Tiger Guards

Chapter 180: Blasphemy
In Queshu Valley, there are many dangerous rapids in the Fen River.

The fleet further divided and advanced in sequence.

After entering the Queshu Valley Basin, Zhao Ji also disembarked and joined the Yicong troops.

He was not good at naval battles, and the Tiger Infantry had even less experience in naval battles. Nearly half of the soldiers were not used to such long-distance sailing.

They are mainly transport ships, and there is not enough space for shooting on the deck.

Fortunately, the boat is higher than the two banks, which gives it an advantage in shooting height, so the Tiger Infantry on board have the power to protect themselves.

But Zhao Ji was worried that the people of Taiyuan would set up fireboats upstream of the Fen River... There was no way, it was difficult for him to maintain trust in these guys.

In case the news leaked out, or the people of Taiyuan went crazy, Zhao Ji didn't want to gamble with his swimming skills.

The current Xiongnu Chanyu royal court is in Zishi County, southwest of Taiyuan, on the west bank of the Fen River.

In order to avoid an ambush by the Xiongnu Chanyu Huochuquan, Zhao Gongshi led 300 Hu Ben and 1,000 Yi Cong knights to take the Han Xinling Road on the east bank of the Fen River.

When Emperor Gaozu withdrew his troops from the siege of Baideng and passed through here, Han Xin's head was sent here.

So they found a place with good feng shui in the mountains near Chidao and buried Han Xin's head there.

In this way, we successfully got out of Queshu Valley by both land and water.

At the northern end of Queshu Valley, on the east bank is Jiexiu County.

Zhang Yang had already settled in Jiexiu County. When Zhao Gongshi led the cavalry out of Queshu Valley, he saw the Huns' tents on the west bank connected front to back.

Zhang Yang came to meet him with over 300 cavalrymen. Pointing to the other side of the river, he said, "The Chanyu Huchuquan has sent an envoy to tell me that they are here to welcome the emperor and have no other intention."

Zhao Ji squinted his eyes and looked at the other side. He could vaguely see a camp and pointed with his whip: "Is that Huochuquan's camp?"

"No, it was sent to the camp of Wang Rou, the General of the Central Army of the Xiongnu. There were over 2,000 Taiyuan soldiers and over 1,000 Xiongnu volunteers."

Zhang Yang extended his arm and pointed further north: "The Chanyu's main camp is further north, about thirty miles from here."

"This is a demonstration to the Emperor, you and me."

Zhao Ji said this as he took the letter from Sun Zi's horse harness and handed it to Zhang Yang. "Wang Rou sent Wang Ling with a letter demanding 200,000 dan of military rations. He meant that if we take the rations, the people of Taiyuan will entertain the emperor for half a month, and then we'll be allowed to leave."

Zhang Yang took the silk book and flipped through it: "Nothing else?"

"No beauties, no BMWs, and no gold."

Zhao Ji looked at Zhang Yang with a smile. "Perhaps in their eyes, I'm not worth spending money and beauties on. Just food alone can buy me off. Wang Rou is really good at judging me. Where's General Zhang?"

"It's also two hundred thousand dan. They say if I can persuade the Marquis of Zhao to withdraw his troops within half a month, I'll give me another thirty thousand dan of corn, plus gold and a BMW. I'm not willing to part with a beautiful woman either."

Zhang Yang said this, but only he knew the specific rewards promised to him.

He returned the silk letter to Zhao Ji, his expression becoming serious, and he said, "According to my investigation, the Xiongnu on the west bank have no fewer than 5,000 cavalry. Including those commanded by Wang Rou and the clan bandits in various counties, there are no fewer than 20,000 infantry and cavalry."

Zhao Ji carefully observed the other side of the river. Perhaps the news of the Battle of Jiangyi had reached him. The Xiongnu people grazing on the other side were more serious. They were foraging in small groups and did not slack off.

After observing for a moment, Zhao Ji smiled and said, "If war is just a matter of numbers, then what are generals like you and me needed for? If there is a dispute, the two armies can face each other and vote to see who has more men."

"Wang Rou tried to scare you and me like this. From the very beginning, he lost."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look at Zhang Yang's profile. "General Zhang, is it possible to arrange a meeting with Hu Qubing? Don't alert the others. Before the emperor arrives in Zhongdu and holds a grand banquet, I want to see Hu Qubing."

Zhang Yang frowned. "That's not difficult. I'm worried Huchuquan will betray us. He married Wang Rou, and I suspect Wang Rou was the mastermind behind the death of his brother Yu Fuluo."

Zhang Yang's small eyes narrowed on his round face. "From what I know about Huochequan, he would never seek revenge for the dead. Without the support of Wang Rou and the people of Taiyuan, he would have difficulty suppressing the Tuge Xiongnu. How could he have the courage to start a war with you and me?"

"In that case, then I won't see him."

After Zhao Ji finished speaking, he stopped talking and just observed the nomadic Xiongnu herdsmen on the other side of the river. The area near the exit of Queshu Valley was not suitable for farming.

With mountains, water and lush vegetation, it is indeed a good place to raise horses.

When it comes to conspiring, the fewer core figures involved, the better.

