Tiger Guards

Chapter 155 Caught off guard
When Xu Huang sent out his troops, the front-line troops evacuated in an orderly manner.

Even the tripwires on the ground have been removed.

Some of the dead horses were skinned on the spot, dismantled and transported to the military camp.

Zhao Ji led more than 300 cavalrymen as the rear guard and slowly retreated along the road.

All that was left around the battlefield were headless, stripped Huns and other barbarians, as well as piles of horse manure that had been poured out of their stomachs and intestines.

The Huns did not pursue them, and the retreating Han troops all came to the south bank of the Fen River to wash.

This time, there were only horses foraging for young crops on the north bank, and Xiongnu warriors who were ordered to patrol and drive away the Xiongnu.

When they retreated yesterday, the Huns threw the headless bodies of the mixed Hu people and slaves into the Fen River.

Today the Huns did not have the energy to do so, perhaps because their clothes were stripped off and they had no heads, making it difficult to distinguish their identities.

In short, it is rare for the Fen River to remain clean.

Even so, no one dared to drink the Fen River because the Huns were grazing their horses upstream.

There was no need for military officers to urge them, and the soldiers who came here to wash their armor and sweat would avoid drinking water.

I would rather drink the stream flowing from Zijin Mountain than drink the Fen River.

Zhao Ji was tired, so he returned to the camp and took a hot bath.

After eating and drinking a little and using his skills to restore his energy, he walked out of the barracks wearing a red brocade robe with aqua blue patterns, sandals on his feet, and a light cloth belt around his waist. He did not carry a sword, and his hair was casually draped over his shoulders.

The bleeding on his right hand had stopped, and he couldn't remember how he was injured.

The wound looked like a cut and was not deep, so I suspected it was caused by a bamboo arrow.

He usually doesn't use bamboo arrows. The bamboo arrow that might have caused the accident was an enemy arrow he caught during the battle and just shot out.

As he walked, he wrapped his head with a red scarf and soon arrived at the wounded area.

Jia Kui was supervising the work here to prevent the strong liquor from being secretly drunk by military doctors, apprentices, helpers, or wounded soldiers.

Alcohol distillation has existed for a long time, but it is very rare to see people distilling liquor in such a crazy way as Zhao Ji.

It is common knowledge that the first thing distilled out must be the essence of the wine, which people are reluctant to discard.

After some people died from drinking too much, the alcohol content of distilled liquor has been kept within a relatively acceptable risk range.

When drinking, you should also warm or heat the wine.

Zhao Ji would remove the head of the wine every time he distilled it. Although the remaining wine was strong and spicy, it was much less bitter.

The actual taste is just so-so, but it's easy to get drunk. For wounded soldiers or military doctors and apprentices who are under a lot of pressure, drinking some strong liquor can quickly calm them down.

Jia Kui came to greet Zhao Ji: "Minister."

"Brother Liang, let's talk inside."

Zhao Ji pointed with his right hand to the small wine storage room on the left, and Jia Kui immediately followed him in.

Zhao Ji sat on a wine jar and asked, "How are the injured today?"

"Most of them are arrow wounds, easy to treat."

Jia Kui flipped open the bamboo slips he had brought with him, glanced at them, and said, "One-fifth of the medicinal materials in the camp have been used up. At this rate of consumption, at least half of them must be replenished within five days."

Medicinal materials are consumables that are actually in very limited supply, not only for the government but even for the powerful and influential clansmen.

Zhao Ji took the bamboo slips, glanced at them, and said, "I have sent a letter to Jishan, asking envoys to gather the mountain people to buy medicinal herbs. They will be delivered within five days. Don't be stingy. Use only what is needed to treat the wounded."

Looking at the wine vats piled up around him, Zhao Ji instructed, "Don't stop brewing strong liquor. The wounded can't drink strong liquor, so you can give them some new wine as appropriate. Bandages and other items must be washed in boiling water and dried the same day; don't leave them to dry overnight. The meat distributed to the wounded must be eaten by them. Otherwise, the officers and soldiers will mutiny, and I will not hold back."

