Tiger Guards

Chapter 570 Lack of Fighter Jets
Not long after Shi Ren left Gongsun Zan, he followed Liu Bei's chief envoy, Sun Qian, to bid farewell to Zhao Ji.

Envoys from other regions of the court traveled through Heluo, Guanzhong, and the Qin Straight Road to cross the border; or through Henan, Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Daijun to cross the border.

Liu Bei was different; he had extensive connections, and Yuan Shao was willing to give him face.

Therefore, Liu Bei's envoys roamed freely in the Hebei and Yan regions. As long as the scale was not too large and did not involve the smuggling of horses or weapons, the powerful families and officials of the two provinces of You and Ji were willing to give Liu Bei face.

Lü Bu invited Liu Bei to the court to assist in governing, which was a very important matter.

Previously, Zhao Ji and Lü Bu shared power and ruled separately. Now, Lü Bu wants to bring Liu Bei into the fold. Lü Bu can act arbitrarily without consulting Zhao Ji, but Liu Bei must consult him.

For such an important matter, Liu Bei directly sent someone across Hebei to deliver the letter to Zhao Ji.

Although Liu Bei had already entered the court and participated in governance, his envoy Sun Qian had only just arrived at the border.

Regarding Lü Bu's invitation to Liu Bei to join the court and govern... Zhao Ji had no thoughts whatsoever, and felt no anger whatsoever.

After defeating and subduing most of the Xianbei tribes, his main battlefield was no longer the imperial court.

Previously, he still needed the Han Dynasty court as a platform to carry out various operations, but now, he no longer needs to rely on this platform.

As time goes on, this platform will instead become a hindrance to him.

Zhao Jizhen wouldn't mind having a few more operators on an operating platform that was about to be abandoned.

Therefore, when Liu Bei's envoy Sun Qian arrived at the front line, Zhao Ji treated him with courtesy and did not mistreat him.

Making things difficult for a messenger is pointless, especially since it was all orchestrated by Lü Bu, so what does it have to do with Liu Bei?
Although Liu Bei was certainly eager to enter the court and experience the thrill of managing state affairs.

But at this moment, Zhao Ji did not want to antagonize Liu Bei.

But reason told him that from the moment Liu Bei entered the court and began to govern, it was only a matter of time before the two sides broke apart and went to war.

After seeing Sun Qian off, Zhao Ji continued to lead the Han-Hu nomadic army eastward.

On average, every two days, the land can be surveyed, divided, and a new thousand households can be established.

As they moved closer to the eastern Xianbei, the surrounding mountains increased, and the number of households Zhao Ji established also began to increase.

These households will migrate eastward in the future, but for now, a dense concentration of households is needed to ensure sufficient defense here.

Otherwise, if the army retreats and the Donghu attack, insufficient defenses will render all previous efforts futile.

While Zhao Ji made steady progress, the various Donghu units did not sit idly by and wait for their doom.

At this moment, whether it was the Eastern Xianbei, the Liaodong Xianbei, or the Wuhuan of the Three Commanderies, they had all been classified as Donghu by the Han army.

Although the Xianbei and Wuhuan share a common origin with the Donghu, under the unprecedented pressure of the Han army's relentless encirclement, the Xianbei and Wuhuan cannot abandon their long-standing feud and elect any Donghu king.

The Liaodong Xianbei were not convinced by the current Xianbei ruler, Budugen. Even the Eastern Xianbei, who had previously been under the command of the Xianbei royal court, did not respect Budugen, a ruler who had suffered defeats and fled eastward.

There were already frictions between the Liaodong Xianbei and the Eastern Xianbei. When the Wuhuan people from the three commanderies were brought in, things became even more chaotic, and no military leader who could win the support of the people could be elected.

Although Yuan Shao attempted to remotely control the various Donghu tribes by contacting Budugen and using Tadun as a lever, he did not succeed in coordinating with the two provinces of You and Ji to launch a pincer attack on Zhao Ji.

Kebudugen's military prestige among the Xianbei tribes is currently negative, and Tadun himself is caught in the vortex of the Wuhuan king's succession, making it even more difficult for him to move.

Faced with such a powerful Han army, envoys from various Donghu tribes came to Zhao Ji to request surrender.

For the various Hu tribes, this surrender was only a temporary show of weakness.

Zhao Ji took away the fame and wealth he wanted, and the Han-Hu nomadic army that was going east could obtain the supplies offered by the various Donghu tribes without having to fight. This was obviously a very worthwhile deal.

