Tiger Guards

Chapter 111 Restraint and Patience

Zhao Ji was anxious and ate quickly.

He had no mood for small talk, so he put down his empty bowl, picked up the fish soup and drank it all in one gulp: "Military affairs are overwhelmed, so I'll take my leave."

He stood up, bowed, picked up the helmet and put it on his head.

Zhao Yan put down his chopsticks and said, "Zimao, I'm going to take a walk with Aji."

"Yes."

Zhao Rui and Zhao Fan stayed and watched Zhao Yan and Zhao Ji leave.

Seeing them leave the small courtyard, Zhao Fan sighed: "Brother, it's a good thing that Aji pays so much attention to military affairs."

Anyway, he was tired of the military and didn't even want to see any brutal, arrogant soldier again in his life.

Zhao Rui was somewhat disappointed when he saw Zhao Fan like this.

Although he himself did not like the military, putting Zhao Fan into the army would at least be a help.

Seeing this, he said something else: "The matter of conferring the title of Lord of Tongxiang will be handed over to Zikai tomorrow. Please express your condolences to Aji's relatives."

"Yes, I understand."

"Also, Aji's family is poor, so we need to send someone to teach them etiquette in advance. You will set out tomorrow and send a guide to Wenxi to teach them etiquette and set up the incense table. This is a glorious return to the hometown. The decree will be announced the next morning when the villagers gather. You are not allowed to linger and must return to the court that day."

Zhao Rui gave detailed instructions. The night curfew would be enforced soon. Zhao Fan was a distant relative and was also young and strong, so he would be targeted for elimination and would be kicked out.

On the other side, Zhao Yan asked, "Aji, your father is in the camp. Have you figured out how to accommodate him?"

"I can't let him serve as a Sima or a Xiaowei under my command."

Zhao Ji stood at the foot of the county government's central gate, thought for a moment, and said, "They're reluctant to give up their wealth and status, so it's better for them to stay under the imperial rule and serve as hostages. As for me, living in the mountains and establishing a manor with about a hundred households would be a peaceful and beautiful thing."

Under the Renzi system, he and Zhao Yan had an official rank of two thousand stones, and their families could send people to serve as palace officials, which was both a blessing and a hostage.

Zhao Yan has rich experience and has seen many families of relatives by marriage fall.

They were really very restrained, and because of their contribution to the eastward migration, they asked for a title of Marquis with a fief of 300 households.

Zhao Ji was even more filial, giving credit to his mother and bringing back the title of Lord Tongxiang with a fief of 500 households... There was no hereditary or inheritance of the title of Lord Tongxiang, it was a personal lifelong title.

Zhao Yan noticed Zhao Ji's insincere and sarcastic tone, so he asked, "What happened that caused Aji to become estranged from his family?"

"Well, when I lived in Zhongche, there were two trees planted in my neighbor's yard. One was a jujube tree, and the other was also a jujube tree."

Zhao Ji looked up at the large, round moon as he spoke. "It was raining and cold, and my relatives came to my house to take shelter. Someone wanted to eat some dates and forced me to climb over the wall to pick them. I didn't want to take them without permission. The neighbor's son was my friend, and I didn't want to let him down, so I became unfilial and disobedient. I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I admit my mistake?"

Zhao Ji turned around to look at Zhao Yan, his voice helpless: "I can't change my background, but I can decide who I will be partners with."

Zhao Yan raised his hand and stroked his beard as he listened. When he was young, he dared to talk back to his family like this. Now that he had a knife in his hand, how could he tolerate the bullying of the court?

If the imperial court could seize the weak spot and provide reasonable and well-founded evidence, it might be able to force Zhao Ji to surrender.

If they were to cheat, and since they had no relatives or blood ties or emotional ties, Zhao Ji would definitely destroy the court with a single blow.

As an old man with a shrewd mind, he felt that Zhao Ji was not telling the truth and there must be other secrets.

Seeing Zhao Ji like this, he didn't want to ask any more questions, so he said, "Your father lives under someone else's roof. This is probably not his original intention."

Zhao Ji just nodded. Old Zhao really looked down upon these sneaky things.

Not wanting to continue this topic, Zhao Ji bowed and said goodbye, leading Han Shu away.

The road was clear. At the gate of the prefectural magistrate's mansion, a boy had been on duty for most of the day. He came up and said, "Minister, the Tiger Guards have come with an order saying that after the night curfew, we have to stand guard and patrol outside the gate."

