The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

"I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I am too proud to accept such a great honor. I am content as long as I have made a contribution," Jia Chen said hastily.

If the achievement is too great, there is a huge risk if one's own strength is insufficient.

Don't let yourself have the merits but not live to enjoy them.

As for who ultimately deserved the credit for Abunai's work, Chen Tai didn't need to explain anything to a nobody like himself in private.

After all, he intended to hand it over.

These small things reveal some of Chen Tai's character traits.

If you encounter a selfish and self-serving superior, you can simply kill him and take the credit. Who can say anything about that?

Jia Chen dared to say that if it weren't for Chen Tai's presence, Feng Shan might have really tried to kill him.

Another point, Jia Chen vaguely felt, was that the merit of capturing Abunai might not necessarily be good.

Often, political struggles in the imperial court can turn good things into bad.

Everything has its limits, so it's always better to know when to stop.

In any case, Jia Chen never wanted the credit for capturing Abunai.

He simply wanted to use these achievements to deflect some of the unfavorable accusations against Qianshanbao.

He has already made enough contributions in terms of taking heads; everything else is just icing on the cake.

If you force it, your life may be in danger.

My relationship with Chen Tai has become much closer, which is a very good gain.

No matter what, Chen Tai was the commander-in-chief of Datong Town.

Hu Youcai is fairly reliable, and I can try to build a relationship with him.

"Since you think that way, I won't say much. But rest assured, I will do my best to secure the reward from the imperial court for you and all the soldiers of Qianshan Fort," Chen Tai said.

……

Looking at the lively scene at Qianshan Fort, Jia Chen felt a mix of emotions.

This is Chen Tai and his men distributing the Northern barbarian heads and warhorses.

How to allocate the funds was a matter of much debate.

Of the heads taken, Chen Tai definitely took the lion's share, followed by Liu Tianwang.

No one had any objections to these things, and the other factions also got a lot of kills later on.

With these heads, they no longer need to kill innocent people to claim credit.

Most of the warhorses ended up in Chen Tai's hands.

Jia Chen left ten horses at the front mountain fortress in the end. It wasn't that he didn't want more; horses were difficult to raise, and he couldn't afford to raise too many.

Everyone agreed that the capture of Abunai was accomplished when Feng Shan personally led a team to capture him.

As for why the garrison eunuch led troops, it was because Feng Shan was brave and decisive, and did not want the people of Datong Town to be slaughtered by the northern barbarians.

In short, isn't it easy to come up with a story?

This credit was given to Feng Shan, so he cooperated in the distribution of some of Chen Tai's credits.

Otherwise, Feng Shan would never have so easily given up these credits and benefits.

For example, if Feng Shan had obstructed him, Chen Tai would not have been able to kill He Liding at all.

He Liding will likely be convicted in the future, but he will most likely not be executed, and may even receive a lenient sentence.

He might be able to make a comeback once things calm down.

"Sir, will you go to present the captives?" Wang Baisheng asked, leaning closer to Jia Chen.

"It has nothing to do with us anymore. Even if they go, it will be Eunuch Feng who goes," Jia Chen said with a smile.

If there really were such a ceremony to present prisoners of war, I definitely wouldn't be able to attend.

After all, the credit has already been given to Feng Shan. If I were to actually make a contribution, Feng Shan would probably have some doubts.

For Jia Chen, the most tangible benefit is the reward of taking the lead; giving up the reward would only cause him more entanglement and worry.

"Sigh, what a pity. It was clearly our achievement, but that damned eunuch stole it all," Wang Baisheng cursed.

"Don't talk nonsense," Liu Cheng reminded him from the side.

Who is Feng Shan? They can't afford to offend him.

"I won't tell outsiders, everyone here is one of us," Wang Baisheng said with a smile.

"Don't worry about anything else, just wait patiently for the imperial court's reward," Jia Chen said.

