Tiger Guards

Chapter 245 Such a Loyal Minister
Huguan City, outside the east gate.

Xu Xun, Yuan Shao's envoy and a member of the Right General's staff, quickly dismounted and ran to the prison cage.

A thick layer of hay was laid in the cage, and Gaogan slept on the straw mat, looking disheveled and listless.

There is no one to take care of it, so the sanitary conditions are very poor.

Surrounding the cage was a circle of wooden stakes, on which hung the heads of officials from the pseudo-Bingzhou Provincial Government.

These heads rotate slightly, and no matter how they rotate, there is always a head facing the high-ranking official.

The senior official had no appetite. The wheat cakes and water bottles were just lying there outside the cage. He was on the verge of dehydration and almost fainted.

"Brother Yuancai?"

Xu Xun called out in a low voice, but Gao Gan just twitched his eyebrows but still refused to open his eyes or respond.

Xu Xun saw guards on duty nearby and asked, "Why don't you send someone to serve Brother Yuancai meals and treat his injuries?"

The guards remained silent. Ximen Jian, who had led Xu Xun, followed and said, "If Xu Xun is interested, he can be punished together with the senior officials."

Seeing Xu Xun's angry expression, Ximen Jian smiled and turned to look at the guards: "Open the door and let them in to serve the senior official some food."

"Here."

The two guards agreed and one of them went to open the door. They didn't lock it, but tied it with a rope.

Ximen Jian urged Xu Xun, but Xu Xun had no time to reminisce with senior officials and could only follow Ximen Jian into the city quickly.

A transport team was being organized in the city, loading boxes of bamboo slips and silk fabrics onto trucks and heading towards Taiyuan.

There will be a transport team later, and various large bronze artifacts will also be transported away.

Officials and civilians who are willing to leave will be organized into groups to transport supplies back to Taiyuan.

After the autumn harvest, people have a lot of free time as they don’t have to take care of the fields or cut grass.

The quick-witted people, no matter how reluctant they are to leave their hometown, will move to Taiyuan with their relatives, friends and fellow villagers.

If we look at it a little further in the future, war will break out between the two sides over Shangdang.

No matter who gains control of Shangdang, they will rule harshly, imposing military service, corvee labor, and grain collection, which will disturb the peace of the Shangdang counties.

It is too late to go to Hebei now. Hanoi and Henan Yin are completely empty. We can only move to Taiyuan.

Xu Xun reined in his horse and slowed down. Observing the people in the city preparing to relocate, he couldn't help but ask, "Minister Zhao wants to relocate the people of Shangdang?"

"That's not right."

Ximen Jian corrected him, saying, "Many of the officials and civilians in Huguan followed the traitor Gao Gan and held the city against the emperor's army. Their rebellion was obvious, and their crimes were unforgivable. However, Minister Zhao was kind and caring, and, considering that many in the city had been coerced, he commuted the death penalty and reduced the entire city to slavery."

Xu Xun looked at Ximen Jian with a helpless look. Ximen Jian continued, "Other counties surrendered to the king's army, and our army did not harm them at all. The officials and people were impressed by Minister Zhao's strict military management, so many of them moved their families to Taiyuan."

Ignoring Xu Xun, Ximen Jian, minding his own business, said with emotion, "This is also their good fortune. It will be difficult for them to come to Taiyuan in the future."

"Ha~!"

Xu Xun just laughed and didn't argue with Ximen Jian.

At the former residence of a high-ranking official in the city, Zhao Ji looked through various letters stored by the high-ranking official, and found many of them were familiar faces.

Many of the letters contained only normal greetings. After all, high-ranking officials had led people to travel to Taiyuan and Hedong, and had taken some scholars with them.

These scholars also constituted the high-ranking Bingzhou Provincial Governor's Department.

Ximen Jian led Xu Xun into the mansion, which was almost empty. Xu Xun concluded that Zhao Ji had no intention of staying in Shangdang for long, and his confidence increased greatly.

Walking along the corridor, Xu Xun looked around and saw several unarmored warriors building a human ladder and removing the copper hooks of curtains and draperies. These curtains were also taken down, folded and bundled.

In front of the east pavilion in the backyard, she tidied her appearance, held the sword hanging on her left waist firmly, put on the red gauze Jinxian crown, and followed Ximen Jian up to the attic.

On the second floor, Zhao Ji was wearing a short coat made of gray and white coarse cloth, a black gauze double-breasted sleeveless short coat, a leather belt around his waist, red cloth trousers, and a pair of purple and red patent leather shoes on his feet.

When Xu Xun came in, he was the first to see Zhao Ji's feet, because Zhao Ji was sitting sideways on a low couch, with his legs crossed and resting on a stack of bamboo slips on the corner of the table.

Zhao Ji had just taken a hot bath today. He used a red scarf to cover his forehead and tied up his hair, which hung loosely on both sides of his shoulders.

There was a bamboo basket next to the low couch. When Zhao Ji was flipping through the bamboo slips and silk books, he would throw anything he found interesting into the basket for collection.

Ximen Jian was not surprised and said, "Minister, Yuan Shao's messenger has been brought here."

"Xu Xun, a clerk in the Right General's office, pays homage to the Minister of the Interior, Marquis Zhao of Pingyang."

