Tiger Guards

Chapter 254: Zhongshan Liu Hui
On the south bank of Gengxiang, a newly arrived group of Yuan troops were crossing the river by boat.

Although Qian Zhao was defeated, the main force of Yuan’s army was approaching, and strengthening the defense of the north bank had become inevitable.

A lot of baggage was also transported to the north bank, and a new camp was set up on the east side of Gengxiang, with military tents built and trenches dug.

Before noon, Yuan Xi's defeated soldiers, outer scouts, and envoys from surrounding powerful people had all sent battle reports to Gengxiang.

The distance is not very far, and it only takes ordinary people a morning to walk there.

At the ferry crossing on the south bank, Ju Su looked at the boats traveling back and forth between the two banks with an expressionless face.

If the army had been dispatched earlier to welcome the emperor and the court, would there have been no such disputes?

He put forward correct opinions, but Yuan Shao rejected them.

What Yuan Shao wanted to do has basically come to light.

Do you really think Zhao Ji is good at fighting?

Isn’t it because some people in Hebei are disappointed and deliberately slacking off?
But this slight slackness was met with a fierce attack from Zhao Ji.

Not satisfied with completely annihilating Qian Zhao with a smaller force, they immediately launched a night raid and annihilated more than 5,000 of Yuan Xi's troops.

The war has begun to shake the foundation of the Yuan family. If they lose another battle, the powerful people who are not so subordinate to them will break away and even follow the imperial edict to formally attack Yuan Shao.

A messenger arrived on a boat and quickly approached Ju Su. "General, the Bingzhou troops have begun to withdraw. There are rumors that they killed the surrendered soldiers, while others say they slaughtered the wounded horses on the shore, staining the Zi River with blood for more than ten miles."

"Explore again."

Ju Su waved his hand, turned around and asked his attendants, "What is the danger in the current situation?"

Several people frowned in thought. The most worrying person now was Gongsun Zan, but the entire Youzhou power was divided into four parts.

Yuan Xi's faction has been destroyed, leaving only Gongsun Zan, Xianyu Fu and the Wuhuan in the three counties. Outside, there are forces such as Liaodong, Liaoxi Xianbei, Saiwai Xianbei, Gongsun Du, and Goguryeo.

Due to the limitations of the Liao Tunnel, the only ones who can actually interfere with Jizhou at present are Gongsun Zan, Xianyu Fu, and the Wuhuan of the three counties.

After the death of Liu Yu and Liu He, father and son, the powerful Han forces headed by Xianyu Fu were no longer hostile to Gongsun Zan. Instead, they began to be hostile to Yuan Shao and obeyed the court from afar.

Now with the guidance of the imperial edict from the court, Xianyu Fu and others reached a superficial peace with Gongsun Zan.

The only ones who could really delay Gongsun Zan's actions were the Wuhuan in the three counties, but there were also disputes over positions within the Wuhuan.

Once Gongsun Zan sorts out and guides the Wuhuan internal affairs and forms a new order, the new Youzhou coalition will appear.

Before Yuan Xi went south, due to the defeat in the Shangdang War and the condemnation from the imperial court, the influence of the Yuan family within the Wuhuan declined rapidly.

It was Tadun who cooperated with the Yuan family, but the leaders of the Wuhuan tribes preferred Louban to be in power. If it were not for Tadun's tyranny that made the tribes fear him, a civil war would have broken out long ago.

Seeing that everyone was lost in thought, Ju Su couldn't help but sigh. He thought of someone.

This kind of thing cannot be discussed in public, otherwise if something happens to the other party, the dirty water will be thrown on him.

The main force of Yuan Shao's central army advanced slowly along the Chi Road, and Yuan Shao rested under the shade of trees by the roadside.

"Report, urgent message from the commander-in-chief at the front!"

He ordered the cavalry to dismount swiftly, trot to a dozen steps in front of Yuan Shao's flag, kneel on one knee, and hand over the military letter.

