Tiger Guards

Chapter 88 Drawing the Red Line
Zhao Ji woke up first and came to the rest area of the Huben teams.

As usual, they first observed a dozen lightly wounded soldiers. Their accommodations were clean and were arranged in the courtyards of several young masters of the Wei family.

Except for the Huben soldiers patrolling outside, most of the remaining Huben soldiers have recovered.

This kind of thing happened once, and looking back on it, it was just a small thing.

But I just can't forget it and can't let it go.

Zhao Ji met with several leaders. The five of them stood on the third floor of the attic and looked out the window at the area where the Huns lived. They were also relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside.

On the surface, there were only two or three Huns guarding the place that could be seen.

But in the houses behind these entrances and exits, there lived more than a dozen Huns who were preparing for war.

Jia Tong pointed to the fields where the Xiongnu were grazing their horses and said, "Captain, look! The Xiongnu are harvesting wheat seedlings to feed their horses. The horses are being fed nearby. I can vaguely see seven or eight hundred of them, and another two or three hundred are nowhere to be seen."

Zhao Ji glanced at Jia Tong's profile and asked, "Wen Zhen still can't let go?"

"Yes, most of the comrades in the camp are also reluctant to let go. If the captain gives a shout, everyone in the camp will surely rush forward."

Jia Tong said with a wry smile, "But sooner or later the news will leak out, and we will inevitably become thieves. Even if we divide the gold, who would dare to return home?"

Even if you are noble, law-abiding and do not want gold, when you return home, what will the local strongmen, relatives, and county and township officials think of you?

Seeing that he was still conscious, Zhao Ji smiled and said, "The gold brick secret room has a terrible stench. If Wen Zhen misses it, I will send Han Shu to accompany you to take a closer look."

Jia Tong's expression twisted, and he didn't seem to be resisting.

Several people laughed when they saw this. Zhao Ji put his hands on the windowsill and stared at the warehouse, where Qubei's guards were still on duty.

He said, "This morning, I went to see the widow of the Wei family. She is the daughter of Cai Bojie, the Left General of the Imperial Guards and the Minister of the Court. She is quite learned. The Wei family is now committing a serious crime, and she knows something about it. I want to protect her."

Jing Chun was shocked when he heard this: "Captain, Cai Bojie was unjustly murdered by Wang Yun. Now that Wang Yun is dead, his followers have either been destroyed or have fled to Taiyuan, Jingzhou, or Yizhou for refuge. The ministers at court also feel sorry for Cai Bojie. Why would they repeat the same mistake and kill his daughter?"

Wang Qi was also puzzled: "Yes, if she becomes a nun and follows her husband, the women of the Wei family may not be implicated, not to mention that she is the daughter of Cai Zhonglang."

"These days are different."

Zhao Ji didn't even look back. He stood at a high vantage point, observing the scenery nearby and far away. "Since the eastward migration, the court officials have been treated with disdain and disrespect. Their anger and resentment have been pent up for a long time. Now that I hold great power, if I can't kill the evil thieves Li and Guo, how can I not kill the traitors who deceived the emperor?"

Wang Qi pressed the issue, "Did Zhonglang mean that the imperial court would expand the scope of punishment?"

"Well, he can be killed or not, but this time he can't escape. Only by enforcing severe punishment can we rectify Hedong within a few months and unify the military, political and civil affairs."

Zhao Ji expressed his understanding and predictions. Seeing no one around, he said, "This matter is dirty. We will not get involved. Given our family background and wealth, the court's actions will have nothing to do with us close relatives. If the old doesn't go, how can the new come? The court's heart is ultimately in Luodu. Sooner or later, this place will be ours."

There is no need to face the vast number of Tiger Guards, so you can speak more directly here.

The topic became explicit. Chang Mao, the youngest, asked, "Captain, what do you think would happen if the imperial court really insisted on going to Luodu?"

"The various factions in Guandong are killing people everywhere and committing grave sins. How could they possibly sincerely obey the imperial court? Aren't they afraid that the events of the Hedong clan rebellion will happen again?"

Zhao Ji leaned his right elbow on the windowsill and looked sideways at Chang Mao. "I think the people from Guandong will first pull out the teeth of the imperial court. This is a matter for the future, so let's not worry about it. Perhaps Lord Zhao can persuade the imperial court to stay in Hedong and counterattack Guanzhong to build a foundation."

Seeing Zhao Ji's pessimism about the court's future, Wang Qi asked in confusion, "Why is Zhonglang so certain? The emperor has moved east, and all officials are renowned throughout the world for their loyalty and bravery. How could they be so unwise as to move to Luoyang?"

Zhao Ji has Zhao Gong as his connection, so he naturally knows some inside stories that they don't know.

If it weren't for Lord Zhao, Pei Xiu would have been brought with him when he went south to support the king in accordance with the secret imperial edict, and Pei Xiu would have been the one to communicate directly with Pei Mao.