"Listen to them. Gather the troops. I'll send another team to relieve them after I get to the barracks."

Zhao Ji paused, looking at the bright moon in the night sky: "The command for the change of guard is Qingfeng Mingyue."

"Here."

Jia Tong responded and bowed.

Zhao Ji nodded and walked quickly down the stairs.

Pei Bao led the horse in front of the steps and secured it. Zhao Ji mounted the horse nimbly. The team leader Tang Xian also waved his hand, and the nearby guards holding halberds mounted their horses, holding torches, and surrounded Zhao Ji to the military camp west of the city.

The streets were silent at night, the smell of ashes from the previous day's arson still lingering.

From time to time, patrols consisting of five Huben, Yulin, or Hedong knights would patrol the streets with torches, and all doors would be closed.

Go straight into the military camp without any obstruction.

There were campfires burning throughout the camp, but no one was gathering or making any noise. Zhao Ji was pleased and said to Xu Huang, who came to greet him at the gate, "Gong Ming is a strict commander of the army, even better than I am."

"Don't dare."

Xu Huang stretched out his arms sideways. With Zhao Ji's support, he was able to make drastic changes to the camp affairs.

Zhao Ji drove his horse into the camp and turned to look at the row of fresh heads hanging on the fence at the camp gate. No one looked familiar, and he had no interest in asking or counting them on the spot.

This is equivalent to detoxification and can effectively improve the overall quality of the group.

It seems that the total number of troops has been reduced, but the quality has been improved even more!

The military camp in Anyi City could accommodate 3,000 soldiers, and now a large number of horses entered the camp, making it crowded.

Therefore, the horses were divided into groups, with dozens tied here and dozens tied there, filling the camp with a strong stench of horse urine.

As they passed the small Xiongnu camp, Xu Huang pointed at the lights in the barracks and whispered, "The Right Wise Prince is still waiting for the Minister."

"Well, invite him to dine with me. I'm not full."

Xu Huang called an attendant, who held a torch and went to the Xiongnu camp to whisper a message. Xu Huang then led Zhao Ji to the central army hall. Upon entering, Zhao Ji saw a cowhide map hanging on a wooden screen. It was a newly drawn map of the streets of Anyi City Defense.

Seeing Zhao Ji's eyes fall on this, Xu Huang immediately stepped forward and took it off, followed Zhao Ji into the inner room behind the screen, and spread out the map.

Zhao Ji took off his helmet and placed it on the corner of the low table. He asked, "How are the defenses at the four gates and the sentries on the city walls?"

"There are three hundred Tiger Infantrymen on each of the four city walls, all led by Tiger Guards."

Xu Huang paused, then continued, "When the military official came to announce the imperial edict today, he asked me if I was interested in the position of Imperial Guards. I neither refused nor agreed."

He squatted on one knee at the low table. At this time, Han Shu also took off his extra weapons and lit the spare oil lamp, making the room brighter.

Xu Huang saw no sign of Zhao Ji's reaction and immediately added, "The title of Duke of Duting that I received was also requested when the Baibo generals held the imperial court hostage. Now that the Minister of Justice has restored order, I wish to submit a petition to the court to have the title reclaimed."

"You don't have to accept the title, but there's no need to be so cautious. The Ministry of Personnel has reached a resolution today to discuss the merits and faults of the Baibo generals. Those found guilty will be executed, while those found meritorious will each be granted a fief of 100 households for ten years, and one of their sons will be recruited as a Lang. This will be announced at the provincial palace tomorrow morning so that everyone inside and outside will know."

Zhao Ji sat there, brows furrowed in thought, "This noble Yulin is doing Brother Gongming no good. Let's hold on to the Hedong Knights. They're from our hometown. One day, they'll fight on the battlefield, and with their meritorious service, we can choose the right position. Why should we accept favors from others?"

"Yes, I will do as you say."

Xu Huang bowed solemnly. Zhao Ji heard Qu Bei's voice outside and waved his hand to signal Xu Huang to sit aside.

As soon as Xu Huang sat down, Qu Bei turned around the screen and entered the inner hall, bowing to Zhao Ji: "Minister Zhao."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Your Majesty. Please take a seat first."

"Yes."

Qubei sat down, took off his helmet and placed it beside the table. He also took off his sword and placed it on his right hand to show that he was harmless.

