Tiger Guards

Chapter 192: Calm it down
The five counties of Zhongdu were slightly pacified, and another round of forced conscription began.

Troops from various families gathered in the camp one after another, and eight thousand people gathered from five counties.

The quality of this group of people is much better than the first batch of 5,000 people, but they are of poor origin, have not been carefully screened, and are in an unstable state.

The killing and arrest of young men led to a great restoration of order in the five counties.

With Jia Xu watching from the side, Zhao Ji showed great patience.

He quietly waited for the progress of the land inspection, household registration and property confiscation work in various counties. He wished he could do it himself, but he was too busy to do it, and there was a lack of sufficient administrative staff.

The vast majority of matters must rely on the active county officials in each county, but they cannot be too indulgent or lenient.

Every day Zhao Ji would arrest a few typical people and give them heavy sentences. Even the officers and soldiers of the Tiger Infantry and Hanoi Soldiers who crossed the line would be executed by him.

Slightly stepping over the line is a test. If you don't fight back, the next time it won't be as simple as a low-level official stepping over the line.

Zhao Ji remained stationed in Zhongdu, waiting for reinforcements from Hedong.

With his current power, he can suppress any rebellion in the five counties.

April 27th, Xinyou Day.

The fleet from Jinyang arrived at the Zhongdu camp, and cartloads of heads were sent into the camp.

Each head was tied with a small piece of cloth with identification information written on it.

There are more than 700 heads, with no upper age limit and the youngest being twelve years old.

Xu Huang was already bloodthirsty in Jinyang. The minimum age for execution here in Zhao Ji was sixteen.

Xu Huang had experienced a series of wars in Hedong, Guanzhong and Dongqian, and had no intention of careful screening. Anyone with the slightest male characteristic was immediately executed.

The other children were also arrested. Even if there were any missed male members of the Jinyang Wang family, they were either studying or visiting relatives outside, or the boys disguised themselves as girls to avoid screening.

At the same time, Xu Huang also sent a thick list, which included not only the genealogy of the Jinyang Wang family, but also the marriage records of three generations in recent times.

"Gong Ming is loyal and upright, and I have no worries in the north."

Zhao Ji sighed with emotion. Jia Xu, who was handling various official documents and urgent letters with him, said nothing, but just rubbed his sore back.

During this period, both of them focused their main energy on document processing.

Jia Xu did not get enough rest and lacked exercise, which led to lumbar muscle strain from sitting for a long time.

Seeing Jia Xu's expression, Zhao Ji immediately handed over Xu Huang's document and said, "Sir, please take a look. I can't delay this any longer."

Jia Xu took it and read it, narrowing his eyes. "Wait two more days, Minister, be patient. The families of Hedong are like snakes with their heads cut off, dead but not yet stiff. Minister, keep calm and the disputes will resolve themselves."

The immigrants from the four counties outside the Great Wall who were living in the north of the county also responded to Zhang Yang's call and rose up in response to Xu Huang. Under Xu Huang's command, they occupied various counties, blocked various barriers and checkpoints, and rebuilt the county government.

These immigrants already had their own self-managed teams, so it was not difficult to select personnel from them to form a county government.

The Linghu and Guo families have been trapped. After Xu Huang reorganizes the servants and followers of the Wang family, he will send troops to sweep them away.

Therefore, Zhao Ji believed that he had to compete with Xu Huang in speed. If Xu Huang completed the unification of the northern part of the county first, it would be somewhat disadvantageous to him.

It was not that they were afraid of Xu Huang's rebellion, but that there were four forces around them: Zhang Yang, the Junbei Guest Army, the Huns, and the Yanmen Soldiers, as well as the imperial court that was just standing by and watching.

If these ministers can't resist the urge to take advantage of the situation and try to reap the fruits of victory, it will be difficult to deal with them.

But Jia Xu didn't think that the ministers had the courage to jump out and reap the benefits. The people of Hedong were dissatisfied. Without the suppression of the Hedong people, the people of Taiyuan and the Xiongnu would unite and devour the ministers alive.

At this moment, Zhao Ji felt a little overwhelmed by the coordination of multiple fronts, political affairs and the poor intelligence lines in the county.

It’s not a lack of confidence, but the execution results of the people below are far below what one expected.

It's not that the people below are indecisive, it's just that their personal qualities and methods are not good enough, and they lack sufficient experience.

Administration requires careful analysis and even more so, quick cutting of the Gordian knot.

At this time, Zhao Ji did not dare to leave the camp easily.

He is the ballast, and even Jia Xu cannot replace his unique role.

But Xu Huang's progress in the northern part of the county was rapid... Actually, Xu Huang wasn't that rapid, and at this moment, he was only reporting good news and not bad news. At least the city of Jinyang alone could restrain Xu Huang, making him afraid to leave easily in the short term.

