Tiger Guards

Chapter 697 An Enemy of 100,000
Pingyang Camp, Guard Camp.

As dusk approached, Wei Ji entered with the order in hand.

Inside Pei Xiu's barracks, Pei Xiu, exhausted and worn down by stress, is fast asleep.

His subordinates and guards gathered in front of the barracks, not daring to rush in. They could only stand on both sides and watch the approaching guards and the elite cavalry of the central army.

Wei Kai stepped forward and asked Pei Xiu's personal guard, "Inform the Protector General that I have come here on the orders of the Grand Tutor."

"Here."

Only then did the guard dare to push open the door and enter, but Wei Ji followed him into the barracks, with the four elite cavalrymen of the central army also following closely behind.

The four elite riders immediately split into two groups upon entering the room. One group stood on either side of the door frame, while the other group followed closely, standing on either side of the side door leading from the living room to the bedroom, without entering the bedroom.

Inside the dormitory, Pei Xiu rubbed his face to wake himself up. The irritability caused by his long sleeplessness permeated the room. His personal guard stood silently by the wall with his head bowed.

When Wei Ji entered the dormitory, Pei Xiucai glanced up, his eyes dry, and couldn't see clearly: "Is it Bo Yu?"

"Yes, I am your servant."

Wei Kai took off his cloak and hung it on the copper hook behind the screen, then took off his gloves and hung them on the horizontal bar as well. He looked at Pei Xiu's personal guards and said, "Light the candles in the room, then go out."

Upon hearing this, the guards first went to check on Pei Xiu. Seeing that Pei Xiu did not object, they then went to light the oil lamp in the room and even extended the wick to increase the brightness of the flame and the light.

Then, with light steps, they went to the outer hall and carried in the bronze candlestick. It was a bronze candlestick in the shape of a hibiscus tree, with ten side oil bowls from top to bottom. When lit, it would become ten oil lamps.

As the hibiscus tree candlesticks were lit one after another, the guards carefully withdrew.

In those dozen or so breaths, Wei Ji had also adapted to the dim indoor environment. He sat down by the stove and started adding coal to the furnace without any impatience.

Pei Xiu also drank a bowl of warm tea before asking, "What brings you here, Bo Yu?"

"There is nothing else. It's just that the Grand Tutor was worried about the Protector General and specially ordered me to rush back to the camp so that I could comfort him in person."

Seeing that Pei Xiu continued to pour tea, Wei Kai softened his voice and said in a slightly lower tone, "I do not know what has happened in Hedong and Taiyuan, but the Grand Tutor has heard about it. If there is any dispute, please wait for the Grand Tutor to return to camp and tell him in person."

"Bo Yu is overthinking it. What could possibly happen between Hedong and Taiyuan?"

Pei Xiu smiled, but the smile was forced. He immediately said, "I will wait for the Grand Tutor to return to camp. Bo Yu, go do what you need to do. Don't waste my time here."

"Then I must ask the guard to forgive me."

Wei Kai stood up, stretched out his arm, and pointed to the two elite cavalrymen of the Central Army standing face to face at the side door: "They are the Grand Tutor's personal guards, and from this moment on they will protect the Protector General closely. Please do not be alone with outsiders... I know this is too offensive, but I have no better solution."

Pei Xiu's face went expressionless, and Wei Ji hurriedly said, "This is not at the Grand Tutor's behest, but I am ordered to ensure the safety of the Imperial Guard, so I have no choice but to do so. Not only that, but I will also be in charge of the Imperial Guard's meals from now on. If the Imperial Guard is not at ease, he can arrange for people and dogs to taste the dishes."

"What else?"

"That's all. I'll take my leave now."

After Wei Ji bowed deeply, he looked up at Pei Xiu, who reluctantly returned the greeting with a casual cupped-hand salute.

No matter how unhappy he was with Wei Ji, Wei Ji was still Zhao Ji's subordinate, and he was there to protect Zhao Ji on Zhao Ji's orders.

Without even seeing Wei Kai off, Pei Xiu shouted angrily after Wei Kai left, "Come in!"

His personal guard then quickly entered the bedroom, knelt on one knee, and cupped his hands in front of his head: "Guardian?"

"Three shifts of guards were also arranged to stand guard together with the central guards."

Pei Xiu paused, then added, "Select fifty people and draft a list, then I'll arrange the schedule."

"Here."

The guard answered loudly while bowing his head, then stood up and walked away swiftly.

