Tiger Guards

Chapter 263 Furious
To the north of Xingyang is Ao Cang.

Boats of all sizes traveled back and forth between the two banks of the Yellow River, and more than 7,000 knights who arrived here one after another officially crossed the river.

Lü Bu's envoy Qin Yiluo once again arrived at General Zhang Yang's side and accompanied Zhang Yang to Xingyang to welcome the Bingzhou soldiers across the river.

Hao Zhao, who joined the army as a teenager, led his horse and walked ashore through the muddy mudflats. He followed his teammates for more than a hundred steps and began to rest at his team's battle flag.

Hao Zhao also sat cross-legged on the ground, wiped the mud off his legs and feet, then bound his feet, put on leggings, and put on flat leather shorts.

Everywhere there were officials like Hao Zhao taking care of their personal belongings. Zhang Yang stopped his horse and watched, his heart pounding.

Qin Yilu was right next to Zhang Yang, and the two were old acquaintances. Qin Yilu looked worried.

He had heard that the new Yanzhou governor Zang Hong was preparing to attack and force the surrender of the Qingzhou soldiers stationed in Dong'a, Dongping and Jibei.

The Qingzhou soldiers serve in rotation, and there are currently less than 50,000 of them serving under Cao Cao.

There are more young and strong Qingzhou soldiers stationed in these areas, and their wives, daughters and families are also here.

If these places were attacked, Cao Cao's central army would most likely collapse.

Zang Hong was not a stranger to Zhang Yang and Qin Yilu. Back then, the refugees from the four counties outside the Great Wall were settled in Yangqu area north of Taiyuan County by Zang Hong's father.

Zhao Ji only started to cross the river after more than 2,000 knights had crossed it.

Due to the siltation of the Honggou water system in the Central Plains and the decline of water transport, Ao Cang has become half-abandoned.

Emperor Guangwu's Later Han Dynasty did not have the ability to mobilize millions of people to repair the canal. Not only was the Central Plains water transport system regressing, but the Guanzhong irrigation system was also declining.

Liangzhou and Bingzhou are connected to Guanzhong, and have tens of millions fewer registered residents than in the Western Han Dynasty.

The land and means of production are right there, but you have to abandon it because of your insufficient population. The other Hu peoples are reluctant to waste it, so they will actively migrate and infiltrate.

When the first generation migrated here, they bowed their heads and scraped their feet; when the second generation grew up, they became your equals; and from the third generation onwards, this becomes the land of their ancestors.

If you leave the Hu people alone, you will be tortured by them no matter whether you are in Hebei or the Central Plains.

The wrong and unfair taxation not only distorted the cognition of scholars, but also made the empire top-heavy and weak-armed.

When Zhao Ji crossed the river, there was no mature and stable dock even in Ao Cang.

Even Zhao Ji's boat could only stay on the mudflats.

Once we reached the high ground on the river bank, we saw that the ruins of Ao Cang were connected front to back, with almost no end in sight.

Zhao Ji paused to observe the remaining walls and fortifications of the various warehouses on either side, and could not help but sigh, "Ao Cang is in such a state of ruin. It's obvious that if the country is left to such ruthless people, there's no chance of recovery!"

Han Shu was walking along, his feet covered in mud as he led his horse. He narrowed his eyes and looked around as he heard the words: "Minister..."

He didn't know what to say. If there was nothing here in Ao Cang, he wouldn't have any emotional fluctuations.

But there are broken walls and roofs missing everywhere. Just from these ruins, one can infer the prosperity of this place during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Is the food stored here in Ao Cang?

It is food, but also a heavy punch of the empire's savings.

With Ao Cang in place, the imperial court could get rid of its dependence on the prefectures and counties in Guandong and dispatch an army of 100,000 to deal with the problems of the prefectures and counties like sweeping away the enemy.

Although this is the last resort, as long as this trump card is kept, the state and county will not let things get out of hand.

But if Ao Cang is gone, the prefectures and counties will dare to act recklessly... Because the cost and risk of suppressing the rebellion are too high, no matter how reckless they are, in the end they can only be negotiated and appeased.

