Tiger Guards

Chapter 18 Alliance Partners
The meeting ended and everyone returned together.

Jia Kui and his brother-in-law Liu Fu walked to the stable, untied their belts and sprayed water against the wall.

After listening to the footsteps and confirming that the others had gone far away, Jia Kui asked, "Brother, what do you think of Wei Gu?"

"Although I have talent, I lack courage and am no more than a guard dog in a wealthy family."

Liu Fu tied his belt and said, "Pei Qilang and Zhao Aji are indeed courageous, but if they mobilize, the two thieves Li and Guo, as well as the various Xiongnu tribes, will also send out troops. By then, Hedong will be in chaos, and nine out of ten houses will be destroyed. How can you and I bear this?"

"Yeah, how many people do we have to kill to stabilize the situation?"

Jia Kui also felt confused and frightened. After luckily wiping out the Baibo generals and cooperating with the county soldiers to resist the Xiongnu and the two thieves Li and Guo, there were also Zhang Yang in Henei nearby and Ma Teng and Han Sui in the west.

When the two Yuans in Guandong fight and the winner is decided, the victorious side will definitely intervene forcefully.

With such a small population in Hedong, how many battles can we fight?

He is from the northern part of the county, and the counties in the northern part of the county are basically empty.

Liu Fu was from Xie County. When Niu Fu, Li Jue and others confronted the Baibo Army, Xie County was also a severely affected area.

But later the Baibo Army surrendered, and many officials and civilians who had been abducted regained their freedom.

Subsequently, the Xiongnu people moved south, forcing many people in the northern part of the county to move south, enriching the population of the counties south of the Fen River.

Not only did they feel the situation was difficult, but the fathers and brothers who were in charge of each family also felt it was difficult.

Perhaps the safest way is to safely escort the court and the emperor out of Hedong with formalities.

Jia Kui was unwilling to accept this, as it was inconsistent with his education and personal philosophy of life.

To protect the emperor and support the country...even if I die, what is there to fear?

But my family...

After a violent clash of thoughts, Jia Kui sighed, said goodbye to Liu Fu, and prepared to return to the small camp where the Xiangling team was located.

Just when I passed by Wenxi Team, I saw several people sitting cross-legged in front of the campfire, talking in low voices.

Noticing him, their eyes met. Pei Xiu stood up and walked to the low wall of the camp. "It's Brother Liang Dao. We're just making some hangover soup. Would you like to drink some before you go to sleep?"

"I never drank, or..."

Just as Jia Kui was about to refuse, he saw Zhao Ji approaching the wall and saying, "Brother, please come and have a drink. We are a small group, so it's a good opportunity to discuss important matters."

"Alright."

Jia Kui grabbed the low wall with both hands, jumped off the ground, and nimbly flipped into the camp.

After they sat down by the campfire, Jia Kui looked around and asked, "What were you all discussing just now?"

Wei Xing stirred the hanging clay pot with a wooden spoon. Guanqiu Xing took a handful of roasted millet and handed it to Jia Kui: "We are discussing the Xiongnu."

"Hun?"

Jia Kui turned his head to look at Pei Xiu's profile. Pei Xiu whispered, "It's the Xiongnu. It's only been a few days, and we've gathered over 500 of them. Bai Bo's old generals are wary and displeased, but they can't go against the court's decision, so they won't take the initiative to attack us."

This can be guaranteed. Bai Bo's former generals all come from powerful families, and the backbone of these people also have various relationships with those who have enlisted as Tiger Guards.

The same is true in reverse. When the Huben attacked and killed the Baibo generals, they only killed the evil leaders and did not kill all of them.

Jia Kui reacted and turned to look at Zhao Ji: "Do you think the Xiongnu will attack us?"

Zhao Ji smiled. "We are all wealthy. If we were captured, the ransom would be huge. Not to mention the Xiongnu, if I had over a hundred warriors, I would capture the Tiger Guards of each group and exchange them for ransom. Big brother, if we were to be taken over by the Xiongnu tribes, would we be able to survive?"

