Tiger Guards

Chapter 219 Worry-free in the West
On the eighth day of June, the fleet led by Xiangli Bao returned to Jinyang from Anyi for the first time, carrying 5,000 soldiers from Hedong County.

Jinyang was relatively cooler than Anyi. After these 5,000 county soldiers changed into new uniforms, they were disbanded and began to be retrained.

He did not give Xiang Libao any time to rest, and ordered him to transport 3,000 county soldiers from Hedong back to Hedong.

It took him 18 days to travel from Jinyang to Anyi and back. When Xiangli Bao returned to Jinyang for the next time, the army was heading south.

The entire Hedong and Taiyuan were in a state of relative silence, except for the fleet commanded by Xiang Libao that was shuttling back and forth.

In this silence, everyone is waiting for the scorching heat to subside.

It was not until the end of June, on the 27th, that the fleet led by Xiangli Bao returned to Jinyang.

This time the fleet did not transport soldiers or people from Hedong County, but instead brought hostages from Guanzhong Generals.

Calling them hostages is a bit of an exaggeration. They are more like poor people who came to Zhao Ji to beg for food.

In late June, the scorching heat gradually subsided.

Zhao Ji stationed at the west bank of the river, and many transport ships were parked on the shore, with small boats transferring men, women, women and children on the ships.

Liang Xing, who was escorting the hostages, was the first to disembark. He quickly walked to Zhao Ji's horse and bowed, "Lord Zhao, I have fulfilled my mission."

As he spoke, he took the list from his deputy and held it up high: "Here is the list of hostages offered by the generals in Guanzhong."

Han Shu took it and handed it to Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji opened the scroll and found the most important hostages were written in the front row. Duan Wei also entered the hostages and generously packed up Jia Xu's family and sent them over.

Even Li Jue used roundabout means to send his daughter over as "Li Ying's daughter".

Guo Si, on the other hand, was a bit of a loner. Confident of the strength of Meiwu, he didn't get involved in the matter at all.

In addition, the hostages of Yang Qiu and Zhang Heng were also delivered, as well as many hostages of county magistrates, miscellaneous captains, and generals of the central army.

They were competing to send their relatives here, not because they were afraid of me, but because they wanted to give their families a chance to eat.

The 30,000 infantry and cavalry gathered in Jinyang trained non-stop every day, which actually served as a more effective deterrent.

This retracted fist, when swung out, was extremely destructive, and no one in the surrounding counties dared to resist it.

They were oppressed by the Xiongnu, Qiang Hu and other mixed Hu peoples, so how could they have the capital to fight against themselves?

The only ones who could fight against him were Xianyu Fu, Tian Yu and others from Shanggu and Yuyang counties in Youzhou, but they were too far away to pose an effective threat to the other side.

If you can't hit the other person with your fists, there's no point in spitting at each other, so the two sides are currently maintaining a harmonious relationship through correspondence.

When Zhao Ji opened the list of hostages, Jia Xu was also on the shore to greet his wife. The couple were both filled with emotion at their reunion.

Jia Xu lived a relatively good life in Jinyang during this period. Not only did his complexion look better and his face became fuller, but he also wore bright brocade robes.

In Taiyuan, there was only a wave of unrest when Zhao Ji killed the clan thieves, but it did not harm the core technical population.

Instead, production was organized and centralized, and silk output increased significantly.

Jia Xu led his wife on the carriage back to the city. His wife came to Jinyang as a hostage so that they could start deeper cooperation with Zhao Ji.

The families of the generals and officials in Guanzhong came to Jinyang, and the hidden danger in the west of Zhao Ji was eliminated... Now the summer heat is about to subside, and the army has undergone rigorous training. If they don't fight, the army will be disappointed.

This is how the military is. There is generally resistance when training begins.

As they gradually adapt to the military camp and collective life, even the army itself now feels that it is terrifyingly powerful, and it would be really difficult to calm down if they don’t destroy something.