Xu You stepped forward to take the urgent delivery, which consisted of two wooden slips with a silk book between them, wrapped with rope, and sealed with mud at the knot and stamped with a mud seal.

The mud prints were dried by candlelight and showed obvious signs of smoke.

After Xu You checked that the clay seal was intact, he untied the rope, took out the silk book and read it, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Without making a sound, he quickly walked to the flagpole and handed over the silk letter: "Mingsir, the commander of the front has sent a military letter."

Yuan Shao was very unhappy when he received the battle report that Qian Zhao's army was completely wiped out at midnight yesterday. However, he couldn't just blame Ju Su. In the final analysis, it was Yuan Xi's slow march that prevented him from crossing the river and forming a pincer attack with Wen Chou.

Seeing Xu You's slightly sad eyes, Yuan Shao frowned and stared at Xu You before reaching out to take it and reading the battle report which was supported by multiple evidences.

Yuan Shao showed no emotion, but simply commented: "This villain is brave and fierce, and his harm is no less than that of Lu Bu."

Xu You leaned in and whispered, "My lord, I'm afraid that Liu Zihui of Zhongshan has been held hostage by the Zhao thieves."

If they were forced to write an insincere manifesto against Yuan Shikai, it would naturally mislead many Hebei heroes who were unaware of the truth.

"Liu Zihui..."

Yuan Shao's bad mood suddenly worsened. He squinted his eyes and looked at Xu You: "Ziyuan, how is Liu Zihui these days?"

"I don't know."

Xu You answered very straightforwardly. He really had not investigated Liu Zihui's recent situation.

Yuan Shao stared, his expression unhappy: "At this moment, Ziyuan actually ignored Liu Zihui?"

Liu Zihui was the governor appointed by Han Fu when he was the governor of Jizhou, and was the chief figure in charge of the daily work of the state government.

The fact that he was able to overpower Ju Su and others shows just how influential Liu Zihui was back then. Even Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai wrote a letter urging Liu Zihui to replace Han Fu. Han Fu intercepted the letter and, in a rage, threatened to kill Liu Zihui. However, the officials of the prefecture risked their lives to protect him, forcing Liu Zihui to be dismissed and sent home.

Yuan Shao wanted to recruit such a person after taking over Jizhou, but was rejected by Liu Zihui.

As a member of the royal family and a famous scholar, it is reasonable for Liu Zihui to be coerced by the treacherous minister Zhao Ji.

Liu Zihui might have hesitated before, but Yuan Xi's army was instantly defeated by Zhao Ji, and it is very likely that all the powerful people in Zhongshan would raise their troops.

When Zhao Ji took the position of Governor of Jizhou and began to establish the Jizhou provincial government with Liu Zihui as the governor, many people would begin to waver!
Maybe Zhao Ji would not do this, but Yuan Shao could not help but be on guard!
At this moment, Yuan Shao and Xu You looked at each other, and their tacit understanding was just like in the past. Xu You just bowed and said nothing, and Yuan Shao did not give any instructions.

Liu Hui, who was deeply feared by Yuan Shao, heard that Yuan Xi's army was defeated, and immediately rode a fast horse straight to Wuji. On the way, he encountered a group of powerful people whose vehicles were forcibly requisitioned.

Their sense of the king's army declined, and when they arrived outside the military camp, they saw that the king's army was retreating to the south.

Liu Hui immediately asked the Ren family, a large clan, who had gathered outside the military camp, "Now that Zhongshan has no ruler, why doesn't Minister Zhao send someone to take over?"

Ren's son was also puzzled and replied, "I don't know why. I came to visit Minister Zhao, but his soldiers said that Minister Zhao went to visit Zhen."

After experiencing more than ten years of turbulent times, the people of Zhongshan are naturally able to adapt.

As for the current situation, Zhao Ji presented the appointment document, which was either an imperial edict or an imperial decree.

