Tiger Guards

Chapter 83: The situation becomes fire and water
Zhao Ji shot three arrows in a row, holding his bow and watching the Jishan bandits heading north.

Soon, the Jishan bandits returned without torches or campfires for lighting.

Zhao Ji listened to the rapid sound of horses' hooves and fired continuously in the darkness.

His mounted slaves fired their bows in rapid succession, and the five mounted slaves holding crossbows finished stringing their crossbows and waited quietly on the low wall.

Now these cavalry slaves are extremely enthusiastic, and their fighting morale is no less than that of the Tiger Guards.

A series of rapid and sharp bone whistles were heard, and the nearby Jishan bandits quickly reined in their horses and turned north again.

Zhao Ji shot three more arrows before he stopped by shaking his right hand.

"Quiver."

He whispered, and a nearby mounted slave raised his hand and handed over a pot of arrows. Zhao Ji grabbed seven or eight arrows and put them into his own quiver.

With just a slight sound, an arrow suddenly flew past his shoulder two feet away.

Zhao Ji glanced at the arrow's right side and leaped towards the earthen wall. "Hold shield and fire, and go out to scout!"

Seven of the cavalry slaves took their shields, tied torches to their iron spears, lit them, and carefully formed a formation before heading out.

Five crossbowmen lay on the low wall and observed carefully, and Zhao Ji also observed.

At this time, Qubei came over, rubbing his chest and saying, "This Jishan bandit is indeed fierce, his reputation is well-deserved."

As he was speaking, an arrow hit the nearby low wall and was nailed into the earthen wall.

Qubei simply squatted down and asked in a low voice: "How many people are there outside?"

"I don't know. They deserve to die."

Zhao Ji patted Qu Bei's shoulder, put away his bow and arrow, picked up a tiger-patterned shield, and walked towards the doorway with a short spear in his other hand.

There were several corpses lying on the road outside. Seven people holding shields moved slowly in a small formation. Every time they approached a corpse, the crossbowmen inside the wall would shoot arrows to prevent the other party from pretending to be dead.

The shots were mainly aimed at the legs and feet. A Jishan bandit was injured and pretended to be dead. He was shot in the calf and immediately rolled to the other side. Crossbowmen from far and near fired at him.

After being shot by more than twenty powerful crossbows, the man was obviously dead after being hit by three or four arrows.

Zhao Ji saw this and said, "Back off!"

He also retreated into the doorway and said to Fu De who was approaching with a torch, "I am in the open, and the enemy is in the dark. Let the crossbowmen take cover first, and then throw a few rounds of torches to make them visible!"

"it is good!"

Fu De turned around and commanded the dozen or so Yu Lin Lang in formation. After some instructions, he threw out torches continuously.

Torches were scattered everywhere like stars. Crossbowmen moved around behind the wall, changing positions and shooting roughly at the figures, not daring to show their heads to take precise aim.

Zhao Ji held a bow and shot arrows at the figures on the ground, each arrow aiming for the calf.

The two injured and dead Jishan bandits did not dare to disguise themselves and immediately rolled to the other end.

There were also Jishan bandits over there shooting blindly with bows, probably only two or three of them.

The soldiers from the outer counties did not dare to approach and stayed and gathered at the southern end of the road. They were intimidated by the notoriety of the Jishan bandits and did not dare to step forward to rescue the emperor.

At this time, more than thirty officials arrived here fully armed, led by Zhong Yao, the Yellow Gate Minister.

He, also wearing a simple two-legged armor, stepped forward and asked Fude anxiously, "How is it?"

"The bandits are vicious and their shooting skills are accurate."

Fu De also lowered his voice: "These thieves were caught off guard and are planning to escape at night."

"About how much?"

As Zhong Yao was asking, an arrow suddenly flew in and landed nearby, hitting a Langguan in the foot. The Langguan cried out in pain. Two Langguan on the left and right supported him steadily, and another one decisively squatted down to break the arrow for him, lifted his foot and cooperated to drag the injured Langguan to the back.

The other officials immediately dispersed. Dong Zhao squatted behind a baggage cart, looking up at the night sky nervously.

Zhong Yao did not ask any more questions. He walked over to Zhou Zhong and whispered, "Duke Weiwei."

Zhou Zhong whispered, "Yuan Chang ordered the officers to use whistling arrows to scatter forty to fifty steps to disrupt the bandits."

"Here."

Zhong Yao turned and left, ordering the palace guards to start shooting arrows. Fortunately, too many supplies had been transported today, so there was no shortage of arrows.

Zhao Ji changed his position, observed again and again in the dim light, then stood up, drew his bow and shot an arrow.

A thief from Jishan was shot in the face by an arrow at a tree stump across the road and died silently.

The clanging of the palace guards' bowstrings, mixed with the whistling of arrows, and the unusual sound of the crossbowmen stringing their bowstrings, masked the sound of Zhao Ji's shooting. Still, he didn't dare to be careless, and walked lightly around, observing several suspicious points.

