Tiger Guards

Chapter 12 Unpretentious
In the darkness of night, Zhao Ji was making a campfire.

Wei Xing seems to be seriously injured. Anyway, he cannot be on duty tonight and will be on night watch.

After dinner, the wound on Zhao Ji's cheek had scabbed over.

His partner on the night watch tonight was the scarred county soldier. He wasn't in the mood to talk tonight. He was wrapped in a worn woolen blanket, sleeping with his head tilted to one side and snoring.

Zhao Ji would close his eyes and pretend to take a nap from time to time, while Yang Ji was responsible for keeping watch beside him.

Yang Ji suddenly pushed Zhao Ji, and Zhao Ji opened his eyes to look at the low wall, which was more than five feet high.

Just then, Guan Shang was seen holding a torch outside the wall. Hu Ban pushed the door open and walked in. Zhao Ji also stood up to greet him: "Commander-in-Chief."

"Tomorrow's competition is cancelled."

Hu Ban stretched out his arms to signal them to go to the campfire. Guan Shang used a pillar to hold the camp gate, walked to the campfire with a torch, and extinguished the torch with soil.

Hu Ban had just sat down and hadn't said anything when the snoring scarred county soldier noticed it. Not daring to sleep anymore, he immediately got up, rolled up the woolen blanket and left.

He actually ran to the stable, lay down in a pile of hay, wrapped in wool felt and fell asleep immediately.

Hu Ban and Zhao Ji turned their gazes away from the stables, and Hu Ban took the initiative to explain, "Aji, do you know the Jia Kui and Jia Liang Road in Xiangling?"

As they were of the same age, Zhao Ji naturally had some impression of Jia Kui.

Jia Kui was not from a wealthy family, and his clan was not large, but he was from a family of respectable people.

Zhao Ji then asked, "Did Jia Liangdao also apply?"

"Well, roughly speaking, all the contemporary heroes of this county are here."

Hu Ban replied, "From what I understand, not only has Jia Liangdao volunteered, but his brother-in-law Liu Fu is also joining the army as a county official. The Xiangling troops arrived today, and Jia Liangdao, knowledgeable about military affairs, believes that if we want to achieve great things, we shouldn't worry about personal matters. His plan is to wait until the troops from all the counties have gathered, then disband them and reorganize them, bringing them together as one."

Seeing Zhao Ji frowning in thought, Hu Ban said, "Aji, you have also studied the art of war. What do you think?"

"He had the right idea, but he lacked time."

Zhao Ji lowered his voice, "After we gather, we won't have enough time to practice our battle formations before we march towards Hanoi. The journey is tiring, and food is scarce, so we can't march slowly. If we follow his plan, we won't be familiar with the situation and we'll be in a hurry to get there. If we're attacked, we'll probably scatter and be completely defeated."

Guan Shang then spoke up: "Brother-in-law, I think what Aji said makes sense. The county has limited food and fodder, but there are so many people coming. Our county has more than ten people, and Xiangling has almost twenty more people. Unless the county provides more food and fodder, otherwise, even if all the troops gather, they will run out of food before they even reach Hanoi."

The chaos in Sanfu was caused by a severe famine caused by drought, and the situation in Hedong was not much better, with food shortages everywhere.

Although the harvest recovered somewhat last year, who dares to bet on this year's harvest?
The counties, prefectures, and wealthy families dare not spend food at will... This is reserved for saving lives.

If we encounter another natural disaster and cannot overcome this difficulty, our family will be destroyed.

Hu Ban raised his hand and waved at Guan Shang. Guan Shang knew that it was inappropriate, so he lowered his head.

Hu Ban stared into the fire. "What Aji said makes some sense, but Jia Liangdao's point is deeper. If the counties band together, even if we form an army of a thousand men, it will be a loose mess, unable to achieve anything significant. Only by breaking down county boundaries can we unite. Otherwise, at the slightest difficulty, we will each go our separate ways, perishing outside our homes and becoming the laughing stock of the entire county."

"When there's a food shortage, does he have a way to solve it?"

Zhao Ji asked quietly, also looking at the campfire. "His family is even poorer than mine. If he can find 5,000 dan of grain and fodder, there's still a chance of success. Otherwise, we can only rob them, and that would be disastrous. The atmosphere in the army would become corrupted from now on. If the court knew about it, how could our careers be affected?"

The purpose of letting these honest and decent sons of families and scholars from humble backgrounds go to Hanoi was to protect the emperor and block the bad influence of the previous loyal warlords.

If these people run out of food and try to rob along the way, what difference would they make from the warlords?
Food is the lifeline of counties, big families and wealthy people. These people would rather send their sons to enlist than donate food.

It can’t be bought with money. What you are buying is not food, but the lives of women and children in every family!

Zhao Ji didn't know much about military strategy, but he had indeed read "The Art of War" and knew the importance of atmosphere when building an army.

Hu Ban remained silent for a long time. Before he returned to the camp, he had already been persuaded by Jia Kui.

