Tiger Guards

Chapter 70 Close combat
Before Zhao Ji was recovered, General Zhenbei and Governor of Hedong County Wang Yi arrived with his troops first.

He was also alarmed by the Tiger Guards heading south and had just assembled his troops.

When Hu Cai from the west of the city was fleeing north, he encountered the Huben troops. He had no time to avoid them or even to surrender, and was shot dead by Zhao Ji who was coming towards him.

Wang Yi had been chasing the Tiger Guards all the way south. Now, he met the emperor and bowed prostrate himself, saying, "I am late in coming to your rescue. I hope you will forgive me."

Only then could he clearly see the three heads on the ground. They were Li Le, General of the Western Expedition and Governor of Liangzhou, Han Xian, General of the Eastern Expedition and Governor of Youzhou, and Hu Cai, General of the Northern Expedition and Governor of Bingzhou.

In an instant, a chill spread throughout his body, and those few thoughts were immediately cleared away by him. He became as loyal as he could be.

Liu Xie looked at Wang Yi with lowered brows and was reluctant to speak.

The ministers around him stood with their hands behind their backs, their brows lowered, and remained silent.

Even the ministers who were watching closed their eyes and pretended to be asleep. Wang Yi did provide grain and silk... but only a few people were able to eat enough, and they could barely avoid starving to death.

Many officials still wore old clothes and went out to dig wild vegetables during the day.

The Shangshu Lang was no exception. Only three Shangshu could stay in the countryside and have a stable ration of food.

If Wang Yi had been more resolute, why would things have dragged on to this point?
The five hundred newly recruited Tiger Guards could easily deal with the Baibo generals, not to mention Wang Yi who had three thousand county soldiers.

The more ferocious and vigorous the Huben's movements were, the more hateful Wang Yi looked.

Wang Yi also reacted quickly and fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

Seeing Wang Yi so unbearable, Liu Xie tried hard to convince himself, and his eyes softened: "My dear, please don't be polite."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Yi supported himself with his hands and managed to stand up, his legs still trembling. He lowered his head, breathed in small steps, and dared not breathe.

Seeing him like this, Liu Xie also felt that he shouldn't expect too much from Wang Yi: "Hu Cai sent an envoy to say that the Xiongnu burned and attacked the Wei family. Do you know about it?"

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a fire at the Wei family manor. Concerned about your Majesty's safety, I dare not split my forces and have followed the Tiger Guards to fight the enemy here."

Liu Xie went to see Yang Qi and asked: "How about dispatching the county troops to rescue the Wei family?"

Yang Qi went to see Wang Yi, who looked embarrassed.

Yang Qi replied, "Your Majesty, the commandery's troops are mostly infantry, and they are already exhausted after marching this far. If we send more troops to support the Wei clan, they will inevitably be defeated if they encounter the Xiongnu cavalry. I suggest that we divide our forces into over a hundred, many of whom carry torches to create a false alarm. This will both alarm the Xiongnu and encourage the Wei clan to hold their ground."

Regardless of the life or death of the Wei family, Liu Xie looked around at the others and no one refuted Yang Qi's proposal.

Seeing this, Liu Xie said to Wang Yi: "You should select good generals and act in this way."

"I obey your command. I will take my leave."

Wang Yi kowtowed again and then stood up and walked away.

When I got out of the house, I felt a chill in the night wind. I wiped my face with my hand and found a layer of sweat, and the back of my neck was soaked.

On the other side, Yang Feng rode his horse at full speed.

At first, there were still a dozen or so riders around him, but after the pursuing riders shot and killed several of them in succession, they immediately discarded their torches.

Without torches, the riders around him would break away and flee as soon as they saw an opportunity.

After galloping for five or six miles, his horses became tired and he had no followers to follow him.

The riders behind him changed horses and caught up with him again, holding torches.

The terrain south of Anyi is mostly flat, and the sound of his horse's hooves at night is an excellent pursuit signal.

