Tiger Guards

Chapter 98 Wei Family's Background
Outside Anyi City, Xu Huang ordered his troops to stand in deep thought.

After hesitating for a moment, he bowed to Zhong Yao, who came to visit him and said, "We are ordered to rush to the aid of the Tiger Guards. Even if there are changes now, we should not change it."

Zhong Yao extended his arm to stop the horse and said, "Lord Xu, why are you so stubborn? As far as I know, once the situation in the south is resolved, Minister Zhao will enter the court to accompany the emperor. Traveling back and forth, tiring the soldiers and horses, is of no use."

"This is the military order."

Xu Huang raised his whip and spurred his horse forward.

Behind him followed more than a hundred riders holding flags, and behind them followed nearly two hundred riders, the sons of powerful families in Beijiang.

Hu Qian mingled among them and held the position of team officer.

I looked at the Anyi city wall reluctantly, but I had no choice but to follow the team.

Although he wanted to respond to the angel immediately, he also heard that Zhao Ji was appointed as the Minister of the Interior and was no longer someone he could afford to offend.

Following the sons of the powerful men in Beijiang were more than a hundred cavalrymen from Xihe Yulinlang. After a little hesitation, they followed the main group south.

Judging from Zhao Ji's current battle record, there is at least not much danger in following Zhao Ji.

Zhong Yao covered his face with his sleeves, and only when the five hundred riders had left and the sound of horse hooves could no longer be heard did he wave his sleeves to clear away the dust around him.

He immediately jumped on his horse and headed for the city.

At this time, the streets suddenly became chaotic. Zhong Yao was tall and could see far away while riding on a horse.

Seeing that the Baibo prisoners had obtained weapons, they broke out of the barracks, set fire to the streets to create chaos, and broke out to the south gate.

The county soldiers all gathered in the north city. Soon the fire spread to the city. The county soldiers and militiamen concentrated on putting out the fire, and the Baibo captives escaped successfully.

Zhong Yao returned to the prefectural governor's mansion, where there were about five hundred-man teams standing outside the street.

As soon as Zhong Yao dismounted, Dong Zhao stepped forward and asked anxiously, "Is Xu Gongming here?"

"He went to join Zhao Ji."

Zhong Yao pointed towards the West City military camp, where the fireworks were the loudest. "What's going on?"

"I don't know."

Dong Zhao also looked towards the west city. Zhong Yao brushed off the dust on his body and walked quickly inside.

Weiwei Zhou Zhong saw that he had returned alone, so he still asked with some hope: "Where is Xu Huang? Are the Xihe Yulin here?"

Zhong Yao bowed deeply and said, "My Lord, let's go to the south of the city."

Zhong Yao stood up straight and looked up to see Zhou Zhong stumbling back two steps. He asked again, "Has Yuan Chang produced the imperial edict?"

"Before he could show his hand, Xu Huang rode away, and the others followed, making it difficult to stop him."

Zhong Yao replied, and then asked, "Why did something suddenly happen in the city?"

When he went to see Xu Huang, he temporarily transferred 300 people from the military camp to transport food. There was no reason why he could not suppress the Bai Bo army without 300 people.

Zhou Zhong's face turned grim: "The traitorous minister leaked the Wei family's treasures, and the clan thieves broke into the prison."

He just mentioned the clue without elaborating, and Zhong Yao understood.

Upon hearing the news, Wei, who was suddenly imprisoned and under strict supervision, no longer dared to gamble with his life and chose to break out of the prison.

If they want to escape, there will definitely be no shortage of people to instigate and support them.

A few fires were set here, some weapons were lost there, so the prison-robbers let the Baibo bandits go, and if the county soldiers and military officers reacted a little slower, all this would happen reasonably.

At this moment, Wei Ji was carried out of the south gate by two of his soldiers.

His family inherited poetry and literature and lived a simple life.

Even so, he was arrested and imprisoned.

When they learned the reason from the elders who had been severely punished, how could they dare to sit there and wait for death?

The matter was accomplished by simply asking the jailer to pass on a message.

After running more than thirty steps, Wei Ji turned around and stared at the city wall. Liu Zheng, the chief clerk of the county government, was looking at him from the city wall.

The two men looked at each other. There were Baibo bandits fleeing and passing by Wei Ji, and some tribesmen were pulling Wei Ji.

Wei Ji bowed deeply and immediately followed the large group of people to flee south without looking back.

Watching the last dozen or so Jishan bandits riding their horses out of the city gate, Liu Zheng took off his clothes and was left naked.

Climb to the highest point, jump up, and hit the ground with your head.

After fleeing for five or six miles, they saw Xu Huang's five hundred or so cavalrymen scattered and blocking their way.

Recognizing Xu Huang, a dozen Baibo Army officers quickly stepped forward and said, "Gong Ming! The imperial court wants to kill us. Please, Gong Ming, for the sake of our past friendship, raise your hand and let us go!"

"I care about our old friendship, who cares about the law?" Xu Huang raised his hand, and dozens of knights around him drew their bows and raised their crossbows.

A Baibo officer was very anxious: "The court killed us unjustly, how could they spare Gongming alone?"

