Tiger Guards

Chapter 117 Fooling Each Other
When Zhao Ji walked out of the county magistrate's mansion, he saw Tang Xian leading a team of Tiger Guards cavalry who had just arrived.

Walk down the stairs and look along the street. Every few dozen steps there are five Tiger Guards acting as eyes.

Jia Tong dismounted and walked quickly towards the steps: "Shizhong."

"Let's talk about it when we get back to camp."

"Here."

Zhao Ji mounted his horse, and more than forty riders surrounded him and galloped away, with the tiger guards joining him one after another along the way.

When we returned to the camp, we saw all kinds of armor and weapons piled up in the training ground. The Huben, Yulin and Hedong Knights were directing the Tiger Infantry to move and transport them carefully.

When he arrived at the training grounds, Xu Huang came to greet him: "Minister?"

"Nothing serious, but Ding Chong got drunk and went berserk, attacked the Tiger Guards and was killed."

Zhao Ji briefly recounted the story and, without dismounting, continued, "We will move to the north of the city and set up camp early tomorrow morning. Gongming will stay behind to guard the camp, and I will go out with Qubei later to find a site."

"Here!"

Xu Huang agreed, and Zhao Ji returned the greeting on horseback, leading several knights to the small Xiongnu camp.

Without waiting for notification, he rode his horse in and went straight to the gatehouse of Qubei.

At this time, the door opened and Qu Bei walked out with his bare chest. Seeing that it was Zhao Ji, he immediately smiled and asked, "Why are you here so suddenly?"

Seeing Zhao Ji observing the barracks, he said with a servile smile, "My prince knows that the minister is strict in managing the army, how dare he hide his female relatives?"

"So, I've wronged the virtuous king?"

"I dare not. Xiao Wang is also enjoying it and taking advantage of the loopholes in military law."

Qubei said this and stretched out his arms to invite him. Zhao Ji also jumped off his horse and threw the whip to the sergeant who followed him.

After walking a dozen steps with Qubei, they arrived under an old wooden shed. Qubei, wearing a deerskin apron wrapped around his waist, knelt on a straw mat with a serious expression, "Minister, has there been any change in the court?"

"Well, another minister, Ding Chong of Pei, pretended to be drunk and tried to provoke me. He intended to stab me, but I killed him."

Zhao Ji sat down casually. At this time, he saw two yellow-headed young Huns walking out of Qubei's barracks, and he couldn't help but smile.

Qu Bei did not think it was strange, and asked, "Does the Minister have any interest in this?"

"No, I need to conserve my energy while leading the army to kill the bandits."

Zhao Ji only glanced at him and then said, "Later, the wise king, please accompany me to the north of the city to inspect a suitable camp site. The army will leave the city tomorrow. We will spend two days setting up the camp, then training the troops and resting the soldiers and horses."

Qubei asked, "Why not go south of the city? The Wei and Fan estates have plenty of food and fodder, which would be convenient for transporting food and fodder, and they can also protect the treasury nearby."

"This money is in the custody of the imperial court. It has nothing to do with you or me. There's no need to worry about it."

Seeing that there were still a few Xiongnu guards around, Zhao Ji said, "I will leave the city later. I have some matters to discuss with the wise king."

"Okay, I'll come find the Minister after I pack my things."

"Excuse me for disturbing you. Goodbye."

Zhao Ji said this with a bow, grabbed the horse led by the squad leader, raised his left leg to step on the single stirrup, pushed off the ground with his right foot and jumped up, a bit like riding a retro 28-inch bicycle, and got on the horse.

Qubei also stood up to see him off. Seeing Zhao Ji driving his horse out of the camp, the smile on Qubei's face faded and became gloomy.

It was only Zhao Ji who didn't take action. If he had really killed him, his head might have been impaled on a spear and displayed to the public.

Seeing the Hun kings and leaders coming over, Qubei's expression returned to normal. After all, this was a group of mercenaries, and he was just the leader.

For political reasons, the Han court and the Xiongnu Chanyu royal court appointed him as the Right Wise King.

Zhao Ji returned to his barracks and just as he took off his helmet, Wei Ji came to the door and said, "Minister."

"Come in and talk."

Zhao Ji saw Wei Ji's heavy expression and asked, "You heard about it too?"

"Yes, how will the court deal with it?"

"I will lead the army north of the city and recommend Pei Mao to replace Ding Chong."

Zhao Ji squinted his eyes and looked at the battle flag with the word "Zhao" erected in the distance outside the window: "The court will give me the imperial sword later. I feel like they are fooling me." But if there was no pressure from the court, Wei Ji in front of him would probably hate himself the most.

The imperial court is still there, and the old ministers are still there. This is the original motivation for Wei Ji and himself to collude and become a perfect match.

Wei Ji bowed deeply and said, "What do you wish, then, Minister?"

"Prepare your horses and soldiers, and within twenty days, escort the emperor north to attack the Xiongnu and obtain food from them."

