Tiger Guards

Chapter 722 Severe Punishment
After watching three ball games with Gan Ning, which included wrestling and brawls, Zhao Ji boarded a nearby ship that afternoon.

More than seventy transport ships of various sizes set sail northward. Gan Ning came to the dock to see them off, watching the transport ships pass by in succession.

"Grand Tutor is busy with state affairs, yet he has taken the time to wait for me here. He values ​​me so highly, and I can only repay him with my life."

A wave of emotion washed over Gan Ning, and what moved him most was the three bowls of tea that Zhao Ji had prepared for him in advance.

This was a treatment that no one else had ever received before, and even if other generals were to receive such treatment in the future, it would be after him.

Gan Ning was a straightforward person. Liu Yan and Liu Zhang looked down on him, and Liu Biao wanted to discard him after using him. When he came to the great general Lü Bu, who also came from a humble background, Lü Bu also looked down on him and arranged for him to serve under the Grand Marshal.

Under the Grand Marshal, he was not looked down upon because of his humble origins or his experience as the Commander of the Brocade Sail. Despite the vast difference in their backgrounds, the Grand Marshal recognized his talent at a glance and entrusted him with important responsibilities.

Subsequently, whether on the battlefields of Yanzhou or Hanoi, Gan Ning displayed great prowess.

All the ambitions I have pursued day and night in my life are nothing more than this.

Compared to the glorious achievements of conquering the north and south of the Yellow River under the Grand Marshal and being enfeoffed as a marquis and general, what is the injustice of merely guarding Hanoi for half a year?
If you can't even bear this little bit of grievance, how can you be worthy of the kindness shown to you by the Grand Marshal?

Gan Ning felt ashamed, realizing he shouldn't have argued with Wei Xing and Han Meng.

If he had negotiated properly with these two generals when he withdrew from Hanoi, they probably wouldn't have acted so rudely towards him.

Gan Ning pondered as he watched the fleet sail away from Jiangyi Ferry Water Village.

His gaze shifted from the departing fleet to the bend of the Fen River to the east, where the Pingyang Shipyard, which had been under construction for two years, was located on the east bank and could build three-story ships.

Large, three-story ships can be called "mengchong" giant ships, and "mengchong" itself is a type of ship design and specification.

The larger and higher the multi-story ship, the more archer units can be carried on the deck; and in battle, height is an advantage.

However, the Fen River, Wei River, and Sanmenxia Gorge limit the size of ships, which makes it somewhat difficult for Pingyang Shipyard to manufacture large three-story ships.

It was slightly smaller than the five-toothed warships of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, but larger than the three-toothed warships built according to the traditional two-story ship specifications.

But that's not important. The geographical location of Binh Duong Shipyard determined that it was mainly used for building transport ships and training shipbuilding technicians, rather than building warships.

After conquering Yuan Shao in Hebei, a larger shipyard can be built on the Bohai Sea to accumulate large warships and a navy, and then we can confront the southern bandits on the Yangtze River.

Gan Ning couldn't help but fall into reverie, thinking that the title of General Fubo, who traversed the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, was somewhat undeserved.

If one were to lead a naval fleet to quell the rebellion in Jiaozhou and roam the vast South China Sea, that would be the true General Fubo!

On the flagship of the northward fleet, Zhao Ji wore sleeveless lacquered leather armor... The weight of the leather armor was as if it were no weight to him.

Unlike on land, where he would wear a short-sleeved chainmail or a sleeveless fish-scale armor under his outer robe, the weight of these lightweight inner armors was actually negligible, but they would slightly hinder his limb movements and affect his core explosive power.

At his level, the minor hindrances brought by the lightweight inner armor... are sometimes indistinguishable. When killing an ordinary samurai, the slight impact on speed and explosive power will not make any essential difference.

However, when facing other top experts of the era, this slight influence becomes crucial, determining whether one can instantly kill the opponent.

In terms of personal martial arts skills, Zhao Ji had some aspirations.

With the help of his army and his own archery skills, he could naturally defeat Lü Bu or chase after Guan Yu.

However, Zhao Ji was somewhat worried about the possibility of actual combat on horseback.

Given their current significant advantage, Zhao Ji would not take the initiative to enter the fray unless they had a 95% or higher chance of defeating these two experts.

As he pondered this pursuit, Zhao Ji looked out to the north, about fifty or sixty miles away.

That place is Baibo Ferry. His central army has already assembled at Baibo Ferry and is waiting for orders. They will be able to board the ship tonight and spend the night there. Tomorrow, when it is slightly brighter, they will set sail and head towards Jinyang.

Returning to Jinyang after almost a year's absence is a challenge for him; he needs to overcome his inner sense of unease.

Only now does he understand those who immerse themselves in military life and are unwilling to return home.

