Tiger Guards

Chapter 161 Blood Partners
Not long after, Pei Xiu and Jia Kui arrived.

Along with them came two carts containing eight jars of liquor.

These liquors have not been aged in cellars, and Zhao Ji does not like liquor, always feeling that they taste bad.

There is also a square grain cart with a sealed compartment that can also transport water.

The grain cart was pushed to the front of Zhao Ji. The Huben soldiers worked together to pour eight jars of strong liquor into the cart, and the smell of liquor filled the air.

When the Tiger Guards had retreated to the sides, Zhao Ji spoke up, "As far as I know, over the past hundred years, the weather has been unpredictable, the seasons have been irregular, and disasters have been common. Everyone, Han or barbarian, noble or humble, has suffered greatly. The years of severe drought have been unbearable."

He spoke calmly, staring at the people before him: "The drought this year has become apparent, and we are inevitably going to kill each other. But I believe that the drought will not last more than three years, and next year will surely be a good year. Will we still be killing each other next year, the year after, or within ten or a hundred years?"

No one answered, everyone was waiting for Zhao Ji to make a decision.

So many people died, there is really no shortage of land. What is lacking is order and a distribution plan that can generally satisfy all parties.

Zhao Ji looked around, and no one dared to look him in the eye, for fear that he would pull them out and ask them some dangerous questions.

Seeing that the Xiongnu were not very aggressive, Zhao Ji said, "I have discussed this with the Right Wise King many times, and I know that the cold, drought, and heavy rains outside the Great Wall are far worse than in previous years. The Xianbei are fierce and stubborn, forcing the Xiongnu tribes to move inland to escape. Forcing them out of the Great Wall now is like throwing sheep into the tiger's mouth, forcing them to become the Xianbei's possession."

"Ordinary herdsmen and slaves can still be used by the Xianbei, but you, the Xianbei who have come to the north, will surely be killed sooner or later."

Zhao Ji turned his head and looked at Bei: "Right Wise King, am I right?"

Qubei answered truthfully: "As the Minister said, the Donghu have no place for us."

Zhao Ji asked again, "Now that the Han and Xiongnu are fighting each other, the number of men is small. What will happen if the Xianbei invade the Great Wall?"

Qubei replied in a deep voice, "My wives and daughters will become the property of the Donghu, and my sons and daughters will become their slaves, herding their horses."

Other Huns did not refute this view. The Huns had to migrate inland, and objectively speaking, they did serve as a barrier to resist the Xianbei's invasion of the Great Wall.

These views quickly took hold, and the Xiongnu nobles breathed a sigh of relief.

From this broad perspective, in the face of the common enemy, the Xianbei, both sides could naturally resume the centuries-old tradition of vassalage.

Zhao Ji then added, "Ever since the various tribes migrated inland, they have fought among themselves, causing great suffering to the border inhabitants. Regardless of whether they are Han or Hu, noble or humble, they have all suffered greatly. Today, I have used a clever trick to compel you to come to this banquet, hoping to swear an oath to restore order and restore order, so that we can all live in harmony and unite against foreign enemies."

Zhao Ji stood up and stared at everyone. "If you agree with my proposal, then be frank with me. If you disagree, go back and reorganize your troops and fight me again."

As he spoke, Zhao Ji took off his leather helmet and threw it on the table, then reached out to grab the side buckle of the leather armor.

Seeing him start to take off his armor, Qubei also stood up and threw his helmet in front of him, and began to take off his armor with a dozen Xiongnu kings and nobles behind him.

The Xiongnu nobles who had thrown away their weapons and attended the meeting looked at each other and began to take off their leather clothes, leather armor, and felt clothes.

Soon, Zhao Ji exposed his upper body. Except for his face, neck and the area below his wrists which were tanned, his upper body was muscular and as white as sheep fat.

The Xiongnu nobles also exposed their upper bodies and arms and took off their outer clothes. Many of them wore silk inner garments.

There were also a dozen Xiongnu nobles with white skin, but they had various red spots, and their skin was far less fair and flawless than Zhao Ji's.

Zhao Ji noticed that some people looked at him differently, but he didn't care much. If the dog wanted to bite him, he would just beat it to death with a stick.

