Tiger Guards

Chapter 493 Structural Contradictions
Jinyang, the Grand Marshal's headquarters.

Three thousand Tiger Infantrymen in the city have already set off with Xu Huang to Xihe Lishi for preliminary assembly.

When Zhang Liao returned to his hometown to visit his relatives, his army began to reorganize. Eventually, four battalions would be selected to participate in the battle, with the same configuration as Zhao Yun's: two infantry battalions, one chariot battalion, and one cavalry battalion.

Although it is called an infantry battalion, this battle will heavily rely on sleds and will still be equipped with a large number of horses.

Even if Zhao Ji's army had five thousand daredevils, they would not allow them to march on foot in armor; they would be equipped with sleds for mobility.

Early winter snowfall alone is not enough; we need even more snowfall.

After the heavy snow falls, it will cut off the flow of information and restrict the gathering and escape of the various Hu tribes.

In order to mislead the various Hu tribes, Zhao Ji's mobilization at this moment was deceptive.

For example, Zhao Yun led his troops toward Yuci and escorted many vehicles, which looked exactly like an attack on Hebei.

Even some meetings within the shogunate focused on analyzing the situation in Hebei.

The proclamation sent by Gongsun Zan earlier also circulated in Jinyang, causing endless discussion in the streets and alleys.

In this situation, it seems normal for Liu Qubei to mobilize from the right wing.

Xu Huang led his troops to Lishi only to reinforce the western defenses of Taiyuan and fill the gaps in defenses left by Liu Qubei's mobilization.

The mobilization of manpower and resources in Pingyang was therefore reasonable.

Even Zhao Ji's departure from Jinyang to Pingyang had a plausible excuse: to send Consort Dong and other noblewomen to the capital.

Under this mobilization, Gan Ning and Guan Cheng's more than 5,000 men transferred to the Fen River fleet and also arrived in Pingyang.

They will not participate in subsequent shipping operations because the Fen River will freeze, and the freezing period is difficult to estimate.

If they were to participate in the subsequent prisoner and animal-powered transport work, it would actually deplete their physical strength and be detrimental to emergency response.

Therefore, the Gan Ning and Guan Cheng ministries were stationed in Pingyang, and their task for that winter was to build the Pingyang Shipyard.

In winter, people are idle anyway, and training is meaningless. The army itself has a high degree of organization, and building shipyards on the spot is not unfamiliar territory for these people.

Meanwhile, the daredevils had been resting and reorganizing in Pingyang. There were two routes into Shangdang: one entrance was in Taiyuan and Yuci, and the other was on the east side of Pingyang.

By obscuring the war objective and shrouding it in smoke, the devil in the smoke can naturally launch a fatal blow.

Even if a sudden war of conquest against the Hu peoples of the three commanderies were launched, when the news reached Hebei, it would be mistaken for another kind of mystery or illusion.

That morning, light snow fell.

After a thrilling duel with Du, Zhao Ji, feeling refreshed, brewed tea and watched through the window as the new snow fell on the rooftops and treetops in the distance.

Cai Zhaoji had not fully recovered from childbirth, while Du Shi was even more powerful than before, which greatly pleased Zhao Ji.

Madam Du also cherished the opportunity to hold a hostage in her hands, so that she would have someone to rely on when her beauty faded.

She is a very intelligent person who can adapt to changing circumstances; her principle is that she has no principles.

War and violence destroyed everything from the past; all she wanted was to survive better.

Moreover, this was not considered a grievance, and she readily accepted it, displaying a strong fighting spirit.

As Zhao Ji sipped his tea, the new chief clerk, Wei Kai, entered the pavilion carrying a tray of official documents: "Grand Marshal, the envoy from Hebei is approaching Yuci. General Zilong has sent a messenger to inform us whether to allow him to pass."

Zhao Ji picked up the teapot and poured tea for Wei Kai, asking, "Who is the envoy?"

"Guo Tu, Guo Gongze of Yingchuan".

“This is a key figure in Yuan Shao’s inner circle; it seems that the goal is not just to redeem Yuan Xi.”

Zhao Ji pushed the teacup he had poured over, and Wei Ji bowed and thanked him. He took the teacup with both hands, took a small sip, and then put it down before asking, "So, are you letting us through?"

"Since we're already here, let's meet."

Zhao Ji reached for the official documents on the plate. Paper production was initially used in the military, but now it has finally been fully adopted for office work. However, at the county level, bamboo slips are still the main material. It is estimated that paper office work will be completed in Taiyuan, Xihe, and Hedong counties by next autumn or winter.

Therefore, the official documents here from the prefecture level and above, including those from the rank of colonel and above, are all on paper; while the official documents from the rank of captain, battalion commander, military commander, chief clerk, military officer, county magistrate, and county lieutenant are still on bamboo slips.

The stack of official documents in the dish was less than a finger's width thick, yet it contained several times the amount of information as two stacks of bamboo slips.

Zhao Ji reached for a pen from the side of the desk, flipped through the official documents in the government office, read them carefully, and made his comments. After quickly finishing these lightweight paper documents, Zhao Ji picked up the first stack of bamboo slips, held them with both hands, and read them. These were documents from the Luoyang Secretariat.

It was written by Tai Chong. Tai Chong strived for detail, so this bamboo slip used more than fifty slips and contained more than a thousand characters.

