The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"Hmph, don't be too surprised," Hu Youcai snorted. "Datong Town concealed the casualties and losses of its soldiers and civilians, and falsely reported its war achievements. This is an extremely serious matter. It has even angered the Emperor. They deserve what they got. As for Feng Shan, he escaped this time. He's lucky."

Jia Chen understood; it turned out that the matter of concealing and falsifying information had been exposed.

When he heard these reports, he also felt they were too outrageous.

They're treating the emperor like a fool.

Perhaps in the past, when a new emperor ascended the throne not long afterward, many things might not change much, because the reaction of the retired emperor had to be taken into account.

Things are different now. The new emperor's power has gradually been consolidated, and the actions of the Datong Town officials have been too outrageous. It's not surprising that the new emperor would take advantage of this situation.

Of course, these are all Jia Chen's speculations.

The specifics of what happens in the imperial court are beyond the comprehension of a lowly soldier like him.

As for Feng Shan, whom Hu Youcai mentioned, Jia Chen knew him.

Feng Shan was the garrison eunuch of Datong Town.

It can be said that the three major figures in the border town were the garrison eunuch, the governor, and the general.

In the Great Hong Dynasty, civil officials are now valued more than military officials. Although the General Commander is in charge of military affairs and the Governor is in charge of civil affairs, in reality, the General Commander is subordinate to the Governor.

The newly added eunuchs who were originally only meant to supervise the emperor actually had the power to report directly to him, and thus their power surpassed that of the governor.

The reason why Feng Shan was unharmed was most likely related to the palace, which was something Jia Chen could not possibly understand.

However, from Hu Youcai's words, Jia Chen understood that he and Feng Shan must have some grudges, or at least they were not on the same side.

"Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with our Beijing garrison, and in fact, it will be very beneficial for you. You'll get your due credit. Let's just watch the show. Datong Town is probably going to be in chaos for a while, and who knows how many more will be arrested in the surrounding areas." Hu Youcai was clearly provoked by this matter and became more talkative.

Jia Chen smiled.

That's good. What he cares about most is military merit.

Jia Chen wasn't too concerned about the situation in the Datong Town civil service system; he just wanted to see what fate awaited the other military commanders in the other routes.

With the general arrested, the lower-ranking officers and guerrillas will probably have to be purged as well, right?

Those who made false or concealed reports were punished, while those in the Beijing garrison who reported truthfully were rewarded.

Jia Chen secretly wondered if the Beijing garrison's truthful reporting of their battle achievements meant they had already received some information from the capital.

After all, he came from the capital. Liu Tianwang was from a military family. Although his father had been dismissed from his post, he still had most of those connections.

Hu Youcai comes from the palace and has connections with Dai Quan, so his information network is probably even more extensive.

The news spread quickly, causing a stir in Datong Town.

After all, it was quite rare for the governor and the general to be escorted to the capital at the same time.

However, to Jia Chen's surprise, apart from the governor and the general being arrested, it seemed that no one else was involved.

Jia Chen thought that someone from the other groups would probably be in trouble as well, but in reality, nothing happened.

Upon reflection, Jia Chen realized he had been too naive.

At the time, Hu Youcai also thought that many more people might be arrested, but now it seems that the two of them were wrong.

If all these military officers, guerrillas, and garrison commanders were to be wiped out, wouldn't the defenses of Datong Town be completely rendered useless?

It will be in a state of paralysis for at least a long time.

The imperial court is focusing its efforts on arresting the governors and generals, while leaving the lower-ranking officials alone. This approach of targeting the major figures and letting the minor ones go free can ensure the stability of Datong Town to the greatest extent possible.

Especially since Datong Town had just been plundered by the Chahar tribe, stability was of utmost importance.

It would be better to shift the blame onto the governor and the general to give the people an explanation.

In the following days, Jia Chen also heard that the situation was similar in Xuanfu Town, where the governor and the general were also escorted back to the capital.

Ten days later, a month after the Chahar tribe raided south, Jia Chen finally received good news.

