Tiger Guards

Chapter 78: Weakness and Insufficiency
The angel Zhao Rui rode away on his horse, and Zhao Ji watched him go away.

When he discovered that the other party was riding a horse, Zhao Rui seemed to put the rice in his hand into his mouth and chewed it while walking, and turned his head to spit out the rice husks to the side.

When Zhao Ji returned, he saw Qu Bei coming up to him quickly. He asked with a smile, "Zhonglang, how should I write this memorial properly?"

"Just state the truth."

Zhao Ji thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, please write first. I will write the petition for battle in accordance with your sentiments."

Mainly, I want to take a look at the format of the petition. After all, it is a document requesting war, so it doesn't require many words.

This is a ritual process. Just pay attention to avoiding taboos in words and don't quote allusions randomly, and there will be no problems.

The real decision maker was the emperor. If he dared to lead the army in person, Zhao Ji would be happy to follow him and make a big fuss.

There is another advantage of the emperor leading the army in person, that is, after the passage to Taiyuan is cleared, if the attack of the two bandits Li and Guo is too fierce to resist, the emperor's carriage and all the court officials can take refuge in Taiyuan.

The natural barrier of Queshu Valley extended the attack range of the Li-Guo coalition forces. Behind these two men were the good brothers Ma Teng and Han Sui. Therefore, if the imperial court took refuge in Taiyuan, the two thieves Li and Guo would retreat voluntarily.

There is an uncontrollable variable here, that is the powerful people in Hedong.

If they insisted on resisting, it would be difficult for the Li-Guo coalition forces to advance simultaneously and break through the two bridgeheads in the north and south.

If we can hold Puyang and Fenyin, everything will be fine.

What if the powerful people were negligent and deliberately let the Li-Guo coalition army invade Hedong? What would happen if the emperor and the court moved to Taiyuan and the Li-Guo coalition army did not dare to pursue them further?
The common people in Hedong were already very poor, and the Li-Guo coalition was also afraid that Han Sui and Ma Teng would rise up in rebellion to defend the king, so naturally they quickly grabbed what they had and retreated.

It goes without saying who is more efficient in grabbing.

The powerful people in Guanzhong have basically been wiped out by Li and Guo.

Among the future ten generals of Guanzhong, few are native Guanzhong heroes, and most of them are outsiders.

"Just follow Zhonglang!"

Qubei suggested again: "Why don't we write together? I just have something to tell Zhonglang."

"also may."

Zhao Ji agreed, and the two of them each brought a few followers into the Wei family's main hall, which was very spacious.

But ancient buildings are just that, and Zhao Ji has seen modern wonders after all.

Even the emperor's palace was just a thing in his eyes, not as pleasing as his own cabin.

But in the huge main room, not only were there daily utensils, but even the coffee table was gone.

There were still torn remnants of cloth on the beams, and all kinds of easy-to-carry tools had been swept away by the Huns.

It's not his anyway, so Zhao Ji doesn't care. Someone will ask Qu Bei for it back.

There are also heavy, relatively large low tables where you can sit down and prepare to write.

Zhao Ji knocked on the table that seemed to be covered with a layer of transparent crystal, and the echo was crisp. Perhaps this table was worth Lao Zhao's thirty years of hard work.

Han Shu, who followed him in, also laid out a silk book for him. Zhao Ji picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, then said to Han Shu beside him, "I hate writing the most. Now that I'm going to be an official, you must remind me to practice calligraphy from time to time. You must not slack off either."

"Here."

Han Shu agreed, and Zhao Ji was not in a hurry to write. He observed the memorial written by Qu Bei. The handwriting was authentic Zhangcao, better than Lao Zhao's, similar to Pei Xiu, but not as good as Jia Kui.

Zhao Ji memorized the shape of the characters and started writing.

Soon, the two sides finished writing their memorials. Zhao Ji read Qu Bei's memorial and proposed, "Would the wise king be willing to accompany me to the emperor?"

"My prince's prediction is correct. The imperial court will certainly send an envoy to summon me to meet the emperor."

Qubei rubbed his wrist and glanced at his servants and guards, who tactfully retreated to the door. Han Shu, after obtaining Zhao Ji's consent, also followed him out.

Inside the spacious house, Qu Bei asked, "Zhonglang has made outstanding contributions. I wonder how the court will reward him?"

"I don't know. The angel just asked me about it. I don't have many material desires, nor do I want high office or noble titles. So I asked the angel to bestow an official title on my father-in-law."

Zhao Ji turned his head and looked at Bei. "The Right Wise King is speaking frankly. The prestige of the court is greatly enhanced. In my opinion, you and I can both benefit from cooperation. If we fight, neither of us will die a good death."

