Tiger Guards

Chapter 243 Contemporary Sun Bin
The fall of Huguan City was justified.

Zhao Ji came down from the hill and rode in a chariot with Zhang Yang, heading towards the east gate.

The east gate was blocked and the prisoners were quickly cleared out.

When Zhao Ji's chariot arrived, he even sprinkled some water on the ground.

Gao Gan's hands were handcuffed behind his back. Out of respect or awe for the Yuan and Gao families, the two Tiger Infantrymen who detained Gao Gan only controlled him and did not do anything to humiliate him.

The chariot stopped, and Zhao Ji examined the high-ranking officials in front of the gate, and then looked at the two sides of the gate. On one side were the captured military officers and subordinates, and on the other side were their families.

Zhao Ji kept observing Gao Gan like this. Gao Gan felt a little uncomfortable and tried to struggle. Seeing that the soldiers did not dare to use force, he shouted, "Are you the Minister of Zhao, the Marquis of Pingyang?"

"It's me, and you are the traitorous minister Gao Gan?"

Gao Gan remained silent. Zhao Ji surveyed the procession of his family members, looking at the women and children in the front row, and asked, "Where are Gao Gan's family members?"

The leader of the hundred-man team looked at these women and children, then turned back and saluted: "Minister, the high-ranking clans and families are all in Yecheng."

"So you came here naked. No wonder you are so brave. As a defeated traitor, how dare you not bow to me?"

Zhao Ji glared at the two Tiger Step soldiers with dissatisfaction. Han Shu, who came with the car, saw this and immediately signaled to the Tiger Guards who came with the car. The two Tiger Guards stepped forward quickly, pulled apart the Tiger Step soldiers, and grabbed Gao Gan's arms on the left and right, but just exerted a little force and twisted them.

"Ah! Gently! Gently!"

Gao Gan couldn't help but beg for mercy in pain. Seeing that Zhao Ji was frowning and silent, the two Tiger Guards used even more force. Gao Gan's legs became weak due to the pain and he fell to the ground, but his face was flushed with shame and anger, and it was obvious that he was very angry.

Zhao Ji then turned to look at Zhang Yang. "Having humiliated this thief like this, I'm worried he'll study harder when he returns home, changing his vain ways and becoming more pragmatic. That's a very bad thing."

Zhang Yang was stunned and didn't know how to respond. Although he also felt that Gao Gan was a bit useless, he shouldn't say it to his face.

Zhao Ji added, "It's never too late for a man to study at thirty. As long as he has a heart for learning and works tirelessly, he can eventually become a doctor of classics. And what about someone like Gao Gan, who has read extensively since childhood? If he's humiliated now, he might end up like Wu Zixu or Sun Bin."

This time the two Tiger Guards used even more force, pressing Gao Gan from behind. Gao Gan's face was pressed against the ground, and he gritted his teeth and observed Zhao Ji with one eye, looking very unconvinced.

"I have decided not to kill you. Go back and study hard, and research the classics. With an enemy like you out there, we Tiger Guards must also study hard."

Zhao Ji glanced at Han Shu and said to Gao Gan, "I'm afraid you'll slack off. Don't let me down."

After Zhao Ji finished speaking, Han Shu took out a copper hammer from his waist, and several familiar Tiger Guards immediately trotted forward and controlled the senior official as if they were suppressing a New Year pig.

Han Shu raised his hammer and brought it down, and Gao Gan let out a long howl of pain.

Han Shu raised his hammer and brought it down again, and Gao Gan let out another loud howl of pain.

Han Shu was not good at hammering at the waist, so he turned to look at Zhao Ji: "Minister?"

"Put up a hanging cage outside the East City so that the soldiers and civilians passing by can see what Yuan Shao's nephew looks like."

After making the arrangements, Zhao Ji went to see the captured military officers and subordinates. Many of these people were state officials recruited by Gao Gan as the governor of Bingzhou.