He waited for an opportunity and shot another arrow, but this time it missed the vital point and a scream was heard.

The seven or eight crossbowmen waiting to fire behind the wall followed the sound and fired, and the shouting soon faded away.

At this time, Yang Qi came out wearing armor and holding a sword. He came to Zhou Zhong and asked, "How is the enemy's situation?"

"They have been suppressed, are very fierce and stubborn, and are all archers."

Zhou Zhong couldn't hold back his anger as he spoke, but instead smiled: "With such a brave warrior, you still dare to accuse Bai Bo of being vicious and stubborn. If you had the will, how could you have fallen to this point?"

He also has a bad character. Humility is a quality he teaches his disciples and young people.

The Zhou family of Shucheng was very fierce. When the news of Emperor Ling's death and the turmoil in Luozhong reached Shucheng,

His son Zhou Hui once served as the magistrate of Luoyang. After resigning from office, he recruited many guests and followers and became famous between the Yangtze River and the Huai River.

Before the chaos in Guandong, Zhou Hui decisively led his guests and troops to Luoyang with more than a hundred carriages upon hearing the news. When Dong Zhuo heard about it, he immediately sent troops to intercept and kill them all.

When the rebellion broke out in Luoyang, the magistrate of Luoyang was Zhou Zhong's nephew Zhou Yi. When the Three Prefectures were in chaos, Zhou Yi also died of illness.

Zhou Zhong was originally still hesitating whether to stop at that point and find a balance point in the confiscation of property.

And now, he just wants to kill as many people as possible!

Yang Qi remained silent. Hedong and Hongnong were separated by the Yellow River and both were under the jurisdiction of Sizhou. The Yang family also had many students and former officials in Hedong.

How many poor people can become disciples and former officials of the Yang family?

It’s not that the Yang family’s status is too high and they need money to pave the way, but studying and becoming a disciple requires various living expenses.

For example, Jia Kui and Pei Xiu did not have the money to go to Hongnong to study.

While Yang Qi was silent, one of Zhao Ji's riding slaves lifted Zhao Ji's helmet with a spear and slowly rose up.

With a crisp sound, the arrow hit the golden helmet in the face and hit the neck guard, and the golden helmet was shot directly off the spear handle.

Zhao Ji calmly shot an arrow from five or six steps away, then turned and tossed the bow to a mounted slave: "Go out and capture them alive. Be careful of those who are faking their own death."

"Here!"

The cavalry slaves rushed out of the doorway, holding torches and rushed out bravely.

The palace guards also stopped shooting arrows. Qu Bei looked at the golden helmet that was shot away and felt that he had learned a new trick.

Seeing no counterattack outside the wall, the Tiger Guards and Yu Lin who were ready for battle also rushed out with torches and searched the surroundings.

When encountering a corpse that has been shot by an arrow and fallen to the ground, they would pierce the legs and feet with a spear to confirm whether the person is pretending to be dead.

After inspection, regardless of life or death, they were dragged towards the doorway.

Zhao Ji put on his gilded helmet again, held up a torch and looked at the first corpse that was dragged over. He squatted on the ground and reached out to touch the other's leather armor.

Kai specifically refers to protective gear made of a combination of leather and iron sheets; Armor generally refers to large pieces of protective gear made of the same material.

The opponent's leather armor was of very fine quality. Under the illumination of the torch, the lacquer on the surface was intact, indicating that it had been well maintained on a daily basis.

Zhao Ji only casually glanced at the black and white face used by the enemy to identify friend and frighten the people, then reached out to untie the rope of the side placket, pulled the tough waist and abdomen armor plates, reached in to feel them, and said to the few people who came over, "Wear double armor, come prepared."

Qubei also touched the enemy's leather armor and said with emotion: "If Zhonglang had not been a skilled archer, he would have shot them down. They would have fled far away after a single strike, making them difficult to find."

Zhou Zhong and Yang Qi examined the second body. Several Tiger Soldiers crouched on the ground and dismantled the armor, but there was no writing on the inner and outer layers of armor.

Yang Qi took the torch and shone it closely. On the outer layer of leather armor, where the outline of the seal should be, there was a messy pattern.

The leather parts of the leather armor are made by painting leather repeatedly, and molds are used to shape them during the process.

Bows and crossbows are not banned among the people, but making armor is a capital crime.

Therefore, the standard armor made by local governments had inscriptions on iron armor and specific patterns on leather armor.

Yang Qi checked the leather armor on another corpse and found that the two messy patterns were very similar.

He stood up and said to Zhou Zhong, "We must investigate this thoroughly!"

Leather armor is not easy to mold, and armor will not be discarded after only one batch is produced.

Find other similar armors, trace their origins, find their places of production, and then punish those involved!

Without the pouring of blood, how can we reaffirm and rebuild the majesty of the emperor and the court!

(End of this chapter)