After giving credit for capturing Abunai to Feng Shan, Feng Shan was in high spirits.

In front of everyone, he stated that he would request the court to present the captives and escort Abunai to the capital.

The people of Datong Town naturally agreed with this.

Even Chen Tai supported it.

This is good for everyone.

Chen Tai believed that Feng Shan was capable of doing this, given his connections within the palace.

Moreover, capturing Abunai is indeed a rare achievement in recent years.

Jia Chen's words brought smiles to the faces of everyone around him.

Needless to say, everyone deserves a lot of credit for this, and most of them will likely receive promotions and silver rewards.

As for how much, I don't know.

……

Ten days later, at the Linjing Hall of the Imperial Palace in the capital.

"Eunuch Dai!" A young eunuch at the door called out in a low voice as soon as he saw the person approaching.

Dai Quan nodded slightly and entered the Linjing Hall.

This was where the emperor would summon his ministers and conduct his official duties, including reviewing memorials to the emperor.

"Dai Quan has arrived." Emperor Chongli glanced at him, then continued reading the memorial in his hand, occasionally making some marks on it with his pen.

Emperor Chongli was forty years old. Since ascending the throne three years ago, he had been diligent in his duties and never slackened.

"Your Majesty, a decree has been sent from the Daming Palace," Dai Quan said respectfully.

These words made the emperor frown slightly. He put down his brush and stared at Dai Quan, asking, "Speak."

"The Emperor Emeritus said that thanks to the blessings of Heaven and our ancestors, we have achieved a great victory at the border and captured the son of the Northern barbarian chieftain alive. We should hold a ceremony to present the captive at the Meridian Gate, to announce this to the world, and to spread the news both at home and abroad so that everyone may know," Dai Quan replied.

Although the retired emperor had abdicated, he still lived in the Daming Palace, the former center of power.

The fact that Dai Quan held the position of Grand Secretary of the Daming Palace, and that the name still included the words "Daming Palace," reveals a lot.

Emperor Chongli was filial, so he built another court in the west.

Although the names of the Grand Chancellor and the Imperial Secretary remained unchanged, they still followed the emperor.

Dai Quan is an example of this.

Emperor Chongli listened without saying a word.

After waiting for a while, Dai Quan finally spoke up: "Your Majesty, holding a ceremony to present the captives will also demonstrate Your Majesty's divine power."

Emperor Chongli snorted coldly and said, "I'm probably the second person to know about what's happening in the court!"

Dai Quan dared not utter a word.

He knew very well what the emperor meant; it concerned the retired emperor.

A few days ago, a report came from Datong Town that the Chahar tribe had once again marched south, and that the soldiers fought bravely and fiercely, beheading more than 1,500 enemies, and even capturing Lindan Khan's youngest son, Abunai.

The idea from Datong Town is that they hope to hold a ceremony to present the prisoners of war.

Dai Quan knew that the emperor did not approve of this matter.

It is said that Abunai was captured when Feng Shan took the initiative to lead troops to attack, and Feng Shan was a person on the side of the retired emperor.

Dai Quan was very disdainful of this matter. How dare Feng Shan lead troops into battle?

It's obvious that he stole the credit from his subordinates.

Such acts of taking credit are all too common, so Dai Quan was not surprised.

The emperor is angry now because Feng Shan must have reported to the retired emperor at the same time as he reported to the court.

He even reported to the retired emperor immediately.

"How much did Datong Town falsely report this time?" Emperor Chongli quickly calmed down.

"According to the information we have now, Datong Town's report this time is not much of a fabrication; it is almost entirely true," Dai Quan replied.

"Huh?" Emperor Chongli sat up straight, surprised by Dai Quan's words.

It's perfectly normal for border towns to exaggerate their war achievements.

Killing one person can lead to reports to three people, or even ten.

Last time, in Datong Town, the exaggerated reports of military achievements were so outrageous that he took the opportunity to get angry and replaced a lot of people.