Tiger Guards

Chapter 297 Military Appearances Are Strikingly Different
As Zhao Ji had predicted, Han Hao pulled a little trick when he left Chenliu.

He first sent a message to Chunyu Qiong, who was nearby, and then to Zhao Ji and Lü Bu.

As a result, Chunyu Qiong took a gamble, chose to trust Han Hao, and led a light army on a rapid march to seize Chenliu.

However, neither Zhao Ji nor Lü Bu showed any intention of seizing Chenliu, which made Chunyu Qiong feel uneasy. He could only transport grain downstream via the Sui River.

However, the antagonism between Zhao Ji and Lü Bu grew stronger, mainly reflected in the officers and soldiers under their command.

Both sides were dissatisfied. Zhao Ji believed that his side had captured more Cao army camps, forced more to surrender, and captured more prisoners. He argued that if it weren't for lending troops and horses to Lü Bu, how could Lü Bu have regained his former glory?

Lu Bu's officers and soldiers had a simple idea: they had defeated Cao Cao's central army, which was attempting to break out, and also defeated Cao Ren's troops who were there to provide support, almost capturing Cao Cao. Wasn't that a great achievement?

Coupled with the conflicts that accumulated during the cleanup, they became increasingly irreconcilable.

Amidst this atmosphere of confrontation, Lü Bu's massive family reunion finally arrived.

Even Zhao Ji was curious and climbed up to the high platform in the camp to look around, but he couldn't see anything clearly.

Lu Bu and the wives and concubines of his generals and officers all arrived by carriage. Only after the carriages entered the camp would these women get out of the carriages and enter the tents.

There were also the families and relatives of the soldiers, both new and old. Zhao Ji looked at them from afar and saw that these women had no personal autonomy whatsoever.

In those days, even local celebrities were separated from their wives, their fates unknown.

Not to mention that in Lü Bu's army, which was fighting on the move, the wives of the lower-ranking officers and soldiers were only temporary wives.

Zhao Ji observed from afar and saw that Lü Bu's camps were in chaos, with officers and soldiers searching for their wives, and fighting and cursing were everywhere.

As a result, some of the knights in purple robes also found their wives. Some left the main force and returned to camp together, while others got into conflicts with other officers and soldiers and started fighting.

The brawl continued to escalate, and the victors would return to camp with their current wives.

Zhang Zan climbed the high platform and observed the farce unfolding to the north. Lü Bu's armies were now basically defenseless, like pigs and dogs lying on their backs with their bellies exposed.

Zhang Zan looked at it for a moment, somewhat incredulous: "Your Excellency, Marquis Lü Meng didn't take any precautions?"

"How can he defend against this? With the morale of the army like this, he will pay an even greater price if he goes against it."

Zhao Ji rested his hands on the railing, not in a hurry at all. He figured that once Lü Bu was done with them, he would hand over these women to him.

Zhao Ji glanced at Zhang Zan's profile and said, "Later, issue an order to all camps that the women captured during this campaign should be distributed among the officers and soldiers as concubines upon returning to Taiyuan. They must not be violated during the march."

Zhang Zan paused for a moment: "Won't this cause discontent among the officials and soldiers?"

"The God of War favors warriors who are abstinent. If I am like this, who else would dare to be presumptuous?"

Zhao Ji said calmly, "If you can't even overcome this basic desire between men and women, how can you overcome the fear of life and death? If you want to abduct women, just leave my army. I won't stop you if you're a hundred miles away from me."

Zhang Zan fell into a long silence, filled with inexplicable emotions.

Does Zhao Ji really care about these trivial matters?

No, it's just that he doesn't want to mediate these meaningless conflicts to avoid trouble.

I don't want such a trivial matter to cause internal strife within the army and result in ridiculous losses.

The reason for persisting was simply to maintain control over the soldiers.

What matters is never how many women a soldier sleeps with during a campaign, but whether the soldier can obey orders and maintain discipline during a campaign.

Ultimately, this is just a test of obedience.

Keep those that pass, and exclude those that don't.

To put it bluntly, when you take your dog out for a walk, who cares if the dog pees on a tree?

Nobody cares; what matters is whether the dog pees indiscriminately.

Urinating indiscriminately can cause conflict and create unnecessary trouble.

Looking at Lü Bu's camp, Zhao Ji felt extremely disappointed and sighed, "The limits of a powerful army that has dominated the Central Plains are here. I want to see where the limits of my officers and soldiers are."

"If the Chamberlain had arrived ten years earlier, how could the Three Auxiliary Regions have fallen into such chaos?"

Zhang Zan sighed, his expression filled with grief.

Only he knew the extent to which the people of Sanfu and Hongnong had been ravaged by the coming and going of chaotic armies.

Beside Lü Bu's main camp was the Trapped Camp.

Gao Shun inspected the camp and found that only one-third of the eight hundred-man teams were training, with veterans training the newly recruited hundred or so new soldiers.

Although they were called new recruits, they were selected and supplemented from brave and strong prisoners of war in various battalions.

The other soldiers either slept and rested or forged equipment and repaired damaged machinery and weapons in the camp.

The clanging of blacksmiths echoed throughout the camp, a stark contrast to the atmosphere of other camps.

