Tiger Guards

Chapter 36 Survival Wisdom
In the north, there was crying in the houses.

Li Le trembled, feeling bored, and raised his hand to slap him: "Get out!"

His energy was running out, and he felt even more annoyed. Seeing a woman dare to look back at him, he became even more angry: "Get out!"

After tying his belt, Li Le walked out of the house and came to the campfire. Two guards on duty stood up to greet him: "General."

At this time, several women who had just left were heard screaming, and were pulled away by other bodyguards with laughter.

Li Le saw these two personal soldiers frying and roasting locusts to eat. Others were afraid of locusts, but they were not.

When fighting with Li Jue and Guo Si, food was cut off. In order not to starve to death, he basically ate whatever he could get.

Li Le also picked up a bunch, pinched one, put it in his mouth, spit out the wings and serrated legs, and then chewed it.

Not satisfied yet, he ate a few more, spat out the residue, picked between his teeth with his fingers, and asked, "Where's Li Feng?"

"there."

A guard pointed at the haystack in the corner. Li Le was still angry, but he also knew that at this time he should respect the physiological needs of his personal soldiers and fellow villagers.

Soon, the scout captain Li Feng who went to investigate finished his task.

He kicked his legs as he walked, tied up his leather belt, and came to the campfire, bowing: "General."

"How's the north?"

"There were Tiger Guards flags in the camp. Just as we were about to approach, locusts suddenly flew up and frightened our horses. We were worried that the knights in the camp would rob and kill us, so we retreated the way we came."

Li Feng also sat down and reached out to grab a skewer of locusts grilled on a stone slab. "Wang Guo and his men inquired with the nearby towns and villages, and they said that Jiangyi was closed, and Ma Zhi's garrison had no contact with the Huben. Xu Huang's troops were still on the north bank and had not crossed the river to join the battle."

Li Le just nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Have a good rest. We'll go check out the Tiger Guards' strength tomorrow."

"General, are you saying that the Tiger Guards repelled the Xiongnu last night?"

"Well, after all, they are good families from various counties and should not be looked down upon."

Li Le looked at the other two distracted guards and said, "If you want to go, go quickly. Don't kill anyone."

These women were not their spoils of war, but were invited by the elders of nearby villages.

As long as no one dies, a few buckets of grain might be enough to get them to volunteer next time.

They were all widows from nearby towns and villages. If they contributed a little food, the village elders would save their face and distribute the food to them, and then let their wives and daughters go and lobby, and then bring them over when dark.

If someone dies, the village elder will lose face and will not cooperate as much in the future.

"Thank you General!"

The two guards saluted hurriedly and rushed towards the haystack.

Li Le looked at Li Feng again and said, "You take a rest first. I will take people to take over Wang Guo after midnight."

"Here!"

Wang Guo's team stayed in Zijin Mountain and chopped firewood to make beacon fires.

If there are signs of an attack in the Huben camp, they will light a fire to give a warning.

At this moment, on the Purple Gold Mountain, a small fire was burning in the leeward side, and Wang Guo was taking a nap wrapped in an old felt blanket.

A guard came over and bowed: "The Tiger Guard Battalion has dispatched troops, heading southeast."

Wang Guo was alert, squinting his sleepy eyes. "Aren't you heading towards the main pass?"

"No, it looks like we're going to the Hou family manor."

"Don't worry about him. Neither you nor I have the last name Li."

After saying this, Wang Guo tucked his chin into his fine felt cloak. Only by smelling his own body odor could he feel at ease and continue to sleep.

Although Zijin Mountain is not as tall and vast as Jishan Mountain to the west, it is not easy to climb over.

The larger the group's march, the more dependent it is on roads.

The guard who came to report the news saw this and looked at his two companions sleeping next to the campfire, so he could only turn around and go back to meet up with another companion who was observing.

The kingdom didn't want to miss out on a good night's sleep, and they didn't want to toss and turn at night. Just stay here and be patient. Worrying too much and being overly diligent won't do any good.

The world is in such a mess, but these people are still alive, not because they are tyrannical, but because they don't cause trouble.

It is better to have less things to do than more. The more things you have, the faster you will die.

When Zhao Ji arrived near the foot of the mountain, the knights led by Wei Xing had already joined up with Wei Gu and Xiang Libao.

There were few torches around and no baggage carts in sight.

Zhao Ji jumped off his horse and quickly stepped forward, bowing to Wei Gu: "Brother, how are you?"

