Tiger Guards

Chapter 72 Losing money and avoiding disaster
As the sky gradually brightened, the Wei family manor had already fallen.

The Wei clan's troops protected their clansmen, wives and children and broke through the encirclement. The Huns did not bother to chase and kill them, but instead searched for their belongings or loaded them with food.

There is no shortage of food in the manor, but not as much as in the Hou family manor.

Because there is more than one branch of the Wei family, there are more than one manor and warehouse.

Unfortunately, Cai Zhaoji and her maid fell behind while fleeing, and their carriage was captured by the Huns.

In front of the warehouse, Cai Zhaoji's face was covered with flying ashes, and several maids surrounded her, and two Xiongnu warriors were guarding them.

When Youxian Wang Qubei came out of the warehouse and saw Cai Zhaoji, he asked the leaders who were with him, "Why did you capture Cai Zhonglang's daughter?"

"Your Majesty, her chariot has collapsed and her driver has fled. I am afraid she will fall into the hands of the common people and rebels, so I have invited her here."

A little Wang stepped forward to answer with a sullen look on his face. He didn't want to snatch Cai Zhaoji away either.

Qubei frowned, waved his hand, and rode forward, asking, "Now that things have come to this, I can no longer let you go back."

Cai Zhaoji nodded, still unwilling to give up, and asked, "Your Majesty, I will not tell anyone else. Could you please show some mercy?"

Qubei shook his head and asked, "Even if I let you go, you won't survive. Come with me. There are also people among the Xiongnu who admire Han scholars. I have a friend who is old to you and you can stay with me."

Cai Zhaoji's expression was stiff, and she looked at Qubei eagerly.

The horseman turned around and said to Xiao Wang, "Please ask her to get in the car and close the door. Don't let anyone know."

"Yes!"

The prince agreed immediately. He really couldn't let Cai Zhaoji go now.

It really doesn't matter whether she lives or dies. What happened here cannot be revealed.

If you want to blame someone, blame the Hedong Tiger Guards for attacking the Hou family manor.

After the Hou family manor was destroyed, some knights went south to join the Baibo generals, and some mixed Hu knights joined Qubei.

Qubei felt that there was an opportunity and passed the news to Wei.

Wei was horrified and decided to cut off his arm and spend money to avoid disaster.

Anyway, the Huns would not burn down the manor, they would just steal some cloth and food.

Cai Zhaoji looked at the familiar houses and courtyards around her reluctantly, and could only follow a few Xiongnu warriors away.

Her maidservant was taken to a nearby house by the Xiongnu kings and did not resist much.

It is better to devote yourself to the Xiongnu king than to be a Xiongnu warrior or an ordinary herdsman.

Qubei was not surprised by this. He had followed Yu Fuluo in suppressing the Yellow Turbans, and had also followed Yuan Shao and Zhang Yang in the wars. His heart had long been as hard as stone.

As for him, the Right Wise King, he lacked appeal among the right wing of the Xiongnu and was only the Right Wise King in name only.

The Xiu Tuge Xiongnu did not really agree with him as the Right Wise King, so they had close contacts with the Han court and various warlords.

He did not lie to Cai Zhaoji. When Cai Yong was exiled to Wuyuan County in his early years, there was indeed a famous Xiongnu king who yearned for Confucianism and was still in love with Cai Zhaoji.

Sending Cai Zhaoji over there can indeed win the other party's favor.

Therefore, there is no need to consider the reputation of the Wei family and there is no need to silence them.

"Your Majesty, over a thousand Hedong County soldiers are standing in formation on the road!"

A knight rode up, his voice urgent, "There are more than five hundred cavalrymen on the roadside. They seem to be the Hedong Tiger Guards who defeated the Hou family!"

"I gonna go see."

Qubei then said to the other leaders, "Gather your troops! If they refuse to let us go, we will kill them!"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded, Qubei whipped his horse and led dozens of knights out. After walking two or three miles, they saw smoke from cooking in the distance. The Hedong County soldiers were resting along the way and making fires everywhere.

He observed for a moment, then pointed at one person and said, "Tell them that the Wei family has left. I only took a small amount of food, and the rest can be given to them. If there is a fight, I will set fire to the food!"

"Yes!"

The knight shouted in reply, whipping his horse hard and heading north.

Qubei had figured out the minds of the generals. Now the county troops were gathering, their intention to rescue the Wei family was fake, but their real intention was to seize food and wealth.

As he expected, Wang Yi was immediately interested when he heard this.

However, with Yang Qi, the Minister of the Interior, supervising the battle, Wang Yi was hesitant to make a decision. He asked, "My Lord, if the Xiongnu haven't taken any captives, would you let them go?"

Yang Qi was still full of energy. He looked at the Xiongnu knights who had dismounted and were waiting for news, then at the Huben knights who were resting not far away. He asked, "You and I agree, but do you know if the Huben knights agree?"

Wang Yi turned his head to look and saw that the Huben soldiers had already slaughtered the injured horse and were roasting the horse meat.

He had already learned from Zhong Yao that Huben was planning to eat the Xiongnu, and it was highly likely that Huben was unwilling to give up this Xiongnu cavalry.

This Xiongnu cavalry had fought in many places. Although many Xiongnu people had returned to their tribes, the remaining ones were generally veterans who had followed Qubei. Besides being proficient in cavalry warfare, they also understood Chinese and were not difficult to command after the forced landing.

At this moment, the Huben and Xiongnu were both exhausted, while the Jun soldiers were in the best condition. However, Wang Yi really didn't dare to move rashly. The fact that the four Bai Bo generals were beheaded by the Hedong Huben was not scary, but what was scary was that they were beheaded by Zhao Ji alone!