The traitorous minister Zhao Ji forged an imperial edict to appoint a new prime minister, who coerced each family into donating money and sending troops... In the future, when the traitorous minister Zhao Ji is defeated, the people of Zhongshan will also have an excuse.

They were ordered by the county and state officials, and the procedure was legal, so they were not guilty; but if they took the initiative to join the rebellion, expelled the prime minister appointed by the Yuan family, and took the initiative to fight against Yuan Shao... wouldn't this be the same as the Black Mountain bandits?

Of course, the Montenegrin army is full of returning troops who want to fight back to their hometown, but what does this have to do with the powerful people of Zhongshan State?
The Zhongshan and Changshan states had been neighbors with the Black Mountain Army for more than ten years, and the powerful people found it difficult to occupy much land. Instead, they had to suffer the torture of war.

The beneficiaries are the counties and prefectures in other core areas, which have nothing to do with them, so there is no conflict of interest between them and the returning Montenegrin Army.

They even hoped that the Black Mountain Army would quickly defeat the Yuan family, return to their hometowns, and scatter like birds and beasts.

Just as Liu Hui was communicating with the heroes around him, Zhao Ji led the infantry and cavalry troops slowly back to the camp.

Twelve hundred servants were dispatched from Zhen's place at once. These servants either pushed carts or carried bags of food on their shoulders and walked into the camp under the supervision of knights.

At the end of the team, Zhao Ji rode Yuelihei, wearing a hat and helmet, and did not forget to wave and say hello to the people on the roadside.

But there was a woman sitting in front of his saddle, her face flushed and her body seemed stiff, not knowing how to resist or struggle.

"It's the little girl of the Zhen family."

Ren, a fellow villager, recognized Zhen Mi and gritted his teeth, saying angrily, "Master Wang and his disciple are only in name only!"

"Yes, when a man is establishing his career, he never thought that Minister Zhao would forcefully take the daughter of the Zhen family."

Liu Hui stood in the front row, wearing coarse cloth and with a thick beard. His eyes were narrowed under his thick eyebrows, observing Zhao Ji who was slowly approaching.

At this time, people around exclaimed, and Liu Hui followed the sound and saw fireworks rising ten miles to the east.

When the heroes around saw this, they dared not stay any longer. They led their sons and servants and fled with their carriages and horses, carrying gifts.

The officers and soldiers standing guard nearby did not stop them and just watched them leave.

"That's really rude."

Zhao Ji sighed, sniffed the hair on the back of Zhen Mi's neck fiercely, and raised an eyebrow: "This is good, otherwise I would have to trick them."

I feel that what I did was a little bit excessive, but Zhang Fei also kidnapped a thirteen-year-old girl on the way.

My sister also married Pei Hu when she was a little over fourteen years old.

At the age of fifteen, one reaches the age of marriage. In troubled times, many people did not live to be fifteen, so it was normal to die early.

Besides, it would be fine if Zhen Mi claimed to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

Not only is he tall, but he is also precocious in thinking.

Zhen Mi said nothing, just biting her lower lip.

As Zhao Ji drove his horse into the camp, the soldiers who were packing up their luggage and feeding the horses shouted and celebrated with each other.

There were too many officials in Taiyuan who owned female slaves, and many of them were eager to be assigned and start families.

However, due to the large-scale training in Jinyang, the assignment was postponed.

Besides, Zhao Ji had never allocated female slaves, so the allocation of female slaves continued to be postponed.

Now that Zhao Ji has snatched back a woman, when he returns to Taiyuan after the war, no matter whether the officer has a family or not, he must be assigned a wife!
Cheers resounded throughout the camp, and Yuan Xi, who was trapped in the prison car, was confused.

I also stood on tiptoe to watch, and when I saw Zhen Mi riding on the same horse with Zhao Ji...

"No~!"

He howled in pain, and his body and mind suddenly turned cold. He slowly collapsed in the prison van, as if his muscles had been pulled out.

(End of this chapter)