Tiger Guards

Chapter 40: Bows and Crossbows Perform Merits
The Hou family manor is built on the mountain, with the main part on the west side of the mountain road.

There is a bay here carved out by streams and mountain torrents.

As the defeated troops returned, a beacon fire was lit on the top of the mountain behind the Hou family manor.

Torches were also erected on the walls inside and outside the manor. When Zhao Ji got closer, he could vaguely see the outlines of more than a dozen arrow towers through the flames.

"Captain Zhao?"

Wei Xing, who had surrounded the area earlier, approached with a torch in hand. His face was red in the light, as if on fire, and he smiled brilliantly: "I didn't expect that the Hou brothers would have such a day!"

Zhao Ji felt something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Behind him, Han Shu came forward holding a torch, and suddenly a round of crossbow arrows came flying through the air.

Only when these crossbow arrows flew past did Zhao Ji vaguely hear a subtle sound.

The torch in Wei Xing's hand fell to the ground, his left leg bent and he could not stand. He gritted his teeth and groaned, then fell to the ground.

Han Shu touched his chest and quickly threw the torch away. Zhao Ji stepped forward, grabbed Wei Xing by the shoulders, and dragged him behind him: "Hurry and dodge the arrows!"

Wei Xing's reaction was not slow either. He pushed off the ground with his right leg and burst out with all his strength, but was dragged for more than ten steps by Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji stopped and heard another round of crossbow arrows hitting the ground.

Other personal soldiers stepped forward, lifted Wei Xing up and moved him about ten steps away. Most of the torches were thrown on the ground and left to burn.

Behind the carriage, in the light of the torch, Zhao Ji briefly checked Wei Xing's leg injury and saw that the crossbow arrow pierced through the shin armor but failed to penetrate deeper.

Seeing that Wei Xing was just scaring himself, he didn't explain it in detail and comforted him, saying, "Zi'ang is lucky. No bones or muscles were injured. He will recover after resting for ten months."

Wei Xing grinned, looking nonchalant: "It's okay if my leg is lame, it won't affect my riding or having children."

"Zi'ang is more open-minded."

Zhao Ji patted the back of his hand and said, "I will go and avenge Zi'ang."

He immediately took down his painted bow and said to Han Shu, "Follow with your shield and take an extra pot of arrows."

"Yes!"

Han Shu agreed, took these from other personal soldiers, and followed with a shield in hand.

Wei Xing watched Zhao Ji leave with a squinting glance, muttering softly, "Originally it was Brother Zi'ang, now it's Zi'ang..."

I always feel that in a few days people will call me Ah Xing.

Tang Xian, holding a shield, bent down to observe the direction Zhao Ji left.

I vaguely heard Wei Xing talking and turned my head: "Zi'ang, what did you say?"

"I'm talking about the women of the Hou family. You said that after we break into the manor and get the Hou family's treasure, will the village chief choose a woman? How much can I get for you?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about this kind of thing."

Wei Xing was from Beixiang and Tang Xian was from Nanjiang. Both families were located south of Zijin Mountain, Tang Xian in the southeast and Wei Xing in the southwest. Their families could not be compared with those of the Hou brothers.

Tang Xian observed the front and continued, "In my opinion, the captain is a man who can accomplish great things. He will not take the wives and daughters of the Hou brothers."

"That's because he hasn't seen it. When I was recruiting, I even ran into some women from the Hou family picking wild vegetables on the way. You haven't seen the beauty of Hou Mo's new concubine. I heard she was a royal daughter bought from Xuzhou in exchange for a fine horse."

As Wei Xing talked about the exciting topic, the pain in his left leg disappeared. "Her face is as white and tender as sheep fat! Her figure is also very good. She looks like a good woman who can give birth to a healthy child."

"Didn't they gouge out your eyes?"

Tang Xian asked jokingly. Wei Xing patted his chest armor and said, "People are also looking at me. Think about it, she is a trafficked woman. Hou Mo is not a good man and has many wives and concubines. How can he love her? Maybe they still want to have evil intentions towards me and kidnap her to escape this cage."

The surrounding Tiger Guards laughed when they heard this. Tang Xian asked again, "If you felt this way, why didn't you go and save her?"

"Seventh Brother sent someone to call me. I have to protect the emperor and support the country. How could I do bad things for a woman? It would only make Seventh Brother look down on me."

They were all from good families and usually went horseback riding and hunting together. If they met other girls from the countryside, they would often joke with each other.

It is common for two people to fall in love with each other and go to remote places to play together.

People around him didn't think Wei Xing was flattering himself. He just hoped that he had rescued the woman and didn't get caught in the act.

While they were chatting, Zhao Ji had already reached about forty or fifty steps away from the wall.

Han Shu squatted in front of him with a shield in his hand. He stood up, drew his bow, aimed at the figure on the wall and shot an arrow.

