Tiger Guards

Chapter 62: Ma Ni is Executed

In the central army camp, when Zhao Ji arrived, he saw a campfire being lit.

The leader of the team was Gao Chong, a subordinate commander selected by Zhao Yan, who was originally a military officer under Xu Huang.

Seeing Zhao Ji leading a dozen armored soldiers approaching, Gao Chong sensed something was amiss and stepped forward, bowing, "Zhao Zhonglang."

"I just went to Xu Gongming's camp, and the officers on both sides said that Gongming came to the central army to discuss matters?"

"Yes, Lord Xu has been invited, and Commandant Ma is also here."

"Well, please tell the High Commissioner."

"Zhonglang, please."

Gao Chong left his deputy to watch the gate of the central army camp, and he hurried ahead to report.

Zhao Ji gradually approached and saw several of Ma Shizhi's guards standing in front of a campfire chatting in low voices.

When these people saw Zhao Ji approaching, they also bowed and said, "Zhao Zhonglang."

"Ah."

Zhao Ji also bowed in return. At this time, Gao Chong came out from the door and said, "Zhonglang, Lord Zhao invites you."

"Thank you."

Zhao Ji glanced at Tang Xian, then walked past Gao Chong and entered with his head lowered.

In the room, Zhao Yan sat at the top, Ma Shizhi and Xu Huang sat at the bottom. When Xu Huang saw Zhao Ji come in, they exchanged glances for a moment, and he probably guessed something, but he remained silent.

Zhao Yan asked, "What's the matter, Aji?"

"I'm here for tomorrow's expedition."

Zhao Ji answered, then glanced at Ma Shizhi and asked in confusion, "What is Lord Zhao discussing here?"

Ma Shizhi coughed lightly twice. "We're discussing the matter of Li Bocheng and Hou Wenze. They've already assembled their forces and will be heading south soon. Even if Liang Wenmao doesn't come, combining these two armies with my cousin's will yield a force of three thousand strong. The heroes of Jiangyi have joined forces and formed no fewer than two thousand men. Combined with the county troops and the Tiger Guards, our army will be so powerful that the Baibo generals will weigh the pros and cons and retreat."

"So, no troops will be dispatched tomorrow?"

Zhao Ji frowned, puzzled: "Where do you place the safety of the emperor?"

Ma Shizhi looked unhappy. "The Baibo generals are not like the two thugs Li and Guo. If they had evil intentions, why would they have acted so recently? If we rashly march south, we will force them too hard and cause trouble. We should use our troops slowly and slowly, and open up a way for them to survive. Then the emperor will naturally be safe."

"So, since the Emperor moved to Hedong, he has been humiliated by the Baibo generals, and you have been pretending not to see it, waiting for a turnaround?"

Zhao Ji slowly pressed his right hand to the hilt of the sword: "Is this your way of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country?"

"You little brat, a mere Tiger Guard who calls himself a Zhonglang, relying on your bravery and arrogance, dares to talk about military and national affairs!"

Ma Shizhi stood up, drew his sword, pointed it at Zhao Ji, and shouted, "We are discussing matters with the court officials, why don't you step aside?"

Zhao Ji went to see Zhao Yan, and Zhao Yan raised his hands to cover his eyes.

Zhao Ji went to see Xu Huang again, but Xu Huang had nothing to do with the matter.

Zhao Ji nodded slowly. "I understand. You knew about the Xiongnu attack but didn't report it. And after the battle, you stayed inside and did nothing. Could it be that you have some connection with the Xiongnu? Are you afraid that I will punish you?"

"Someone, get this kid out!"

Ma Shizhi shouted outside the door, but the guards he brought with him did not respond. Instead, Zhao Yan's subordinate Gao Chong stood at the door, like a door wall.

Ma Shizhi took two steps back and leaned against the pillar. He turned to look at Zhao Yan and said urgently, "Lord Zhao, I have absolutely no second thoughts!"

Zhao Yan remained silent. When Zhao Ji drew his sword, Ma Shizhi stepped forward quickly and chopped him with the sword.

Zhao Ji drew his sword and a white light flashed in front of him. Xu Huang was startled and immediately jumped up and stepped back.

Looking closely, Zhao Ji wiped the blood from the tip of the sword and slowly sheathed it. Ma Shizhi's neck was cut open for most of the time, and he was still moving forward and slashing according to his memory. The blood mist gushing from the broken neck enveloped the area around Zhao Ji.

"Puff~"

Ma Shizhi tripped over an empty low table. Zhao Ji wiped the blood from his face and said, "Lord Zhao, I'm sorry for the fright."

"No problem."

Zhao Yan covered his face with his sleeves: "It's hard to explain this to the people of Jiangyi."

"They have evil intentions. We need to consider how to deal with them in front of Lord Zhao."

Zhao Ji breathed a sigh of relief. "I've tolerated him for so long. How can I support the imperial court if I'm in the same boat with someone so obsessed with profit and greed?"

