Tiger Guards

Chapter 352 The Scheme of Pride
Zhao Ji showed no urgency in implementing the quota system of 1,000 or 100 households.

On the contrary, Qu Bei was very enthusiastic about it.

In the following days, Zhao Ji simply traveled between various departments, personally selecting elite volunteers.

Last year, Zhao Ji and others enlisted in the Tiger Warriors or joined the army, which can be understood as the local government detoxifying and exporting unstable factors to other places.

The same principle applies now. Zhao Ji personally selecting elite soldiers is also a way of detoxifying the Xiongnu nobles.

Although those chosen may be their relatives, close associates, or henchmen... these people become challengers when these nobles fall ill or grow old.

In this world, the vast majority of people are just ordinary people who don't have any clear goals or aspirations in life.

These people are conservative about various changes, and as long as their interests are not harmed, they don't really care about the loss of the elite population.

Every commander or chiliarch chosen by Zhao Ji would lead the remaining troops back to their homeland to continue their nomadic life for the year.

They also took with them some household utensils and tools that Zhao Ji had brought.

Except for a very few that were given away as gifts, most were traded for horses and leather.

Trading a bundle of sheepskins for a hand axe was not a loss for the Xiongnu.

Neither the nobles nor the lower-class herders felt they were losing out.

The former Shanyu royal court north of Lishi City has been revitalized during this period and has become the royal court of the right wing of the Xiongnu.

After Helan Lizheng led his troops back to Shangjun, the number of Xiongnu people gathered at the right royal court dwindled.

Zhao Ji also recruited 1,300 elite cavalrymen, which can be considered as the elite cavalry mobilized from Qubei, bringing his cavalry strength to 5,000 once again.

This force of five thousand is of very high quality.

The grasslands around Lishi are vast, and Zhao Ji originally intended to practice cavalry tactics here, waiting for the summer heat to subside before launching an offensive before autumn.

However, news of the assassination of Prince Chen and the death of Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, came one after another.

As evening fell, Wei Xing and Jia Tong, who had divided their troops to garrison and graze their herds, arrived as ordered.

Outside the royal court, in Zhao Ji's camp, the campfire crackled.

Han Shu led Wei Xing and Jia Tong to see Zhao Ji. Zhao Ji sat in front of the fire pit in the tent. After the three of them were seated, he spoke: "I have made a vow of peace with the King of Chen. The King of Chen entrusted his eldest grandson to me. Now his generals are rebelling and welcoming Yuan Shu. I should submit a memorial to the Emperor, advance on the State of Chen, kill the traitors, and establish a new king."

Han Shu remained silent. Only when he was leading troops alone did he feel the need to put his mind to things.

When he was by Zhao Ji's side, he simply carried out whatever Zhao Ji told him to do.

Wei Xing immediately stated, "If we go to the Central Plains now, what will the Xiutu people think? I'm not saying that the oath of the King of Chen should be broken, but now the generals and officers of Chen are rebelling. Even if we defeat Yuan Shu, should we still divide our troops to guard Chen?"

Seeing Zhao Ji looking at him, Wei Xing simply said, "Grand Marshal, the hearts of the people of Chen are scattered, unless the King of Chen can be brought back to life. Even if he is brought back to life, the generals and officers of Chen have already betrayed Chen and are now paying homage to Yuan Shu. These treacherous ministers have no way to turn back. Now no one can save Chen. We can take revenge, but what good will that do?"

"What you said makes some sense, but if we don't keep our vows, who will believe what we say in the future?"

Zhao Ji also suffered some setbacks. In this chaotic world, Prince Chen was a good man.

The only downside is that the State of Chen is right next to the scholars of Ru and Ying, with Chenliu to the north and Liangpei to the east.

These three groups of scholars controlled public opinion and, through their combined suppression, bullied King Chen in the eyes of the people. King Chen's ambitions were thwarted, and he could only submit to the state of Chen.

The betrayal of Chen Guo's generals and officers was definitely related to these three groups of scholars. Another factor was that following King Chen was simply not an option for fighting.

When everyone in the world is starving, the generals and officers of Chen, having eaten and drunk their fill, probably don't care about such things and don't consider being well-fed and watered to be anything precious.

Instead, they envied their peers who had achieved great things and committed countless murders.

They originally had a chance, but Prince Chen declined the position of Grand General, which was tantamount to declaring that he had no intention of vying for the throne.

Wei Xing hesitated, but Zhao Ji patiently explained, "Although the State of Chen is far away in the Central Plains, if we break our promise to the spirit of King Chen, the Xiongnu will surely know this and will naturally no longer trust us."

Wei Xing nodded reluctantly, still insisting on his defense: "What about Chen State? Didn't it just benefit Lü Bu for nothing?"

"Don't overthink it. The situation is simple: Yuan Shu sent someone to assassinate our ally. We must retaliate and fight back!"

Zhao Ji picked up some dry firewood and threw it into the hearth, where flames quickly ignited. "The Xiongnu are watching, and so are the people of Guanzhong and Longshang. If we can't even uphold the oath of Xinping, how can they trust us? What will the officials and soldiers of Hedong and Taiyuan think of us? Is this little bit of wealth and power worth breaking our oath?" Wei Xing let out a long sigh of relief and turned to look at the other side. "I don't object to fighting Yuan Shu, but we have no chance to control Chen. In the end, it's Lü Bu and the court who benefit. Thinking about this makes me uncomfortable."

Without Zhao Ji's rebuttal, Wei Xing continued, "We are already prepared to attack Li Jue. If we give up now, how much manpower and resources will we waste? Once Li Jue realizes what's happening, he will kill people in Guanzhong, and those killed will definitely be those who support the Grand Marshal."

Zhao Ji ignored him and went to look at Jia Tong: "What does Brother Wenzhen think?"