Now, not only the people within the army, but also the people around them feel that Jinyang’s soldiers and horses are exceptionally elite.

But in Zhao Ji's opinion, it is still not strong enough.

He knew what a truly strong army should be like. He had the template and standards of a strong army in his mind. He trained his troops according to these standards, and only when they met the standards could they become a strong army in his eyes.

However, since the chaos in the world, all parties have been hastily recruiting soldiers and fighting each other.

After being repeatedly annihilated by professional border troops and the Beijing camp, only Yuan Shao and Cao Cao still have large-scale veteran troops.

Even though Liu Bei in Xuzhou took over the more than 20,000 Danyang soldiers left by Tao Qian, they were unable to integrate them, and their war potential and resilience were not as good as those of Cao's and Yuan's armies.

Lu Bu's shortcomings here are more obvious. He has no territory that can stably supply supplies and manpower. His core troops are less than 10,000 people, and he cannot fight a war of attrition.

Yuan Shu's army is larger, but it belongs to different generals... For now, he can only go to Liu Bei to challenge him. Not to mention Cao Cao and Lu Bu, even King Chen Liu Chong can defeat Yuan Shu.

Over the past decade or so, only the Xiyuan soldiers were trained in this way, just like Zhao Ji trained his troops in seclusion.

Putting aside other things, if we hold a military parade and bring out all the powerful troops, none of them can compare to Zhao Ji's troops.

Jia Xu had seen all kinds of armies, and the army trained in Jinyang was ready to be used.

Not to mention the ministers of the time, even he couldn't help but want to use this army to show off his skills.

Judging others by his own experience, Jia Xu couldn't help but doubt the position of the court officials at the moment. Could it be that these officials were not interested in Jinyang's elite troops?
That night, it started raining in Jinyang.

The walls of the new city of Jinyang were made of crude planks, and were low walls at the township level, barely enough for soldiers to stand and walk.

There are two-story quadrangles everywhere in the city, which are built based on the "fang" style. The ultimate appearance should be like Barcelona.

The rain gradually got heavier, flowing into the main canal along the drainage ditch and flowing towards Jinze in the south of the city.

In the rain, Jia Xu was in high spirits, wearing wooden clogs and walking briskly under the circular corridor of the county magistrate's mansion.

Arriving at the meeting hall of the prefectural governor's mansion, he saw a fire burning inside. Zhao Ji also stood up to greet him: "Sir."

"Lord Zhao."

Jia Xu bowed and sat in the second seat as Zhao Ji requested. When he sat down, he saw more than twenty people gathered in the hall, including five Hun generals with a thousand men.

Zhao Ji sat down again and handed the silk scroll to Jia Xu. "Sir, Dai County has reported that Gongsun Zan's envoys to the court were ambushed by Wuhuan and Xianbei bandits. Only a few escaped to Dai County. This is Gongsun Zan's handwriting."

Jia Xu opened the book and read it. Gongsun Zan greeted and praised Zhao Ji, and explained the killing of Liu Yu and the assignment of provincial and county officials respectively, putting all the blame on Yuan Shao.

It was Yuan Shao who took the lead in committing a rebellious act to seize the position of governor of Han Fuzhou, persecute the loyal and good people of Jizhou, and persuaded Liu Yu to ascend the throne, which was tantamount to rebellion.

He also gave some examples, such as the fact that there were two suns in the sky during the period of the time, which was considered a good omen and God's will, and became the key auspicious sign for Yuan Shao to persuade Liu Yu to become emperor.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu in order to quell the rebellion for the court; he assigned county governors and provincial governors in order to compete with Yuan Shang.

According to Gongsun Zan's logic, Yuan Shao was the main culprit for the chaos in the world.