Zhao Ji looked at Wei Ji and said, "Tomorrow the army will leave the city, and many of the garrison troops will be sent to Beijiang and Nanjiang. Zhao Xu is in Beijiang, and Jia Kui is in Nanjiang. I've ordered them to organize craftsmen to build ships and carts. I hope we can also gather ships and carts here in Anyi for military use."

The boat is a small transport vessel for shipping on the Sushui River. The salt produced in the Hedong Salt Lake also relies mostly on water transportation. It is connected to the lower reaches of the Sushui River through canals and then transported to various places along the Yellow River.

Upon hearing this, Wei Ji asked, "Is the Minister of State preparing for an attack from Guanzhong?"

"Yes, I will try to keep as many boats on the Sushui River upstream as possible."

Zhao Ji stood up, took down a rolled-up cowhide map from the wall, and after spreading it out, he gestured to Wei Ji: "Within ten days, the powerful men in each county must give me an explanation. Food, weapons, horses, sons, and followers, I want them all! Whoever refuses, I will attack first! No one takes the imperial edict seriously right now, but it is necessary to do so. Later, I will ask for an edict to recruit new troops for you. You will be my envoy and immediately go to Yanjian City. I will select 200 men to accompany you to Yishi County."

"If the Salt Supervisor City refuses to send troops, I will crush them tomorrow. If they send troops and armor, you take these people to Yishi County. If the local tyrants are unwilling to send their sons and followers, I will come to them. After Yishi, it will be Jie County, and finally Puban. Recruit at least a thousand men. The followers and local comrades will be left to you, and the sons of the tyrants will be appointed as palace officials. I hope they will cherish this opportunity to serve the court."

Zhao Ji raised his hand and pointed at Puban: "If you want to avenge your family, then defend this place."

Wei Ji looked hesitant. If the suicidal Wei Huang and his son were still alive, relying on their prestige, it would not be difficult to gather the troops of various families to form a fighting force.

Letting him analyze the situation might give him some confidence, and he might even be able to do the job as a military supervisor.

As for leading troops to fight...after the general, the Grand Marshal, and the Marquis of Changping Lie Wei Qing, the Wei family generally lacked military talent.

Seeing Wei Ji's refusal to agree, Zhao Ji said, "Then you must do your best to rally the troops. I have already petitioned the court to exempt Hedong from taxation for ten years. You can also recruit strong men from the people along the way. The total force must be at least 2,000, preferably 3,000. I will send Xu Gongming to lead the troops."

We cannot have any expectations for this hastily assembled army, but if they are to defend the city and resist the attacks of Li Guo's bandit army, these people can play a certain role.

In fact, Zhao Ji wanted to do this task personally, but the training of the Tiger Guards and Tiger Infantry was more important.

People's energy is limited, and so are their enthusiasm and initiative.

Three thousand new recruits are enough to exchange the Hedong Knight Battalion from Xu Huang, and it can also stimulate Xu Huang's enthusiasm.

Concerned that Xu Huang would not go, Zhao Ji added, "If Xu Gongming is to be of any importance elsewhere, I will ask my father to lead the troops."

Lao Zhao can also do the job of defending the city.

Before his downfall, Puban's army was in possession of a fortified city, and they were sure to hold on no matter what.

"Here!"

Wei Ji agreed and added, "Minister, the Salt Supervisor City has a huge influence. Please send capable personnel to take over as soon as possible. If you take over the Salt Supervisor City, it will not be difficult to gain the support of the powerful people in Hedong."

"I understand what you mean. Today I was assassinated and I want to ask for the salt supervisor. The court will not refuse this."

Anyway, the imperial court never had actual control over the salt administration. Compared with the income from the salt administration, how much is the head tax in Hedong?

The so-called imperial court is the current Menxia Province.

Ding Chong died and Pei Mao took his place. As long as the request was relatively reasonable, the Menxia Province would approve it.

After the former ministers were locked up in the stables, many government decrees became freely available and could be implemented as the emperor wished.

Zhao Ji was not in a hurry to confer titles and official positions on the people around him, nor did he take the opportunity to reward money or plunder land on a large scale... This was already very rare.

Before leaving, Wei Ji said, "Once the four gates of Anyi are opened and the streets are freed from restrictions, if the heroes of this county learn that the Minister of the Court is in charge of the Salt Administration, they will surely rush to invite him to a banquet. He might as well hold a banquet outside the city walls and force every family to contribute sons, soldiers, and military supplies. This way, I could recruit over two thousand men, and the Minister of the Court could recruit another two or three thousand."

The key point is to cut down the salt ponds and the powerful people who depend on them for their livelihood.

Zhao Ji's original plan was to kill 200 people to test the waters, but Wei Ji meant to use a super critical strike to double the number and kill 2,000 to 3,000 people.

The Wei family is already in bad luck and can't just watch these guys live a good life.

Wei Ji had no psychological pressure, and his lineage was not involved in the dispute over the salt lake, so there was no question of any emotional connection.

"Yes, please make a list for me so I can knock on each one of them."

Zhao Ji rarely bowed and called Wei Ji by his courtesy name.

(End of this chapter)