The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 98 The Position of Guard

"Yes, change the person. The garrison commander of Zhenqiang Fort should be an adult," Liu Daniu shouted.

"That's right, I support the adults taking the position."

"I support it too."

The crowd shouted in unison.

Jia Chen was speechless for a moment. Everyone had misunderstood. The garrison commander of Zhenqiang Fort was no ordinary person. He, a mere commander of a thousand, could not possibly be a match for him.

Even if you make a great contribution, it's not enough.

After all, to become the garrison commander of an important fortress like Zhenqiang Fort, one must at least be a commander.

Wei Ya was a deputy commander, while He Liding was a deputy commander.

This isn't something they can become just by offering their support.

"We don't need to worry about the defense of Zhenqiang Fort, but if we change the person in charge, I believe we will have room to maneuver at Qianshan Fort."

"Jia Chen said."

He already had a plan in mind.

The key to this plan was Ye Fandong, the garrison commander of the Fortress.

These days, Ye Fandong and I have become close, and he has also reminded me to be wary of Wei Ya.

It was these reminders from him that made Jia Chen more vigilant towards Wei Ya and his group.

Otherwise, if I were completely unaware of the situation, I would be powerless to resist once the transfer order came down.

Therefore, Jia Chen wanted to give him a chance in return for a favor.

If they really manage to kill Wei Ya, the garrison at Zhenqiang Fort will be vacant again.

Ye Fandong had previously wanted to compete for the position of garrison commander of Zhenqiang Fort, but unfortunately, Wei Ya took it in the end.

Now that Wei Ya is dead, Liu Tianwang probably doesn't have a suitable candidate for the time being, so Ye Fandong will naturally become the garrison commander of Zhenqiang Fort.

Once Ye Fandong is transferred, the garrison at Juqiangbao will be vacant.

Jia Chen had his eye on this position.

Because the status of Juqiangbao is lower than that of Zhenqiangbao, the requirements for its defense are correspondingly lower.

Although one must be in command to serve as a garrison commander, a commander of a thousand men can serve under special circumstances.

Now that I have just made a great contribution, I should try to use my connections with Chen Tai. There is a chance that I can get the position of garrison commander of Juqiangbao.

If it really becomes the garrison of the Fortress, I can get Wang Baisheng and the others over there.

It's not that Qianshanbao can't be abandoned, but that we can't abandon Wang Baisheng and his gang.

These are his own supporters, his most reliable team.

If we can't take the position of garrison commander of Juqiang Fort, even if the garrison commander of Zhenqiang Fort is replaced, there's no guarantee that the successor will continue to covet Qianshan Fort.

This only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.

Therefore, Wei Ya must die. Only when he dies will I have a chance to seize the position of garrison commander of Juqiang Fort and solve the problem once and for all.

"Sir, please give the order. What should we do?" Wang Baisheng asked.

Since we're going to do it, there's no point in hesitating.

"When Wei Ya goes to Desheng Fort, we will ambush him on the way. His personal guards will not exceed 20 people. As long as we are prepared, they will surely die. As long as we are careful not to leave any traces that would expose our identities, even if an investigation is conducted afterward, it will most likely be considered the work of bandits," Jia Chen said in a deep voice. "Therefore, we cannot use firearms this time."

Everyone nodded. Right now, the one most skilled in using firearms on the North East Road was Qianshan Fort. Besides, if they wanted to pin the blame for the murder on the bandits, they couldn't use firearms.

Those bandits wouldn't know how to use firearms, would they?

"The most important thing now is to get more horses," Jia Chen continued. "After the killing, we must retreat immediately; we can't do without horses. Besides, if they escape, we need horses to catch up. Right now, Qianshan Fort only has ten horses, which isn't enough."

"Second Uncle, horses are hard to come by, especially in this freezing weather. And it's too rushed, there are only a few days left, you can't buy them even if you want to," Jia Mao said with a frown.

"I've thought about the horses. Even if we could buy them, we can't, lest we expose ourselves. We'll ask the Northern Barbarians on the grasslands for them," Jia Chen said calmly. "Zhao Zheng, you should be able to find some settlements of the Northern Barbarians, right?"

