Tiger Guards

Chapter 639 A worthy death
Jieting, where there is an empty camp left by Han Shu.

This camp was located at the foot of the road, with smaller camps set up on both sides of the mountain.

Han Shu had only been gone for two days, so when Zhao Ji's central army moved in, they could still see the smooth balls of horse manure scattered at the gate.

But there was hardly any smell left, because the horse manure balls had frozen solid.

When Zhao Ji entered the central army camp, the officers and soldiers left behind had already prepared hot soup. After washing up briefly, Zhao Ji took a bowl of mutton bone soup and strolled around the tent, drinking it.

His entourage, under Zhuge Jin's command, had begun hanging maps in the main tent and moving various document and file boxes in, arranging them according to category and order for easy reference.

Zhao Ji relaxed by taking a walk, but actually had nothing on his mind.

All the necessary deductions have been made. Now, it's simply a matter of getting involved and breaking the deadlock based on the changing situation.

Even if Lü Bu's performance is inconsistent, after joining forces with Zhang Yang, they will have nearly 50,000 troops. Although the field army is only a little over 20,000, with so many troops guarding Luoyang, and with Gan Ning stationed at Mengjin on the north bank to assist, they should be able to defend until next spring.

Therefore, there is no need to be too distracted by matters in the east at present. Even if Lü Bu turns against his side, the 50,000 infantry and cavalry in the Pingyang camp can delay Lü Bu's offensive.

Therefore, the next six months or so represent the only and best window of opportunity to resolve the issues in Liangzhou.

Otherwise, if Liangzhou reaches a tacit understanding with the south and the east and coordinates with each other, it will be difficult to take action.

Besides, Lu Bu's biggest characteristic is that he is hard to control. One day he might suddenly have a change of heart or he might suddenly become your adversary.

As Zhao Ji was relaxing while drinking soup, Wen Hui handed him a military dispatch: "Grand Tutor, urgent dispatch from the vanguard."

Several subordinates who were carrying boxes of documents nearby turned around when they heard the noise, but quickly went back to their work.

Zhao Ji finished the mutton soup in one gulp, handed the empty bowl to Wen Hui, and picked up the military dispatch. Seeing that the mud seal was intact, he casually tore open the colorful ribbon under the mud seal. This was a ribbon specially woven with five-colored silk threads, only one finger wide. In Zhao Ji's eyes, it was just a kind of woven flat rope.

Because different looms use different thread plates, the resulting ribbons have different color combinations.

These security ribbons, ink stamps, and messengers, including the paper used for military dispatches, constituted a physical layer of security against counterfeiting.

As for text encryption, we currently have the advantage, and messengers can pass through freely, so there's no need to make things too complicated.

Encrypted military dispatches would reinforce the autocracy of the commanding general and prevent other mid- to high-ranking military officers from obtaining the information they should know.

Zhao Ji pinched the three pages of blue paper tightly sandwiched between the two wooden tablets... Blue paper doesn't mean that this kind of paper is green or blue, but rather that it is fine and white in texture, and because the office lighting is poor, the paper will have a slight light blue halo.

This is similar to how many white things appear bluish-white before dawn.

There's also the "blue horse," which doesn't mean the horse's coat is a cool blue-green color, but rather that it's white with a layer of gray.

Zhao Ji patiently read the three pages of military letter sent by Han Shu, then picked it up and handed it to Wen Hui: "Wen Man, please circulate this to all the senior officials."

"Here."

Wen Hui agreed and presented the three pages of blue paper to Zhuge Jin with both hands.

Zhuge Jin's face paled and he stood up abruptly, instinctively looking at Zhao Ji, who remained calm.

Zhuge Jin composed himself, concealing his surprise and sorrow, and patiently read the entire text before passing it on to the accompanying officials of each department.

Several officials who were on good terms with Zhang Chang looked grief-stricken, while several local officials whom Zhang Chang had taken care of during his tenure as the chief secretary of the Grand Marshal's office were even more heartbroken and wept silently.

After everyone had finished reading it, Zhao Ji asked, "What is Wenbai's opinion?"

Zhuge Jin did not rush to answer, but looked around, but none of them dared to comment on Han Shu's opinion.

