The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Inside the main tent of the Northern Barbarian camp.

"Barnoyan, you could have wiped out all those soldiers from the Great Hong Dynasty, but Sangha insisted on withdrawing, resulting in the loss of so many people..." The young head of the ten households, Yikena, was filled with anger and resentment.

Sitting at the head of the table was the leader of the group, a centurion in his early twenties named Baal.

Noyan is a respectful title used by various tribes of the Later Yuan Dynasty to address their superiors.

The people below could generally address the heads of ten households and the heads of one hundred households by their given names plus Noyan.

Baal's face was grim; he was quite dissatisfied with the operation.

It's just a small fire-receiving platform, isn't it?

On my way south, I easily captured many watchtowers and seized more than twenty watchtower soldiers. Did I lose a single man?

There wasn't even a scratch.

How could it be that not only were so many people injured, but nine people were also killed in front of this watchtower?

"Sangha, why not kill all those soldiers? Was the blood of our warriors shed in vain?" Baal said in a deep voice.

"Barnoyan, these watchtower soldiers are fighting desperately. If we were to kill them all, we would suffer even more casualties. It's just a watchtower; I don't need to pay such a high price..." Sangha explained.

"Lies!" Yikena sneered.

"Barnoyan~~"

Baal stopped Sangha from explaining, coldly saying, "No need to say anything more. Losing nine men is difficult for me to explain to the little prince. Take him away and give him fifty lashes!"

After Sangha was taken away, Yikena couldn't help but say, "Noyan, isn't fifty lashes too lenient?"

Barr glanced at Ikena; he knew there was some conflict between the two.

However, he also disliked Sangha.

Sangha is an old man who often criticizes and gossips about his own behavior.

This was because he had just taken over the position of centurion from his deceased father and was still quite young.

In his view, Sangha often acted arrogantly because of his age and seniority, and didn't give him any face.

"Let's deal with it when the little prince returns," Baal said calmly.

Yikena didn't dwell on Sangha's matter any longer, but instead suggested, "This grudge must be avenged, Noyan. Tomorrow I'll lead men and wipe out everyone in that fortress!"

Baal shook his head: "Let's ignore them for now. Sangha has a point. Those fortified soldiers are putting up fierce resistance. Even if we kill them, we won't gain anything, and we'll lose even more of our warriors. It's not worth it. If we lose more men, I won't be able to explain it to the little prince when he returns."

"Damn it!"

"No need to rush. Once the main army returns, flattening a beacon tower will be a piece of cake," Baal said with a smile.

"Then let them live a few more days!"

As night fell, Jia Chen was still gazing at the Northern Barbarian camp.

The Northern barbarians lit bonfires in their camp, and many people could be seen roasting cattle and sheep around the fires.

"Old man Sun, you old bastard, you stole the rice from my bowl? You're making me drink porridge? And this porridge is all water, where's the rice?" Wang Baisheng grabbed Sun Tiechong by the collar and roared.

"We don't have much food left, so we have to eat it sparingly," Sun Tiechong explained.

"With such a large force from the Northern Barbarians, it won't be over in less than ten days or half a month. Do you think we can survive until then by eating sparingly?" Wang Baisheng's voice lowered.

He knew that there was indeed not enough food.

Jia Chen had originally planned to go to the fortress to buy grain the next day, but who would have thought that the northern barbarians would move south? Not to mention going to sell grain, he can't even get off the watchtower now.

"Damn those Northern barbarians!" Wang Baisheng cursed, then said nothing more.

Jia Chen took the bowl of thin porridge that Sun Tiechong brought him, took a sip, and asked, "How many days can you last?"

"We should save money where we can for now. If we drink like this once a day, we should be able to last for ten days," Sun Tiechong replied. "In ten days, the Northern barbarians might retreat."

The remaining grain was originally enough to feed everyone for a day, but now that it's been changed to thin porridge, it might not last ten days, but it should last seven. Before, Sun Tiechong and the others had only one or two meals of thin porridge a day.

"This won't do. Even if we can survive for ten days, eating this little bit each day might not kill us, but if the Northern barbarians attack, how will we have the strength to resist? The porridge needs to be thicker, and we should eat it twice a day." Jia Chen shook his head and sighed.

"Is that alright?" Sun Tiechong didn't quite agree with Jia Chen's statement. Such consumption would probably take more than five days.

"Duntou, we can actually manage with just one meal a day," Wang Baisheng said, leaning closer.

"Let's leave it at that," Jia Chen insisted on his opinion.

With the northern barbarians right in front of us, we still need to conserve our strength.

Seeing Jia Chen's resolute expression, Sun Tiechong didn't say anything more.

As Wang Baisheng drank the thin porridge in his bowl, he turned to look at Jia Chen beside him. He saw Jia Chen gazing into the distance at the Northern Barbarian camp, and he couldn't help but look in the same direction.

"Damn it, those northern barbarians are eating meat like crazy, while we're eating chaff and drinking porridge here..." Wang Baisheng cursed as he saw the scene in the distance.

