Tiger Guards

Chapter 364 Go all out
When Li Jue and Guo Si were executed in Taiyuan.

The first batch of slaves, rescued women, wealth, lost registers and artifacts from Huangbai City have arrived in Hancheng. They will cross the river at Longmenjin to Fenyin, and then travel north upstream along the Fen River by boat.

They could either be settled within the five counties of the Pingyang Marquisate, or they could be settled in Taiyuan.

Meanwhile, the second batch of people and supplies migrating from Youfufeng also gathered at the two ferry crossings of Pubanjin and Longmenjin.

Meanwhile, the generals and their subordinates in Guanzhong who were being reorganized were also migrating. Zhao Ji temporarily rested in Pingling and carried out the reorganization in detail.

The Su family and their affiliated scholar families also packed up and pushed their carts to carry as much grain as possible to Longmenjin.

They will cross the Longmenjin River and move north to Xihe County.

The entire Sanfu region, Hedong, Hexi, Taiyuan, and Hongnong are undergoing restructuring.

Zhao Ji himself had a concept of overall coordination and knew what kind of world he wanted to build.

It can be said that it is a copycat imitation, with a general outline of struggle and reference.

After the five battalions and five thousand chariot and cavalry infantry were transferred from Hedong and Taiyuan, they rushed to produce new uniforms and flags following a series of orders.

The armies in Guanzhong had no shortage of equipment, nor did they lack the technical expertise to repair and modify it.

What the armies in Guanzhong lacked was a new consensus on life and food. Zhao Ji brought a new order and arranged at least two sets of summer uniforms for each officer and soldier.

The latest batch of military uniforms, shoes and socks has set sail from Taiyuan and will be transported to Fenglingdu near Tongguan.

Then they withdrew and, together with other fleets, transferred the relocated slaves, people and supplies from Longmenjin and Pubanjin. Most of the supplies were loaded onto ships and transported upstream along the Fen River to Taiyuan.

In addition to these, some nomadic tribes of the Pingyang Marquisate also began to graze downstream along the Fen River. They would be temporarily settled in the Jing, Luo, and Wei River basins to form cavalry units to assist in the suppression of bandits.

It is true that Guanzhong was reduced to ruins, and many people fled to other places with their elderly and children, but a great deal of wealth was scattered.

This place is so poor that it only has useless money left.

Zhao Ji also intentionally took care of these small tribes of his righteous families. During the time they migrated to the Three Auxiliary Regions for nomadic life, they were able to collect a large amount of money simply by selling livestock.

Now that the unrest in the Three Auxiliary Regions has just subsided, the Xiongnu people have not yet realized the enormous business opportunities here.

Zhao Ji planned to make this money first. As long as the relocated tribes sold their livestock for enough profit, these tribes could buy and exchange livestock from the various Xiongnu tribes and then sell them in Guanzhong.

By the time Qu Bei, Liu Bao, Helan Lizheng, and others realized this and wanted to join in, these small tribes that had migrated to Guanzhong had already completed their initial accumulation.

Zhao Ji was eager to see how these small Xiongnu tribes, deeply influenced by Han culture, would develop after they had accumulated wealth through making money.

Is it about supporting one's children's education, continuing the path of nomadism and emphasizing commerce, or remaining true to one's nature and infatuated with nomadic life?

At the East Gate of Jinyang, the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si were hung under the wooden stakes in front of the gate and protected with iron cages to prevent birds and crows from pecking at them.

After being salted and nitrated, the two skulls dried, shrank, and their skin became tight and whitish.

Li Jue's daughter, Li Zhu, arrived by car and gazed silently at the indistinct head through the crowd.

Lü Qi arrived in the same car as her, and at this moment her expression was calm.

They had known each other for a long time. Before the coup in Chang'an, the leader among them was Dong Bai, who was beheaded outside Meiwu City after the coup.

What Lü Qi saw was no longer the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si, but rather the head of his own father, Lü Bu.

The civil and military officials who attended Dong Zhuo's banquets and talked loudly have died one after another over the years.

Li Jue was not the worst off; the worst off was Guo Si, whose male relatives, except for boys under the age of five, were all executed.

These boys were then distributed among Zhao Ji's own slave families for upbringing.

Dong Zhuo's infant son and his ninety-year-old mother were both killed.

Compared to the imperial court and Wang Yun of that time, Zhao Ji simply couldn't bring himself to execute a child.

The palace women, scholars, and female relatives who had been abducted by Li Jue, Guo Si, and other generals in Guanzhong were also rescued.

After screening, some people would be sent to the Empress's Palace in Pingyang; the vast majority would be sent to Jinyang, where they would be mixed with the women of powerful families and influential clans in Taiyuan and subjected to centralized labor.

After a soldier has rendered meritorious service, he or she will be gradually assigned to a family.

During this process, the hatred among the powerful clans and women of Taiyuan ran too deep, and in principle, the spoils were only distributed to the meritorious Xiongnu followers.

In practice, these women were even more sought after by military officers because of their cultural and beauty advantages.

Therefore, the allocation was difficult to implement properly, and there were even instances of unauthorized "adjustments" after the allocation. Zhao Ji simply stopped the arrangement for this part of the female relatives.

Seeing that Li Zhu's emotions were relatively stable, Lü Qi signaled the guards to whip the horses, and the carriage carried them towards Cai Zhaoji's school. Lü Qi was not unfamiliar with Cai Zhaoji, but she did not feel any respect or liking for her.

