Tiger Guards

Chapter 339 Explosive at the First Touch

Xudu, Xun You's residence.

The city of Xudu is currently very crowded, with just four military camps occupying one-third of the area.

The emperor and high-ranking officials each had their own residences, while military officers lived in military camps, and accompanying officials and subordinates lived in collective lodgings.

Xun You had a house of moderate size, with a long and narrow layout.

Like other large mansions in the city, this mansion also has two arrow towers.

As usual, Xun You went to the emperor to report for duty, and then returned to his residence to stay at home.

Under the spring sunshine, Xun You limped through the vegetable garden, hoe in hand, weeding and shoveling soil around the plants.

The weeds that had been hoed were gathered together, and Xun You then sorted through them, picking out the edible weeds with lush and tender leaves.

Carrying a basket of weeds, he went to the goose shed, threw the weeds inside, and watched as a male and a female white goose pecked at the grass.

Just as he was relaxing, a former official came briskly over: "My lord, the Grand Secretary has sent a servant with a message."

"What's the matter?"

Xun You turned around, and the old official replied, "I don't know, he said he was to deliver the letter in person."

“Get rid of him. I have no prior relationship with the Grand Secretary.”

Xun You spoke indifferently, then raised his eyebrows to look at his subordinate's face. Their eyes met: "Be a little rude. If there are people on the street, it's best to let them hear you."

"Here."

The former official bowed deeply, took a few steps back, turned around, and quickly left.

On another street, at the residence of Grand Tutor Zhao Wen, Zhao Wen was looking through the invitation from Grand Secretary Fu Wan, frowning as he asked several subordinates, "Is there any reason for this birthday banquet to be held earlier than planned?"

An official replied, "My lord, perhaps the Grand Secretary knew that the General was about to lead the royal army to conquer Liu Zhennan, and that the journey would be inconvenient and arduous, so he held the birthday banquet two months in advance."

"It's inappropriate, and not very auspicious either."

Zhao Wen waved the invitation and handed it to his subordinate: "Please decline on my behalf. Tell him that the weather is unpredictable in spring, and I have caught a cold and am feeling unwell, so it is really inconvenient for me to travel."

The officials looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhao Wen had just returned from the emperor's presence.

Currently, it is mainly the high-ranking officials, various doctors and scholars who are responsible for explaining the classics to the emperor. For the time being, it is Ying Shao's turn to give the lecture.

In any case, the high-ranking officials didn't have any specific official business to handle. Even when they gathered together to discuss something, it was only when the emperor had doubts that they would be asked to discuss and resolve those doubts.

If there was nothing else to do, Zhao Wen would routinely pay his respects to the emperor every day and then return to the Grand Tutor's residence to live a leisurely life.

In the past four or five months, Zhao Wen has not only become fairer, but also recovered from the suffering and weight loss he had endured during the eastward migration, and his face has become fuller and more rounded.

The same invitations also appeared at the offices of Grand Commandant Yang Biao and Minister of Works Zhou Zhong. Yang Biao declined, but also wrote a letter and sent his subordinates to Fu Wan to read it aloud in public, in order to refute Fu Wan's pessimistic spirit of holding a birthday banquet in advance.

As for Sikong Zhouzhong, he was indeed ill, and it was precisely because of his illness that he agreed to attend the banquet.

Chen Gong, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, Dong Cheng, the General of the Guards, and even Lü Bu all received Fu Wan's invitations but declined them all, though they all sent him a birthday gift.

Lü Bu had no shortage of luxury items to be buried with him, and Chen Gong and Dong Cheng also had armies.

Once grave robbing becomes popular, the armies under Chen Gong and Dong Cheng will also get involved.

As the leader of the army, you cannot gain benefits for the army on the battlefield or in the court; now that the army can be self-reliant... So, if the army gives you a share of the profits, you wouldn't refuse, would you?
Therefore, Chen Gong and Dong Cheng, whether passively or actively, also reaped substantial rewards from the grave-digging movement.

Yang Jun observed the changes in the city and concluded that Fu Wan's early birthday gift was most likely a way to attract attention and cover up something else.

