The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"My lord, look!" Zhao Zheng shouted to Jia Chen, who was running up the city wall.

Jia Chen hurriedly looked south and saw several thousand northern barbarian cavalrymen rapidly heading south.

"Are you sure you came from the camp ten miles away?" Jia Chen asked.

"My lord, apart from that camp, there shouldn't be any other Chahar troops in the north," Zhao Zheng replied. "My lord, according to the information I gathered yesterday, there are only about a thousand men left in the camp, most of them wounded, and I don't know if even half of them are still able to fight."

"So that means there are only 500 people?" Wang Baisheng and the others arrived at this time.

After Zhao Zheng saw this commotion from the city wall, he immediately sent someone to inform Jia Chen and the others.

"Could it be a trap?" Liu Cheng frowned. "They're deliberately heading south in front of us to lure us out of the city."

"Oh dear, that's possible, that's possible!" Wang Baisheng clapped his hands and nodded. "We're in the city, and they have no choice but to resort to this method. Those treacherous northern barbarians!"

"Probably not," Jia Chen thought for a moment and said, "I don't think the Northern Barbarians know we've discovered their camp behind the mountain, so there's no need for them to pull this stunt. Judging from this commotion, could something have changed in the south?"

"What you say is absolutely right, sir. The Northern barbarians must have chosen not to avoid us in order to travel faster," Zhao Zheng nodded. "As for the south, they haven't returned yet and are unaware of the situation."

Zhao Zheng did send people to Zhenqiang Fort to gather information, but they haven't returned yet.

"My lord, if that's the case, could we...?" Wang Baisheng's eyes lit up. "Tonight we'll raid the camp, just like last time. There are hundreds of wagons loaded with goods there!"

Yesterday, Zhao Zheng secretly followed the direction in which the Northern Barbarians retreated north and finally discovered their camp.

Upon their return and report, everyone was somewhat surprised to see hundreds of horse-drawn carts loaded with goods.

Considering this time, the Northern barbarian raiding party should not have returned yet, so where did all this stuff come from?

Later, people thought of the caravans that secretly crossed the border to smuggle goods.

Needless to say, another unfortunate caravan was robbed by the Northern barbarians.

With so many goods, it's generally safe to say that more than one caravan has been robbed.

Jia Chen and his group weren't particularly interested in which caravan these goods originally belonged to.

What interests them is the shipment itself.

Last time, we raided Abuna's camp and robbed them of their spoils, which were the goods of the Sun family's caravan, as well as a lot of warhorses. The harvest was huge.

This time it's on a much larger scale than the last time, and the temptation is too great.

Unfortunately, there were three or four thousand people in the camp at the time, and even if Jia Chen and his team had the will, they didn't have the strength, so they didn't think much of it.

Who would have thought that three thousand people would suddenly leave this morning, leaving only the wounded behind? This gave Wang Baisheng a sense of urgency.

The others also showed anticipation when they heard Wang Baisheng's words.

The people here now are mostly core personnel who participated in the last raid and enjoyed the benefits they received.

Of course, Huang Xiuer is a new addition.

Jia Chen did not answer immediately; this matter was of great importance.

Wealth can be tempting, but it's not worth losing your life for it.

For Jia Chen, the most important thing was to defend Qianshan Fort.

Although there were only some wounded Northern Barbarians there, their fighting strength should not be underestimated.

Especially after leaving the fortress, without the protection of the city walls, facing the direct attack of the northern barbarian cavalry, could his men withstand it?

There had been close combat with the Northern barbarians before, but they had all dismounted.

A cavalry charge is a completely different concept.

Another concern for Jia Chen was that the three thousand cavalrymen might return soon.

If they return while the two sides are engaged in battle, their own side will likely be completely wiped out.

This is what Jia Chen is most worried about.

"Sir? I think Yum's idea is feasible," Zhao Zheng agreed.

"Zhao Zheng!" Jia Chen said in a deep voice.

"exist!"

