The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"Everyone must be careful when using fire in the future," Jia Chen said.

"My lord, we don't have much to burn at Qianshan Fortress," Wang Baisheng laughed.

Jia Chen smiled and agreed.

The houses in Qianshanbao were mostly made of wood, and the mud houses were indeed very difficult to catch fire.

"Be careful of gunpowder and coal." Jia Chen quickly regained his composure.

There wasn't much timber, but there was plenty of coal and gunpowder, which are highly flammable and explosive.

"Zhao Zheng, take two men to Zhenqiang Fort and see what's going on," Jia Chen said to Zhao Zheng.

Regardless of whether Zhenqiang Fort is flooded or not, we still need to keep an eye on it.

Jia Chen didn't even consider the possibility of the Northern Barbarians attacking the city; he simply believed that an accident had caused the fire.

Those who need to stand guard should stand guard, and those who need to rest should rest.

Jia Chen had just returned and lay down when Liu Dani woke him up again.

"My lord, something terrible has happened."

"Let it burn, what's the big deal?" Jia Chen was a little dizzy and was about to fall asleep when he was interrupted again.

"Zhenqiang Fortress has been breached by the Northern barbarians!" Liu Daniu shouted.

Upon hearing this, Jia Chen jolted awake and instantly sobered up.

"What did you say?" Jia Chen was worried that he had misheard; the news was too shocking.

"Brother Zhao encountered people who escaped from Zhenqiang Fort on the way, the information is correct," Liu Daniu said.

"Where is Zhao Zheng? Where is he?" Jia Chen asked hurriedly.

He needed to find Zhao Zheng to get the details.

Has Zhenqiang Fort been captured?

How is that possible?

Jia Chen was still somewhat skeptical.

When did the Northern barbarians march south?

At this time of year, no one thought they would head south.

Moreover, Zhenqiang Fort has higher walls and wider moats than its own Qianshan Fort, so how could it be so easily breached?

Zhao Zheng arrived quickly, followed by several soldiers.

Jia Chen didn't recognize these people; they weren't from Qianshanbao.

Then they must be the people who escaped from Zhenqiang Fort mentioned by Liu Daniu.

"My lord, Zhenqiang Fort has truly fallen," Zhao Zheng said gravely. "Tens of thousands of northern barbarians launched a surprise attack; Zhenqiang Fort couldn't withstand it..."

"How could this be?" Jia Chen could hardly believe what he was hearing. "What exactly happened?"

Even if there are tens of thousands of northern barbarians, they can at least hold out for a while, and at the very least send out some distress signals, right?

"Jia Chen, tens of thousands of northern barbarians marched south, and you failed to issue a warning. What is your punishment?!" A very abrupt voice rang out.

Everyone was stunned.

Jia Chen looked at a soldier who had spoken up next to Zhao Zheng. This man was dressed in the robes of an ordinary soldier, but judging from his expression and the tone of his voice, he was clearly not an ordinary person.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to an adult like that?" Wang Baisheng immediately stepped forward and grabbed his collar, as if he was about to hit him.

"Bai Sheng, stop!" Jia Chen said in a deep voice. "Who are you?"

"He Kun, the commander of Zhenqiang Fort." He Kun pushed Wang Baisheng's hand away and glanced at Jia Chen and the others.

"Hmph, there isn't a battalion commander like you in Zhenqiang Fort, is there?" Jia Chen thought for a moment, but the man's appearance didn't match the description.

"It's no wonder you don't know. I was only transferred to Zhenqiang Fort a few days ago, and I haven't even met you yet," He Kun said with a cold snort. "Jia Chen, do you know your crime?"

Jia Chen's eyebrows twitched; this was truly outrageous.

Unable to defend the city, they are now rushing to shift the blame outwards.

Jia Chen took a few steps forward and stood in front of He Kun.

"What...what do you want to do?" He Kun's heart skipped a beat when he noticed Jia Chen's fierce gaze.

Although this was his first time meeting Jia Chen, he had already heard of Jia Chen's reputation.

For example, they killed many northern barbarians.

Because of his military connections, he knew some inside information.

They knew that Jia Chen had killed far more than just four Northern barbarians.

At such a young age, how could someone who could kill so many northern barbarians be an ordinary person?

