Tiger Guards

Chapter 662 Rushing to the Front
On the north bank of the Wei River lies Xinyang City.

The next day, before dawn, Zhao Ji emerged from his state of 'concentration and cultivation'.

The intense hunger gave him a sense of disorientation. Sometimes the night felt very long, and sometimes he would lie down and close his eyes and it would be dawn.

Therefore, every time Zhao Ji entered the state of 'concentrating his mind and nourishing his energy', it was as if he had opened up a panoramic view, and could perceive any slight movement in the house.

If you don't feel the passage of time, you naturally won't experience boredom or torment.

Zhao Ji was captivated and nostalgic for the feeling of being able to control the subtle changes in his surroundings at all times and to know almost everything.

The contrast between the rumbling in his stomach and the feeling of hunger made him very uncomfortable.

After getting up and stretching his body a little, Zhao Ji grabbed the sword beside the bed, holding the scabbard with his left hand and the hilt firmly with his right.

He then looked at the door three steps ahead. To make it easier for him to come and go, the original door frame had been removed, and some mud bricks had been taken down. This was a small 'tall door' that had been re-covered with yellow mud.

With a thought, he activated 'Shadow Shift', and the scene before him blurred and changed extremely quickly. Zhao Ji practiced it once a day, and only after practicing it many times could he perceive this blurriness.

He can probably only be considered to have fully mastered this skill when he can clearly see the blurry scene changes when he activates the teleportation ability.

The burden on the body from a single teleportation is extremely heavy, which is actually a way to strengthen various parts of the body.

Now, by performing the Shifting Shadows technique once every morning, he has essentially completed his daily training to maintain his physical fitness.

After the blurry feeling subsided, he appeared completely outside the door, his right hand drawing his sword, maintaining the posture of thrusting forward with one hand.

Unable to fully master the teleportation technique, Zhao Ji could only choose small-amplitude attacks when activating it, fearing that large-amplitude movements would harm himself or destroy his weapon.

Only thrusting puts the least strain on the right hand holding the sword.

Despite the soreness and stinging in his right arm, Zhao Ji slowly sheathed his sword. Turning around, he saw that the newly installed door frame had cut marks.

He squatted down to observe carefully, and only then did the previously blurry scene changes release various jumbled fragments in his mind, like an unzipped video archive.

After the slight dizziness subsided, Zhao Ji raised his hand to touch the scratches on the door frame. These were marks left when he drew his sword during his 'teleportation', the blade making a cut on the door frame. The cuts were more than an inch deep and very smooth, as if half of the sword could be wedged in just the right amount.

It's called teleportation... but there wasn't even a sonic boom.

Zhao Ji pursed his lips, stretched his limbs, and walked out of the inner hall. The outer hall was empty, except for six halberd-wielding Tiger Guards standing guard at the door.

As soon as Zhao Ji came out, hot water and utensils for washing were brought to him.

Zhao Ji first rinsed his mouth with warm water while holding the bone-handled toothbrush, then dipped it in salt powder and began brushing his teeth.

As he was brushing his teeth, Wen Hui strode over and stood at the door, holding a folder and looking down at the documents on it, saying, "Xin Pi has sent an envoy to surrender. The envoy is Zhao Pan, a former official of Didao County."

After rinsing his mouth again, Zhao Ji asked, "Have the conditions changed?"

"The conditions remain the same; we hope the Grand Tutor will forgive the heroes of Liangzhou."

“Tell him that my conditions remain unchanged: the couple will be separated, the adult males will be enrolled as government tenants to fill the four prefectures of Shuofang, and the wife, daughters and young adult males will be moved to Beidi, Shangjun and Xihe prefectures.”

Zhao Ji put down his toothbrush and began to wash his face with warm water. He had now prepared a soap with mugwort in it and carefully washed his cheeks, neck, hands, and forearms.

