The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"Sir, the number of heads we've reported is too low. Should we draft a new report for the General?" the aide asked.

Chen Tai did not answer immediately.

Five days have passed since he returned from Qianshandun. In these days, besides sending people to count the losses of the various fortresses under his jurisdiction, he has been troubled about how to report the war merits, that is, the number of northern barbarian heads killed.

He had spent a lot of favors and money to get the headcount figures reported from the other routes from the General's Office.

Those guys are really eager; they're afraid of being late in sending the battle report.

But Chen Tai knew very well that the battle reports from the other routes were simply outrageous.

He had actually drafted a battle report, saying that he had taken 156 heads on the North East Road, which was about three times the actual number of heads.

In his view, this is the norm; in the past, everyone's earnings were roughly three times higher.

But the other routes were so crazy; according to their reports, the numbers were more than ten times higher.

The more they exaggerate their battle achievements, the more it shows that the other routes suffered heavy losses, and that there couldn't possibly be many real northern enemy heads.

They need to use such fabricated military achievements to make up for their mistakes.

Chen Tai was initially very satisfied with the military achievements of the North East Route, but the numbers reported by the other routes made him somewhat hesitant.

With so many people, doesn't this make Beidong Road seem like the worst one?

"Sir, shall we add another 400? That way, we'll be in the middle, neither outstanding nor at the bottom," the advisor suggested.

He knew that his superior, the military commander, was rather cautious, so taking a moderate approach might be the best choice.

"Okay." Chen Tai thought for a moment and nodded.

If we don't add it ourselves, we'll be at a huge disadvantage.

Otherwise, if we report the numbers as they were before, the imperial court might target us for punishment, since we're at the bottom of the list.

"Wait." Seeing that he was about to leave, Chen Tai had an idea and hurriedly called out.

"Does the master have any further instructions?"

"We'll talk about this later," Chen Tai said.

The aide hesitated for a moment, but still replied, "Yes, sir."

Chen Tai sat alone in the study for a while, his expression constantly changing.

"Men, prepare the horses!" Chen Tai shouted.

He decided to go find Liu Tianwang.

Liu Tianwang was from the Beijing Garrison, so he might be more informed about news from the capital.

Especially Liu Tianwang's father, Liu Guangde, although he was dismissed from his post, still had some connections and was in the capital, so he believed that the information there was much more readily available than his own.

It would be best to be cautious when reporting military achievements this time.

……

Liu Tianwang sat in his study, holding a letter that had just arrived from the capital. It was a reply to the letter he had sent to his father a few days earlier.

I tore open the envelope, carefully took out the letter, and unfolded it.

My son, as if we were meeting:

Recently, tensions have been high in the capital because the Chahar tribe has launched a large-scale southward raid on the towns of Datong and Xuanfu, causing heavy losses to the military and civilians, especially in Datong.

His Majesty was furious upon hearing that some people had falsely reported military achievements and concealed losses. He has issued an edict to thoroughly investigate the truth of military achievements and ensure that rewards and punishments are clearly distinguished.

I have received further information that His Majesty is not bluffing this time, but has secretly dispatched trusted spies to the two towns to verify the authenticity of the military achievements, unlike his previous lenient approach.

Your service to the country in the border region brings me great comfort. However, when reporting your military achievements this time, you must present the facts truthfully, without any embellishment.

If one engages in deception, not only will it be fruitless, but it may also incur severe punishment, implicate one's family, and by then it will be too late to regret.

Remember, remember! The key is in authenticity. Everything is well at home, don't worry.

Read and then burn!

……

After reading the letter several times, Liu Tianwang finally lit it.

Staring at the letter that had turned to ashes, he fell into deep thought for a long time.

Is that really the case?

As my father said?

It was common practice for border towns to falsely report military achievements.

A major defeat becomes a minor defeat, a minor defeat becomes a minor victory, and a minor victory becomes a major triumph.

In the past, they could usually get away with it by deceiving others. If they really couldn't hide it anymore, they would find a few insignificant scapegoats to dismiss them from their posts or behead them to settle the matter.

He had originally thought that doubling the number of heads would be very generous of him.

But now, his father's letter has made him hesitate.

Feeling restless and unable to make up my mind, I got up and paced back and forth in the study.

Just then, someone outside announced that Chen Tai had come to visit.

Liu Tianwang temporarily put the matter aside and went out to meet Chen Tai.

Logically speaking, if anything happened, Chen Tai could have simply sent someone to inform me.

If there's anything truly important, then I'll go find Chen Tai myself.

Chen Tai came to visit, but no one knew what it was about.

After dismissing the servants, the two exchanged a few pleasantries.

Chen Tai didn't keep them in suspense and directly stated his purpose.

"Lord Chen, the matter reported here certainly needs to be carefully considered," Liu Tianwang nodded.

"I wonder how Lord Liu reported this? Could you tell me a thing or two?" Chen Tai asked. "I know this is somewhat presumptuous, but some people have gone too far, making it difficult for me to make a decision. Do you know how the other reports were written?"

Liu Tianwang shook his head; he truly didn't know.

This is a matter concerning Datong Town; he belongs to the Beijing Garrison and has no jurisdiction over that area.

However, he was still quite curious about the reports from the other routes.

To be honest, he is also struggling with the matter of reporting to the emperor. His father's words in the letter have left him in a dilemma, and he can't make up his mind for the time being.

Honest people often suffer losses.

Chen Tai did not hide anything and told Liu Tianwang all the information he had obtained.

After hearing this, Liu Tianwang was speechless.

He truly hadn't expected the reports from those routes to be so outrageous.

Although he was unclear about the exact number of casualties and the number of Northern barbarians in Datong Town these days, the number of heads they reported was definitely far higher than the actual number.

He dared to say that the number of Northern barbarians killed in this Northern Expedition was absolutely the highest.

No other lane can have more than 55 kills.

"I'm not sure myself. Those guys are really too reckless. If this matter escalates, it might get out of control," Chen Tai sighed. "Lord Liu, Brother Liu, I thought that since you came from the capital, your information network would be much better than mine in this border town. I wonder if you could offer some guidance?"

Chen Tai went to great lengths to get close to him, even calling him "Brother Liu" in private.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Tianwang made his decision under Chen Tai's expectant gaze.

"I just received some news from the capital," Liu Tianwang replied.

"How is it?" Chen Tai's eyes lit up, and he leaned towards Liu Tianwang.

Those from the capital are different; they definitely had inside information. I made the right choice coming here.

"If my Beijing garrison reports its war achievements, it will not be false," Liu Tianwang said.

"No faking it?" Chen Tai frowned slightly and said, "Brother, you're just reporting 20 heads and Jia Chen's and the others? That's unprecedented. You should add some more."

"Yes, no." Liu Tianwang nodded.

Chen Tai fell silent.

In his view, it was perfectly normal to exaggerate military achievements.

Generally speaking, adding a little bit is not too outrageous, and the above and below are already considered acceptable.

The truthful reporting, as Liu Tianwang said, without adding any headcount, is simply unheard of.

If someone like that really existed, they'd probably be considered a fool.