With a "snap".

Jia Chen's slap knocked He Kun to the ground.

"Abandoning the city and fleeing? I can kill you right now!" Jia Chen said coldly. "Take him away and keep him under strict guard!"

To run away dressed in a soldier's robe is clearly the act of someone who is afraid of death.

Wang Baisheng didn't stand on ceremony and immediately lifted the man up.

"Jia Chen, you have committed insubordination, you—"

He Kun shouted a few more times, but Wang Baisheng was no pushover either, and obviously hit him twice more.

"The entire city is on high alert!" Jia Chen immediately shouted.

Despite it being pitch black at night, everyone immediately began to take action.

Jia Chen has been conducting such exercises.

Sweating more in peacetime means bleeding less in wartime.

Jia Chen also interrogated several other officers and soldiers who had escaped.

From them, Jia Chen obtained more information about the fall of Zhenqiang Fort.

At dawn, the northern barbarians secretly infiltrated the city and opened the city gates.

As for why the Northern barbarians were able to capture the town so easily, it was because the main force of the 300 elite soldiers of Zhenqiang Fort were sent by the garrison commander He Liding to escort a smuggling caravan.

This was originally a secret.

But this wasn't the first time He Liding had done something like this; they were all in the military and generally knew each other.

Anyone who was going out would tell their friends, and those friends would mention it to their friends, and that's how the news spread.

It's just that not as many people went out before.

"Damn He Liding!" Jia Chen cursed angrily.

It's outrageous that a rank-and-file garrison commander would use his soldiers to escort smuggling caravans for personal gain.

Without these elite guards, the defenses of Zhenqiang Fort are practically nonexistent.

In addition, during this cold winter season, people did not believe that the northern barbarians would move south, and they were complacent, which allowed the northern barbarians to succeed.

This is not only true for Zhenqiang Fort, but also for most of the beacon towers and garrison towers along the way.

They are even less vigilant, especially inside the Great Wall.

This resulted in the northern barbarians sneaking in unnoticed, with no one able to warn them in time.

Jia Chen learned from these people that the Northern Barbarians' attack route should have bypassed Qianshanbao and broken into the Great Wall from another direction.

If so many Northern barbarian soldiers were passing through Qianshan Fort, Jia Chen couldn't possibly be unaware of it.

Jia Chen couldn't help but sigh.

At that time, abandoning the abdomen to receive the fire pit would have such drawbacks.

That is, they were unable to detect the northern barbarians' southward advance more effectively and in a timely manner.

If the beacon towers outside the Great Wall were still located outside the Great Wall, it would be difficult for the northern barbarians to bypass them when they moved south.

Although those fire-receiving mounds will most likely be trampled flat, they can still serve as a warning to the fortified cities behind them.

Now, with only one fortress at the front, the Northern barbarians would have no way of knowing about it unless they passed by nearby.

Regarding He Liding's whereabouts, the soldiers said he escaped through the other city gate.

Whether they are dead or alive, or whether they escaped, no one knows.

Jia Chen hoped that He Liding could escape and survive.

The Zhenqiang Fort was captured, and as its garrison commander, he abandoned the city and fled, so he must bear the greatest responsibility.

If He Liding were to die in battle, it would actually be a relief for him.

The imperial court will not pursue the matter too much.

"Sir, aren't we going to rescue him?" Zhao Zheng asked, walking up behind Jia Chen.

"How can we save them?" Jia Chen said with a bitter smile. "We only have a few hundred men. If we go out in the dark, the Northern barbarians can easily ambush us with a few troops along the way, and we will be wiped out."

"But..." Zhao Zheng took a deep breath and said, "My lord, with Zhenqiang Fort fallen, the imperial court will surely hold those responsible accountable, and countless people will suffer. He Kun said something that really worries me, namely that Qianshan Fort failed to issue a warning..."

Before he could finish, Wang Baisheng, who had returned, interrupted him: "How can we send a warning? We haven't even seen a shadow of the Northern Barbarians, how can we send a warning? What does their detour have to do with us?"

Zhao Zheng shook his head and sighed, "Will the higher-ups listen to our explanations?"

Wang Baisheng was speechless.

People from the lower classes are the perfect scapegoats.