The other party fell down, and the torches nearby swayed and moved.

The second arrow followed immediately, and a soldier holding a torch was hit by the arrow, and the torch fell out of his hand and fell outside the wall.

Then, the figures within the vicinity of twenty or thirty paces retreated behind the wall. A crossbowman on the arrow tower peeked out. Zhao Ji fired a third arrow, and the man was struck in the neck. He clutched his neck and fell from the tower's guardrail.

The crossbowmen on the arrow tower immediately dropped their torches and disappeared into the darkness.

But the outline of the arrow tower was still there due to the surrounding firelight.

Zhao Ji referred to his memory and shot two arrows in succession, but did not see any obvious changes.

Immediately whispered: "Follow me."

"Yes!"

Han Shu was excited, lowered his voice, held the shield to protect his side, and continued squatting to follow Zhao Ji's transfer.

Most of the Tiger Guards who were watching the battle from the outside sat on the ground to rest. When they saw the torches in various places in the manor being extinguished one after another, their morale suddenly rose.

But no one spoke, as shooting at sounds at night was an advanced training for archers.

No matter how good you are at shooting a target, it is not as good as the legendary archer.

Without a torch to guide them, Zhao Ji led Han Shu closer again.

At this time, more than a dozen Hou soldiers came down from the ropes and approached them with spears and halberds.

When they were about ten steps apart, both sides stopped moving and retreated together in tacit understanding, keeping some distance between them.

Han Shu's heartbeat quickened as he followed Zhao Ji and retreated a dozen steps. He tilted his head and carefully observed through the shield with one eye.

He looked at the vague figure and searched slowly. At this time, Zhao Ji took out the whistling arrow, but after thinking about it, he gave up.

If the other side is ruthless and a conflict breaks out, the opponent's archers will shoot at both friend and foe.

I simply continued to retreat and came near the vehicle.

Two vehicles were parked side by side with a small campfire behind them, which served as a gathering point.

After retreating, Han Shu slumped to the ground, his face covered in sweat. "It was too dangerous. The bandits have lost their will to fight."

"Not necessarily. They're afraid of being ambushed."

Zhao Ji explained, reached out to touch the quiver, and then went to the shaft of the carriage to get arrows to replenish.

Wei Xing had already taken off his shin guard and was bandaging his wounds. "Captain, how many did you shoot?"

"I don't know, maybe three or four people."

Zhao Ji returned to the campfire and said, "Be careful and alert. It's dark now, and the reinforcements from the Hou family smelting site and ranch won't dare approach. There's no wind tonight, but if there's a morning breeze at dawn, we can use the wind and smoke to hinder their crossbowmen."

After daybreak, the enemy archers have a better shooting environment, but our side can also recover their strength.

The Hou family's wealth is the strongest glue to unite and stabilize the military morale.

Distributing the meat is much more meaningful than protecting the emperor.

While pursuing victory and sharing glory are important, the fundamental goal is still wealth.

Wei Xing saw Zhao Ji eating wheat cakes and asked, "Captain, what should be done with the women of the Hou family... I mean, the women of the Hou brothers?"

"you want?"

"It's not that it's absolutely necessary, but I just think it's a pity."

"There are no outsiders here, so I'll be frank."

Zhao Ji took the water bag Tang Xian handed him and looked around at the guards who had gathered around him. "The Hou family sold weapons to the Xiongnu. It's no exaggeration to call them traitors to the country. After we captured the manor, all the male members of the Hou family must be killed. But the Hou family married a concubine from a wealthy family and killed her child. Does she hate us?"

"hatred."

Wei Xing then said, "Then give them some more children and kill them... I mean, these women set themselves on fire to preserve their reputations, and their fathers and brothers will also hate us. We have made contributions to the court, and Hou is a traitor. It would be better for everyone if she remarried us."

Tang Xian sneered, "Aren't you afraid that you're carrying Hou's child in your belly and will kill you when it grows up?"

Wei Xing glared at Zhao Ji and hurried to see him. "Captain, a lot of people were killed tonight, and many women have become widows. They have trouble raising children, and they are not trusted by the right people. Their husbands are traitors, and according to the law, they must be punished, and their wives will be implicated. Why not demote them to slaves and let the comrades in the camp redeem them as concubines with their meritorious service?"

"I didn't realize that Ziang is so good at adapting."

Zhao Ji nodded: "This matter is too big, I need to discuss it with my seventh brother."

"No, it involves a concubine's daughter from a wealthy family. Seventh Brother and the others don't want to know. Let us, the crude warriors, handle this matter. Once we're done, Seventh Brother and the others will have no choice but to accept it!"

Wei Xing had a wide range of friends and was well-informed, so he knew very well which of the Hou brothers' wives and concubines were the most beautiful.

(End of this chapter)