Tiger Guards

Chapter 252 Accidental collision
The setting sun is at hand, five miles east of Wuji City, at the Zhen family manor.

Yuan Xi wore a short-sleeved fish-scale half-body armor with gold and silver diamond patterns on the armor plates. He also had a sword hanging from his waist and was walking with a hint of drunkenness.

He smiled and took Zhen Yan's hand: "Stay, stay!"

"Go slowly, sir."

Zhen Yan took small steps to help Yuan Xi down the stairs, smiling with a hint of reluctance, as he watched Yuan Xi being helped into the car by the guards.

Yuan Xi waved his hand: "Brother, I will bother you again tomorrow!"

Zhen Yan hurriedly agreed and bowed deeply to see them off. After Yuan Xi and the guards had gone far away, he stood up straight with a silly smile on his face.

He smiled for a moment, then turned and went back to the mansion. When he entered the courtyard, his smile disappeared.

Yuan Xi was Yuan Shao's illegitimate son, raised by a maid before Yuan Shao's coming-of-age ceremony. Therefore, Yuan Xi was handsome, no less handsome than Yuan Shao when he was young.

When Yuan Tan was sent to Qingzhou as the governor, he was adopted by his half-cousin Yuan Ji according to Yuan Shao's clan law.

Yuan Shao entered officialdom at the age of twenty, and was appointed as the mayor of Puyang as a palace attendant. He observed mourning for his stepmother for three years. At that time, the Party Ban was fierce, and he also retired to Runan to observe mourning for another three years on the grounds that his adoptive father had died early.

During these six years, even if Yuan Shao had children, he would place them in foster care.

With Yuan Shao's ability to control himself when he was young, he could have endured for six years.

Therefore, Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi were about to reach adulthood, and the legitimate son Yuan Shang was the third in line and was currently only seventeen years old, nearly twelve years younger than Yuan Xi.

Yuan Shang lived in Hebei when he was young, where he was taught by Hebei scholars and had better relations with the children of prominent families in Hebei.

Unlike Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi, he had close relations with the people of Yan and Yu.

Zhen Yan did not like Yuan Xi; and Yuan Xi's purpose was almost obvious, he wanted to marry into the Zhen family.

Yuan Xi's wife died early, and he had no shortage of concubines. He was simply attracted by Zhen's influence.

Although Zhen Yan's father Zhen Yi's career ended at the position of county magistrate, he had three sons and five daughters, and his four daughters all married into prominent families in Hebei. Yuan Xi set his sights on Zhen Yan's younger sister, Zhen Mi, who was only thirteen years old this year.

Unfortunately, Zhen Yan looked down on Yuan Xi and fell in love with Yuan Shang.

But Yuan Shang has noble blood, his mother is from the royal family, and now he is going to be engaged to the daughter of King Pingyuan. Once this marriage is completed, the Liu bloodline in Yuan Shang's son will be even stronger.

Yuan Shang was surrounded by children from prominent Hebei families as he studied and grew up. He had no shortage of support from these prominent Hebei families, so he looked down upon the influence of the Zhen family.

Zhen Yan returned to the backyard, where his old mother was standing with a cane in hand. He asked, "Did Envoy Yuan say anything?"

"I didn't express my opinion and didn't make it difficult for the child."

Zhen Yan comforted him, saying, "It seems that he is also a polite and kind person."

If Yuan Shao came, he would send an envoy with some betrothal gifts and take Zhen Mi away.

Young age is not important, Yuan Shao has plenty of time to train him.

Since Yuan Shao entered Jizhou, he has killed many people from big families and accepted more than ten families of women from big families, not including the Zhen family.

Yuan Shao's children have been very prolific in recent years. In a dozen years, he will be able to marry into the family and consolidate his ties with the big families in Hebei. Twenty years later, this generation of children will be able to enter the government and do things.

His mother, leaning on a staff, walked towards her own courtyard and said with emotion, "The battle in Zhending is imminent, yet he has stopped his troops here. This shows that there are no wise men around. It is hard to say whether a marriage with him will bring good or bad consequences."