“Li Jue is easy to defeat, and I would feel uneasy if we gave up on him. But if we do nothing in the Central Plains, the court will be put on the defensive. If Yuan Shu and Cao Cao kidnap the emperor, they will confuse right and wrong and reverse the truth, which will be even more detrimental to our army.”

Jia Tong reached out to tend the fire, then looked up at Zhao Ji's face: "Revenge cannot be delayed. If the Grand Marshal makes a decision, we will follow it. Anyway, where can Li Jue escape to? Letting him live another year or two is not a big deal."

Seeing this, Wei Xing also reorganized his words: "I am not against revenge, but I am unhappy that the court and Lü Bu have gained an advantage for nothing. Even if it is to feed the dogs, they should not benefit. I have no personal grudge against Li Jue, and I do not care about his life or death. I would be happy to let him live for another year."

Zhao Ji remained silent and went to look at Han Shu.

Han Shu looked at Wei Xing and Jia Tong and said, "Yuan Shu has suddenly become too powerful, so we should attack him."

"that's right."

Zhao Ji then spoke, his attitude completely different from before: "But abandoning Li Jue like this will not only upset Zi'ang, but also me. So let's split our forces into two groups. Our five thousand cavalry will march south to Fenyin, where we will cross the river by boat and attempt to attack Li Jue. The rest of the army will take the Zhiguan Pass and head towards Henan."

Wei Xing looked much relieved, but then worriedly said, "If this happens, and the campaign against Li Jue goes poorly, our morale will be low. With low morale and internal unrest, it will be even more dangerous to go to the Central Plains to fight Yuan Shu again."

Zhao Ji looked at him: "Therefore, we must win this battle."

Wei Xing remained silent, only nodding. He truly didn't care who he would fight next.

They simply didn't want Lü Bu and the imperial court to gain an advantage.

King Chen is an ally of our side, so isn't he also an ally of Lü Bu?

Doesn't Lü Bu have an obligation to avenge his allies?

Jia Tong had also made up his mind and advised, "Grand Marshal, Lü Bu, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu in the Central Plains are all like wolves and tigers. It is not advisable to act rashly. We should observe Lü Bu and Cao Cao's actions before making a decision. We do not seek to strike later. The later you move your troops, the less likely you will be in a dilemma."

“How come you see?”

"With the Grand Marshal seeking revenge for the King of Chen, why would Lü Bu or the imperial court send troops to aid him?"

After some deliberation, Jia Tong said, "We might as well use a feint attack. We can attack Guanzhong first, while simultaneously making a show of force by stationing fake troops in Hanoi, pretending to observe the changes in the Central Plains. If the court and Lü Bu do not take any action, they will lose the hope of the people. Our army can then focus all its efforts on attacking the bandits in Guanzhong, combining the strength of all the armies in Guanzhong, selecting the elite troops, and then taking the Hongnong Hangu Pass to march out of Hulao Pass, which is safer than Hanoi."

Han Shu also realized what was happening and said, "Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are extremely wary of the Grand Marshal. If the Grand Marshal divides his troops in Hanoi, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will surely send their elite troops to harass Hanoi, hoping to defeat this army and cut off one of the Grand Marshal's arms. Therefore, we should listen to Wen Zhen. We should attack Guanzhong first, and then lead the fierce troops of Xizhou, take the old Hangu Pass, and rush straight to Guandong."

Jia Tong glanced at Han Shu, and from the perspective of his personal background and knowledge, Jia Tong looked down on Han Shu.

Jia Tong continued, "Transporting grain from Zhiguan Pass is a long and arduous journey. If we can pacify the Three Auxiliary Regions this time, the grain from Hongnong will be stored at Shanjin. Our army will march out of Hulao Pass, and grain will be transported from Shanjin to Aocang from the rear. 300,000 shi of grain will be enough for our army's expenses for three months. Including spoils and food from the enemy, if we launch our attack in the second half of July, we can fight until around the winter month. During this time, if we guard the granaries well, our army will naturally have nothing to worry about."

Wei Xing glanced at Jia Tong and added to Zhao Ji, "Since the ships from Hedong and Taiyuan can pass through Shanjin, why not transport grain directly through Yingou, via the Ying River or Ru River, to Huainan? If we guard the fleet well, the army's food supply will be safe. We don't need these ships anymore; we can build new ones later."

After pursing his lips, Wei Xing suggested, "The State of Chen can no longer be restored. We should abduct more men and women and take them back to Hedong. As for the oath of the King of Chen, we can submit a petition to the court to establish a new state and use the remaining people of Chen to fill the void."

Wei Xing now understands that Zhao Ji was simply testing their intentions.

It wasn't exactly a test, but rather an attempt to understand their true thoughts.

As for the specifics of how to fight, Zhao Ji certainly had his own ideas, so why would he consult them on strategic issues in detail?

Previously, they had discussed military training techniques and tactics, or they had talked about women.

Discussions about the order of strategic attack targets are actually quite rare.

Seeing that these people had said what they should and shouldn't have said, Zhao Ji finally spoke up: "Brother Wenzhen and Zi'ang have some merit. Let's not move for now and see if Lü Bu can fulfill his obligations as an ally. We shouldn't have stationed our troops in Hanoi, giving Yuan Shao and Cao Cao no chance to attack our flanking force. Let's attack Guanzhong, then take the Hongnong and Wuguan roads, and march out of Hulao Pass to avenge King Chen."

First, we'll conquer Guanzhong, then we'll go after Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu expanded rapidly, seemingly possessing the mandate of heaven.

Zhao Ji was also looking forward to seeing how Yuan Shu would tear down the last remaining dignity and facade of the Han Dynasty.

Compared to this, the others are not so important.

(End of this chapter)