"My lord, there are some scattered settlements about sixty miles to the north," Zhao Zheng replied.

Everyone understood Jia Chen's meaning; he intended to take action against some of the tribesmen under the Tumed tribe.

The Chahar region is too far away; it's impractical to raid there.

Although the Tumed tribe basically did not raid southwards, that meant they did not engage in large-scale raids or massacres.

In fact, the Tumed tribe still occasionally sends out bandits to plunder.

This time, Jia Chen committed robbery in reverse.

Jia Chen felt no qualms about dealing with the various tribes of the Later Yuan.

Because these guys may have had the blood of many people from the Great Hong Dynasty on their hands before.

"Alright, let's set off immediately. The purpose of this trip is to steal the horse. As for the people, leave no survivors," Jia Chen said coldly. The horse-stealing operation could not be exposed, so they had to kill to silence them.

"Yes!" everyone immediately replied.

Jia Chen called out the names of five people: Wang Baisheng, Ding Heihu, Zhao Zheng, Jia Mao, and Wu Jiangsheng.

"My lord, I'm here too!" Huang Xiuer called out.

Jia Chen was a bit stumped, but he still added Huang Xiuer's name.

Huang Xiuer and her team's bird squad was indeed quite powerful.

Because of the long-distance raid, Jia Chen did not bring the Tiger Crouching Cannon.

Huang Xiuer led her bird-training team of 20 people, while Wu Jiangsheng led a male bird-training team and a three-eyed bird-training team, totaling 60 people.

There were 60 others, consisting of shield bearers and spearmen.

After leaving the city, the group quickly disappeared into the vast white expanse of the world.

Two hours later, Jia Chen asked Zhao Zheng, "How much further?"

"My lord, there are still thirty li to go," Zhao Zheng replied.

The snow was thick, making progress difficult.

In addition, to conserve their energy, Jia Chen and his men did not engage in high-intensity forced marches.

"Let's take a break." Jia Chen rubbed his hands together and let out a long sigh.

Zhao Zheng and his three men did not rest; they immediately rode off to disperse in the surrounding area.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhao Zheng and his three companions returned.

"Sir, there are bandits!" Zhao Zheng shouted.

Jia Chen and the others had already noticed that Zhao Zheng and his three companions were galloping ahead, with more than two hundred riders chasing after them.

The pursuers were not northern barbarians; these guys were dressed in different clothes, and Jia Chen immediately realized they were horse bandits.

Datong Town was infested with bandits and robbers.

In fact, it's not just Datong Town; there are bandits everywhere now.

With people suffering and many turning to banditry, the world descended into chaos.

"Form ranks!" Jia Chen shouted.

He hadn't expected that he would encounter these bandits before even reaching the Northern Barbarians' settlement.

Zhao Zheng and his three companions returned quickly, while the more than two hundred riders behind them were closing in.

"Third Brother, do they have firearms?" The pursuing bandits realized something was wrong.

They chased after Zhao Zheng and his group of four after seeing that they were alone.

It's rather strange to see that this group of people actually has firearms.

You mean border troops?

But how did the border troops end up here?

They knew those border troops quite well; they were mostly holed up in the fortresses and watchtowers. Why would they come here in this freezing weather? Were they looking for death?

"They might be guards from some caravan. Brothers, we're rich! Over a hundred guards! This caravan must be quite large. Kill them, search the area, we're sure to find them," the leader, Third Brother, laughed loudly.

Upon hearing this, the bandits were overjoyed. Indeed!

Their purpose in coming out was to plunder. In addition to robbing some cattle and sheep belonging to the northern barbarians, they would also plunder any caravans they encountered.

Years of experience in raiding have taught them that the colder the weather, especially as the Lunar New Year approaches, the more likely some caravans will cross the border.

I never expected to encounter such a wonderful thing today.

"Third Brother, it seems there are women involved?"

"Haha, there are some women here, carrying shotguns, trying to shoot my dick? My dick is big, I'm not afraid~~" Third Brother squinted and looked carefully, and indeed found quite a few women in the crowd.