When Zhao Ji saw Qu Bei's little action, he would not take the initiative to draw his sword.

Even though the Tiger Guard on duty today was a partner in killing the enemy, he never drew his sword.

Zhao Ji, who had witnessed nearly two thousand years of coup d'état in China and abroad, was more vigilant and had a lower limit on coups.

Judging others by his own standards, his vigilance has almost become an instinct.

Soon, all the Hu Ben assistant ministers and senior doctors in the camp had gathered and were standing in the inner hall.

Everyone was excited, waiting for Zhao Ji to announce the good news.

Zhao Ji looked around at them. "Tomorrow, there will be good news from the provincial government. The three provinces will recruit fifty men with excellent literary skills. The Left and Right Second Lang Offices will also select more than fifty men. In principle, after those are transferred to other Lang Offices, the vacant positions will be filled by senior lieutenants from the Tiger Infantry. However, the Tiger Infantry is just being established, and our Hedong Tiger Guards have made special contributions to the court. Therefore, those Tiger Guards transferred to other offices and the three provinces may recommend one of their sons to be recruited as a Jiecong Tiger Guard."

"This section of the Tiger Guards must pass my assessment. If you can't pass, I will recommend you again. I would rather have no one than not have someone unqualified."

Eight hundred Hedong Tiger Guards were the stipulated number of soldiers to be killed, and Zhao Ji would not expand it at will.

The families of these Huben are naturally Huben families, and they give priority to selecting their sons to fill the vacancies of Huben.

This is just the old system of Huben and Yulin. If you are not from this group, it will be difficult for you to squeeze in.

Later, as there were more and more nobles, the official careers were limited, so they had to go down and grab positions; even the Hu Ben and Yu Lin were difficult for their sons to inherit the position after the father's death, let alone outsiders.

It was thanks to the continuous chaos that the people of Hedong seized this opportunity.

When we get the opportunity, we must actively grow.

He waved his hand to silence the Huben's voices and continued, "The Huben's purpose is to kill bandits and defend the country. Therefore, I will not let go of any Huben who is good at military affairs, no matter how talented they are. Therefore, if you were not selected by the three provinces and two departments, it means that I kept you. Don't blame me."

"Don't dare."

The Tiger Guards saluted, and Zhao Ji said, "Tomorrow morning, I will sort out the military records and promote those who can. Otherwise, if you go to the three provinces and two offices, I will not be able to help you."

"Thank you, Minister."

Everyone bowed again, and Zhao Ji smiled. "There are no outsiders around here. When I lead the army, I still prefer you to call me Zhonglang or Tunzhang. Let's all rest quickly. Wang Cheng will stay."

"Here."

The Hu Ben soldiers saluted and left one after another. Tang Xian followed suit. All he wanted now was to lie down in the haystack and fall asleep as soon as possible.

Zhao Ji looked at Wang Cheng and said, "Select the Tiger Guards from this unit and send them to relieve Jia Wenzhen. The command is 'clear wind and bright moon'. Later in the night, I will transfer Han Dong to relieve him. The command is 'moon sets and sun rises'. Go and count the troops, then come back to me to get the documents."

"Here."

Wang Cheng agreed. He and Ximen Jian were from the same village, and he had grown a thick beard at a young age.

After watching Wang Cheng leave, Zhao Ji turned to look at Han Shu and said, "If you don't want to write the document, go and bring the person who will write it here."

"Wei Ji?"

Han Shu asked tentatively, but Zhao Ji didn't refute him, so he immediately said, "Well, I'll go and supervise the kitchen to prepare the meal."

After Han Shu left, there were only three people left in the inner hall.

Qubei looked at Zhao Ji, who was lost in thought, and asked, "Mr. Shizhong, how do you feel?"

“I can’t imagine it, it’s so beautiful.”

Zhao Ji spread his arms and embraced the air in front of him. "Without the old nobles' restraint, I feel I am formidable. Give me a month to sort out military affairs, and I will lead the reformists in a battle against Li Jue and Guo Si!"

Seeing Zhao Ji like this, Xu Huang couldn't help but smile.

It’s really not easy to win the bet.

What is even more rare is that even if Zhao Ji wins, he only wants to win small and continuous victories instead of trying to kill himself in one go.

It’s just a pity that the former nobles are still under house arrest in the stables.

(End of this chapter)