Tiger Guards

Chapter 646 Intrigue and deception
The night remained dark, and snowflakes began to fall in the latter half of the night.

After a brief rest and resupply in Shanggui, the allied forces under Zhao Ang, with the assistance of the Han strongmen allied forces in Shanggui, began to board boats and cross the river.

The journey from Wudu Xiabian to this point was not long, and there weren't many forks in the steep mountains.

When the Qiang and Di tribes marched, they naturally would not abandon any of their members who had fallen behind.

This resulted in the Qiang and Di allied forces under Zhao Ang's command arriving at Shanggui with almost full strength.

Meanwhile, powerful Han and Hu tribesmen along the way joined in, and the combined Han and Hu forces that attacked Zhao Ji numbered more than 20,000. After joining forces with the combined Han and Hu forces in Shanggui, the total number reached nearly 30,000.

In this way, Zhao Ang's position as Protector of the Qiang appears somewhat lowly. Fortunately, the main force of the army is composed of the Qiang and Di tribes, which are under the command of the Protector of the Qiang, so he is not afraid of others seizing power for the time being.

The Qiang and Di tribes recognized the title of "Protector of the Qiang," the influence of the Zhao family of Tianshui, and to some extent, the reputation of Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yizhou.

In the short term, the Qiang-Di allied forces under Zhao Ang are safe and not afraid of being seized by Xin Pi or Zhang Xiu.

His uncle, Zhao Rong, also held the title of General Who Pacifies Bandits, which allowed him to integrate the Han strongmen and their followers who were close to and trusted the Zhao family of Tianshui into the army that Pacifies Bandits.

With the uncle and nephew working together, they were naturally able to control the Han and Hu armed forces in Tianshui separately and use them in combination.

Only in this way can we resist the power grab by Xin Pi and Zhang Xiu, and also contend with the armies of Jincheng and Hehuang led by Han Sui and Song Jian.

Defeating Han Shu and annihilating and annexing the armies of Ma Chao, Zhang Xiu, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, and Yang Qiu was merely the beginning of another upheaval in Liangzhou.

In terms of the family lineage of the Zhao family in Tianshui, we need to have a long-term vision.

Therefore, before clashing with Han Sui and Song Jian, the Zhao family of Tianshui had to actively attack, eliminate, and annex Zhao Ji's troops.

Only in this way can we enhance our own prestige and integrate the surrendered troops to improve the overall combat effectiveness of the army.

Only after blocking Han Sui and Song Jian could the Zhao clan of Tianshui expand westward... If Zhao Ji, a small branch of the Langya Zhao clan, could do it, the Zhao clan of Tianshui, with the support of the heroes of the prefecture, also had the opportunity to grow bigger!
The more domineering and arrogant Zhao Ji was, the stronger the support the Zhao clan of Tianshui received from the imperial court and the Liu family!
Just as Zhao Ang was urging his Han-Hu allied forces to cross the Wei River, Zhang Xiu, who was still stationed near Qishankou, received a letter from Zhao Ang.

"Zhao Weizhang sent a military letter, saying that he would cross the river at night and launch a surprise attack on Han Shu's rear army to cut off their food supplies and retreat route."

Zhang Xiu shook the bamboo slip in his hand, tossed it onto the side of the table with a crisp sound, and asked Yan Pu, the chief clerk of the army, "What do you think?"

Yan Pu was holding a narrow-necked wine jar with both hands, pouring wine into his own bowl, and the wine began to foam and make a sound.

He then placed the wine jar back into the earthenware pot to continue heating it in a water bath. Yan Pu rubbed his burning hands before speaking methodically: “Liu Yizhou appointed him as Protector of the Qiang and ordered him to recruit Qiang and Di volunteers, intending to assist the general. Now that he is separated from the general, Zhao Weizhang, relying on his prominent family in Tianshui and his popularity, has already developed rebellious intentions. I sincerely hope that the general will investigate this matter.”

Zhang Xiu listened and nodded slowly, glancing sideways at Yan Pu, who was sipping his wine. Yan Pu noticed his gaze and lowered his head even further while drinking, not daring to make a sound.

Zhang Xiu lowered his eyes to look at the table, picked up the bamboo slips that had been lying on the corner of the table, and spread them out with both hands, intending to read them patiently and savor Zhao Ang's words and emotions.

However, after Yan Pu's reminder, the more Zhang Xiu read, the more he felt that Zhao Ang's words were full of interference, almost treating him as a subordinate general being arranged for him.

With the Xudu court recognizing and appointing Liu Zhang as the governor of Yizhou, Zhang Xiu, after attacking and killing Su Gu, the former governor of Hanzhong, also received an imperial edict from the Xudu court and became the governor of Hanzhong.

