Tiger Guards

Chapter 140: Farewell
When passing by Wenxi City, the elders and healthy women of Wenxi were already cooking hot soup by the roadside.

Among the 5,000 Tiger Infantrymen, about 1,800 were from Wenxi.

Their elders, wives and daughters are waiting by the roadside, providing them with hot soup, dry food, shoes and socks.

Each hundred-man team walked slowly, drank soup and ate some dry food, and the Wenxi Tiger-Step soldiers gave the military pay they received to their families.

The Tiger Guards rode their horses back and forth to supervise and did not allow any team to stay for too long.

After they had finished drinking water and completed the transfer of shoes, socks and military pay, they urged the teams to march.

Hu Ban also led the county soldiers and volunteers to maintain order.

The monthly salary of Tiger Step soldiers varies according to their military rank, and the starting salary is 500 coins.

The full month's military salary was paid at the end of March, and the full amount of April's military salary was paid on April 2nd.

Zhao Ji was willing to pay the soldiers, and all kinds of supplies needed by the army were distributed free of charge, such as two pairs of straw sandals per month.

At this time, when marching, everyone wore straw sandals, but they were also issued cloth shoes, which were precious consumables that could only be worn when facing a battle.

Better shoes mean more explosive power, and even if you run away, your chances of survival are greater.

Therefore, the supplies donated by family members on the roadside are mainly shoes and socks, followed by food that can help people survive hunger, such as dried meat, and then blankets, bedding, etc.

Liu Xie looked at the elders, strong women, and children who came to comfort the troops on both sides of the road and could not help but sigh: "The feelings of the soldiers and civilians in Hedong are very different from those in Guanzhong."

Yang Zhong, the Imperial Censor who was accompanying the emperor, replied, "Your Majesty, these are all soldiers from Hedong. Even if they are from the old Baibo faction, they will be loved by the people of Hedong if they march north."

Imperial Censor Dong Fen, who was riding on the other side of the carriage, replied, "Your Majesty, the people of Hedong have long suffered at the hands of the Xiongnu. Now that Minister Zhao is leading his troops to attack the Xiongnu, he will surely have the support of the people."

Liu Xie nodded and looked into the distance.

The entire marching team was getting longer and longer, and Xu Huang, the vanguard, was heading straight to the north.

Therefore, there were only two hundred Yulin knights leading Liu Xie's carriage.

They kept a distance from each other, so there was not much dust around the emperor's carriage and the visibility was relatively good.

In the rear team, the carriages of the nobles also stopped by the roadside to enjoy the turbid wine offered by the local elders.

In their sight, the Tiger Infantrymen who were constantly approaching from behind would say goodbye to their families here, and be urged by their companions to get back on the road.

This kind of scene of unity between the military and the people had been seen before under Duan Wei and with the Hongnong Huben.

Duan Wei led his troops to gather the people and defend himself, and he is still a force that cannot be ignored and must be relied upon.

All the Hongnong Tiger Guards had died in Dongjian. At this moment, Yang Qi and Yang Biao could not help but feel sad when they saw the things they had seen.

Zhao Ji saw the elders offering wine leave from a distance, so he rode his dark horse closer and asked Yang Qi, "Lord Ziqi, what do you think our army's chances of victory are?"

Yang Qi didn't rush to answer. Instead, he turned his head to look at the Tiger Infantry troops marching away, momentarily lost in thought: "The emperor is personally leading the army, and the officers and soldiers are working together. How can we not win?"

"I just like the way you guys are so confident in everything you do."

Zhao Ji smiled and turned to look at Zhao Wen: "Master Situ, what do you think?"

Zhao Wen held the turbid wine in his hand, squinting his eyes to survey the distance. He then turned his attention to Zhao Ji and raised his glass: "Let me wish the Minister to drive out the Xiongnu and protect our land."

"I try my best."