If we fail, we can still inflict heavy damage on the people of Taiyuan and punish the rebels on the emperor's behalf... It feels really good.

The charges were ready-made, which made Wang Rou, the General of the Central Army of the Xiongnu, disrespect the emperor and deliberately allow the Xiongnu to cut off the road. This was a great disrespect and no different from treason.

Compared to this great disrespect, the smuggling and human trafficking that infuriated Zhao Ji were actually minor crimes. According to the charges Zhao Ji had originally organized, killing the clan leader would have been sufficient; implicating his children and family members would have been excessively cruel.

It is reasonable to behead all male members of the three clans for the crime of great disrespect.

The sky is big, the earth is big, and the king is also big.

This gave Zhao Ji a sense of absurdity as if he were in another world. Treason would not necessarily result in death, but humiliating the king and father would definitely result in a tragic death.

Zhang Yang observed Zhao Ji's profile from time to time, and he had no idea what Zhao Ji was thinking.

Zhang Yang was somewhat nervous at this moment.

Attacking the people of Taiyuan is exciting in itself, especially for him who was born in the four counties of Yunzhong. It gives him a sense of accomplishment of turning the tables.

That year, the three armies were completely annihilated in the campaign against the Xianbei. Yufuluo's father, Qiangqu Chanyu, led more than 10,000 Xiongnu volunteers to join the war, but was seriously injured and fled the battlefield. Since then, his power has been greatly damaged.

When the country was in turmoil and the old Chanyu died of illness, Yufuluo brought Xiongnu volunteers to help the Han Dynasty suppress the Yellow Turbans.

So the Tuge Xiongnu supported other royal family members to succeed the throne of Chanyu. After the death of this Chanyu, Yufuluo, who had been wandering outside for nearly ten years, was able to return to the Xiongnu tribe and succeed the throne of Chanyu.

After that great defeat, the border army suffered heavy losses of elite cavalry, and the Xianbei people retaliated on a large scale, forcing the officials, civilians, and garrison troops of various counties in Yunzhong to move inland.

Many people from the four counties of Yunzhong were settled in the northern part of Taiyuan County, as well as Dai County and Yanmen.

Most of these people were deployed in mountainous areas, still serving as human shields for border counties, and had many conflicts with local tyrants.

Strictly speaking, this should be the first time that the conflict between the natives and the immigrants was caused by the migration of population to the south. The border residents who moved inland and did not want to be eaten almost maintained a militarized lifestyle.

The border people were mixed with Xiongnu, Xianbei or Qiang people, and the whole place was a melting pot of ethnic groups.

This makes the external identities of these border residents changeable. They may be mixed Hu people, Han heroes, or bandits.

Zhang Yang and Lu Bu came from this group of border residents who migrated inland.

By cooperating with Zhao Ji to completely wipe out the Taiyuan clan bandits, the people there will be able to rise rapidly and become a reliable force to assist the court in controlling Taiyuan.

As for the people of Taiyuan... Zhang Yang has no good feelings towards them at all.

People from Taiyuan almost represent the entire Bingzhou!

The sufferings endured by the various counties in Bingzhou had nothing to do with Taiyuan. The people of Taiyuan were high and mighty, and many prominent families appeared there.

Perhaps if Zhang Yang met someone from Taiyuan in other places, he could talk about his hometown feelings, become friends with them, visit each other more often, support and help each other, and live together.

But if we limit our vision to Taiyuan, then the deceased Taiyuan county lords are Zhang Yang's good fellow villagers.

Zhang Yang stopped and looked at the other side with a bad look on his face.

Given the current situation of the Xiongnu, as long as Wang Rou is killed, how would Huochequan have the courage to start a war?
By gathering so many Huns, Wang Rou might be able to scare the emperor, frighten the ministers and officials, and also fool Zhao Ji, who was not very familiar with the inner workings of the Huns.

But Zhang Yang could not be fooled, as he knew very well how weak Huochequan was.

It cannot be said that he was Wang Rou's puppet, but at least he was a puppet recognized by both Wang Rou and Tuge Xiongnu.

As the two men stopped their horses to observe the other side, Xue Hong rode closer, and when he was seven or eight steps away, he bowed and said, "Mingsir, the banquet has been arranged."

Zhang Yang's expression immediately softened, and he turned to Zhao Ji and asked with a smile, "What does Lord Zhao think?"

"Don't drink alcohol, just eat some light meals."

Zhao Ji stated his bottom line and turned to look to the south. The Huben Knights and Yicong Knights were riding their horses in succession. Many of them dismounted to rest nearby and let their horses feed.

The soil, water and vegetation in Taiyuan are better than those in Pingyang and Jiangyi.

Unexpectedly, the two previous droughts and locust plagues had relatively little impact on Taiyuan.

Especially the nine counties of Zhongdu, which were built around the Nine Lakes. With the irrigation of the Fen River, not only was the drought alleviated, but even the locusts were not as ferocious as in Hedong.

As for the fleets of the Emperor, the Tiger Infantry, and the Hedong Knights, they were still advancing slowly in the Queshu Valley.

Many dangerous rapids take a lot of time to cross, and you may not be able to get out of the valley until the afternoon.

(End of this chapter)