Tiger Guards

Chapter 563 Sweeping Away the Trap
On the north bank of the Yellow River, along roads that run east to west.

The horse-drawn carriages that could calculate distances using gears had begun operating, and Zhao Ji also began demarcating the grasslands south of Yinshan.

Although it was designated as winter pasture, its use was quite flexible after being allocated to each thousand households.

It was impossible for all the members of each thousand-household tribe to migrate to the pastures north of Yinshan during the spring and summer. Each thousand-household tribe had to leave people in the grasslands south of Yinshan to graze the livestock, cut hay in advance, and repair the pastures for winter.

Zhao Ji also did not want to over-manage the herders' migration work, as this was an experience accumulated by generations of herders with their lives.

Zhao Ji, who had no experience in herding, did not believe that he was so capable as to arbitrarily regulate the production and life of herders.

All he could do was divide the jurisdiction of each thousand households into relatively even areas.

Time is very precious. If the differences between these thousand households in the jurisdiction do not exceed 30%, then it is within his acceptable range.

The time of the herdsmen was also precious. As they continued to migrate eastward with Zhao Ji, they were constantly being diverted and stranded, and were assigned to new thousand-household jurisdictions.

The resettlement of each thousand households basically followed the principle of alternating between the Xianbei, various Qiang, and Xiongnu groups. There was simply no time to make detailed divisions this year, so as long as the general direction was correct, it was fine.

Thus, Zhao Ji had no interest in dealing with the emperor's envoys and other officials from the court.

The officials along the way could also understand his implication to some extent, and would slow down the imperial envoy's journey.

Thus, only after the ice jams in Wuyuan had completely subsided were the official imperial envoy team led by Chen Qun able to cross the river.

However, the Grand Marshal had already left Wuyuan and was leading more than 300,000 Han and Hu nomadic groups eastward, soon to reach Tanhan Mountain.

Budugen, who had previously arrived at the old Xianbei royal court at Danhan Mountain, did not wait for Zhao Ji. When Zhao Yun led his troops to approach, Budugen led his people to migrate and flee again to the distant northeast towards the Great Xianbei Mountain.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yun had no interest in chasing him, nor in the empty Danhan Mountain.

Zhao Yun led his troops south, approaching Tanhan Mountain but not entering. He then entered the pass from Gaoliu in Dai Commandery to welcome Zhao Lian, the governor of Dai Commandery, to officially relocate the capital to Beiping County, south of Gaoliu.

The situation in Youzhou changed drastically once again. As Yuan Shao's main force retreated, the county officials he appointed were soon driven out and attacked by the local officials and people.

However, Zhao Yun, the vanguard, only stationed himself at Gaoliu, established a large camp around Gaoliu, restored the surrounding fortification system, and forcibly conscripted various Hu tribes within the territory of Dai County and Yanmen.

Those who were willing to submit were registered as commoners and made hereditary guards of the pass; those who were unwilling to submit were recruited by Zhao Yun with the newly formed Dai County soldiers and Yanmen County soldiers, who were then used in conjunction with cavalry to pursue and annihilate them.

The so-called gate guards were small groups of miscellaneous Hu people who were stationed near passes and fortifications in the valleys and along the roads to garrison, farm, and herd livestock. They were not taxed or required to pay grain; the only thing they were charged was military service.

By serving in the military, one can obtain permission for the tribe to settle and live in the local area, and also receive tax exemptions.

These border guards were almost the lowest-cost way to defend the frontier.

As long as there is no exploitation or oppression by officials, and the losses of generations of servicemen are not too great or tragic, the tribes guarding the pass can generally endure this kind of hardship.

Currently, the miscellaneous Hu tribes do not resist the placement of these border guards. They are not unfamiliar with or have heard of the practice of being assigned to guard positions as gatekeepers. Being a gatekeeper for the Han army is naturally better than being a stray dog.

Stray dogs have to fight tooth and nail for a bite to eat.

As for guard dogs, they are usually well-fed and have glossy fur. They can comfortably watch over the stray dogs of their kind who linger outside the gate, but dare not act recklessly.

Small tribes of the Qiang, Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Xiongnu all had similar experiences. They did not resist becoming watchdogs for the Han army; what they resisted was the inhumanity of the border officials. They expected these watchdogs to do the work, and even dreamed of eating dog meat and wearing dog-skin coats afterward.

Under the current Grand Marshal's rule, there are naturally no corrupt and despicable officials.

Nothing in this world is absolute, but the Han and Hu nomadic armies under the command of the Grand Marshal were following behind Zhao Yun. You may not respect the vanguard Zhao Yun, but you must respect the Grand Marshal.

Therefore, Zhao Yun's reconstruction of the garrison system in Yanmen and Daijun progressed smoothly, and Zhao Yun did not find it unusual.

The victors have privileges; no one in this world, whether Han or non-Han, wants to be killed for no reason.

Given a sliver of hope, these people would naturally submit.

As for whether the newly established gatekeeper system is robust, it doesn't need to be tested now, so it is naturally robust.

Once the registration of households and land taxes in Yanmen and Daijun are sorted out and stable governance is achieved for several years, the new order will naturally extend to the guard system and purify it.

Zhao Ji and Zhao Yun did not think that the system of guarding the pass could cure any fundamental problems. In Zhao Yun's eyes, it was a temporary compromise that could save unnecessary troop consumption and bring together various scattered and miscellaneous tribes to prevent chaos.

This is a form of restraint; once things have calmed down, a more effective and balancing approach will definitely be adopted.

In Zhao Ji's view, the border guard system was just a primitive version of the bandit conscripts. Anyone who expected these border guards to strengthen the defense of the border was a fool.

These gatekeepers were merely special hundred-household units that evolved from a system similar to the thousand-household system.

We cannot expect these people to guard the border. Their role is to populate the border areas, provide enough population, and provide some technical personnel, living services, or other tasks for the future standing field army on the border.

In short, as long as these people live in the small border villages with a friendly attitude and identity, they have a positive impact.

Otherwise, they would have to deceive good people from the interior into populating the border areas, or relocate or exile criminal officials and prisoners to populate the border areas.

Compared to the high costs of populating the borderlands, the small amount of mountain valleys, grasslands, and farmland occupied by the border guard tribes was actually insignificant; and the taxes generated from the output of these lands were even less of a concern.

However, when the number of officials in the central government and the inner circle of the country grows and begins to overflow and flood into the border counties, these scoundrels will not care about the cost of securing the border or the long-term benefits; what they can get their hands on is the most important and only valuable thing in their eyes.

Thus, on March 23, the vanguard of Zhao Ji's Han-Hu nomadic army finally "attacked" Tanhan Mountain.

Zhao Ji himself remained in the central army and did not even participate.

Immediately afterwards, fortified villages and stockades were set up on both sides of the valley at the foot of Tanhan Mountain, and military settlements were immediately established.

With ample animal power, the hastily crafted curved plow could easily break through the black soil meadow layer, where the turf was often more than half a foot deep.

However, with the help of curved plows and more animal power, large areas of lush meadows on both sides of the river were plowed away.

Meanwhile, sheepfolds and animal sheds left behind by various nomadic tribes around Tanhan Mountain were also set on fire and destroyed.

Zhang Hong took charge here, carrying out something Zhao Ji had mentioned for a long time, which they finally accomplished: a complete plowing and sweeping away of the enemy's stronghold!

Even if the feats of sealing the wolf's lair and inscribing the Yanran Mountain were replicated, they would still be ranked below those of Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Dou Xian.

A new, catchy story is needed to commemorate this great military victory!
(End of this chapter)