Tiger Guards

Chapter 150 White Horse Sacred Object
After seeing off Fu Wan and others, Zhao Ji and Jia Xu, surrounded by a dozen knights, came to the bank of the Fen River.

The sun was shining brightly, and there were thousands of horses on the north bank, some lying quietly on their sides, and some fighting fiercely.

Only a few Huns were watching and herding horses. Rather than herding horses, their main job was to be vigilant against the Han army on the south bank.

Zhao Ji observed the situation and said, "Yesterday, the city observed and counted over 200 more settlements on the north bank. They have reinforcements, and we don't. This is a disadvantage."

Jia Xu remained calm, his hands folded before him, and said, "This year's drought is severe. The Xiongnu are letting their horses eat the young crops, but the crops won't last long. The decisive battle will take place within ten days, and within those ten days, Generals Li and Guo will find it difficult to cross the river."

He understood the strength of the Pingling Su family and knew that neither Li Jue nor Guo Si would risk their lives to attack before breaking through the wall.

They are all afraid of suffering too much damage and ending up with a shriveled, empty shell.

But with the precedent of the Wei family's treasury, the Pingling Su family was doomed.

The ancestors of the Su family settled here because Su Jian followed Wei Qing and was awarded the title of Marquis of Pingling. Like other famous families and powerful people in Guanzhong, they were basically descendants of the nobles of the Han Dynasty or the royal family of the pre-Qin Dynasty.

Jia Xu glanced sideways at Zhao Ji. "If the Xiongnu were smaller, perhaps around 20,000, it would be a real problem. However, their ethnic groups are profit-driven, and upon hearing the news, distant Xiongnu tribes would also send troops to seek a piece of the action."

The more Huns came, the faster the young crops in the Fen River basin were consumed.

Therefore, before Li Jue and Guo Si could reach Hedong, the Huns had to launch a strong attack.

At this moment, Jia Xu didn't think about the emperor, the court, or anything else. He just talked about the matter at hand and asked, "How can we defeat the enemy?"

"The construction of the dam upstream of the Huishui River cannot be stopped."

Zhao Ji remained calm and said, "No matter what the Xiongnu do, I will allocate 3,000 soldiers. 1,000 will dredge the canal at Xintian, and another 2,000 will dig trenches between Jiangyi and Xingcheng to divert water for irrigation and limit the Xiongnu's scattered cavalry."

This does not include the old Huben camp and the emperor's camp south of the Huishui River, the militia and volunteers at the pass, and the defenders of Tangcheng and Yicheng upstream of the Huishui River.

Now, in addition to the three cavalry units of Huben, Hedong and Xiongnu Yicong, he also has 5,000 Tiger Infantry and 3,000 Beijiang Yijun.

Three thousand out of eight thousand infantrymen is already a relatively conservative construction force.

Before defeating the Xiongnu, Zhao Ji was already thinking about restoring new fields and reclaiming and restoring more irrigation areas.

Jia Xu didn't think this behavior was funny, as wheat could be planted at any time.

Not to mention early April, you can even plant it in May.

The spread of wheat was due to the fact that there were severe droughts in various places in spring and summer, and temporary replanting was possible, so it became popular quickly.

Yesterday's battle boosted our military confidence. Digging trenches close to Jiangyi and with the support of cavalry, this task will not be difficult.

It's all loess anyway, so it's not difficult to dig.

Jia Xu nodded slowly and added, "Now that the Xiongnu are divided, there's no need for you, Minister. Based on my understanding of the Xiongnu, if the Xiongnu on the north bank force their way across, and our army launches a fierce attack, there's a 50% chance that the Xiongnu in Xingcheng will break their agreement and sit back and watch us defeat the Xiongnu who have crossed the river."

Zhao Ji just nodded. It was just a possibility, and he couldn't pin his chances of victory on the infighting among the Huns.

After the discussion, the two of them took a detour to Xintian, where only a small area was planted with rice. The other places were even roughly sown with millet and soybeans, growing together with weeds.

This less than one-fifth of the newly irrigated area can meet the food needs of the previous garrison in Jiangyi and nearly half of the people in the city.

Just restoring the fertile farmland on both sides of the Rui River in Jiangyi and Yicheng can support at least 30,000 troops.

The Xiongnu on the north and east banks were eating the young crops. Now the horses of Huben, Hedong, and Xiongnu Yicong were also roaming leisurely in the deserted fields of Xintian, happily eating grass mixed with millet, wheat seedlings, and bean leaves.

Patrol soldiers were also arranged at the edges of the paddy fields to prevent horses from trampling and eating the rice seedlings.

When passing by the Xiongnu Yicong camp, he saw Qubei and a group of Xiongnu nobles drying meat slices on a newly built reed shed.

When Zhao Ji got closer, he smelled a strong fishy odor.

Qubei came to greet him, holding a treasure in each hand. He smiled and said to Jia Xu, "Mr. Wenhe, take a look at this. Are they majestic?"

"What a good baby."

Jia Xu reached out to catch it. It was the unskinned testicles of a stallion, with the kidney still hanging through the blood vessels.

