Tiger Guards

Chapter 143 Taking Each Other's Pulses
Liu Xie was on a carriage inspecting the military camp outside Jiangyi City.

The terrain here is flat and wide, with ditches and fields crisscrossing.

However, due to years of disrepair, many ditches have become blocked and weeds and reeds have grown densely.

Pei Mao, accompanying the emperor, explained, "This land was originally newly cultivated by the Jin Dynasty. It survived the Qin and Han dynasties and was once a fertile area east of the Yellow River. Later, the Baibo rebelled, and the people fled. Furthermore, the Xiongnu frequently invaded, leaving much of the area abandoned. Our county has established a military camp at the river's mouth. The soldiers, after being stationed there, have cultivated over 200 hectares of nearby land, sufficient to support the troops."

Liu Xie nodded. He had heard of Xintian.

The Jin Dynasty moved its capital many times, and the capital was always called Jiang, so there were several Jiang towns.

Looking at the abandoned farmland in the distance, if we dredge the ditches a little, they will become excellent paddy fields.

He asked, "Since the soldiers stationed in the settlements can be self-sufficient, why not recruit more soldiers and horses?"

"Your Majesty, it's all due to a lack of manpower."

Pei Mao patiently replied, "People everywhere have been displaced, and they all have good farmland and paddy fields that can be rented and cultivated. Furthermore, if too many people were to settle here, it would surely attract an invasion from the Xiongnu coalition."

Another reason is that the scale of the military settlements was too large, which was not conducive to the control of the county government. The checks and balances between the powerful and the county government restricted the restoration of the surrounding abandoned farmland.

It is indeed difficult to protect food without sufficient military force.

Liu Xie understood this logic. Hedong had salt, iron, and fertile land. The only bad thing was that too many Huns migrated in.

During the inspection, a secretary of the Central Secretariat, accompanied by two imperial guards, rode up to the carriage and said, "Your Majesty, Minister Zhao has defeated the Xiongnu scouts, killing seventy-three of them and capturing fifty-two horses!"

This Secretary was in high spirits. Although he somewhat disliked Zhao Ji's straightforwardness, his personal emotions were less important than the record of killing the Huns.

Upon hearing this, Liu Xie asked, "Really?"

"I dare not deceive you, Minister Zhao is already five or six miles away."

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat bowed deeply with a solemn tone.

Pei Mao, noticing the emperor's excitement, advised, "Your Majesty, do not act rashly; this would be disrespectful. Wait for Minister Zhao to submit a report of victory, and then send an envoy to commend him."

"allow."

Liu Xie agreed and said, "Then let's go back to camp."

"only."

The attendants around answered in unison, and the emperor's carriage pulled by six horses turned around.

He did not stay in Jiangyi, but set up another camp near the old Huben camp south of the Hui River.

It is now the dry season of the Ruishui River. People and horses can easily cross the river, but it is not very convenient for vehicles, and we need to find a suitable section of the river.

The gate of the Jiangyi military camp was wide open.

The Tiger Infantry soldiers stationed in the camp all stayed in their respective small camps, watching from behind the wall.

The knights who entered the camp were carrying the captured heads on their spears or leading the horses they had caught. There were also a dozen Hun captives tied with leather ropes, who had to trot to keep up with the team.

Xu Huang and Jia Xu hurried to the gate to greet them. As expected, Xu Huang bowed and said loudly, "Minister, how is the battle going?"

Jia Xu observed the status and number of the soldiers who had returned to the camp and recognized the subordinates of Hou Xuan and Li Kan. These people's armor was all pieced together.

Unlike the Huben and Hubu, they all have relatively uniform military uniforms and armor.

Zhao Ji leaped off Yue Lihei's back, unable to suppress his smile. "I've found a way to defeat the enemy! I have over 130 cavalrymen against over 200. Before I've even exhausted my two pots of arrows, the Xiongnu are routed and fleeing."

Shooting at a human-shaped target at close range is indeed many times more exciting than shooting at a haystack target.

This feeling is hard to describe. The inflatable doll is really not as good as the Hang Kang doll.

Although I haven't tried it, I feel that the difference in feedback should be the same.

Zhao Ji was in high spirits and looked at Jia Xu. "However, Mr. Wenhe's plan must be implemented. I have sent the order, and it will be effective within two to three days."

Jia Xu already understood the rough losses of both sides, and with a smile on his face, he asked, "How strong are the Xiongnu?"

"What we encountered today was far inferior to the elite cavalry of the Right Wise King."

Zhao Ji suppressed his smile and said seriously, "According to what Hou Wenze and Li Bocheng have said, even if the Xiongnu tribes around Fenbei tried their best, they would still be unable to gather 5,000 elite cavalry like this."

As he spoke, Xu Huang extended his arms to invite them, and Zhao Ji led Hou Xuan and Li Kan into the central army area.

The victorious officers and soldiers were allowed to carry the heads around and show them off to various places, including the small outlying camps.

In the central military area, Pei Xiu had come with several clerks carrying wooden boxes. They were going to record military achievements.

If rewards can be given on the spot, they should be given. Even if rewards are given on the spot, they should be recorded in the book as proof for the future. Military merits that cannot be rewarded should be recorded in the book and processed when enough are accumulated.