Wen Hui stood in front of the door, wanting to offer advice, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Thinking back to the previous resettlement measures for other enemy surrendered troops and prisoners of war, whether they were demoted to government slaves or reduced to government tenants, these people were generally able to reunite with their families. Although their clans and villages were broken up, their families remained intact. However, the current treatment of those who defected from Tianshui and Longxi, while not as cruel as beheading, was not as good as exile to remote border areas.

Even when exiled to the frontier, no matter how harsh the living conditions, powerful families could still maintain their integrity, allowing them to accumulate wealth again, grow stronger once more, and eventually restore the glory of their ancestors.

If Zhao Ji's relocation method had been followed, it would have been fine for ordinary people who had rebelled. These people were not particular, had a strong ability to adapt, and could always find a way to survive.

But what about the powerful and wealthy?

Relocating them separately from their wives and daughters effectively eliminates the ability of the vast majority of people to cause trouble.

These men will be forced to work hard all day long to make a living.

Women had an easy life; they could make a living by marrying a single tenant farmer or by marrying a government slave who was about to be released and regain his freedom.

However, the powerful men will lose their basic social security, and they will find it difficult to remarry, greatly reducing their chances of having children... Without a wife from an excellent family, the educational conditions for their offspring will also be much worse.

Even powerful men can understand that a child born to a coarse peasant woman by the roadside will certainly not be able to enter officialdom based on appearance; the mother's influence on the child is enormous... such a child is simply incapable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of clan inheritance and revival.

Therefore, Zhao Ji's arrangement was better than simply beheading these powerful men.

Such harsh conditions would be unacceptable not only to Xin Pi and Xin Zuozhi, but also to Zhao Rong and Zhao Zhichang.

This would only increase the resolve of the powerful families in Tianshui to resist, but what could Wen Hui do?
The surrendered soldiers and prisoners who had migrated and integrated into Zhao Ji's command had suffered so much. Over time, they would gradually be freed from their suffering and join Zhao Ji's ranks, becoming part of the grassroots.

It's unacceptable for these people to endure all sorts of hardships, only to be punished with a mere slap on the wrist after watching other rebels surrender.
Forgiving the Tianshui rebels would shake and affect the stability of the current army, officials, government slaves, and government tenants!

Only by severely punishing the surrendered rebels can the current government slaves and tenants remain happy and foster loyalty.

Wen Hui really couldn't persuade them... Although he disliked the local people of Taiyuan, these people were ultimately dead, and they died tragically.

Under pressure from the sectarian faction, he gave away all his family wealth at the age of fifteen, winning a good reputation and saving his life. Later, he was cleverly made an example of by Zhao Jili.

He couldn't save the people of Taiyuan back then, and now he's risking his life for the powerful and influential people of Tianshui... That's really inhuman. How will he face the people of Taiyuan who died tragically a hundred years from now?
Wen Hui remained silent and did not express his opinion, then said: "Zhang Wei from the south bank crossed the Wei River this morning. He is carrying a letter from Zhang Lu and wants to go to the court as a hostage."

“I gave the two brothers a chance to be free, why didn’t they cherish it?”

After wiping his face, Zhao Ji picked up a bronze mirror and looked at himself. He smiled at his reflection and said, "Wenman, what do you think this person is thinking?"

"I do not know. Perhaps seeing the strength of our army, the Zhang brothers wanted to use the Grand Tutor's prestige to intimidate Liu Zhang."

"Let him be. Arrange for Zhang Wei to come see me later. Give him some time to consider."

Zhao Ji handed the bronze mirror back to a young Tiger Warrior, then turned to Wen Hui: "What did Zhao Rong's envoy say?"

"He is willing to open the city gates as long as the safety of the male members of the Zhao family in Longxi and Tianshui can be guaranteed."

Wen Hui smiled as he spoke: "He hopes that the Grand Tutor can spare them out of consideration for their shared kinship."

"This example must not be repeated."

Zhao Ji's tone remained unchanged: "If you refuse, I will treat them all equally. As members of the Zhao family, you should be responsible for your actions. Begging for mercy before the city has even fallen—aren't you afraid of being laughed at by your descendants?"

(End of this chapter)