen could find them in the late Ming Dynasty.

I wonder if the officials here are like those in the Ming Dynasty—loyal when they are loyal, and treacherous when they are treacherous.

The current Great Hong Dynasty is already showing signs of the late Ming Dynasty. The court is rife with infighting and power struggles, the army's fighting capacity is collapsing, uprisings and rebellions are frequent in various places, and there are invasions from the northern barbarians and the rise of the Later Jin Tartars...

In short, this was a court that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

Jia Chen had a good understanding of the preparations needed for ancient warfare.

First, a trench must be dug around the front hill mound.

There is now a moat in front of the three mud houses, but what use is a shallow moat that is only two feet deep and three feet wide?

If the northern barbarians were to arrive, they could easily cross over with a single leap.

Sun Tiechong said that this trench was dug out reluctantly by Wang Baisheng and others under his strong insistence, and that's about the extent of it.

As for digging wider and deeper trenches, that's completely unrealistic.

It's not entirely fair to blame Wang Baisheng and the others for not putting in the effort; they were simply starving, so how could they have the energy to do such physical labor?

When Jia Chen said that building defensive fortifications around the piers could provide food for Wang Baisheng and his men, everyone's resistance lessened.

Originally, everyone here was starving.

Now that Jia Chen is available, as long as he can eat until he's about 80% full, it's only right that he does some work.

Five days later.

Jia Chen stood atop the platform, observing the movements to the north.

This is where the beacon tower is located. Someone must be on it to keep watch. Once a signal fire is received from the front, it must be sent out immediately to inform the rear fortress.

"You old codger, how dare you talk back to me? If you keep yelling, I'll sell you to the northern barbarians as a commodity!"

Suddenly, Wang Baisheng's voice came from below the platform, cursing Sun Tiechong.

Although Jia Chen gave Wang Baisheng and the others food, after these days of digging, they were somewhat unwilling.

In their view, if the northern barbarians really came south to plunder, no matter how deep or wide the trenches were dug, they would not be able to stop them; it would be a complete waste of effort.

In particular, Wang Baisheng believed that this was all a bad idea that Sun Tiechong had given Jia Chen; otherwise, why would they be digging a ditch here?

He couldn't directly target Jia Chen, so he vented his anger on Sun Tiechong.

"Hey Wang Baisheng, what are you yelling about?" Jia Mao shouted. "Don't try to slack off, dig now!"

"Brother Mao, don't accuse me wrongly, I was digging with all my might..."

Wang Baisheng is now convinced of Jia Mao's abilities.

After Wang Baisheng lost to Jia Chen, he was still not entirely convinced.

Later, Jia Mao challenged him to a match, and Wang Baisheng lost more often than he won.

This time, he can't use not having eaten enough as an excuse.

Furthermore, since Jia Mao is Jia Chen's confidant, Wang Baisheng is not someone he can afford to offend now.

Jia Chen beckoned Sun Tie to come up and take over the lookout duty for him.

Sun Tiechong was getting old and suffering from malnutrition, so his physical strength couldn't keep up, and he couldn't dig much more down there. Jia Chen still took good care of him.

"Old Sun, you keep watch here," Jia Chen said, patting the wall and speaking to Sun Tiechong, who was climbing up the rope ladder.

These five days were not just about digging trenches. Jia Chen had everyone raise and reinforce the parapet on the top of the platform, and chisel slanted firing holes on the parapet to facilitate the firing of arrows or muskets.

Some collected stones were piled on top of the platform to serve as rolling logs, which could be used to smash enemies who tried to climb it.

If it weren't for the limited space on the platform, Jia Chen would have loved to fill it to the brim.

"Boss, there's not much food left, just enough for tomorrow," Sun Tiechong called out to Jia Chen, who was about to leave the platform.

"I'll have Jia Mao go to the fortress to buy grain tomorrow. Don't worry, you won't go hungry," Jia Chen said.

The three of them originally brought more than half a month's worth of food. If they ate sparingly, and Wang Baisheng and the others ate only one meal a day, they could last for more than a month.

Now it's been distributed to Wang Baisheng and the others. Although it's not an all-you-can-eat affair, it's still a huge drain on their energy, even if they're barely full.

These guys are like reincarnated starving ghosts; they have an enormous appetite.

In five days, the food they brought was almost gone.

You need to be well-fed to work, and that's how you survive.

Jia Chen naturally wouldn't begrudge spending this small amount of money.

Previously, Liu Cheng spent one tael of silver to get kerosene, and Jia Chen and Jia Mao spent a little over one tael to buy millet, miscellaneous grains, pickled vegetables, etc.

