Tiger Guards

Chapter 126 Beheading Oath
The gate of Beiguo's manor opened, and Beiguo's children, in-laws, followers, guests and servants came out one after another.

They were all without armor, had thrown their weapons aside, and were then driven to an open area and supervised by the Tiger Infantry.

After these men came the women with their children, who had hidden as much gold, jade and other valuables on their bodies as possible.

Fortunately, Zhao Ji kept his promise and just watched them come out without searching them. They were detained in another open space.

Zhao Ji sent his Huben and the Tiger Step Army into the manor to take over the wealth, and drove to the young and strong men of the Beiguo family.

This place has undergone preliminary screening, and more than a hundred descendants of the Beiguo family have gathered together.

Zhao Ji looked around but didn't see the patriarch of the Beiguo clan.

When he led his troops out of the city in the morning, the patriarch of the Beiguo clan came to visit him and tried to bribe him with three carts of gifts.

After confirming that no one was found, he asked, "Where is Guo Jing?"

The development of Beiguo and Dongguo to the present day is just like the change of Ma Shi and Ma Fu to Ma.

They themselves find it cumbersome, and the people around them also find it cumbersome, so they all omit the name.

Just like Xiang Libao, sometimes in order to save time when writing documents, people would sign their names as Xiang Bao.

The Ma Shi family was an exception. Friendly jokes among fellow villagers would not allow them to easily simplify their surname.

"To the Minister of the Interior, my uncle and his family, fearing punishment, have committed suicide by swallowing gold."

A middle-aged man in official uniform, surnamed Bei Guo, stood up and answered, explaining, "I'm worried about being imprisoned and tortured. My family has been farmers for generations, unlike the families south of the city who got rich by selling salt, so we don't have a secret room with gold bricks."

"Who's next?"

"This county official is Guo Fei, courtesy name Wenxiang."

Zhao Ji turned to look at Hu Ban and said loudly, "Write this down. County officials Guo Fei and Guo Wenxiang will investigate all the salt dealers in the south of the city."

The powerful leaders of the southern part of the city who were following the chariot immediately panicked and quickly walked to the chariot and knelt on the ground: "My Lord, this is unjust!"

They have a lot of money and really don't care about paying the ten years of back land tax, head tax, etc. Their Achilles' heel is salt, and they are not allowed to sell salt.

Even in troubled times, the salt industry must be protected.

The world will eventually be stable. If you keep the salt industry, your descendants will be able to make a fortune quickly.

Guo Fei stood there listening to the cries and prayers from the families in the south of the city, and he felt much better.

He immediately got angry and bowed his hands: "I beg the Minister to give me a chance. I am willing to lead my sons and daughters as the first to attack the salt bandits' fort."

The salt industry was extremely profitable, and the well-established Beiguo also wanted to get involved, leading to frequent armed conflicts between the two sides for generations.

Dong Guoliang no longer dared to bargain. He blended into the crowd and shouted, "I'm willing to pay you back in exchange for some grain and silk!"

"So do I!"

Zhao Ji became annoyed after hearing this, so he waved his hand and Han Shu beside him whipped a firecracker. With a loud bang, the place suddenly became much quieter.

Zhao Ji's most intuitive feeling at this moment was indigestion, discomfort caused by extreme swelling, and confusion and bewilderment.

The imperial court's weapons were too powerful, and it was difficult to stay awake.

Now that his strength has skyrocketed, Zhao Ji even has the idea of massacring Hedong.

He forced himself to suppress this arrogant thought, even though it would solve the problem once and for all, but if he dared to act on it, he would be doomed immediately.

Take two deep breaths. The army has not undergone formal training, the armor and equipment have not been screened and supplemented, the military officers have not undergone in-depth running-in, and there are not enough interests tied together. Now they are still a mob!
Be sure to hold on!

It seems that he has these people under his control, but if he is not careful, these people can complete the reorganization and assembly in one night.

Seeing that the surroundings had quieted down, Zhao Ji said loudly: "First of all, everyone should understand that it is not me, Zhao Ji, who is collecting taxes and grain from you, but the court!"

He pointed his right hand at the sky like a sword, and then said, "The court is in danger. The evil bandits Li and Guo can join forces and attack at any time! How can we resist the two bandits Li and Guo if we are scattered? They already know that Hedong is rich, so how can they easily retreat when the coalition forces come to attack us?"

"Every family gives their money and grain to the court, and their sons join the army. What will be the result? The grain will be distributed to the sons of each family! The money will also be used to purchase equipment and distributed to the sons of each family along with the military pay! Even the cloth will be made into military uniforms for the sons of each family to wear!"

Zhao Ji pointed at himself, glaring and sternly saying, "How much rice can I, Zhao Ji, eat? And how much money can I covet? Even a three-year-old child in Anyi City knows that what I, Zhao Ji, dislike most is gold!"

