Tiger Guards

Chapter 229: Wenhe Secret Plan
Only after Xiang Libao led the fleet back did Zhao Ji begin to divide his forces and advance.

You can take a boat from Jinyang to Qi County, and the road from Qi County to Nie County, Shangdang has been traveled by the vanguard Wei Xing.

The day before Wei Xing arrived in Nie County, he walked more than 40 miles and found a ready-made camp about 40 miles away.

The 4,600 county soldiers assigned to Jia Xu were responsible for transportation and were divided into two teams. They relied on these military camps to deliver and transport military rations and fodder to Nie County.

Therefore, the 10,000 troops led by Zhao Ji had a relatively easy march.

In order to save precious horsepower, after arriving in Qi County by horse, most people would lead the horses on foot.

They walked more than forty miles a day, and the armor was loaded onto carts for transportation, which minimized the fatigue of the march.

The battle against the Baibo generals showed Zhao Ji's eagerness and swiftness in using troops; the opportunity to launch a military remonstration to seize control of the court reflected Zhao Ji's decisiveness and wisdom.

Later, he defeated the Xiongnu in Pingyang, which almost fully demonstrated Zhao Ji's excellent qualities as a general.

Now that the army is attacking in different directions, it actually shows Zhao Ji's patience.

In Jia Xu's view, Zhao Ji's greatest quality was not bravery or decisiveness, but patience.

For a person who makes a living by hunting, patience is the most basic and important quality.

Jia Xu could tell what the Shangdang lords and commanders wanted to do just by smelling it.

He did not have the patience to analyze each family in detail. When Zhao Ji's main force arrived in Shangdang, they would deal with and dismantle the clan bandits step by step.

If you surrender and rely on others, you can survive. If you resist, you will be destroyed immediately.

Zhao Ji would never allow these clan bandits to stay in Shangdang and become a military threat.

Jia Xu knew this very well, so he did not interfere too much on the front line.

Similar to Zhao Ji, Xu Huang possessed all the qualities that a famous general should have, and he also had a restraint and conservatism that was rare and uncommon in this turbulent era.

There is Xu Huang on the front line and Zhao Ji in the central army... Jia Xu has nothing to worry about, just take care of his own logistics.

As for pursuing the remnants of the Wang family, as long as Jia Xu stayed in the position of Taiyuan County Magistrate, his subordinates would naturally do a good job of this matter, and he didn't need to repeatedly give orders or act like a villain.

For the existing officials and poor families in Taiyuan, only by completely cutting ties with their old county affiliations can they embark on a journey with ease and embrace a brighter future.

Although there are many people who miss the old days, they will be squeezed out if they are exposed.

Everyone is worried about being implicated by such subordinates and colleagues. Instead of hastily cutting ties after they are exposed, it is better to work together to suppress them and not give them the opportunity to be exposed and to explode.

Finally, on July 13, Zhao Ji arrived at the Zhongdu camp by boat.

The next morning, as the army marched forward in an orderly manner, Zhao Ji entered the camp and invited the emperor to join the expedition.

Today, Zhao Ji was wearing brand new armor. He was wearing a silver-plated, Taotie-patterned, gold-patterned basin-collar Ming Guang armor, and a moon-white silk battle robe with civil and military sleeves. He also finally put on the black lacquered hat helmet with a large brim and no neck guard that he had always dreamed of. A one-foot-six-inch-long lightning rod was inserted on the top of the helmet, and the tip of the needle was a fluffy five-colored ribbon.

When Zhao Ji walked, the five-colored tassels on his head swayed rhythmically.

When you turn your head casually, the needle tip drives the tassels to circle, which is very eye-catching.

This helmet will not block Zhao Ji's vision or interfere with his hearing.

In the Zhongdu camp, Liu Xie also wore gold-lacquered leather armor and a leather helmet. The overall weight was light, and the armor was loose and breathable.

He stood on the chariot pulled by six horses, squinting his eyes to watch Zhao Ji's carriage slowly entering the camp.

Zhao Ji's was a green umbrella chariot pulled by four horses. This chariot and Zhao Ji's current helmet were both ceremonial toys.

In just a moment, Liu Xie began to like the flamboyant hat. He turned his head slightly to Shi Qian and said, "Lord Zhao is even more majestic."

Shi Qian looked at Zhao Ji from about sixty or seventy steps away, and indeed felt that Zhao Ji had become stronger. It was obvious that Zhao Ji had made up for the nutrition he had missed during the period of Jinyang's extensive military training.

The Jinyang military training did not really involve practicing any tactics or martial arts, it was just repeated practice of military posture and formations.

To ensure that the calorie intake of the soldiers in training is higher than their consumption, to put it simply, is to train obedience while taking into account fattening.

Liu Xie was sensitive to the changes in Zhao Ji's body shape and concluded that Zhao Ji was at least three inches taller than the last time they parted, the height of a chicken egg.

Of course, it could also be a visual error caused by the hat and exaggerated helmet decorations worn by Zhao Ji.

While Liu Xie and Shi Qian were chatting in low voices, Kong Rong, who was behind the emperor's carriage, was also observing Zhao Ji.

