Tiger Guards

Chapter 490 Luxurious Armaments
After meeting with Jia Xu and agreeing on the general personnel arrangements, Zhao Ji went to the military camp in the southwest corner of the city.

Three thousand Tiger Infantrymen were on standby in the camp, and when Zhao Ji arrived, they had all changed into brand-new winter uniforms.

Winter military uniforms are no longer simple cloth garments. Due to insufficient reserves last year, the winter uniforms issued in October were actually the same as the summer uniforms—just a newly sewn set of clothes, issued as a sign of favor.

After more than a year of preparation and development, this year's winter clothing is particularly formal.

In addition to cloth uniforms, they were also issued leather overcoats made of large pieces of leather and fine felt stitched together, with the collar, sleeves, and hem made of tiger, leopard, and bear fur.

They also had tall leather combat boots, lined with fine felt, and were also issued foot wraps.

There are also deerskin gloves, and the helmets are also equipped with tiger and leopard print accessories to increase overall cold protection.

Even the cloaks were specially made, with a cowhide inner layer and a woolen goatskin outer layer; these were also the sleeping bags the soldiers used for sleeping at night.

If you find it cumbersome during combat, you can tie it up and carry it across your shoulder.

When Zhao Ji inspected the troops, these cloaks were folded into the shape of square backpacks, tied with cowhide ropes, and carried on the shoulders like small schoolbags, while being slightly raised to protect the back of the soldiers' necks.

Even after exhausting all of the shogunate's reserves, they were able to gather such a complete set of eight thousand leather winter clothes.

This type of winter uniform is issued to a soldier only once every five years after enlisting.

If the frequency of disbursements increases further, the shogunate's reserves will not be able to sustain it.

Zhao Ji inspected the troops on foot and saw his elder brother Zhao Jian in the first Black Flag team.

Their eyes met, and Zhao Jian straightened his chest and looked straight ahead, appearing quite composed.

Zhao Ji said to Xu Huang beside him, "Draw the first team with the black flag and have them step forward. I want to see them set up their camp."

"Here."

Xu Huang cupped his hands in greeting, turned and walked towards the flag bearers of the first Black Flag Squad, loudly ordering the centurion there, "Step forward and set up camp!"

"Here!"

The captain, a commander of a hundred men, raised his arms to his chest and shouted in response. He immediately turned around and yelled to his 106 men, "All units, step forward and choose a place to set up camp!"

Each hundred-man unit was equipped with eight large carts. The first squad of Tiger Infantry first formed a platoon, with their spears and halberds clustered together. Then they pushed the carts forward and, under the command of two squad officers, selected the center line for setting up camp.

Then, bamboo and wood were unloaded from the vehicle around the center line, and these bamboo and wood were used as the framework to build two rectangular frames.

At this moment, Zhao Ji stepped forward, grabbed a spare piece of bamboo, and seeing that it was indeed nan bamboo, said to Xu Huang, who had come closer, "I thought it was a piled bamboo."

Xu Huang smiled and said, "The bamboo-building method takes a year to produce and is very expensive. These are large bamboos from Nanshan Mountain that were harvested and transported by the Prefect of Jingzhao. In battle, they can be used with vehicles to form rows of bamboo spears to defend against horses, and they can also serve as a framework when setting up camp."

Zhao Ji nodded. The eight vehicles were also building materials for setting up camp. The two rectangular barracks were put together to form a larger rectangular camp area for a hundred people. The eight vehicles would be placed around the camp area, either in the wind or in the direction of the enemy.

He watched and waited patiently, and after the two barracks frames were securely tied together, he began to cover them with sewn-on animal hides or felt.

These types of animal hides are mostly rabbit skins or other miscellaneous hides that are not durable. The hides are mainly used for roofing to protect against rain, while the felt is used for wall coverings.

This is just a rehearsal for setting up camp. When it comes to actually setting up camp, they will use local materials to increase the comfort of the barracks, and even combine two barracks into one.

The larger the barracks, the less material is needed, and the more soldiers can be stationed there.

Before long, the barracks were set up, and two teams of Tiger Infantry poured in, with Zhao Ji also entering for inspection.

The Tiger Infantry also took off their cloaks and spread them on the ground, forming two rows, lying head to head in the middle.

Shields, crossbows, swords, and the like were placed at the feet, standing against the tent wall, while bows, arrow quivers, and swords were hung on the tent wall.

Looking around, Zhao Ji slowly nodded; this was the army he wanted.

Under the current military-first culture and consensus in Hedong, the military's benefits are well guaranteed.

Anyone who dares to cut corners during implementation will be beheaded on the spot by the soldiers.

Stepping out of the tent, Zhao Ji watched as two squads of Tiger Infantry carried weapons and equipment out of the tent and began dismantling it. He remarked to Xu Huang, "It's a pity that time was so tight; otherwise, the entire army could have been fully equipped."

Xu Huang suppressed a smile: "Grand Marshal, there's no need to say that. The abundance of winter supplies is truly the first I've ever seen in my life. If I cannot defeat the Hu tribes in the three commanderies, I will commit suicide to atone for my sins against the people and soldiers of Jinyang."

The three thousand Tiger Infantry stationed in Jinyang will be assigned to him. In addition, there are Hedong Knights and Junbei Knights. Xu Huang is the commander of the vanguard army, with more than five thousand infantry and cavalry under his command. Including his own three hundred elite cavalry and professional scouts, Xu Huang's main force has a total of six thousand infantry and cavalry.

Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao, who were assigned to Xu Huang, would also select elite troops to attack, each commanding four battalions of three thousand men.

In Zhao Ji's eyes, these three men, advancing together, would most likely break through the opposing Hu tribes. Duan Wei, who was heading north along the Qin Straight Road to coordinate a pincer attack, was a safety net. His own central army was there to assist in transporting prisoners and resupplying, while the real enemy he needed to deal with was the Xianbei people who might intervene.

As for Liu Qubei, the Right Wise King, who was in charge of guerrilla warfare and waiting for opportunities to fight... it was impossible to expect the Xiongnu to have any outstanding performance in such a strategic matter that was related to the stability of the rear.

Zhao Ji would not participate in the operation with the central army group unless absolutely necessary.

The central army's siege of the various Hu strongholds is nothing; whether to fight or retreat, they have the initiative and can quickly extricate themselves to deal with other issues.

If we were to launch an attack, given the hilly and valley terrain of the three counties, the army would inevitably have to disperse... It's easy to disperse and seize territory, but it would be too difficult to quickly regroup and make a strategic maneuver.

Therefore, the central army group was responsible for tackling the toughest challenges, while Xu Huang's vanguard was only responsible for infiltration and advance. The tough challenges that couldn't be tackled were left to the daredevils to deal with.

Even the able-bodied men among the captured Hu peoples could be roughly selected and added to the suicide squad to maintain the overall pressure of the suicide squad.

The central army group numbered 12,000, and with a size of 7,000, it was enough to motivate 5,000 daredevils to fight actively.

After inspecting the equipment and morale of the military camps in the city, Zhao Jicai and Xu Huang had a banquet together.

All the elite guards of the camp participated in the banquet, and the hall was packed with more than a hundred people.

Zhao Ji advocated abstaining from alcohol, and Xu Huang was even stricter in disciplining his troops, which was often followed by the Tiger Warriors.

Therefore, two or three Tiger Warriors squeezed together at a table in the hall, drinking tea, eating pilaf, and drinking mutton bone soup, listening to the ins and outs of this series of battles in Guanzhong and Guandong.

The senior Tiger Warriors who came with Zhao Ji stood up one by one to explain the cause, process, result, and subsequent impact of each battle.

Some of the elite warriors were not good with words, so they would bring their own or have others draw battle maps, hang them on the wall, and give a general explanation.

The Tiger Steps Army that remained behind had also participated in battles. Some of them withdrew to rest and recuperate after the Battle of Guanzhong, while others were wounded on the Guandong battlefield and then withdrew to the rear to recover.

However, listening directly to the course of this year's war, which lasted for half a year, gave most of the Tiger Warriors a fresh perspective and a profound understanding of the various impacts of this year's foreign war.

After the explanation of the Guanzhong and Guandong campaigns concluded, it was Zhao Ji's turn to talk about the importance of recovering the three prefectures.

Whether we can gain the strategic initiative in the future depends on whether the three counties can be pacified.

Otherwise, if the Xianbei were instigated by Yuan Shao and began to harass Xizhou, they could bypass the three commanderies, gather together the various Hu tribes in the three commanderies, directly disrupt the recuperation in Guanzhong, and undermine the stability of the various Xiongnu tribes.

This gave ambitious elements within the Xiongnu an opportunity to further weaken the army's mobilization potential, plunging Xizhou into internal strife.

Even if there were better opportunities in the Guandong region, our side would be unable to intervene due to interference from the Xianbei people.

Not to mention sending troops to Guandong again, they would even be harassed to the point of exhaustion by the Xianbei people.

Only by recovering the three commanderies and stationing troops and military settlements in the three locations of Beidi, Yulin, and Dai can we fully control the various Xiongnu tribes.

They then drew manpower from various Xiongnu tribes to cooperate with the garrison in resisting the regular invasions of the Xianbei.

If we want to live a good life and maintain the momentum of integrated farming and warfare, we must take over the three counties.

Even in the worst-case scenario, troops from the Three Auxiliary Regions, Hedong, Taiyuan, Xihe, and Hongnong would take turns serving to reinforce the border defenses.

This way, everyone can catch their breath and maintain their current lifestyle.

If we cannot quickly recover the three prefectures and eliminate the various Hu peoples who are familiar with the geography of the three prefectures, these people will become the vanguard of the Xianbei people, causing the border defenses to deteriorate and making it difficult to live in peace.

This is not just Zhao Ji's problem; the Xianbei are a hundred times more dangerous than the Xiongnu.

Only by emphasizing the danger posed by the Xianbei can the army be motivated to strike hard and quickly defeat and eliminate the various Hu tribes in the three commanderies.

The biggest fear now is that the rapidly improving living conditions will cause the army's fighting spirit to slacken, leading to a stalemate in the war to restore the three counties. Such heavy logistical pressure will make it difficult for the shogunate to move forward.

We must quickly break through and tear apart the defenses of the various barbarian tribes, disrupt their plans, and feed on the enemy in order to lay a solid foundation for a better life later.

Zhao Ji tried to explain the importance of this war to them in the simplest language possible.

If this drags on, Yuan Shao, the high officials, Lü Bu, and even Ma Teng, Han Sui, and Liu Biao will all try to instigate the Xianbei people to join the fray.

To put it bluntly, this is a surprise attack where speed overcomes slowness.

A surprise attack that devolves into attrition and stalemate is itself a disaster.

(End of this chapter)