Grain prices are rising every year, and they are especially expensive in this town.

Jia Chen decided to use the remaining two taels of silver to buy grain.

Of course, once the fortifications are almost complete, he can't afford to feed everyone every meal; he can't afford it.

He just wants to make it back to Beijing safely; once that's done, what happens here will be none of his concern.

He was just a small flag bearer, unable to change anything in this era, unable to care about others, and even ensuring his own survival was not easy.

Once we return to the capital, life will be much safer.

Although the Jia family collapsed a dozen years later, there were still at least ten years left, during which time it was not too late to make other plans.

Sun Tiechong grinned. He hadn't had a proper meal in years, and for the past few days he had been eating much better than before. The fact that they even had pickled vegetables and radishes was something they could hardly imagine.

Normally, they could only make do with some wild vegetables dug up from near the mounds, mixed with coarse grains such as sorghum and black beans. In the worst times, they even had to save the thin porridge they drank.

Because the northern barbarians frequently appeared, even when they went to dig for wild vegetables, they dared not stray too far from the watchtower. As a result, the wild vegetables in the vicinity had long been dug up.

Just as Sun Tiechong was about to say something more, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Jia Chen looked north and saw billowing smoke rising from the watchtower.

"The northern barbarians have come south! Quickly pack your things and come up!" Sun Tiechong shouted to the people below, while lighting beacon fires on the watchtower to warn the major fortresses to the south.

Wang Baisheng and his men had noticed it too, and immediately rushed to the three earthen houses, carrying some of the food and supplies inside onto the platform and putting away the rope ladder.

The earthen houses atop the watchtower contained water vats filled with water, firewood, swords, firearms, and gunpowder. Whenever the northern barbarians marched south, the watchtower soldiers could only garrison and defend from there.

Only by holding out until the Northern barbarians finish their raids and retreat can they be considered lucky enough to survive.

Dust billowed in the distance, and soon a torrent continued southward from not far from the front hill.

This was the first time Jia Chen had ever seen such a scene: thousands of troops, the earth shaking—the sheer scale of it was truly terrifying.

"It's over, it's over, it's the Chahar tribe. They usually raid in small groups, but this time it's all over..." Sun Tiechong's face turned ashen when he saw this.

The others didn't look much better either.

The northern barbarians before us are the Chahar tribe of the Later Yuan dynasty, descendants of the Golden Family.

The Chahar tribe is nominally the successor to the Later Yuan dynasty, but now other tribes have their own agendas and do not listen to the Chahar tribe's orders at all.

The leader, Ligdan Khan, was determined to unify the various tribes of the Later Yuan Dynasty and restore the glory of his ancestors; he was quite ambitious.

In recent years, they have frequently invaded the border towns of Da Hong Chao from the south.

Xuanfu Town and Datong Town, in particular, were the main targets of the Chahar tribe's plundering.

Although the northern barbarians have frequently raided southwards in recent years, their actions have not been particularly large, and their numbers have not been numerous.

Just now, Jia Chen and his group alone had several thousand cavalrymen on their route.

Whenever the northern barbarians marched south, especially on a large scale, they could not possibly march in only one direction.

This is a major disaster for the border town.

"Be on guard!" Jia Chen shouted.

The Northern barbarians will definitely have reinforcements.

The main force headed south, while a small number of troops followed to clear out beacon towers like Qianshandun.

"Damn it, if only I had a little more time," Jia Chen cursed inwardly as he looked down at the trench, which was less than halfway dug.

If given another ten days or so, I believe this trench should come in handy.

The width and depth currently have very limited effect.

Sure enough, half a day later, Jia Chen saw more Northern barbarian troops coming from the north.

"Strange, a convoy? And cattle and sheep?" Zhao Zheng squinted and whispered.

He was a night watchman and had good eyesight.

Jia Chen noticed it too.

The northern barbarians always came south on cavalry, and it was common for one person to have multiple horses. They never came with horse-drawn carts and herding cattle and sheep to plunder.

If they were to bring these with them, it would be after the looting was over, and then they would use vehicles to transport the looted goods back.

"And...those are people captured by the Northern barbarians!" Liu Daniu shouted.

As everyone noticed, there were not only some vehicles and cattle and sheep, but also some Da Hong Dynasty soldiers with their hands and feet tied.

"They should be from the northern beacon tower; they were captured. The others are probably from a merchant caravan who just happened to run into the northern barbarians marching south," Sun Tiechong sighed.