He could vaguely see the Northern barbarians slaughtering and roasting sheep around a campfire. The aroma of meat couldn't waft over, but seeing this scene, and comparing it to his own situation, Wang Baisheng's anger intensified.

"Hey, let's raid the camp tonight!" Wang Baisheng suddenly blurted out after cursing for a while.

These words immediately attracted the attention of others.

"Don't give me any bad advice. There are over a hundred people on the other side." Zhao Zheng immediately rejected Wang Baisheng's idea.

Even if we launch a surprise attack at night, we still have too few people on our side and no chance of winning.

"Or should we just wait here and starve to death?" Wang Baisheng retorted.

"Do you think that even if we can hold out for ten days or so until the Northern barbarians retreat, they will let us go once they return?" Jia Chen asked.

"Duntou, so you mean the same thing as Wang Baisheng? We're going to raid the camp?" Zhao Zheng was taken aback.

He didn't expect that Jia Chen would support Wang Baisheng's opinion.

He just didn't think it was a good idea; to put it bluntly, it was pure suicide.

By guarding the watchtower, we can take advantage of the terrain and defense, and perhaps even kill a few Northern barbarians. But if we were to go down and face the Northern barbarians head-on, the consequences would likely be dire.

"Dun Tou is right. We're going to die anyway, so we might as well take a gamble." Seeing Jia Chen's support, Wang Baisheng couldn't help but shout, "Winning against overwhelming odds isn't impossible."

It has to be said that the others were also somewhat tempted by Wang Baisheng's idea of ​​a sneak attack.

After all, guarding the front hill mound all the time was also a risky proposition.

The northern barbarians are right in front of us now, and we can't even abandon the watchtower and escape.

A man cannot outrun a horse. Once discovered, if caught by the northern barbarian cavalry in the open field, death is certain.

If the raid succeeds, they can get the food first, giving them a better chance to hold out.

Jia Chen certainly didn't have the same idea as Wang Baisheng—to win with fewer troops. Given their current situation, they had absolutely no chance of winning.

"There are other captured brothers in the Northern Enemy camp," Jia Chen said.

He said this after careful consideration; it wasn't just something he said casually.

"Yes, and there are also dozens of people in those caravans." Jia Mao was immediately inspired. "If we can rescue them, our numbers will increase significantly, and we won't be completely without a chance."

"No, that won't do," Sun Tiechong shook his head.

"Why not?" Jia Mao looked at Sun Tiechong.

"The brothers at the other watchtowers are fine, but the caravan men are unusable," Sun Tiechong said.

"Why?" Jia Mao asked again.

Jia Chen also stared at Sun Tiechong. In fact, he had just wanted to say that if they added the caravan members, they could have sixty or seventy people on their side if they succeeded.

Although their numbers are still fewer than those of the Northern Barbarians, it is much better than it is now.

"These caravans generally have connections with various tribes on the grasslands and trade with them regularly. So, at most, the Chahar tribe just robbed these goods. As for the caravan members, they might have the caravan pay a ransom or exchange some goods for them. Therefore, these caravan members are unlikely to fight to the death with the Northern barbarians, which is different from our captured brothers..." Sun Tiechong explained in general terms.

Jia Chen then realized what was happening.

This was due to his oversight; he was unaware of some aspects of the town's situation.

In his view, these caravans were smuggling and aiding the enemy, and deserved to die.

But if we can work together to fight the Northern barbarians, we can still try to win them over, even if it's just to make up for our mistakes.

Now, listening to Sun Tiechong's words, Jia Chen realized that he had been too naive.

These smuggling caravans were all accomplices to evil, and could be said to have colluded with various tribes of the grasslands.

Because the Chahar tribe and others needed goods from caravans, they wouldn't go to extreme lengths to exterminate them.

The caravans were in the same boat. They knew they were generally safe, so they wouldn't cooperate with us in fighting the Northern barbarians to the death.

Of course, the Northern Barbarians wouldn't treat small caravans without any background well either.

Only large merchant caravans with powerful connections would be befriended by the Northern Barbarians.

"Then, the caravan members are not a concern for us. We still need to be wary of them," Jia Chen said.

If we were to actually make contact with this group, we might alert the northern barbarians and cause them to panic.

Zhao Zheng frowned: "Dun Tou, the idea is good, but rescuing them is too difficult."

What he really wanted to say was that rescuing people was basically impossible; Jia Chen and his team's plan was too unrealistic.

He just didn't want to discourage everyone too much.

"We didn't say we'd act now," Jia Chen said. "Simply holding the watchtowers won't work. We need other methods. If we run out of food, this might be our only option. But before we act, I hope to learn more about the situation of our brothers at the other watchtowers, and ideally, contact them so we can better coordinate our efforts against the Northern barbarians."

At this point, Jia Chen's eyes were fixed on Zhao Zheng.

"Leave it to me. I'll go and investigate when night falls," Zhao Zheng nodded.

