Tiger Guards

Chapter 288 A Small Favor
Not long after Zhao Ji returned to his camp, the knights who had participated in the battle dismounted one after another.

No one dared to remove their armor; they simply drank rice wine slowly to quench their thirst and ate dry rations to stave off hunger.

Zhao Ji was no exception; during his simple meal, he kept a close eye on Xiahou Dun behind him.

If Xiahou Dun dares to approach within five li, Zhao Ji is prepared to deliver a ruthless blow.

If Xiahou Dun is not eliminated, the heavy supplies in the rear camp will be destroyed, and the morale of the army will be affected.

Furthermore, it is crucial to constantly divide forces to be vigilant against Xiahou Dun, as this would hinder the subsequent encirclement and suppression of Cao Cao's central army.

“Attendant-in-Ordinary, messenger of General Zhang.”

Han Shu spoke up to remind him, and Zhao Ji turned around to see more than a dozen knights under Zhang Yang's command approaching. They were riding at a slow pace, protecting several people, and there were also scouts from their own side following behind.

After Han Shu stepped forward and checked that the other party's military documents and seals were correct, he allowed the other party to approach. The other party bowed and clasped his hands five steps away from Zhao Ji's carriage, saying, "Your subject, Miao Shang, pays his respects to Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhao Hou."

Seeing that it was a familiar face, Zhao Ji's vigilance lessened slightly, and he asked, "What is it?"

"Xu Chu, the commander of the southern camp of the rebel army, and Lü Zhao, the commander of the southwestern outer camp, have surrendered. There is also a letter written in blood by the rebel general Zhu Ling here. Please take a look, Your Excellency."

Han Shu stepped forward, took it, and handed it to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji drank half a cup of turbid wine, opened the surrender documents of Xu Chu and Lü Zhao, and saw that they sounded very nice, that they were surrendering to the court rather than to him.

Zhao Ji smiled and handed the document to Zhang Zan, who was eating nearby: "Draft a document to tell them that all the wounded soldiers in the camp are under my command. Now only I have enough medicine to treat the wounded. After the wounded are cured, they can serve me for ten years. I will let them stay or leave as they please, without making them a burden."

"As for his words of surrendering to the court, I don't understand Xu Chu's intentions. Am I not acting on the emperor's orders to punish the rebels? Tell him that if he wants to surrender, he must first hand over his wounded soldiers, heavy armor, spears, halberds, and crossbows. He can only keep his swords, bows and arrows, shields, and light armor."

"If the sky darkens and there is no movement, then he is feigning surrender and delaying the war. Don't blame our army for being ruthless then."

Zhang Zan picked up his brush and began to write, carefully crafting his words to express Zhao Ji's attitude without provoking Xu Chu.

The main concern was wounded soldiers; weapons and other equipment were of little importance.

When a large number of wounded soldiers were evacuated from the camp and treated by the Bingzhou soldiers, the other soldiers certainly wouldn't want to fight anymore.

When Zhang Zan wrote this unique letter of persuasion to surrender, Zhao Ji also reviewed Zhu Ling's blood-written letter, though he himself did not care about such things.

But people at the time valued this highly; blood and soul were united, and writing a blood oath was equivalent to a vow of the soul.

Seeing Zhu Ling's blood-written letter denouncing Cao Cao's various cruel acts, Zhao Ji felt that Zhu Ling had great insight.

He took the newly written silk scroll from Zhang Zan and said, "Tell Zhu Ling that the wounded soldiers should be transported out of the camp to receive treatment from my army. His officers and soldiers will be temporarily assigned to Han Meng and Zhang He, and all officers of the rank of centurion and above will be incorporated into my personal guard. After the war in the Central Plains ends, I will leave the officers and soldiers of Zhu Ling, Han Meng, and Zhang He to their own devices."

To the general public, leaving it to its own devices is merely a publicity stunt.

He will definitely break his promise later; Yuan Shao will not believe him if he says this.

Not everyone has the courage to give up around five or six thousand skilled infantrymen.

If you release some soldiers back to Hebei, the families of the officials and soldiers who remain in Hedong will suffer punishment from Yuan Shao.

Obviously, this is not the way to do things; breaching the contract is inevitable, but Zhao Ji does not need to breach the contract voluntarily.

If key members of the military want to stay, they will speak on behalf of others.

In any case, the higher the rank of the military officer, the more he understood the fierce struggle between the local Hebei faction under Yuan Shao and the scholars from other provinces who had followed him.

"Report~!"

A knight came from behind the ranks and reined in his horse at the chariot: "Lieutenant Zhao sent a messenger to report that the Chenliu troops have arrived ten miles away. They have not disturbed the old camps of the various armies, but are heading straight for this place. There are about six thousand of them, including more than five hundred knights."

