Tiger Guards

Chapter 464 The Son of Filial Piety
North bank of the Yellow River, at the mouth of the Qi River.

The former commander-in-chief, Ju Shou, sailed out of the mouth of the Qi River, close to the south bank, and looked out at Zhao Ji's army and the captured people migrating to the south bank.

Ju Shou came from a prominent family, whose members had grown to the limit that Ji Province could accommodate.

Just like a pine tree planted in a flowerpot inside a house, no matter how tall it is, it is difficult to break through the roof.

Even if this pine tree is transplanted from the flowerpot to the ground, its growth will be limited as long as the roof is still there.

If it continues to grow recklessly, it will either pierce the roof or be pruned and cut down.

The houses are the sky of the pine trees.

The Ju Shou clan had already reached the edge of the sky and lingered there, hesitating about their future choices.

Before the situation in Hebei is resolved, the underlying issues hanging over the heads of major families in Hebei will not undergo any fundamental changes.

Therefore, for a wise man like Ju Shou, the vast population stretching out on the south bank at this moment held little appeal.

For his family, it was no longer appropriate to acquire more people.

The population and land currently under Yuan Shao's control have reached a certain balance; land can be rotated, and the population is within the maximum range that Yuan Shao can tolerate.

If they absolutely had to consume this population from the south bank of the Yellow River, then the family would have to split and become enemies; only in this way could they avoid being oppressed by 'Heaven'.

Therefore, in Ju Shou's eyes, the people on the south bank no longer involve private interests, but rather public interests.

The addition of over 100,000 people to Hebei will bring about a productivity increase, which could add at least 10,000 soldiers.

In the confrontation with Gongsun Zan, these ten thousand or so armored soldiers may have been the decisive force.

The increased grain production brought about by a population of over 100,000 also allowed for a longer mobilization period for the Hebei troops, which was a key factor in wearing down and exhausting Gongsun Zan.

The resources produced by this externally acquired population can be requisitioned with minimal loss and at a high cost, making them more militarily significant than the local population of over 100,000 in Hebei.

If Cao Cao hadn't died, with his organizational and military capabilities, he could have trained over ten thousand elite troops from his initial force of over ten thousand men, and leveraged other subordinate forces to put up a good fight against Gongsun Zan.

Therefore, even without Cao Cao leading them, these hundreds of thousands of people could still significantly enhance Hebei's military capabilities.

Conversely, if Zhao Ji consumes this group of people again, he will become even more troublesome in the future.

Ju Shou observed for a long time, then suddenly turned to his son Ju Hu, who was following beside him, and asked, "You are the same age as Grand Marshal Zhao. If you were to command 30,000 soldiers, how would you defend against Grand Marshal Zhao?"

This sudden question flattered Ju Hu, who bowed slightly and replied, "We will rely on fortified cities and resist step by step, awaiting reinforcements from all sides."

Ju Hu offered his solution, saying, "If we have a strong cavalry force, we should roam behind them, disrupt their supply lines, and wait for their soldiers to tire out. If we lead 30,000 troops to fight the Grand Marshal in the open field, it will be very difficult to win."

Seeing that the people around him were looking at him, and some looked puzzled, Ju Hu further explained, "The Grand General personally led his elite cavalry to charge back and forth, and no one in Hebei could stop him. The Grand Marshal is even more valiant than the Grand General, so who can defeat him now?"

If Zhao Ji's attacks cannot be stopped, the central command structure in the field will naturally become Zhao Ji's target.

Even if they withstand the casualties and don't collapse first, it will be difficult to make any effective command or response.

It's like two people are fighting, and Zhao Ji has already gouged out both of your eyes from the start. How can you fight like that?
Ju Shou simply chuckled and offered no comment.

Then, with a deep gaze, he slightly raised his chin and looked towards Xuchang.

To defeat Zhao Ji, it would be inefficient to focus solely on the main battlefield; it would be like using a weak point to attack a strong one.

After defeating Lü Bu and welcoming the emperor, we can then strip Zhao Ji of his position as Grand Marshal. Would Zhao Ji still dare to launch such a reckless expedition?
With control of the court and the appointment of various official positions, they could easily instigate and incite a series of rebellions.

After a moment of contemplation, Ju Shou, holding a long, narrow whisk woven from brown pheasant feathers, extended his arm and waved lightly: "Return to camp."

"The commander-in-chief orders us to return to camp!"

Immediately, a guard shouted an order, and upon hearing it, the sailors at the bow immediately organized to steer the ship around.

After the transport ships retreated north, no white-clad knight squad was seen leaping across the chariot and cavalry to pursue Zhao Ji's rear guard.

Cao Ang and his thirteen knights, unarmed and all dressed in mourning, risked their lives to pursue the enemy along the road.

After forcibly crossing the Honggou Canal, they were discovered by Jin scouts, who quickly reported back.

Zhao Ji decided to stay by the roadside until the entire army had passed, then he led over a hundred elite cavalrymen to wait for Cao Ang.

When Cao Ang and his men caught up, they were exhausted and panting heavily.

