Tiger Guards

Chapter 29: Give Credit to Others
In the barracks, Pei Xiu listened to the plans of Zhao Ji and Jia Kui and fell into deep thought.

Guanqiu Xing brought Zhao Ji another bowl of rice porridge and expressed his opinion frankly: "I think it's difficult. When the gang from Junbei returns, they will be able to capture at least thirty to fifty people. With more than two hundred strong laborers, everyone will want to take a bite."

Pei Xiu glanced at Guanqiu Xing, then looked at Zhao Ji. "Aji's idea is good. Just as Axing said, Commander Ma Zhi will definitely ask for the people, and will use food and weapons in exchange. He wants both people and horses."

"Seventh Brother, I don't want to give it to him. Not to the living, not to the dead."

Zhao Ji picked up the warm rice porridge and drank it in one gulp. He continued, "Except for the wealthy ones like Wei Zhongjian, Qi Ge, and Ah Xing, most of the people in the camp are second sons or concubines. If we recruit the pure Hu people as coolies, we'll have some relief. And if we recruit the captured border residents and good family men as auxiliary troops, we'll have people to watch the night and feed the horses."

"The sons of Han and Hu are assigned to meritorious men as servants. Publicly, these men have these servants to look after their daily lives, allowing them to focus on training and fighting. Privately, with the servants protecting them, their brave companions are less likely to die in battle. Even if they retire in the future, they will still be wealthy."

Zhao Ji paused, then continued, "The men of the northern prefecture will certainly agree. Jia Liangdao of the Warehouse Department, Jia Tong of the Cavalry Department, and Xiang Libao of the Supply Department Department make up the three of us. Including my seventh brother and myself, that makes five. With five departments and seven departments, twelve people will vote. We have five votes."

Upon hearing this, Guanqiu Xing also went to persuade Pei Xiu: "Seventh Brother, these 200 captives cannot be sold cheaply. How can we let them get away with it? They didn't give any warning before the Xiongnu attacked. And after last night's fierce fighting, we haven't seen anyone from the surrounding area leading their men or fellow villagers to help. If we really sell the captives cheaply, who will dare to fight in the next battle?"

"I understand what Aji means. This is to motivate the troops. But offending the surrounding powerful people will only lead to corruption. We are determined to support the court. If we delay for a small matter, won't it delay the greater cause?"

Pei Xiu really looked down on these captives. Inspired by the righteousness of the imperial court, he could recruit 200 to 500 young and strong men at any time at a low cost to serve as military laborers or auxiliary soldiers.

The benefits of the court's rewards are far more incomparable to a few captured servants and horses.

"Seventh Brother has a rich family and great wealth, how can he understand the hardships of a good family?"

Zhao Ji pointed at himself and said, "Given my courage and strength, when I lived alone in the mountains, I wanted to abduct men and women for my own use. But out of consideration for my hometown, I bowed down and followed the law. Now this captive was obtained legitimately, and I don't want to give him up."

Guanqiu Xing then spoke up, "With Liu Fu here, the second team also supports us. We have six of us. Wei Zhongjian wants to win over Aji and won't get angry with him over a few dozen captives. Jing Wenqing of the third team in Fenyin and Longmen is also afraid that the Xiongnu will become too powerful, so he will also support us in annexing the captives."

Guanqiu Xing turned to look at Pei Xiu. "Seventh Brother, the court is currently short of money, food, and equipment. What significance do these official positions offer to the warriors in the camp? Ever since Bai Bo came to the throne, even a humble soldier has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Who in the camp would like such a lieutenant?"

Shen Tulan, who had been silent all this time, also spoke up: "Seventh Brother, if the captured Xiongnu soldiers and horses were given to outsiders, not to mention others, even I would not accept it. I would rather kill the prisoners and offer their heads as tribute, slaughter the horses and eat the meat, than give them to outsiders."

Zhao Ji added, "If you, Seventh Brother, are concerned about insufficient equipment and fodder, we can work together to find a solution. However, we must not give these captured troops to outsiders. Instead of strengthening the outsiders, why not strengthen our own camp?"

Pei Xiu then slowly nodded. "I haven't worried about the equipment. We gained a lot from the battle last night. Knowing Wei Zhongjian, he will certainly make an effort to replenish the equipment for the camp. What Aji said makes sense. It's better to strengthen our allies in the camp than to strengthen outsiders."

Having made his decision, Pei Xiu finished half a bowl of corn porridge and said, "Aji, change your clothes first. I'll go and talk to Wei Zhongjian alone. He's a face-shy man. Even if we discuss things with him in public, he'll stubbornly stick to his own opinion. When Jia Tong and the others return to the camp, we'll gather and discuss it. Wei Zhongjian will make his suggestions, and we'll just agree."

After a pause, Pei Xiu continued, "The distribution of the captured troops still needs to be discussed in detail. What are Aji's thoughts?"

"I haven't given it much thought. I just feel that the men we captured should be distributed among us. The court is in danger now, and it's difficult to help. If I want to inspire the brave soldiers in the camp to die for their duty, I can only do it myself."

Zhao Ji said this as he accompanied Pei Xiu out. Outside the door, his three squads had already assembled completely, but there were actually only twenty-six people there.

When they saw Zhao Ji coming out, these people surrounded him, and Zhao Ji waved his hand to stop them.

After escorting Pei Xiu out of the camp, Zhao Ji turned around and said, "As you've all heard, I'm going to share the heads I captured with you. But not everyone will get one. Geng Yu, who died in battle, has one head, so I'll give him two. The remaining three are more seriously injured, all wounded before their deaths, so I'll give them one head each."

Looking at the crowd in front of him, Zhao Ji said, "So I only have level 22 left. There are 26 of you. Those who are injured in the front, please step out. Let me see..."