At this moment, Gao Chong entered and silently dragged the still-twitching Ma Shizhi away. Gao Chong soon returned, bringing Zhao Ji a basin of water. Zhao Yan then heard him say, "Ma Shizhi colluded with the Xiongnu, deliberately delaying the Hu Ben army's execution of the traitorous ministers, disregarding the emperor's safety. His crimes were grave, and he has been executed. Send his head to all camps, and order the county garrison commanders and above to come to the central army for a meeting."

"Here!"

Gao Chong readily agreed, turned around and strode away.

Two more bodyguards came in and covered the bloodstains in the living room with wood ash.

Zhao Ji had already taken his seat, sitting in the seat in front of Ma Shizhi.

Xu Huang also sat down again. He seemed accustomed to the situation and praised: "Zhao Zhonglang's swordsmanship is the best in the world."

"Brother Gongming, you are too kind. When I was training in martial arts in Jishan, I was favored by my neighbors and was called the Sword God of Jishan."

Zhao Ji replied with a smile that he had three good neighbors, one named Dahuang, one named Erhuang, and one named Sanhuang.

When the evil neighbor wild boar destroyed the vegetable garden, Erhuang died while defending his home.

Seeing Zhao Ji calmly wiping his face, Zhao Yan couldn't help but think of his four grandsons who died in the battle. He had more than four grandsons, but these four grandsons were of the right age and were with him in Guanzhong.

The other grandsons stayed in Langya or defected to Zhao Yu, and were basically finished.

If the grandchildren had the same martial arts skills as Zhao Ji, it would be acceptable for them to have a bad and violent personality.

Xu Huang took a sip from his wine glass and said, "Zhonglang is worthy of the title of Sword God. Zhonglang's neighbors are able to recognize his excellent swordsmanship. He must be a hero of the time."

"Yeah, I miss them too."

Zhao Ji picked up the Ma Shizhi wine cup, swirled it around, and spilled the wine on the ground. He then refilled the cup and asked Zhao Yan, "Doesn't Lord Zhao want to kill him?"

"I have this intention, but I'm also worried that Li Kan, Hou Xuan, Ma Wan, and others might rebel after hearing the news, thus ruining the cause."

Zhao Yan asked in return, "How is the Tiger Guards camp?"

"All instructions have been given. If the county soldiers mutinied, they would be suppressed."

Zhao Ji went to see Xu Huang: "Brother Gongming, how is the camp?"

“There are also responses.”

Xu Huang tried to conceal his emotion by holding his wine glass, but he paused for a moment, "During the banquet today, I saw that the Zhonglang had the intention of killing Ma Zhi, but he was delayed by the archery issue. I thought Zhonglang would go straight for Ma Zhi after nightfall, but Ma Zhi invited me to discuss matters with Lord Zhao. I didn't want to come, but Lord Zhao sent an envoy to invite me, so I had to come."

As he spoke, Xu Huang's mood gradually calmed down.

After all, Zhao Ji was a Hu Ben, representing the emperor. Especially after shooting Li Le to death, the legitimacy of the Hu Ben was restored, as if he were a real Hu Ben.

Hedong is so small that if you think about it carefully, you will know that offending Zhao Ji will have very bad consequences.

Everyone has family and friends. Even a man like Xu Huang, who came from a poor family, still has the family tombs to care about.

While Zhao Ji was still alive, not disabled, and before his defeat, the military officers and armed leaders of Hedong had to carefully weigh the risks and costs of betraying and selling out Zhao Ji.

The righteousness of the court is indeed heavy, but it cannot crush anyone in a short time.

The decisiveness, ruthlessness, and force shown by Zhao Ji were enough to coerce most people into following his orders.

Xu Huang really didn't expect that the Central Commander Ma Zhi would die so suddenly and hastily.

But it is not surprising. During the emperor's eastward migration, the future pillars of the court died one after another. Compared with them, Ma Zhi was insignificant.

Xu Huang's words also showed his attitude. He didn't care about Ma Shizhi and came here just to listen to Zhao Yan's words.

Zhao Ji raised his glass and said, "I'm sorry to have frightened Brother Gongming. I wanted to capture him outside and hand him over to Lord Zhao for questioning before making my final decision. I never thought he knew my abilities and would dare to draw his sword and injure me in front of Lord Zhao."

"No problem, such treacherous people should be dealt with with thunderous force!"

Xu Huang also raised his glass and turned to look at Zhao Yan: "Lord Zhao, I am proud of my own courage and strength. I am also capable of doing this kind of rough work."

"It is because I am indecisive, not because I am unwilling to use Gongming."

Zhao Yan also raised his glass: "Now that Ma Ni has been executed, no one will stand in our way. We will move camp tomorrow and conquer the traitors."

"Follow the order!"

The hall was filled with the smell of horse blood.

All three of them raised their glasses and drank deeply.

Even Xu Huang, though frightened, felt refreshed.

(End of this chapter)