No one questioned or objected, simply staring at Zhao Ji and listening to his speech. Zhao Ji pointed north and said, "When the Hou family attacked the Tiger Guards' baggage, I defeated them. What did I get? Only a dozen mounted slaves and thirty rolls of silk: ten fine silk, ten old silk, and ten fine cloth. I distributed all of this to my fellow soldiers in the camp. I won't take a single penny or gold from the Hou family."

"Some people may wonder, if I really don't love money, then I haven't earned any money at all?"

"Of course I love money. I also got some gold. It's an ornament on the head of the Xiongnu king. It's less than five taels in total!"

Zhao Ji glared at the men, "I will not detain you. I will release you and let you go home later. You must understand that the evil bandits Li and Guo already know about the wealth of Hedong. They invaded Hedong and falsely accused you of hiding a huge fortune. How can you prove your innocence? Do you want to invite Li and Guo's soldiers to search your home? And then interrogate your father, brother, wife, and daughter?"

"I repeat, we are conscripting your men and women into our camp to rally them and repel the two thieves, Li and Guo! The men of Hedong we are conscripting this time are here only to protect our territory and our people. They will never go to fight in other counties!"

"I am collecting your gold and silk to purchase weapons and reward meritorious men!"

"Your food will eventually be eaten by your people. How much can I eat?"

"Whatever you choose, go home and think about it! If you don't come tomorrow night, I will lead my troops to suppress the enemy. There will be no more surrender!"

Zhao Ji said this and looked at Tang Xian: "Let him go. He can go or stay as he pleases."

"Here."

Tang Xian agreed. He had originally criticized the large amount of the collection, but now that he thought about it, he basically didn't lose anything.

The surrounding Tiger Guards no longer looked relaxed and their eyes became sharp.

At this time, a man in the crowd asked cautiously, trembling, "May I ask Minister Zhao, how can we guarantee that the money and food we offer will be used for the children of Hedong?"

"idiot!"

Zhao Ji pointed at the old man and shouted angrily, "Do you know why I raised an army to attack the ministers? It was because they wanted to take the Wei family's gold to Luoyang! I didn't allow it, so I broke Huan Dian's legs! I submitted a petition to exempt Hedong from the head tax for ten years just to keep the Wei family's treasury!"

"As long as I am here and Pei Gong is here, the money and grain from Hedong can only be used for the people of Hedong!"

"If you don't believe me, I will select the sons of each family and form an army to help guard the treasury and granary! I will also select those who are good at arithmetic to help the court sort out the financial affairs!"

Zhao Ji drew his sword and pointed it at the sky, staring at the crowd that was looking at him without wavering. "I swear, anyone in the court who embezzles money and grain from Hedong will be killed with this sword! Even if he is one of the three highest officials in the court, I will chop off his head and hang it on the city gate!"

"it is good!"

A powerful man in the front row raised his arm and said, "Minister Zhao's family is full of loyal and brave people. Of course I trust him, but I cannot trust the imperial court!"

"Minister Zhao is not greedy for huge sums of money, and I also believe in him!"

The powerful leaders expressed their opinions one after another, and some asked, "I know the Minister means well, but paying off ten years of arrears is too harsh. It's not that I don't want to pay, I just don't understand."

Zhao Ji looked at him and said, "Why is this so hard to understand? The three ministers in power wanted me and you to kill each other so that they could take their money and food and flee to Luoyang! Besides, it's a chaotic time now. If you refuse to pay taxes, will you be satisfied only when the county soldiers are weak and foreign invaders come to rob you?"

Zhao Ji took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as possible, "The Emperor is in Hedong. This is a blessing for us, the sons of Hedong. I've never heard of a drought lasting four years. Next year will surely bring a good harvest. When that time comes, we will serve the Emperor and punish the rebels. Why should we worry about our future?"

Suddenly, a young man stiffened his neck, his face flushed red. "Please, Minister, cut down the white horse and swear an oath with us!"

"Yes, slay the white horse and swear an oath!"

Fifty or sixty people waved their arms, just following Zhao Ji to gamble.

Zhao Ji waved his sword lightly, and the shouting stopped. He then said, "What has the White Horse done to me? I have a sacrifice that is far superior to the White Horse!"

Zhao Ji stretched out his hand and pulled the Nan clan leader, who had a happy face, onto the car. He held the sword upside down in his right hand and punched him three times in the face, causing his mouth and nose to bleed and he could not speak.

Zhao Ji then grabbed the man's arm and twisted it behind his back. He raised his sword in his right hand and looked around at everyone: "How about we kill this informer and swear an oath to heaven and earth?"

"color!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

Amidst the shouts, Zhao Ji cut off the head with a sword and threw it at the feet of the young and strong men of the Beiguo family.

From now on, Zhao Ji will no longer accept informing on others!

(End of this chapter)