As dusk fell, the Eagle Flying Army camp was located within the city.

Military Commander Deng Zhan secretly donned iron armor over his leather armor and waited quietly in the barracks with a dozen trusted officers and soldiers.

As the evening drums resounded, Zhao Shu, the commanding officer of the Eagle Flying Army, received the night curfew order from the General's headquarters. Upon returning, he immediately closed the camp gates and led a dozen guards to patrol the small camp area and take inventory of the officers and soldiers in the camp.

There was basically no need for roll call. At the sound of the evening drum, each small camp area would be closed off, and personnel would gather and line up for inspection.

As for the night patrol officers, they would be randomly selected during the third evening drumbeat.

Lü Bu selected young and strong men to form the Eagle Army, whose members came from diverse backgrounds and were dispersed throughout the army.

Unlike the Five Battalions of the Grand General, which were composed of elite veterans and were Lu Bu's true fighting force.

Within the five battalions, the old system was still maintained, with the commanding officers and soldiers mostly being from the same hometown, creating a strong sense of cohesion.

Lü Bu also understood that different formations could train different armies.

He also had high hopes for the Eagle Army, but many things have two sides.

The personnel situation of the Eagle Soaring New Army resulted in a lack of obvious local cliques within the army, which made the Eagle Soaring Army more 'obeying orders' and more focused on procedures than on the leading captains and commanders.

This was also the construction strategy of the Imperial Guards of the Capital. Those who served as Imperial Guardsmen were all veterans with experience in the Capital Guards. These people turned around and became garrison commanders and squad leaders of the Eagle Flying New Army.

Some of the veterans with extensive experience had participated in the campaign to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion and generally had service experience in the Western Garden Army and the Five Schools Battalion of the Northern Army.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Eagle Banner Army can be said to have continued the glorious tradition of the Han Dynasty's imperial guards.

When Zhao Shu inspected the camp and arrived at the central army camp area, the drummers were beating drums there.

Deng Zhan walked out of the barracks to observe the drummer beating the drum.

Zhao Shu stepped forward, and Deng Zhan quickly came to greet him, cupping his hands in greeting: "Captain, what is the password for tonight's patrol?"

"The first half of the night is filled with black crows and white deer, the second half with paulownia leaves and pine needles."

Zhao Shu replied in a low voice that he and Deng Zhan would also be on duty for the first or second half of the night, respectively.

Deng Zhan nodded and cupped his hands in greeting: "The meal has been prepared in the barracks. Captain, please eat first, and I will then go and inspect the various places." "Very well, be careful."

Zhao Shu took off his helmet, held it in his hand, and instructed, "General Wei has not returned from Jinyang, and the General is in a bad mood. If he comes to inspect the camp in the middle of the night and something goes wrong, neither of us will have a good end."

"Yes, Captain, don't worry."

Deng Zhan stretched out his arms and took the initiative to open the door for Zhao Shu. He also took the heavy helmet from Zhao Shu's hands. The light inside the room was not good.

But the aroma of the food had already filled the air. Zhao Shu, unsuspecting, rolled up his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his forehead and stepped inside.

There was only an oil lamp in the room. As soon as Zhao Shu sat down, a strong man hidden behind the door raised an iron hammer and brought it down without making a sound or shouting.

Zhao Shu's head jolted when he was struck on the back, and before he could react, he fell straight forward.

Deng Zhan reached out to help Zhao Shu up, and kindly straightened him up. Two guards then stepped forward, lifted Zhao Shu up, and dragged him inside to remove his armor.

Deng Zhan glanced at the guard holding the hammer, who smiled憨厚ly, revealing a mouthful of black and yellow teeth.

Deng Zhan nodded, took a deep breath, and walked backwards out the door as if nothing had happened, making sure to close the door behind him.

Xudu was a small city, and there was originally only one capital pavilion in the city.

After the emperor moved in, four more pavilions were added, dividing the city into five pavilion areas.