Pei Xiu then returned to the edge of the heated kang and pulled out a short sword with a side branch from under the wolf skin covering the bed.

In the confined space, this short sword was enough for him to use for self-defense.

He didn't need to kill any enemies; he just needed to hold out for a moment, and guards would naturally come in to protect him. Pei Xiu stared blankly at the short sword with its side branch and handguard.

Whenever he starts to let his mind wander, he gets overwhelmed by all sorts of fearful deductions.

It wasn't just that Wei Kai feared the guards of the protective camp would assassinate Pei Xiu; Pei Xiu was also worried that the guards of the central army would be infiltrated.

When he came to his senses from his fear and anxiety, he couldn't help but miss the days when everyone was united and fought the bandits side by side.

Sharing hardship is not difficult; sharing prosperity is.

Pei Xiu really couldn't understand what her uncle's family had to do with resisting.
Even if it succeeds, and even succeeds spectacularly, wiping out the Zhao family blood relatives in Hedong and Taiyuan in one fell swoop, and causing the collapse of the Liangzhou battlefield... what good will it do?

Are you suggesting that Lü Bu would just stand by and watch?

Having suffered such a great loss, even if Zhao Ji dies, the old Zhao clan members will be determined to welcome Lü Bu, which will bring even more brutal killings and destruction.

If Zhao Ji had not died, in an environment where all his blood relatives were dead and his foundation was ruined, Zhao Ji would have really fled to the Hebei region and then gathered the Hu cavalry to march south. At that time, Pei Xiu dared not imagine how many people would have died.

Zhao Ji had already exercised great restraint, which led to the prosperity of all industries in Xizhou.

Everyone, from top to bottom, including government slaves and tenants, even if they weren't full, at least they could stay warm and sleep more soundly.

However, the higher up a person's social standing, the less satisfied they are with the improved life they have achieved, and the more they try to demand.

Many people even want to break free from the cage and take control of their own destiny.

While cages and animal sheds restrict the movement of cattle and sheep, they also protect them.

How easy is it to be a leader like Zhao Ji?
Pei Xiu pondered for a moment, then turned and lay back on the heated kang bed, gradually falling asleep again.

He was well aware of what had happened at the Pei family manor, but only he could take action to preserve a portion of the Pei family bloodline.

He knew Zhao Ji too well. If Zhao Ji were to handle the situation, the Pei family wouldn't be wiped out like the Wang family of Taiyuan, but the various government slaves would serve as a model.

Pei Xiu preferred that able-bodied men of his clan die and be buried in their hometown rather than become government slaves, wandering in other places, suffering greatly, and then dying far from home without even a proper burial ground.

Other government slaves still had the opportunity to turn their lives around and gain their freedom, but the Pei family, as relatives of the Zhao family, would be subjected to even harsher suppression.

For many people in Hedong, this long day and night passed by in Pei Xiu's sleep.

When he woke up, it was already four o'clock the next morning.

At the central camp, Zhao Ji, with the support of the central army's cavalry, had marched swiftly to his loyal and ardent Pingyang camp.

In the shower room, which resembled a sauna, Zhao Ji scrubbed the dirt off his body.

Apply sulfur soap all over your body, soak the grime and dead skin in hot water, and after soaking it thoroughly, it becomes very soft and moist. You can rub off a layer, and then peel off another layer.

After a refreshing shower, Zhao Ji felt that the whole world had become fresh and invigorating, as if his reborn skin was also breathing.

After putting on dry clothes, a mink fur coat over his shoulders, and a pair of clogs, he went to the fireplace to look through the confidential documents of the central army's garrison.

After some highly confidential documents were delivered to the central army camp, apart from Pei Xiu, neither the strategist Jia Xu nor the chief clerk Zhang Hong were able to read them... They were completely unaware of these documents.

When Zhao Ji saw the series of secret reports about his birth mother, Lady Pei of Tongxiang, he felt inexplicably sad.

But he remained calm, took out a bronze mirror and looked at his reflection. When their eyes met, neither of them spoke.

After a while, the sadness subsided, and Zhao Ji said to the person in the mirror, "Look, she doesn't love you. She's the one who says you're unfilial, she's the one who says you're disloyal. She thinks you're disrespectful to your elder brother and unkind to your younger siblings. If she were alive, she would be worth 100,000 enemy soldiers."

"With 100,000 enemy soldiers, each one killed with a single arrow, how much time would it take me to kill them all?"

"It's obvious that she's alone."

The number of people who were dragged down to be buried with them was nearly a thousand.

(End of this chapter)