He didn't want to provoke Cai Zhaoji, so he just listened to the lectures as usual and completed his homework on time.

Unlike Zhen Mi and her ilk, who came from scholarly families and practically wanted to live with Cai Zhaoji.

Even Zhao Ji was, in her eyes, barely acceptable, not too bad, just passable, not something she was doing wrong.

As for Zhen Mi, she grew to dislike her more and more the more she looked at her.

I dislike Zhen Mi's polite, warm, and charitable manner, as well as her reserved and calm demeanor in front of Zhao Ji.

The girls attending the classes together were thus divided into two groups, with no neutrality; those who remained neutral were bullied by both sides.

Lü Qi and Zhen Mi had their own semi-closed social circles that were closely connected with changes in the external situation; other officials also experienced a huge personnel reshuffle due to the successful war in Guanzhong.

Pei Xiu's wedding is drawing ever closer, but he wants to refuse to get married anytime soon.

He also began packing his belongings, selecting capable people from the officials of the Marquis of Jinyang, and preparing to take them to Guanzhong to meet with Zhao Ji.

The army gathered from Guanzhong was reorganized by Zhao Ji into the Protectorate Army, and Jia Tong remained in Youfufeng. Zhao Ji lacked reliable military commanders and military advisors by his side.

We could only transfer people from Taiyuan and Hedong, and Pei Xiu was the first person we thought of.

With Zhao Yan stationed in Jinyang and Jia Xu in Taiyuan, they were already able to manage various affairs very well.

Therefore, Pei Xiu was recruited as the commander of the National Protection Army and the Right Sima of the General Staff; Pei Xiu was asked to get married as soon as possible and then set sail with this fleet.

But Pei Xiu couldn't get over it, so when he was recognizing his past merits, he also assigned a woman to him as a concubine.

He had no shortage of female companions in his life, but with Zhao Ji and others fighting fiercely in Guanzhong and about to go to Guandong to fight, he felt somewhat guilty about staying behind to get married.

He had no choice but to postpone the wedding and come to say goodbye to Zhao Yan ahead of time.

Zhao Yan also knew that, in terms of relationship, Pei Xiu was closer to Zhao Ji and could help Zhao Ji more than Zhao Ji's two older brothers.

At this moment, Zhao Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Aji has his reasons for making this arrangement. The war against Yuan in Guandong is not something that can be resolved overnight. In my opinion, after the army sets off from Guanzhong, it will enter Luodu to avoid the summer heat and repeat the same thing that happened in Jinyang last year."

Pei Xiu knelt respectfully to the side, his brows slightly furrowed: "Does Your Excellency mean the war will begin in two months?"

The old story of Jinyang refers to the large-scale military training exercise that Zhao Ji conducted in Jinyang last year.

The troops currently recruited and reorganized in Guanzhong have many chronic problems. During their stay in Luoyang, they avoid the summer heat and undergo rigorous drill training.

These veterans are not lacking in combat skills, but what they lack most is awareness of military discipline.

It's possible that during the Luoyang training camp, the number of people executed under military law might exceed the number of combat casualties.

The Guanzhong army carried a heavy burden of original sin, which could only be cleansed after undergoing rigorous training and the war against Yuan Shikai.

The Yuan family's influence was too great, and leading other armies to attack Yuan Shu would have created all sorts of unsavory and dangerous situations.

The Guanzhong army disrespected the emperor and the court, and cared little for the so-called influence of the Yuan family.

After leaving Hulao Pass, this National Protection Army fundamentally rejected the values ​​and beliefs of the Northeast.

Killing heroes from powerful families is as easy as harvesting wheat for these people; they won't hesitate for a second.

"Yes, according to reports from Nanyang and Ruying, although rainfall has been more frequent since April than in last year and the year before, the summer heat has not lessened much."

Zhao Yan turned to look at Pei Xiu: "This expedition against Yuan is fraught with unpredictable dangers. Wenli, don't act rashly. Just listen to Aji's arrangements and get married as soon as possible. That way, while you're away on the campaign, you'll have a new wife to manage things at home and take care of your elderly mother."

His wife was good at managing the household and dealing with outsiders; Pei Xiu's concubines basically had no right or face to engage in foreign affairs.

Even when it comes to taking care of his elderly mother, the principal wife is one thing, but the concubines are no different from maids and there is no comparison between them.

Pei Xiu frowned, looking troubled, and said, "My lord, Aji has been fighting on the frontier and remains unmarried. Although I am older, if I were to marry now, what would my old comrades think of me?"

"How can Wenli rise to a high position if she doesn't get married?"

Zhao Yan spoke gently and said with a smile, "Jia Wenzhen is of average talent, yet she was appointed Right Fufeng first. Isn't it because she married early and has many children? Aji's marriage is arranged by the Emperor, and she still has to wait four years. Does that mean Wenli won't get married during these four years? As for war, when is there no war?"

Pei Xiu sighed softly and bowed to Zhao Yan, saying, "Yes, I understand."

"Yes, if you are in a hurry, the wedding can be brought forward. Zhao Taiqing, Jia Wenhe, and Han Yuanchang will act as matchmakers, and I will officiate the wedding. This is what we old folks have been hoping for, so please do not say anything about postponing it."

Zhao Yan urged that, regarding Pei Xiu's marriage, Pei Mao, as an elder, didn't even have a chance to interfere.

(End of this chapter)