Tiger Guards

Chapter 4: Villagers Gather
In the morning, with the sound of roosters crowing.

Zhao Ji opened his eyes, only to feel some pain in his chest.

I supported myself with my hands and stood up, and felt pain in my fists. I raised my head and saw that my right fist was bruised and the skin was broken, and my left hand was similar.

When fighting with the second oldest, the oldest will definitely take sides.

Even if you know it clearly, you have to fight. You won't feel satisfied unless you fight.

Otherwise, you really think you are easy to control.

Rubbing his eyes and face, Zhao Ji briefly recalled and summarized what happened last night, then looked at his right hand.

The bright red totem on the palm of the right hand became clearer and clearer: Cut through the thorns, level 16, increased damage by %.

If I don't kill the person, but beat him until he loses the ability to resist, I will also get experience points?
Zhao Ji thought about it and felt that if he had the chance, he would definitely set up a fighting arena in a big city; or travel around the world and fight against all the best players.

When I got to the kang, I didn't find straw sandals, but I saw a pair of deerskin boots.

There is no difference between left and right deerskin boots. He took out the foot binding cloth, wrapped his feet with it before putting on the deerskin boots. He felt that they were still a little big, so he would wrap his feet thicker next time.

After hanging up the sword, he went out and faced the vegetable garden in the courtyard, but felt it was inappropriate, so he walked three or four more steps to the low wall, lifted his clothes, took out the tools and started watering.

I saw two dogs chasing a hen. The hen flapped its wings and flew around, while the big rooster, with its bright feathers fluttering, jumped and pecked and kicked the dogs, but the dogs easily dodged it.

He walked out of the yard and didn't see his younger brothers and sisters or his group of nephews and nieces, so he went straight to the kitchen and turned the bamboo basket upside down on the chopping board.

When I lifted the bamboo basket, I saw a bowl of vegetable porridge and two soft black and yellow Hu cakes underneath.

He picked up the Hu pancake with chopsticks and put it in the bowl, then picked up the bowl and ate it all in one go.

As he walked out of the kitchen, he saw his father, Zhao Lian, coming out of his second brother's family's courtyard. Zhao Ji stepped forward and said, "Father."

As expected, his expression was not good: "Your eldest brother and his wife just slaughtered two ducks. Take them when you go to the village. Go pack your bags and come to my yard."

"Yes."

Zhao Ji didn't say much. He watched his father turn around and leave with a flick of his sleeves, and couldn't help but smile.

He turned back to the courtyard, quickly packed his luggage, and carried it to the middle courtyard.

The walls of this courtyard are even higher. As you enter the gate, you can see a corridor on the wall, where you can stand, walk, and shoot to resist robbers.

Inside the house, Zhao Lian had already packed his bags. As soon as Zhao Ji came in, he followed the smell of blood and saw two molting ducks on the table. They were not very fat.

Zhao Lian stood aside, gesturing at the table. "We don't have much savings at home, so we can only give you three thousand coins. Your mother also made you a set of summer clothes and two pairs of linen shoes. The village has already arranged for Hu Ban, a young military officer in the county. I know his father, and he'll take care of you."

Zhao Ji went forward to collect these things and asked, "Who are we following?"

"General Zhenbei's nephew, Wang Zhi, is a cousin, not a close relative."

Zhao Lian stood still. When Zhao Ji finally hung his hemp shoes on his right waist and stood up, he said, "I discussed this with your mother last night. We'll spend money to find a concubine for your eldest brother from the Pei family. Let Alan wait for you for another three years, and we'll get married when you come back."

Hearing this, Zhao Ji took off his recently modified backpack and took out two-thirds of the copper coins and placed them on the table: "Leave these for her."

"She won't be short of food and drink at home, but you spend a lot of money outside."

"It's no use."

Zhao Ji re-tied his backpack and turned to look at Zhao Lian. "You can't do anything big with this little money. Even if I could do big things with it, it wouldn't be as good as what others have. If you find someone suitable in the future, marry them. The child may not come back."

"If you can't come back, I'll adopt one from your eldest brother and bring him to Alan."

Zhao Lian changed the subject after saying this: "You are grown up now. Don't fight with your second brother anymore. He is also a father. How can your nephew look upon you as his uncle?"

"It was because Big Brother took sides that I beat him so hard. You can't just blame me."

