Tiger Guards

Chapter 241 Space and Time
The next morning, there was another routine exchange of fire with the Huguan defenders.

Just like yesterday, after Zhao Ji shot and killed two people in succession, the defenders stopped counterattacking and began to kill time.

At this time, Lu Bu's envoy Qin Yilu finally arrived at Huguan.

He climbed up the dirt hill, looking dusty.

Zhao Ji also came down from the arrow tower and examined Qin Yilu. Overall, he was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face and a heroic appearance.

He is over eight feet tall, but looks a little thin, which may be due to his constant travel.

Qin Yilu bowed to Zhao Ji and said, "I, an external minister, have come to pay my respects to the Marquis of Pingyang on the orders of the Marquis of Meng."

He was also observing Zhao Ji, but he didn't dare to observe him too closely.

Zhao Ji gestured with his arms, leading Qin Yilu to the east side of Tushan Mountain to avoid being sniped by the defenders.

Beneath a wooden shed on the eastern slope of Tushan, Zhao Ji flipped through Lü Bu's handwritten letter and sighed, "The situation in the Central Plains is ever-changing, but I won't break my promise. Will Lord Meng keep his word?"

"I dare not disobey."

Qin Yilu knelt on a small stool and said, "Cao Cao is powerful in Yan and Yu, with many soldiers and generals, far surpassing all other forces. If we can get the help of Pingyang Hou, Meng Hou will certainly fulfill the alliance."

"Well, I will settle the Shangdang dispute as soon as possible. Before the snow falls, I will lead my troops out of Shangdang and march south from Hanoi."

Zhao Ji turned his head to take a look at the scenery outside the shed, and had to squint to see it more clearly.

Seeing Qin Yilu bowing and thanking him, Zhao Ji said, "I will not write any letter. It would be disastrous if we fell into the hands of the enemy. You should inform Lü Menghou that he must hold his ground. After I escape, I will certainly send troops to help. Before that, I will ask General Zhang of Hanoi to send troops to Henan to support Lü Menghou."

He also didn't want this Meng Hou to die suddenly. That would be too cute. It would be better for him to be more powerful.

Qin Yilu asked, "Does the Marquis of Pingyang intend to assist Zhang Yan in his battle at Changshan?"

"It's reasonable for me to go to Zhending, otherwise it will be difficult to get along with Zhang Yan in the future."

As Zhao Ji was speaking, he saw Han Shu coming in with a jar of wine. He slightly turned sideways and stretched out his arm to catch the bowl.

After Han Shu poured the wine, he retreated outside the pavilion. Zhao Ji took a sip of the sweet wine and asked, "Where are you from Yangqu?"

"Yes, I have been living in the area between Yangqu and Xinmen for nearly twenty years since I entered the frontier as a teenager."

Qin Yilu took a sip of the wine, missing his hometown a little.

Life outside is not pleasant, and bringing his wife back to his hometown to raise horses is a good destination.

Seeing Qin Yilu's expression change, Zhao Ji nodded and said, "Please inform Marquis Lü Meng that I will send at least 5,000 cavalry when I go south to assist in the battle. 2,000 of these cavalry will be loaned to Marquis Meng. How many I can keep will depend on your discretion. As for horses and the like, not counting the cavalry, I will provide another 1,000."

There were three thousand horses and two thousand knights in total.

These knights were mainly Xiongnu volunteer knights recruited later, and they went to the Central Plains to fight purely to do some short-term winter work.

In addition, the source of knights came from immigrants from the four counties outside the Great Wall. After entering the Great Wall, these people passed on farming and animal husbandry to their families, and they were an excellent source of cavalry.

Among them are those who admire Lu Bu and Zhang Yang, and there is no point in forcing them to stay.

It would be better to let him go out and suffer some hardships and gain some experience.

It won’t be too late to requisition it yourself when you come back later.

Qin Yilu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately bowed deeply: "Please allow me to express my gratitude on behalf of Lord Meng."

"There's no need to be so formal. If this goes through, our two families will become an alliance. Saying these things would be awkward."

Zhao Ji smiled and waved his hand, adding, "Cao Cao has repeatedly massacred innocent people in Xuzhou. He is known for his cunning ways. By increasing Marquis Meng's troops, we can also use him to avenge the people of Xuzhou. We each gain what we need."

Qin Yilu thanked him again. He knew very well what two thousand knights and three thousand horses meant to the battlefield in the Central Plains.

Even if there are more than a thousand knights, Lu Bu's side will immediately become powerful.

With a force of thousands of cavalrymen, Lu Bu could coerce countless people into sending troops and donating food in the vast Central Plains. The logistics transportation risk for Cao Cao's side would increase dramatically, and he would have to deploy more troops to protect the food route.

Even if Cao's army was mobilized, they had to do so with caution, and the marching efficiency would immediately drop.

Anyone who dared to be negligent would be at risk of being attacked and defeated by the cavalry.

