The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 95 Picking the Fruit (Second Update)

When they passed through Zhenqiang Fort, Wei Ya, the garrison commander, personally came out to greet Jia Chen, showing great enthusiasm.

Most people would probably be flattered, since it was a freezing cold place.

But with Ye Fandong's reminder, and considering the previous incident of Qianshanbao accusing him, Jia Chen became increasingly convinced that this person was two-faced and that he didn't know what schemes he might plot against him in secret.

Besides Wei Ya, there was another acquaintance, whom Jia Chen also knew. He was Gao Gou, a former battalion commander in the Beijing garrison, and now a chiliarch, serving as the chiliarch of Zhenqiang Fort.

When Jia Chen was exiled to Qianshandun, Gaogou had obviously received some benefits from the Sun family.

Cai and He Liding colluded and did not object to his punishment.

Jia Chen also didn't have a good impression of him.

However, at this time, Gao Gou was just as enthusiastic as Wei Ya, or even more so, and treated him like a brother.

When did we become so close?

Everyone was just putting on a show, and Jia Chen's face showed a look of gratitude.

Jia Chen did not stay at Zhenqiang Fort long, citing urgent military affairs.

Wei Ya and Gao Gou did not try to stop them. They had already received news that Ligdan Khan was heading south to Xuanfu Town, and their Datong Town also needed to strengthen its defenses.

"My lord, Jia Chen may seem respectful, but he doesn't really respect you at all," Gao Gou said, standing on the city wall and watching Jia Chen walk away.

The smile on Wei Ya's face had long since vanished.

When Jia Chen faced himself, he was indeed as Gao Gou had described.

They appear respectful, addressing you as "adult," but their true feelings may be quite different.

"No rush. He's only relying on his men from Qianshan Fortress. With them, he's a fierce tiger, but without them, he's just a toothless tiger. We'll see how I deal with him then," Wei Ya said coldly.

Hearing this, Gao Gou's face lit up with a smile: "Sir, when can I go over there?"

"What's the rush? It'll be about the end of the year at the latest," Wei Ya said, glancing at Gao Gou. "I mentioned it to the military commander before, but he didn't give a clear answer. However, in my opinion, his lack of objection is tantamount to acquiescence. After the northern barbarians return, I'll go to Desheng Fort to see him again and try to finalize the matter. Only when you become the garrison commander of Qianshan Fort will I feel at ease. Otherwise, if Jia Chen holds a grudge against me, he might just stand by and watch if the northern barbarians really invade the south."

Wei Ya had seen the defensive fortifications of Qianshan Fort.

Although the city wall was not as high as Zhenqiang Fort, Qianshan Fort had more firearms, especially the Tiger Crouching Cannon, the sheer number of which shocked him.

Of course, besides artillery, the most important force was Jia Chen's group of men.

That's a real force of over 500 soldiers.

There are over a thousand people in Zhenqiangbao, but less than 500 are actually able to work, and less than half of them are truly capable.

The fact that the strength of the fortified village below him had surpassed his own left Wei Ya feeling quite resentful.

Given what happened before, how could he possibly have feelings for Jia Chen?

Qianshan Fort has a lot of firearms and garrison troops, making it more secure than Zhenqiang Fort.

If a large force of northern barbarians were to march south next time, Wei Ya dares to say that even if Zhenqiang Fort falls, Qianshan Fort might not be safe.

Therefore, he coveted Qianshan Fort and wanted to move Gaogou there to replace Jia Chen, and then move Jia Chen to Zhenqiang Fort as a commander.

If that doesn't work, we could even appoint him as the magistrate of Zhenqiang Fort. For a commander of a thousand to be appointed as a magistrate would be an absolute honor.

The official in charge of conduct is one's deputy, and the extent of their power depends entirely on one's own will.

As long as Jia Chen is under my watchful eye, he won't be able to cause any trouble.

By controlling the garrison at Qianshan Fort, Gaogou can further solidify his own Zhenqiang Fort.

That's killing two birds with one stone.

"My lord, I'm worried that if we're too late, they'll dispose of the valuables they seized from the northern barbarians," Gao Gou said.

Although Jia Chen had done some secrecy work, given how many Northern barbarians they had killed and how many they had breached the Northern barbarian camp, no one believed that Jia Chen and his men hadn't obtained other spoils of war.

Chen Tai and his men valued human lives and warhorses.

But for Gao Gou and his men, the wealth plundered by the Northern Barbarians was something they coveted.

If Jia Chen didn't hand these over, then they must still be in Qianshan Fort.

"It will be ours sooner or later," Wei Ya said with a smile.

When Jia Chen returned to Qianshan Fort, everyone gathered around him, curious about the scene of the prisoner presentation ceremony.

However, Jia Chen first inquired about some things that happened at Qianshan Fort after he left, such as the manufacture of firearms.

After all, they had obtained a lot of fine iron from the Sun family's caravan, which could be used to build more Tiger Crouching Cannons.

They had already received orders regarding the Chahar tribe's southward march to Xuanfu, and were on high alert at all times, daring not to slacken their vigilance in the slightest.

After confirming everything was correct, Jia Chen was very satisfied with everyone's performance during his trip to Beijing.

The fortified position is now much more secure than before.

Jia Chen satisfied everyone's curiosity by describing the ceremony of presenting prisoners to them, which amazed everyone.

"Second Uncle, you're married!?" Jia Mao was surprised to hear that Jia Chen was married.

After all, he knew that Jia Chen's wedding was probably not until next year.

Jia Chen briefly explained the reason for the earlier start date.

Getting married is a joyous occasion, and with Jia Chen's promotion to commander of a thousand households, everyone was even happier.

