Tiger Guards

Chapter 472: Open Plank Road
The Gansu-Ningxia fleet is about to arrive at Mengjin.

More than 20 miles away, smoke and dust filled the sky above Mengjin.

Upon seeing this, Gan Ning immediately gave the order, and a conspicuous red and yellow flag was raised on the mast.

The flagship's war drums were the first to sound, and with the coordination of flag signals and drum commands, all the other ships followed suit, beating their drums in response.

The soldiers resting in their cabins, unaware of what was happening, began to arm themselves to the sound of drums and came to the deck to enter combat readiness.

The fleet also slowed down, regrouped, and slowly approached Mengjin.

At the Mengjin Wharf, a dozen knights stood at attention, holding a crimson and purple battle flag aloft and waiting.

The various camps north of the dock were either burning or charred and emitting wisps of smoke.

Seeing that there were no signs of battle or corpses in the nearby camps, Gan Ning ruled out the possibility of an ambush and then ordered his flagship to approach the dock.

At the dock, Gan Ning's flagship approached. He recognized the knight carrying the flag as a Tiger Warrior from the Grand Marshal's side, and bowed, asking, "Where is the Grand Marshal?"

"When General Gan passed through Hulao Pass, the Grand Marshal ordered the central army to pack their belongings. At the fourth watch today, the entire army broke camp and embarked on their journey home!"

The messenger, a tiger-like warrior, answered loudly, holding up the command arrow in his hand: "The Grand Marshal has left the command arrow here."

"Wait for me to disembark and receive orders."

Gan Ning answered, and his men immediately set up the planks. Gan Ning turned to look at Xiahou Lan, who hadn't eaten well for several days: "Military Commander, does this mean the Grand Marshal waited for our army for five more days?"

Seeing Gan Ning's inexplicable mood, Xiahou Lan replied, "If what this Tiger Warrior said is true, then the Grand Marshal did indeed wait for our army for five days."

Upon hearing this, Gan Ning looked up and blinked: "I have committed a grave sin. In order to show off my own prestige, I have delayed the Grand Marshal's journey for several days."

"General, your words are inappropriate. Your display of military might in Liyang is to demonstrate the power of the Grand Marshal, not to enhance your personal reputation."

Xiahou Lan comforted him, and Gan Ning stopped arguing, only letting out a long sigh.

Seeing that the planks were about to be erected, Gan Ning turned around and walked quickly toward the cabin door. He walked out through the side door inside the cabin and quickly stepped onto the planks to reach the dock.

He tidied his appearance, knelt on one knee before the flag-bearing Tiger Warrior, and said, "Gan Ning is here."

Tiger Warrior also dismounted and stepped forward, handing over the command arrow with both hands: "The Grand Marshal's command arrow is now given to the general. The general may act according to the order."

"The last general takes orders."

Gan Ning received the order with both hands, stood up and looked down. The order stated that he would lead the navy to Mianchi, set up a water fortress, protect the ships, and then march on foot to Tongguan to await orders. He would arrange for the Qin and Jin fleet to come to Tongguan to pick them up and take them to Pingyang.

Gan Ning handed the command token to Xiahou Lan for his inspection, then bowed to the Tiger Warrior in front of him, saying, "This humble general will certainly obey the order."

"Now that the order has been given, I shall take my leave."

The Tiger Warrior bowed to Gan Ning, Xiahou Lan, and Guan Cheng. After the three returned the bow, the Tiger Warrior mounted his horse and led a dozen or so knights on a light gallop westward to catch up with Zhao Ji's central army.

After Guan Cheng verified that the command arrow was correct, Gan Ning boarded the ship again and set sail.

As Zhao Ji rode his horse along the Zhiguan Pass, his eyes scanning left and right.

All the trees, shrubs and grasses along the roadside that were easy to cut down and collect had been cut down. Although the migration team of more than 200,000 people moved in batches, they were like locusts, leaving nothing behind along the way.

When passing through Zhiguan, there was only one hundred-man squad guarding the pass.

As planned, Zhao Jihui would divide some of the central army to serve as the garrison at Zhiguan Pass, and send newly formed garrison troops to relieve them before the snowfall.

However, considering the current situation, Zhao Ji really wanted to abandon Zhiguan and completely retreat.

This winter, the garrison at Zhiguan will be unable to obtain grain from either Hanoi or Henan Yin.

This is something that cannot be achieved by spending money or issuing executive orders.

In winter, if grain is forcibly transported through the Zhiguan Pass, the consumption of grain and the loss of people and livestock will be enormous.

If you use the Zhiguan Pass as an exit, then you'll expose your weakness to the outside world, and Yuan Shao and Lü Bu will definitely try to take advantage of you.

These two men have different personalities, and whether or not they save the garrison at Zhiguan, they will provoke an even stronger invasion.

Pei Xiu and Zhang Hong had also set off earlier, so it wasn't convenient for them to discuss this issue with others at this moment.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Ji said, "Abandon Zhiguan and retreat the entire army to Hedong."

Upon seeing this, Li Ying, who was following the action, cupped his hands and stepped forward: "Grand Marshal, if the General sends troops from Hanoi to occupy this pass, our army will have no choice but to fight a bloody battle to take it."