Immediately, seven people stepped forward and looked at it eagerly.

A sword and shield soldier thought for a moment and stepped forward. "General, I'm a brave warrior, as my companions can attest. But the Huns rushed into the training ground, and I sustained a wound to my back."

Zhao Ji looked at the other swords and shields, and seeing them all nodding in agreement, he asked, "Is there anyone else with a back injury from the melee?"

Two more people came forward and asked their companions to provide evidence.

So Zhao Ji said, "If you are brave enough to fight, I will give you one level each."

He turned to look at Yang Ji and said, "Give it to everyone."

Yang Ji assigned a few crossbowmen to fetch it, and said to Zhao Ji, "Captain..."

He wanted to say something, but Zhao Ji stared at him coldly. Yang Ji lowered his head and dared not speak.

After these lightly wounded Tiger Soldiers received their heads and returned to the crowd, Zhao Ji said, "I know some people are dissatisfied, but the fact that they were not injured in this battle shows that their martial arts skills are extraordinary and they will easily gain merit in the future. It's either that they valued their lives and refused to give their all in the fight, or that they were extremely lucky. Regardless, they bleed, and I will not let their blood be shed in vain. Who else is dissatisfied?"

After this round of distribution, there are still twelve levels left.

Zhao Ji added, "For the remaining sixteen, I don't care if you've made any gains or not. I'll offer eight more levels, and you can bid on them." Hu Ban hurried over and saw Zhao Ji dividing the heads. He laughed and said, "Other places are collecting the heads, but why is Aji dividing them?"

"Brother, you've arrived just in time. Has the document announcing Rui Dan's death been sent out?"

"Not sent yet."

"Then I'll trouble you to rewrite it and report him as having died in battle. I'll give him two more levels."

Hu Ban was surprised, but he also restrained his expression. He glanced at the head in the hands of the crowd and said, "We will examine the head later to confirm its identity. Everyone, go and wash it quickly. It will be difficult to wash it in the midday heat."

After seeing Zhao Ji nod, these people took their portable merits and went to the creek outside the camp to wash them.

After these people left, Hu Ban advised Zhao Ji: "Aji, it is very unwise for you to divide the credit among so many people. The court is in trouble and needs good generals and brave men. If you now give the credit to others, even if Pei Gong wants to promote or recommend someone, it will be questioned."

"Brother, if I report this to the court, will anyone believe that I have killed more than twenty people?"

Zhao Ji asked back with a smile. Hu Ban was stunned for a moment and said, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that Aji had the courage of King Xiang."

"Before the war, I was also confused."

Zhao Ji sighed for a moment, then said, "Merits are easily earned, but being a garrison commander is of no use to me."

Hu Ban nodded in agreement. After being promoted to team officer or garrison commander, his promotion would depend on the performance of the entire team.

Zhao Ji distributed the heads to his own officers and soldiers, and the overall data of the team did not change.

When the spoils are counted and distributed later, won’t they be divided according to the number of heads beheaded by each team?
Then each team will divide it up internally, so the only thing that will be lost is the external reputation... But can this kind of reputation be hidden?

Hu Ban also calmed down and asked, "How much did Aji's team gain?"

"One man was killed in battle, forty-seven heads were beheaded, and two horses were captured."

Zhao Ji smiled and asked, "Brother, I still have two coins left. Do you want some?"

"Let's keep Aji. A Shang isn't on Aji's team anymore, so it's not right to divide the credit."

"There's no use for me keeping it, so I'll give it to Big Brother and A Shang one level each."

Zhao Ji looked up at the sky and said, "The profit is more than four times but less than five times, so I was only awarded the rank of Tiger Guard Lieutenant Colonel."

There are 31 people in the whole team, and Ying can be promoted to one level for every 10 levels he gains; Zhao Ji has one person killed in the battle, so after deducting one level, he has 46 levels left, which is enough for him to be promoted to the midpoint of Huben Lang, that is, Huben Zhonglang.

From the bottom to the top, the Huben are the Jiecong Huben with an official rank of 'equal to 200 dan', the next is the Huben Langjiang with an official rank of 'equal to 300 dan', the Huben Shilang with an official rank of 'equal to 400 dan', and the Huben Zhonglang with an official rank of 'equal to 600 dan'.

The Huben Zhonglang was equivalent to the team leader; above him were the Huben Pushe and Huben Bichang who assisted the Huben Zhonglang Jiang in managing the teams.

Due to the particularity of the guard work, it is not managed vertically from top to bottom, but cross-managed.

Basically, the Huben Pushe bypasses the Zhonglang and Shilang and directly manages the Huben Langjiang at the team leader level. This can also be called the Huben Langzhong, who is at the same level as the Langzhong in other Langshu.

The left and right Hu Ben leaders were responsible for the duty schedules. In addition to being in charge of the Hu Ben, the Hu Ben Zhonglang and Shilang also had to take turns guarding the emperor.

Historically, only the children of nobles and high-ranking officials could hold such noble positions that involved long-term contact with the emperor, but now there are not so many requirements.

The current imperial court is helpless. Its neck was strangled by Yang Feng, and so far, it has not elected a new Tiger Guard General.

The imperial court is still holding on and has not given up this position.

But Zhao Ji didn't care. If there really was a Tiger Guard General from the Baibo system who would take over the military power, and his powerful crossbow accidentally failed to kill the enemy, he would rush up with his sword and kill him.

Pei Xiu also has a weak and compromising side to the outside world. These people are just playing house. If they fail in their business venture, the worst that can happen is that they can go home and recuperate for a few years.

For me, this is like starting a business with my life at risk.

(End of this chapter)