The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Jia Chen was in a good mood, and not just because he was able to return to Beijing.

Furthermore, the Jia family sent me a letter saying that my wedding date had been set for the third day after the ceremony of presenting captives to the enemy.

The capture of Abunai and the victory at Datong Town were no secret in the capital.

Jia Zheng made a special inquiry and learned that Qianshan Fort had performed exceptionally well, and Jia Chen had once again made a great contribution.

This achievement will obviously lead to a promotion.

Therefore, Jia Zheng, Jia She, and Jia Zhen discussed it and decided to bring forward Jia Chen's marriage.

The previous statement about postponing the wedding until next year was unexpected, as no one anticipated that Jia Chen would achieve another success.

There's a reason why the marriage was arranged ahead of schedule; Jia Chen's rewards and promotions were very likely announced on the day of the captive presentation ceremony.

This is double happiness.

In fact, Jia Zheng and the others were also afraid that things might get complicated if they delayed, so they wanted to finish this matter as soon as possible to give an explanation to Prince Bei Jing.

In matters of marriage, Jia Chen had absolutely no say.

The orders of parents and the words of matchmakers are paramount.

Of course, since the object of his affections was Qin Keqing, Jia Chen did not reject her in his heart; in fact, he was quite willing.

Although they are all young, it is very normal for people their age to get married in this world.

Jia Chen had informed Chen Tai and Liu Tianwang about the marriage, and the two of them naturally granted him leave.

Let Jia Chen return to Qianshanbao after the New Year.

This time, no one believes that the Chahar tribe will move south again.

The snow is now very thick, almost enough to close the road, making it difficult to travel even on horseback.

Jia Chen was thinking about presenting the captives as gifts, and also about getting married.

Ancient wedding rituals were numerous and varied.

Jia Chen felt a bit overwhelmed, but these were all necessary procedures and couldn't be taken lightly.

However, the Jia family had already arranged all the procedures, and I just needed to follow them.

I never got married in my past life, but I never expected that I would make up for that regret after transmigrating.

He thought of Jia Liuya again, who still hadn't met her five-year-old sister in person.

This time, he absolutely had to bring his sister out of the Jia family mansion. How could his sister possibly do the work of serving others?

His mother also had to resign from her job at the Jia family.

Previously, his mother felt that as a centurion, his salary was unstable and he was afraid he could not afford the expenses of the family.

Therefore, Jia Shenshi was unwilling to give up the stable income of the Jia family.

Things are different now. I've made another contribution, so a promotion is certain. I just don't know what level it will be.

Besides the promotion, there were also the goods from the Sun family's caravan.

I had been in contact with Omubu for some time now, and hearing about such a large shipment of goods made Omubu extremely excited.

However, due to the large quantity and the difficulty of travel due to snow accumulation, the transactions can only be conducted in batches for the time being.

If all these goods were sold, they could be worth fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver.

With a higher official position and more money, he felt confident that his mother could finally enjoy a life of leisure.

Not long after Jia Chen and his group arrived in Datong, all the various groups had gathered.

Chen Tai was decisive and didn't hesitate. Everyone set off immediately, even though it was still snowing.

Abunai was placed in a carriage, and the dozens of people around the carriage were not border soldiers, but a group of Jinyi Army soldiers sent by the imperial court.

In addition to Abunai, the prisoners presented included 20 captured Northern barbarians.

More than 1,500 heads were also brought along. This time, Datong Town was very confident because these heads were genuine and they were not afraid of inspection in the capital.

During the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war, the heads would definitely appear alongside the living prisoners, but not all of the more than 1,500 heads would be placed in front of the emperor.

At that time, a group of people will be selected, such as some people of status among the Northern Barbarians. The number will not be too large.

The others are used to verify combat achievements.

On the Da Hong Dynasty side, apart from Feng Shan who rode in a carriage, Jia Chen and the others rode horses, as they were all military personnel.

Among the group, Jia Chen, who was presenting the captives, held the lowest rank of centurion.

The lowest rank among the others was a commander of a thousand households, who was a trusted confidant and relative of a military commander.