Zhao Ji used a vermilion brush to mark on the bamboo slips from time to time, drawing a circle for those who agreed and an X for those who disagreed.

Tai Chong's official documents naturally contained various important issues of the Secretariat. What troubled Tai Chong the most was Lü Bu's proposal to appoint General of the Guards Dong Cheng as General of Chariots and Cavalry, and to appoint Wei Yue as General of the Guards to garrison Luodu and carry out military farming.

The appointment of Dong Cheng as a general with a high title can only be considered a natural response by Lü Bu to the naming of his eldest son Liu Feng.

Dong Cheng's daughter gave birth to the emperor's eldest son. According to the tradition of the Han Dynasty, Dong Cheng should have rewarded her handsomely, such as by promoting her to a high-ranking official position, bestowing upon her the title of county marquis, and granting her a large fortune. However, the imperial treasury was now depleted and could not fulfill this obligation.

However, granting Dong Cheng the titles of County Marquis and General of a Major Order became a matter that had to be implemented.

Zhao Ji examined the bamboo slips for a moment: "The General wants to establish a banner, but I don't know if Dong Cheng can stand up to it."

Fu Wan, the father-in-law of the emperor and the Assistant General of the State, whose rank was equivalent to the Three Dukes, was, strictly speaking, brought down by Zhao Ji.

If Zhao Ji had not brought down Fu Wan, after Yang Qi's death, Fu Wan would have been the undisputed leader of the high-ranking officials, nobles, and relatives of the emperor.

It was Zhao Ji's house arrest of Empress Fu Shou that caused Fu Wan to become estranged from the emperor. Coupled with the unexpected death of Fu De, Fu Wan became somewhat disheartened and less proactive in serving the emperor.

The emperor was perceptive and noticed Fu Wan's laxity, so he naturally wouldn't force Fu Wan to do the millstone work.

Now, Fu Wan really has no need to risk being beheaded and having his entire family wiped out to help the emperor cause trouble. Even if the emperor regains power, how will he settle Empress Fu, and how will he settle and appoint Fu Wan?
On the contrary, Zhao Ji indirectly established a solid cooperative relationship with the Fu family. One day, when the Empress becomes the Empress Dowager, the initiative will be in the hands of Zhao Ji and the Fu family.

Therefore, Fu Wan is currently keeping a low profile and trying his best to minimize his influence in court politics.

As long as Empress Fu Shou remains Empress, she has a chance to become Empress Dowager. Once she becomes Empress Dowager, Fu Wan's opportunity will come.

Compared to the emperor, one's own daughter is naturally more reliable and more worth risking everything for.

Wei Ji pretended not to hear Zhao Ji's comments.

Zhao Ji then asked, "Boyu, do you think the General suddenly sent Wei Yangzu to Luozhong Military Camp to guard against our army's invasion of Guandong next year, or to prepare an escape route?"

Wei Ji pondered for a moment before replying, "My lord, in my opinion, the Grand General appointed Wei Yangzu as the General of the Guards precisely to prevent you from venturing out of Guandong again. Our army has captured no fewer than 500,000 people in two separate raids, and nearly half of your troops are now from Guandong. How could any discerning person in the court and the countryside possibly want you to capture more people from Guandong to bolster your own strength?"

"Yes, they've realized it, but what can they do?"

Zhao Ji rolled up Tai Chong's bamboo slip and put it back on the plate. He picked up another bamboo slip and began to read it, still saying, "In any case, we must send troops to Guandong again next year. The families of the four tribes of Qingzhou must be brought back to Xizhou, otherwise it will not be conducive to the stability of the army."

"I understand."

Wei Ji responded with a sound of agreement, without saying anything more.

They all spent huge sums of money and took great risks to bring back the families of the four tribes of Qingzhou, so the people of Langya should also be sensible and move to Xizhou.

In the context of the Guandong battlefield, once all sides shielded themselves from influence, the people of Xuzhou might not have any good days left.

The people of Guangling could follow Chen Deng and make a living, drifting and struggling in this chaotic world.

The people of Donghai were less affected, but the people of Langya were destined for a bad end.

They were either gradually annexed by the refugee leaders and garrison commanders such as Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and Yin Lu'er within Langya territory, or their channels for entering officialdom were restricted.

As long as the Langya Kingdom and its counties still exist, layers of exploitation will continue.

At that time, they will not show any leniency to the people of Langya out of respect for the Grand Marshal. On the contrary, they will intensify their efforts to weaken the people of Langya with a purpose, wishing to wipe them out completely and eliminate the last pillar of the Grand Marshal in Guandong.

Therefore, the Langya people really didn't have many choices. If all the Langya people followed suit and migrated, would the people of the East China Sea, who were separated from them by a narrow strip of water, also migrate?

Although it's not next year yet, and there has been no military intervention in the Kwantung region.

However, the relocation of Langya's population next year is seen as inevitable by Zhao Ji and Wei Kai, the core members of the shogunate.

With the removal of people from Langya and some from Donghai, Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou, would be crippled.

As for what Liu Bei thought, that had nothing to do with the Grand Marshal's office.

If you're not convinced, it's just a matter of fighting again.

As the most capable warrior among the imperial clansmen, Liu Bei was coveted not only by the emperor and high-ranking officials, but also by many within the Grand Marshal's staff.

(End of this chapter)