“Then let him take control of Zhiguan.” Zhao Ji thought of Lü Bu blocking Zhiguan and the situation behind Daguguan west of Luoyang, and couldn’t help but chuckle softly: “This is a good thing, why refuse?”

I just hope that Lü Bu can choose a reliable general to guard the pass. If he is turned against his own side, then Lü Bu's backyard will be in trouble, and he will have no way to take action to save it.

Giving up Zhiguan Pass is like putting oneself in a cage for the Central Plains and Hebei... In such a situation, one can fight freely instead of deliberately enduring and suppressing the conflict.

Li Ying also figured it out: abandoning Zhiguan was part of showing goodwill to Lü Bu, just like expanding the registered households in Wude County.

We don't lack those thousand-plus households of servants and retainers from Wude County. Transferring them to the registered households of this county will make Lü Bu feel respected by our side.

This respect is worth over a thousand households, equivalent to two or three hundred soldiers.

Even if Lü Bu or Yuan Shao captured Zhiguan, what difference would it make?

Dare to follow the Zhiguan Pass and strike straight into the heart of Hedong?
Back then, after Dong Zhuo abandoned Luoyang, in the period before Dong Zhuo's death, didn't Li Jue, Li Meng, and others still manage to invade the Chenliu area?
Did Zhu Jun and the warlords of Guandong not station troops at the passes along the way?
In such chaotic times, it is difficult for the guards at the passes to have a decent level of understanding. They are often self-sufficient in their garrison duties, and over time, they become alienated from their original superiors.

Do not hinder their garrisoning and self-defense, and they will not interfere with your normal passage.

Passes were built on the side of important transportation routes, occupying dangerous positions; rather than blocking the entire road, passes blocked the grain supply route.

The reason why the guards check the traveling merchants and pedestrians on weekdays is because these people are easy to bully, do not have the ability to fight the guards, and there is no need for them to do so.

Therefore, the guards would leave the pass and set up roadblocks.

As for those martial arts practitioners who take detours through mountain trails, they are outnumbered and outmatched, making them easy targets for the guards.

The original garrison at Zhiguan was of this kind; when Zhang Yang moved to Yanzhou, he packed them up and took them with him.

If you still don't understand the function of passes... just think of them as castles. The requirement for building passes is that they are easy to defend and difficult to attack, serving as a strong nail.

After the central government was thrown into chaos, the guards at various passes and the border posts also went out of control.

Because the guards could reliably extort money from pedestrians or plunder caravans, providing a stable source of income, bandits and local strongmen became localized.

They listen to whoever controls the state or county government and help them arrest people.

But to say that I'm trying my best is impossible; I'm just trying to make a living.

Similarly, Lü Bu was able to block the Zhiguan Pass on the north bank and the Hangu Pass on the south bank of the Yellow River by sending his personal troops to garrison the Zhiguan Pass and Dagu Pass.

Relying on the original gatekeepers or those temporarily recruited locally is unreliable.

The eight passes of Luoyang are strategically important and fortified. How many of Lü Bu's direct troops were stationed there to defend them?
Therefore, in Zhao Ji's eyes, the eight passes of Luoyang were like a fishnet stocking full of holes, which would tear at the slightest touch.

Furthermore, the next military operation will rely on naval transport, not land marches.

In this Kwantung War, the number of soldiers executed by military law before and after the war exceeded the number of soldiers killed in action.

Therefore, the next step is to vigorously rectify military discipline and reorganize the army.

To launch another attack on Kanto next year, we must rely on the movement of the fleet, maintain the integrity of the organization as much as possible, and not give the middle and lower-ranking soldiers the opportunity to act separately or commit disciplinary violations and be executed.

Thus, not only Zhiguan, but also the military outposts along the way were abandoned one after another as Zhao Ji withdrew his troops, and various kinds of timber became fuel for the army to keep warm at night.

No one should suffer, but the common soldiers must suffer; they can no longer find any decent fuel within the Zhiguan Pass.

As the weather grows colder, and everyone has abandoned Zhiguan, what's the point of keeping the military post?
They simply dismantled it and used it as fuel, which has a contrasting purpose of "openly repairing the plank road".

By minimizing their own involvement and interference in the Guandong war, Lü Bu and Yuan Shao could unleash their full potential and engage in a chaotic battle.

The war potential of all parties is limited, and the recovery speed is pitifully slow.

The mutual attrition between Yuan Shao and Lü Bu can also be indirectly interpreted as a result of their own self-destruction.

Although such wars can train many veterans and seasoned generals... those who drown are mostly those who can swim, and many more elite soldiers and generals turn into skeletons. What's wrong with that?

In such an era of severe climate abnormalities, even self-sufficiency was difficult; the overall environment was also unsuitable for outward expansion.

Let's wait for Lü Bu and Yuan Shao to settle their score first, and then we can fight the emperor who is accumulating strength.

Once the fighting has subsided, I'll clean up the mess myself.

There's really no need to do everything yourself. Wouldn't it be better to stay home and have more children?

(End of this chapter)