"My little sister is young, there's no need to rush."

Zhen Yan stepped forward to support him. "Envoy Yuan has a kind and benevolent disposition. I believe that after Gongsun Zan's demise, there will be people from Youzhou who will assist him in his cause."

None of their family liked Gongsun Zan.

Due to the ongoing wars, Zhen Yan's father and brother died early, and the family business was already in decline.

If my younger sister can marry Yuan Xi as his wife, it may be an opportunity to quickly turn around the family business.

Yuan Xi drove along the Zishui River for twelve or thirteen miles and arrived at the military camp five miles away from the western suburbs of Wuji City.

Wuji City is close to Zishui River. There is a wooden bridge outside the city, and the road leads directly to Zhending.

This road is also enough for travel between the two counties, but it is not as good as the Chi Road. The Chi Road in the northwest takes a detour of forty or fifty miles.

Therefore, the defense focus of this military camp is the east side. If we hold the wooden bridge, no matter how many enemy troops there are, they will be useless if they cannot cross the river.

Cavalry Commander Jiao Chu welcomed him into the main tent and handed him a military report: "Sir, according to our scouts, two smoke signals have been seen rising from the Jingxing Pass. Bingzhou troops have already left Jingxing to aid in the battle against the Black Mountain bandits. Another messenger, Qian Zhao, has sent a messenger to report that the traitorous minister Zhao Ji has personally led elite cavalry to invade Gengxiang."

Yuan Xi rubbed his face, enduring the discomfort from the wind, and patiently asked, "How is the battle in Gengxiang?"

"According to the report from the defeated cavalry, Qian Zhao's entire army was wiped out."

Jiao Chu added, "I have already sent an envoy to inquire with the governor. I think the governor's military orders will arrive later."

Yuan Xi had a headache and felt pain in his eyes. He suspected that the wine Zhen Yan had offered him wasn't heated enough, so he said, "Since Qian Zhao's troops have been wiped out, the enemy cavalry has spread far and wide, blocking the south bank of the Hutuo River. Xiaquyang and Xiyangting are already blocked by enemy cavalry. If Ju Su's envoy wants to reach here, he must go around Nanshenze, a difficult route, especially at night."

As long as Zhao Ji blocked the area more than a hundred miles to the east, the envoys of Yuan’s army would have to travel twice as far.

Just by looking at the name, you can understand the topography of this place. If you get lost at night, there is no hope of getting corrected.

After a pause, Yuan Xi said, "Prepare hot soup. Keep a strict curfew at night to prevent harassment from enemy cavalry."

"Yes!"

Jiao Chu agreed and immediately went to prepare hot water for Yuan Xi to bathe. A hot bath would help Yuan Xi sober up and fall asleep.

Since nightfall, Zhao Ji has mobilized all his knights and also brought along the elite infantrymen who can ride horses, forming a luxurious team of more than 5,000 cavalry and twice the number of horses.

From Zhending, they crossed the Hutuo River and advanced northward along the Chidao Road.

The road was smooth and we arrived at Xianyu Pavilion after walking for more than 40 miles.

The entire army was feeding their horses here and had no chance to form a team. They turned off the road again and headed straight for Xinshi and Wuji along the fork in the road.

Xinshi was only twelve or thirteen miles away from the Chidao Road. In order to warn Yuan Xi, the soldiers of Xinshi County lit a beacon fire.

Less than fifteen miles past Xinshi is Yuan Xi’s military camp.

There was almost no need to hide it. After the Xinshi beacon fire was lit, more than 5,000 cavalry also lit torches, forming a huge fire dragon and rushing straight towards Yuan Xi's camp.

The Youzhou scouts noticed the Bingzhou soldiers when they were at Xianyu Pavilion and quickly returned to report the news.

When Zhao Ji approached, there was a huge campfire in Yuan Xi's camp.