This is not a problem that can be solved by simply finding reliable military officers to guard the city. Jinyang City is large, and a large number of troops must be left behind.

But too many bandits have been reorganized. If they are kept in the military camp in the city for training, they can be transformed slowly.

If they are taken out, they will mutiniate at the slightest sign of trouble.

Zhao Ji believed in Xu Huang's ability and the information reported in Xu Huang's official documents; but Jia Xu did not think so. He believed that Xu Huang was now trapped in a corner like Zhao Ji and could not move.

It's not that we really can't move, but the cost and risk of action are too high. Unless it is of extraordinary tactical significance, not moving is the best action.

If Xu Huang was smarter, he would mobilize external forces to block the Linghu and Guo families and wait for Zhao Jiteong to take action.

This has many advantages. It can prevent the desperate resistance of the Linghu and Guo clans and reduce the losses caused by the violent attacks of the various tribes in the north of the county.

But Jia Xu could not control Xu Huang, so he could only persuade Zhao Ji to stay calm and continue waiting.

With each passing day, the control over the five counties of Zhongdu will increase; the Tiger Infantry and Hanoi soldiers participating in the operation will also need time to recover.

The new and old batches of recruited troops need more time to be trained, through boring closed-camp training and at least ten days of obedience training, in order to establish basic management authority.

Anyway, the allied forces of Li Jue and Guo Si in Guanzhong failed in their attack on Su's Fort, and they collapsed themselves, and could no longer pose a real threat to Hedong.

Even Duan Wei began to take the initiative to send letters and hostages to Anyi.

However, Duan Wei also had hostages with Li Jue. Only after grain was exchanged for the hostages this year could Duan Wei regain his freedom.

Chanyu Huhuxuan was also detained in the camp, and the Right Wise King Qubei and the Left Wise King Liu Bao also sent people to request a fight.

The people of Taiyuan were just as Jia Xu had said. The poisonous snake's head had been chopped off by Zhao Ji, and it was twisting its fat body wildly, looking ferocious and difficult to control.

But as long as Zhao Ji waits quietly here, this headless fat snake will calm down and then share the meal with his allies.

The Xiongnu right and left royal courts sent people to request a battle, but it was not because they foresaw the decline of the Taiyuan people.

This is just a habit developed by the Huns over the years and generations. They just want to fulfill their obligations and join in the fun, so they can make some money if there is any benefit. If the situation is dangerous, these people will naturally take the initiative to avoid it.

Therefore, Jia Xu believed that Zhao Ji's staying here without moving was a sign of confidence, and that his hands, feet and limbs would naturally handle the surrounding troubles.

When the situation is almost resolved and there are no hidden dangers, we can gather our forces and defeat the rebellious county soldiers with one punch.

Anyway, it was the emperor and the ministers who were anxious to move back to Luoyang. Zhao Ji was not going, and Jia Xu was not likely to go either. So what was there to rush about?

As for Yuan Shao sending troops to attack through Jingxing Road... the emperor's court was in Taiyuan, and Yuan Shao did not dare to send troops rashly.

If too few troops are sent, it will be useless and will only lead to public criticism; if too many troops are sent, given the drought in the past two years, what will Yuan Shao's army eat in Jingxing Road?
The Black Mountain Army broke away from Zhang Yan one after another and participated in the disputes in Hebei and Central Plains. It was not that these people liked fighting.

But life in the mountains is more difficult, and the casualties are severe under harsh conditions.

Rather than starving to death or dying of illness, it is better to go out into the mountains and fight, and you might be able to find a way to survive.

All parties were strangled by food. Yuan Shao had already eaten up all the big families and powerful people under his rule who could eat. If he did so again, it would trigger a new round of trust crisis.

Therefore, with the external situation stable and the initiative in Taiyuan area in hand, why did Zhao Ji take the initiative to send troops and participate in the battle?

If you win, it will just speed up for a period of time, but what if you lose or the situation is stalemate?

Jia Xu saw through things clearly. Following his suggestion, Zhao Ji sat still in the camp, waiting for all aspects of the process to proceed in an orderly manner.

Even the next day, the Yanmen County Magistrate Shentu Bei sent an envoy to report that the powerful Shang family in Daling County had raised an army of 2,000 in rebellion.

Zhao Ji did not move either, but asked Shentu Bei to lead his troops into Daliang County in the name of the court.

Whether the county troops joined forces with the Shang clan or not, they could not reverse the trend.

Unless they form a coalition and head towards Jinyang.

By besieging Jinyang and rescuing the separated and surrounded Linghu and Guo families, they could unite and form a group of more than 10,000 people. Only then would there be hope for a strategic stalemate and a counterattack.

(End of this chapter)