Except for a small number of Xiongnu nobles who were strong and muscular, most of the Xiongnu nobles had round bodies and their muscles were hidden under the fat.

A southerly wind blew. Zhao Ji sat calmly at the head of the table, smiling. "Since you all share my ideals, then I'll let you hear my opinion. Here today are the tribes of Right Wise King Dugu, Helai, Louda, Qiangqu, and Black Wolf. Each tribe will now command a thousand tribes. For every additional tribe, I will lead my people to punish them."

Qu Bei leaned over and bowed: "My Lord is willing to follow."

This could directly strengthen his Dugu tribe, so he had no reason to object.

Even the surviving King He Lai and King Da Lou were delighted when they heard this. They met Zhao Ji's gaze and immediately bowed, "The young king is willing to obey."

Zhao Ji represented the Han Dynasty court, the superior country. With the endorsement and military support of the superior country, they could naturally annex scattered small tribes of the same clan and relatives and strengthen their own tribe.

Zhao Ji then looked at Liu Kun, a young leader of the Qiangqu tribe, whom he had met once before. "We have met once before, and you are from the royal family of the Xiongnu. From now on, you will be the leader of the Black Wolf tribe."

"The young prince thanks the Minister for his grace in giving him a new life!"

Liu Kun stood up and bowed deeply, then knelt down and kowtowed solemnly. After standing up, he turned his head to look at the nobles of the Black Wolf Tribe.

The Black Wolf Tribe was not large, with only about thirty young generals, all of whom had their heads lowered at the moment.

Zhao Ji then asked, "Are the Black Wolf tribe willing to obey the new king?"

"I am willing."

Immediately, someone bowed down and kowtowed to Zhao Ji.

Others followed suit, but they only wanted a new king. Otherwise, if the Black Wolf Tribe was dismantled on the spot, even if they did not die, they would be enslaved and lose everything.

Only then did Liu Kun sit calmly in the front row of the Black Wolf Tribe and became the Black Wolf King.

Zhao Ji raised his hand and gently placed it on the head of Qiangqu King Liu Cheng at the end of the table. "The Qiangqu King and the Right Wise King have a mortal feud. I have already killed him. His throne will be inherited by the Right Wise King's half-brother. Considering his young age, the Right Wise King will manage the affairs of the Qiangqu tribe until he reaches adulthood. How do you think that is?"

The Qiangqu tribe was powerful and was a large tribe directly under the royal family. At this moment, a dozen small kings went to see Qubei. Qubei stared at them expressionlessly, as if a wolf was staring at its prey, and he was eager for them to stand up and oppose him immediately.

In this atmosphere, an elderly nobleman kowtowed and said, "I am willing to obey the orders of Minister Zhao." Others kowtowed one after another to express their obedience.

Zhao Ji looked at him and said: "You Xian Wang, you can first send someone to take charge of the Qiangqu tribe."

"Here."

Qubei turned his head to look at Huyan Guo who was following behind him: "You go."

"Yes."

Huyan Guo was overjoyed. Even if it was just a temporary management position, it would be enough for him to expand his tribe.

Hu Yanguo stepped out of the line, bowed to Qubei and Zhao Ji respectively, and then sat in the front row of the Qiangqu nobles.

After he was seated, Zhao Ji said, "For now, I will recognize you five tribes. I will send Sima to select volunteers. Each tribe will send 200 volunteer knights every year to serve at my side. I will also send a chief historian to count the population and register the records, and to assist the kings in mediating disputes."

"For anyone who volunteers, I will send people to teach them writing, law, and skills. If they demonstrate meritorious service, they can be promoted to Han officials. If they are interested, they can be relocated to the city and allocated land and houses. The families of volunteers will be taken care of by all the tribes."

As Zhao Ji spoke, he turned his head to look at Pei Xiu. Many people also looked at him from the side, where Pei Xiu was taking notes.

Zhao Ji added, "I will allocate spring and autumn pastures to each tribe. Each tribe will only be allowed to roam and cultivate within the pastures I allocate, and will then divide the land among themselves. If there are any disputes, the Chief Secretary and the kings will make the final decision. If they cannot reach a conclusion, I will make the final decision."

