Tiger Guards

Chapter 258 Three Lius' Ambition
Around the time of Shen, all the troops returned to their camps.

Zhang Yan was in a sullen mood, holding his helmet in his hand and walking weakly. The dozen or so captains and lieutenants of the Black Mountain Army who followed him all had similar expressions.

It doesn't matter how much supplies are seized after capturing Gengxiang. If we can capture Gengxiang when Yuan's army's morale is low, it will further undermine Yuan's army's morale.

Maybe this winter I can go back to my hometown and settle old scores with my good neighbors and relatives.

Compared to fighting back home for revenge, what are the spoils from Gengxiang?
When they entered the camp, they saw more than 3,000 prisoners and more than 1,000 servants from the Zhen and Zhao families lined up for training.

The leaders among the prisoners have been selected and are not only held in solitary confinement at night, but are also forced to do hard labor during the day.

There are too many chores to deal with in the military camp.

From small tasks like transporting fodder and cleaning horse manure to pounding rice, washing clothes, repairing armor and weapons, and even steaming horse feed and brewing sweet wine, all of these require manpower.

The military camp is itself a mobile town.

At present, Zhao Ji's army lacks caravans and slave traders to provide various services.

Some armies even have professional weapon repair caravans. These caravans either purchase broken weapons and repair them on site, or they can be hired to provide related services. The same applies to doctors, veterinarians, and prostitutes.

There will also be some people with special skills who follow the army and wait for the opportunity to serve.

Behind these caravans were generals, captains, or prominent families and high-ranking officials. The business might be run by the followers or guests of these loyal civil and military officials; or by small businessmen who made contributions. In short, these high-ranking officials were all able to participate in the dividends.

For example, at this moment, after the front-line troops of Yuan Army were established and stabilized, various caravans providing services came together.

These military teams that provide entertainment can effectively relieve the pressure on the army and effectively squeeze out the bounties and military pay of the officers and soldiers.

However, Zhao Ji did not have these things at the moment. The big families in Hedong were hit hard, and before the poor families and wealthy merchants could react, Zhao Ji went north to attack the Huns.

The people of Hedong were frightened by the Xiongnu and did not think Zhao Ji could win, so no one went to the front line to provide services.

Afterwards, he took the emperor on an inspection tour of Taiyuan, during which he killed many people. Almost all families in Taiyuan with the potential to do this kind of business were wiped out. It was too late for the people of Hedong to do business.

When they went to conquer Shangdang, Jia Xu was in charge of the logistics throughout the whole process, and the vanguard Xu Huang carried out a strict reconnaissance blockade, and often captured those who went out to do business.

When Zhao Ben himself arrived with his troops, he immediately attacked the powerful families and wealthy people in Shangdang... Therefore, during the war in these three counties, there was no soil or opportunity for merchant caravans to grow.

If there must be one, it can only be run by the family members of the Huben team, moving with the army, providing some services to the army, and earning some hard-earned money.

In fact, the morale of the army is very high now, so there is no need to provide additional services.

Zhao Ji has always attached great importance to the emotional changes of soldiers. In addition to providing free daily letter delivery and express delivery services, he also organizes various group games during the army's garrison period.

Even if the weather is bad and not suitable for outdoor games, military officers will be organized to give lectures to the soldiers in the team.

The more than 3,000 prisoners now recruited into the camp have become test subjects for these military officers and key soldiers to practice.

Zhang Yan and others couldn't help but stop and observe. The training of the various units of the Black Mountain Army... was actually just that.

Even when the Yellow Turban Army first rose up, they were full of passion and dissatisfaction with the corrupt court, which led to a burst of anger.

They fought out of rage, without any concentrated training beforehand, and relied mostly on captured equipment.

Therefore, the Han army was able to suppress the rebellion immediately after reacting.

Emperor Guangwu abolished the county military examination. There were no standing troops in the inland counties and kingdoms, and the people did not need to serve in compulsory military service after they reached adulthood, so there were not many retired civilians.

If the capital examination system had been retained, the Yellow Turban Army would have been mainly composed of retired veterans when it first emerged, but there would also be no shortage of frustrated mature military officers.

After seizing the arsenals of the counties and states, they were able to fight back and forth with the imperial guards of the capital.

In border counties that maintain the capital examination system, there are enough veterans among the people and the quality of the soldiers is generally excellent.

Hedong, which had experienced the Baibo Rebellion, originally did not have the capital examination system; but when the Xiongnu migrated south, the capital examination system was restored out of concern.

At this moment, the scene of more than 3,000 prisoners being trained under the command of more than 200 soldiers has stunned Zhang Yan and others.

They were not without military training; each had an elite unit of about three to five hundred men, reminiscent of the late Ming dynasty's household troops. These elite troops, composed of their relatives and fellow villagers, formed the core of their strength.