Xu Xun took a few steps forward, bowed deeply, and offered a clear, resonant greeting. As Yuan Shao's chief foreign envoy, Xu Xun stood over eight feet tall and had a distinguished appearance.

"sit."

Zhao Ji tilted his head to glance at it, then sat up straight after reading the bamboo slips in his hand. "I believe you have heard my conditions. What do you think?"

Xu Xun sat down, kneeling straight, and said, "It's not difficult to transfer the families of those with more than 500 men from each army. Should we transfer them to Marquis Zhao or the imperial court?"

"Of course it's the court. I'm a loyal minister, and I'm concerned about the safety of the court, so I made this proposal. Otherwise, what would I need these family members and hostages for?"

Zhao Ji asked confidently, "If I ask for it, won't you give it to me?"

"No, Lord Zhao underestimated my master's ability."

Xu Xun bowed towards Yecheng and said, "If the Marquis of Zhao wishes to detain the families of the generals, my lord will naturally agree. There's nothing to be angry about if one's skills are inferior to theirs. However, if the families of the generals and military officers are to be transferred to the imperial court... For the safety of the generals' families, I beg your pardon and cannot agree."

The entire Chunyu Qiong reinforcement group consisted of only three battalions and more than 7,000 people.

The garrisons at the four passes and cities of Huguankou, Tianjingguan, Gaodu, and Luxian numbered 8,000 to 9,000 men; in fact, the number of troops actually under Yuan Shao's command was less than 1,500.

Before breaking through Huguan, the entire Hebei army in Shangdang had only 10,000 people.

Xu Xun's proposal piqued Zhao Ji's interest. He asked with a smile, "Then I want the families of the generals. Does Yuan Benchu have any other requests?"

"Doesn't the Marquis of Zhao want to be a loyal minister?"

Xu Xun asked sternly, "Why do you ask that?"

"I am just curious."

Zhao Ji reached out and picked up a blank bamboo slip on the table. He broke it easily, looking at the dense bamboo thorns at the broken end. Then he looked at Xu Xun's face and asked, "Does the envoy think that what I asked is wrong?"

"I dare not. If the Lord Zhao asks so, here is my master's letter."

Xu Xun took out a brocade bag, pulled out a silk book from it and looked at the contents. After confirming that it was correct, he shook it open, folded it and handed it over.

Ximen Jian stepped forward to take it and passed it to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji picked up the book and read it. As expected, Yuan Shao did not want to transfer Chunyu Qiong's family, and also limited the scope of hostages to eleven families above the rank of military Sima.

The families of middle and high-ranking military officers were transferred, while the families of the chief general Chunyu Qiong and middle and low-ranking military officers were retained.

If anything unexpected happens, expelling these middle and senior military officers will allow them to regain military power.

Zhao Ji didn't care. With Lu Bu to deal with the Hebei soldiers, the army would most likely be divided into three or four parts, and no one could take it all for themselves.

Liu Biao's food supply was unstable, and only Yuan Shao could really help the court survive the winter.

Therefore, this army will run out of food before next spring.

"Since Lord Benchu has insisted so forcefully, I can't force him any further. This matter is settled."

Zhao Ji asked again, "When will the siege of Dongjun be lifted?"

"Reporting to Lord Zhao, my lord has issued an order to all the troops in Dongwu City, ordering them to withdraw if the city is not taken upon arrival."

Xu Xun spoke sincerely, looking at Zhao Ji with a strange look in his eyes: "May I ask, Lord Zhao, is this the plan to save Lord Zang?"

"Attack the enemy and rescue them first, and only then can the siege of Dongjun be lifted."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look out the window. "My grandfather has repeatedly asked me to send troops to rescue them, but sending troops from Taiyuan to Dongjun is too far away, the road is dangerous, and the situation is unpredictable. Gao Gan has secretly occupied Shangdang, so why should I go to a distant place instead of a nearby one?"

This credit must be acknowledged and cannot be lost.

He also understood what Xu Xun meant. During this period, Yuan Shao would order the troops besieging Dongwu City to launch a tentative attack. If they could capture the city in one go, even if Zang Hong was unlucky, Yuan Shao had already ordered the troops to withdraw. It was just a pity that the messenger was slow.

However, the army in Dongjun besieging Zang Hong may not be able to resolutely implement Yuan Shao's orders.

If this command is not handled properly, the whole family will die.

If one is unable to capture the city, the worst that can happen is that he will lose his job or be demoted.

A sudden melee broke out among all parties, and Yuan's army in Dongjun certainly did not want to let things go to the extreme.

The same logic applies. If Zhao Ji ordered the Tiger Step Army to besiege the Yang family of Hongnong, they would most likely surround them without attacking and wait for changes to occur as much as possible.

Zhao Ji then began writing a ceasefire document to Yuan Shao. After affixing his private seal, he handed it to Xu Xun: "Shangdang will be handed over to a prefecture appointed by the imperial court. If nothing unexpected happens, I will temporarily appoint Xue Hong, one of Zhang Yang's generals. Once the hostages arrive, I will withdraw from Shangdang. However, you must also make it clear to Yuan Benchu that this is only a ceasefire at Shangdang. In the future, unless troops from Hebei attack Shangdang, I will not send troops there. I hope to meet you in Zhending, not Shangdang."

"clear."

(End of this chapter)