After reading it, Jia Xu said, "Previously, the Marquis of Zhao wanted to punish the treacherous official and false governor Gao Gan, but the court was reluctant to initiate a major war. Although they agreed to the Marquis of Zhao's request, they also sent envoys to negotiate. Yuan Shao is stubborn and arrogant, and he ignores the court's good intentions. I suggest that we recommend Gongsun Zan as the governor of Youzhou, acting general of cavalry, and the title of Marquis of Ji, so that he can lead the troops of Youzhou to fight against the treacherous official and false governor Yuan Xi."

Before attacking Yuan Shao, cut off his side branches first.

Zhao Ji nodded slowly. "That's as it should be. Previously, Imperial Household Officer Zhao Qi and Jingzhou Governor Liu Biao jointly recommended Sun Song, a native of Beihai, for the position of Governor of Qingzhou. Sun Song was killed by rebels shortly after entering Jinan. Yuan Tan, the false Governor of Qingzhou appointed by Yuan Shao through a forged edict, also needs to be included in the campaign. Who would be suitable?"

Jia Xu always stayed at the center and was well aware of the situation on all sides.

Seeing that Zhao Ji had decided to go to war with Yuan and Cao, he immediately said, "We can submit a memorial to the court, send an envoy to Xuzhou, appoint Zang Ba as the governor of Qingzhou, and send troops to Beihai to suppress the traitor Yuan Tan."

Given the background of Zang Ba and his gang, if they really got the official authorization from the court, they would definitely not hold back when fighting Yuan Tan.

"good."

Zhao Ji agreed and turned to look at Zhang Zan beside him. Zhang Zan started to write.

After going through the procedures, the resolution here will naturally be passed by the Menxia Province. If the emperor has no objection, it will become an imperial edict.

Zhao Ji was addicted to the pleasure of controlling all the heroes in the world, and he enjoyed it very much... He was reluctant to let the court go back to Luodu.

Fighting back his greed, Zhao Ji continued, "Xianyu Fu, Tian Yu, Yan Rou, and others have sent envoys to the court, intending to lead 3,000 elite cavalry to protect the emperor. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

Wei Xing immediately stood up, his voice drowned out by the sound of raindrops washing over the roof tiles: "If they dare to come, we will capture them and make them slaves!"

Seeing his rudeness, Jia Xu raised his hand to stop the others from speaking and said, "Lord Zhao, Xianyu Fu and the others are aware of his strength. This proposal is just a test, so just refuse it. If they really intended this, why would they formally submit this request?"

"Yes, the Xianbei in the border counties are strong, and we still need them to defend the border and protect the people. I will persuade them through letters, asking them to prioritize the stability of the border counties and not be distracted by the court."

Zhao Ji smiled as he spoke, "If they insist on coming to defend the emperor, I would like to ask Commander Tian Yu to lead a thousand cavalrymen south via Dai County or the Feihu Pass. How can the imperial court return to Luodu without knights as guards?"

Luoyang is a poor place, so let Tian Yu go there and starve first.

Do you really think that Liu Biao is a sucker and should be given as much food as he wants?

If Lu Bu is really fattened up and the imperial court is stabilized... then we may not necessarily start with Cao Cao, but will definitely start with Liu Biao!

The imperial court was also afraid of starvation, and was worried that when Lu Bu was sent to fight Cao Cao, Liu Biao would suddenly cut off the food supply.

The alliance among the Liu clans was probably the only one Liu Bei wanted to establish so that he could improve his status.

But between Liu Yan and Liu Biao, who would like the court to be revived three times?

Not to mention them, even King Chen Liu Chong did not want to see the court restored.

As the most eccentric vassal king in the world, Liu Chong had almost no way out.

Once the imperial court has gained a firm foothold, dealt with Liu Biao, and pacified Jingzhou, the next person to be dealt with will be King Chen!
The court ate Zhu Liu, which was very smooth, easy to digest, and not sticky to the teeth.

As long as the imperial court was allowed to return to Luoyang, the area south of the Yellow River would be completely out of control, and it would be difficult for Zhao Ji to predict what would happen.

Therefore, if Tian Yu were to lead a group of elite Youzhou knights south, the situation would become even more chaotic.

(End of this chapter)