Cao Ang looked at Zhao Ji, who was wearing a golden helmet and armor with crimson and purple sleeves, and dismounted with trembling legs. After regaining his footing, he cupped his hands and asked, "Is this Grand Marshal Zhao Ji of Pingyang?" "It is I."

Zhao Ji glanced at Cao Ang, then at Cao Ang's cavalry, and saw that they all had resolute expressions and eyes full of worry for Cao Ang's safety.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Ji took the water bag off the horse tack and tossed it to Cao Ang: "Drink a couple of sips first, then we can talk."

"Thank you for the gift, Grand Marshal."

Cao Ang unscrewed the stopper, took a sip from the water pouch, and discovered it was sweet rice wine. Feeling that drinking during the mourning period was inappropriate, he stopped there.

Zhao Ji stretched out his arm and pointed to his side. A rider behind him approached carrying a lacquered wooden food box. The food box was square and just big enough to hold a human head.

Everything was understood without words. Zhao Ji said, "Drink up. This is just to quench your thirst and satisfy your hunger. You risked your life to come here; who in the world can question your character and courage?"

Realizing that Zhao Ji had no intention of killing him, Cao Ang gulped down his water and then handed the water bag to his riders, who also drank from it.

After tasting that it was sweet rice wine, they remained silent, as if they hadn't noticed anything amiss.

At this moment, Zhao Ji's attendant jumped off his horse, stepped forward with a lacquered wooden food box in both hands, and handed it to Cao Ang.

Cao Ang caught it with trembling arms, his legs went weak and he couldn't help but kneel down, crying out, "Father!"

How many people did he implicate because of this head?

Overwhelmed by guilt, Cao Ang was filled with remorse, sobbing and choking as tears streamed down his face.

Zhao Ji reined in his horse and did not move. Cao Ang quickly calmed down, turned around and handed the lacquered wooden food box to his rider. After wiping away his tears with his sleeves, he faced Zhao Ji and bowed deeply again: "May I ask, Grand Marshal, if I had come to ask for it from the beginning, what would you have done?"

"I retrieved your father's head from Xuchang with the intention of handing it over to Yuan Shao when I withdrew my troops, as a favor. If he refused to raise an army, I would send an envoy to return it to you. When I offered sacrifices to Lord Zang earlier, I only wanted to force you to fight in order to cut off Yuan Shao's support. However, you assessed the situation and took timely refuge in Yan County, which thwarted my plan."

Zhao Ji was speaking the truth; many people in Xuchang wanted to use Cao Cao's head as a favor.

Rather than relying on these people to do favors, it's better to keep the reins in our own hands.

In order to incorporate Cao Cao's 3,000 personal guards into his army, Zhao Ji offered the condition that Cao Cao's body be sent back to Chenliu.

The head was more important; once it was sent to Xudu, it lost its political significance, so Zhao Ji took it back.

Unexpectedly, despite their slow and steady march, Cao Ang's hundreds of thousands of relocated people remained in Puyang and did not cross the river.

Since that's the case, we have no choice but to use Cao Cao's head again to force Cao Ang to send troops.

After saying this, Zhao Ji asked in confusion, "I have answered your question, but I am also wondering why you did not lead your troops across the river earlier? Although Zhao Zilong has stationed himself at Baima, he has no warships under his command, making it difficult to stop or intercept your crossing of the river."

When Zhao Ji asked the question, Cao Ang's face flushed red, and he answered in a low voice, "It is because we have selfish motives, and the Duke of Hebei also intends to contend for Yanzhou. Once the Grand Marshal has withdrawn to Xizhou, our army will act as the vanguard and turn back to fight Zhang Yang."

"I see. I thought that Hebei was delaying the decision because of the unfair distribution of spoils, which delayed the opportunity to cross the river."

Zhao Ji laughed, which made Cao Ang look even more embarrassed.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji proposed, "Let's settle our feud here. What do you think?"

Cao Ang lowered his head and remained silent. After a moment, he replied, "I will belong to Lord Benchu's command. My future is not up to me."

"In that case, let's settle this another day."

Without lingering, Zhao Ji pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, lightly kicked its belly, and sped away.

The remaining hundred or so knights turned their horses around and filed off, gradually increasing their speed.

Cao Zhen opened the lacquered wooden food box, held up the dried head of Cao Cao and examined it closely, then looked in the direction Zhao Ji had left: "Zixiu, why not put an end to the feud between our two families?"

“Although my father was assassinated by a former subordinate of Zang Gong, how could the Grand Marshal be without blame? If this feud over killing my father is resolved, I will have failed as a son.”

Cao Ang stepped forward and closed the lacquered wooden food box again, saying to Cao Zhen, "The feud with Lord Zang can now be resolved."

Zang Hong had no descendants, so this feud should naturally end.

We can't very well go and dig up Zang Hong's grave. It's not a difficult thing to do, but the negative impact would be too great.

Fearing that Zhao Ji might suddenly return and send knights to pursue them, Cao Ang and Cao Zhen chatted for a few moments, then discarded the wine pouch given to them by Zhao Ji, turned their horses around, and returned the way they came.

(End of this chapter)