Tiger Guards

Chapter 255 Greedy
Perhaps because the elite cavalry of Bingzhou won two battles, Yuan Shao marched steadily.

They set up camp in advance when they were fifty miles away from Zhending, so that the soldiers would have enough time to build fortifications and rest.

Entering a state of readiness for war in advance, the next step is to advance step by step towards Zhending.

Although new camps were built and the advance was more than ten miles every day, the existing camps were also strengthened.

Tunnel passages must also be built between the camps to ensure smooth food supply.

Out of respect for the elite cavalry of Bingzhou, the troops of Hebei also advanced slowly, which made Ju Su, the commander of the vanguard army, uncomfortable.

As the sky gradually darkened, torches were lit in the Yuan army camps on both sides of Gengxiang. The officers and soldiers did not dare to rest. They all put on their armor and prepared for battle, guarding against Zhao Ji's night attack.

Also at night, Zhao Ji's troops, who had withdrawn from Wuji, held torches and slowly approached from the road north of Zhending.

I've already run on this road once, so it's relatively safe.

During the withdrawal, there were too many vehicles to transport food, captured equipment, and prisoners to walk.

Therefore, a wide road was very suitable. Zhao Jin would rather take a detour of forty or fifty miles to avoid the attack from Wen Chou and Ju Su.

Such a large-scale evacuation resulted in a bloated team and slow progress.

If we take the county-level dirt road between Wuji and Zhending... it will be basically impossible to hide it from Yuan's scouts.

When fighting, Zhao Ji would put everything on the line.

During the march and evacuation, he was very calm and did not give Yuan's army any chance to harass him.

The new riding slaves have been registered and can be safely transported back to Taiyuan. There is no need to cause trouble for yourself.

There were also the 1,200 servants and dowry that the Zhen family had extorted... This manpower income did not need to be included in the seizure and belonged entirely to Zhao Ben. This was a force that could not be ignored, so naturally, no mistakes could be made.

In this way, Yuan Shao's entire army stopped and set up camp in advance at night. The campfire of Ju Su in the vanguard remained burning all night long, while Zhao Ji took a long detour to retreat to Zhending.

His triumphant victory immediately boosted the morale of the Montenegrin Army, and every camp lit spare campfires.

The wounded, both our own and the enemy, were placed in a camp in the rear near Jingxingkou, and Zhao Ji then led the knights to escort the prisoners back to Zhao Yun's old camp.

Without his summons, Zhang Yan and the leaders of the various Black Mountain Army units, as well as the two captains of Zhongshan and Changshan, all came forward to greet them.

Under the illumination of torches, Zhao Ji drove his horse into the camp. The military officers who stayed behind came over to watch, and whistled at Zhen Mi on the saddle.

When the horses arrived at the central army tent, Zhao Ji dismounted and helped the limp Zhen Mi down. He pointed to the small tent next to the main tent and said, "You will stay here for the night. You must not make any noise or howl at night. I will arrange for someone to bring you food, water, and rice. You must not leave the tent at night."

Zhen Mi was embarrassed and speechless. Her two maids also dismounted at this time. One of them was quite brave. She snatched the torch from the soldier and walked in front to light the way. The other maid helped Zhen Mi walk towards the small tent.

When Zhao Ji saw them enter the tent, he said to Ximen Jian who had followed them, "Yuanjie, arrange meals immediately. Zhang Yan and the others are coming. And Mr. Liu, arrange a separate small tent."

"Here."

After assigning tasks to the main military officers who followed him, Zhao Ji wiped his hands with his cloak, feeling only funny.

During the journey, riding on the same horse, Zhen Mi had many conflicts with him.

This guy is not as obedient as he seems.

There was nothing to think about. Zhao Ji entered the tent. Zhang Zan, who had entered first, had already lit several oil lamps.

As soon as Zhao Ji spread his arms, his riding slave came forward to take off his armor, and then hung the armor on the wooden rack behind Zhao Ji.

A pair of sweaty patent leather combat boots were also pulled off and taken out by a riding slave to be cleaned and dehumidified.

Zhao Ji also took off the feathered helmet he wore during the march and put it on a cross-shaped armor stand.

A tray of hot water was brought over. While Zhao Ji was soaking his feet, Han Shu entered the tent. "Minister, General Zhang is here. He's heard about the Zhen family incident and sent me to inquire... Do you want to see him?"

"I'm not the kind of person he thinks I am. Please come in. We must focus on state affairs and military affairs."

Zhao Ji raised his feet as he spoke, and the riding slave wiped his feet dry and put on a pair of soft, breathable cloth shoes for him.

The original seventeen cavalry slaves have all become managers of the Volunteer Knights. This group of cavalry slaves were redeemed from various Xiongnu tribes. These captured border residents are generally good at riding and shooting.

Those captured border residents who possessed technical skills were more important to the Xiongnu tribes, so the Xiongnu chose to conceal, detain, and delay their redemption.

Zhao Ji didn't want to do everything at once. The most important thing was to get some people back to expand his strength.

The people who were redeemed were naturally close to him and grateful to him, and these people could well make up for the shortcomings of insufficient family foundation.

Although both the father and son generations of the Zhen family died early, they still had more than 3,000 servants. Even so, the Zhen family still thought they were in decline and could not compare with other big families.

Compared with the Zhen family, what was Old Zhao’s family business, which he had built from scratch and was quite proud of?
In terms of strength alone, not counting relatives and allies, the Zhen family could dominate the Wei family. After the cavalry slaves withdrew, Zhao Ji went to the weapon rack and selected a sword, hanging it on his left waist.