Zhao Ji put on his backpack and asked, "My dog is kept at home?"

"Well, it's troublesome to take it out. It will make people worry about it."

Zhao Lian thought for a moment and said, "Your grandfather was once the lieutenant of Guangning County. When the Xianbei invaded the border, he was too short of soldiers to defend the area. He took poison and died before being imprisoned."

Shuo Qing looked depressed. With such a background, he could not provide any decent help in such a chaotic world.

Zhao Ji just nodded, bowed to Zhao Lian, took a few steps back, turned around and left.

He was carrying a heavy, cylindrical backpack, a deerskin coat that was too long to cover his knees, a leather belt around his waist, a sword hanging on his left, and two pairs of hemp shoes on his right.

He wore a pair of deerskin boots on his feet and a dagger was strapped to his right calf.

He walked out the door, and when he passed his own courtyard, he reached out and grabbed the iron halberd standing in front of the door. Seeing two dogs chasing after him with silly smiles on their faces, he pointed at the courtyard and said, "Wait!"

The dog stopped, its tail raised and wagging from side to side. After looking at Zhao Ji, it turned around and crouched in the yard.

Zhao Ji glanced at the vegetable garden over the low wall, adjusted his backpack slightly, and walked to the gate with his iron halberd. Outside the gate was tied an old horse that was not very strong. There were bundles of felt blankets on the harness, and the bow and crossbow were also on the harness.

After untying the reins and climbing onto the horse, he followed the only path leading to the outside world and set out on the road to the troubled world.

The path was almost parallel to the river. After walking two or three miles to the southeast, he saw dozens of people weeding in the fields across the river.

"Aji~!"

He just turned his head to look at the girl's cry, raised his right arm and waved it, then kicked the horse's belly.

Around noon, he slowly arrived at the town.

The walls of the towns and villages have collapsed, the gates are dilapidated, and there are no guards.

He led his horse to a halt in front of the notice board at the door. On it were old messages about encouraging farming, conscription, tax collection, etc., as well as a public notice about the county's selection of filial and honest officials last autumn. Most of the words were blurred.

What should be known has already been known, and ordinary people don't care about these things. Notices are only written for the purpose of assessment, so don't expect them to be well written.

After taking a rough look at it, he went straight to the market in the town.

This place is quite remote, with only one show every five days, which is not as lively as those places where only one show every three days.

Today is not a market day, so the market is empty.

Unlike the head of a pavilion, the village elders and the itinerant tax collectors did not have fixed offices. However, there were resident clerks at the market, which was also the place where the village officials would rest and meet on a daily basis.

As soon as he arrived at the market, he saw a dozen young men and young boys fighting in the market.

Seeing him coming, several young men who knew him shouted, "Zhao Aji is here!"

"I told him he would come! And now he's here!"

Zhao Ji also quickly stepped inside and bowed to a few young men he knew: "Seventh Brother Pei, Second Brother Liu, Brother Guan!"

Pei Xiu looked up and down at Zhao Ji, who was the same height as her, and smiled brightly: "It's good that Aji is here. You stay here, because I'm afraid you will cause trouble to my sister."

Zhao Ji just smiled. The local people valued bravery and strength. Although his loving father beat him many times, he was also known to all the women of marriageable age in the nearby villages.

It seems that the more beatings one can take and the more trouble one can cause, the more capable one is.

Seeing Zhao Ji's reserved mood, Pei Xiu couldn't help but look at him with more favor. He patted Guan Shang beside him and said, "Take Aji to see Hu Bingcao."

Guan Shang was the youngest, but he was also tall and strong, about seven feet two or three inches, and was shorter than Pei Xiu and Zhao Ji by an inch.

Guan Shang enthusiastically agreed, and Pei Xiu explained, "Hu Bingcao and Ah Shang are related by marriage."

Zhao Ji also turned his head to look at Guan Shang, and Guan Shang's cheeks flushed slightly: "Bingcao is my cousin's husband."

Knowing his family situation, Zhao Ji said, "What's the difference between this and being my brother-in-law? If I get into trouble in the future, Ah Shang must speak well of me."

"That's for sure, I won't refuse."

Guan Shang agreed and went to see Pei Xiu: "Seventh brother, I will take Aji to see the military officer now."

"Come on, let's stretch our muscles and see how much Aji's punches and kicks have improved."