When the high-ranking officials were being tortured, these people regarded themselves as former officials and felt the same way, with expressions of grief, anger and frustration on their faces.

When they noticed Zhao Ji looking at them, their anger and resentment immediately evaporated, and they stood there quietly with their heads lowered, like emotionless wood.

Zhao Ji tilted his head and squinted his eyes: "General Zhang, am I a little cruel?"

"No, Gao Gan's seizure of the imperial throne is tantamount to treason. The Minister of the Court merely cut off his legs... that's too light a measure."

Zhang Yang's evaluation was very fair. After all, he had been staying in Hanoi obediently all these years. Among all the heroes, he was the one who had made the least progress and had violated the least rules.

"Cong Ni, this really shouldn't be forgiven lightly."

Zhao Ji looked at the 100-man supervisor who was overseeing these people and said, "Anyone with a rank of 200 dan or more will be beheaded and have their heads hung outside the prison for high-ranking officials."

Suddenly, more than a dozen people collapsed to the ground, and the Tiger Infantry Army immediately stepped forward to control them.

Even if these people grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at Zhao Ji, it would be their dereliction of duty.

"Unjustly accused!"

A man shouted loudly, and was hit on the nose by a Tiger Infantryman. The man squatted down in pain. The Tiger Infantryman was very brave and stepped forward and hit him with an elbow and a few kicks, making the state official scream.

"If I had defeated Yuan Shao, I wouldn't have treated the Jizhou officials this way. Why? Yuan Shao's position as Jizhou Governor was granted by the imperial court. While there may have been some coercion, it was ultimately an imperial decree. What's wrong with the high officials? Don't you know that this is a forged imperial decree from Yuan Shao?"

"Gao Gan has a good uncle, so I won't kill him. What do you have that you dare to follow Gao Gan and cause chaos?"

Zhao Ji looked around at these people and said, "Serve your sentence with peace of mind. I will not kill your families as well."

Only two people managed to maintain their composure and bowed to him, while the others looked dejected and dazed.

After dealing with these matters, Zhao Ji waved his hand, whipped the chariot, and drove into the city.

On the other side, Xu Huang, who had cleared the three western counties, had begun to return to Huguan.

Xu Huang currently had fewer than 3,000 cavalrymen with him, with the remaining knights escorting and protecting the migrating and transport groups. Even before the military intelligence report about Zhao Ji's capture of Huguan Pass and Gao Gan's capture arrived, Yang Qi's letter had already arrived.

Yang Qi currently only has an ancestral title but no official position.

But who can deny Yang Qi’s status as a noble?

After the eastward migration, Yang Qi was also the kind of person who could use his connections to gain influence, and he also gathered a group of scholars around him.

When Yang Qi was reappointed as one of the Three Dukes, these scholars would immediately be able to become full-time officials, officials in the government, and disciples of the Yang family.

"Minister Zhao has been ordered by the Emperor to command the entire army. Whether to cease fire or not is up to Minister Zhao to decide."

Xu Huang looked at the messenger, who also looked at Xu Huang eagerly. Xu Huang gritted his teeth and said, "All the ministers agree on this matter. How could they have made peace with Yuan Shao without authorization? This is clearly Yuan Shao's strategy to sow discord. My men, behead this thief and report back!"

"Here!"

Just as the two guards were about to step forward, the envoy's face darkened. He pointed at Xu Huang and cursed, "You bastard! How dare you kill me, you unrepentant traitor! I'm an envoy from Lord Yang, not a spy from Hebei!"

The influence of the Hongnong Yang family and the Three Yangs in the court is difficult to ignore.

Even Xu Huang's two guards hesitated. Xu Huang looked at them angrily, and the two guards reached out their hands without any prior notice, grabbed the clothes on the messenger's back and dragged him backwards.

The messenger on his shoulder struggled fiercely, so a military officer walked over and hit the messenger on the back of the neck with a stick.