War kills people, and large numbers of animals and supplies are depleted in the process. If there's no war, existing war resources aren't consumed, and you can even receive spoils of war as a reward… that's definitely a profitable proposition.

While war can strike and deplete the enemy's manpower and potential, surrendering or offering gifts can also weaken the enemy's mobilization capacity and potential.

The wars of annexation among the various nomadic tribes were like this: as long as they surrendered and offered enough tribute, the battle could basically be ended.

The situation between the enemy and ourselves is constantly changing. At this moment, the various Donghu tribes that have surrendered and offered gifts have not given up their resistance, but have chosen to postpone the war.

The postponed war may not break out in the short term, but in the long run, it will definitely break out.

Thus, Zhao Ji faced a difficult choice.

The alliance between Lü Bu and Liu Bei in the court meant that the emperor and his ministers would also work together, creating a court that was unprecedentedly united and outside the influence of the Zhao family for a short period of time.

If one is on a long expedition, the rear will definitely be unstable.

The allure of official titles and ranks offered by the imperial court can entice the vast majority of low- and mid-level officials to initiate a righteous rebellion.

Moreover, the climate and environment of the war have changed. With the various Donghu tribes unwilling to engage in battle, they can retreat to the vast northeastern region.

The more you pursue, the greater the cost you incur, and the higher the probability of instability and risks erupting from behind!
If heavy snow blocks the roads, how will the Donghu escape?
Zhao Ji felt regretful and invited Zhang Hong, the chief clerk of the army, to discuss the matter with Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan was the most distant of the group, and he was also the one who dared to express his opinion: "Grand Marshal, in my humble opinion, the various tribes of Donghu have deep-seated grudges and it is difficult for them to unite. Today, they are surrendering because they are forced to do so by the circumstances, not because they are feigning surrender."

Zhao Ji waved his hand: "Lord Ji, please continue."

"Yes."

Gongsun Zan coughed twice and said, "If the Grand Marshal accepts the surrender and withdraws his troops today, he will certainly achieve a complete victory. However, the various tribes of Donghu will also have a chance to catch their breath, and next year's battle will be very different from today's. However, the Grand Marshal's establishment of the thousand-household commanders, the six garrisons, and the five generals is very ingenious. When the Donghu's strength is restored, the troops of the six garrisons and the five generals will probably be at their strongest. Next year, when we fight again, we will not need to mobilize the armies within the borders. The six garrisons, the five generals, and the elite cavalry of Youzhou alone will be enough to annihilate the Donghu in one battle!"

His tone was impassioned, as if he could already see himself leading the troops of Youzhou as a flanking force, cooperating with the main army under Zhao Ji's command to launch a joint attack, defeat the Donghu, and resolve the border troubles of Youzhou for the next fifty years in one battle.

Zhao Ji nodded as he listened, but he was worried about whether Gongsun Zan could hold out for three years.

Zhao Ji increasingly felt that he was the strongest "King of Scrolls" in the world, causing immense suffering to the wicked and forcing many to take risks and engage in extreme actions in hopes of turning their fortunes around through high-stakes gambling.

After Gongsun Zan finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Hong. Gongsun Zan's gaze towards Zhang Hong was full of envy and respect.

"Plowing the courtyard and sweeping the cave" is an allusion that has been firmly linked to Zhang Hong for thousands of years, equivalent to "sealing the wolf's lair" and "inscribed on Yanran Mountain".

Zhang Hong only wants to land safely now. In the future, when he fights the Donghu, he will be using up his future resource reserves, not his current ones.

The biggest crisis at present lies in the heartland. The wounded officers and soldiers have retreated back to Jinyang for medical treatment, and most of the meritorious officers and soldiers have also retreated to reinforce the rear.

These officials and soldiers who have made outstanding contributions will not easily betray the Grand Marshal.

Zhang Hong pondered for a moment, then said, "The various Donghu tribes are now scattered in different places, and it is difficult to wipe them out suddenly. It would be better to accept their surrender and then lure them in for a final annihilation next year."

In front of Gongsun Zan, Zhang Hong naturally couldn't say anything about the unrest in the rear.

It merely expressed a similar attitude to Gongsun Zan: to spare the Donghu tribes that were difficult to wipe out for now, and to eliminate them in one battle once they had all come together in the future.

If the various Donghu tribes want to migrate to the four prefectures of Yunzhong, which are warm, fertile, and lush, they must defeat Zhao Ji's system of six towns and five generals.

A single shareholder cannot succeed; they must unite.

However, if they unite, it will be easier for Zhao Ji to eliminate them.

(End of this chapter)