Large pieces of horse skin were deliberately left when skinning and cutting, and it can be seen that these are the tools for two white horses.

The equipment of an ordinary strong stallion is already a tonic.

The white horse is so magical that both the Han, Xiongnu and Qiang peoples regard it as the incarnation of the dragon.

Baima's utensils are among the finest and most valuable, and are extremely rare.

Zhao Ji was not interested in these things and waved his hand to refuse them, but Jia Xu did not despise him at all and took the initiative to ask for them.

Qubei was also generous, giving them all to Jia Xu, who immediately handed them over to his attendant, telling him to hurry back to the camp to air them out. After cleaning, slicing, and applying salt powder, and airing them out, these two white horse magic items would be enough for a long time to come.

Qu Bei led Zhao Ji and Jia Xu to sit under another temporary reed shed. The sun gradually rose, and Zhao Ji's leather armor was already a little hot.

Inside the shed, Zhao Ji took off his helmet and asked, "How did you divide these things?"

"Xiao Wang paid a little more money, and all the things we got last night are here with Xiao Wang."

Qubei sighed, "March and April are the months when the grass and trees grow thick, and it's the time for the tribes to breed. Now that the tribes have sent troops here, only the mares and a few stallions can be left to recuperate within the tribes. Last night, we slaughtered over 500 horses, all of them stallions."

The Xiongnu rarely castrated their war horses, so the harvest was very good.

Zhao Ji turned his head and squinted his eyes to stare at the long reed shed about twenty steps away. Under the shed, the Xiongnu warriors were cutting slices of meat and applying salt powder. The Xiongnu nobles brought them out to dry, and they never got tired of it.

He couldn't help but sigh, "The Xiongnu still have an abundant horse herd. I've already exhausted all the horses from Hedong, and I can barely afford the horses for my troops. Even now, the transportation of military rations can only be done by human-powered carts."

There is still enough military rations at present, so there is no need to rush within fifteen days.

After fifteen days, the compressed military rations can still last for another five days. Compressed military rations are used for emergencies, for example, when pursuing the defeated Huns.

Normally, six days later Anyi would organize a grain transport team to go north and directly transport the grain to the Jiangyi front line.

During this period, Anyi would continue to transport grain to Wenxi and Tongxiang through the Sushui River to maintain the survival of the people who moved inland to avoid the war.

Facing Zhao Ji's sigh, Qubei consoled him: "Don't worry, Minister. Once we have defeated all the rebel tribes and established ourselves in Fenbei, we will send you horses to support the military and civilians in Hedong."

If he doesn't give it to him voluntarily, Zhao Ji will ask him for it.

"Your Majesty, you know me well. I will not let my friends suffer any loss."

Zhao Ji comforted him, and an idea emerged in his mind, but he felt that this would increase his logistical pressure.

I plan to wait for two more days until the conditions are more mature and try to get it done in one go.

Jia Xu looked around at the scenery, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Zhao Ji was lost in thought from time to time, his brows relaxed, but he did not speak.

Jia Xu pretended not to know. He was always in the center of the vortex but was able to escape unscathed. It was not because he was so smart, as there were many people smarter than him.

The only reason he is still alive is that he cares less and doesn't talk too much.

For example, when reviewing the heads in the morning, Sima Fang had to jump out to support Fu Wan, without giving Zhao Ji an excuse.

If you give him an excuse, all he can do is break his legs and make him lie down.

Now, as long as the war order is a little chaotic, if Sima Fang dares to come to the front line, he will probably be shot in the back and killed.

Such a smart and courageous minister is really seeking his own death.

These thoughts only flashed through Jia Xu's mind for a moment, and he put them behind him and no longer recalled them.

He looked deep in thought, and even when sitting opposite Qubei, Qubei would ignore Jia Xu's presence and concentrate on chatting with Zhao Ji.

"Report~!"

A Hu Ben Shi Lang, a team officer, rode up on horseback, dismounted, and trotted forward. "Minister, the Xiongnu are cutting down trees on both sides of the road and are building antlers eight miles south of Jingcheng!"

"You're trying to trap me to death."

Zhao Ji stood up, grabbed his helmet, and said to Qu Bei, "The wise king has selected over a hundred elite cavalrymen. Come with me to investigate the situation."

"Yes!"

Qubei agreed immediately. He looked a little excited. There were so many Huns on the opposite side, even if Zhao Ji captured them all... Qubei would be happy. With so many young and strong people and nobles under the control of Zhao Ji, he could also quickly annex the tribes where women, children, the elderly and the weak were left behind!
Not only him, but also the small kings and leaders under him can grow rapidly and devour the tribes of their cousins.

Zhao Ji looked at Jia Xu again and said, "Mr. Wenhe, please stay at the main camp. Without my order, you may not send any troops."

"Here."

Jia Xu bowed deeply and then went to meet up with the guards and head towards the camp.

Zhao Ji then looked at the Tiger Guard officer who was delivering the military intelligence and said, "I will go and select the knights from Hedong. You take this token and select over a hundred brave Tiger Guards."

As he spoke, he took out a token the size of a small pepper from the leather box at his waist. One token could only mobilize a team of one hundred people at a time.

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)