The loss or disbanding of ordinary troops has little impact. As long as you carry this core force with you, you will have the opportunity to eat wherever you go.

Liu Sheng, the commander of Zhongshan, and Liu Qi, the commander of Changshan, walked side by side. Seeing Liu Hui, dressed in a coarse cloth robe, standing with his hands behind his back, observing the military training, the two men immediately hurried over to greet him, "Sir."

Liu Hui turned and saw the two men, and asked, "This captive captured by Minister Zhao is also well trained. How does he compare to the halberd wielders under Yuan Shao's command?"

Liu Hui was also a descendant of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan. Liu Sheng's lineage was too prosperous. Not only did they gain a foothold in various counties of Zhongshan, they also migrated and spread to Zhuojun, Hejian, and Changshan.

Such a large number of descendants also makes communication between different branches a bit difficult, and the generation gap between people of the same age is often very large.

The gap between two generations is huge, and there is even a gap of five or six generations.

The eldest son and the youngest son of the same generation can be thirty or forty years apart; if the eldest son’s eldest son and the youngest son’s youngest son are even more different, the gap can be a hundred years.

When Liu Hui asked, Liu Sheng and Liu Qi went to observe the field.

The prisoners who were being trained on the field had taken off their original clothes and were given brand new military uniforms. The Han border residents and those who could speak Chinese all wore crimson short coats, while the Wuhuan or mixed Hu people all wore purple short coats.

Shoes, socks, and leggings were also distributed. In addition, there were shawls and head wraps of different colors, distinguished by five colors.

After changing into new clothes, the wounded from the two battles were also admitted by Zhao Ji.

The prisoners did not show much resistance and were able to eat their fill at every meal. In just one day, more than 3,000 people were completely obedient under the command of more than 200 people.

Liu Sheng and Liu Qi didn't know how to describe the changes before their eyes for a moment. If they were in charge, they would not dare to feed the prisoners, let alone send the army out. They would leave a thousand people to guard the camp while gathering so many prisoners for training.

They were completely unable to understand the arrogance and self-confidence of the victors. The Jin army officers and soldiers in charge of training these unarmed defeated generals showed no reservations. They scolded them as if they were training dogs, without any fear that the dogs would bite back.

Liu Sheng and the other two were at a loss for words. Seeing their indifferent expressions, Liu Hui asked, "We have failed in our attempt to capture Gengxiang, and you two have accepted official positions at the imperial court. If Minister Zhao withdraws his troops, how will you two react?"

"Please teach me, sir."

The two men finally reacted and bowed to Liu Hui.

Liu Hui smiled and waved his hand, "Follow me into the court to protect the emperor. If the troops you two command remain in the village after the battle, they will be investigated by the Yuan family, and their relatives will be implicated. Explain everything clearly to the officials and they will follow you to evacuate. Only those close to you will remain, and leave the rest to Minister Zhao."

Seeing that the two men were reluctant to abandon most of their troops, Liu Hui asked, "Without Minister Zhao, how could you two, with a combined force of over 3,000 men, have passed Shangdang? Luodu is still unstable, and what would these 3,000 men have to eat and drink if they were gone? If we leave them with Minister Zhao, we might have a chance to recover them someday."

After hearing this, Liu Sheng went to see Liu Qi and said, "How about we split our forces into two groups? One will follow you to Luodu, and the other will stay and serve under Minister Zhao. If the court needs us in the future, the one who stays will be more available to respond."

Liu Qi looked solemn and silent. He was in Changshan State, which had been defeated long ago, and he had a stronger sense of crisis.

Seeing this, Liu Hui said, "We, the royal family, should lead the loyalists to Luoyang to defend the court. You two can either go with me, or stay in Hedong together so that we can look after each other."

Liu Qi finally looked relieved and bowed, "I will follow your instructions, sir. I believe I can achieve more if I stay under Minister Zhao's command."

He had experienced hunger and knew that people in Luodu could not get enough food. No matter how many people he brought there, they would all starve to death.

Seeing this, Liu Sheng bowed to Liu Hui and said, "Sir, if you invite us tomorrow, we will come with our troops."

As he spoke, he looked around and whispered, "Minister Zhao was able to build such a foundation in just six months with only eight hundred Tiger Guards. I have three thousand men in Zhongshan and Changshan, and they have great ambitions. How could we be weaker than him?"

Liu Qi simply nodded and looked around. He felt that Liu Sheng was right and sighed softly, "What Minister Zhao recommended is what a real man should be like."

Liu Hui also stroked his beard, looking as if he agreed.

It is good to have ambitions, because only with ambitions can we have a beginning.

If there is no such ambition, there will be no so-called beginning.

Similarly, Liu Hui was also observing the surroundings to prevent these words from being leaked out.

Otherwise, there would be plenty of space in such a large military camp to bury the three of them.

(End of this chapter)