"Fortunately, Ziang arrived in time."

Wei Gu took a half step forward and quickly supported Zhao Ji. Standing beside Zhao Ji, he felt a sense of security. "When we see Hou sending people to chase us, we will immediately destroy the wheel hub and evacuate with the horses."

He took the water bag Zhao Ji handed him, took a sip, and then passed it to the others: "They need to repair the cart and mobilize oxen and horses to pull the cart. They should be gathering two or three miles away now."

Then he asked, "Aji, what do Axiu and Liang Dao say?"

"Brother, locusts appear in March, and the locust plague in midsummer is definitely going to be serious."

Zhao Ji restrained his emotions, as Wei Gu was not someone who could be infected by his emotions.

Even if your emotions are too strong, it may provoke the other person, causing them to change their original position and go against you.

It may be that Wei Gu wanted to demonstrate his status in this way, or it may be that he was simply a donkey who wanted to be stroked in the right direction.

Zhao Ji calmly stated, "Seventh Brother believes that the Hou clan's audacity to seize the Tiger Guards' supplies is tantamount to treason. He is also worried that when our main force attacks the Hou clan, Li Le will attack at night."

"He just has too many ideas. Wang Zhi is in the camp, and even if Li Le comes, he won't harm the lives of the Tiger Guards."

Wei Gu said succinctly, "If we really let Li Le seize the camp tonight, and we return to the camp tomorrow, we'll pretend to flatter him and then suddenly attack him. It won't be difficult to kill him. What does Liang Dao think?"

"Brother Liang Dao believes that this year's locust infestation is severe. The only way to save our lives is to conquer the Xiongnu with all our might and capture their herds. Only then can my parents and brothers survive the famine."

Seeing Zhao Ji's truthful retelling, Wei Gu raised his hand and placed it on his shoulder. The torchlight reflected in his eyes, which looked like stars. "Aji, I also think Liang Dao and A Xiu are right. It was the Xiongnu who harassed Emperor Yao, and heaven and man were in harmony, which brought down the disaster! In that case, we will defeat the Hou rebels tonight and seize their weapons and craftsmen to help us drive out the Xiongnu!"

Although the existence of the Huns dispersed the lower classes of the people and forced them to rely on the wealthy and powerful, it also made it easier for the wealthy families in Hedong to do business.

However, the wealthy and powerful people in Xihe County were a lesson for us. Over the past thirty years, the wealthy and powerful people in Xihe County had basically died out, leaving only the Xiangli and Wang families.

Just drive the Huns to Xihe County, leaving the Pingyang area as a barrier, so that the area near Anyi will be safe enough.

Seeing that Wei Gu agreed to the plan, Zhao Ji also relaxed.

He said, "Later, the second battalion will arrive with more torches, pretending to be a decoy. My eldest brother will reunite with Wang Fu and bring the reinforcements. I will attack immediately with the cavalry and convoys. We cannot allow the Hou family's troops to retreat back to the manor."

"Okay, I'll do as Aji says."

Wei Gu readily accepted the advice and relaxed. He said with a smile, "The Hou brothers have ridiculed me a lot today. You must not let them off easily."

"Don't worry, big brother! I'll take off the heads of the three marquises and let you kick them like a cuju~!"

"Hahahaha, Aji is so heroic!"

Wei Gu was in a good mood. After laughing, he warned: "Although the Hou brothers are plotting treason, their female relatives are innocent and should not be offended."

"Yes, I won't touch a woman."

Zhao Ji also agreed loudly. The Hou brothers relied on iron smelting and horse trading to expand their business to Xuzhou. They made a lot of money in recent years. The three brothers married concubines from wealthy families.

Wei Xing and Xiang Libao looked at each other, and Wei Xing showed a ferocious smile.

Xiang Libao's expression was also ruthless. The Hou family had such a large estate, and they were just sending the women back? What about the children who had the right of inheritance?

Since the crime of treason has been established and the Hou brothers have been punished for treason, the crime must be carried out to the end!
Not to mention the three Hou brothers, no male members of the three close relatives can be spared!
After you kill the husband and son of a concubine's daughter from a wealthy family, do you still expect her not to seek revenge?

Anyway, Zhao Ji had promised clearly not to touch any woman.

Wei Gu’s requirements are also simple: they must not be offended.

How should I put it? These requirements are not difficult to achieve.

(End of this chapter)