Tiger Guards

Chapter 53: Different Standpoints
At the Huben camp, Hu Ban packed his bags.

Pei Xiu came to see him off and asked Hu Ban to return to the county first, so that he could also notice some changes.

Wenxi County was originally located on the east bank of the Sushui River.

Later, it merged with Zuoyi in the southwest and made Zuoyi the county seat. Zuoyi was located between Chidao and Sushui.

It can be said to be a key point of water and land transportation. If there are any changes, they cannot be concealed from the county.

Originally, Wenxi County was separated from Zuoyi. Now, swallowing up Zuoyi is just a return to normal division.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was on tour, he passed by Zuoyi Tongxiang and heard the news of the victory over Nanyue. He was so delighted that he demolished Zuoyi and used the land there as the county seat of Wenxi County.

Another place that was renamed similarly is Xinmen, the gate through which the troops passed during the retreat after the siege of Baideng. "Xin" means that the army has escaped from pursuit and the whole army is rejoicing.

Hu Ban is now heading south and is very likely to be captured by Han Xian or summoned for questioning.

Han Xian was stationed in Nanxiang, Wenxi, which was the closest township to the county.

Pei Xiu's expression was solemn, but Hu Ban consoled him, saying, "I'll slow down and return to the county before curfew. Tomorrow morning, I'll excuse myself, citing my mother's illness. Even if Han Xian learns, he won't have time to summon me for questioning."

"You don't mean what you say."

Pei Xiu raised his hand and patted Hu Ban on the shoulder: "Let's wait a while until Aji comes back. I know Wei Zhongjian's concerns. He is trying to be cautious, but this will eventually disturb Han Xian."

It wasn't Hu Ban who took the initiative to go, it was just Wei Gu's suggestion.

It would be risky for Wei Gu to lead his troops directly south. It would be much safer to send someone to investigate.

Since Han Xian is unprepared, we should fight according to Han Xian's unprepared tactics.

If Han Xian is prepared, it won’t be too late to persuade him.

The terrain of Wenxi determines that there is only one main passage from the north to the south. As for the military quality of Han Xian, they will show it after detecting any unusual movements.

Hu Ban hesitated and thought, he didn't dare to offend Wei Gu.

Pei Xiu turned to look at the door, where Han Dong was standing to keep watch, and continued, "When Wei Zhongjian proposed it, I didn't refuse because I didn't want to offend him. But you should be flexible about how to proceed. Think about your parents and your wife at home. It's not that I look down on Wei Zhongjian, but it's best to discuss this matter with Aji."

As long as the army marches into Anyi, Wei Gu will be needed to lobby the Wei, Fan and other families.

But then again, if he could kill Han Xian with a single spear and catch Yang Feng and Hu Cai off guard... then what would the wealthy and powerful families in Anyi do?
Now we just need to keep Wei Gu steady and prevent this guy from doing anything bad.

No matter how powerful the Wei family and the Fan family are, they are not much stronger than the Hou family.

If he was really strong, how could he allow people like Yang Feng to hold the emperor hostage for so long?
Everyone has ambitions, but one should act within one's capabilities.

The silence of the Wei and Fan families regarding the situation is itself a manifestation of their lack of strength.

After killing Li Le, Zhao Yan helped them to swallow up the 300 county soldiers of County Sima Fan Zheng, which in itself reflected the attitude of the court officials.

Pei Xiu didn't want to make his guess too clear, so he patted Hu Ban's arm and said, "If you delay a little longer, Aji and I won't harm you."

"it is good."

Hu Ban agreed, immediately untied his backpack, and took out the bamboo slips of official documents: "There is an error in the document. Let me make a copy."

As Pei Xiu said, Hu Ban did not really trust Wei Gu's ability.

If he really risked his life to go there, he might alarm Han Xian instead.

If we successfully lobby Han Xian, with Han Xian as our guarantor, we will be able to resolve the issue of Yang Feng smoothly.

But Li Le had a closer relationship with people like Yang Feng. Now that Li Le was killed, Han Xian’s oath would probably have little effect on Yang Feng.

Besides, these guys are all governors and generals with important titles, and they have reached the point where there is no more title to be given to them.

Even Yang Feng's cook could hold the official title of Counselor or Vice Minister, and all his personal soldiers were given the rank of Colonel.

Seeing that Hu Ban found an excuse to delay, Pei Xiu also went out.

Three more injured horses were slaughtered in the parade ground.

Seeing Pei Xiu approaching, Wei Gu also turned around. When he got closer, he said to Pei Xiu, "We have found a white horse. When Aji returns, we will go to Jiangyi and kill the white horse to swear an oath with everyone."

"The officers and soldiers are exhausted. Why not swear an oath in the Tiger Guards camp?"

