Tiger Guards

Chapter 151: Fighting for Days
"Can one Han defeat ten Hu people?"

In the emperor's camp, Liu Xie asked in a serious voice.

He really wanted to examine the head himself, but Fu Wan's persuasion was very reasonable.

As the Son of Heaven, you should keep a distance from soldiers and common people so as to maintain your dignity.

Otherwise, if they are too close, the emperor's majesty will be lost, and the common people and soldiers will naturally dare to rebel.

"As Your Majesty said, in the two battles yesterday, Minister Zhao gained ten times as much."

Guanqiu Yi answered loudly that the casualty ratio of ten to one was worth every Hedong person fighting to the death with the Huns.

Even if it is five to one, the people of Hedong can accept it.

During these more than ten years, the people of Hedong suffered greatly from the Xiongnu's migration to the south; the Xiongnu were also resisted by the counties south of the Fen River. The two sides had constant friction and both wanted to kill each other.

Guanqiu Yi participated in this battle and knew that it was a great victory, but he was not sure about the specific gains and losses.

Early this morning, he brought the Yulin Knights back to the emperor's camp, thus breaking away from Zhao Ji's command.

Liu Xie suppressed his joy and soon understood the whole matter.

After eliminating the necessary garrisons in various places in Hedong and expelling and eating some Huns, the mobile force of Hedong should be around 15,000.

Open up the Taiyuan channel, with Taiyuan's prosperity and more than 10,000 young and strong forces.

By combining the strength of these two counties, we can expel the Xiongnu, Qiang and Hu from Xihe County. Just these three counties can provide 30,000 elite infantry and cavalry.

Whether returning to Chang'an to punish Li Jue and Guo Si, or protecting the court and returning to Luoyang, the court could restore its dignity.

Generally speaking, Luoyang is better.

With such a strong army, plus the armies of Zhang Yang and Zhang Xiu, and the support of Liu Biao, Liu Bei, and Lu Bu on the periphery, it seems that they can suppress the Dahe Alliance formed by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Liu Xie was in a good mood, so he asked Fu Wan with a smile, "Is there anything that Zhao Qing needs?"

"Minister Zhao is loyal to the country and has no intention of requesting an official title."

Fu Wan bowed and replied, if it were Li, Guo or Bai Bo and other generals, they would definitely be on the same list of people who would be asked to be conferred titles.

Zhao Ji himself never asked for an official position, so Fu Wan couldn't say anything wrong.

There is no need to tell the emperor about things like conflicts that arise during the inspection.

There is no point in saying it. The army command still depends on Zhao Ji.

After all, Zhao Yan is sixty-five years old. How many more days can he live?
Fu Wan was not so anxious. He had already agreed to marry his daughter to Zhao Ji. He represented the court during the inspection, and Zhao Ji really did not give him face.

Even though it was clear that Zhao Ji needed to maintain a unique and strong image when commanding the army.

But after this trip, Fu was still full of anger.

With the emperor as a witness, could this marriage still be fake?

When Zhao Ji went south to conquer the Baibo generals, he gave Zhao Yan more than thirty horses; but now that he has captured a lot of spoils, he is unwilling to give a few horses to himself privately.

All his food, drink and travel expenses were public funds. Could it be that Fu Wan, the Marquis of Buqi, who was a member of the Yitong Sansi and the chief minister of the auxiliary state, was still short of a few horses?

How can this be considered bribery?
There is really nothing missing, what is missing is just Zhao Ji's attitude!

How could Fu Wan be happy when Zhao Ji was so rude?

Even if Zhao Ji is ignorant, does that mean Zhao Rui is also ignorant?
Fu Wan was secretly angry, his brows and eyes were solemn.

Then Yang Zhong, Sima Fang and others all spoke well of Zhao Ji, but Pei Mao, his fellow townsman, and Zhao Rui, his relative, were reluctant to speak.

In general, with the military victory, the huge rock that had been hanging in the hearts of the officials finally fell to the ground.

Since the imperial court moved eastward, successive military failures have dealt a heavy blow to the confidence of the entire court.

Even if you settle down in Hedong, it is difficult to hold your head high and live your life with dignity.

And now, their real confidence is beginning to return.

Just as everyone was praising Zhao Ji, a Yu Lin Zhong Lang hurried outside the tent: "Report! Military situation in the north!"