Pei Xiu urged him to take off his outer robe. The outer robe was precious and he would feel sad for a long time if it was torn during the fight.

On the other side of him, Liu Yi also took off his outer robe and took out a white cloth to wrap his head. Absorbing sweat was secondary; the key was to avoid having his hair grabbed.

After Guan Shang led Zhao Ji away, other young applicants also came over and asked about Zhao Ji's background.

Pei Xiu also spoke in a serious manner. Everyone was related, but they were limited by the scope of their activities. They had heard about who was in whose family, but had few opportunities to meet.

Fellow villagers volunteered to join the army together. The more capable the companions were, the better it was for everyone.

Inside the house, Hu Ban, the assistant military official, was indeed a young man with no beard, well-mannered and dressed in a black official uniform.

Seeing Guan Shang leading people in directly, Hu Ban was also in a good mood and did not get angry. He just put down the brush in his hand, looked at the tall Zhao Ji, and couldn't help but smile: "But is it Aji of the Zhao family?"

"Meet Sergeant Hu. Do you know me?"

"Yes, I have seen it once."

As Hu Ban spoke, he suddenly thought of something and smiled even brighter. He pointed to the cushion on the straw mat in front of him and said, "Sit down first. Ah Shang will go get some well water to quench Ah Ji's thirst."

"Hey, I'll go right away."

Guan Shang responded, picked up the wooden barrel and walked out.

Hu Ban took out a bamboo slip and took up his pen. "Let's discuss official business first. How old is Aji? How tall is he? Can you name him? Is there any weapon he's good at? Riding skills count."

"Yes, I am seventeen this year, and will be eighteen in autumn."

Zhao Ji also exaggerated his age, saying, "He is about eight feet one inch tall. He can read and write, but he has not studied the classics. He has listened to lectures on the art of war, but he does not fully understand them. He has some experience in horseback riding and can shoot a wild pheasant from seventy paces..."

As he was speaking, Hu Ban stopped writing and looked at him eagerly, his eyes eager and incredible: "Aji, have you studied military tactics?"

He was puzzled again: "Why didn't your father mention it?"

In order to give Zhao Ji a higher starting point, Zhao Lian listed almost all the advantages of the third child in the family, but did not mention any military strategies.

"I just heard people talk about Sun Tzu's Art of War, but I didn't remember much, so I never told anyone about it."

Zhao Ji said with a smile: "Things like the art of war, if you don't understand them halfway, you will hurt yourself and others. There's no need to be so serious about it, Bing Cao."

Hearing him say this, Hu Ban dared not to despise him, nor did he ask Zhao Ji to recite the Art of War.

He took up his pen and wrote down the four words 'A rough understanding of military tactics', then followed it with other information. He asked, "Have you learned swordplay, spears, halberds, and the like?"

"I have inherited swordsmanship from my family. Even if my two brothers joined forces, they would still be no match for me. I have also learned some spears and halberds from the old soldiers in the village, but I am not very proficient."

Hu Ban picked up his pen to take notes, glanced at the bruise on Zhao Ji's cheek, and couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

He put down his pen and handed the bamboo slips over. "Aji, is there anything else you want to add?"

Zhao Ji took it with both hands and saw that it said 'Zhao Ji from Xixiang, eighteen years old, eight feet two inches tall, literate, familiar with the art of war, good at riding, skilled in archery, and excellent in swordsmanship'.

There is no punctuation, there are small spaces between the words, and his spear and halberd skills are not even mentioned.

What sophisticated techniques the veterans can teach are all common military martial arts and are not considered special features.

Zhao Ji looked at this information and felt that he could be considered an elite in some way.

After reading it, he handed the bamboo slips back with both hands: "It is very detailed, no need to add anything more."

"Well, Aji, take a break first. Later, you'll compete in archery and swordsmanship. If you can defeat three of them, you'll be promoted to squad leader."

Hu Ban pointed to the wheat cakes on the table beside him and said, "Don't be so formal. We are partners from now on."

"Hu Bingcao is also going to protect the emperor?"

"It's not just me."

Hu Ban pointed toward the roof and said, "The one up there is going too."

Zhao Ji understood that this was referring to Wang Zhi, the nephew of Wang Yi, the General Zhenbei and Governor of Hedong County.

In comparison, Wang Zhi is the outsider.

(End of this chapter)