The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

On the morning of the tenth day, the capital city was deserted as everyone gathered on both sides of the street where the prisoners were being presented.

The news of the capture of the Northern prince had already spread throughout the capital and become a topic of conversation among the people.

The people were especially excited about the imperial court's plan to hold a grand ceremony to present captured prisoners.

It has been many years since such a grand event has been held.

In recent years, what people have heard more about is the northern barbarians raiding southwards, killing and kidnapping people in border towns, and in short, nothing good.

The great victory at Datong Town resulted in the killing of over a thousand northern barbarians and the capture of the young prince, which greatly excited everyone.

Abu Nai, dressed in white with a wooden cangue around his neck and white ropes tied around his hands, walked across the street under the escort of soldiers.

If Abunai was somewhat lenient, then the other ordinary Northern captives were not treated the same way at all.

They were disheveled, ragged, wearing heavy wooden shackles and iron chains, their hands bound behind their backs, and they walked forward with their heads down, staggering, as the soldiers shouted and shoved them.

However, Abunai held his head high, displaying an arrogant and unruly demeanor.

Jia Chen changed into a new set of armor and rode a horse. This was provided by the imperial court, and no one dared to be careless at such an important celebration.

Chen Tai rode at the very front, followed by others arranged according to their rank.

Jia Chen, as a centurion, naturally ended up at the bottom of the list of meritorious military officers.

Even so, he was still the center of attention, especially since Jia Chen was clearly the youngest among these military generals, making him even more of a focus of everyone's attention.

A window seat on the second floor of a teahouse.

"Who is my brother-in-law?" a handsome boy of about five or six years old asked, looking at the line below.

"Where's the son-in-law? Wasn't he supposed to be attending the prisoner presentation ceremony?" Ruizhu searched through the ranks but couldn't find Jia Chen.

"No way, that's what the second master of the Jia family told the master himself, how could it be false? Let's see, maybe it's later," Baozhu said.

"Yes, yes, it must be in the back." The butler beside him agreed.

Jia Zheng mentioned to Qin Ye that Jia Chen had made meritorious contributions in Datong Town, and also mentioned that Jia Chen had returned to the capital to participate in the ceremony of presenting captives. After all, the wedding date had been moved up, so it was impossible not to make these things clear.

When Qin Keqing's younger brother, Qin Zhong, learned of this, he wanted to meet his future brother-in-law first.

He didn't come out last time, but this time, with the grand ceremony of presenting prisoners, which was already lively, he couldn't contain his excitement even more.

So the steward led them out again and found a good spot where they could see the procession of prisoners being presented below.

Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed, because the person they met last time was Jia Mao, and they had never met Jia Chen before.

Jia Chen passed right under their noses, and they didn't recognize him.

They didn't find the so-called son-in-law even after the group had gone far away.

Ruizhu had come out with the pearls wanting to relay the news to the girl, but now that she's seen everything, how should she report back?

Meanwhile, on the second floor of another restaurant, Madam Jia Shen and her daughter Jia Liuya were also watching the queue below from the window.

There were some neighbors around them.

Jia Chen's meritorious service and subsequent journey to the capital to present the captured prisoners was an immense honor, and everyone wanted to witness it.

"Second Brother, Mother, it's Second Brother!" Liu Ya'er saw Jia Chen at the back of the group from afar and called out happily.

Tears welled up in Jia Shenshi's eyes; she felt as if she were dreaming.

Her world collapsed after her husband died in battle.

But she still has her son and daughter; she has to keep going.

Her goal in life was to help her son get married and raise her daughter to marriage.

But she never expected that everything would change after her son joined the army.

The fact that my son was able to participate in the ceremony of presenting prisoners of war is definitely a stroke of good luck from our ancestors.

"Yes, it's Chen'er!" Madam Jia stared intently at her son.

Seeing her son riding on horseback, he looked so majestic.

"Second brother, second brother~~" Liu Ya'er shouted excitedly.

However, there were too many people shouting outside, and Liu Ya'er's voice was completely drowned out.

……

A somber atmosphere pervaded the area in front of the majestic Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City.

The Imperial Guards surrounded the square, and civil and military officials, dressed in court robes, stood with their heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound.

As a deep and majestic sound of bells and drums rang out, Emperor Chongli ascended the Meridian Gate tower.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze falling on Abuna kneeling on the ground below.

Even with his pride and unruliness, Abunai had never witnessed such a scene before, and for a moment he was somewhat stunned.

He didn't know how the emperor of the Great Hong Dynasty would deal with him—whether he would be killed or released.

I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

The Minister of Justice stepped forward and loudly proclaimed praises, many of which were eulogies to the retired emperor and the current emperor for their wisdom.

Jia Chen, who was behind him, could still hear the Minister of Justice's words, which went on for quite a while.

Finally, the Minister of Justice shouted, "The soldiers of Datong fought bravely and captured Abunai, the son of the Chahar chieftain, and several of his generals. We now present them to Your Majesty for your judgment!"

"Issue my decree." Emperor Chongli's voice wasn't loud, but due to the silence, the crowd before the Meridian Gate could hear him. "Although Abunai has violated our borders, Heaven has a benevolent heart. Considering your youth and vigor, and for the sake of pacifying the northern frontier, I hereby grant you a pardon for your death sentence! However, while the death penalty is waived, punishment is inevitable. Order him to receive fifty strokes of the cane and be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison under strict guard until he truly repents, at which point a final decision will be made. As for his followers, they have repeatedly violated the border, an offense that cannot be tolerated by law. Order them all to be executed immediately, their blood offered as a sacrifice to the souls of the soldiers and civilians who perished on the border!"

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, two Imperial Guards stepped forward and took him away.

The twenty prisoners were taken away at the same time and soon beheaded.

Twenty fresh heads and nearly a hundred carefully selected heads of Northern barbarians were placed in front of the Meridian Gate.

This was a sacrificial offering made by the Great Hong Dynasty to demonstrate its illustrious military achievements and to commemorate its ancestral temples and the state.

After dealing with the prisoners, including Abunai, came the victory celebration banquet.

The victory banquet was held in the palace, and Jia Chen was entering for the first time and was deeply impressed.

The emperor himself was present, along with princes of the imperial family, civil and military officials, and meritorious generals like Jia Chen.

For military commanders, being able to attend this banquet was as great an honor as showing their faces at a ceremony.

During the banquet, Emperor Chongli rewarded the meritorious soldiers of Datong Garrison.

The gifts included gold and silver, cloth and silk, imperial wine, and so on.

These will be collected by Chen Tai on his behalf, and he will then make the specific distribution.

As for the promotions of each individual, the Ministry of War still needs to conduct final verification, which will be postponed for a day or two.

Jia Chen didn't return home until dusk.

The original three-sided courtyard house was renovated and expanded into a four-sided courtyard house during the few months I was away in Datong.

The neighbors who were originally roommates have moved to other places under the arrangement of the Jia family.

Now the courtyard house belongs to Jia Chen's family.

The house was bustling and lively, with big red lanterns and other decorations hanging up, creating a joyful atmosphere.

This is preparation for his wedding.