Tiger Guards

Chapter 42 The dust has settled
The air was filled with smoke, and Zhao Ji entered the manor and checked the granary first.

There are six granaries, all of which are suspended wooden buildings with moisture-proof structures, but four of them are full.

One of the warehouses contained rice. He grabbed a handful of rice and rubbed it. He saw that the rice husks were tightly attached to the rice. He smelled it and concluded that it was last year's rice.

Last year and the year before last were plagued by drought, locust plagues and small-scale wars, but the Hou family was still able to save up new rice.

Zhao Ji felt very complicated and didn't know how to comment.

In fact, there is no shortage of irrigation water around. There is the Sushui River to the south of Zijin Mountain. It was very turbulent in ancient times, and the water volume has been very abundant since modern times.

Even with the drought in recent years, the Sushui River has not dried up and can still provide irrigation.

To the north of Zijin Mountain is the east-west flowing Huishui River, which flows westward and flows into the Fenshui River at the edge of Jiangyi City.

The Fen River is extremely abundant, and there are excellent fields on both sides of the river.

Even in the village where the Zhao family lives, the stream did not dry up during the drought last year, but it was so shallow that it could only cover the soles of the feet.

It is also easy to build a dam on such a small river, and after storing water, it can irrigate more than a hundred acres of life-saving fields.

The destructive power caused by drought and locusts is far less than that caused by chaotic order and epidemics.

After throwing the rice back into the warehouse, Zhao Ji walked out of the warehouse, stood in front of the wooden steps, put his hands on his hips and looked around. Ximen Jian was already walking towards him with a bloody head in his hand.

Ximen Jian's face was filled with joy: "Captain, here is Hou Jing's head."

Zhao Ji only took a glance and asked, "How many casualties did the Tiger Guards have?"

"Five were lightly wounded, four of the team were beheaded, and the rest of the Hou family's troops were driven into the house by me and were not pursued."

"Very good. Where's Wang Fu?"

"We are currently patrolling and dispatching personnel to capture the male members of the Hou family."

Ximen Jian looked around and asked, "Captain, how much grain do you have in stock?"

"I don't know. I've never seen so much food in my life."

Zhao Ji glanced back at the warehouse: "We can only find out after we get the Hou family's account books, but it will be enough for us to eat until autumn."

Suddenly thinking of his family situation, he felt a mix of emotions. He shook his head and smiled, "It's funny, but before I enlisted as a Tiger Guard, my father and brothers' lifelong dream was to build a family business like the Hou family."

Ximen Jian also smiled: "It is the captain's father and brother who are ambitious. My humble father just wants to have more mares at home."

"In such a chaotic world, excessive wealth is not a good thing. Uncle sees this clearly."

Zhao Ji sighed and asked, "Have you informed Gong Cao?"

"forget."

Ximen Jian said confidently, "Captain, what do we do with the women of the Hou family?"

"I think what Wei Xing said makes sense. This matter is not suitable for Gongcao and Facao to intervene. Who do you think is more suitable to handle it?"

"I will go, and please ask Tang Xian to go with me so that we can confiscate the gold, silk, and other things."

Ximen Jian was not afraid of offending people. Even a powerful family like the Hou family was easily destroyed by them. From now on, no one would dare to ignore them, whether it was the Pingyang area north of the Fen River or the Anyi counties south of it.

It was also a clever move, and the night attack severely damaged the main force of the Hou family.

If the Hou family is really prepared for defense, even the entire Tiger Guard battalion will not be able to defeat them.

The expanded Hou family manor was only a size smaller than the township, and the remaining troops could not fill the defense line at all.

But no matter what, they captured and suppressed the rebellious Hou brothers at a relatively small cost.

As long as the combat power of the Huben Camp remains, the powerful forces with similar strength to the Hou family will carefully handle their relationships with each other.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji went to see Tang Xian and said: "All the captured items must be turned over to the public, and money and goods will be distributed according to merit."

Tang Xian stepped forward and bowed: "Following the captain to fight is a great pleasure."

"Well, I won't treat my partner unfairly."

Zhao Ji patted Tang Xian on the shoulder and said, "Go quickly, we still have to fight Li Le."

"Yes!"

Tang Xian agreed and left with Ximen Jian, taking a few people with him.

Zhao Ji left a flag guard to guard the granary. Walking along the "Feng" street, it was probably because the Huben soldiers maintained order and did not break into the warehouse to rob.

Some women went out to search for their fathers, brothers, and husbands, looking miserable and confused.

Some people found corpses and either lay on them wailing or knelt on their knees crying.