"In the future, as the population grows and new tribes are established, I will appoint new kings based on merit. Each king's son will succeed his father, and his younger brother will succeed his elder brother. If a king is found guilty of treason, his throne will be abolished, his wife, daughters, and younger brothers will be made slaves. The tribe's nobles will then nominate a virtuous successor."

Zhao Ji glanced around as he spoke, his eyes landing on Qu Bei's face. Qu Bei understood and cupped his hands, "Minister, my rough estimate from the five tribes is no less than seven thousand."

"The extra ones will be managed directly by me. In the future, if you have made great contributions, I will divide the majority of them and appoint a king to lead them for generations."

Zhao Ji explained his solution and asked, "Do you have any concerns?"

"No doubt."

Liu Kun spoke first. Not only him, but most of the Xiongnu nobles did not think that Zhao Ji would like to directly take over so many settlements and small tribes.

Sooner or later it will be established as a Qianluo tribe and a king will be sent to lead it.

So in the end, it's still their tribesmen.

Besides, if these small nobles brought their tribes under Zhao Ji's command and were directly governed by him, there would be more benefits, so there was no need to object.

Zhao Ji then said, "When the various tribes entered the borderlands, they often abducted border residents, both men and women. Now that we have reconciled, please return them all. I will not take them for nothing. I will redeem them for two thousand coins each. From now on, there will be no restrictions on money and goods transactions. Only heavy armor and other military equipment will not be sold. The rest of the tribes will be treated the same as Han soldiers and civilians, and no restrictions will be imposed."

At this time, Liu Kun stood up and bowed, saying: "We respect the Minister, and the captured border people can be presented to you. However, hatred has already arisen. Please have mercy on us and don't let the slaves go."

Suddenly, Zhao Ji found that this guy was really smart, but he seemed to be lost in thought.

Qubei glanced at Liu Kun and immediately bowed to Zhao Ji: "Minister, there has been a severe drought for three years now, and the people have no surplus grain. If we release the slaves, they will have nowhere to go. Why not take them as your followers? Then the officials, the powerful, and the bandits will not dare to invade. This is the kind act that will save lives and save lives."

Zhao Ji thought seriously, "The wise king's concerns are reasonable, but I can't take them for nothing. I will redeem them for two thousand coins each. The children I raise can also be allowed to go or stay. Mother and child must not be separated. This is truly against human ethics."

"Minister Benevolence."

Liu Kun shouted loudly, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, leading more than 200 Xiongnu nobles to kowtow.

As for the issue of handing over hostages, it is only natural that we should not rush to discuss it in public.

Zhao Ji then gave the agreement written by Pei Xiu and drafted by the Prime Minister to the Xiongnu nobles for reading. After confirming that it was correct, he signed on the blue silk scroll.

It also added an offensive and defensive agreement, which stipulated that if the various tribes were invaded, Zhao Ji would send troops to protect them.

Similarly, when Zhao Ji was attacked, each unit had to mobilize an additional 500 cavalrymen to help in the battle.

Finally, Zhao Ji put a drop of blood from his fingertip into the wine box before distributing strong liquor to these Xiongnu nobles.

The wine in the black pottery bowl is dark red... because it was mixed with red wine in advance.

"Gentlemen, drink Zhao's blood wine and you will become Zhao's blood partner. Drink it up!"

Zhao Ji was also holding a black pottery wine bowl. After he finished speaking, he slowly lifted up the black pottery wine bowl, and everyone also nodded.

Witnessed by Xu Huang, Jia Xu and a group of Tiger Guard officers, a total of 262 Xiongnu nobles raised their wine bowls and drank heartily.

After drinking the strong liquor, many people's faces changed immediately.

Zhao Ji raised his right arm to show the empty bowl and looked around: "If you break your oath in the future, you will be punished like this bowl!"

As he spoke, the black pottery bowl smashed to the ground and shattered.

Qubei's voice was distorted by the strong liquor, and he raised his bowl and shouted: "If you break your oath, you will be punished by this bowl!"

He also smashed the black pottery bowl to the ground. The Xiongnu nobles shouted and smashed the black pottery bowl into pieces amid the noise.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became harmonious. As for their horses... these were Minister Zhao's horses.

(End of this chapter)