The eyes of several key people in the tent fell on Guanqiu Yi's face. Guanqiu Yi bowed to Liu Xie, stepped back a few steps and asked, "What's the matter?"

"The Eastern Xiongnu are cutting down trees seven or eight miles south of Xingcheng. Minister Zhao is leading his cavalry northward. There are approximately a thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry!"

This Yu Lin Zhong Lang was panting. This was all the reconnaissance done by the Yu Lin Knights themselves.

Zhao Ji didn't send anyone to inform about these military operations... Every knight is precious and there is no need to waste them like this.

Zhao Ji believes that effective information is circulated in a small range, which is a good thing.

Otherwise, if someone is sent to report the military action, it will be a notification at first, and the people in the camp will use it to negotiate, and may even understand the notification as a request for instructions.

If it weren't for the need for the emperor's banner to boost morale, Zhao Ji would have wanted to detain this group of people south of the pass, or push them into Baibi, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

What remains with me now and what I value most is the emperor's flag.

The voice of the Yu Lin Zhong Lang was so loud that all the officials in the tent were in an uproar.

Liu Xie noticed Fu Wan looking at him, and immediately understood and looked at Pei Mao: "Mr. Pei, isn't it a bit hasty to rush into a decisive battle?"

Pei Mao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please be at ease. I will go and investigate a few things."

After a pause, Pei Mao continued, "Based on my understanding of Minister Zhao, he has a great advantage in the current battle. He will not easily unite his forces to fight a decisive battle with the Xiongnu."

Why risk a decisive battle when you can cut the meat with one knife?

Liu Xie also thought it made sense. How could a decisive battle be fought so soon?

When a decisive battle breaks out, one side must have a huge advantage, or one side can no longer hold on and will risk everything to take a gamble.

Alternatively, they could agree on a time and place beforehand and then engage in a decisive battle, thus avoiding unnecessary stalemates and confrontations. Seeing Pei Mao about to go and question Zhao Ji in person, Fu Wan also spoke up, "The Secretary General is an elder to Minister Zhao, so he can come along."

When Zhao Rui saw the emperor looking at him, he took the initiative to bow and said, "I am willing to go."

"My two beloved ministers, please do not disturb Lord Zhao. Leave and return quickly."

"only."

Pei Mao and Zhao Rui bowed deeply, took a few steps back, and turned to leave the tent door.

Guanqiu Yi stood outside the door and arranged a team of Yulin knights to protect them.

As they headed north, the Han army and the Xiongnu were already two or three miles apart when they arrived, and they each formed their battle array and adjusted their distance.

There was a slight southeast wind today. Zhao Ji reined in his horse in front of the battle formation, and the dust raised by him and his riders' trampling slowly spread northward.

The dust cleared, and the Xiongnu cavalry formation opposite did not move, just standing there in the midday sun.

Zhao Ji rode out of the battle formation alone and observed the enemy and our own formations from further ahead. Hou Xuan, Li Kan and Qu Bei also rode forward alone and joined Zhao Ji 200 steps in front of the battle formation.

Qubei was the first to persuade them, "Today our army has the upper hand. If we engage them in battle, they will retreat and not fight us. If we pursue them for ten miles, our formation will be scattered, and as the various divisions compete for merit, they will turn around and fight us."

"I have no intention of a decisive battle."

Zhao Ji pointed to both sides with his whip and said, "Hou Wenze and Li Bocheng, each lead a thousand men and start digging a trench immediately. Leave the soil on the south side of the trench as you dig."

The candidate asked, "Should we dig in front of the formation or behind it?"

"Dig deep behind the formation. Three thousand Tiger Infantry will form a protective formation. Of the remaining thousand cavalry, I will lead three hundred at the front. I will divide these three hundred into three teams, each with a hundred charging to disrupt the Xiongnu and break their morale."

Zhao Ji looked at him humbly and said, "The wise king, command the remaining knights to wait for an opportunity to act."

Qubei, Houxuan, and Li Kan bowed and said, "Yes!"

"Well, let's do it this way!"

Zhao Ji whipped his horse and returned to the main camp. The three Tiger-Step Thousand-Man Teams of Blue, Red and Black each formed a battle formation of seven in front and three in the back. Each phalanx of a hundred men was relatively independent and did not gather densely.