Even if Lu Bu was brought over, he might not dare to confront Zhao Ji on the spot.

Even though these Hedong Tiger Guards were just country scoundrels, they looked like they were going to have a meal all to themselves just by sitting there to rest.

Seeing that Wang Yi was afraid to express his opinion, Yang Qi rode towards the Huben. As he passed the Xiongnu knight, he said, "Follow me to see Zhao Aji, the Zhonglang of the Huben."

"Yes."

The Hun knight even bowed and watched Yang Qi set off before he got on his horse.

The horses moved at a brisk pace. Yang Qi came to the vicinity of the Huben and saw them sitting around small campfires, eating dry food.

Some of the Tiger Guards who participated in the battle last night took the opportunity to lie down with their eyes closed and take a light nap.

The closer to Zhao Ji, the more sleeping Hu Ben were found.

Zhao Ji stood up to greet him: "Serving the Duke."

Yang Qi pointed at the Xiongnu knights following behind him and said, "The Xiongnu are asking for passage. They only carry a small amount of food and fodder, and the rest is left in the warehouse. If you refuse, burn the food and force your way out."

Zhao Ji went to see the Xiongnu knights and said, "You attacked the Wei fortress with all your might and caused considerable damage. If I let you go now, I'd have a hard time explaining this to my comrades."

The Xiongnu knight bowed from his horse and said, "What else does Zhonglang want? I will tell the king."

"Give me the extra horses, and you cannot take a single cart with you."

"Your Majesty also has female relatives, so it is not convenient for them to ride horses. Could you please leave a few carriages so that I can persuade Your Majesty."

"Okay, just three cars."

Zhao Ji readily agreed. Upon hearing this, the Xiongnu knight went to see Yang Qi, who nodded slightly.

The knight bowed again and rode away south.

Yang Qi was about to dismount, but Zhao Ji stepped forward to support him. As soon as Yang Qi dismounted, he asked, "Do you really want to let the Xiongnu go free?"

“Food is more important.”

Zhao Ji was somewhat helpless. "I need food, and so does the court. The day after tomorrow, Governor Xu Gongming will lead the follow-up army south. I will follow north and annihilate this Xiongnu army at the Chidao Pass!"

Yang Qi was relieved then, and now he had the courage to kill all the generals of Bai Bo.

As for promises, after he learned from Zhong Yao about the plan for Huben to feed the Xiongnu, he felt that the plan was feasible.

Only by expelling the Huns from Pingyang area as soon as possible can the powerful people in Taiyuan find no excuse to delay.

No matter what we do next, with the material and human resources from Taiyuan, we will have more room for maneuver.

Yang Qi followed Zhao Ji to the fire and sat down. He then asked, "I see the Tiger Guards are exhausted. Are they ready to fight again?"

"Our morale is high now, and we can fight. When the Xiongnu retreated, their morale was low, so a little fatigue on our part won't be a big deal."

Zhao Ji picked up a piece of roasted horse meat, cut it with a dagger, and put it into his mouth to chew.

Yang Qi added, "Your proposal for the emperor to personally lead the army was rather rash and should not be brought up again. However, I agree with your views on the various factions in Guandong. Do your job well; the court will still rely on you younger generations in the future."

"Don't dare."

After swallowing, Zhao Ji looked at the fire in front of him and asked, "Lord Zhao proposed to appoint Duan Wei as the governor of Hongnong County and to recruit Jia Xu to the court. What do you think?"

"I am not good at military affairs. Since Zhao Yuanming has made such a plan, I will follow his orders."

Yang Qi asked again: "How many troops will be needed to drive out the Xiongnu, and how long will it take?"

"The Tiger Guards and auxiliary troops still need training. We will deploy them at the end of April. We will first attack the Xiongnu in the counties east of the Fen River and west of the Taihang Mountains, and drive them northwest of the Fen River. This way, we will have full control of the Fen River, with ships and naval forces to transport supplies, and we will be able to travel freely. How can the Xiongnu resist?"

Zhao Ji thought for a moment and said, "We can't expect success in just one battle. Lord Zhao's original intention in agreeing to my cannibalism with the Xiongnu wasn't to slaughter a large number of them, but to secure the entire eastern bank of the Fen River. This would clear the road, and the people of Taiyuan would have no choice but to obey the imperial court. With reinforcements from Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Daijun, we can then engage the Xiongnu in Pingyang in a decisive battle."

"We will be able to withdraw our troops before September."

Zhao Ji stared at Yang Qi's gray beard, "Therefore, Duan Wei must defend until September. If the Li and Guo bandits' combined forces attack, Fenyin and Puban must also be defended until mid-September."

Yang Qi stroked his beard and asked, "Since you are willing to use Jia Xu, why are you hostile to the various factions in Guandong?"

"Jia Xu was merely trying to survive. He never invaded or occupied any prefecture or county, or abused its officials or its people. And how many loyal officials in the various regions east of the Guanzhong Pass could truly protect the territory and its people?"

Zhao Ji answered quietly and continued eating horse meat.

Yang Qi saw that there were other Tiger Guards around, so it was difficult to discuss some sensitive issues.

He said, "You decide the matter here. I will go before the Emperor and issue an edict to summon Jia Xu to the court. Jia Xu is suspicious, so the heads of Yang Feng and the others must be sent to Duan Wei's camp to allay their suspicions."

"My lord, please do as you please."

Yang Qi patted Zhao Ji on the shoulder and stood up. Zhao Ji walked him to the horse.

(End of this chapter)