Their promotions haven't been announced yet, but with Jia Chen's return, I believe their promotion orders will be coming soon.

"My lord, these northern barbarians have come at the worst possible time. It would have been better if they had come later. We still have to travel back to Datong Town overnight on this joyous occasion," Wang Baisheng sighed.

Hearing that Jia Chen had rushed back without even entering the bridal chamber, she couldn't help but sigh.

They say a moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold, but it has all been ruined by the northern barbarians.

"Do you think the northern barbarians can wait for me to march south?" Jia Chen laughed. "Baisheng, come with me for a moment."

Jia Chen named all of Yuan Qianshandun's trusted confidants, including Ding Heihu.

"Sir, what's the matter? Our Bird Commander Team can handle it too. We're no worse than them," Huang Xiuer said anxiously.

Jia Chen couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

He knew Huang Xiuer had misunderstood.

They assumed they had some secret military mission assigned to Wang Baisheng and his team, and thus neglected her.

These days, Huang Xiuer and the others have indeed been working very hard. They want to show themselves and prove that they, as women, are no worse than men like Wang Baisheng.

In fact, Wang Baisheng and his men had already witnessed the power of the arquebus squad last time, so they dared not underestimate the arquebus squad again.

"This is not a suitable matter for you two!" Jia Chen shook his head and said.

"My lord, there's nothing inappropriate about it. What they can do, we can do too," Huang Xiuer insisted.

Seeing Huang Xiuer's resolute expression, Jia Chen nodded and said, "You come too."

Inside an earthen house, this is Jia Chen's residence.

There's nothing special about it; it's as simple as any other earthen house in the city. The only difference is that it's a bit bigger.

In the early stages of his business, Jia Chen never thought about enjoying himself; he just wanted a place in the city to shelter him from the wind and rain.

"You are all people I, Jia Chen, can trust," Jia Chen said, glancing around at everyone.

Everyone held their breath and dared not make a sound.

They noticed that Jia Chen's expression was unusually solemn, indicating that he was about to say something important.

"My lord, give the order. Even if it means death, I, Wang Baisheng, will charge forward," Wang Baisheng said in a deep voice.

He had long since completely admired Jia Chen, and his respect for him was beyond measure.

Even if I die, this life will have been enough.

He had never been so glorious before.

He has even been given a separate page in the village's family genealogy.

And all of this was brought to him by Jia Chen.

Others also expressed their opinions.

"You don't have to die, but if this matter isn't resolved, our fates will probably not be good either," Jia Chen said, taking a deep breath.

Next, Jia Chen recounted some of Wei Ya's affairs and also expressed some of his concerns and speculations.

"Damn it, these bastards! They weren't around when we were fighting the Northern Tartars, but now that we're doing well, they want to come and steal the fruits of our labor?" Wang Baisheng cursed angrily.

Jia Chen had a vague idea of ​​how Wei Ya was going to deal with him.

Kill yourself?

Probably not, at least not recently, since I'm currently riding high on my popularity.

My sudden death might cause quite a stir.

Can Wei Ya bear the consequences?

Therefore, in Jia Chen's view, Wei Ya is probably going to ignore him now, and wait until he is gradually forgotten by people. Whether Wei Ya kills him or something else at that time is up to Wei Ya.

Therefore, getting rid of oneself, such as being transferred away from Qianshanbao, would be the best option.

Jia Chen's guess was not unfounded; it was based on some evidence.

Gao Gou was unusually enthusiastic towards him, and his words almost always mentioned Qianshanbao.

After returning, Jia Chen pondered the matter carefully and concluded that they were most likely after Qianshan Fort.

If I were to leave Qianshan Fort, I would be like a rootless duckweed, at the mercy of others, completely at their mercy.

"Anyone who dares to come, I'll chop them down with one stroke," Ding Heihu snorted. "In this life, I only recognize you, sir. I don't care about anything else, like guard posts."

"These are just my guesses, and it might not turn out that way in the end," Jia Chen said. "But we need to prepare early. We need to arrange some people at Zhenqiang Fort to gather information about Wei Ya and the others. Do you have any acquaintances there?"

Finally, Sun Tiechong said he could take responsibility for the matter.

He's an old man here and knows quite a few people.

Although some of the elite troops Wei Ya brought this time were from the Beijing Garrison, most of them were local.

In addition, some people in the garrison's residence, such as the servants who served him, were often locals.

If you want to gather information, you can often get a lot from these people.

Besides the arrangements at Zhenqiang Fort, Jia Chen had other preparations in mind.

Liu Tianwang's side is definitely unreliable, since Wei Ya dared to do this, it must have been Liu Tianwang's doing.

Therefore, he could only place his hopes on Chen Tai.

Originally, since he was under Liu Tianwang's command, it was unlikely that he would go directly to the general if anything happened. Moreover, reporting to a higher level was a major taboo in officialdom, not to mention that he had bypassed several levels.

But now, Jia Chen can't care about that anymore.

Qianshan Fortress is his foundation. Anyone who tries to take away his foundation is no different from taking his life.

Regardless of whether he gets promoted in the future, he must keep Qianshan Fort under his control, or more precisely, under Wang Baisheng and his gang; he will never let go of it.

Strength is king.

Having troops at your disposal, and elite troops at that, is what makes others wary of you, and Jia Chen understood this very well.

Just as Jia Chen returned to Qianshan Fort, Lin Heqing, who was far away in Jiangnan, arrived at the Yangzhou Salt Bureau with his wife and daughters. This was the official residence of Lin Ruhai, the Salt Inspector.