"Based in the Xiongnu?"

Jia Kui automatically ignored Zhao Ji's joke about wanting to capture Hu Ben for ransom, and said, "If anyone else were to be trapped in one of the Xiongnu tribes, without any special skills, he would be able to herd cattle, cut grass, or plant crops. But a brave man like Aji would have a noble woman to marry, and in the future he would have children and become the leader of a small tribe."

Zhao Ji looked over at Pei Xiu, who was standing on the other side of Jia Kui. "Seventh brother, look, even if I flee to the Xiongnu, I'll eventually make a name for myself. Even if we fail this time, we can simply surrender to the Xiongnu and marry their noble women. Then, we can kill their fathers, brothers, and all their brothers. Then, we can become famous Xiongnu kings. Then, it won't be too late to lead tens of thousands of elite cavalry to support the Han Dynasty."

"You dare to think."

Pei Xiu extended his arm and placed it on Jia Kui's shoulder. "Liang Dao, Aji made it clear before. The Xiongnu will not move away on their own. After their population grows, the first thing they will seize will be the ancestral lands of the families in the northern part of the county. In other words, only after the families in the northern part of the county have been destroyed will it be our turn."

"Qi Lang, there's no need to say more. If the lips and teeth are separated, they will be interdependent. I have my own ambitions, so there's no need to provoke me."

Jia Kui squinted at Pei Xiu. "During the day, you and Wei Gu threatened me, and then joined forces with others to threaten Wang Zhi. Why are you here at night to discuss this matter of life and death with me?"

"Wei Gu and Wang Zhi are deeply selfish and cannot be trusted with important matters." Pei Xiu said calmly, "We want to accomplish something great, and the people of the northern county have no other choice. Brother Liang Dao, you don't want Xiongnu herders grazing their cattle and horses on your ancestors' tombs, do you? Forget about anything else, how many women have dared to go outside the city to pick wild vegetables or enjoy an outing in the spring in the past two or three years?"

Jia Kui remained silent. He rubbed the fried corn in his hands, put some into his mouth, and chewed it with a crunch.

After taking a sip from the bowl of water Zhao Ji handed him, Jia Kui said, "Mr. Pei is determined, and you are willing to risk your lives. I am not one to be afraid of danger. The country is in turmoil, and the Xiongnu are growing in number. It's just a matter of dying sooner or later."

"Brother Liang is indeed insightful. It's a pity for Wei Zhongjian. But it's understandable. His family is the richest in the county. It would be strange if he were willing to risk his life for the family."

Pei Xiu sighed and asked, "Just now we discussed the Xiongnu attack. What does Liang Dao think about this?"

"In my opinion, the Xiongnu bandits attacked Jiangyi not because of us, but to intimidate the imperial court and prevent them from traveling through the Chenguan Pass to Hanoi."

Jia Kui raised his elbow and pushed Pei Xiu's arm away from his shoulder. He shook his shoulders, feeling relaxed, and said, "It's natural for the old general Bai Bo to collude with the Xiongnu tribes. Instigating a Xiongnu cavalry attack is not difficult. Since you are all valuable, the Xiongnu will naturally be enthusiastic and proactive."

Then he turned to look at Zhao Ji: "Aji, you are the commander of the garrison, do you have any response?"

"I'm worried about a Xiongnu night attack. I'll send the Jiangyi garrison back tomorrow. I don't trust them. If the Xiongnu come during the day, we can defend our camp and, with the support of the garrison, we can resist three to five hundred cavalrymen."

Zhao Ji looked at the campfire and said, "A night attack would be disastrous. Tomorrow, select four elite cavalry squads. Two squads will march upstream along the Fen River, and two squads will march downstream. If you encounter the enemy, do not engage them, but quickly retreat to camp. Those who remain behind will reinforce the camp!"