He inspected the thousand-man team, starting with the blue flag team on the west left wing. The seven hundred-man teams in the front row were standing still in an orderly manner, while the three hundred-man teams behind them were hurriedly setting traps.

They used leather ropes and wooden stakes. The four-foot-long wooden stakes were nailed into the ground, with only half a foot exposed. These stakes were connected with leather ropes and hemp ropes. At the same time, some people were digging horse traps on the loose loess.

We had a great time eating horse meat last night and this morning, so we all had plenty of energy to dig the pit.

A horse that steps into a horse pit will have no way out after its leg is broken...it can't run far.

Use leather ropes and horse traps to form a buffer line to prevent cavalry. After the arrangement is completed, each team will take the safe passage, change positions and continue the arrangement.

Therefore, the five thousand infantrymen seemed to be two thousand-man teams digging a large trench behind the formation. Including the nine hundred-man teams, there were a total of three thousand people digging fortifications and traps.

After Zhao Ji inspected the Green Team, he passed by the Black Flag Team in the central area. He rode his horse alone and passed by. Every time he passed a front-row team of a hundred people, the leading Tiger Guard Doctor would hold up his halberd and lead the Tiger Step Soldiers to wave their weapons and shout loudly.

Zhao Ji said nothing, but held the whip in his right hand against his brow and waved his arm as a response.

In the first seven formations in front of the black flag, Zhao Jian and Zhao Yuan belonged to two squads respectively. At this moment, they also raised their weapons and shouted with glared.

At such times, they cannot control themselves and just want to roar loudly to vent all the emotions that are suppressed in their chests.

Because of the march, Zhao Jian and Zhao Yuan's faces and armor were covered with dust and loess.

Even though they were seven or eight steps away, Zhao Ji couldn't recognize them in the crowd. They all looked like clay figures of the same person.

Then Zhao Ji reviewed the Red Flag Thousand-Man Team on the east side of the right wing. In terms of attire and color matching, they looked more like traditional Han army.

"The Han cavalry is less than half of what it was yesterday."

In the north, King Qiangqu was also observing in front of the formation. When he saw the black dragon flag and eagle flag of King Youxian Qubei, he was a little bit unbelieving, but soon he was relieved.

He laughed and said to his attendants, "That fake king has followed the Han army and is here to attack us. I will take his head off in this battle!"

In fact, he and Qubei are brothers of the same generation. Qubei is closer to the Chanyu by blood, while he is more distant.

If Qubei is killed, Chanyu Huhuxuan's position will be unstable, and he will most likely recognize him as the new Right Wise King!

As they were chatting and laughing, they saw the Han general leading more than a hundred cavalrymen out of the formation, bringing up a large cloud of dust and heading north.

The two sides of this dust cloud were clearly visible, indicating that the Han army had not moved.

King Qiangqu turned to look at a tribal warrior and pointed his whip at the moving dust cloud: "Drive them away!"

"Yes! Your Majesty, watch me achieve success!"

The Xiongnu warrior rushed out of the formation, and his companions, fellow tribesmen, and mixed Hu knights belonging to him attacked one after another.

After a distance of three miles, the two sides soon met.

The Han cavalry tended to move toward the northeast, while the Xiongnu tended to move toward the southwest. Both sides mainly relied on horseback archery.

When they were only a hundred and twenty steps away, Zhao Ji quickly shot an arrow.

While the arrows were flying, the Huns could at least advance five or six steps.

There was no time to aim, so they just shot quickly.

As they passed each other, Zhao Ji had shot all the twenty arrows hanging diagonally on his chest. He led the team to the northeast, then circled eastward. When they turned back, they had arrived in front of the right wing Red Flag Thousand-Man Team.

At this time, the dust in the battle area dissipated, and the knights from both sides who had fallen off their horses were supporting each other and retreating towards the main camp.

Zhao Ji rode his horse to the front of the battle line and saw another group of elite Xiongnu cavalry heading south. He was not afraid and immediately shouted, "Second group! Follow me!"

The first team of knights who followed him back from the battle were a mixture of Han and Hu people. They dismounted one after another, calmed down and restored their horses.

Some cavalrymen also stepped forward to pick up the knights who had fallen off their horses and were returning.

(End of this chapter)