However, no one can ignore Jia Chen.

They knew perfectly well that all the credit for this was due to Jia Chen.

Moreover, Jia Chen is right next to Chen Tai now. Along the way, Chen Tai called Jia Chen over, as if they had endless things to talk about.

This scene aroused envy, jealousy, and resentment in many people.

Liu Tianwang watched this scene with mixed feelings.

Chen Tai clearly intends to win over Jia Chen.

Fortunately, Jia Chen was based in the North East Road and came from the Beijing Garrison.

If he makes any contributions in the future, he, as the deputy commander of the Northeast Route, will still be able to benefit.

Jia Chen is indeed a talented person.

But what if Chen Taiwan wants people? What can I do?

To let go or to refuse?

Liu Tianwang was conflicted.

The journey from Datong Prefecture to the capital was about 900 li. The caravan traveled for seven days and arrived outside the capital early on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The ceremony to present the captives was set for the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, which was an auspicious day.

A designated open space was set up outside the Beijing garrison, where temporary accommodations were erected for the prisoners' surrender team to rest.

Chen Tai and Feng Shan immediately entered the city. They needed to go to the palace to personally report the great victory to the emperor and give him a detailed account of the specifics.

Next, they will need to cooperate with the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and other departments to conduct final drills and preparations in accordance with the regulations and systems such as the "Great Hong Code".

Such an important ceremony cannot afford the slightest mistake.

In short, the two of them are very busy.

Others could not move around freely and had to stay in the temporary camp until the day of the ceremony before they could enter the city.

Of course, Jia Chen and his team weren't doing nothing; they at least conducted some rehearsals to familiarize themselves with the ceremony's procedures.

Along the way, Jia Chen's relationship with Ye Fandong, the garrison commander of Juqiang Fort, became somewhat closer.

Jia Chen wasn't completely ignorant; he knew that Ye Fandong and Chen Tai had a rather unusual relationship.

Ye Fandong was Chen Tai's old subordinate. The two fought side by side when they were young and went through life and death together. Their relationship went far beyond that of a typical superior-subordinate relationship.

Ye Fandong sought him out not only because Chen Tai was friendly towards him.

More importantly, Ye Fandong valued the strength of Qianshan Fortress.

Take Juqiangbao for example. The fortress is smaller than Zhenqiangbao and has a garrison of 1,000 soldiers.

The actual number of people was only six or seven hundred, and those who could fight were even fewer, maybe three hundred or so.

In comparison, the strength of Qianshanbao appears exceptionally impressive.

Even if Qianshanbao gathered some people who had escaped from Zhenqiangbao, the total number of people was only about seven hundred.

There are more than five hundred men who are capable of fighting.

In terms of true strength, Qianshan Fort is still superior to Juqiang Fort.

The Juqiangbao is simply a fortified city wall that is higher and a moat that is wider and deeper than the Qianshanbao.

Apart from that, the Fortified Fortress is inferior to the Fortified Fortress at the front.

The firearms and cannons of the Fortified Fortress were also inferior to those of the Fortified Fortress.

Although there were large cannons on the walls of the Juqiangbao fortress, there were only a few, and the number of other cannons was also small, which could not compare with the number of Jia Chen's Tiger Crouching Cannons.

Juqiangbao is not far from Qianshanbao, only about forty li away, and they can also support each other.

If we encounter any crisis in the future, we can look out for each other.

Jia Chen, of course, did not refuse.

Besides, he's a garrison commander, whose status and position are far above mine, a centurion.

The fact that Ye Fandong personally sought him out to say these things shows that Ye Fandong is a pragmatic person.

He is very similar to Chen Tai in his approach to things.

Compared to the other military commanders, Chen Tai was considered a capable fighter.

Because he didn't have a particularly strong background, it would have been impossible for him to reach the position of brigade commander without some real ability.

The imperial court's promotion of Chen Tai to the position of General of Datong Garrison last time must have taken into account Chen Tai's personal abilities and character.

Jia Chen will no longer put all his eggs in one basket. He needs to be more cautious with Liu Tianwang and cannot completely trust him.