"I'm worried about the county soldiers and the powerful people being unruly. Yesterday, you and I refused to attend the banquet, which offended them. Today, they are dividing up the Marquis family's assets. Although we haven't reached the point of being irreconcilable, we must be on guard." Wei Gu judged others by himself and spoke with confidence. He asked, "How is Hu Bingcao?"

"I was checking his official documents and found something wrong, so I asked him to copy them."

Pei Xiu then said, "Brother Zhongjian, you don't know that County Lord Zhang of Wenxi is always afraid of trouble. If he finds out anything, it could be disastrous."

"A Xiu is still smart."

Wei Gu looked up at the vast sky and said, "There has been no rain for nearly ten days. I am worried about a sudden downpour."

Hearing this, Pei Xiu also raised his eyebrows and glanced at the sky: "Things have come to this point, like an arrow on a string, how can we stop it?"

Wei Gu remained silent, and fell into another intense clash of thoughts.

He felt somewhat regretful. If he had not gotten involved, he would still be a wealthy man for the rest of his life.

Pei Xiu turned around to watch the injured horses being slaughtered to feed the wounded soldiers.

It will take some time for these three horses to recover.

Taking good care of the wounded is the best way to inspire the fighting morale of the Tiger Guards.

This vigorous morale must not be vented, as it is the basis for destroying the confidence of Baibo's generals in one fell swoop.

You can't count on Xu Huang, Ma Shizhi or local tyrants, the Huben are yours to rely on.

"Wei Gongcao, Pei Facao, Zhao Tunjiang is already ten miles away!"

A Tiger Guard knight rode forward, dismounted and reported to the two men.

Wei Gu immediately said to those around him, "Go and invite Wang Qi Cao and Xue Bu Cao."

The knight who brought the news untied a bundle of bamboo slips and handed them over with both hands: "Legal Officer, this is the list of rewards drawn up by Jia Cang Cao."

There are two volumes of bamboo slips in total, one is a statistics of seized materials, and the other is a distribution list.

Pei Xiu picked up the assignment list and read it. He saw that there were only eight levels in total, and each level was followed by a dense list of names.

There is no column for Zhao Ji, so it is estimated that the reward has been completed.

Based on Pei Xiu's understanding of Zhao Ji and Jia Kui, Zhao Ji didn't mind suffering a little loss, and Jia Kui didn't mind letting Zhao Ji take more.

If Jia Kui wants to expel the Huns, he must focus on winning over Zhao Ji.

If we don’t count on Zhao Ji, can we count on Wei Gu?

Wei Gu looked through the account books of confiscated goods and was immediately shocked to see that the court had to pay 500 gold and 2,000 pieces of silk as tribute in one breath.

It’s not that I’m reluctant, but I feel it’s very bad.

The emperor and his ministers and officials were used to being poor. The big families and powerful people in Hedong were all crying poor, fearing that the emperor and his ministers would keep them in the eye, and also afraid that Yang Feng would keep them in the eye.

When the emperor's eastward migration was at its most dangerous stage, the Huben and Yulin were caught in a melee, and Empress Fu was led by her brother Fu De to avoid the chaotic soldiers, with Fu De holding more than ten pieces of silk in his other hand.

When crossing the river, Dong Cheng sent soldiers to snatch several pieces of silk from Empress Fu's arms. The attendant's personal palace maid tried to stop him and was hacked to death on the spot, with her blood splattering all over Empress Fu.

It was with the help of these silks that a strong soldier tied the emperor to his back, climbed the walls on both sides, and safely transported the emperor to the north bank.

After crossing the river, the emperor was only accompanied by a few dozen people. By the time he crossed Zhongtiao Mountain and arrived near Anyi, all his clothes had been torn to pieces.

Even so, the big families and powerful people in Hedong still had to pretend to be poor.

Wei Gu couldn't imagine what would happen if the list of confiscated items in his hand was presented to the emperor or seen by Zhao Yan.

He laughed dryly and handed the account book to Pei Xiu: "Ah Xiu, there is little wealth in the Hou family manor. I think Jia Liangdao has falsely reported the gold and silk and underestimated the reward for the Tiger Guards. He is seeking to gain status and curry favor with the court!"

Pei Xiu took it, opened it, and looked at it with his eyes narrowed slightly: "It is indeed possible. He was busy all night and might have copied it wrong. From what I know about the Hou family, it is only fifty gold and two hundred pieces of silk."

"A Xiu, you haven't been there. The Hou brothers have always been extravagant, and their treasury is empty."

Wei Gu's cheeks trembled. "From what I've seen, there are only about twenty gold pieces, and no more than a hundred pieces of cloth and silk."

"I will send a letter to Liang Dao right away. His intention to show respect to the emperor is good, but he cannot deceive the court."

(End of this chapter)