Tiger Guards

Chapter 449 Double Happiness
After receiving the grain, cloth, and vehicles paid by the people of Dingtao, Zhao Ji also collected as many boats as possible from the upper and middle reaches of the Ji River, Juye Marsh, and Si River.

Only then did they begin to withdraw their troops to Suanzao, with the commander still personally leading the rearguard.

His headquarters was constantly changing, but at its core were more than 3,000 mixed cavalry and chariot troops, more than 1,000 light scout cavalry, and 5,000 daredevils.

The original plan was to reorganize the Guanzhong troops and develop a new tactical system while they were in Luoyang for summer retreat and training.

However, Jia Xu urged Zhao Ji to launch an attack ahead of schedule in order to capture the enemy's achievements. Zhao Ji was also worried that Liu Bei and the people of Xuzhou would not be able to hold out and that Yuan Shu would be able to break through their defenses and sweep them away.

They then marched into battle despite the sweltering heat, demonstrating their immense patriotism and catching Yuan Shu off guard.

Although they have now won a victory and made a name for themselves in Guandong, Zhao Ji still dared not be careless when withdrawing his troops. He always felt that his army was a rabble, a glass sword that would break at the slightest touch. If used properly, this glass sword could be used to slaughter livestock repeatedly; but if it encountered an inappropriate bump, it would shatter into pieces in an instant.

Therefore, when attacking Ji Ling's Ruyang camp, he did not take advantage of the momentum to launch a strong attack, but instead organized a water attack to dismantle the defensive system that Ji Ling had built.

With overwhelming local superiority, they directly crushed the rebel army in Yingshui Dongying, which had been flooded.

Even the rebel army in the western camp was not attacked by Zhao Ji. Instead, he used Wei Yue and Zhang Liao to wear down and defeat the remnants of Ji Ling's army.

Later on, the most intense battle was actually the ambush and killing of Cao Cao during a banquet.

In addition, Zhao Ji always avoided unnecessary battles.

Once a war breaks out, it is difficult to end it gracefully and quickly.

Thus, on August 20th, Zhao Ji's troops withdrew to Suanzao, where they would rest for several days and cover the withdrawal of Zhao Yun and his fleet from Baima City.

The fleet will only come to pick up Zhao Ji after they have evacuated to Xingyang.

Sour jujubes, the tomb of Zang Hong.

His tomb was built by more than two thousand soldiers from Yanzhou under his command, and the round tomb was more than four zhang high, like half a huge earthen ball placed on the ground.

To the south of the tomb is Zang Hong's tombstone.

When Zhao Ji arrived, Chen Rong, the Commandant of Zhangyi, was leading Zang Hong's former troops and fellow villagers to sweep and clean, so the ground was neat and tidy.

Chen Rong's facial wounds had not yet healed, and her entire face was wrapped in fine hemp bandages.

Dressed in plain clothes, he hurried over to greet him: "Grand Marshal."

"Yes, I'm about to return to Taiyuan, so I've come to say goodbye to Mr. Zang."

As Zhao Ji spoke, he turned his head and glanced back. Behind him, a knight was carrying a salt-cured, dried-out head.

Chen Rong recognized it at a glance: it was Cao Cao's head.

After being cured with high concentrations of saltpeter and air-dried in the shade, Cao Cao's round cheeks shrank, and his eyes were stitched up.

To prevent rotting as much as possible, professionals hollow out the eyes, brain, and other parts during the process, coat them inside and out with salt powder, and after the salt draws out the water, fill them with lime to accelerate the loss of moisture.

Finally, apply salt and nitrate solution, then allow it to air dry in a well-ventilated, shaded place.

Once it is completely dry and free of any moisture, it can be coated with paint for curing. The paint layer isolates it from the air, and if the paint layer is intact, this dried head can be preserved for thousands of years.

Chen Rong bowed deeply to Zhao Ji, who merely nodded and said, "We can only offer Cao Cao's head as a sacrifice to Lord Zang for three days and nights. His son is in Puyang, only a day's journey by water. I do not wish to fight him now."

"Yes, I understand."

Chen Rong bowed again. At this moment, the dozen or so Tiger Warriors who had gone ahead had arrived at the tombstone of Zang Hong, along with a Tiger Warrior flag carriage.

These brave warriors worked together to drive wooden wedges into each wheel of the flag chariot, securing the chariot completely.

Then a long banner slowly rose. It was a very simple banner, written on the cheapest fine linen, with the words "the head of the five poisons" written on it.

The chariots and flags were installed, and Cao Cao's dried head was placed in an exquisite birdcage and hung at the top of the flagpole. The birdcage was also fitted with a protective lid.

The reason for this is to prevent crows or other birds from pecking at the skull and ruining its appearance.

Zhao Ji glanced at the head in the cage, which was inconspicuous and at the same temperature as the surrounding environment, before stepping forward to a spot five steps away from the tombstone.

Chen Rong and the others set up a table in front of the tombstone, on which were placed some ordinary sacrificial offerings.

Zhao Ji's gaze fell on the tombstone, which was inscribed with "Tomb of Zang Jun, former Governor of Yanzhou, General Zhaode, and Marquis of Sheyang".

General Zhaode and Marquis Sheyang were posthumous titles conferred by the imperial court, while Marquis Su was the posthumous title of Zang Hong.

However, the imperial court was slow in posthumously conferring honors, so Zang Hong's tomb was of rather low standard.

