Tiger Guards

Chapter 517 Sweeping Away the Trap
The brave charge of the Western Xianbei did indeed inspire and motivate the Qiang and Hu peoples of the three commanderies.

More than 10,000 cavalrymen from the northern lands also launched a charge from the south. It can be seen that the western Xianbei were routed after encountering the enemy. The various tribes of the northern lands had launched an offensive and could not stop. Their formations were no longer connected.

What awaited them were daredevils driving sled chariots.

For a time, the various tribes of the northern lands also failed to coordinate properly, some engaging in battle while others turned away, and chaos and a sense of defeat and pessimism spread together.

The idea of ​​retreating when things went wrong quickly took hold in the minds of the northern Hu tribes. The participating units withdrew one after another, and soon lost their cover, which turned into a chaotic rout as they were pursued by the daredevils.

Soon, Zhao Ji's central army chariots and cavalry units also joined the battle, advancing westward from the south of Fushi City in pursuit.

Upon seeing Zhao Ji's white tiger-patterned banner and golden eagle-patterned banner advancing westward, the various detachments of the Xiongnu Yi Cong in the three camps southeast of the city rushed out of their camps to join the pursuit, almost without waiting for any military orders.

As for the more than 10,000 cavalrymen of Lushui who came from the south of Shangjun, they were unable to cross the Sheyan River and withdrew voluntarily after dawn.

Zhao Ji's heavy sled was pulled by six rows of twelve fine horses clad in leather armor, and the sled experienced very little swaying.

There were still remnants of Xianbei or Qiang and Hu cavalry from the three commanderies charging towards Zhao Ji's location, but they were either intercepted and killed by other passing chariots and cavalry, or shot dead by Zhao Ji when they got within sixty or seventy paces.

Two large banners fluttered prominently atop the heavy sled.

After pursuing the enemy for over thirty li, when the horses grew tired, Zhao Ji ordered the central army chariots and cavalry to continue the pursuit of the remaining enemy.

Now that the Hu knights are exhausted and their horses are worn out, the risk of pursuing and killing these people is extremely small.

Even so, Zhao Ji only ordered them to pursue for more than ten miles.

Based on past battles between the Han and Xiongnu, and various Hu tribes, the war is now considered over, with only the finishing touches remaining.

When Zhao Ji withdrew and returned to his original forward camp, the prisoners he had captured were being registered and tallied.

The Xiongnu volunteers were also required to hand over the prisoners, but the personal belongings of the prisoners would belong to these volunteers.

Small teams were everywhere on the battlefield chasing and collecting stray horses, and the Xiongnu volunteers also participated in the collection.

They would be given a kind of 'ticket' for the prisoners, heads, or horses they brought.

Different tickets represented different merits. After the war, these tickets could be used to exchange for production and daily necessities such as iron pots, tools, or cloth at the official market in Jinyang or Pingyang.

These tickets could also be used to 'transfer' to the Marquisate of Pingyang, becoming Zhao Ji's direct followers, thereby acquiring the Marquisate of Pingyang's pastures, land, and household registration.

Inside the camp, Zhao Ji's staff were working together, collecting the heads, prisoners, and horses presented by the Xiongnu followers and distributing the receipts.

Each ticket is about the size of a two-cent coin. The front is stamped with the seals of the Granary Officer, Military Officer, and Household Officer of the Grand Marshal's Office, while the back is written with the name of the person receiving the ticket and their tribe.

Captives and horses were also categorized. Ordinary captives were worth one point, warriors and cavalrymen were worth two points, sharpshooters, famous tribal warriors, minor tribal leaders and nobles were worth three points, and chieftains were worth five points.

Horses are also valued based on their condition, with injured horses that can only be slaughtered being valued at half the price.

The Xiongnu Yicong naturally had ways to find out the identities of their captives and also had a general understanding of the value of the horses.

The most troublesome thing is the military merit of heads, but fortunately the hairstyles of the Qiang and Xianbei people are different from those of the Han army and the Xiongnu followers.

Even the most eager-to-achieve Xiongnu people would not dare to use the heads of Han soldiers found on the battlefield to claim credit.

If it were a civil war in the Central Plains, every captured head would be labeled and then the entire army would be inspected; if anyone falsely claimed credit, they would be found out and severely punished.

By the campfire, Zhao Ji looked at the various Qiang chieftains and minor nobles who were being categorized and detained in the small camp. He was too lazy to investigate whether any of them had falsely claimed their identities or inflated their status.

As he warmed himself by the fire to relax, Pei Xiu strode over: "Grand Marshal."

Zhao Ji looked up and saw that his breastplate was also marked with arrow marks, and asked, "How many kills did the vanguard achieve?"

"No less than seven thousand today."

Pei Xiu stepped forward and squatted down by the fire, turning his head to look at Zhao Ji's profile: "Grand Marshal, do you really intend to destroy all the Qiang settlements?"

“Without sweeping away the enemy's strongholds, it will be difficult to maintain peace here.” Zhao Ji looked up at the azure sky: “Under such a beautiful sky, there should be no more strife or blood feuds in the future. Why is Seventh Brother also afraid of bloodshed?”