After entering the hall, Zhao Ji looked around and thought that Xu Huang would give him another envoy's head when he returned this time.

It seems that Fu Wan and the ministers haven't figured out the situation yet and haven't taken any action. But facing a powerful enemy, these people also understand the principle of being in the same boat.

Zhao Ji's glance around reminded Xu Huang of Ma Shizhi, the captain of the Central Army, who was hacked to death by Zhao Ji that night.

Everyone took their seats in order. Zhao Ji took off his helmet and said, "In my opinion, the Xiongnu will find it difficult to hold their ground against us. What do you think, Mr. Wenhe?"

Li Kan and Hou Xuan also sat at the last seat and went to see Jia Xu together. Jia Xu's name was also well-known to them.

Jia Xu raised his hand to stroke his beard, gently scraping it with his index finger. His brows furrowed in thought, "The Xiongnu tribes' herds are weak in the spring, making a long battle difficult. In my opinion, the Xiongnu are waiting for reinforcements, so there's no rush to attack."

Otherwise, today it would not be a small number of cavalry coming to drive away our own reconnaissance team, but thousands of troops would be sent to fight a vanguard battle.

Xu Huang and others also nodded, as there was great competition and conflict among the various Xiongnu tribes.

If the Huns who are gathering now launch an attack, then the Huns who arrive later... are very likely to turn against us, and we will benefit.

The correct way is to wait, until all the tribes gather together, lead the people to swear an oath, and then fight.

An alliance without a public oath is an unstable coalition.

Jia Xu looked at Zhao Ji and continued, "The Xiongnu are waiting for all their forces to gather and for Li Jue to attack Hedong. If Li Jue invades Hedong, our army will be caught in a dilemma, and the Xiongnu will launch a large-scale attack."

Zhao Ji smiled when he heard this and said to everyone, "These Xiongnu people are so focused on learning military tactics, do they still want to be my Han scholars?"

The Xiongnu people have always learned the good reforms of the Han Dynasty, such as land reclamation and farming.

But after learning a lot, the Xianbei produced a man named Tan Shihuai, who defeated the Xiongnu in less than ten years and forced them to flee into the Great Wall to avoid the Xianbei's invasion.

While chatting and laughing, Zhao Ji took out a spare sweat towel, took off the sweat-soaked towel on his head, and replaced it with a drier one.

Xu Huang chuckled twice and said, "Even if the Xiongnu don't launch a large-scale attack, they will harass us day and night. We must be careful."

"Well, I'll lead the strong cavalry to challenge them again this afternoon."

Zhao Ji turned to look at Hou Xuan and Li Kan. "Two captains, each lead a hundred strong cavalrymen. We will send a thousand chariots and cavalry north. If the Xiongnu accept the challenge, we will fight and retreat. If the Xiongnu are defeated, we will do the same as we did in this battle. We must not pursue them, lest we fall into an ambush and become a burden to others."

"As ordered!"

Hou Xuan and Li Kan straightened their backs, stood sideways, and bowed to Zhao Ji.

For the two of them, there was naturally no need to write military orders or general orders. These two people did not need these procedures to select troops to fight.

Zhao Ji looked at Xu Huang again and said, "In the afternoon, the Hedong knights will have finished their rest. Gongming and Qubei will be the reinforcements to support us."

"Here."

Xu Huang bowed in response.

Zhao Ji looked at Jia Xu again and said, "The military affairs in the camp still require your attention, sir."

"Don't dare."

Jia Xu bowed slightly and asked, "The Minister is leading the troops to challenge. Do we need to recruit the Imperial Guards?"

"I will invite them. If Yulin refuses to go, I won't force them."

Zhao Ji smiled as he spoke. It was almost noon now, so there was no need to worry about the Huns on the north bank.

Organizing more than 10,000 people to cross the river is a very troublesome task.

It’s not that he looked down on the Huns, but that this Hun coalition army itself had great flaws.

If the invading Huns were united, they would not have to divide their forces like this. They could have all crossed the Fen River upstream, assembled, and then pressed down along the Chidao Road. How could there have been so many problems?

Every family has its own problems. There are unity problems in my own army, and so do the Huns.

We must not over-mythologize or exaggerate the enemy, especially now that we are in close combat and lack sufficient understanding of each other, so we must fight a preliminary battle.

Winning boosts morale... If you lose, gather your troops and hold on, looking for other opportunities.

As they were talking, the food and coarsely brewed sweet rice wine were served. Zhao Ji wiped his hands with a wet towel, picked up the plate and started eating.

As the military order was conveyed, the soldiers who left the camp to participate in the challenge in the afternoon began to eat, feed their horses, and prepare for battle.

The problem was then thrown to Guanqiu Yi, the General of the Imperial Guards. Should he take 200 Imperial Guards knights to participate in this challenge?

The Huns expelled and attacked Zhao Ji, so it was only natural that the Han army should launch a counterattack.

If we don't go, the Huns will look down on the Han army.

After so many years of fighting, we always make contact like this before the decisive battle so that we can adopt more appropriate tactics.

(End of this chapter)