After learning of Zhang Chang's death and the stalemate between the city's garrison and the rebels, Han Shu instead suggested that the city's garrison withdraw, thus bolstering the Tianshui rebels' momentum and enticing Han Sui to increase his stakes and launch a full-scale attack on Zhang County. Seeing that no one dared to comment on Han Shu's proposal, Zhuge Jin said, "Grand Tutor, I believe Han Wenbai is too upright."

"Even you think he's old-fashioned, so it seems he really is gilding the lily."

Zhao Ji sat back in the main seat, shaking his head and laughing: "I might be the culprit behind Wen Bai's change."

When Han Shu served as his personal guard, he frequently broke the legs of high-ranking officials.

At that time, the only way to take action was to seize upon the mistakes of high-ranking officials, emphasizing having a legitimate reason for the action and catching the thief red-handed.

But now we have to wait for all the counties in Tianshui to rebel together?
After winning the battle and suppressing the rebellion, the army stationed itself in Tianshui, capturing tens of thousands of prisoners, including all sorts of talented people. At that time, the one thing they would not lack was a chain of evidence.

As the prefecture where the essence of Liangzhou is best preserved, Tianshui has an obligation to be a model and pioneer of Liangzhou's equal land distribution system.

After smiling at Han Shu's rigidity, Zhao Ji said, "Order Wen Bai to rush to Jicheng to support the officers and soldiers under Heng Fang in the city and cut off the rebels' external support. If the rebels in other counties also reinforce Jicheng, Wen Bai is permitted to launch a campaign against them."

The military clerk, Wei Ji, quickly picked up his pen and wrote. It was a bit of a waste of his talents to have him serve as a clerk, but only an old man from Hedong like him could be trusted by Zhao Ji.

Wei Ji was fluent in cursive script, and his hand speed could keep up with Zhao Ji's speaking speed.

After finishing writing, he turned to look at Zhao Ji, who asked, "Is there anything else that needs to be added?"

Zhuge Jin spoke up: "Grand Tutor, since General Wenbai took command of the army, he has never commanded an army of nearly ten thousand. If we allow General Wenbai to suppress the rebels in various places, we will have to divide the troops, which may be insufficient."

“No one is born knowing how to fight. I trust Wenbai. Pass on the order.”

"Here."

Zhuge Jin bowed, and Wei Ji also brought the draft to Zhao Ji for him to see. Zhao Ji confirmed that the handwriting was clear and easy to recognize, the punctuation was correct, and there was no distortion of his original meaning before he picked up the pen and signed it.

Dividing troops is a great test of a general's judgment, and Zhao Ji was willing to bear the possible losses for Han Shu.

It's good that generals follow the rules, but if their own subordinates also follow the rules, there will be hidden dangers.

Zhao Ji planned to make Han Shu more arrogant when the opportunity arose in the future.

For example, Xu Huang, although strict in military discipline and frugal in his personal life, would disregard any military order that defied common sense, and even arbitrarily order his troops to enter a state of combat readiness, and impose martial law on roads, prohibiting the movement of people.

Therefore, Xu Huang is a stable core group, and he can be left to handle things independently outside.

Han Shu, a future general of the central army and imperial guards, can be somewhat domineering when dealing with external affairs, but must abide by the rules when dealing with internal affairs.

At different levels, one must learn and adapt to different environments.

A stubborn and principled imperial guard general could be misled and become the sword in his own hand that harms him.

At this point, a military solution to the Liangzhou conflict is inevitable... so why care about irrefutable evidence?
It's a pity that Zhang Chang fell at this time, otherwise he would have been given one of the Three Dukes positions in the regent's court.

So, thankfully Zhang Chang has fallen, and I no longer need to be in a difficult position.

For some inexplicable reason, Zhao Ji thought of the phrase "to die a worthy death."

Thinking of Zhang Chang's help to him, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Zhang Gong's death is a misfortune for the country. I want to submit a memorial to the court to commemorate Zhang Gong's meritorious service in assisting the country and suppressing the rebels, and to find a high place on the side of the Wei River in Tianshui to build a temple for Zhang Gong."

After a pause, Zhao Ji said, "I think it would be best to appoint him as a county marquis and posthumously confer upon him the title of River God of the Wei River. This battle is not only about annihilating the bodies of the traitors, but I also want to ask Zhang Gong to suppress such traitors and villains in the underworld for thousands of years, until the Wei River stops flowing or the River God changes hands."

He spoke harshly, but everyone in the tent was excited, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.

(End of this chapter)