Wang Qi’s doubts are also the doubts of others.

Looking at the relatively innocent looks of these people, Zhao Ji smiled: "The emperor's carriage has been surrounded by bandits several times, and the truly loyal young and strong officials have long since died in battle. As for the officials who are still alive today, you can imagine their temperaments."

The old ministers accompanying the emperor were physically exhausted and unable to fight, so the bandits preferred to capture them for rewards rather than chop off a useless old man.

As for the Langguan, the future pillars of the country, they were in their prime. Those who were still alive were either extremely lucky, had high martial arts skills, were very fast, or were captured.

Zhao Ji did not go into details, leaving room for them to think about it themselves.

Zhao Ji then said, "I went to see the widow of Wei this morning, and I'm a little unsure of Qu Bei's intentions. He said that he captured the widow of Wei when he attacked the manor. I don't know if he wants to give her to me or if he wants to use her to do something else."

Several people looked at each other in confusion. Wang Qi asked directly, "Did Zhonglang accept this widow?"

Perhaps feeling that the question was not direct and ambiguous, Wang Qi immediately added: "Have you slept yet?"

"No, everyone in the camp wants a girl, how can I have her all to myself?"

Zhao Ji said righteously, "I just suspect that Qu Bei wants me to sleep with this woman of complicated status so that he can control me."

"Zhonglang, you're worrying too much."

Wang Qi was quite experienced in this area. "This was a test from Qu Bei. Compared to the Wei family's secret chamber of gold bricks, what kind of leverage is this? He was just trying to test Zhonglang's character. Given the Xiongnu's habits, he gave his most precious captive to Zhonglang to curry his favor."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji stared into the distance and fell into deep thought.

He was sure that Qubei did have such expectations. If he did not leave the attic, Qubei would skin the maid alive outside the attic and fight with her in the sun.

The beautiful maids of the Wei family were all from families whose fathers, brothers or husbands were Wei's followers, servants or tenants, and they had undergone strict training and screening in this regard.

They are even the backbone of their families. Due to the pressure of life and specific selection and training, they will be very skilled in this kind of thing before their beauty fades.

Qu Bei may be very impatient, but he won't be so impatient in front of himself.

So he intuitively believed that he would stay in the attic for a long time, even finish his sleep, get up with the help of the widow, put on his armor, and walk out.

This time is too long, so I stopped worrying and started eating meal replacements.

I guess he was thinking of finding a place nearby to sleep down after eating.

It's not just the Huns, men from other places are similar. Doing this kind of thing together can indeed effectively bring them closer together.

Zhao Ji pondered and looked at the courtyard of Cangge. He saw that Qubei's guards were still there, and the duty tiger guards had not changed their positions.

Retracting his gaze, he smiled. "Regardless of Qubei's intentions, when the imperial envoys come to investigate the secret chamber's gold bricks, they will interrogate the widow of the Wei family. I must protect her and cannot let the imperial envoys take her away. The key is not to protect her, but to keep her. If the imperial envoys can't take the widow away today, they won't be able to take away the comrades in the camp tomorrow."

"I understand Zhonglang's intentions."

Wang Qi immediately replied, "The gold bricks implicate a wide range of people. If we allow the imperial envoys to pursue us, they will torture the widow Wei and then interrogate our fellow soldiers. We will be unable to escape. They dare not rigorously interrogate the Xiongnu. If we retreat, we will surely die."

Seeing the seriousness of Wang Qi's words, Chang Mao was surprised and horrified, puzzled: "Qi Cao, we have made great contributions to the court, how can the court be so ruthless?"

Wang Qi turned his head and looked at Chang Mao with sympathy: "Great achievements are hard to reward."

Chang Mao still found it a little confusing, so Jing Chun raised his hand and patted Chang Mao's arm. Chang Mao came from a humble family and was young, but he was able to be selected as the village chief because of his extraordinary bravery, second only to Zhao Ji.

Jia Tong and Wei Xing could only outwit Chang Mao when they were riding horses, and they could not defeat him in a foot battle.

Jia Tong's eyes also grew heavy. "Captain, has the imperial court forgotten about Wang Yun?"

Zhao Ji thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps people only feel hunger when they are hungry. After eating, they forget the unbearable pain and grievance of hunger. Only by saving the widow of the Wei family can we save our companions in the camp and also save Wei Zhongjian. He has done me a great favor, so I cannot help but save him."

Wang Qi's eyes lit up and he looked at Zhao Ji, but forced himself to restrain himself from asking him on the spot.

If Wei Gu is preserved, there is a possibility of pulling in the Wei family, the Fan family, the county troops... reorganized by the court.

Defending the country is the key means to counter the court's armed suppression.

Precisely because they were destined to perish together, those in the court who had ill intentions towards Huben had no choice but to endure it.

(End of this chapter)