Tiger Guards

Chapter 640 The River King

West of Jincheng, at the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Song Jian, the chief of the river, led the largest coalition of Qiang tribes slowly. They drove yaks and set up camp near the river plain. The locations of the camps were scattered and without clear planning.

However, when it came to a specific Qiang tribe camp, it was meticulously constructed, and the earthwork techniques were similar to those of the Han border troops.

Therefore, although the Kawara camp may seem scattered and difficult to unify and quickly deploy, each branch camp can save on materials and construction time by taking advantage of the terrain changes, and each can also have good defensive performance.

As their stay extends, they may also have time to continuously fortify their camps until they form a permanent complex of buildings similar to a military town or city.

Inside the main camp, the central army camp of Song Jian was the one that displayed the banners of the King of the River and the General Who Assists the Han.

Guo Xian, Song Jian's aide and county clerk, led the messenger inside and introduced him with outstretched arms: "General, this man is Han De, the Cavalry Commandant sent by the General Who Conquers the West."

"Meet the General."

Han De had a thick, short beard on his sideburns and a mustache on his upper lip, but he had shaved his chin. He was over eight feet tall and his face was already imposing and intimidating. With his fierce beard, he looked even more valiant.

A beard is the best calling card for an adult man in social situations.

Having a distinctive beard can often enhance others' memory and impression of them.

This is naturally a way to gain fame, and if one is in the military and on the battlefield, such a unique beard will attract the attention of the enemy's fiercest warriors.

However, since following Han Sui, the five Han brothers, although not invincible, had not suffered any losses. Therefore, they all defined themselves as fierce men, belonging to the group of people who charged straight into battle and actively sought combat.

Song Jian preferred that Guo Xian or Han De address him as "Great King," but unfortunately these people only recognized his self-proclaimed title of "General Who Assists the Han."

As for his complete title for establishing his own kingdom... it is now being collectively ignored by the allied forces. His complete title is not the River King, but the River King Pinghan.

If everyone is happy, they can give Song Jian some face and simply call him the King of Han.

"Lieutenant Han, you may dispense with the formalities."

Song Jian waved his hand and took the letter from Han Sui from Guo Xian.

Song Jian hid in the river, declared himself king and established his own country for so many years, appointing his own prime minister and officials. How carefree and unrestrained he was!

Song Jian was Han Sui's business partner during the Western Liang rebellion. However, Song Jian was smart enough not to be deceived by Han Sui's reputation and persona. He took the initiative to leave the rebel army and did not try to become a leader.

He thus escaped the misfortunes of successive leaders such as Beigong Boyu, Wang Guo, and Yan Zhong, and even remained safe and sound for many years after the founding of the country, because he stayed away from Han Sui.

But now that the Grand Marshal of Han has pacified the Xianbei and the various Qiang tribes in the north, he actually sent troops to attack Han Sui. If Han Sui is defeated, then the next one will be Song Jian, the King of Heshou Pinghan who established his own kingdom.

Therefore, he had no choice but to align himself with Han Sui, and now he and Han Sui are both called Grand Generals, one being the Grand General Who Assists the Han Dynasty and the other the Grand General Who Conquers the West.

They rose up together to punish Zhao Ji, the rebellious minister who brought chaos to the country.

After reading Han Sui's letter, Song Jian asked Han De in confusion, "How can you be so sure that the Zhao traitor would send troops against the current?"

"Zhao the traitor has always been risky in his military campaigns. Jincheng is our army's only way out. How could Zhao the traitor be unprepared?"

Han De spoke in a strong and assertive tone, which seemed quite natural. He slightly raised his chin, a posture that Song Jian found somewhat arrogant and disrespectful. Song Jian deliberately adopted a measured tone, holding the letter and pondering for a long time before saying, "Colonel Han can set up defenses at Yongshichuan. Once my rear guard arrives, the vanguard will naturally enter Yongshichuan and join forces with Colonel Han to kill the enemy."

"With the General's words, I am relieved."

Han De bowed deeply to Song Jian. As a senior figure among the rebels in Xizhou, Song Jian was known for keeping his word.

