Tiger Guards

Chapter 498 Confidence Soars
On the fourth day of the eleventh lunar month, there was already slight icing on both banks of the Fen River in Pingyang.

The last southbound fleet hovered in the middle of the river, with small boats moving back and forth between the docks and cargo ships.

The noblewomen, who were about to be sent away, cried incessantly. Out of fear of their unknown fate, these women in their twenties and thirties were forced to board small boats and be transported to the fleet in the middle of the river.

The person in charge of carrying out the order was Dai Lie, the Imperial Household Department Commander, who was initially somewhat reluctant.

When you see these women boarding the small boat, they are all crouching inside the sampan, holding tightly to the deck with both hands, as if afraid that the boat will rock them and make them fall into the water.

Seeing how much they valued their lives, Dai Lie's initial reluctance vanished completely.

These women had lost their purpose in Xizhou. The Grand Marshal did not want to use them to reward meritorious military officers. Apart from eating Xizhou's millet, Dai Lie could not think of any other use for them.

Unlike the other palace servants who were rescued one after another, these palace servants had also gone through many hardships, but under the Empress's rule they obeyed the labor arrangements and were able to weave and be self-sufficient.

Even when they married out of the palace, those palace women who possessed advanced textile skills and mathematical accounting abilities were quite popular.

Unlike these noblewomen who, relying on their noble lineage, would be picky even when arranging marriages for them.

Even though she was living in the imperial palace estate during this time, she still put a lot of pressure on him, the head of the inner palace, and the empress in order to raise their living standards.

Now that most of them have left, Dai Lie feels that the difficulty of his work will decrease dramatically in the future.

Previously, Dai Lie had been concerned that these women would marry into the noble families of Xizhou, so he had exercised a lot of restraint and endured many grievances.

Now, all the burdens of these imperial palaces have finally been dealt with.

It was somewhat regrettable, though. If the Grand Marshal had informed him earlier, he would have definitely dealt with a few of the more arrogant noblewomen.

Dai Lie looked around and watched as boats of women carrying their bags entered the side doors of the cabins in the middle of the river.

At this time, Pei Xiu, the vanguard commander, had arrived at the front line.

Xu Huang has already requisitioned the royal court of the Xiutu Dada, which is located at the confluence of three rivers.

Upon arrival, Pei Xiu, without taking a break, first led his cavalry around the camp to scout the surrounding terrain.

The abundant water flow originating from the northwest has resulted in lush vegetation in Shangjun today, a far cry from its later state.

Therefore, it was not yet known as the Wuding River. It was navigable even in summer, which was beneficial for irrigation on both banks.

Pei Xiu stopped his horse on a small hill nearby and looked out at the area where the Xiongnu people had been operating for decades.

The royal court of the Shutu Dada was here, but the pastures for grazing in spring and summer were further north, in the winter.

The hay was also harvested and dried by herdsmen and slaves and piled up in heaps. These hay heaps were scattered around the royal camp.

This separate placement effectively prevents fires.

"Uu~!"

A military officer reined in his horse and slowed down, shouting loudly, "Commander, Governor Xu has prepared a banquet and ordered me to invite you."

"Okay, I'll come right away."

Pei Xiu drew his whip, pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and said to his men, "The ancestors of Xiu Tu Dada were quite discerning. They established their royal court here, no wonder their tribe is one of the major Tu tribes."

Han Dong nodded and said, "Many people are now worried that there are people among the Xiongnu who are colluding with other Hu tribes. We must be on guard."

"Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu, and many of them must have ulterior motives. But don't say such things carelessly, and don't say them in front of the Xiongnu. I am the Protector of the Army, and I must not only mediate disputes among the various armies, but also appease the Xiongnu and prevent any unrest from arising."

Pei Xiu looked around at the others and asked, "Did everyone understand?"

"Here."

Han Dong and the others bowed and escorted Pei Xiu as they rode lightly through the snow towards the royal camp.

The royal court was originally located on a high, vantage point on the west bank of the Sheyan River, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, giving it a geographical advantage.

With Xu Huang's arrival, ordinary herders in the royal court had no choice but to migrate to the outskirts so that Xu Huang could station his troops.

The Hutukada also selected elite cavalry to form a cavalry force of seven thousand men. Although called an infantry and cavalry unit, it was actually a purely cavalry force; even the armed slaves who fought on foot had horses to ride when marching.

Xu Huang and Xiu Tu Dada arrived at the camp gate one after the other to greet Pei Xiu. Pei Xiu dismounted thirty paces ahead of him, quickly stepped forward, and returned the greeting with a cupped hand. He spoke first: "Xiu greets Commander Gongming and Your Majesty."

Xu Huang immediately changed the words he was about to say: "You are too modest, Commander. It should be that I, Xu, pay my respects to you, Commander."

Xiu Tu Dada wanted to speak, but felt he lacked the confidence.

Pei Xiu responded to Xu Huang: "With Brother Gongming as the commander of the vanguard, all military affairs at the front should be decided by the commander alone. I am of limited knowledge and have come here only to rely on the prestige of the Grand Marshal to coordinate the various armies for Commander Gongming and prevent any discord."

Xu Huang breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and turned to the side, extending his arms: "Please, Protector General." Xiu Tu Dada followed suit, turning around and extending his arms: "Please come quickly, Protector General. We have cooked some northern lamb in the camp, which is very delicious."

"Please, Commander-in-Chief, and please, Your Majesty as well."

Pei Xiu declined again before the three of them entered the camp together.

