Tiger Guards

Chapter 638 The stalemate
When the thief Cao Yinfeng delivered the false order to the military camp, it immediately aroused the vigilance of the mid- to high-ranking military officers in the camp.

There were only three camp commanders in the military camp, one of whom also served as the commander of a separate division. This man was named Heng Fang.

He was born in the southernmost part of Hedong, south of the Zhongtiao Mountains.

When the Tiger Warriors were recruited and gathered in Jiangyi, they were unable to participate in the initial series of battles because they were the furthest away.

Although Zhao Ji arranged for the fifth garrison commander of the Hengfang Seven Garrisons and Five Offices to win over these elite troops from the southern counties.

However, Heng Fang performed poorly in the subsequent war, but he still accumulated merits and was promoted to battalion commander, and was assigned to Wang Qi's command.

Wang Qi divided his troops into two groups, one to defend Jicheng and the other to defend Shanggui. He placed three battalions of officers and soldiers in Jicheng, appointing Heng Fang, the most senior officer, as the commander of a separate unit to temporarily control these three battalions.

Heng Fang was somewhat uncertain and repeatedly asked the military officer in charge of delivering the order, "Is this really a warrant from Lord Zhang?"

"How could it be false?"

The young clerk replied calmly, "Sir Heng, you may not know this, but Lord Zhang has summoned you all to discuss how to welcome the Grand Tutor."

"Master?"

Heng Fang was now surprised: "Grand Tutor is coming to Liangzhou?"

The military advisor lowered his voice: "After the defeat at Jincheng, the various armies retreated to Longxi, and Han Sui's rebel army is growing stronger day by day. The Grand Tutor has already issued a secret order to personally go to Tianshui to join forces with the various armies to meet the enemy together."

"Grand Tutor actually intends to personally lead an expedition against Han Sui?"

Heng Fang was even more puzzled. His puzzlement calmed down the military clerk and his entourage. If even Heng Fang was unaware of the situation, it meant that Zhang Chang was trying to scare them before he died.

The clerk nodded, his expression longing: "Sima Heng and the Grand Tutor have a past relationship, hence Lord Zhang's invitation. To avoid offending the Grand Tutor, he invited former members of the Tiger Warriors from the army to accompany him."

"Alright, I understand. This is a big deal. Please allow me to pass on my knowledge."

Heng Fang agreed, turned and walked to his trusted centurion, pulled him aside and whispered in his ear, his voice first slightly loud, then gradually lowered: "Unexpectedly, the Grand Tutor will personally lead the expedition against Han Sui. I... have encountered trouble in the city. Use my command token to seal the gates and detain the accompanying men. If they resist with weapons, shoot them with crossbows. If this is a misunderstanding, I will apologize to Lord Zhang."

"Here!"

Upon hearing this, the commander of a hundred men became excited. Although he had already established merit through war and had a stable income, as well as a wife and a concubine, how could he possibly dislike establishing more merit and acquiring more concubines and servants?
His expression was slightly exaggerated at this moment. He held the token handed to him by Heng Fang and immediately walked away. The smile on his face was genuine and sincere.

The traitorous clerk stood to one side and waited, watching the other party leave. Then he approached Heng Fang and said, "Sima is an old friend of Grand Tutor Zhao. I wonder what Grand Tutor Zhao's preferences are? Recently, Zhang Gong has been collecting the works left behind by Uncle Zhao Yuan. If the calligraphy can meet Grand Tutor Zhao's standards... I also have some at home. I would like to trouble Sima to appraise them."

"This is not difficult. After I have met with Lord Zhang, I will visit you before curfew tonight."

"Okay, it's a deal."

As the two were talking, the officers on duty at the gate of the military camp suddenly launched an attack under their command, just to test the waters.

Unexpectedly, the accompanying guards reacted fiercely, drawing their swords and ready to fight.

Thus, a spur-of-the-moment probing turned into a killing spree by the soldiers on duty at the camp gate.

Before the guards armed with spears and halberds could succeed, the seven attendants protecting the carriage and horses were shot dead by crossbowmen on the watchtowers on both sides of the camp gate.

Even though the killing didn't make much of a fuss, the clerk was still chatting with Heng Fang in the main tent.

Just as they were chatting and laughing, the hundred-man commander, who had returned, strode in with a dozen or so armored soldiers.

The attire of military officers and heavily armored soldiers was sometimes not fundamentally different. These soldiers carried swords and walked with heavy and light steps. Upon entering the tent, they would split in two and tackle and capture the other attendants.

Based on his own insights, Zhao Ji improved the boxing techniques learned in the army, making unarmed combat mainly based on joint locks, wrestling, and grappling techniques.

They gave the other party almost no chance to resist, or captured them all in the blink of an eye.