Fortunately, the fleeing riders also attracted some pursuers. He seized the opportunity to slow down his horse, jumped off and slapped the horse's butt hard, watching the horse gallop away with no load.

He turned and fled to hide in the ruins of a village. The Hu Ben knights who were chasing him passed over the ruins with torches in their hands without stopping.

Soon Zhao Ji arrived here in pursuit and saw Han Shu returning with an empty horse. "Captain, this is a fine horse from the Western Extreme. It must be the enemy's mount! The enemy abandoned the horse and must be fleeing on foot!"

"He's wearing armor, so it's hard for him to get far. Teams of five, search carefully!"

As Zhao Ji gave the order, a dozen more Tiger Guards came chasing him from behind, carrying fresh heads in their hands: "Zhonglang, we haven't seen the enemy general!"

"Right around here, in groups of five, search carefully!"

"Village leader! There's a deserted village here!"

Someone shouted, and Zhao Ji immediately led the cavalry slaves to rush over. The cavalry slaves drove their horses along both wings, holding torches to guard possible entrances and exits.

More and more Hu Ben gathered here. Zhao Ji dismounted, holding a halberd, grabbed the water bag in one hand, took a sip, and passed it to the people around him.

The water bag was passed to him, and he used an iron spear to push aside a clump of dry wormwood and was the first to enter the community.

Han Shu, who followed him, lit a fire and set the pile of dry grass within his sight. Others followed suit. The sky was filled with fireworks and the vision gradually became brighter.

Zhao Ji noticed that a bunch of fresh nettles in a corner of the wall had been trampled, so he immediately raised his right arm and clenched his fist. When the nearby tiger guards and cavalry slaves saw this, they immediately gathered there.

Although I couldn't understand Zhao Ji's gestures, it was obvious that he made the movements because he realized the situation.

Seeing the torches gradually gathering, Yang Feng turned from behind the earthen wall and said, "Let me go, and I'll give you gold and silk. I'll recommend you to the court and we'll all enjoy wealth and honor!"

"Yang Feng?"

"It's the general!"

Yang Feng drew his sword and pointed it at Zhao Ji: "I have also made contributions to the court. If you kill me, how will the heroes of the world view the court? The officials of the court are unwilling to kill me. Killing me would be like Emperor Gaozu killing Yong Chi, which would lose the hearts of the heroes of the world!" "My name is Zhao Ji."

Zhao Ji thrust his iron halberd into the ground, drew his sword, and pointed it at Yang Feng. "I originally lived in Zhongcheli, Tongxiang. The white waves swept through, and Zhongcheli was reduced to ruins. My neighbors and friends were all killed by the bandits. This vengeance can only be blamed on you. Come, let's fight to the death!"

"Stupid boy, it wasn't me who killed your fellow villagers!"

Yang Feng was furious and shouted angrily, "When Baibo marched south, I had already attached myself to the imperial court! It was only with my assistance that we were able to defeat the Baibo bandits!"

"Kill Li Le, Han Xian, and Hu Cai for me. Killing them will complete my merit."

Zhao Ji advanced with his sword in hand. Yang Feng retreated, leaning against the wall. He observed the other Tiger Guards and saw that none of them were advancing to attack him. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The leader of the Baibo bandits is Guo Tai from Taiyuan, not me! Why bother entangled with me?"

"Then I'll kill you, and then kill Guo Tai."

Zhao Ji refused to give in. This was probably one of the obsessions that he could resolve for his original self.

Yang Feng observed Zhao Ji's distance and saw this, he could only force himself to take a deep breath and glare at him: "Don't blame me if the boy wants to die!"

As he spoke, he raised his sword with both hands and stepped forward to chop. Zhao Ji took a sideways step and thrust his sword quickly, and the two men passed each other.

Yang Feng threw away his sword, covered his neck tightly with both hands, and made a hoarse sound but could not make any sound. His eyes were wide open.

