The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Abunai knows that the beacon tower at Qianshandun is called Jia Chen, and that a fortified village is still being built at Qianshandun.

Sun Shaozu played a part in this, as he successfully secured the location of the people at Qianshan Fort.

This trip south was due to the strong demands of some who were unable to go south last time.

For him, the southward raids were one thing, but the other was to wash away his shame, which meant killing Jia Chen.

Although he already knew that the moat and city walls of Qianshanbao were already in place, he came prepared this time. Could a small fortress really stop him?

He did make the promise he gave to Sun Shaozu, and he doesn't deny that.

Abunai was very unhappy that the other party brought this up.

"Taiji, you only promised to guarantee their safety within the territory of the Chahar tribe, but here... this is the territory of the Tumed tribe," a trusted confidant suddenly said.

These words made Abunai's eyes light up.

To be honest, deep down he had no intention of letting go of this batch of goods that were delivered to his door.

Just kidding.

If the quantity is small, it's fine; you might not care too much and just let it go.

His subordinates' words reminded him that since they weren't on his own territory, he felt no guilt whatsoever about robbing them.

You can't blame yourself for that.

"Haha~~~ Good, very good." Abunai laughed heartily, "Well said, make them lay down their weapons, or leave no one alive."

One of Abuna's men immediately stepped forward and shouted.

The caravan hesitated for a moment, but finally complied, throwing down their weapons and surrendering.

The disparity in numbers is too great; how many northern barbarians could be killed by resistance?

The goods are beyond saving, so the only option is to abandon them to save our lives.

Since they were from the Sun family, even the Northern barbarians generally wouldn't take their lives.

"Taji, I have something important to report to you," a subordinate said, quickly walking up to Abunai.

"What good stuff is in the car?" Abunai asked, a thought popping into his head.

Besides the usual tea and salt, there should also be a lot of ironware, gunpowder, and so on among these many vehicles.

He knew that the Sun family's major buyers were from the Later Jin.

They didn't need gunpowder, but the Later Jin were very interested in it.

"The problem lies with the guards in the caravan. Three hundred of them are garrison soldiers from Zhenqiang Fortress," the subordinate said excitedly. "They are the elite troops under the command of the Zhenqiang Fortress garrison."

"Hmm?" Abunai didn't pay much attention at first, because he already knew that the border troops were colluding with these smuggling caravans, so there was nothing special about it.

However, he quickly realized what was happening, his expression changed drastically, and he stared at his subordinate, asking, "Are you sure they are the elite troops of Zhenqiang Fortress?"

"No mistake. We've already interrogated them, and they've revealed everything about Zhenqiang Fort. Those remaining in the city are mostly the elderly, weak, and disabled; there are probably only three or four hundred who can move." The subordinate's body began to tremble with excitement. "Taiji, we can take Zhenqiang Fort!"

Not to mention him, Abunai was also extremely excited. His heart was racing, and he paced back and forth. The news was simply too amazing.

It should be noted that although they had gained a great deal during their last southward expedition, they still did not touch large fortresses like Zhenqiang Fort.

To capture such a fortified city would incur too great a loss for them.

Even with heavy losses, they still couldn't conquer it.

If it were a small fortified village, and its watchtowers were attacked, there might be no rescue from the surrounding area.

However, if these large fortified cities are attacked, the surrounding fortified cities will surely send troops to their aid.

Otherwise, if the fortress falls, those in the surrounding areas will also be punished.

This is absolutely a serious crime in the Great Hong Dynasty.

Their Chahar tribe has been around for many years, and only a little over a decade ago did his father, Khan, manage to breach a large fortified city in Xuanfu Town, where they suffered heavy casualties.

Even so, it brought his father's prestige to a peak.

Now, such a tremendous opportunity is presented to us.

I can surpass my father Khan and take Zhenqiang Fortress at a very low cost.

The defenses of Zhenqiang Fort were weak, with only a few hundred old and weak soldiers. How could they possibly withstand tens of thousands of iron cavalry?

"Taijitsu, what's your decision?" the subordinate whispered.

Abunai took a deep breath, feeling his blood boiling, his eyes flashing with murderous intent: "Kill everyone in the caravan. Our southward advance must not be leaked. To better capture Zhenqiang Fortress, we must avoid the various spies of the Da Hong Army; a night raid would be best."

Although he was confident of taking Zhenqiang Fort, he still couldn't be careless.

A night raid is definitely the best option, as it has a high success rate and can reduce casualties on our side.

He originally intended to spare the lives of the caravan members, but now there was no need.

Nothing is more important than taking Zhenqiang Fort.

"Yes!" The subordinate immediately went to carry out the order.

The caravan members regretted their actions only when the swords and blades struck.

They tried to resist, but found their hands and feet bound, like lambs to the slaughter.

Blood stained the white snow, and hundreds of corpses were left lying in the wilderness.

"Taijima, Qianshan Fort is just ahead. If we get any closer, we might be discovered."

Abuna looked towards the direction of the southern fortress, but since it was already late, the fortress was not actually visible.

However, he wished he could tear Jia Chen of Qianshan Fort to pieces.

Seeing that Abunai remained silent, the subordinate continued, "How about we flatten Qianshan Fortress first and avenge ourselves for last time?"

"No, go around it. Tell everyone to keep quiet as much as possible, and continue south when it gets darker. We'll launch a surprise attack on Zhenqiang Fort at midnight tonight," Abunai said resolutely.

He wanted revenge for what happened last time, but his mind was still very clear.

Compared to taking Zhenqiang Fortress, revenge is a minor matter.

With the prestige of capturing Zhenqiang Fortress, the chances of inheriting the Khan's throne will be much greater.

Besides, it's just a small fortified village. We can't run away from here. We can bring our men back after we take Zhenqiang Fort.

Moreover, siege warfare requires ladders and other equipment.

They went south without taking anything with them.

They planned to plunder first, such as seizing timber and ladders, before choosing to attack the city.

Of course, the reason they dared to launch a sneak attack on Zhenqiang Fort without much siege equipment is because Zhenqiang Fort was poorly defended. How could they miss such a good opportunity?

After robbing the Sun family's caravan, Abunai originally planned to send a group of people to return the goods first.

After all, the volume of goods is quite large.

But no one wanted to go back.

No one wanted to miss out on the credit for capturing Zhenqiang Fort.

Abunai had no choice but to let them escort the troops south, and they would also get a share of the credit for capturing Zhenqiang Fort.

"My lord, my lord, something terrible has happened!" Liu Daniu shouted loudly at Jia Chen's door.

Jia Chen woke up immediately; something serious must have happened.

If it weren't something serious, why would Liu Daniu wake me up at this time?

Outside the window, it was pitch black; it must still be the early hours of the morning.

Upon seeing Jia Chen emerge, Liu Daniu said anxiously, "Sir, Zhenqiang Fort is on fire. I don't know what happened."

Upon hearing this, Jia Chen immediately strode up the southern city wall.

There were already quite a few people on the city wall.

Jia Chen looked south and indeed saw flames shooting into the sky over Zhenqiang Fort. Although it was dozens of miles away, it was exceptionally conspicuous in the dark night.

Judging by the scale of the fire, it's huge; it feels like the entire Zhenqiang Fort is ablaze.

Winter weather is dry and windy, making it easy for fires to start.

It's possible that a fire started in one place and ignited the surrounding area, and then the fire spread.

Jia Chen noticed that the north wind was quite strong tonight, and with the fire spreading due to the wind, Zhenqiang Fort was likely to suffer heavy losses.