"Report when the Chenliu troops are five li away."

Zhao Ji responded by picking up the second reply Zhang Zan had written for Zhu Ling. After confirming that the wording was acceptable, he took out his seal and stamped it.

After sending a message, he examined the envoys Xu Chu and Zhu Ling brought by Miao Shang: "I have come here on the Emperor's orders to suppress the rebels, and I have no intention of encroaching on the counties of Yan and Yu. After the war ends, the officers and soldiers are homesick. After paying homage to the Emperor, I will return to Xizhou."

An envoy bowed deeply and asked, "Does Your Excellency have no intention of entering the court to assist in governing?"

"With Marquis Meng here, I can rest assured in Xizhou."

Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Reply like this, and I await your good news. Cao Cao's defeat is imminent, so please do not make a mistake. The sooner this war ends, the better the Emperor and the court will govern, and the people of Yan and Yu will enjoy peace and prosperity."

Peace is not that simple.
The two envoys simply bowed and took their leave, then returned to recount what they had seen and heard.

The final decision rests with Xu Chu and Zhu Ling.

They have already lowered the Cao-character battle flag once, and it will be very difficult to raise it again.

It was already extremely fortunate for Cao Cao that they changed sides during the battle and did not cause the collapse of the surrounding Cao army camps. How could he easily forgive them?

Besides, what do the soldiers think?
After lowering the battle flag, many soldiers had already lost their will to fight.

As long as the conditions here at Zhao Ji's place aren't particularly harsh, the vast majority of soldiers wouldn't object.

Moreover, Zhao Ji immediately offered to hand over the wounded soldiers to him for treatment.

This unconventional display of humanitarianism, though suspected of involving hostage-taking, could convince the vast majority of officials and soldiers.

Besides fighting and killing, war also requires psychological warfare.

After the two messengers left, Zhang Yang's messenger, Miao Shang, took out a silk scroll and handed it over: "Lord Attendant, this is a secret letter from General Zhang."

"hehe."

Seeing Zhao Ji's sneer, Miao Shang also forced a smile.

Han Shu forwarded the secret letter, and Zhao Ji saw that the letter was folded and glued together with wax, and even stamped his seal on the wax.

After rubbing the wax seal, Zhao Ji opened the secret book and couldn't help but squint.

Although Zhang Yang is a kind person, when faced with an opportunity, he can only be kind to a limited extent.

Zhao Ji was reluctant to make the trip, so he put away the secret letter and looked at Han Shu: "Go and reselect three hundred knights to come with me to see General Zhang."

"Here."

Han Shu left quickly, and Zhao Ji then said to Wei Xing and Jia Tong, "You shall follow Xu Gongming's orders; I will be back soon." "Yes, sir."

Wei Xing and Jia Tong were also puzzled, but seeing that Zhao Ji refused to say, they didn't press him for an answer.

Soon, Han Shu transferred three hundred-cavalry units that had been resting from the rear, and Zhao Ji also changed to a horse, leading these three hundred-odd cavalrymen to Zhang Yang's front.

Zhang Yang had already set up a tent in front of his troops. Zhang Yang sat at the head of the table with a rather unpleasant expression. Sui Gu and Yang Chou, leading a dozen or so military officers, sat at the side, their expressions also generally unpleasant.

Upon hearing that Xu Chu and Lü Zhao had surrendered, Sui Gu and Yang Chou led their chieftains to coerce Zhang Yang.

They have become accustomed to the development model of defeating the opponent and annexing its young and strong members.

After a hard-fought battle for most of the day, how could we let Xu Chu fly away?
By eliminating Xu Chu and Lü Zhao, they can not only replenish their losses and expand their army, but also acquire various armor and weapons collected on the battlefield, thus improving their overall military capabilities.

Sui Gu was originally from the Black Mountain Army, and he had long been accustomed to this distribution method.

His surrender to Zhang Yang was out of necessity. He had originally followed Yu Du in invading Dongjun, but was defeated by Cao Cao and had no choice but to surrender to Zhang Yang.

Sui Gu's position was more like that of a guest general or subordinate to Zhang Yang than a direct subordinate.

They don't usually collect much tax from Hanoi, so why should they listen to Zhang Yang?

Anyway, Zhang Yang is soft-hearted, so if we keep at it, we might be able to force him to change his attitude.

"Lord Zhao, the Chamberlain, has arrived!"

Suddenly, a military officer outside announced loudly that Sui Gu was instinctively terrified and jumped up to draw his sword, only to see that Zhang Yang also looked surprised.

Zhang Yang stood up immediately, glanced around, and then his gaze fell on Zhao Yuan, who looked completely bewildered.

Many eyes turned to him, and Zhao Yuan immediately spoke up: "General, I don't know what's going on."