He was promoted and successfully became a centurion, much faster than he had expected.

Liu Tianwang personally came over to read out the imperial edict of promotion.

Liu Cheng and Jia Mao were promoted to general banner commanders.

A centurion could serve as a centurion in the Beijing garrison, commanding one hundred men.

However, the specific position will have to wait for Liu Tianwang's further arrangements.

With the title of centurion, Jia Chen was no longer in such a hurry, and finally felt at ease.

Consider his father, Jia Gan, who served in the Beijing garrison for decades but remained a junior officer without ever being promoted.

He is now a centurion.

Of course, all of this was thanks to his father's influence.

If it weren't for his hereditary title as a captain, it would have been quite difficult for Jia Chen to be promoted directly to centurion; at most, he would have been a trial centurion.

The difference between a hundred households and a hundred households is still quite large.

In the following years, assessments will be required, and only those who pass the assessments can be promoted to centurions. There are many intricacies involved in this process.

If you don't have a powerful background or connections, and you don't have money to bribe your way through, you'll be rejected, and all your previous efforts will be wasted.

……

"Father, what brings you here?" Liu Tianwang was surprised that his father had come to Datong and Deshengbao.

"Let's go inside and talk," Liu Guangde said in a deep voice as he dismounted.

Liu Guangde was in his early fifties with white hair, but he was tall and straight with a ruddy complexion. He walked with a powerful stride and seemed to have more presence than Liu Tianwang.

He didn't travel by sedan chair or carriage from the capital to Deshengbao; he rode a horse himself.

Although I haven't been in the military for years, my martial arts skills haven't declined, and I'm naturally good at horseback riding.

After all, he had served as a deputy commander-in-chief; his aura was simply different.

In front of his father, Liu Tianwang dared not even breathe loudly.

He hurriedly led his father to the study.

After closing the study door, only the father and son remained.

"Father, is there something important?" Liu Tianwang asked in a low voice.

If it's not urgent, a letter from Father would suffice; there's no need for him to come in person.

He felt very uneasy, fearing that something bad might happen.

"Were you involved in Chen Tai's report?" Chen Tai didn't answer his question, but asked instead.

Liu Tianwang's heart skipped a beat.

not good.

Chen Tai had come to me before about the report, and I had indeed mentioned some things.

Those contents were mentioned in his father's reply at the time.

The reply was burned immediately after being read.

It's clear that the father didn't want anyone to know what was inside.

If I do this, wouldn't I be going against my father's teachings?

He has always held his father in awe since childhood.

"Father, I know I was wrong," Liu Tianwang immediately knelt before Liu Guangde and said.

"Hmph, let's leave this matter aside for now!" Liu Guangde snorted coldly.

Liu Tianwang remained kneeling, not daring to utter a sound.

"Get up," Liu Guangde's voice softened.

Liu Tianwang stood up, feeling uneasy.

"Alright, consider it doing Chen Tai a favor." A smile appeared on Liu Guangde's face.

Liu Tianwang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing his father's expression, he knew he had passed this test.

"Father, I only mentioned the matter of truthfully reporting military achievements. Chen Tai didn't report it truthfully in the end, so it can't be considered a great favor," Liu Tianwang said respectfully.

"That depends on how things go," Liu Guangde said. "There's a vacancy for the garrison commander of Datong. Who do you think should take the position?"

"Is it one of the two deputy commanders?" Liu Tianwang replied immediately.

Judging from the events of the past few days, he has come to understand that the imperial court has no intention of taking action against anyone else.

If the general is gone, the deputy usually takes his place.

Seeing that his father's expression didn't change much after Liu Tianwang finished speaking, a thought struck him, and he hurriedly asked, "So the imperial court is sending another general?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangde's expression darkened: "I have reminded you many times to pay more attention to matters of the court and not to focus solely on military affairs."

Liu Tianwang's heart pounded; it seemed he had guessed everything wrong.

Suddenly, he realized with a start: "Father, it's Chen Tai?"