The Youzhou Han and Hu infantry and cavalry in the camp had no time to arm themselves. More than 300 Black Mountain Army suicide squads rushed in on horseback, broke the deer horns, and then charged into the camp with fire, constantly setting fire to various flammable materials.

"Raise the fire and charge the stronghold!"

Wei Xing saw the opportunity and shouted to his men without even asking Zhao Ji for instructions. The knights assigned to him followed him one after another. More than a thousand of them did not even have time to change to spare horses before they howled and joined the attack.

Seeing this, Ximen Jian, who was leading the team in a detour, had no choice but to lead the team forward and cooperate in launching a pincer attack to prevent Wei Xing from being shot back by the defenders' bows and crossbows.

In a night battle, if you fight close to each other and are prepared but unprepared, how can you not have a chance of winning?

When Zhao Ji and Zhao Yun arrived with a thousand cavalry each, they saw that the Youzhou military camp had already turned into a sea of fire, and the bundles of grass and grain collected from Xinshi and Wuji counties during this period had all been burned.

The night wind was blowing hard, and the burning grass clippings swirled into the air, making a whistling sound.

Zhao Yun was a little confused about this battle, but the morale and the burning camp could not be faked.

He rode his horse to Zhao Ji's front and said, "Minister, beware of the Xinshi defenders attacking from behind."

"If there are any incoming troops, I will resist them myself."

After a cursory observation, Zhao Ji said, "Lieutenant Zilong, change your horses and charge into the camp to kill the bandits."

"Here!"

Zhao Yun responded loudly, returned to his team, and began to command his officers and soldiers to replace their horses with better-staminaed ones.

At this moment, on the top of Wuji City, five or six miles to the east, the defenders saw a moving and spreading sea of fire engulfing and igniting Yuan Xi's camp.

The sound of drums and gongs in the city was also loud, and they began to recruit young and strong men to climb the city walls to assist in the defense.

"Quick, help the envoy onto the horse!"

Jiao Chu watched nervously with a spear in hand and shouted loudly. Yuan Xi was held by the guard with one hand and walked quickly with a sword in the other hand.

There were fireworks everywhere in sight, both near and far. Knights were charging on horseback, and the figures fleeing on foot had become prey for the knights to hunt, ram, and trample upon.

Seeing that there were so many people here, a group of newly arrived knights drew their bows and shot as they rode past. Among them, the cavalry also threw torches here, which illuminated and guided them, attracting more arrows.

Yuan Xi's guards also stepped forward to fight, but there were no knights to fight with them, so they could only resist in front of the small camp gate and fight to the death. They were shot by arrows from cavalry in all directions, and people were shot and fell down all the time.

At this moment, even if some of the attacking knights fell off their horses, they did not dare to move around freely. They all found a place to hide and wait for the battle to end.

The hay in the stable area of the camp was ignited first. Frightened by the flames and heat, large groups of horses rushed aimlessly in the camp, causing even greater chaos.

Even the attacking knights were unable to organize effectively, which bought time for Yuan Xi to break out.

Jiao Chu protected Yuan Xi and fought his way to the bank of Zishui River. Dozens of people followed him here, discarding their armor one after another.

There were only a dozen people with horses, who helped Yuan Xi ride the horses, while most of them floated on the water and took Yuan Xi to the south bank.

Jiao Chu also rode a horse across the river. He looked back at the burning camp with a look of regret and pain.

There is a road between Zhending and Wuji. You can set up camp close to Zishui River and keep an eye on the bridge five miles southeast of the camp.

The focus of defense was also on the south side of the camp, but we didn't expect the enemy to take the long way around, walking an extra 40 miles, and breaking into the camp from the northeast.

As the intensity of the resistance in the camp decreased, various stray horses were taken in and the fighting in the camp gradually subsided.

Zhao Ji was reluctant to enter the camp, so he stayed outside the camp and forced a few enemy cavalrymen who tried to break through by seizing horses to surrender.

(End of this chapter)