Heng Fang calmly drew his sword and pointed it at the astonished clerk: "What is your intention in falsely conveying Lord Zhang's order?"

"Does Sima intend to rebel?"

The clerk glared and shouted angrily, causing Heng Fang to hesitate before turning to look at his trusted centurion. At that moment, the battle at the camp gate stirred up the retinues of other powerful clans. These clansmen, clad in traditional Han army armor, poured out from the nearest streets and alleys, charging towards the camp gate.

The camp gate was already sealed off with a deer antler, and the officer on duty urged urgently, "Blow the horn and beat the drum to warn us!"

There was no time to move the second set of deer antlers. The thirty-odd armored soldiers on duty stood in two rows behind the deer antlers, pointing their spears and halberds at the suddenly appearing rebels.

There were three watchtowers on each side, and the archers were already on standby. They immediately began to fire upon hearing the horn.

The powerful bow is used to snipe suspected leaders among the rebels, while the powerful crossbow is only aimed at the heavily armed rebels charging ahead; these are the bravest among the rebels.

Quickly shooting and wounding these vanguard warriors will surely dampen the morale and offensive power of the rebels.

"Quick, charge in!"

Yang Fu charged forward but stopped, then vigorously brandished his longsword and shouted loudly, attracting a swarm of followers from all sides.

At this moment, there was no need to care about the difference in banners; only by rushing into the military camp could they suppress the troops who were disarming and resting.

In terms of numbers, they were definitely more numerous than the three battalions of the field army; moreover, they had a better organizational capacity and a larger armored force, as they were prepared to attack the unprepared.

Therefore, as long as they rush into the camp, they can quickly disintegrate and suppress the army's resistance.

However, of the three battalions of officers and soldiers in the camp, apart from the two hundred-man squads on duty scattered in various places, there were seven hundred-man squads resting and waiting for orders while still in armor.

Upon hearing the drums and horns signaling the alarm, these people grabbed the quivers, bows, swords, and knives hanging inside the barracks and rushed out. Outside the barracks, there were long-handled spears and halberds being maintained and dried. They grabbed these and began to run towards the camp gate.

Other hundred-man squads that had been disarmed and rested were immediately assigned to different units. Under the command of the junior officers, the core soldiers rushed to the armories of each camp and carried out the crossbows and horn crossbows that had been maintained. They also organized skilled archers to go to the front to participate in the battle with only bows, arrows and swords.

Only those soldiers who did not possess advanced archery skills remained in the barracks to assist each other in donning their armor.

Only after they intervened in the battle did the archers have a chance to retreat and don armor.

The most elite troops in Zhao Ji's army were not cavalry, but crossbowmen!
A small camp gate, separated by two deer antlers on either side, caused layer upon layer of rebel soldiers to fall here.

The rebels were too numerous, and those who rushed to the front had no chance to exchange blows with the spearmen behind the antlers, nor did they have time to lift or overturn the antlers. They were pushed forward by those behind them, their bodies tightly interlocked with the antlers, and their shouts and curses were drowned out by the shouts of battle from both sides.

The overburdened antlers were quickly broken open, and the soldiers on duty who were resisting through the antlers were overwhelmed and overwhelmed before they could retreat. The rebels swarmed in, and before they could even finish off the enemy, many people were pushed and shoved by those behind them, and could only be trampled or leaped over.

Approximately three hundred men rushed through the camp gate and into the training ground, where they immediately clashed with seven heavily armed hundred-man squads.

At this point, there were no battle lines to speak of; the two sides were locked in a fierce, chaotic battle.

The melee lasted less than seven breaths before the other two battalions of lightly armed and unarmored archers approached, standing on the perimeter of the training ground and firing at the fighting rebels through the low wall.

"I never imagined there would be so many traitors!"

Heng Fang put on his helmet, feeling excited. His day of triumph had finally arrived!

He looked around and saw that the archers on the six watchtowers on both sides of the gate had been shot dead or wounded by the rebels and were no longer able to launch a counterattack.

However, the rebels who had broken into the camp had already been stopped.

Once the other soldiers have finished donning their armor and joined the battle, they can push back.

Only by driving out the rebels can the army pursue and eliminate the remaining enemy forces and regain control of the city.

However, Heng Fang clearly underestimated the strength of the powerful families in Tianshui. Within Ji City alone, each family mobilized no fewer than three thousand able-bodied men, servants, and retainers.

With the military camp besieged and the city gates easily captured by the rebels, the retainers and servants of the various manors outside the city were also called upon and began to enter the city in groups.

The result was that after half a day of fierce fighting, neither side could gain the upper hand, so they had no choice but to temporarily cease fighting, treat the wounded, and transport the dead.

The massive casualties also enraged the rebel army formed by the powerful figures in Tianshui.

(End of this chapter)