Tiger Guards

Chapter 692 The Cause of Yesterday
After a brief rest in Weicheng and a hearty meal for his men and horses, Zhao Ji did not linger.

We arrived in Linjin around midnight.

Throughout the streets of Linjin City, county soldiers stood with torches, enforcing a strict curfew.

Inside the county government office in the city, Zhao Ji sat cross-legged after his meal, practicing meditation and concentrating his energy, but he still felt palpitations.

Once he had recovered his strength, Zhao Ji retrieved the defense maps of Hedong and Pingyang that he had brought with him.

With a mouthful of salty dried yak meat, Zhao Ji held a cowhide map scroll in both hands and carefully examined the backgrounds and resumes of the camp commanders or camp officers of the various camps in the lower reaches of the Fen River.

The current majority of battalion commanders, battalion commanders, and separate commanders in the army are mostly from the Tiger Guards, and have largely replaced the transitional military officers who were originally recruited.

Just as he was repeatedly confirming the probability of the troops stationed in the counties downstream of the Fen River defecting, crisp footsteps came from the corridor outside.

Soon, Wei Ji's voice came from the doorway: "Your Majesty, I have brought charcoal."

"Bo Yu, come in."

Zhao Ji took the cowhide map scroll to the front hall. At this moment, Wei Ji came over with a basket of charcoal in both hands, turned around, knelt on one knee in front of the iron stove, and added charcoal.

Wei Ji put the pottery pot back on its place, took out a damp cloth to wipe his hands, stood up and bowed to Zhao Ji: "Your Excellency."

"I'm so excited that I'll be able to cross Longmenjin early tomorrow morning."

Zhao Ji handed the map scroll to Wei Ji: "Bo Yu, take a look too. See if any of the troops along the way have defected."

The sooner we arrive at the Pingyang camp, the sooner we can end the various uncertain and random rebellions.

The longer they traveled, the more exhausted Zhao Jizhong's army became.

When Zhao Ji left the Pingyang camp, he brought with him three thousand elite cavalry and chariots. When he returned and passed through Chencang, he only had a little over a thousand cavalry and chariots. It was only by transferring nearly a thousand infantry and cavalry from Jia Tong's command that Zhao Ji's guard was able to be replenished to a size of two thousand.

It's not that Zhao Ji didn't trust his guards, but rather that the guards, exhausted from the war, were not suited for such use.

Wei Ji sat respectfully below Zhao Ji, picked up the cowhide scroll, spread it out, and gazed at the counties downstream of the Fen River. He immediately said, "Initially, Your Excellency annexed the powerful chieftains of Hedong, such as Ma Wan, Hou Xuan, and Li Kan. Later, you divided the various families according to the law, seized their troops, and returned them to the state."

It is said to belong to the state, but in reality, it belongs to Zhao Ji.

Even so, Zhao Ji did not dare to easily trust these people. He trusted the Han border people he had rescued and the Xiongnu and other Hu tribes who had been conquered and brought under his control even more.

Therefore, most of the generals in Hedong were assigned to the position of Sima in the five battalions of the Grand Marshal, and the five battalions of surrendered generals were also assigned to the position of Colonel. By mixing the unstable Hedong warlords with the surrendered generals, the army was temporarily stabilized.

As a result, under Zhao Ji's intentional strategy of attrition and absorption, the surrendered generals and soldiers represented by the five battalion commanders successively made meritorious contributions. Except for Zhang He, Zhang Xiu, and Xu Chu, who still maintained their old clans and troops, the others basically broke away from their old troops and transitioned through the Tiger Step Army, becoming relatively stable leading units.

Opportunities for meritorious service are limited. Although the powerful leaders of Hedong have gradually risen from the commanders of the Five Battalions to the captains of the Five Battalions, these people and their former followers, despite serving in the army, have accumulated merit slowly and have few opportunities for promotion.

People aren't afraid of slow promotions, they're afraid of comparisons.

But Zhao Ji had no choice. He couldn't very well lead his fellow villagers from Hedong out to fight, leaving the surrendered generals and soldiers to guard their homes.

When Zhao Ji launched his campaigns against foreign enemies, he always prepared for the worst-case scenario of total annihilation.

Preserving the vitality of the population in Hedong means that even if they suffer defeats in foreign wars, they still have hope of defending their homeland and launching another counterattack.

However, this long-term and painstaking effort resulted in difficulties and delays for the powerful generals and their former subordinates in accumulating merits and getting promoted; this naturally exacerbated the estrangement between them.

These officials and soldiers from Hedong would not be grateful to Zhao Ji for their current healthy and well-fed lives; most of them would only resent Zhao Ji for making good use of surrendered generals.

There's an absurd feeling that it's better to follow Zhao Ji later than to follow him earlier.