Zhao Ji raised the sword and observed the tip of the sword, and saw that it had accurately pierced the opponent's trachea, so the blood was barely noticeable.

The sword is hard to find, so he won't fight with anyone unless necessary.

The clash of swords and knives is certainly exciting to watch, but every strike consumes the life of the sword, money, and labor.

He rolled up his cloak to wipe the blood off the tip of his sword, sheathed it, and said to those around him, "Give him a quick death."

"Here."

Several Tiger Guards advanced with spears in hand, first stabbing Yang Feng's calf, then moving closer after he had been knocked over, aiming their spears at his neck, fearing they would damage his robes and armor.

Even the bright lacquer leather shoes on Yang Feng's feet were reluctant to be damaged.

More and more Tiger Guards surrounded him and stabbed Yang Feng in the neck.

Zhao Ji was thinking about the old grudge. They were all Tiger Guards from Hedong. Who among them didn’t have companions, relatives and friends who were killed?
Soon, Han Shu took out a knife and cut off Yang Feng's head and brought it over: "Captain?"

"Build a big fire and gather your friends. Rest and then go on. I'm tired."

Zhao Ji waved his hand. He didn't have the habit of holding the head and looking at it carefully.

They quickly gathered wood from the ruins and built a great campfire.

Zhao Ji's riding slaves also stripped Yang Feng clean, and no one would mind even washing his calf-nose pants.

If you leave it alone, people nearby will pick it up, wash it, and use it.

The campfire was burning brightly, and from time to time, Tiger Knights would gather there.

While Zhao Ji was leaning against the broken wall and eating wheat cakes, a dozen Tiger Guards knights arrived, escorting the Imperial Secretary Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao dismounted, and Tang Xian, who was accompanying him, called out, "Is Zhao Zhonglang here?"

"The captain is here!"

Han Shu answered loudly, and Tang Xian led Zhong Yao and walked quickly over. When they got closer, they saw scattered heads piled in front of the campfire.

Tang Xian came before Zhao Ji and bowed, "Zhonglang, this is the Imperial Court Assistant Minister, Zhong Yuanchang of Yingchuan, here to announce the imperial edict."

Zhao Ji didn't stand up either. He tilted his head and looked at Zhong Yao: "What imperial edict?"

Zhong Yao frowned and said, "I am an angel, here to announce the imperial decree. Why don't you stand up and kneel to greet me, Zhonglang?"

"I've been killing bandits for days and traveling two hundred miles. I'm exhausted and can hardly get up. If you don't want to announce the decree, it won't be too late to do so after I recover."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look at Han Shu: "Let him see."

Han Shu stood up, holding the head of Yang Feng that he had brought with him in one hand, and showed it to Zhong Yao: "Angel, my captain is very tired from fighting this bandit. I hope you will forgive me."

Zhong Yao was completely speechless when he recognized it as Yang Feng's head.

Looking at the young and tired Huben soldiers around him, and then at the lazy Zhao Ji, a sense of fear completely overwhelmed him.

His intuition and common sense told him that the raging fire beside him could turn an angel into ashes.

He immediately took out the silk scroll and said with a smile, "The court was worried about the loss of the Zhonglang, so they ordered me to issue an imperial edict to ask him to withdraw his troops. Now that the rebel general Yang Feng has been killed, there is no need to issue an imperial edict."

"I see."

Zhao Ji went to see Tang Xian and said, "Please sit down. My legs are all worn out. What about you?"

"Not bad."

Tang Xian also sat down and sighed, "I just can't relax. I don't feel tired when I'm on horseback, but when I get off the horse, I just want to sleep."

Zhao Ji handed Tang Xian a piece of hot wheat cake and looked at Zhong Yao, curiously asking, "This angel is sitting here too. I think the Baibo generals are no better than him. Why have they troubled the court for so long?"

Zhong Yao said nothing, but just forced a smile to be polite.

(End of this chapter)