"Since Zhonglang has such insight, I have no doubts." Qubei picked up his helmet and put it on. "I have many knights under my command. If the Li-Guo coalition attacks and the Hedong clan rebels in response, please forgive me for withdrawing without authorization. However, I dare not violate the oath I pledged to conquer the tribes on both sides of the Fen River."

The premise for not daring to disobey is that Zhao Ji and Hu Ben are intact and still have combat effectiveness.

Qubei was worried that the court would not be able to put Hedong in order. Zhao Ji also had this concern, but Qubei was a good partner.

After a brief consideration, and with some leeway, he said, "The situation is bad, the wise king should withdraw his troops. This is an alliance between you and me, not an alliance between the court and the Chanyu."

"happy!"

Qubei clenched his right fist and knocked on his left chest armor. Zhao Ji just smiled and said, "It's still early, let's have dinner together."

"Okay, please come in, Zhonglang."

Qubei extended his arms enthusiastically. He did not dare to leave Zhao Ji, and Zhao Ji was unwilling to let Qubei disappear from his sight.

The imperial court is reorganizing the captives, the Hedong County soldiers, and the Wei and Fan clans. Only by putting these armies into order will we be afraid of Qubei's breakout.

The life or death of Qubei was not that important to the imperial court. The key point was that Qubei had five hundred battle-hardened Xiongnu cavalry and nearly a thousand horses.

Similar to the Huben, this was the second organized cavalry unit in the Hedong region.

The third cavalry was formed by Xu Huang by combining the Xihe Yulin Knights and the Hedong Knights. It is not yet known how the imperial court will identify this armed force.

Should we give the Yulin a specific number, or should we keep it a lower grade and just recognize them as the Hedong Knight Battalion?

Xu Huang, the cavalry captain, recruited knights from good families in Hedong. If they were not Hedong knights, then what were they?
The young Xiongnu king who went to Bei was well prepared and slaughtered three castrated sheep. Judging from their size, they should be lambs from last summer.

In front of the campfire, Zhao Ji finally ate roasted lamb without cumin, but sprinkled with salt powder.

Roasted lamb is countless times more delicious than horse meat, and Zhao Ji's stomach was moved, and his determination to eat the Huns became stronger.

The road to Taiyuan must be opened. Hedong is not safe. I will move my family there. There will be no worries and I can act freely.

We cannot learn from Cao Cao, who, on the one hand, slaughtered the people gathered in Pengcheng and the defeated soldiers in Xuzhou, and on the other hand, sent Ying Shao, the governor of Taishan County, to pick up his father.

Not to mention Tao Qian's violent temper, anyone else would have wanted to take revenge on Cao Cao.

If there is no retaliation, the morale of the Xuzhou people will immediately collapse.

"Captain, the imperial envoy is outside the door!"

A Tiger Guard knight came swiftly over. Zhao Ji put away his dagger and turned to look at Qu Bei, who was feasting on his food. "Right Wise King, arrange your troops and come with me."

"Alright, I'll have a good meal and drink with Zhonglang after I get back."

Qubei wiped his long mustache with his palm stained with sheep fat, and then gave instructions to the other Xiongnu kings in Chinese, simply warning them to guard carefully and not to have conflicts with the Huben Knights.

Zhao Ji wiped his hands and lips, looked up at the sun in the west, and estimated that it was around five o'clock.

Cavalry Cao Wang Qi wiped the grease from his mouth with a small piece of wheat cake, then stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it. "Zhonglang, the clan bandits haven't been reorganized yet, so it's inevitable that some people with grudges will flee. How many people do you want to accompany us?"

"I will take Han Shu, Pei Bao, and the cavalry slaves with me. Cavalry Cao will arrange for the night watch and let the companions rest well. The rewards they deserve will not be shortchanged in the slightest."

"Here!"

Wang Qi bowed, and the other Huben leaders also stood up and bowed. Although many of them had not finished the meat in their hands, it was no longer suitable for them to continue eating.

It’s not like we haven’t eaten it before. Keep a close eye on these Huns and the imperial court will reward you with a big feast tomorrow.

At this moment, Liu Xie finally had a full meal and ate a whole leg of lamb.

He looked very healthy and energetic even though he hadn't slept all night.

He couldn't wait to meet Zhao Ji and ask him in detail about what Hu Ben had experienced.

It’s just unfortunate that I’m too weak to be nourished.

When Zhao Ji and Qu Bei arrived, Liu Xie was suffering from diarrhea.

(End of this chapter)