Most people have never been to Ao Cang, but they are also shocked by the ruins of Ao Cang from the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Zhao Ji was just sighing, without much regret... It wasn't his own empire. Even if he became the master in the future, he would only be the master for two or three generations, and it would still be someone else's empire.

At this point, I can increasingly experience the feeling of a flood after death... This is really natural.

After the imperial guards had crossed the river, Zhao Ji went to meet Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang had already set up a tent and led Zhao Ji inside to have a banquet.

Unfortunately, there was no decent grassland or woodland nearby, so they set up a tent on a flat ground and slaughtered sheep for a feast.

Zhao Ji took the main seat and saw that only the Imperial Censor Dong Fen was there to greet him on behalf of the court. He asked, "The Emperor has returned to Luodu. How has he been lately?"

Dong Fen sat first on the left, opposite Zhang Yang. He knelt straight and bowed to Zhang Yang. "To the Minister, General Zhang sent soldiers to repair the palace. Your Majesty, impressed by General Zhang's loyalty, has named the palace Yang'an. There are many refugees in Jingxiang now, and many have followed Zhao Taiqing north to Wankou. Once we reach Luo, the restoration of Luodu is in sight."

Zhao Ji frowned. "I'm asking you, Your Majesty, how are you doing in Luodu? Don't ramble on. Since I came to protect Your Majesty, Your Majesty has personally led campaigns against the treacherous officials in Taiyuan and Shangdang. Although you were on the battlefield, you enjoyed fine wine and mutton three times a day. Now that Your Majesty is living in Luodu, how is the food?"

Dong Fen's straight back bent slightly. "Minister, you may not know, Luozhong is desolate, and all industries are in decline... The ministers and officials are short of preserved vegetables. Your Majesty is kind and willing to share the hardships with all the officials and people."

"So, since Your Majesty moved to Luodu, you have not been able to eat lamb for three meals a day under the service of Dong Cheng and the ministers?" Zhao Ji stared. Dong Fen did not dare to answer and lowered his head.

Zhang Yang and the captains and commanders in the army also lowered their heads. Zhao Yuan, who was promoted to the rank of Wu Meng Commander, was also present at the meeting, ranked fifth behind Zhang Yang. He also lowered his head, as if his face also showed shame and guilt for the hard life the emperor had to endure.

Seeing Dong Fen like this, Zhao Ji pushed the roasted smoked horse sausage in front of him aside and said, "Give it to the wounded soldiers in the army. I really don't have the heart to eat meat."

"Here."

Han Shu stood up and took away a plate of smoked horse sausage in a low voice.

Zhang Yang was so poor that he had nothing. These smoked horse sausages were the dry rations brought by Zhao Ji.

So, led by Han Shu, Zhao Ji's guards filed in, took away the smoked horse sausages that had been served to everyone but had not been eaten, and gave them to the sick and weak soldiers in the army.

Dong Fen's eyes widened as she looked at the plate of bacon being taken away.

He also didn't expect that life in Luodu would be so hard.

That idiot Dong Cheng had neither military settlements nor the ability to command the weak soldiers to grow vegetables.

Although Luoyang city is large, most of the ground is hardened.

In order to pick wild vegetables, some officials had already neglected their work and went out of the city to the suburbs to pick wild vegetables.

The wild vegetables in the suburbs had already been picked and eaten by the soldiers sent by Dong Cheng, Zhang Yang, Liu Biao and Yuan Shao.

What's even more dangerous is that there are nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses of all kinds in Luodu, but the only food they have is what Liu Biao and Yuan Shao brought in, and they are about to run out of food.

They were all eagerly waiting for the grain from Nanyang that would be transported by Zhao Qi and Zhang Xiu.

Not to mention Dong Fen, Zhang Yang has also lost his temper now.

Hanoi had been completely destroyed long ago. When Xue Hong took office as the governor of Shangdang, Zhao Ji also emptied Shangdang, leaving only food for the people of Shangdang to survive the winter and before the summer harvest next year.