However, given Zang Hong's personality, he wouldn't favor an elaborate funeral. As Zhao Ji was observing, someone handed him some wine, which Zhao Ji took and immediately poured in front of the offering table.

After splashing the wine on both sides, he carried the nearly full wine jar to the offering table, took a few steps back and said, "Zang Jun, judging from the matter of the heroes of Guandong attacking Dong Zhuo, false allies are more terrifying than enemies."

After saying this, Zhao Ji reached out to Guan Shang, who handed him a finely crafted bamboo scroll.

Zhao Ji took it and tore off the rope. The bamboo scroll was wrapped in silk, on which was written "The Ballad of Hao Li".

Too lazy to recite or put on airs, Zhao Ji spread the bamboo slips out on the offering table, took a few steps back, and cupped his hands in farewell: "Farewell. If you pass through Suanzao in the future, I will come to visit you again."

As he turned to leave, Chen Rong approached him: "Grand Marshal, I have more than ten disabled officials and soldiers around me who wish to serve at Lord Zang's tomb. I earnestly request that the Grand Marshal issue a letter exempting them from corvée labor and taxes."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji glanced back at Zang Hong's tomb and said, "This is acceptable, but while they are farming and supporting themselves, they should also take care to maintain this place. I don't want to put the local area in a difficult position. How about exempting twenty able-bodied men from corvée labor and poll tax? All the land that is cleared will be Zang Hong's sacrificial land, and the taxes and rent from the sacrificial land will be used exclusively for sacrifices, limited to a thousand mu. I will send the specific documents to you after I return to camp, and I will also submit a memorial to the court and issue documents to the three prefectures of the state, county, and township."

It's not difficult to agree, and after the court's formal approval process, things will basically stabilize here.

Unless Cao Cao's descendants conquer this place, given Zang Hong's reputation for loyalty and virtue, no one would risk a bad name for the corvée labor and taxes of twenty men and the rent from a thousand acres of land.

The prefecture and state governments don't care, and the county magistrate certainly won't invite such public controversy upon himself.

Over time, Zang Hong's reputation for loyalty and integrity grew, and it became a routine first thing for any new prefect of Chenliu, as well as the county magistrate of Suanzao, to do to pay their respects here.

Zhao Ji did not like overly extravagant sacrifices, and he even disliked leaving the road to visit quiet, scenic mausoleum areas to worship the tombs of past emperors or local sages.

It wasn't that he was averse to these things, but rather that his every move attracted attention, and going out to worship would be a considerable expense, and would also delay military operations.

Most importantly, he felt there was an additional danger involved.

In such chaotic times, the more remote the place, the more vicious people it harbors.

He didn't want to be chased and beaten with pitchforks by local villagers, bandits, and powerful figures when he went to worship some deity in a simple manner.

Now the army is stationed in Suanzao, where the view from the mudflats on the south bank of the Yellow River is wide and the area is very safe.

When Zhao Ji led his troops to Guandong to protect the country and fight against Yuan Shikai, Zang Hong was the first to come to the alliance; now that he is withdrawing his troops, it is time to say goodbye to Zang Hong.

After completing the ritual, Zhao Ji led his cavalry back to the main camp.

On the way, a knight came galloping by on horseback, waving a scarlet and purple ribbon high in his hand.

Zhao Ji squinted and asked those around him, "Who is this? He looks familiar, but I can't quite place him."

Guan Shang hadn't been dealing with much lately, so he immediately remembered: "It seems to be Ah Bao."

Pei Bao should be a cavalry officer under Zhao Yun. At this moment, Pei Bao rode his horse lightly towards them.

He reined in his horse when he was about a hundred paces away, and some people recognized him and did not stop him.

Pei Bao abruptly reined in his horse near Zhao Ji, his face drenched in sweat and dust, looking dirty, but his eyes gleamed: "Grand Marshal, good news from Jinyang!"

Zhao Ji smiled upon hearing this and reached out to take the lacquered wooden bucket from Pei Bao. Pei Bao, panting, held onto one end of the bucket tightly and refused to let go, saying, "I was originally on duty at Ao Cang, but after hearing about this, I took over this mission. Grand Marshal, you must reward me with something good."

"Are you trying to blackmail me?"

Zhao Ji handed the riding whip to Pei Bao: "Here you go. This is Cao Cao's riding whip, and I'm giving it to you along with Jueying."

"Thank you for the reward, Grand Marshal!"

Pei Bao shouted at the top of his lungs to let everyone know, lest Zhao Ji change his mind.

Zhao Ji didn't take it seriously. He took the lacquered wooden bucket and saw that the lacquer seal was his grandfather's seal of the Marquis of Jinyang. He then cut open the seal, untied the rope, and took out a thick stack of silk books inside.

These silk scrolls were all folded. Zhao Ji casually looked at the handwriting on the covers. Some were from his grandfather, some from his father, some from his eldest brother, second brother, and two older sisters, and some from Cai Zhaoji, Lü Qi, and Zhen Mi.

He opened his grandfather's handwritten letter and couldn't help but smile: "It is indeed a joyous occasion. Zhao Ji and A Lan gave birth to sons one after the other, and both mother and children are safe and sound."

"Really?"

Guan Shang became excited upon hearing this, as he was at the age where he loved children.

Although he couldn't understand why, he felt that life suddenly had a different meaning.

Upon hearing this, the nearby Tiger Warriors and mid- to high-ranking military officers were overjoyed. Several Xiongnu cavalrymen began to howl, some whistling, some cracking their whips, and others throwing swords and hats into the air.

(End of this chapter)