Tiger Guards

Chapter 94 Regret
Wei's Manor, at the entrance of the secret passage.

Yang Qi covered his face with his sleeves, holding his nose, and waited with a frown.

Soon, several accompanying officials came out trotting with torches in their hands, and passed Yang Qi directly. After running seven or eight steps, they breathed deeply, as if they were reborn.

Yang Qi turned around and didn't move. Pei Mao stepped forward and asked, "How is the secret room?"

"It's true, it stinks."

The officer who answered took a deep breath and felt that the air he exhaled was filled with the strong smell of urine.

He swung his sleeves and slapped his whole body. Pei Mao asked Zhao Ji beside him, "Zhao Zhonglang, what's going on?"

"When I was inspecting the gold brick chamber, the gold was so alluring that the officers and soldiers around me wavered. The Xiongnu leader also had a ferocious look on his face, and there was a hint of a fight between us. It was quite terrifying."

Zhao Ji sat sideways on the oxcart, his right leg raised and resting on the shaft. He continued, "To quell the unrest, I, a humble official, had no choice but to urinate on a gold brick to show my contempt. The officials and the Xiongnu people around me, unwilling to be humiliated, followed suit to show their arrogance."

He turned to look at Qubei, who took over, "Later, my king's men learned of this and wanted to see the golden brick wall. Therefore, they could only take turns with the Tiger Guards to enter and inspect it. Unexpectedly, everyone else followed suit, making the secret passage smelly."

Qubei turned to look at Yang Qi and said, "Lord Ziqi, if it weren't for Zhao Zhonglang, this place would have been littered with corpses, burned to ashes. Please don't take your anger out on Zhonglang, as he has truly saved my life, along with all the other Hu Ben and Yi Cong soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qi took a few steps back, glanced at Zhao Ji, who seemed unconcerned, and then approached Qu Bei and asked, "What does the Right Wise King think of the stored wealth?"

"My young prince was born in a cold and harsh land, and has little experience. Lord Ziqi, why don't you consult with Zhonglang?"

Qubei immediately pushed Zhao Ji out. Yang Qi nodded and turned to look at Pei Mao: "Juguang, go check again and make an estimate."

"Here."

Pei Mao made a bitter face, took a cloth, folded it into several layers, wet it and stuck it into his nostrils, then led a few curious officials in holding torches.

I had only taken a few steps inside when I was almost driven out by the strong smell.

"Mr. Pei, there's blood on the ground."

The officer holding the torch pointed at the blurred bloodstains on the ground, his eyes feeling sore and swollen as he spoke.

Pei Mao just took a glance, raised his hand to signal and urge the three officials to step in quickly.

After randomly checking several cellars and taking a quick look at the height, width and depth of the stacked Wuzhu coins, he concluded that such a cellar should store about tens of millions of coins, and the error would not be too big.

Soon they arrived at the golden brick secret room where the ground had been softened. Most of the interlayers on the four walls had been broken by the Huben and Xiongnu volunteers who came to watch, revealing patches of golden luster.

Pei Mao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the walls were intact and there were no signs of prying or cutting on the gold bricks.

The wall is intact, which is excellent news.

He really didn't mind if Zhao Ji and Qu Bei took away some gold or something else, as long as they didn't make the situation out of control.

It was really impossible to pry the gold bricks to estimate their weight, so Pei Mao held onto the gold brick wall to measure its length, width and height, then immediately waved his hand.

Without even looking back, he trotted out of the secret passage.

My feet were covered in soft, wet mud, even reaching up to my ankles.

He almost crawled and rolled to run twenty or thirty steps away, took a deep breath and coughed dryly, almost coughing out tears.

He quickly took off his boots, threw them far away, and rubbed his hands with a handful of dirt.

He walked towards Yang Qi. Yang Qi raised his hand to cover his nose and asked Zhao Ji, "Zhao Zhonglang, is there any lime in the manor? If so, send someone to spread it. If not, wood ash or loess will do."

"Your Excellency, you are putting me in a difficult position."

Zhao Ji left the oxcart and tilted his head, frowning as he looked at the entrance to the secret passage. "I'm worried that the officials will steal the gold and destroy the secret room. I won't be able to explain myself then. I can only resort to this crude method. I stayed here last night and dared not leave easily. If we send in more tiger soldiers, the golden brick wall will be damaged. How can I prove my innocence?"

Yang Qi looked at Zhao Ji calmly without saying a word.

Zhao Ji asked in return, "Forgive my humble opinion, but I wonder what the court intends to do?"

A palace official raised his sleeve to cover his nose and shouted angrily, "This is a major court matter, how can a palace official interfere?"

Zhao Ji looked at the man. He was very courageous. His long sleeves covered his nose and his eyes were full of righteous indignation. It was almost as if the words "righteous and confident" and "full of energy" were written on his forehead.

Zhao Ji turned to look at Yang Qi: "Is this what you really think, sir?"

Yang Qi continued to stare at Zhao Ji quietly, neither admitting nor objecting.

Zhao Ji looked at Pei Mao and asked, "Minister Pei, is this how the court treats me?"

"Don't misunderstand, Zhonglang. According to the law, a Tiger Guard Zhonglang should not interfere in the affairs of the imperial court. This is an overstep."

Pei Mao patiently explained, then pointed at the official and said, "Doctor Han is also doing this for the good of Zhonglang, to prevent him from making a serious mistake."

"Is that so? Then, as a minister, can I discuss important matters of the court?"