He was the night watchman, so this kind of thing was naturally left to him.

"Dun Tou, this matter will definitely be no problem to leave to Zhao Zheng; he's very experienced in this area," Wang Baisheng said with a smile.

Zhao Zheng smiled as well.

He was confident that he could conduct a reconnaissance under the cover of night.

"Be careful, there are many Northern barbarians. This time you only need to understand the situation, there's no need to make contact," Jia Chen advised.

Regardless of Zhao Zheng's confidence, being a night scout is a high-risk profession, like dancing on a knife's edge, with one's life constantly in danger.

In the middle of the night, Zhao Zheng quietly descended from the platform, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.

The group was divided into three shifts, taking turns on duty.

The northern barbarians are right on the border; we must be on high alert.

Jia Chen did not sleep; his gaze was fixed on the Northern Barbarian camp.

The campfire was still burning brightly, and it could be seen that apart from a few Northern barbarians keeping watch, most of them had gone into their tents to rest.

……

"Duntou, the seal on the Thunderclap Grenade has dried out," Liu Daniu said as he approached Jia Chen, carrying two jars.

For three days, Zhao Zheng had been secretly reconnoitering the Northern Barbarian camp three times under the cover of night.

We finally figured out that there were 83 Northern barbarians, three of whom were seriously injured.

There were 24 captured soldiers, two of whom were seriously injured, while the others had no obvious injuries.

However, their mental state was very poor. They were already not eating well, and now that they had fallen into the hands of the Northern Barbarians, they would be given even less food. They would just starve and make sure they didn't die.

As for the caravan, there were thirty-nine people, and they were in much better spirits than the soldiers.

Although these guys were also bound hand and foot by the Northern barbarians, their treatment was much better than that of the guards.

It is clear that Sun Tiechong was right before; the Northern barbarians were treated differently.

In addition to these, Zhao Zheng also discovered that an important figure seemed to be imprisoned in a tent in the Northern Barbarian camp. The Northern Barbarians clearly valued him highly and guarded him more closely.

As for who this person is, Zhao Zheng has not yet figured it out.

Zhao Zheng did not make contact with the captured soldiers, because once contact was made, it would be difficult to avoid the caravan.

Caravan members are not to be trusted.

Furthermore, the Northern barbarians' defenses were quite tight, and Zhao Zheng was unable to find an opportunity.

It was already difficult enough to figure out the number of people in each group.

"We're out of gunpowder, otherwise we could have made a few more thunderclaps," Liu Daniu said.

"Even if we had gunpowder, we wouldn't have any canisters left," Sun Tiechong said, shaking his head.

Jia Chen smiled.

He left a few rounds of gunpowder for Wu Jiangsheng and Zhou Shitou's three-barreled guns, and used the rest of the gunpowder on the two thunderclaps.

Facing the enemy, Wu Jiangsheng and his companion had virtually no chance to reload their three-barreled guns a second time, which is why Jia Chen made this decision.

If the Northern barbarians continue to attack the watchtowers, the thunderbolts can be used to assist in the defense and inflict more casualties on the enemy.

There weren't many suitable containers on the platform itself. Sun Tiechong was right; even with more gunpowder, they couldn't make more thunderclaps.

In this way, together with the one left over from before, there are now three thunderclaps, each using about seven or eight pounds of gunpowder, mixed with fragments of stone and pottery.

Besides increasing the lethality after the explosion, these additives also prevent the gunpowder from clumping together. After all, it is low-quality powdered gunpowder, and adding these additives can increase the gaps between the gunpowder particles, allowing for better and more complete combustion, thus increasing the explosive power.

Even if it can increase the explosive power, the destructive power is actually limited, but it will definitely have a significant psychological impact on the enemy.

"Hey, Duntou, give me a straight answer. When are we going to make our move?" Wang Baisheng asked while sharpening his knife.

The Northern Barbarian camp remained largely unchanged for the past three days, while our own food supplies dwindled day by day, and we wouldn't last more than a few days.

When the food supplies run out, we have no choice but to risk our lives and fight to the death.

Everyone was already prepared for this.

They were just waiting for Jia Chen's order.

Jia Chen did not answer Wang Baisheng's question, his eyes fixed on the Northern Barbarian camp.

To be honest, he doesn't have a good solution right now.

Since the northern barbarians outnumbered their own forces, it was difficult to launch a surprise attack.

Even if we manage to rescue the captured soldiers and fight the Northern barbarians together, the chances of victory are slim.

Knowing they were doomed, Jia Chen certainly wouldn't let everyone take the risk.

We can only keep waiting.

"Duntou, the Northern barbarians are making a move!" Jia Chen had just turned his gaze away when he heard Zhao Zheng suddenly shout.

Everyone's eyes turned to the south.

"What's wrong? What are the Northern barbarians trying to do?" Jia Mao asked, puzzled.

Fifty or sixty northern barbarian riders rushed out of the camp and quickly headed south.