Jia Kui's intention was profound, which was to destroy and then rebuild, to build a team with the collective interests of Hedong as the core, rather than each county acting on its own.

The emperor had all kinds of people around him. If they couldn't reach a consensus, they would be instigated and wooed by various warlords or others. Among the warlords who came to rescue the emperor, there was no shortage of former members of the Baibo Army. These were all from Hedong and powerful people in Hedong.

Because of their nepotism, if things go wrong, the Tiger Guards will collapse when they reach Hanoi.

Seeing Hu Ban's expression, Zhao Ji knew that he could not be persuaded by words or reason, as he did not have the support of Jia Kui's ancestral soul ring.

Then, in a gentle voice, he said, "Brother, when we reach Hanoi and the court selects us, we will reorganize the battalion. Right now, the most important thing is to form a team with people we know well. There's no need to be bound by battalion and unit rules; practicality is paramount. Only if we reach Hanoi alive will we have the opportunity to contribute to the country's cause."

Hu Ban gave Zhao Ji a helpless smile. "Aji, the situation in the country is so devastating. How dare we go to Hanoi and allow ourselves to be ordered around by outsiders? Jia Liangdao's proposal resonates deeply with the hearts and minds of the scholars in this county. It's beyond your power to sway."

"In that case, I have nothing more to say."

Zhao Ji glimpsed Pei Xiu leading Shen Tulan out of the room, and lowered his voice, "As the crowd gathers, if we try to take advantage, some will surely be unhappy and resort to extreme measures. Anyway, I'm strong on my feet, so I can easily escape if the chaos breaks out."

Pei Xiu moved his butt to make some space and sat down, frowning: "Aji is right. Jia Kui's thoughts are too far-reaching and not in line with reality."

Hu Ban's attitude also began to waver: "But Sima Wang also holds the same view."

"Hey, he'll be happy to disperse us."

Pei Xiu sneered, "He makes up his story, and I make up mine. Tomorrow morning I'm going to go find the Anyi, Beijiang, and Nanjiang teams. If we listen to Jia Kui, why would we have to travel thousands of miles to protect the emperor? Send someone on horseback to escort Jia Kui to Guanzhong and persuade Li Jue and Guo Si to surrender. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Hu Ban forced a laugh and asked, "If we do this, won't it anger Sima Wang?"

"I treat him as a human being, then he is Sima; otherwise, he is nothing."

Pei Xiu turned to look at Zhao Ji. "Tomorrow, when we go to the parade grounds to compete for the position of garrison commander, Aji, you must give it your all. If Wang Zhi dares to threaten us with military law, don't be afraid of him. As long as we fight among our own children, his uncle won't intervene unless he's killed."

Zhao Ji looked down at his hands, the bright red skill totems flickering between them, cutting through the thorns, level four, increasing damage by 32%.

Pei Xiu also looked down at Zhao Ji's hands, thinking he was assessing the risks, and encouraged him, saying, "With no one in the court in each county, this is our chance, and we must not yield. If young men like you and me yield, how can my uncle hold himself? Unleashing all our might is what we, the younger generation, should do."

"Yes, I'll listen to Seventh Brother."

Zhao Ji clenched his fists and expressed his determination: "Tomorrow, I will kill anyone who dares to stand in our way, except Wang Zhi!"

Zhao Ji had the right to say that he could kill Rui Dan with one punch and knock out Wei Xing, a strong man famous for his bravery in the county, with one punch.

Pei Xiu couldn't imagine how many people Zhao Ji could kill in a fight if he really gave him a sharp sword.

Guan Shang buried his head and didn't dare to say anything.

Hu Ban's face was tense. He didn't expect that the struggle between the noble families would be so simple.

I thought I would have a verbal debate with Jia Kui and Wang Zhi tomorrow, but I didn't expect Pei Xiu to directly propose a fight.

As long as Wang Zhi and Jia Kui waver in their determination tomorrow and react slowly, if they really turn against each other and fight, Wang Zhi's cronies will only be around a dozen or so people.

Zhao Ji took action, and Pei Xiu watched from the side. Which man in this county would be willing to fall behind others?
It's not like we haven't had armed fights before.

Only Hu Ban, a county official, would not take action. At most, he would take the county soldiers to mediate and drag the wounded in the county away from the fighting area.

As for the thousand-man garrison in Jiangyi, do you really think they are the private soldiers of the Wang family?

In their blood-thirsty state, these people were willing to take Wang Zhi in, which was already a great favor to Wang Yi.

In terms of class background, the leaders of the garrison, big and small, and the recruited Tiger Guards, are physically connected by blood.

After this group of tiger soldiers is organized into an army, how can the Wang family have the final say?
Going back hundreds of years, the one who truly ruled Hedong was not the Han emperor or the royal family, but the fathers, brothers and ancestors who enlisted as tiger soldiers.

In the future, only the recruited Tiger Guards and their descendants will be able to rule every blade of grass and every tree in Hedong.

Not to mention Wang Zhi, even Wang Yi was just a passer-by in Hedong.

(End of this chapter)