"Send someone to investigate the Northern Barbarian camp again. I need to confirm the exact number of Northern Barbarians there," Jia Chen said.

"Okay, I'll go myself. I'll go right now," Zhao Zheng said immediately.

He was decisive; after saying that, he headed north.

"Sir, once Old Zhao confirms, can we proceed?" Wang Baisheng asked excitedly.

"No," Jia Chen shook his head. "I still need news from the south. These northern barbarians wouldn't have come south for no reason. I have a feeling it's unlikely they just went to plunder."

To be honest, Jia Chen also really wanted to make a move.

Besides the caravan's valuables, Jia Chen also wanted to cut off more heads of the Northern barbarians.

We only have about ten heads of the Northern barbarians left, which is a bit embarrassing.

Under normal circumstances, this would be a significant achievement.

However, with Zhenqiang Fort captured, it was no longer sufficient.

Of course, it's also possible that nothing happened on their side, and the higher-ups didn't investigate the fall of Zhenqiang Fort and its connection to the failure of Qianshan Fort to issue a warning.

However, Jia Chen couldn't place all his hopes on not pursuing the matter; that would be too passive.

Doesn't one's own fate completely fall into the hands of others?

If given the opportunity, Jia Chen still hopes to take the initiative.

For example, attacking the Northern Barbarian camp would be a great opportunity.

The temptation was great, but faced with such a great temptation, Jia Chen reminded himself to stay calm.

Because one wrong step could lead to total annihilation.

Once outside the city, the Northern barbarians' cavalry had a significant advantage.

Although he did not believe that the three thousand cavalrymen marched south to lure him out of the city, he could not predict when they would return if he did not know their purpose for marching south, which was a fatal hidden danger.

Regardless, Jia Chen still needs to wait for news from the south before making a final decision.

Everyone gradually calmed down.

Two hours later, Zhao Zheng returned with good news.

Just as everyone had guessed, only the wounded Northern Barbarians remained in the camp, numbering around a thousand.

The people sent to the south to gather information returned almost immediately after Zhao Zheng.

They brought the latest news from Zhenqiang Fort.

General Chen Tai has mobilized the border troops from all the major fortresses in Datong Town to gather towards Zhenqiang Fort, and there have been several battles during this period.

Just yesterday, a 3,000-strong raiding force from the Northern Barbarians was besieged 20 miles south of Zhenqiang Fort.

"My lord, when we passed by Zhenqiang Fort on our way back just now, we saw a large group of Northern Barbarian cavalry rushing south from the north to reinforce that area," the messenger reported.

"No mistake, it's the three thousand men who came from the camp," Zhao Zheng said immediately.

Jia Chen nodded, agreeing with Zhao Zheng's assessment.

"In other words, they went to provide rescue, not to plunder." Jia Chen breathed a long sigh of relief.

Twenty li south of Zhenqiang Fort is more than fifty li away from Qianshan Fort.

Even if they rushed back from there immediately, it would still take some time.

Not to mention that the rescue mission would most likely involve fighting the border troops led by Chen Tai, and they wouldn't be able to return so quickly.

Jia Chen dared to say that this time the Great Hong Army would definitely not watch the Northern Barbarians leave like last time.

Because Zhenqiang Fort has fallen, Liu Tianwang and Chen Tai must be even more nervous than I am, and they must be even more eager to make amends and redeem themselves.

The fact that they have already faced off several times is enough to prove this point.

In the past, the Northern Barbarians would only capture some fortified villages and small strongholds. The large armies in those fortified villages would not leave the city to fight the Northern Barbarians, let alone be mobilized on such a large scale.

"Gentlemen, shall we give it another shot?" Jia Chen said after glancing around at everyone.

"Haha~~ My lord, is that even a question?" Wang Baisheng laughed loudly, "We'll launch another surprise attack tonight! Last time we raided their camp, it was only because the Northern barbarians didn't take us seriously and sent out their own men, leaving them with insufficient troops, which gave us the opportunity. I didn't expect them to not learn their lesson and come back again. Even the heavens are on our side!"