Just during this first meeting, before they even started talking, all the bad feelings that had accumulated in Kong Rong's heart were swept away.

Kong Rong had a relatively simple cognitive concept. He believed that a man like the Marquis of Zhao, who was of noble character and had an extraordinary bearing, could not do anything evil even if he did.

Appearance is determined by the heart, and talent is given by heaven.

As a mediocre person, how can I go against God's will?
I couldn't help but begin to understand Yang Qi and his gang. They had been deprived of power by the Marquis of Zhao, punished by being forced to manage stables and register land, yet they still cooperated with the Marquis of Zhao in mobilizing heroes from all sides and facilitating this siege against Yuan and Cao. Forget about them. If it was the Marquis of Zhao who led his troops to capture Beihai and then released me... I would find it hard to feel any resentment.

Compared with the Marquis of Zhao, what is Yuan Tan, who benefited from the merits of his father and grandfather?
Kong Rong remained silent for a long time, standing behind the emperor's carriage and maintaining a rare quietness.

This made Shi Qian look sideways. He thought that this guy stayed because he wanted to find an opportunity to scold Zhao Ji.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Ji appeared, but everything became quiet again.

Just keep quiet, Shi Qian doesn't want to cause any more trouble.

After attacking the treacherous ministers of Shangdang and joining forces with Zhang Yan and the court officials at Huguan, he was able to demand Shangdang from Zhao Ji.

Before that, try not to make Zhao Ji angry.

Zhao Ji didn't want to get involved in anything anymore. After the carriage stopped, he stepped down and walked to the front of the emperor's carriage. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I, the Minister of the Court, Marquis of Pingyang, Zhao Ji, pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live a long life."

"My dear, you have become even more majestic."

Liu Xie looked Zhao Ji up and down and asked, "How are the troops?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, all are marching in an orderly manner. The Shangdang righteous troops have surrounded the traitorous minister Gao Gan at Huguan! Once Your Majesty arrives, we will capture this city and capture the traitor alive to report to the state and the ancestral temple!"

Zhao Ji raised his voice and stretched out his arms: "Your Majesty, I ask you to go to the battle."

Liu Xie nodded, drew his sword, pointed it diagonally forward, and surveyed the sky before him. He raised his arm and said, "Beat the drums, and march forth to crush the enemy!"

The emperor whipped his horse and set off in his carriage.

On the sixteen drum carts at the rear, the drummers beat the war drums, and everyone followed in a line.

Zhao Ji stood beside the convoy, his left hand on the hilt of his sword, watching the pairs of flag cars and drum cars pass by.

The military camp that had trapped the emperor for almost two months finally opened its gates. Outside the camp, marching columns stood on the side of the road, saluting the emperor's carriage and his flag.

When the emperor's carriage drove into the road, Liu Xie saw that the tiger infantry and the Yicong knights were all holding wooden tablets in their mouths, welcoming his arrival in neat square formations.

As the emperor's carriage, flag carriage, and drum carriage passed by, the Yicong knights who were standing with their horses got back on their horses and followed the convoy.

Inside a flag carriage, Kong Rong looked at the uniformed Tiger Infantry and Xiongnu Volunteers, all in brand new uniforms, flags, and armor. He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, "This is the army of a king! This is the army of a king!"

Inside the camp, Zhao Ji got back on the carriage and drove out of the camp with Jia Xu.

Jia Xu asked, "When will the battle of Shangdang be decided?"

"I don't know. I want to play slowly."

Zhao Ji turned and smiled at Jia Xu, saying, "I can only control my own army, not Yuan's."

"If the Minister can control the entire army, then this battle has a 70% chance of victory."

Jia Xu looked at the centuries of infantry marching in neat rows on the road outside the camp and was amazed: "The Minister's ability to train troops is unparalleled in the world."

The training methods are taught and narrated to the vast majority of people in written or oral form, but these people learn slowly and only a very small number of people can understand them.

Zhao Ji had a clear idea of what a strong army and a royal army should have in his mind. He was confident and could just draw and construct it step by step.

Compared with the famous generals of the time, Zhao Ji knew very well what a strong army looked like, which was an advantage that no one could match.

The Han army also had its own unique training methods, which originated from Han Xin.

But Zhao Ji only focused on the training of formations and went straight to the core of military tactics.

Being in a neat queue and being a part of it, everyone can fit in, just like a drop of water flowing into a river.

As for the enemy, looking at the enemy's neat and orderly formations, for most armies, the morale would be shaken before the battle even starts.

Zhao Ji felt that Jia Xu's praise was a polite compliment.

As for the current army, he wants to train it for a while longer.

Subsequent intensive training can only be carried out by concentrating key personnel in winter, which also serves to strengthen cultural and mathematical education.

Jia Xu was also observing Zhao Ji. Seeing that he looked calm, he increased his chances of winning to 80%.

As the chariot was about to stop and part, Zhao Ji asked, "Does Mr. Wenhe have any advice for you?"

Jia Xu glanced around, picked up the whisk to block his mouth, leaned close to Zhao Ji, and whispered something.

Zhao Ji's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Great! It all depends on whether Yuan Shao is willing to give me face. I'm in need of a capable general who can handle things on his own."

(End of this chapter)