"Don't worry, Minister. I'll be here day and night and won't delay the treatment of the wounded."

"Well, this is very important, just a little less challenging than fighting on the front lines. Tell the medics and apprentices that for every lightly wounded soldier they save, I'll give a bounty of 300, the medic 200, and the apprentice 100. For seriously wounded soldiers, I'll give a bounty of 700, the medic 500, and the apprentice 200. Even if the wound is completely disabled, there's still a bounty, but it's halved."

Zhao Ji sighed and said, "I wouldn't mind any reward. The medicinal materials are public property, so we must not skimp on them. As for the robes for the military doctors and apprentices, if they're not enough, I'll give them two more sets."

Jia Kui's eyes fell on the bandage on Zhao Ji's right hand and asked, "During today's fierce battle, was the Minister injured?"

"It's just a minor injury."

Zhao Ji saw that he changed the subject and didn't want to listen to his nagging, so he asked Jia Kui to be responsible for treating the wounded. Jia Kui naturally had his own management methods.

Despite repeated urging like this, I feel a sense of distrust and doubt.

However, the treatment of wounded soldiers determines the morale of the entire army and the efficiency of the subsequent return of veterans.

Changing the subject, Zhao Ji said, "We can't fight anymore in the next few days. Let's wait for the rain. When it rains, that will be the time for the decisive battle."

If we delay for a while longer, the Huns will have eaten up most of the nearby crops and will seek a decisive battle.

The dry and rainless loess ground would produce a cloud of dust if you stepped on it. When the two sides held a decisive battle, the battlefield would inevitably be covered in dust.

Given a choice, both sides would avoid such interference.

Jia Kui also turned his head to look outside, squinting his eyes. "It rained a little just twelve days ago, and the water was less than four inches deep. Judging from the past two years, and with the south wind blowing again today, it should rain within three to five days, or at the latest within seven days."

"Brother Liang Dao also knows about wind angles and astronomy?"

“Born and raised here, I have some insights.”

Jia Kui turned to look at Zhao Ji and said, "Just now, Minister Zhao came here again to inquire about the wounded. I can't tell what he means by this. But I do feel that it is rather rash for the Minister to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy in the midst of battle."

Zhao Ji also turned his head and they looked at each other. Jia Kui didn't say much, but worry was written on his face.

It's not that the commander can't charge, but the internal situation is not very good. Zhao Ji slowly tilted his head to look at Jia Kui and joked, "Brother Liang Dao, are you afraid that I will be captured by the Xiongnu?"

"maybe."

Jia Kui smiled, and couldn't help but think of the joke Zhao Ji had made at that time. Then his smile faded and he became extremely serious.

If someone really betrayed him and Zhao Ji didn't die, then things would be really interesting.

Thinking of Zhao Ji being tied up by the Huns, and persuading the Huns to obey Zhao Ji's command, Zhao Ji changed his name to a Hun name and turned back to fight the Han army.

Jia Kui no longer wanted to think about that scene.

Zhao Ji also restrained his smile: "I will pay attention."

If Liu Xie condoned the ministers and officials' attempt to stab him, he would cross the Fen River to the north and transform himself into a Hu, severely punishing these beasts in human clothing.

Perhaps only when they fell into the hands of the barbarians and associated with real beasts, would the nobles and officials think before they spoke and acted.

Seeing this, Jia Kui said nothing more. This matter had nothing to do with him. He just made such a prediction based on Zhao Ji's character.

Without his reminder, if Zhao Ji had fallen to that point, he would definitely fake his death and transform into a Hu, taking severe revenge on the Han court.

But with his reminder, Zhao Ji would prepare in advance and retaliate more violently, making it difficult for the participants to escape.

Jia Kui didn't want to have too much interaction with the current court, so he was responsible for the affairs of the wounded camp and didn't want to take care of other things.

With his qualifications and size, he would be in a difficult position if he got involved.