It is already difficult to collect grain from Shangdang, and when you add the transportation costs... the grain from Shangdang is simply not enough to save the population of Luodu.

Not to mention Luodu, even Zhang Yang's subordinates will starve this winter.

Zhang Yang no longer wanted to get involved with those people in Luodu. He really couldn't afford to offend them. Now he stayed close to Zhao Ji, perhaps he could share some of the food pressure with him.

After the smoked horse intestines were taken away, Zhao Ji saw the embarrassed expressions of Zhang Yang, Dong Fen and others, and finally confirmed that these people were really in such a predicament.

Xu Huang, Zhao Yun and others also noticed the changes in these people's expressions. This was not the embarrassment caused by being bullied by Zhao Ji, but the embarrassment of not having enough energy but having to maintain politeness.

Before Zhao Yun could fully grasp the details, he heard Zhao Ji say, "Since food is scarce in Luozhong, why not support the emperor and lead an army to attack Cao Cao, and then feed the enemy? If all else fails, we can retreat to Jingzhou. The governor of Jingzhou, Liu Jingsheng, the Marquis of Chengwu, is one of the Eight Heroes of Jiangxia, a model of the imperial clan, and a loyal minister. He will certainly give up Jingzhou to support the court."

Zhang Yang lowered his head and said nothing. Dong Fen knew that coming to see Zhao Ji was not a good thing, and she was even prepared to be hit on the leg.

But he didn't expect that he would be scolded in public by Zhao Ji before he could even have a full meal.

Without counting Zhang Yang and the subordinate population, Luodu now has an army of more than 20,000 and is about to run out of food. Zhao Ji is feeling overwhelmed.

He even suspected that the ministers and the emperor had lost control of the army, otherwise they would not have sent a small person like Dong Fen to greet him.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Zhao Ji grabbed the pile of millet rice and turned it upside down on the table. With a dull thud, the wooden bowl cracked. Frightened, Dong Fen jumped up and knelt down, kowtowed, "Minister, calm down! It's not that we intentionally treated Your Majesty harshly. It's simply that Luozhong is poor and we had no choice but to do this."

Zhang Yang gave a bitter smile and cupped his hands, "Minister, calm down."

"When I refused to cross the river, you kept it a secret from me, preventing me from knowing the plight of Luozhong. Even after I crossed, you refused to tell me the truth about the emperor's plight. If I hadn't repeatedly asked, and only when Luodu and its surroundings were devastated by starvation, would you have told me the truth?"

Zhao Ji stood up and pointed at Dong Fen. "Go back and tell Old Man Yang immediately. I don't care if it's Dong Cheng, Chunyu Qiong, or anyone else. Lead the troops immediately. Either march east from Hulao Pass to attack Cao Cao, or march south to Wankou to seize Jingzhou!"

Still not satisfied, Zhao Ji stepped forward, grabbed Dong Fen's bowl, and smashed it hard on the head. He then ripped off Dong Fen's official hat and said, "Tens of thousands of lives, are you going to watch them starve to death? Tell them, if they refuse to leave, when I defeat Cao Cao and return to Luodu to pay homage to the emperor, all officials with a rank of 1,000 stones or above will be punished!"

She forced herself to hold it back, otherwise Zhao Jifei would have kicked Dong Fen in the forehead.

Dong Fen didn't dare to breathe, and didn't grab the table to smash him on the head or break his legs... Zhao Ji really restrained himself.

The matter has nothing to do with Dong Fen, so there is no need to treat her harshly.

But if it is done in a miserable way, Dong Fen can explain it when she returns.

Zang Hong's envoy, Chen Rong from Guangling, sat below Dong Fen, also with his eyes downcast and silent.

He knew very well how miserable the year-long siege of Dongwu City was.

Zang Hong killed his concubine and used her to feed the soldiers and civilians. Most of the elderly, women and children in the city died in this way.

Behind Chen Rong was Lu Bu's messenger Qin Yilu, who simply thought that Zhao Ji fought well.

(End of this chapter)