Inside the tent, he could deal with most emergencies with just one sword.

Soon, the sound of armor plates rubbing against each other and the sound of dense footsteps reached Zhao Ji's ears. He stood up and left the tent. He saw Zhang Yan's face glowing red in the light of the torch. He bowed and said, "The Minister is truly a god!"

"General Zhang, you're welcome."

Zhao Ji extended his arms, and Zhang Yan also bowed and extended his arms: "Minister, please go first."

After the great victory, there was laughter and joy. After some refusals, Zhao Ji stepped forward.

Around twenty leaders from both sides gathered in the tent. Zhang Yan said, "Scouts report that upon hearing of the Minister's great victory, Yuan Shao's entire army has halted its advance and set up camp. His vanguard commander, Ju Su, has also dispatched approximately two thousand soldiers across the river to reinforce the troops in Gengxiang."

Zhao Ji listened quietly, without any intention of expressing his opinion.

Zhang Yan went to see Zhao Yun again, but Zhao Yun sat there without saying a word.

Zhang Yan then said, "Tomorrow, I intend to gather the best troops from all the divisions and lay siege to the enemy at Gengxiang. I would like to ask the Minister to lead the troops to hold the line. Once the enemy at Gengxiang is defeated, Yuan Shao's troops will be intimidated. At that time, whether to advance or retreat will be decided by the Minister. What is your opinion?"

At this time, Liu Sheng, a Zhongshan military commander, a native of Hanchang and a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, bowed and said, "Minister, the opportunity to defeat the Yuan family is right before our eyes. Why hesitate?"

The Changshan military commander, also a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, was named Liu Qi. He also stood up and bowed, standing beside Liu Sheng, clearly advancing and retreating together.

Zhao Yun also stood up and saluted, joining Zhang Yan. He winked at Zhao Ji and said, "Minister, our army's morale is high, while Yuan's forces are dispirited. Now is the time to defeat them."

Zhao Ji touched his chin with his hand, gazing at the crowd within the tent. He carefully considered his words and said, "If we are to besiege Gengxiang, each army should advance in an orderly fashion, wearing down the defenders' strength and then defeating them with a single blow. If the situation is not favorable, we should proceed with caution. My follow-up troops and cavalry will take two or three days to arrive, and the elite Tiger Step troops will take another seven days."

Zhang Yan's face lit up with joy, and he bowed deeply, "Yes!"

"Well, many horses were killed or wounded in the battle last night. I will distribute the horse meat to each camp at the fourth watch to feed the warriors."

Zhao Ji pursed his lips and looked at the others. "Tomorrow morning, I will command the knights to patrol both banks to prevent the enemy from crossing the river to reinforce. If Gengxiang is captured, all the spoils and prisoners will be divided among the armies according to their merits."

"As ordered!"

Zhang Yan led the Black Mountain generals to bow to the Changshan and Zhongshan captains, then said, "The Minister is exhausted from the battle, so I will not disturb you."

"Then I won't see General Zhang and the others off."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look at Ximen Jian and said, "Yuanjie, escort the generals out of the camp for me."

"Here."

Ximen Jian then stood up and led Zhang Yan and others away.

Zhao Ji watched these dozen people leave the tent with a smile. Outside, their guards held torches to greet them and escorted them away.

Seeing Ximen Jian return, Zhao Ji stopped smiling and returned to his seat, sighing, "How greedy! He doesn't know when to stop."

Zhao Yun remained calm, bowed, and apologized frankly: "Our army has captured a great deal of spoils, and our officers and men are exhausted. The captives are many and unyielding. Please forgive my impoliteness."

"What does this have to do with Zilong?"

Zhao Ji took a sip of the muddy rice wine and lay back lazily. "I just care about the lives of my soldiers. If they don't cherish them, then let them do whatever they want. Fight if you want. If they don't get their heads broken and bloodied, they won't feel awe and gratitude towards our army."

Not daring to be careless, Zhao Ji looked at Zhao Yun and said, "Most of the troops left behind in the camp are from Zilong's army. We must be on high alert tonight. If we are attacked by the Black Mountain Army and our entire army is defeated, we will become a laughing stock."

"Here."

Zhao Yun bowed in response, and then Zhao Ji waved to the slave riders who were bringing food outside, "Hurry up and eat. Go back and have a good rest. You can watch the battle tomorrow and see how they fight."

Wei Xing stepped forward and took the seat reserved by Zhang Yan. "What's the point of learning from them? Learning from the Imperial Guard is the right path."

"Yeah, Ziang is right."

Someone echoed him, but Zhao Ji just smiled and said, "It's always good to gain more experience. I've only fought a few battles. Many victories are due to luck and the soldiers' desperate efforts. How can everything be left to chance?"

The fellow Tiger Guards in the tent obviously didn't hear these words. When it comes to infantry and cavalry combat, they are the best in the world.

After obtaining the remaining veterans of the Bingzhou border army, the Jin army, which had undergone extensive training in Jinyang, was essentially different from the Yuan army in Hebei and the Heishan army.

Zhao Ji did not force anyone to correct him. He just loosened his belt, opened his mouth and started eating with his companions in the tent.

After eating, some people followed Zhao Yun to arrange the strengthening of the night curfew. The rest, whether intentionally or unintentionally, chose a place to sleep in the big tent. Some also followed Zhao Ji's example and sat cross-legged on straw mats or leather mats, practicing the art of guiding.

(End of this chapter)