As a dignified prefect, how could he possibly obey the orders and arrangements of Zhao Ang, a mere Protector of the Qiang?
Zhao Ang was previously only the Qiangdao Ling under Wudu Commandery, with an official rank of no more than 1,000 shi. Now, he has only been recommended as "Acting Protector of the Qiang" by Liu Zhang, and has not yet received formal recognition from the Xudu court.

Even if the imperial court approves, he is still acting as the Qiangdao Ling (a high-ranking official in charge of the Qiang region) in his primary position, and as the Huqiang Xiaowei (a military officer in charge of protecting the Qiang region) in his secondary position. In the end, he is just a fake or acting Huqiang Xiaowei. Why should he flaunt his power in front of him?
Before he could even defeat the army sent by Zhao Ji, Zhao Ang was already thinking of rebelling against the arrangements made by Yizhou and the imperial court. If Zhao Ang succeeded, how could he possibly stand in Hanzhong?

Zhang Xiu grew increasingly angry, but after calming himself down, he gently closed the bamboo slips and placed them on the side of the table. "Sir," he said, "Zhao Weizhang has shown signs of rebellion. I will send an envoy to report to the lord. I wonder what should be done about this situation?" Yan Pu frowned upon hearing this, deep in thought. Zhang Xiu, not wanting to disturb him, waited patiently.

After a dozen or so breaths, Zhang Xiu got up and went to Yan Pu's vicinity. He took out the wine jar that had been heated in water and poured wine into Yan Pu's wine cup with both hands.

Yan Pu quickly raised the large bamboo wine cup with both hands. Seeing that it was about to be full, he said, "General... Zhao Weizhang sent troops to the north bank of the Wei River, ostensibly to attack Han Shu's rear army. In my opinion, it was actually a swift attack on Jieting to block the Longshan Mountains."

"Yes, that's what I think too."

Zhang Xiu nodded immediately, put the wine jar back in its place, and rubbed his scalded hands: "Does the gentleman think that Zhao Weizhang also has the ambition to emulate the traitor Zhao?"

"That's not important. What I suspect is that he intends to annex our army."

Yan Pu's expression was solemn, and his voice was low. Qishan Road was located within Wudu County, and the north side of Qishan Pass led directly to Shanggui.

Zhang Xiu and Zhang Lu also took the lead, closing roads and delaying the transmission of messages while marching.

The combined forces of the Qiang and Di tribes of Longnan, led by Zhao Ang, concealed the battlefield, allowing the enemy to secretly reach Shanggui.

In other words, if Zhao Ang were to turn against them now, he could easily cut off Zhang Xiu and Zhang Lu's escape route.

Unable to return to Hanzhong, the officers and soldiers in the army... even if they are believers, in such a desperate situation of being separated from their families for a long time, they will abandon them, and even attack and kill these 'masters' who cannot use divine calculations or command ghosts and gods.

Leading believers to raise an army, the more victories they win, the faster their army can expand under the influence of fanaticism; but what they fear most is failure, because failure will prove that the gods and spirits they claim to be able to command are false, and the believers' faith will collapse, and in the blink of an eye they will become mortal enemies.

Therefore, Zhang Xiu either wins the battle or doesn't take action, instead leading his followers on an armed march to tour the upper reaches of the Wei River.

Alternatively, Zhang Xiu could leave his headquarters untouched and let Zhang Lu fight, thus isolating the risk of backlash from the believers onto Zhang Lu and letting him act as a firewall.

Zhang Xiu grew increasingly fearful and, in his anger, asked, "Zhao Weizhang's rebellious behavior is obvious. The country has already seen Zhao Ji causing trouble; how can we allow Zhao Ang to cause further chaos?"

Zhao Ang was over eight feet tall, strong and heroic.

Zhang Xiu already had a good impression of Zhao Ang, but now, upon reflection, he realized that Zhao Ang was quite similar to Zhao Ji.
"If the general can make up his mind, we might as well order Zhang Gongqi to withdraw and rush westward to seize Shanggui!"

Yan Pu stood up and whispered to Zhang Xiu, "Regardless of whether we succeed or fail, General, you can retreat back to Hanzhong with ease. This will not only eliminate Zhao Ang's external threat but also quell Zhang Gongqi's internal strife."

Zhang Xiu disliked Zhang Lu very much. Zhang Lu's mother served Liu Yan very well, so Liu Yan secretly regarded Zhang Lu as his adopted son or foster son before his death.

Liu Yan's two eldest sons died in the war against Li Jue and Guo Si, so Liu Yan valued his third son, Liu Mao, even more.

The fourth son, Liu Zhang, had a good relationship with Zhang Lu, who was the military supervisor of Liu Zhang and his sons stationed in Hanzhong, making Zhang Xiu feel very uncomfortable.

If he could eliminate the Zhang brothers through war, he would naturally be able to secure his position in Hanzhong.

The idea of ​​punishing Zhao and protecting the country was somewhat distant for Zhang Xiu.

Hanzhong was the apple of his eye, the place he could see and touch.

(End of this chapter)