At this time, Wei Ji limped to the front row and looked up at Xu Huang. "We all admire Zhao Zhonglang's loyalty and bravery and wish to serve him! Why don't you escort us to Zhao Zhonglang and wait for his decision? If it is fate that we die, it will be at the hands of the court, not by you, Xu!"

"Gongming!"

A fellow villager threw himself before the horse, bowed his head, his forehead bruised by the impact of a stone, tears and dust streaming down his face: "Our lives and deaths all depend on Gongming's single thought!"

Another officer, who had experience as a county official, stiffened his neck and said, "We surrendered because Zhonglang Zhao promised us auxiliary troops, promising us a day to redeem ourselves and make meritorious contributions. Now that Zhonglang is gone, the court wants to kill us. This is putting Zhonglang in a position of distrust and injustice!"

Xu Huang was somewhat incredulous: "Is the imperial court really going to kill them all?"

"How dare you lie to me? This is what Liu Zheng, the chief clerk of the prefecture, said himself!"

Another military officer responded hurriedly and stood on tiptoe to look behind him, fearing that the county soldiers would pursue and kill him.

Fortunately, there were many arson points in the city, and the county soldiers were busy demolishing houses near the county magistrate's office or putting out the fire, so they had no way to pursue them.

Seeing this, Xu Huang waved his hand and said, "Hurry up, I'll cover your retreat!"

"Xie Gongming!"

More than a dozen leaders bowed and expressed their gratitude, and called on the Baibo Army and the Zongzei troops in the rear. More than a thousand people passed by Xu Huang.

Seeing this, the Jishan bandits who were left behind abandoned the main road and headed towards the mountains in the east.

As Hu Qian rode closer to Xu Huang, he heard Wang Qiong, the leader of the Xihe Yulin Guards, ask, "Lord Xu, is the imperial court really going to execute us so ruthlessly?"

Xu Huang remained silent. Several Yu Lin leaders accompanying Wang Qiong were in a state of confusion. One of them said, "Before, they wanted to kill all 100,000 Liangzhou soldiers, and now they won't let the Baibo soldiers go. Gentlemen, haven't you seen what happened to Xu Rong and Lü Wenhou?"

"You shall not tell lies."

Wang Qiong shouted, "Let's see what happens to Zhao Zhonglang. If the people of Hedong can't even protect their own people, it won't be too late for us to return home."

It seemed like a scolding, but it was also a warning to Xu Huang.

Xu Huang immediately spoke up, "Don't be afraid, gentlemen. Zhao Zhonglang is even braver and more capable than Marquis Wen. If there are treacherous ministers at court, Zhonglang will not sit idly by!"

Wang Qiong stared at Xu Huang, but Xu Huang's expression remained unchanged.

Now Xu Huang more or less understands the mentality of the people of Liangzhou at that time.

Seeing that Xu Huang didn't seem to be lying, Wang Qiong nodded and said, "Let's trust Lord Xu for now."

After they enlisted as soldiers and headed south, they stayed on the north bank of the Fen River, watching the situation.

The situation is not good, so just stay for a while and then return to Xihe.

In any case, it was difficult for Liu Xuan, the governor of Xihe County, to issue orders outside the county government, and he often moved the seat of government to avoid the Huns. He basically did not have the ruling power to govern Xihe.

Hu Qian and others were secretly glad that they dared not leave the team.

Just as they were reorganizing and heading south, the poor Huan Dian convoy encountered a fleeing group.

His guards were two county soldiers, who turned around and ran away. The three accompanying officials were so weak that they could not even run.

He just leaned against the carriage, knelt down and cried to the crowd, begging them to let Huan Dian go.

If he was moved by them, he would not kill Huan Dian but would not kill them either.

This trick was more useful when the emperor moved east.

Wei Ji had a considerable influence, and even the military officers of the Baibo Army respected him.

Wei Ji stepped forward to see the unconscious Huan Dian, glanced at his injuries, and asked, "This is the General of the Imperial Guards, Long Kang Huan Dian. Who injured him?"

One of the eunuchs' eyes were red and swollen from crying, and his voice was trembling. "Today, the court appointed Tiger Guard Zhao Zhonglang as the Minister of the Interior. He had a verbal conflict with Duke Huan, and Zhao accidentally injured Duke Huan. We are ordered to escort Duke Huan back to Anyi for treatment."

Wei Ji glanced at Huan Dian's twisted legs and said to his attendants, "Since they were sent by Zhao Zhonglang, let them go."

"Well, that's a good deal for these Skeleton Thieves!"

The Baibo military officers had no respect at all. If they caught a chicken while hunting, they would deliberately find a few officials, eat the chicken in front of them, and then crush the bones to feed the horses and dogs, without letting these people smell it.

In terms of official positions, which of these military officers was not a captain, colonel, or lieutenant general appointed by the imperial court?

Each of them held an official rank of two thousand stones, so if they really killed a few small officials, it would be fine.

So when Liu Zheng, the chief clerk of the county government, said that the court wanted to kill them, both the old and new soldiers of Baibo immediately believed his words.

If they were in their place, they would also retaliate.

Diao Chan Crown

(End of this chapter)