He stood there and watched as the guards dragged the messenger away, dragged him to the side of the road a few dozen steps away, and stripped him of his clothes before executing him.

It would be a shame to have such nice clothes stained with blood.

The guards brought the head back, and the officer took it and came to see Xu Huang: "Brother, why don't you give the envoy and Yang Qi's letter to the Marquis of Zhao?"

Xu Huang glanced at the twisted head Gao Qian held in his hand, his gaze fixed on the sticky blood dripping onto the ground. "According to their schedule, the nobles will arrive at Huguan with Zhang Yang soon. The mouth is on him. If we send him there, it will only make things difficult for the Marquis of Zhao."

Gao Qian thought about it and could only nod, saying helplessly, "I don't know what these ministers are trying to do. If they disrupt the order of the army, what good will it do them if Yuan Shao calls in his troops to fight?"

Gao Qian also experienced the eastward migration. Although he was only 24 years old, he had been on the battlefield for nearly ten years.

Gao Qian didn't need to think about many things in the military; he knew who was powerful by instinct.

Seeing Xu Huang sighing in silence, Gao Qian said, "I'll go clean this head."

Xu Huang just responded and watched Gao Qian pick up the head with the spear blade, jump on the horse, and go to the stream or ditch with the spear in hand.

At this moment, the troops of officials had bypassed Yangtou Mountain and Tianjing Pass and officially settled in Tunliu.

In Tunliu City, the ministers gathered together to discuss matters.

But no matter how much he waited, Situ Zhao Wen never showed up.

Someone was sent to inquire, and it turned out that Zhao Wen was ill and had diarrhea, and was unable to attend the meeting.

So the ministers had no choice but to put Zhao Wen aside and hold a meeting to discuss the matter.

In this meeting, General Fu Wan sat in the main seat, and the second seat was Yang Qi, who had no official position.

The rest included Taiwei Yang Biao, Zhongcheng Yushi Yang Zhong, Sikong Zhang Xi, Shizhong Zhong, Weiwei Zhou Zhong, Jianyi Doctor Sima Fang, and Shaofu Kong Rong who had just arrived here.

Kong Rong brought the emperor's instructions, so he sat alone on one side.

After everyone was seated, Kong Rong asked, "Your Majesty, have you recently heard that Yuan Shao has expressed repentance and the desire for reconciliation?"

Seeing several people go to see Yang Biao, Kong Rong asked Yang Biao directly: "Did Wen contact Yuan Shao's envoy first?"

"It wasn't me. When Yuan Benchu's envoy Xu Xun arrived, the first person he paid his respects to was Zhang Sikong."

Yang Biao answered truthfully. Everyone looked at Zhang Xi, who nodded and said, "Xu Xun is a rising star from Yingchuan, and I have a connection with him."

Upon hearing this, Kong Rong breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This time, we are suppressing the traitorous ministers. Minister Zhao is in charge of the armies. Mr. Zhang's unauthorized association with Yuan Shao's envoys is not a good move. Please submit a petition to apologize quickly so that I can help him."

Zhang Xi glared and shouted angrily: "We are working hard for the country, why should we complain?"

Yang Biao was surprised: "Wen Ju, isn't this a bit harsh?"

"Mr. Wen, our words don't count now. If we ally ourselves with Yuan Shao without authorization, the crime we commit could be serious or minor."

Kong Rong took a deep look at Zhang Xi and decided it was inappropriate for him to linger any longer, so he said, "Let's end this matter here. Everyone, please disperse to avoid arousing suspicion."

They have come right under Zhao Ji's nose, and they still dare to gather together to discuss matters. I really feel like my neck is stiff and I want to touch the knife.

It had only been over half a month since they last met, and Kong Rong couldn't understand where these people got their confidence from.
Kong Rong had fought many bad battles in Beihai. At the very least, he knew more about military affairs than these ministers.

(End of this chapter)