Tiger Guards

Chapter 585 Radiant with Spirit
As Zhao Ji's armed nomadic army arrived one after another, the Helan Mountain camp became more saturated.

However, the size of Zhao Ji's nomadic army was also continuously shrinking. When advancing westward from the north of Yinshan, the division of each thousand-household pastoral area would cause some of the accompanying Xianbei, Qiang, and Xiongnu tribes to stay in place.

This year, there will be no grand gatherings in June on the vast grasslands of southern and northern Inner Mongolia.

When Zhao Ji arrived at the Helan Mountain camp, his entire army consisted of only 60,000 cavalry, but they were driving a herd of over 400,000 beasts.

Another herd of over 300,000 beasts headed south along the Chouyang Avenue in the central part of Yinshan, heading straight into Wuyuan and then south along the Qin Straight Road.

These herds of animals would be dispersed and settled in various pastures and ranches in Shangjun, Beidijun, and Andingjun for official herding.

As for the beasts that the entire army needed to be rewarded with, the beasts captured from the four counties of Yunzhong and the three counties of Beidi completed the initial largest beast reward, and they have now been transported to the Three Auxiliary Regions, Hedong, Taiyuan, Xihe and Hongnong.

The captured animals, which were then used as military rations, were either eaten by the armed nomads around Yinshan or distributed to the Hu tribes who later distinguished themselves in the war.

Therefore, the total number of animals seized in the northern part of Yinshan was no less than two million, but in reality, less than three hundred thousand were consumed, and nearly one million were distributed.

Of the remaining 700,000, 300,000 were driven south along the Chouyang Avenue in the central part of Yinshan, while the remaining 400,000 were driven along by Zhao Ji's army as mobile provisions.

Basically, there is no need for special selection. During such long-distance migration and nomadic life, cattle, sheep and horses with poor physical strength are often pulled out and slaughtered for food before they die of disease or exhaustion.

If those nearly one million animals are not rewarded or fed, they will suffer losses and have to eat even more during their long-distance nomadic migration, potentially wiping out as many as seven hundred thousand animals.

The animal herds selected for southward migration were generally healthy herds.

The beasts that were rewarded to the Hu tribes were not weak, but rather unsuitable for continuing their migration. They were the kind that could survive if they rested in place, but would die if they continued to run.

At the Helan Mountain camp, after a four-month hiatus, Zhao Ji finally removed his armor for the first time and took a refreshing and reassuring hot bath.

Even he would get lice if he didn't wash his body for so long.

Normally I only wash my face, palms, arms, calves and feet. Now, the skin on other parts of my body is not covered with dead skin and dirt, but with a layer of scabs.

After soaking it in hot water mixed with wood ash, the first rub you get grayish-black water.

Once this grayish-black water disappears, the skin softens and becomes dead skin, which can be rubbed off the skin like playdough.

Not only Zhao Ji, but almost none of the officers and soldiers in the entire army took a bath before this expedition.

After the midday sun shines directly on the grassland, one can find a warm and pleasant bay; however, the grassland is windy, and Zhao Ji does not want to contract any local diseases.

Therefore, those below them should avoid taking off their clothes if possible, and try to maintain their original attire.

Even if it's time to take a bath, it's mainly for the wounded. After being cleaned up locally, they stay there to recover and are not moved.

Once his injuries have healed, he will catch up with the main force.

It took three buckets of water to finally clean Zhao Ji.

He used a high concentration of wood ash water to clean the scalp and hair, especially the hair shaft. Damage to the hair was not important; the key was to clean it thoroughly and leave no nits.

Otherwise, it will recur and be difficult to completely eliminate.

All the Han and Hu officials and soldiers returning from the expedition, upon arriving at the Helan Mountain camp, underwent a deep bath and cleansing of their bodies before changing into brand-new clothes transported from the rear.

As before, the Han army units wore red uniforms, while the various Hu tribes wore purple uniforms.

The armor they brought was piled up like a mountain, and Zhao Ji's armor was no exception; it also needed to be repaired.