"No, I can't bear it, and I'm also worried that it will arouse the righteous indignation of the Qiang people, causing the war to be delayed and resulting in additional losses of officers and soldiers."

Pei Xiu explained, glancing at the Qiang tribesmen gathered in the distance, imprisoned in groups: "Do you really want to..."

"I will give them a chance; whether they can seize it is up to them."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look in the southeast direction, where the Qiang prisoners who had been screened were located. They all wore red headscarves or red scarves tied around their arms.

These selected prisoners, in groups of ten and supervised by two soldiers, were cleaning up the battlefield and loading various equipment, materials, wounded soldiers, or corpses onto sleds.

Pei Xiu also turned his head to look, thinking that Zhao Ji's so-called opportunity was to release the captured Han border people and half-Han bandits.

Wanting to persuade him further, Pei Xiu saw that Zhao Ji's expression was not good, so she shut up: "I know you don't want to kill him, and it would be wrong of me to try to persuade you now. Why not play hard to get and deal with it after the situation has stabilized?"

"It is difficult, for a person cannot break his word. To let someone go and then provoke trouble and kill them on some pretext is not the act of a true man."

When Zhao Ji saw a soldier bring over a pot of hot tea, he took the teacup, poured himself some tea, rinsed the teacup, and then warmed his hands with a bowl of ginger tea. He said, “The number of casualties among the daredevils is no less than a thousand. If we include those who have redeemed themselves through meritorious service, we will need to replenish more than three thousand daredevils after this battle. When Li Ying returns, Seventh Brother will go with Han Shu and Along to select daredevils.”

Pei Xiu also held the teacup with both hands: "Just fill the quota of five thousand people?"

"Select more brave and strong men, as long as they are willing to change their Han names, and organize them into the reserve of suicide soldiers. They will still have a chance to be used, and their losses have been considerable. Tomorrow, we will use them to launch a strong attack on Fushi City!"

As for the other prisoners, Zhao Ji naturally wouldn't shoot them on the spot.

Although they would become a threat after nightfall, they had to be driven and escorted to the Sheyan Royal Court before nightfall and handed over to Xianglibao for transport.

Training a miner is not easy, so we should cherish and utilize them.

As long as people are alive, they are useful. Wounded soldiers, whether seriously or lightly, are collected on the battlefield and given to military medical apprentices to practice on and build courage, not to mention those who are not injured.

Seeing that Zhao Ji had no intention of mass killings of prisoners, Pei Xiu was finally relieved and sipped his hot tea.

He had already received a secret report from Zhang Liao about the execution of prisoners. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I heard that Zhang Wenyuan's troops, finding the prisoners a hindrance to their march, shot and killed about six hundred people south of Yulin City."

"Don't take it too seriously. At that time, the Xianbei vanguard was approaching. If we didn't kill these burdens, would we have dragged down the entire army and fought a bloody battle with the Xianbei?"

Zhao Ji also drank tea, his attitude clear: "The battle situation is special, so special measures should be taken. Zhang Wenyuan's accumulated merits far surpass those of other generals, so there is no need to discuss this matter further. Otherwise, outsiders will think that we, the people of Hedong, are jealous of talent."

"Okay, I will talk to Zhang Wenyuan and try to suppress this matter."

Pei Xiu also stated that if Zhao Ji executes the other prisoners tonight, then no one will care about Zhang Liao's matter.

If the prisoners were transferred to the rear, Zhang Liao's killing of prisoners would be very blatant.

Zhang Liao is still under the command of the vanguard, and executing prisoners falls within the duties of Pei Xiu, the military protector.

Then, Pei Xiu asked, "The Xianbei king has been killed in battle, and his royal court has suffered heavy losses. Now Shuofang and Wuyuan are vulnerable. Should our army follow the plan and take the Northwest Pass Road to directly attack Fuping and Helan Mountain, or should we go all out to the north via the Qin Straight Road to plunder the Xianbei people and livestock in Wuyuan and Shuofang?"

"Let me think about it. Seventh Brother, go ahead and get busy."

"Yes, I am resigning."

Pei Xiu stood up, returned the empty teacup to the guard beside him, and walked to the officials of the shogunate to communicate between the vanguard and the central army.

Zhao Ji poured himself another bowl of tea and closed his eyes to warm himself by the fire.

Previously, the plan was to destroy and plunder the Xianbei, Qiang and Hu people in the northern part of Beidi Commandery, which is the Helan Mountain area, and then retreat into the pass. Then, the army would use its local superiority to force the Qiang and their allies to fight a siege battle within the three commanderies, and completely wipe out the Qiang people in the three commanderies.

As long as the nomadic Xianbei people maintain their original way of life and production, it is impossible for the Helan Mountains area to remain idle. New Xianbei and other non-Han peoples will definitely migrate here, and it may even attract the Dingling people.

This would provide a hunting ground that could be harvested regularly, allowing for the strengthening of control over the Xiongnu through troop deployment and warfare.

(End of this chapter)