His brother-in-law Liu Fu accepted the appointment as Shangshu Lang, but did not go to the court to take up the post. He remained in the Hou family manor to manage logistics.

Others may not know the miserable state of the officials, but Liu Fu, who lived in Jie County next to Anyi, was definitely aware of their miserable and shabby state.

If Zhao Ji had not decisively launched a military remonstration, who knows what kind of disaster this group of ministers who took revenge on the powerful families and wealthy people in Hedong would have brought to Hedong.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that so many powerful young men jumped out of the Tiger Infantry and actively became palace officials.

It's not that they like the court so much, it's simply that they don't like Zhao Ji's dominance and are afraid of being implicated in military law, so they are just hiding temporarily.

If we really talk about hatred, these people hate the imperial court even more.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Ji left the hut to inspect the new and old wounded.

Many lightly wounded soldiers were basking in the sun. They were weak and sleepy due to their injuries. They had sufficient food and drink, and after eating, they would rest while holding water gourds.

They were all lying on the grass pile in the corner. Zhao Ji just waved and greeted the wounded soldiers who saw him along the way, and tried not to gather together.

Entering the curtained operating area, all kinds of sounds are heard.

Zhao Ji saw a tiger-step soldier wearing a black scarf lying on a wooden bed, biting a piece of wood in his mouth, his face distorted and sweating.

His left arm was held tightly in place by two nurses. The military doctor had already pulled out the broken arrow from his forearm and was using a hooked knife to clean out any iron filings or wood splinters that might be in the wound.

After cleaning, wash it twice before applying medicine and bandaging.

The wounded soldier was already exhausted. Zhao Ji took a closer look and opened his eyelids. The soldier looked at him intently.

Recognizing Zhao Ji, the wounded soldier immediately became excited. Zhao Ji withdrew his hand and said, "Rest well. After the wound has scabbed over in two days, you can go to the city to recuperate."

The wounded soldier just nodded, biting the wooden piece in his mouth.

Zhao Ji inspected other places again. The wounded soldiers could not stay in the barracks for a long time. The depressed mood of some wounded soldiers would spread and affect others.

There is also a wounded treatment area that must be separated from the maintenance area to avoid cross-infection and emotional infection.

Taking care of the wounded as if they were his own brothers and nephews is itself a tactic to win over the Beijiang volunteers.

There really was not enough supplies, otherwise according to Zhao Ji's original intention, even the seriously injured Huns would have been admitted for treatment.

Objectively speaking, the wounded Huns were very helpful in improving the surgical capabilities of military doctors.

Subjectively speaking, it can quickly strike and dampen the Huns' will to fight.

When I walked out of the operating area, I saw Guanqiu Yi standing at the entrance of the small camp. The sunlight at around five or six in the afternoon was shining on his face, and Guanqiu Yi looked very bad.

Seeing Zhao Ji coming out, Guanqiu Yi stepped forward quickly and handed Zhao Ji a small bundle of cloth strips: "Minister, this is the arrow letter obtained on the battlefield."

"Where's the arrow book?"

Guanqiu Yi glanced around and whispered, "This is what I saw outside the camp this morning when I was leading the Yulin Guards to protect the camp."

"Do the Emperor and Lord Fu know?"

"I dare not reveal it."

Guanqiu Yi was a little afraid to look up, and lowered his head and whispered.

Zhao Ji held the bundle of cloth strips and arrows in his left hand, grinning through gritted teeth, "You saw this outside the camp, but you didn't show it to the emperor, but brought it to me? You didn't give it to me earlier, but only at dusk?"

Without even looking at it, he threw it to Guanqiu Yi and said, "Let the emperor see it first. If he gives me the imperial edict, I will read it later. Otherwise, I will pretend that these arrows do not exist."

After saying this, Zhao Ji turned around and left angrily.

Guanqiu Yi's expression kept changing, and he wanted to slap himself twice. How could he show this thing to the emperor?

After seeing it, he felt like a nobody.

If no one shows it to others, no one will remember his kindness.

(End of this chapter)