The royal court of the Shutu Dada was run by three generations. Many of the military tents were newly built, while the original nobles and herdsmen of the royal court lived in earthen buildings, earthen houses or cave dwellings.

Hutu Dada's personal dwelling was more like a small fortified village, with a spacious hall and a fire pit dug in the center, where piles of dried cow dung, resembling bricks, were burning.

This cow dung was made by slaves through compaction, and when burned, it produced no smoke or odor, but rather a pleasant fragrance of grass and wood.

The three sat down, and Pei Xiu removed his helmet, raising his hand to wipe away the white frost that had melted from his eyebrows: "Commander, how is the military situation?"

"Yesterday, scouts reported that there was no unusual activity from the nearby Qiang tribes."

Xu Huang went to see Xiutu Dada, who immediately said, "I have a caravan heading towards Andingchao to sell iron pots to the tribes of Lushui. If there is any unusual activity, I will ride back to warn the army."

Upon hearing this, Pei Xiu looked at Xiu Tu Dada seriously and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will record this merit truthfully. If the army can succeed in the surprise attack, Your Majesty's merit will not be forgotten."

"It is my great honor to serve the Grand Marshal; how dare I claim credit?"

While Xiutu Dada spoke eloquently, he genuinely appreciated the Grand Marshal's generosity. He essentially delegated the power of foreign trade to the nobles of various Xiongnu tribes, just as the Grand Marshal divided the summer and winter pastures of the thousand-household and hundred-household tribes, he also clearly defined the specific areas for their business activities.

Selling household utensils to herders is very profitable, and you don't have to bear any extra infamy; selling to other tribes is even more profitable... and you even have to guard against smuggling by the herders below.

Due to limitations in productivity and production methods, even the largest royal court could only gather two or three thousand households; with a larger population, more animal herds were needed, but the areas available for grazing and pasturing were limited.

Therefore, under one royal court, there were various tribes of different sizes.

The system of households of a thousand or a hundred, implemented by the Grand Marshal, ironically granted the nobility the privilege of inheritance.

In a sense, these nobles who obtained hereditary titles such as king, commander of a thousand households, and commander of a hundred households made peace with the Grand Marshal's office, thus abandoning the original traditions of the Xiongnu tribes.

As they benefited, nobles naturally suffered losses, losing their eligibility to compete for leadership.

If these defeated nobles dared to provoke or vie for leadership, they would naturally be besieged by surrounding kings and commanders, and would also suffer suppression from the Grand Marshal's shogunate.

Therefore, the Xiongnu leadership was bound to the shogunate, and this bond became even stronger after they monopolized commerce.

But the nobles who lost power... even those who originally had no rebellious feelings towards the Grand Marshal's shogunate, would become alienated and harbor resentment.

These disgraced nobles wanted to rise again, and Zhao Ji's answer was to become followers of the shogunate, accumulate merits by following the shogunate's banner, and perhaps become centurions or chiliarchs in the future.

As for the famous kings of the Xiongnu, their value in uniting the people was too high, so they could only succeed their fathers or brothers.

Zhao Ji intervened forcefully, elevating the priority of succession from father to son, with succession from brother to brother merely supplementing it.

Therefore, Xiutu Dada naturally hoped to win this battle, eliminate the mixed Hu tribes in the three counties, and redistribute the grasslands. He could also benefit from this, and his brothers and nephews might become new commanders of thousands or hundreds through their accumulated merits, which would directly enhance the family's influence.

However, there were also disgruntled relatives in his tribe, and he had to be careful to avoid getting involved.

After comforting Xiu Tu Dada, Pei Xiu began to enjoy the mutton soup.

This mutton soup is simmered until it turns milky white, and only needs a pinch of salt to be incredibly delicious.

If you eat it with wheat pancakes, it's absolutely delicious.

When Pei Xiu first arrived here, he was afraid of not being able to adapt to the local environment, so he dared not eat much.

Even so, he still drank two bowls of mutton soup and ate three wheat pancakes.

After a simple meal, Xu Huang led Pei Xiu to see the newly made sand table, and Pei Xiu also brought high-level intelligence from the rear.

Inside the hall, Xu Huang adjusted the various war games in the rear based on Pei Xiu's information.

Xiutu Dada was also fortunate enough to stand here as the third person. He was excited because of trust, and his face was flushed as he carefully observed the terrain information of Shangjun area... As for the war game information on the west bank of the Yellow River, he deliberately turned his head away to avoid looking at it in order to avoid suspicion.

Xu Huang lightly tapped the Mengmen camp with a wooden stick. Jia Kui, the governor of Xihe County, and Liu Qubei, the Right Wise King, crossed the river together. Jia Kui would stay at the Mengmen camp from now on, in charge of transporting the eastern army.

After Liu Qubei, Zhang Liao also arrived at the west bank, and the crossing of the river will be completed tomorrow.

After Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun's troops were able to cross the river in about three or four days.

In other words, once Zhao Yun arrives here and rests for a day, all three units can be deployed simultaneously, with two groups of volunteers cooperating in the battle, creating a total of five attack arrows.

What reassured Xu Huang the most was that his strategist Jia Xu had already arrived in Lishi, and he would be able to reach the royal camp before the entire army launched its offensive.

Although the Grand Marshal's headquarters has not yet set off, Jia Xu, Jia Kui, and Pei Xiu are in charge of a series of military intelligence analyses, logistics transportation, and coordination among various armies. Based on this alone, even if the three commanderies' mixed barbarian tribes are prepared, Xu Huang is confident that he can break through them head-on!
(End of this chapter)