Tiger Guards

Chapter 295 Leading you into an urn
As night fell, Zhao Ji inspected the wounded soldiers' camp.

In this battle, Cao Cao's main camp had more than 43,000 soldiers, plus Xiahou Dun with 6,000 and Cao Ren with about 13,000, making a total of 62,000.

Even though the battle was over, Zhao Ji still found it hard to believe that Cao Cao could have so many troops.

He only remembered that Cao Cao won the Battle of Guandu with fewer troops, and had no idea how many troops Cao Cao had lost in the four years before the Battle of Guandu.

It is unknown that in the early stages of the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao was still very confident and took the initiative to cross the river to harass Liyang.

It is even less known that in the early stages of the Guandu Campaign, Cao Cao had the courage to gather his armies and fight a decisive battle against Yuan Shao that has been erased from the record.

It was precisely because of his repeated defeats that Cao Cao was forced to retreat to Guandu by Yuan Shao.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Cao Cao now has more than 100,000 troops under his command. After all, during the winter campaign against the Yellow Turban rebels in Ru and Ying, Cao Cao not only seized a lot of military supplies, but also captured a considerable number of people.

This frightened generals like Xu Chu and Li Tong into surrendering to Cao Cao. If they hadn't been more proactive, Cao Cao would have treated them as Yellow Turban rebels and wiped them out along with Cao Cao.

Therefore, the wounded soldiers' camp was very large, with no fewer than 15,000 wounded soldiers of various kinds.

Apart from our own officers and soldiers who were seriously wounded, there were no seriously wounded prisoners.

Last night alone, more than a thousand wounded soldiers died from blood loss. It is also possible that the cold night and poor living conditions for the wounded soldiers prevented them from surviving.

Therefore, many military tents and firewood were dismantled and transported today, and the wounded were housed in separate areas according to their injuries, managing to endure the conditions in the relatively warm and dry tents.

Zhao Ji no longer needed to visit each wounded soldier individually; he simply came to check if the living conditions of the wounded soldiers had improved.

The human body's instinct for survival is actually very strong. Zhao Ji treated both friend and foe without discrimination, and even managed to make soup from horse bones, which improved the wounded soldiers' diet and stabilized their emotions.

Even the prisoners and surrendered troops settled down.

In particular, the military officers of Xu Chu and Zhu Ling's units were selected by Zhao Ji to serve as guards and accompany Zhao Ji to inspect the wounded soldiers' camp. These warriors were deeply moved by this.

Zhuge Jin was in charge of the wounded soldiers' camp. He saw Zhao Ji out of the simple gate and said, "Most of the wounded can participate in the march within five days, and the rest will need half a month to recuperate. The medicine is about to run out, so please do not forget about it, Your Excellency."

"Write a document about the medicinal herbs and send it over. Zhang Zan will record it and remind me."

Zhao Ji looked up at the starry sky and said, "I have already written to King Chen. If he approves, our army will enter Chen territory first, so that we will not have to worry about military supplies for the time being."

The Central Plains have a complex water system and a lot of swamps and marshes, so even though it looks like a vast plain, large armies still have to rely on roads to move around.

To reach the State of Chen, after the army passes Xiangyi to the south, there is a main road leading directly south to Zhe County in the State of Chen.

Upon arriving at Zhe County, the imperial road leads directly west to Chen County.

Therefore, although the straight-line distance to Yingchuan is short, if troops, supplies, and wounded soldiers are to be marched, they can only rely on the imperial road.

The route would take a long detour south, passing through the northeastern counties of Chen and Runan, before entering Yanxian in Yingchuan, and then heading north directly to Yingyin.

Zhang Xiu's envoys have been arriving in waves, but he cannot abandon the wounded soldiers.

Lu Bu, however, was different. He would join forces with Zhang Yang and take a shortcut to Yingyin.

The best news right now is that Zhang Xiu acted ruthlessly and directly seized Yingyin City. If they hold the city, no one can do anything about Zhang Xiu.

The people of Nanyang surrounding Zhang Xiu wouldn't like Lü Bu either, so let Lü Bu go over there and work things out with the court first.

After joining forces with Prince Chen, they marched towards Yingyin.

As for the armies of Cao Hong and Xiahou Yuan, who were about to head north, Zhao Ji did not intend to intercept them.

If there's a chance to extort money, they won't let it pass.

Zhuge Jin has been suffering greatly in the wounded soldiers' camp these past two days. He sent Zhao Ji out of the camp and then went back to his tent and fell asleep immediately.

Zhao Ji led over a hundred cavalrymen back to the central camp, where he saw Xu Huang waiting with a torch in front of the camp, looking serious.