Song Jian smiled with satisfaction, and after watching Han De leave, he asked Guo Xian, "Now the Zhao family, relying on their strength, disregards the righteous men of Dongzhou and has divided their forces to invade our western lands. If a person is strong, but can fight with only two fingers... it seems difficult to succeed. This is my opinion. Guo, you have traveled to Hedong and Taiyuan and know the Zhao family's foundation. What is your opinion?"

Guo Xian's expression turned serious upon hearing this. In truth, given his family background and social standing, he looked down on Song Jian.

Unfortunately, only by uniting all forces can we repel Zhao Ji's encroachment on Liangzhou. Guo Xian can only serve as a temporary official in Song Jian's General of the Han Dynasty, holding the position of County Chief Clerk.

Therefore, after a brief consideration, Guo Xian said, "The Zhao family lured and slaughtered the gentry of Taiyuan, almost wiping out the bloodlines of each family, which shows their ferocity. Later, they repeatedly sent troops to the Central Plains, plundering the people and scholars there to enrich their own territory. The gentry and noble families of the Central Plains were treated like cattle, horses, dogs, and pigs. Compared to the noble families of the Central Plains, what good will our fate be if we are defeated?"

Guo Xian's tone was low. He had also visited Hedong Anyi University and Jinyang Longcheng University as a Xiping accountant, and had also met with other staff members in the Grand Marshal's office.

He even personally visited Zhao Yan and Zhao Ji as a clerk of Xiping County and was questioned by them... This experience was regarded as a disgrace by Guo Xian.

His family is a prominent clan in Xiping, almost the only prominent clan in the region. They are not just one of the most prestigious clans in the county, but a truly outstanding clan, the number one clan!

Despite his humble origins, he failed to gain the attention of Zhao Yan or Zhao Ji. They merely consulted him on matters within the prefecture, bestowed upon him a small reward, and allowed him to stay for a simple meal before letting him go.

He thought he could become a rising star in Liangzhou and be valued by the Zhao family, but after traveling five thousand miles, it was all for nothing.

Seeing Guo Xian's sincerity, and knowing to some extent the ruthlessness of Zhao Ji, the rising star of the Xizhou rebels, Song Jian felt no worry. Instead, he laughed and said, "Only you, Guo, have such foresight. It's laughable that the heroes of Tianshui are afraid of the Zhao family's strength and hesitate to raise an army. They're like cutting off their own flesh to feed a tiger; in the end, they can't escape being devoured by the tiger."

Guo Xian remained silent upon hearing this, while Song Jian's smile did not diminish: "Everything we have now was stolen, and they think it's their due, which is why they're so complacent. Let's leave them be. I'll trouble you, Lord Guo, to invite the leaders of the various Qiang tribes. We need to select the vanguard and set up camp at Warriors River."

"Here."

Guo Xian agreed, looking preoccupied. He took a few steps back before turning and leaving.

Watching Guo Xian's retreating figure, Song Jian raised his hand and picked his ear with his little finger. Anyway, he was almost fifty years old. In his youth, he had been a volunteer in Liangzhou Sanming, in his young adulthood he had been the leader of the Qiang tribe, and now he had been a king.

He has experienced things that many people have never experienced.

If it weren't for the joint uprising of the Qiang tribes of the Hehuang region and various Han powerful families, Song Jian would not have wanted to send troops, since sending troops carries the danger of not being able to return home.

However, the will of the people was hard to defy. As a king, Song Jian naturally could not go against the will of the people and had no choice but to send troops.

In any case, he refused to enter Jincheng territory, not because he was afraid of Zhao Ji, but because he was afraid of his good friend Han Sui.

It doesn't matter how the war is fought, since it's all the same in the end—death.

But if it falls into Han Sui's hands, it will surely be chewed up repeatedly until every last drop of blood and flesh is squeezed out.

Of course, if Grand Tutor Zhao and the rebel general Han Sui were locked in a stalemate, it would be even better if he sent someone to persuade or win over Han Sui...

(End of this chapter)