Zhao Ji smiled and agreed. He turned to the guards who were escorting the nobles' carriages and said, "Military travel is a whirlwind, so it's time to record it in writing. Find some bamboo slips, writing brushes, and ink for the Minister of War to record his observations on this battle."

"Here!"

Hu Ben immediately agreed, his face flushed, feeling that it was an honor to be recorded on bamboo slips by Zhao Wen.

Even Zhao Wen was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Will the Minister allow me to record my observations during this battle?"

"We fought for our country, and regardless of victory or defeat, our names should be recorded in history."

Zhao Ji paused and looked at Yang Qi. "What chills my heart is that the court has been relocating to Anyi for over half a year, yet they've only rewarded living people and given out official titles indiscriminately, without posthumously honoring heroes. Nor have they sent anyone to compile and record the deeds of the heroes who died for their country before and after."

Yang Qi's expression was calm and composed. Living people couldn't even get enough to eat, so where would he get the energy and resources to take care of the dead?
The indiscriminate granting of official titles was also to appease the Baibo Army, and the nobles and officials still maintained their official positions when they moved east.

Yang Biao sighed deeply and said, "Even if we are as incompetent as the Minister said, we are still living people, not heartless plants. We remember the deeds of the heroes and martyrs, and we have a list of names to prove it. When we return to Luoyang, we will recount the deeds of the heroes and martyrs, so that their names will be recorded in history and benefit future generations of our clan."

"Even if you go to Luoyang, you still won't have enough to eat. How will you have the energy and resources to do this?"

Zhao Ji sarcastically said, "There is a severe drought in Guanzhong, and the same is true in Guandong. There are some things I cannot elaborate on. When it comes to assessing the enemy in public and considering important matters for the court, one should not think of the best, but the worst first."

As he spoke, he lightly kicked the horse's belly and passed by the carriages of the ministers.

A hundred steps ahead of him, the first team of the Tiger Step Black Flag was stopped. His eldest brother and second brother were assigned to the first team and served as ordinary soldiers.

The two of them were recommended twice to serve as squad leaders, but both times they were tested by Zhao Ji in archery, they could not withstand the pressure and were rejected.

Maybe he didn't trust Zhao Ji's archery skills, or maybe he was frightened by the look in Zhao Ji's eyes when he was shooting.

In short, the eldest, second, and brother-in-law Pei Hu were all ordinary soldiers. Pei Bao, however, trusted Zhao Ji's archery skills and simply stood there, passing the assessment. Thanks to his accumulated merits, he was promoted to deputy captain. As Zhao Ji rode north, the Hu Ben doctors, who served as centurions in the various Black Flag Corps along the way, saluted him. Zhao Ji returned the gesture by raising his right arm, whip in hand.

The totem symbols on the flags of each team of the Five-Colored Flag are very simple. The flag patterns are geometric, and the decorations on the top of the flagpole are also bronze-cast geometric patterns.

Even if the battle flag is burned, it can still be identified by the bronze geometric shape at the top of the flagpole.

The first team is a white circle in a black flag with a black "丨" in the circle; in comparison, the second team is a black "二" in the ０; the third team is a white triangle, the fourth team is a white square, the fifth team is a white five-pointed star; the sixth team is an hourglass pattern composed of two white equilateral triangles.

The seventh team is a square hanging on top of a triangle; the eighth team is two oblique squares stacked on top of each other; the ninth team is a five-pointed star standing on top of a square.

The tenth team formed a "cross" in the zero; the following teams used similar logic to assemble geometric patterns.

At the roadside where the Black Flag First Team stopped, Tongxiang Jun Pei stood in front of the car covered with a green umbrella, holding the boss's hand and unable to stop crying.

Zhao Ji's elder sister-in-law, Xiao Pei, kept turning around and distributing the various packages in the car to the Tiger Step soldiers of the first team. Everyone got a share, including the three leading Tiger Guards.