Jia Kui asked, "Since the Xiongnu are taking advantage of our ignorance, why not take advantage of their own tactic and set an ambush inside the camp? When they rush in, we can rob and kill them."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look at Jia Kui, and saw that he looked serious and did not seem to be joking, but seemed to be really thinking so.

That’s right, Jia Kui has not yet entered the officialdom and grown up, so it is normal for him to be a little naive.

Even though he had no military experience, Zhao Ji knew the difference between the new recruit unit and the veteran unit just through his memory and life experience.

Jia Kui felt uncomfortable being looked at, so he explained, "We all have the heart to sacrifice our lives for our country. Aji, do you doubt that we will collapse in chaos when the battle is about to begin?"

"Yes, our teams have just joined together, and we don't know each other. We don't have any authority, so how can we order the officers and soldiers to fight to the death?"

Zhao Ji sighed as he spoke, "While turning the tables on the enemy is ingenious, it carries enormous risks. With only our Tiger Guards in the camp, even a decisive victory would be a small victory. The Xiongnu come and go freely, making it difficult for us to capture them. If we can persuade Xu Huang to join us, I would be willing to join forces with him. I would then fight to the death in the camp, while Xu Huang would attack from outside. It would be easy to defeat the enemy."

The Xiongnu tribes that can cooperate with Bai Bo's former generals are definitely not very strong.

Even if Bai Bo's former generals had connections, they would not provoke or collude with most of the Huns. These old foxes were also afraid of making things worse and inviting a wolf into the house.

From another perspective, if we stand on the Huns' point of view, we will find that Baibo's former generals are not easy to provoke.

The emperor experienced so many battles during his eastward migration that Zhao Ji estimated that at least 50,000 soldiers died.

The Huns did not dare to easily get involved in such a death toll.

The larger the Xiongnu tribe, the more they seek stability.

Only the Xiongnu tribes that were neither up nor down would seek such an unexpected means of development.

Pei Xiu raised his hand and patted Jia Kui on the back. "Brother Liang, the plan is yours, and we are willing to risk our lives for it. So, can you persuade Xu Huang?"

"I'm 70% sure. If Qilang sends a letter, I'll be 90% sure."

Seeing Guanqiu Xing making porridge, Jia Kui reached out to take the bowl and asked, "Where are Guanqiu Gong's men?"

Guanqiu Xing shook his head slightly. "The Baibo generals are relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside, making it difficult for my troops to be mobilized. I had considered motivating the troops stationed in Jiangyi, but they didn't want to antagonize everyone. After a brief trial, the idea was abandoned."

At this time, Pei Xiu untied the sword from his waist and stuffed it into Jia Kui's arms: "This is the sword my uncle gave me. I give it to Xu Huang as a gift. If he comes, we will be allies. If he doesn't come, my sons and daughters will not forget what happened today."

"Okay, I'll choose the right time to give him the sword. If my words and the righteousness of the court can inspire this man, I'll keep the sword for Qilang, and you can give it to him in person in the future. Otherwise, it will seem like coercion, and it will only cause him displeasure."

Jia Kui then asked Zhao Ji, "Aji, how many people can you defeat?"

"I don't know."

Zhao Ji stirred the bowl and glanced at the four people around him: "If I kill you with a sword, you will die within seven steps."

Then he went to see Pei Xiu: "Seventh Brother, we might be attacked tomorrow night. I need a good set of armor and at least two long swords."

"Well, I'm going to look for the garrison and borrow some more armor and crossbows."

Pei Xiu had just agreed when Jia Kui interrupted, "No, that would alert the Xiongnu. Aji is short of good armor. I'll borrow some. My brother-in-law is too weak to fight, so he does have a good set."

Seeing Pei Xiu's tacit agreement, Jia Kui said, "These matters are limited to us and should not be made known to Wang Zhi and Wei Gu. There is no need to discuss the selection of the four scout teams."

(End of this chapter)