"Brothers, what's there to be afraid of with firearms? Let's charge in and rob those women—"

"Kill!" the bandits shouted excitedly.

They never imagined that one of the strange people in front of them would be a woman carrying a bird-shaped vessel.

In their eyes, as long as they rushed in, this group of people would definitely scatter and flee.

"Shoot the men, but leave plenty of horses behind, those who come to us for help!" Jia Chen ordered.

Dealing with these bandits means we don't need to rush to the northern barbarian settlement anymore, but we must make sure we don't kill too many horses.

Jia Chen felt a pang of emotion. Even bandits could obtain so many horses, while the army suffered from rampant corruption and embezzlement, leading to a severe shortage of military horses.

Wu Jiangsheng and Huang Xiuer calculated the distance in their minds, and the bandits quickly rushed into firing range.

"shooting!"

"Bang, bang, bang!" The musket fired first.

This time, Bird Tong didn't just have 20 poles, but 50; the rest were obtained from the Sun family's caravan.

Many bandits screamed as they fell from their horses; some fell silent, while others rolled on the snow, injured.

Some were unlucky enough to fall off their horses after being injured and then trampled to death by the hooves of their fellow riders.

After Bird Commander fired three rounds of shots, the bandits began to realize what was happening.

The third brother discovered that many of his brothers had died or been injured.

However, now that we've gotten this close, and the enemy is reloading their ammunition, it's our chance to retreat. There's no reason to withdraw now.

"Brothers, charge!" Third Brother shouted.

The other bandits were provoked.

The losses were significant, but that only made them more determined to get rid of this group.

Even if the other side has shield-wielding spearmen, so what?

How can we withstand the onslaught of our own iron cavalry?

The bird-like system failed to activate in time, but the three-eyed system took over.

With a series of "bang bang bang" sounds, the three-eyed commander began firing in rotation.

The bandits charging head-on would be sitting ducks.

"Charge, charge!" Third Brother roared.

"Bang bang bang~~" The first squad of the Bird Command finished loading ammunition and began the second round of firing.

Now that the bandits are closer, the Bird Commander's accuracy and lethality are even more terrifying.

Bandits have little armor; lead bullets can easily pierce through cotton clothing and penetrate flesh.

"How could this be?" Third Brother's eyes widened as he realized that his surroundings had suddenly become somewhat empty.

Previously, we charged forward together, surrounded by our own brothers.

Before he could think any further, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw that his cotton-padded coat was stained red.

He opened his mouth as if to shout, but he could no longer do so.

The corpse fell from the horse's back.

"Third Brother!" a bandit shouted.

"Retreat! Retreat!" The bandits were horrified to discover that of their two hundred-plus men, less than fifty remained in such a short time.

Chaos ensued, especially as the bandits turned their horses around to escape, and many of them collided with each other.

The three-eyed musket and the bird gun continued to fire, and bandits continued to die.

"Mount up! We can't let a single one escape!" Jia Chen shouted.

He was the first to draw his sword and leap onto a horse that was no longer occupied by bandits.

The same goes for Wang Baisheng and others; there are too many unclaimed flatterers here.

Zhao Zheng and his men had already launched their attack; they were already on horseback.

In no time, more than two hundred bandits were wiped out, and not one of them escaped.

On Jia Chen's side, only a few people were injured, which were left when they were attacked by bandits during the pursuit.

These bandits weren't like the northern barbarians. If they were the northern barbarians, they could have posed some threat to Jia Chen's side if they had fired arrows during the charge.

Unfortunately, the bandits were clearly not skilled in horsemanship and archery; all they knew was how to charge, making them easy targets.

"Sir, there are still a few survivors." During the cleanup of the battlefield, some bandits were found to be injured but not dead.

"My lord, spare us, spare us!" Several wounded bandits knelt on the ground and kept kowtowing.

I don't care who the other person is, I just want to live.

"Huh? It's you?" Jia Chen exclaimed in surprise when he saw one of the wounded bandits.