However, these officials and soldiers from Hedong were unaware that Zhao Ji had a longer-term plan for them; the current suppression and tempering were the key blow to the future.

In his current position, Zhao Ji would not show favoritism or particular affection towards people from any particular region. People should not be divided by region; social class or background is the key.

However, this long-term plan cannot be revealed to the people of Hedong, let alone to those close to them... because the target group for the people of Hedong to wield their swords in the future is the majority of the current central leadership.

However, taking advantage of the current opportunity to eliminate and prune the powerful local leaders and officials in Hedong might not be a bad thing.

This way, it will be especially convenient to use in the future.

Of course... people from Hedong can't be too arrogant in the future; once they've used them up, they'll reward them and break them up.

Only in this way can most of the officials and soldiers from Hedong be settled smoothly.

As Zhao Ji pondered his thoughts, he saw Wei Ji point out the ideological problems of the powerful leaders and officials in Hedong, and said, "If the powerful leaders of Hedong in the past could not understand the country's predicament and insisted on causing chaos, I would not consider the feelings of fellow villagers and comrades."

After Zhao Ji finished speaking, seeing Wei Ji deep in thought, he said, "In the past two years, I have been fighting on all sides and have neither the heart nor the strength to take care of Hedong. The changes in people's hearts are also unpredictable. Bo Yu comes from a prominent family in Hedong and knows the details of each powerful family and leader best. At this moment, I need Bo Yu to point out those who may have defected."

"only."

Wei Ji solemnly agreed, gazing at the map: "The deep-seated hatred between the Ma Shi clan and Your Majesty is known to all, both inside and outside the court. Judging from the current situation, the Ma Shi clan's chances of joining the rebellion are over 80%."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji nodded slowly. At this moment, he could not be rigid and insist on evidence. His hatred for Ma Shi was too deep. Regardless of whether the other party had defected or not... even if they had not defected, given their mutual hatred, they must have already accepted Pei Shi's attempts to win them over or hint at it.

Not exposing someone when they are being courted or given hints is... damnable.

Taking this opportunity to eliminate the last remaining influence of the Mashi clan in the army will be more beneficial for long-term development.

Wei Kai then focused intently on the leather map: “Apart from the Ma Shi clan, I believe the position of the Ji Ting chieftain is unstable. The other county and pavilion commanders, as well as the ferry crossing and fortification commanders, are all former Tiger Guards. Even if they have some misunderstandings about Your Majesty, they will be moved by Your Majesty when they meet you.”

"Yes, they wouldn't dare draw their swords against me."

Zhao Ji was confident in this respect. The rapid promotion of surrendered generals in the past two years had actually caused dissatisfaction among the Tiger Guards.

However, this dissatisfaction was more of an expression of attitude, and in response, Hu Ben's promotion was always given the green light.

It was this dissatisfaction from the Tiger Warriors that kept the surrendered generals from slacking off.

As Zhao Ji spoke, he reached out and took the leather map scroll from Wei Ji's hand, staring at Ji Ting.

Jiting is located on the north bank of the Fen River, facing the Cypress Wall on the south bank.

Jiting was just a small roadside post station, and Zhao Ji would never interfere with the appointment or promotion of post station chiefs. The post station chiefs of Wenxi, Anyi, and Jinyang were generally disabled military officers who had been resettled. The power to appoint these post station chiefs was always in Zhao Ji's hands.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Ji asked, "Bo Yu, who is the head of Jiting Pavilion?"

"His father and grandfather, three generations of his family, were all disciples of the Pei family, and he himself was also a disciple of the Pei family."

Wei Kai carefully chose his words: "Your Majesty also knows this man. He is Han Bai, the elder brother of Colonel Han Dong. His elder brother, Han Song, later entered the court as a Gentleman. When Your Majesty was campaigning against the Hu, Han Song accompanied Chen Qun to the border to deliver the imperial edict. However, he could not bear the bitter cold of the border region and fell ill and died."

Zhao Ji then had some recollection of Han Bai. He was not familiar with Han Bai, but he knew Han Song.

Han Song was about the same age as his elder brother Zhao Jian. When he attended classes at the Pei Clan School, he sat in the front row and sometimes lecturing to the newly enrolled teenagers in place of the Pei clan elders.

Before the imperial court moved east, Han Song was appointed as a clerk in Wenxi County and became Pei Zheng's right-hand man.

Later, Han Song was recommended as a filial and incorrupt official and entered the court as a court gentleman, while Pei Zheng was recruited by the government to enter the court.

The difference is that Pei Zheng was brought back by himself and became the county magistrate of Xihe County.

Zhao Ji did not press Wei Kai for the deeper reasons for his suspicion of Han Bai, and simply kept the matter in mind.

(End of this chapter)