Even Zhang Liao was no exception at this moment. Although he was said to be on campaign, he had been wandering and fighting for years.

Only at times like these can the wounds of a broken army be healed.

Compared to Cao Cao's army, Lü Bu's forces did not commit acts such as killing their fathers, brothers, and husbands before abducting women. In Lü Bu's main camp, his wives and concubines were highly respected and rested in a smaller area.

But they didn't feel respected by Lü Bu, because Lü Bu wasn't there.

During his years of wandering, Lü Bu preferred the wives and concubines of his generals... though they were mostly temporary partners.

Even so, some people still develop feelings for each other.

If that's the case, Lü Bu would find it even more exciting.

Therefore, he felt that Gao Shun was a very boring person, who didn't even want such temporary wives and concubines.

Women who could circulate and be passed around among the generals were generally from prominent families or were impoverished members of the imperial clan.

Even women from poor families are exceptionally beautiful.

Compared to what happened to Lü Bu, Sun Ce's actions during his conquest of Jiangdong were even more egregious. Human trafficking was one of his main methods for raising military funds and a key means of cultivating relationships with Yuan Shu's civil and military officials.

With the benefits shared, Yuan Shu's civil and military officials were happy to let Sun Ce manage and conquer Jiangdong.

If someone else were to replace Sun Ce, the stable income would be gone.

After a fierce battle, Lü Bu felt relaxed and at peace.

Lying on his back on the couch, he reached out and stroked Du's swollen belly, not in the mood to delve into it; it was a matter that was hard to explain.

He felt a little regretful and said lazily, "I heard that Zhao Yuansi doesn't care about beautiful women, but I never expected that you would be pregnant."

Du remained silent, trying her best to deal with Lü Bu with a cold attitude that would not provoke him.

At this moment, Lady Ren, who was lying on her other side of Lü Bu, got up and snuggled closer: "What does the general think of me?"

"You should just forget about it, I can't bear to part with you."

Lu Bu said this, but only he knew what he was really thinking.

Ren chuckled smugly as she listened, her body trembling, and then she looked at Du.

Lu Bu felt a ringing in his ears. When he saw Ren Shi reach out her hand, Lu Bu said, "Go boil some water and take a bath. We might have to see Zhao Yuansi tonight."

Ren obediently got up, dressed, and walked out of the tent.

Du Shi also got up and dressed. Lü Bu reached out and grabbed her chin, pinching it and staring into her eyes: "Do one thing for me, and I will let you and A Yi return to Taiyuan."

"What's the matter?"

"During the banquet, help me to persuade people to drink."

Lu Bu pressed his other hand on her abdomen: "You're good at this, so help me with this. You two should go back to your hometown. I'm tired these past few years, and A-Yi is still my partner. It'll be easier for me if you go far away."

Lady Du remained silent, while Lü Bu often expressed such regret.

Seeing her expression, Lü Bu said, "This is not my fault. That old scoundrel Dong Zhuo betrothed you to A Yi. What could I do? I couldn't bear to hurt A Yi. A Yi doesn't lack concubines either. What's wrong with this?"

Du glanced sideways at Lü Bu and asked, "Don't you know that the one who started this has no descendants?"

Lu Bu smiled and said, "I don't know how many years I'll live. If A-Yi is willing, do you think I'd care?"

Lady Du remained silent. Lü Bu felt that she had seen through him, so he pushed her aside and ignored her.

Madam Du sat up, her gaze calm, and slowly dressed. Finally, she put on a loose red and yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), slipped on her clogs, and left with her hair down.

As she stepped out of Lü Bu's tent, she saw Lü Bu's daughter looking at her from a small camp not far away.

The two looked at each other, but Lü Bu's daughter turned her head away, pretending not to see them.

Du returned to the small camp, entered a separate tent, and sat alone, looking dazed.

Remembering Lü Bu's instructions, she had no choice but to leave the tent, find half a bucket of water, and use the icy river water to wash her body, comb her hair, and apply makeup.

As the sun began to set, the various camps of Lü Bu's army gradually regained their vitality. Everywhere, there were lazy soldiers, many of whom gathered in groups to sit in dry places, basking in the sun and enjoying a brief moment of tranquility.

The faint cries from each camp had all dissipated, as if they had never existed.

Only the women working together, either cleaning the tents or carrying firewood, began to busy themselves with preparing dinner.

Qin Yilu set off for Yingchuan on official business in the morning, so in the afternoon Lü Bu sent another messenger to deliver a letter to Zhao Ji, inviting him to a banquet to discuss important matters.

At this moment, Zhao Ji was discussing the marching plan with Xu Huang, Zhao Yun and others. Zhang He, Han Meng, Zhu Ling, Xu Chu and Gou Huan were somewhat inferior, so they only brought their ears and refused to express their opinions.

These five men listened as Xu Huang, Zhao Yun, Jia Tong, and Wei Xing discussed the order of breaking camps and marching.

Unlike ordinary marches, this time they were escorting wounded soldiers.

Therefore, the daily movement of troops could not exceed thirty li, and the approach was basically to break camp in batches and advance step by step.

The army cannot march quickly and normally until most of the wounded soldiers have regained their basic mobility.

Zhao Ji was only responsible for making decisions and raising questions; the specific thinking was left to people like Xu Huang.

(End of this chapter)