Although he did not personally engage in battle, the leather lining of his armor needed to be replaced, the rusty armor plates needed to be polished and replaced, and rust-proofed with paint. More than 60,000 officers and soldiers needed to be completely changed from head to toe, and the Hu Yi Cong did not object to changing their hairstyles.

Even for the vast majority of the Hu tribes, hairstyle was the key symbol for distinguishing their tribes.

Under the influence of both the old and new daredevils, the various barbarian cavalry generally chose to shave their heads after bathing, as if this was the only way to prove that they were trusted loyal knights of the Grand Marshal.

Even Zhao Ji sometimes thought about shaving his head... but now he really couldn't bear to part with his thick, long hair.

His hair also seemed to have undergone some subtle changes, becoming thicker and more resilient.

If it is not pruned, it will eventually grow down to the ground and become a kind of divine vision.

With the entire army undergoing a major hygiene cleanup and armor and equipment being repaired in a unified manner, Zhao Ji was finally able to close his eyes and get a few peaceful nights' sleep.

For three consecutive days, Zhao Ji did not handle military affairs. He would only see Zhang Hong, Zhuge Jin, Xu Huang, Zhao Yun and others during mealtimes, and spend the rest of the time sleeping soundly in the barracks.

The armed nomads circling Yinshan Mountain terrified all the good neighbors, keeping them awake at night. In fact, Zhao Ji's sleep was also poor.

Although the skill can enhance the absorption of food and replenish the body's energy with 'essence', the 'spirit' is ultimately limited.

The strengthening of his essence and energy made Zhao Ji's spirit exceptionally vigorous, but there was ultimately a limit.

After three consecutive days of long sleep, Zhao Ji woke up feeling refreshed and energetic, without the usual drowsiness. He didn't experience the aftereffects of prolonged sleep leaving him feeling weak; instead, he felt full of energy and wanted to do something to release his pent-up emotions.

It seems that after the armed march around Yinshan ended, Zhao Ji's god was tempered and fully recovered, and his god's upper limit also increased... Perhaps next time he can withstand the tempering of war for a longer period of time.

Back then, after his first night battle after enlisting in the Tiger Warriors, Zhao Ji was severely exhausted from the full burst of energy and spirit, and could hardly keep going. After a good night's sleep, he recovered and was even stronger than before.

Zhao Ji felt no joy at noticing these changes in himself.

This might be somewhat similar to the Saiyan physique, but each growth requires a long period of arduous training; and after each growth, with the improvement of energy and spirit, the next time it takes an even longer period of training to unleash potential.

So just let things take their natural course. It's just that being able to stay up later and work shifts more often is really nothing to be happy about.

After three days of restful sleep, Zhao Ji held a meeting in his tent.

The morning sun shone brightly, and the drums of the tent-raising ceremony resounded. Zhang Hong, the chief clerk, checked off the names on the list outside the tent, and the officers, captains, and commanders stood in line outside the tent.

After all the generals had arrived and the drumbeats for raising the tent had ceased, Zhang Hong led them into the main tent.

Inside the tent, Zhao Ji's thick, long hair was tied back on his head. Because it was so thick and strong, it attracted everyone's attention, and they all secretly marveled at it.

No one suspected it was a wig; these days there's a business that collects hair, makes it into wigs, and sells them.

Many noblewomen would wear hair ornaments made of such wigs, such as cloud-shaped hair ornaments.

Of course, officials and celebrities don't need to tell everyone about their private matters, such as wearing wigs, in order to maintain their image.

Anyway, once the body is buried and excavated by archaeologists, no one cares about the amount of hair the tomb owner has.

Zhao Ji sat slouch in the large chair, his feet also casually propped up on the side of the table, displaying no proper posture whatsoever.

Nowadays, even a strict elder like Zhang Hong wouldn't find it strange. The Grand Marshal was naturally unruly, and now that his ambitions were high, it was understandable that he would be a bit unrestrained.

No one would find it offensive; even the serious-minded Zhao Yun only thought Zhao Ji was too flamboyant.

(End of this chapter)