Jia Chen understood that there were several more fire-receiving mounds further north than them, and the northern barbarians were moving from north to south, with those in the north suffering the consequences first.

There were about twenty captured soldiers. Although they were quite far away, their clothing was still recognizable.

There were also several dozen others, whose attire and appearance were clearly different from those of the guards.

Jia Chen agreed with Sun Tiechong's statement that those people should be from the caravan.

This makes sense; the carriages and cattle/sheep were most likely from this caravan.

The Great Hong Dynasty strictly prohibited private trade between the people and the various tribes of the Later Yuan Dynasty, but for the sake of money, many merchants still took the risk.

This caravan was unlucky; it happened to run into the Chahar tribe heading south, and their goods were naturally looted.

There were probably a hundred or so Northern barbarians escorting this group.

Before Jia Chen and the others could think further, fifty or sixty riders from that group immediately charged toward the front hill beacon.

"Listen up, you people up here! Come down here obediently, or we'll spare your lives!" A Northern barbarian with a strange Han accent shouted at Jia Chen and the others.

Upon hearing this, Jia Chen snorted coldly.

Wang Baisheng's face was contorted with rage as he cursed at the Northern barbarians below: "Go to hell, you Northern barbarians! If you have the guts, come at me! I'll twist your heads off and use them as chamber pots..."

Wang Baisheng got more and more into cursing.

The others joined in the cursing.

Everyone knew in their hearts that if they went down to surrender, their fate would be tragic.

Faced with the insults from Wang Baisheng and the others, the Northern barbarian also retorted a few times, and continued to make harsh threats.

Jia Chen's face darkened, and he removed the horn bow from his back.

Draw the bow and nock the arrow.

"Duntou, you're too far away, you can't shoot him," Wang Baisheng noticed Jia Chen's actions and couldn't help but remind him.

The Northern barbarians who shouted were clearly very experienced, stopping about eighty paces away, which is about one hundred and twenty meters.

Even if some of the soldiers in the border towns of the Great Hong Dynasty were skilled archers, their effective range was generally only about fifty or sixty paces.

Eighty paces is a feat only a very few highly skilled military generals in the army can accomplish.

In particular, the military equipment of the Great Hong Dynasty is now in a state of disrepair. The soldiers are not well-fed or clothed, and most of the weapons they use are of poor quality, making their combat effectiveness even more wretched.

The Northern barbarians were naturally aware of the situation of the soldiers in the border town, and stopped in a safe position.

"Shut up!" Jia Mao turned around and scolded Wang Baisheng.

Jia Chen held his breath and drew the bowstring almost to its fullest extent. A familiar feeling welled up in his heart. He knew that this was the memory and instinct left behind by the previous owner of the body.

With a whoosh, the arrow vanished in a flash.

Almost simultaneously, the northern barbarian who shouted the order shifted his body slightly to the side, cried out, and fell off his horse.

"Sigh... so close..." Wang Baisheng slammed his fist on the wall, feeling very unwilling.

The Northern barbarian who fell off his horse quickly got up, but an arrow was stuck in his left arm.

It must be said that these northern barbarians were agile and had rich experience in battlefield combat. If he hadn't dodged slightly just now, Jia Chen's arrow would have pierced his heart.

"Excellent archery skills!" Zhao Zheng exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

Such archery skills are extremely rare in the current Da Hong Dynasty army.

The others were also amazed.

I had seen Jia Chen carrying a powerful bow before, so it's not surprising that he can shoot arrows.

Jia Chen had never used this technique before, and he never expected it to be able to shoot so far and so accurately.

My admiration for Jia Chen grew even stronger.

"The Northern barbarians are about to attack," Jia Chen said in a deep voice.

That arrow had clearly enraged the enemy; apart from the wounded, the rest spurred their horses and charged towards the front hill.

Using cavalry to attack and defend watchtowers is not the best strategy. However, watchtowers like Qian Shan Dui are isolated and without reinforcements, and their defensive fortifications are far inferior to those of a fortress.

Especially when faced with the menacing northern barbarians, the soldiers guarding the watchtowers were unlikely to have any fighting spirit. They were all terrified and ended up either being killed or captured.

The Northern Barbarians had extensive experience in dealing with the Great Hong Dynasty's Jiehuodun.

They could easily take the platform by virtue of their numerical advantage.

The northern barbarians rapidly approached the front hill beacon, and when they were about fifty paces away, half of them on horseback immediately drew their bows and shot arrows.

The horses beneath them were still charging forward, but these northern barbarians seemed completely unaffected by the jolting. Horsemanship and archery were their innate talents, after all, they had grown up on horseback since childhood.