Seeing that Zhao Yuan seemed hesitant to speak, Zhang Yang immediately asked, "What are your thoughts, Commandant Zhao?"

"His actions are unpredictable; perhaps he simply wants to ask General Zhang in person."

Zhao Yuan truthfully gave his opinion, and Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief: "That's what I was thinking too. Come with me quickly to greet the Attendant."

As Zhang Yang led dozens of military officers out of the curtain, they saw Zhao Ji riding slowly towards them, looking relaxed.

Zhang Yang visibly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting: "What brings you here, Your Excellency?"

"Xu Chu has offered his surrender, but I do not know the truth of the matter."

Zhao Ji glanced sideways at Sui Gu behind Zhang Yang: "Today, Commandant Sui's troops fought fiercely for a long time. I wonder how many enemy soldiers they killed or wounded?"

Sui Gu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed deeply: "Reporting to the Attendant-in-Ordinary, today this humble general fought against the allied forces of Colonel Yang, suffering no less than a thousand casualties, but also achieving considerable gains."

"So, Xu Chu and Lü Zhao lost over a thousand men, and they want to surrender? This might be a trap."

Zhao Ji pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhang Yang: "What does General Zhang think?"

Zhang Yang was also unsure, but Yang Chou stepped forward and bowed deeply to Sui Gu: "As you see, Your Excellency, this humble general believes this is a feigned surrender and we must be on guard."

"I didn't ask you."

Zhao Ji spoke slowly and deliberately, glancing sideways at Zhang Yang with a smile: "Is this how General Zhang governs his troops?"

"I apologize for the rudeness, Your Excellency. I was just in a hurry and that's why I was impolite."

Zhang Yang began to explain, extending his arm in invitation: "Lord Attendant, please come inside."

"I am very busy. I don't want to waste my time on Xu Chu and Zhu Ling, and I don't want my officers and soldiers to die because of this. The decision to accept or reject the surrender rests with the general. How can such an important matter be decided by a mere colonel?"

Zhao Ji lowered his eyes and looked at Sui Gu and Yang Chou: "I heard that you wanted to take General Zhang hostage in order to influence my decision-making?"

As Yang Chou hesitated, Sui Gu suddenly drew his sword to stab Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji reined in his horse and did not move. Han Shu, who was holding a halberd beside him, thrust his halberd forward, forcing Sui Gu back.

Sui Gu took three steps back, raised his sword, and shouted: "You treacherous villain, why do you want to kill us..."

Zhao Ji casually tossed a short spear into Sui Gu's mouth, his eyes widened in shock, and he quickly fell backward.

Yang Chou retreated and turned to beg Zhang Yang for mercy, but Han Shu stepped forward and stabbed Yang Chou in the shoulder and back with his halberd, though he failed to pierce through completely.

The leaders under Yang Chou and Sui Gu drew their swords, and the knights who had come with Zhao Ji dismounted and charged forward with spears and halberds.

A dozen or so mounted knights either threw short spears or suddenly grabbed crossbows and aimed at them at close range to fire.

In an instant, the prepared attacked the unprepared, and more than a dozen military officers and leaders were killed.

Zhang Yang looked reluctant but remained standing upright, while the other officers stepped back.

Zhao Yuan only had time to draw his sword before he could join the battle, when Han Shu stabbed Yang Chou in the back of the neck with his halberd, ending the fight.

Zhao Ji glanced at his second brother, then looked at Zhang Yang: "General Zhang, military orders come from above, I don't need to repeat that. Forgive my rudeness, but six or seven thousand men are fighting two thousand men, and after fighting for most of the day they still can't break through the fortifications. What right do you have to speak loudly to me?"

"Please calm down, Your Excellency."

"Be more careful when choosing generals next time. I arrived a little late, and they might coerce you into causing trouble."

After saying this, Zhao Ji looked at Zhao Yuan and said, "Come with me. You won't learn any real skills if you stay here."

"Where?"

“I’ll send you to serve under Lord Meng for training. I think he will teach you real skills.”

Zhao Ji casually remarked that out of respect for Zhang Yang, he would recommend his second son for the position of Martial Valor Commandant; if he were to go to Lü Bu's side, given Lü Bu's personality, he would at least give his second son a minor general title, or at the very least, a Lieutenant General.

It's not that I particularly like the second brother, it's just that he drew his sword so quickly just now that I couldn't help but find him pleasing to the eye.

With the second son becoming a general, the family experienced much more joy.

After Zhao Ji finished speaking, he went to look at Zhang Yang, who looked relieved... Zhao Ji had anticipated this, but he was still somewhat disappointed.

Deep down, Zhang Yang still believed that he and Lü Bu were in the same group.

(End of this chapter)