Zhao Ji dismounted and walked over: "Gongming, what is it?"

“A group of surrendered soldiers under the command of Lord Meng have escaped. Lord Meng has sent an envoy to inquire about the whereabouts of this group of surrendered soldiers.”

Xu Huang's voice was low and somber: "About three hundred men have joined the Yanzhou army camp. How should we respond now?"

"He has never served under me. If he doesn't believe me, he can search my camp."

Zhao Ji responded casually, adding, "After Governor Zang passed away, Yanzhou was without a ruler. The Yanzhou troops are not my subordinates, but rather allied forces with me, ordered to punish the treacherous minister Cao Cao. In a sense, the Yanzhou troops are also my allies. If any conflict arises with Marquis Meng, I will mediate."

Upon hearing this, Xu Huang calmed down somewhat; he did not want to fight against Lü Bu's side.

Xu Huang then followed Zhao Ji into the camp and said, "There is a famous scholar from Guangling named Zhang Hong, who claims to be an old friend of the Chamberlain and has come into the camp to request an audience. I will arrange for this man and his entourage to enter the camp and also assign guards to supervise them."

"Since he is an old friend, please ask him to come see me later."

Zhao Ji then instructed, "Send a messenger to inform Marquis Meng that I will discuss the matter of Yanzhou with him in person tomorrow. It concerns the selection of the governor of Yanzhou, and I don't think he will act recklessly tonight."

Xu Huang nodded and said, "This humble general also suspects that Lord Meng deliberately allowed the captured officials and soldiers of Yanzhou to escape, intending to make things difficult for the Attendant."

"Let him be. The most important thing for us is to return to Bingzhou. Other things are not worth the bloodshed."

"Yes, I understand."

Xu Huang agreed, saw Zhao Ji off for a dozen steps, and then turned to find the messenger.

Meanwhile, in Lü Bu's camp, small campfires burned inside the main tent, with smoke billowing out through the tent's skylight.

He lay on his side, clutching a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, his gaze solemn. He had already sent people to Meng County to escort their families and to recruit female relatives from among the disaster victims. However, in years of great disaster, while men could still survive together, very few women survived.

If Zhao Ji's basic demands are not met, he cannot simply stand by and watch him withdraw his troops and lead them to Yingchuan.

It will be difficult to find enough eligible women in the short term from Liang State, northern Pei State, southern Shanyang, and southern Chenliu.

It's not a matter of whether you dare to rob or not, it's that you have nothing to rob.

Since a conflict has already occurred, it's not appropriate to ask Zhao Ji to extend the timeframe now.

For Zhao Ji, after the two armies separated, how easy would it be to block Lü Bu again?
Even Lü Bu himself knew that once he arrived in Yingchuan and took over the court, he would definitely handle this matter in another way.

As he was deep in thought, Qin Yilu entered carrying a wooden tablet: "My lord, Attendant Zhao has replied."

Lü Bu stood up and sat down: "What is it?"

"Regarding the desertion of the Yanzhou soldiers, Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhao responded that he was unaware of it beforehand and said that the deserters had already entered the Yanzhou garrison camp. He also said that he would discuss the selection of the governor of Yanzhou with you tomorrow."

Qin Yilu stepped forward and handed the wooden tablet to the table in front of Lü Bu. Lü Bu picked it up, glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow: "Could it be that he wants to give me Yanzhou? No, he said he wants to be the governor of Yanzhou."

He began to recall the qualified clerks under his command, and couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Regardless of whether these civil officials were from Yanzhou or not, they all followed Chen Gong, so much so that if he wanted to hold onto this official position, he had no one else to choose from.

The higher one's qualifications, reputation, and ability, the easier it is to control Yanzhou after taking office; otherwise, sending just anyone will be useless if they can't control it.

Legally speaking, whoever succeeds as the governor of Yanzhou can take away the command of the more than two thousand Yanzhou soldiers from Zhao Ji.

Lu Bu frowned and pondered for a moment, feeling that Zhang Yang was a good fit. Although it was somewhat beneath him, Zhang Yang would not betray him.

He immediately said to Qin Yilu, "Go back and rest early. Tomorrow, after I discuss this matter with Zhao Shizhong, we will jointly submit a memorial to the court."

"Yes, I understand."

Qin Yilu bowed in agreement, took seven or eight steps back, and then turned and left the tent.

With Chen Gong and his group absent, Qin Yilu had to take on the role of envoy, given his distinguished appearance and negotiation skills.
As for the arrival of his family tomorrow, Qin Yilu will not have the chance to reunite with his wife... What does that have to do with Lu Bu?
Thinking about having to hand his daughter over to Zhao Ji's camp the next day, Lü Bu became even more agitated and grabbed the wooden tablet in his hand, throwing it into the campfire.