On the east bank of the Fen River, near Jiaxiang.

More than a thousand government slaves were dredging the canals. These slaves were mainly young rogues and outlaws kept by Zhao Lian. Guo Jia mingled among them, standing on the canal embankment with his hands on his head and squinting at the fleet of ships sailing up. A white tiger-striped banner stood on the flagship, which was Zhao Ji's own banner.

As for the Golden Eagle and the Great Banner of the Deer, they were captured royal banners from the Xiongnu and Xianbei, and became one of the symbols of Zhao Ji's central army.

After being detained and reduced to a government slave, forced to perform manual labor, Guo Jia's health and complexion actually improved significantly.

However, such a life was too dull and boring for him, and at this moment, looking at Zhao Ji's flagship with its great banner, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

As dusk approached, the overseer, sword and whip at his side, grew too lazy to bother with anything else and simply wandered around the area, keeping an eye on the new slaves to prevent them from deliberately destroying the tools.

These overseers were also watching the northward-bound fleet. The fleet was common, but for many, it was the first time they had ever seen a fleet with a white tiger-striped banner flying atop its flagship.

"That's a wrap!"

Guo Jia suddenly heard someone shouting in the distance. He turned around and saw the junior supervisor in charge of the construction riding a tall horse, with two soldiers beside him striking a wooden clapper. Many government slaves cheered with joy at the sight.

Guo Jia quickly realized what was happening, picked up the hoe, and jogged towards his foreman.

The overseer began to blow the bone whistle, and Guo Jia ran even faster.

The sooner we complete the assembly and roll call, the sooner we can return to the temporary camp for a meal.

Since being forced to do manual labor, Guo Jia's appetite has increased dramatically. He has a great appetite, but he can never get enough to eat.

The junior supervisor in charge of this area retired due to injury. He was one-eyed. He rode on horseback, holding a stack of papers in both hands, reading with his eyes down, and then looked at the government slaves gathered on both sides of the canal.

The paper in his hand contained some portraits, which were portraits of criminals involved in heinous crimes that had occurred in the counties under Zhao Ji's rule since he recovered them.

Having experienced such a chaotic era, the people were filled with resentment, possessed great martial prowess, and were highly motivated to act.

After committing a decisive murder, such individuals often have ample experience in wilderness survival and are mostly able to escape.

For more than a year, Zhao Lian had been harboring outlaws, which made the county officials afraid to investigate. The local officials in charge of border crossings and fortifications also acted perfunctorily and indulged them. As a result, these outlaws gathered under Zhao Lian's command, and the taxes of the entire Dai County could not support them.

Therefore, after acquiring this group of people, Zhao Lian's personal financial expenditures increased dramatically, and he could only use these people to do things like "using war to support war".

After Zhao Ji intercepted and demoted these people to government slaves, each county sent officials with portraits and case files to the construction site to search for the criminals.

If they catch him in the act, the punishment will naturally be more severe.

This one-eyed junior supervisor lost an eye on the battlefield, which made his future difficult. As a result, he had a bad temper. After capturing such desperados who were unwilling to live a peaceful life and dared to commit serious crimes, he would often personally whip them half to death before handing them over to the county officials who came looking for them.

He would compare the list with the case files and portraits, and occasionally point to some suspected individuals. His subordinates and soldiers who had gathered around him would then step forward to arrest the suspects.

During the arrest, they will not be kind or polite. Regardless of whether they like you or not, they will first use fists and kicks, beat you until you are unrecognizable, and then drag you away.

Guo Jia mingled in the crowd, keeping his head down like everyone else, each one trembling with fear, lest he be spotted by the one-eyed Xue Shaojian.

The officials and soldiers, in groups of three or five, pounced on the groups of forty or fifty government slaves like wolves and tigers. They would surround the suspects and beat them mercilessly. The more the suspects struggled, the harder they were beaten.

If you stubbornly refuse to speak up, these people will not respect you and will often beat you severely, leaving you crippled.

The vast majority of other government slaves didn't even dare to stand by and watch; they could only turn their heads away, as even a few extra glances would invite beatings.

While government slaves were indeed an important asset of the shogunate, most of these government slaves were captured on the battlefield.

The group of government slaves before them were a group formed by those who refused to live a peaceful life under Zhao Ji's rule and had committed crimes and fled. They were not well received by the Jin army officers and soldiers.

Even when beating the prisoners of the various Hu tribes, they were not necessarily as fierce as they are now.

Guo Jia stayed behind the crowd, not daring to show his face.

He knew all too well that Zhao Ji was trying to completely strip Zhao Lian of his wings and claws!
It's only now that the weather is warming up; if it were winter, the officials and soldiers of Hedong could easily torture these people to death!

More than two thousand desperados—they're practically indistinguishable from an internal rebel army.

(End of this chapter)