A thousand cavalrymen, plus Lü Bu, could immediately reverse the offensive and defensive situation in the Central Plains. But in Shangdang, Zhao Ji and Xu Huang alone had a cavalry force of ten thousand.

The terrain of Shangdang makes it difficult for cavalry to exert their power.

Although it can carry out short-range raids, it can gain some tactical advantages.

But it is strategically lame and very frustrating.

If these more than 10,000 cavalry broke through the Fukou defense line and appeared on the Hebei Plain, they would be able to arbitrarily cut off counties and isolate Yuan's troops in various places.

The problem is obvious. Yuan Shao will defend Fukou at all costs to prevent Zhao Ji's cavalry from appearing in Hebei.

The mere fact that Gongsun Zan's infantry and cavalry coalition marched southward in early winter was enough to give Yuan Shao a headache. How could he possibly allow Zhao Ji's Han and Hu knights from Bingzhou to invade Hebei?
So from the very beginning, Zhao Ji never thought about a decisive battle with Yuan Shao, nor did he think about destroying Yuan's army's civil engineering works.

If Gao Gan's brain was not useful, Zhao Ji would not have wanted to attack Huguan by force.

Military force is precious, and only by preserving the original strength as much as possible can his rule be stable.

Therefore, the next military operation will be divided into two parts.

A part of the cavalry went out of Jingxing Pass to show Zhang Yan that he could not be allowed to fight alone or retreat.

Given the drought and locust plague this year, Zhang Yan made a lot of money by just grabbing some things and then withdrawing his troops.

If we continue to confront and fight against Yuan Shao, the consequences will outweigh the gains.

If you defeat Yuan Shao, will you rescue the victims in various counties of Jizhou? What will you use to rescue them?
The one who really wanted to fight Yuan Shao to the death was Gongsun Zan. This was also the fundamental reason why Yuan Shao always divided his troops to defend but did not send out troops to seek a decisive battle.

The harder he fought Zhao Ji and Zhang Yan, the weaker he became against Gongsun Zan.

So from a spatial perspective, the cavalry was divided into three parts. One part went out of Jingxingkou to the north and followed Zhao Ji to fight against Yuan's detachment to gain some experience, to prepare the situation for Zhang Yan, and then they could withdraw.

One reason was to do some stage work for Zhang Yan, and the other reason was to recruit some of Changshan's heroes and people and bring them back to Taiyuan.

Zhao Yun charged into the battle formation with a spear, while Zhao Ji rode his horse and followed behind Zhao Yun, shooting arrows as much as he wanted. This scene must have been very beautiful.

The second part of the cavalry was led by Xu Huang, who continued to control Shangdang and escorted the migrating people and supplies back to Taiyuan and Pingyang.

The third part of the cavalry will move towards Hanoi. They don't need to move fast, but should walk slowly to maintain their physical strength and horsepower as much as possible.

After Zhao Ji fought with Yuan's army in Zhending, he would go south to join the third cavalry, cross the Yellow River and find something for Cao Cao to do.

In terms of time, he attacked Gaogan in July, fought in Zhending in August, and went south to Yanzhou in early September to form an alliance with Lu Bu and hand over cavalry.

If you have the chance, cooperate with them, use your strength together, trap Cao Cao in the middle, and give him a good beating.

As long as Cao Cao is defeated hard enough, Zhao Ji's rear will be stable.

If we can maintain the advantage on the front line and achieve victory, then many conflicts in the rear can be suppressed.

Finally, he withdrew his troops in October and waited and watched Hebei. If there was a chance, he would cooperate with Gongsun Zan and give Yuan Shao a beating.

The reason for not fighting Yuan Shao now is to preserve our strength, wait for and create opportunities, and fight Yuan Shao and Cao Cao together.

When Zhao Ji put his left foot on Yuan Shao's shoulder and his right foot on Cao Cao's shoulder, what prestige issue was there to consider?
There is only such an opportunity this year. Next year, the situation will change and everything will become completely unfamiliar.

If we lose the platform of justice provided by the court, these guys will continue to cause trouble.

There will be fewer and fewer opportunities like this in the future, so we must cherish them.

Therefore, Zhao Ji not only exercised restraint to avoid meaningless battles, but was also generous in giving Lu Bu horses and knights so that they could play a greater role.

If we can attack Cao Cao, why bother about who controls these knights and horses?
As for the current ministers, they have suffered a great loss at his hands, and it is unclear how they will deal with Lu Bu.

If Lu Bu is dead, where can these knights go?

There is no need to dwell on many things. It is enough to weaken Yuan and Cao and curb their development.

He needed time to delay Yuan and Cao as much as possible to prevent them from growing into their ultimate form.

As for the imperial court, no matter how fast it expands, as long as Yang Biao and his group of ministers are in charge, there is really nothing to be afraid of.

(End of this chapter)