Zhao Ji had a blank expression on his face. When he met an officer from the Second Battalion, he said, "The Hou family is causing rebellion, and those under their command who are wearing armor and holding weapons are complicit. The families of those who plotted rebellion will be investigated and reduced to slavery." "Yes!"

The officer immediately became excited. He could no longer bear the crying, and he felt pity and a little guilty.

Now that Zhao Ji had given him a solution, he was immediately freed from the mental exhaustion.

You are all from the family of traitors, yet you dare to go out and cry in the streets?

Is the next step to ask for compensation?

The crying sounds soon stopped, and Zhao Ji felt much better.

He hurried to the Hou family's residence and saw the women, both big and small, and the maids kneeling in the front yard. The few wives and concubines who had resisted had regained their composure and were staring at Zhao Ji with hatred.

Zhao Ji looked around and saw more than a dozen Tiger Guards checking the children of the Hou family. As long as they were boys, even if they were wearing coarse clothes of servants, if they had delicate skin, they would be dragged away on the spot.

He saw some pregnant women looking at him anxiously, so he walked over and said, "Hou is guilty of treason, and your children will be implicated, but the unborn child will not be considered. However, after you are imprisoned in the official quarters, you must remarry quickly."

"General, you are so generous. I thank you for your kindness."

A woman in a light green brocade robe bowed and saluted. The hairpins on her head had been confiscated, and her thick, long black hair was draped behind her shoulders.

Some other women also expressed their gratitude, but Zhao Ji said nothing and turned away.

A pregnant woman pressed the issue, "May I ask the general's name?"

Zhao Ji stopped and looked back at the man. Seeing that his eyes did not harbor much malice, he said, "Hu Ben Zhonglang, Zhao Ji of Jishan."

He walked towards the foreman in charge of this place and said, "Organize the maids here and have them cook the food quickly. Don't be stingy with the ingredients, use the best and let everyone have a full meal! Tell these maids to do what they did before, and do it again in the future!"

"Yes!"

The squad leader had been hungry for a long time, but without orders from higher levels, he did not dare to assign manpower here at will.

They are generally inexperienced, although they are very brave in combat.

But after the war, many people didn't know what to do.

Zhao Ji saw it but was not in a hurry. Experience can be learned slowly, but the mentality and military atmosphere must not be disrupted.

They would rather have low-level leaders be dull and rigid than have these people develop any independent initiative.

Sitting on the steps facing the sun, Zhao Ji took off his helmet. Sweat rose from his head, and the red scarf wrapped around his head was already soaked.

He fished out the grain bag from his waist, took out a fist-sized piece of horse meat tendon, and then took out a short dagger to cut it.

Cutting the horse meat horizontally along the fiber texture makes it easier to chew and less likely to get stuck in your teeth.

As the sound of horse hooves approached, Wei Xing slowly dismounted and limped over: "Captain, after I showed them Hou Jing's head, the people from the smelting yard surrendered."

"The smelting site is very important. Where are the Hou family members?"

"Last night, he led some guards to attack Gongcao, but was unable to return. He may have been captured and killed by our army."

Wei Xing also sat on the steps, his left leg straight, squinting at the golden sunrise, then glancing at Zhao Ji's profile: "Who should I send to take charge?"

"I think Ximen Jian is quite good and very smart. The important thing now is to stabilize the smelting site. Once we defeat Li Le, we can deal with the details."

"This man is cunning and can fool the smelting plant."

Wei Xing sat up slightly, leaned towards Zhao Ji again, and whispered, "Captain, what should we do with these women?"

"Later, their identities were ascertained, and the women of the Hou family were demoted to slaves as a reward for their meritorious service."

Seeing his eager eyes, Zhao Ji asked, "How many heads have you beheaded?"

"Level 3..."

"That should be enough for you to get one. Forget about being the wife of the Third Marquis, but a concubine or a daughter of a marquis is not difficult."

Zhao Ji also made a rough estimate that many of the Hou clan members who resisted with weapons were killed or captured this time, and their wives, daughters, and children were all demoted to collective slaves.

Like the captured Xiongnu, Han and Hu people, they were all to be distributed among the Huben.

Although it will reduce collective human resources, it can greatly increase military morale and spirit.

Without economic advantages, how can we recruit new Tiger Guards?
And subordinate armed forces?

Being in his current position, Zhao Ji must think about the various possible options that may arise next.

Different choices lead to different routes and results.

The friends around you may deepen their relationship with you or gradually become distant from you due to their backgrounds, positions and pursuits.

(End of this chapter)