As the evening drum sounded, the head of the Eastern Capital Pavilion led a dozen or so pavilion soldiers to carry deer antlers and, as usual, close off the street.

As night fell, the village head led five soldiers, each carrying a torch, on patrol to inspect the streets and alleys within the area.

The east gate of Xudu has been closed, and more than fifty gatekeepers are on duty in two shifts.

However, due to the negligence of the head of the Eastern Capital Pavilion, a group of thieves sneaked towards the city gate.

With the combined efforts of those inside and outside, the east gate slowly opened a crack.

Outside the city is a tributary of the Ying River, which was originally the site of Lü Bu's main military camp.

There are still several military camps that are stationed in different areas. One of these camps is for the soldiers of Yingchuan County, and it only has a size of about a thousand men.

Under the cover of night, a thousand men, clad in armor, filed out of the camp without lighting any torches, and marched into the city on foot in a continuous line.

In the General's headquarters, Lü Bu, dressed in close-fitting leather armor, held a cup of wine and took occasional sips, always stopping after just a small taste.

The guards and servants of the shogunate were all dressed in armor and ready to go.

Outwardly weak but inwardly strong, they quietly await the unfolding events.

In the front camp of the city, the commander Gao Shun stood alone in the camp's observation tower, observing all directions.

The only sounds that reached his ears were the occasional neighing of horses, barking of dogs, and the sound of the flags fluttering in the cool spring breeze from within the camp.

Gao Shun raised his hand to cover his mouth and rubbed his beard with his thumb.

Among all the generals in Lü Bu's army, Gao Shun had the shortest beard and the most meticulously trimmed.

In Gao Shun's view, an overly thick beard was of no practical use and was actually detrimental to combat.

The one with the longest and thickest beard was Zhang Liao.

Tonight, Lü Bu's former subordinates all received hints when they received the night curfew order. As for other captains and lieutenants, they were not trusted by Lü Bu.

At this moment, Zhang Liao was also standing on the watchtower of the military camp outside the west city, observing Tian Yu's camp.

The horses in Tian Yu's camp were very important to Lü Bu's side.

If they dare to make any trouble, Zhang Liao's mission is to intercept and kill Tian Yu and seize his horses.

As for knights... Lu Bu has no shortage of knights under his command!
Lu Bu was not used to employing knights from Youzhou.

Meanwhile, at the residence of Fu Wan, the Grand Chancellor and Marquis of Buqi, a lively banquet was underway.

Kong Rong and Mi Heng sat side by side at the same table. Mi Heng poured himself a drink and asked with a low laugh, "Eight months after his son's death, his father is still feasting as usual. Is it acceptable for father and son to be reversed?"

"When a person is about to die, how can they not?"

Kong Rong answered in a low voice, raised his cup to Mi Heng, and the two looked at each other, chuckled softly, and drank their wine.

After drinking the wine, Kong Rong poured wine for Mi Heng. Mi Heng rolled up his right sleeve, grabbed the wine pot with his right hand, and stretched it out to pour wine for Kong Rong.

Tonight, this is just a normal birthday banquet.

Han Ji and Xun Yu were not present, but Huan Jie was, completely drunk, leaning against a pillar, his face flushed as he recounted how Liu Biao wanted to marry his wife's younger sister, Lady Cai, to him.

Fu Wan was already drunk, and his sons tried to help him, but they couldn't move him.

After struggling to break free, Fu Wan lay on the ground and wailed loudly.

Does he not miss his eldest son, Fu De, who died unexpectedly and was granted the title of Marquis?

With Fu De's qualifications and achievements, he has already taken a step towards entering the ranks of the Nine Ministers.

However, it was because of the foolishness of Zhao Rui and Zhao Fan that Fu De was killed.

Compared to Fude, these sons of men nowadays are practically like pigs and dogs.

When the alcohol took effect, Fu Wan started crying and cursing, while his sons lowered their heads and remained silent, enduring it all.

Amidst Fu Wan's cries and curses, the discussions at the banquet gradually subsided.

But it's not surprising; this is the true nature of a romantic and refined scholar.

(End of this chapter)