During this period, many people visited Tongxiang Jun and he received a lot of gifts.

Since she took the money, she has an obligation to speak for these people in the future.

Fortunately, all parties currently have the same goal and have not yet reached the point of conflict.

Mrs. Pei wiped her tears, deeply puzzled: "Aji is the Minister of State, and he and Zhongfu are in charge of government affairs. How could he let my son serve as a soldier?"

Zhao Jian, on the other hand, remained calm. "Mother, as a soldier, I should earn my title through my merit. How could I be partial and make things difficult for Aji and Zhongzu?"

If he dared to complain, Zhao Ji would make him suffer in silence and serve in the army for the rest of his life.

Dare to be a deserter?

You can give it a try.

With his fellow villagers by his side, Zhao Jian knew exactly what to say.

The surrounding comrades did not feel any burden when accepting the packages delivered by Xiao Pei. Protecting Zhao Jian and Zhao Yuan was their responsibility and obligation.

The greatest contribution of Zhao Jian, Zhao Yuan and Pei Hu was that they served in the Tiger Infantry Army as soldiers.

Pei cried even more sadly. She felt that the eldest and second eldest sons must have been bullied, otherwise why didn't they become clerks or something else?
But he was just an ordinary soldier, which made her lose face and feel embarrassed.

It was as if he was being retaliated by his third son, and as a result, he felt extremely aggrieved and couldn't let go.

As Xiao Pei finished distributing the packages she had brought, the leader, Lü Wei, a doctor with three stars on his epaulettes, began to shout, "Hurry up! Stay overnight in Beixiang, and don't stop!"

Lü Wei slapped his scabbard with a brutal sound, and the first team of black flags gradually began to move.

In order to keep an eye on the soldiers' physical fitness at all times, these Tiger Guards all walked.

After the first team left, Zhao Jile rode forward without dismounting. He glanced at the empty carriage with a green umbrella, and then at his mother who was supported by his sister-in-law and crying bitterly.

Mother Pei was looking at the end of the first team with tears in her eyes and did not notice Zhao Ji at all.

Little Pei looked up and smiled back at Zhao Ji, who nodded in response.

Without waiting for her to remind Tongxiang Jun, Zhao Ji lightly kicked the horse's belly and was about to leave.

Suddenly, a female voice was heard calling out from the roadside: "Zhao Lang~!"

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of girls from his hometown smiling at him. One of the girls standing in the middle threw the package in her hand towards him.

Zhao Ji reached out to catch it, then transferred it to his left hand. He then reached into his harness and took out a heavy bag of five-zhu coins and threw it five or six steps away. It landed steadily in the other person's arms.

This made the other party feel embarrassed. Zhao Ji stuffed the package into his harness and shouted, "Buy everyone some nice clothes! Wear something nice next time we meet!"

As he spoke, he blew a kiss, kicked the horse's belly, and sped up. A dozen riders followed closely behind.

As Han Shu passed by, he put his hands in his mouth and whistled at the group of women.

The elders and women on the roadside greeted Zhao Ji one after another, and the cheers drowned out the crying of Tongxiang Jun.

Previously, due to her status, no one dared to speak loudly when she cried.

The convoy of nobles in the rear also began to move forward, watching Zhao Ji behave arrogantly and in high spirits in front of the villagers.

Minister of Works Zhang Xi sighed: "Zhao Yuanming has a grandson like this, and he will die without regrets."

Weiweiqing Zhou Zhong, standing beside him, said sternly, "If Zhao Yuanming could choose, he would rather his own grandson live."

Zhang Xi turned his head and rolled his eyes without saying anything else.

Zhou Zhongze couldn't help but think of his nephew Zhou Yu, who must have been a young man in his prime years like Zhao Ji.

After a silent estimate, Zhou Yu should be 21 years old. Compared with the 18-year-old Zhao Ji, he seems to be a little inferior to Zhao Ji.

(End of this chapter)