Zhao Ji asked, glancing at Yang Qi and then staring at Pei Mao. Pei Mao smiled and replied, "It is naturally possible for the Minister to participate in the discussion of state affairs."

"Then I will wait here. When I become a minister, we can discuss how to deal with these dirty things." Zhao Ji said, turning his head to look at the arrow tower in the distance. There, a Xiongnu nobleman who was good at archery drew his bow and shot an arrow. The arrow hit the palace three or four steps in front of the palace official, and the arrow feathers vibrated.

The official took a few steps back in shock and turned his head to stare at Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji turned his head and looked at Bei: "The archery skills of the wise king's subordinates need to be improved. Let's see how well I can do it."

At this time, Han Shu stepped forward and handed over a painted bow and an arrow.

The Hun archer in the distance did not dodge or evade. Yang Qi also looked at Zhao Ji and saw Zhao Ji draw the bowstring to its full length and shoot an arrow. In the blink of an eye, the arrow shot down the small flag on the arrow tower.

"Zhonglang's divine archery! Let's see how Xiao Wang shoots~!"

Qubei praised loudly, stepped forward, took out his bow, and shot an arrow at the Xiongnu archer on the arrow tower. The arrow hit the pillar of the arrow tower.

"Wise King, look at this arrow of mine again."

Zhao Ji took out another arrow and shot it towards the arrow tower, and the arrow hit the spot near the previous arrow.

"My humble servant respects you. It is truly a privilege to be able to watch Zhonglang's archery prowess. I must drink to your heart's content! Zhonglang, please!"

Qubei bent down and extended his arms to invite him. Zhao Ji threw the painted bow to Han Shu, smiled and strode away with Qubei into a house not far away.

The surrounding Hu Ben and Xiongnu people exchanged glances, brewing a dangerous mood.

Yang Qi was not surprised at all. This was how a powerful armed leader should behave.

To be honest, he was used to being treated like this.

The accompanying officials also looked around, fearing that a Hun would lose control and draw his sword against them.

Once the knife is unsheathed and blood is drawn, there will be no way back.

The most terrifying thing is the alliance between the Huben and the Xiongnu.

Yang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and instructed a palace attendant, "Go to Anyi immediately and report the changes here to the Grand Commandant. Given Zhao Zhonglang's meritorious service, I believe he should be promoted to the rank of Tiger Guards Zhonglang Jiang, and have him perform the duties of a Palace Attendant."

It is completely reasonable for the Shizhong to also serve as the Huben Zhonglang Jiang.

"Here!"

The official responded, led the horse for a dozen steps, jumped on the horse, whipped it and sped north.

Pei Mao recognized Han Shu and noticed the surrounding Tiger Guards were filled with grief, anger, and resentment. He pulled Han Shu aside and asked, "What exactly is Zhao Zhonglang thinking?"

"Mr. Pei, I don't know."

Han Shu tilted his head and looked to the side, suppressing his anger, his voice trembling, "Zhonglang has a heart full of patriotism and has made outstanding contributions, but he was scolded by a villain. This hurts more than just Zhonglang's reputation. The court is so biased, it really chills us!"

As he spoke, Han Shu glared at the official fiercely, and a guard beside him even pulled out a spear from the bag of short spears hanging behind his waist.

"Don't be reckless. How can a mere doctor represent the imperial court? We might as well wait for the court's response and make our own decisions then."

Pei Mao calmed the emotions of several Hu Ben soldiers around him, walked up to the Hu Ben soldier, held his hand, took out the short spear, and threw it at his feet.

He patted Han Shu's shoulder again and said, "Be more patient. I think Zhao Zhonglang did this to clear his name and avoid slander and defamation in the future."

"When the Baibo bandit general was in charge, why didn't they slander these bandit generals?"

Although Han Shu was standing in front of Pei Mao, he loudly questioned where Yang Qi was.

Pei Mao's face changed when he heard this, and the officials couldn't even raise their heads. Only they themselves knew how ashamed and angry they were.

At this moment, the lingering smell of urine on some of the officials was no longer unpleasant.

Inside the house, Zhao Ji took a sip from his wine bowl and looked out the window at the palace attendants and Yang Qi. "Wise King, this is my embarrassment. When they see me, the Hedong Tiger Guards, they can't stand up straight. How can they be good officials, high-ranking officials, if they kowtow and bow to me?"

"Since Zhonglang sees it clearly, why not join forces with Xiaowang?"

Qu Bei raised his wine bowl to ask, but seeing Zhao Ji staring at him, he immediately raised his head and drank it all, showing the empty cup: "I was just joking, Zhonglang, don't take it seriously."

Then he poured himself a glass of wine. Qubei sighed deeply and said from the bottom of his heart, "I blame the young king too. If he hadn't used firewood, there wouldn't be these disputes. How wonderful it would be to stay here with Zhonglang and drink Wei's fine wine."

He really thought so. The later the secret passage was discovered, the better his relationship with Zhao Ji would be.

It's hard to say whether they can secretly divide up this huge fortune among themselves, and then recruit mercenaries to become bigger and stronger.

Qubei was filled with regret. He raised the wine bowl he had just filled and drank it all in one gulp.

In his entire lifetime, he couldn't even save one tenth of the wealth here. The more he thought about it, the more regretful and sad he became.

Even if I could only get one tenth of it, kneeling down and licking Zhao Ji's boots wouldn't be a big loss.

Now that I think about it calmly, my regret is beyond words and I feel like crying but have no tears.

(End of this chapter)