During the night curfew for all armies, Zhao Ji and Zhang Hong had dinner together.

They had corresponded before, and Zhao Ji inquired in detail about Sun Ce's situation, lamenting, "The heroes of the world, apart from myself and Sun Ce, are all old and frail, not worth worrying about."

Zhang Hong suggested, "Why doesn't the Grand Councilor summon Sun Ce to court?"

"The court is already in chaos enough; no one can suppress him."

Seeing Zhang Hong's doubts, Zhao Ji explained, "Lü Bu's ambitions are vast, yet he is hampered by the officials. If he obtains Sun Ce, he will surely rely on him as a henchman. Today's Lü Bu and Sun Ce will be tomorrow's Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu."

After this explanation, Zhang Hong immediately understood and nodded slightly, saying, "However, since Sun Ce occupies Xiapi and Pengcheng, he will inevitably join forces with Cao Cao in the future, disturbing the peace of my Xuzhou."

“Liu Bei is my ally, I cannot ignore him.”

Zhao Ji was also weighing the matter, and said, "In my opinion, I would appoint him as the governor of Yanzhou and have him stationed in Shanyang to contend with Cao Cao. However, this matter still needs to be discussed with Lü Bu, who has other ideas, so it may be difficult to achieve. In short, I will find a way to restore peace to Xuzhou so that the officials and people can recuperate."

This is the key to maintaining the support of the people of Xuzhou. Upon hearing this, Zhang Hong cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Your Excellency."

"Yes, sir, you can attend the meeting tomorrow. However, since Sun Ce himself is not letting go of Xuzhou, it will be difficult to persuade him to leave Xiapi."

“Your Excellency, I am very close to Sun Ce. If we could obtain the positions of Chancellor of Pengcheng and his father, General Who Destroys the Barbarians, then I and Chen Yuanlong could work together to persuade Sun Ce to abandon Xiapi and garrison Pengcheng.”

Pengcheng was a large city with eight counties, but due to Cao Cao's massacres, the Pengcheng Kingdom was sparsely populated.

If Sun Ce's army were to establish settlements, they could survive by relying on irrigation from the Si River.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Ji said, "Since you are going back, sir, you must prioritize your safety. Judging from Sun Ce's actions, he will never easily give up Xiapi. Now that Yuan Shu has retreated, Sun Ce will surely launch a full-scale attack on Liu Bei. If I'm not mistaken, Liu Bei will find it difficult to resist."

"I have already summoned Xiao Jian, the Chancellor of Langya, and Xu Qiu, the Chancellor of Donghai, to court. If Liu Bei is defeated, I will send envoys to mediate and make peace, and propose that Liu Bei be appointed Chancellor of Langya, and then ask you, sir, to serve as Chancellor of Donghai. When the time is right, we can work together from within and without to drive out Sun Ce."

Zhao Ji made the worst-case scenario plan, believing that Sun Ce would definitely attack Liu Bei.

Especially during the period when he withdrew his troops back to Bingzhou, Lü Bu occupied the western part of the Central Plains, and Cao Cao suffered a major defeat and returned to the northeastern corner of the Central Plains, it was an excellent environment for Sun Ce to wage war.

Even Yuan Shu withdrew his troops from Huainan to deal with Sun Ce's old subordinates and family members left in Jiangdong.

If Sun Ce wanted to protect his family and maintain internal cohesion, he had to severely punish Liu Bei in order to create a deterrent effect both internally and externally, and prevent his power from collapsing.

Zhang Hong understood Zhao Ji's meaning: if the positions of Chancellor of Pengcheng and General Who Destroys the Enemy could not attract Sun Ce, he should immediately urge Sun Ce to devise a plan for Sun Ce's development and survival, guide Sun Ce to attack Liu Bei, drive Liu Bei to Langya, and let Zhang Hong act as a buffer.

If the time is right in the future, with Chen Deng added to the mix and a few external factors, we can lure Sun Ce out and then welcome Liu Bei back to take over Xuzhou.

Neither of them felt out of place discussing such a conspiracy on their very first meeting.

Even Sun Ce's rebellion was partly instigated by Zhang Hong.

There was no other way; Zhang Hong was recommended by Zhao Yu as a candidate for the civil service examination, and Zhang Hong also greatly respected Zhao Yu.

For Zhang Hong, the most important thing now is to find a way to have an heir for Zhao Yu and continue the bloodline.

If there's no other choice, any young man from the Zhao family of Langya could fulfill this wish.

Now, obtaining a son from an illegitimate child from Zhao Ji would be a perfect solution.

(End of this chapter)