Tiger Guards

Chapter 50: Zhao's Night Talk
Under the night sky, Zhao Lian was having an intimate moment with a concubine.

Several dogs in the yard barked wildly. Zhao Lian immediately stood up, grabbed his outer robe, and said to his concubine, "Take the child to the cellar!"

He casually put on his outer robe, and reached out to grab the sword on the wall outside the dormitory. When he walked out of the door, he saw the eldest brother Zhao Jian walking out of the courtyard with a torch, and the second brother Zhao Yuan was holding a powerful crossbow and stringing it in the courtyard.

Zhao Jian handed the torch to Zhao Yuan, who took the crossbow and quickly climbed up the low wall. He looked out and saw knights holding torches coming from a distance.

While observing, Zhao Lian also came up and said, "I heard that Li Le's troops were heading north. Could they be rebels?"

"I don't know."

As Zhao Jian was answering, the other five families in the same village outside the low wall were also awakened by the barking of dogs and gathered together with their elderly and children.

Zhao Yuan opened the door and let the neighbors in.

The women walked in with their children, and the men, old and young, held bows or rusty iron spears, helping Zhao Yuan carry wooden blocks to block the doorway.

While Zhao Lian was observing, the women from the neighborhood who had entered the compound had already placed their children and came out with the women from the Zhao family, all holding light crossbows and soft bows.

Living at the foot of Jishan, the inexplicable barking of dogs at night is their warning sound for gathering.

For the Zhao family, turning the five neighboring families into a group was just one step away.

When the women of the Zhao family came out, they also brought five sets of half-body armor, two of which were made by themselves by sewing layers of leather. They were very rough and were distributed to the able-bodied men in the neighborhood.

The three of them, father and son, were all wearing worn-out double-crotch armor. Zhao Lian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the enemy riders coming out of the group with a blazing torch. "He's coming with a blazing torch, so he doesn't have any bad intentions."

Zhao Yuan also pointed in the direction of Jishan behind him and said: "Father, there are no beacons in the mountains to warn people. They are not Jishan bandits."

Going deeper, there are two more villages. The people in these two villages have complex identities. When they encounter people from the depths of Jishan, they will light small beacons to warn them. In return, the Zhao family will also provide them with some help.

During the discussion, Laiqi held up a fire and approached the gate seven or eight steps away, shouting, "Aung!"

"Why is it Ah Hu?"

Zhao Jian was surprised and asked, "Why is my brother-in-law here so late at night?"

"Something big is happening in Jiangyi. Qilang has sent a message, so I have to come!"

Pei Hu took two more steps forward and shouted to the dark wall, "This is good news. Brother, please open the door quickly. Third uncle and aunt are here too."

After confirming that it was Pei Hu, more torches were lit in the yard.

Zhao Jian raised the torch and observed again, then said, "Father has gone to change his clothes. Why are Third Uncle and Aunt here too? Is there trouble in Jiangyi?"

When Li Le led his troops north, not only the Zhao family was worried, but also the families nearby whose sons had volunteered to serve as Tiger Guards were worried.

"It's a good thing that I can't explain it clearly at the moment."

Pei Hu dismounted and stuffed a stack of letters into the crack of the door: "This is Qilang's handwriting."

Zhao Yuan took the letter through the door, turned around and walked quickly back into the house, where he saw Zhao Lian changing his clothes.

So Zhao Yuan read in front of the lamp. His reading was rough and he could barely recognize some words, but he couldn't read smoothly.

At this time, Pei came out of the cellar and tied Zhao Lian's belt. "Husband, why did Third Sister-in-law come here suddenly? Could it be that Qilang and Aji have caused trouble?"

"How should I know?"

Zhao Lian reached out and took the silk book from the second brother's hand, his eyes widening: "This... How is this possible!"

Pei looked up and could recognize some words.

Zhao Lian leaned over to the oil lamp and carefully read the handwriting: "Zhongfu?"

"Father?"

"It's my Zhongfu. Aji met Zhongfu..."

The joy only flashed across his face for a moment. Pei Xiu's letter mainly talked about Zhao Yan's decision to adopt Aji into the family clan, and also described the general situation of Zhao Yan's lineage.

Zhao Lian had no reaction to the four nephews who died in battle with the emperor, whom he had never met or heard of, but he found the death of his three cousins difficult to accept.

After reading Pei Xiu's handwriting, he concluded that his son-in-law Pei Hu was reliable, so he said to the gossipy second brother beside him: "Hurry up and open the door and kill the big rooster."

"Hey!"

Zhao Yuan turned and left. Seeing him send the second son away, Pei asked, "How is Aji?"

"Zhongfu wants to adopt Aji, and Aji asked Qilang to let me reject him in the letter!" Adoption is a major event in the clan, and Pei Xiu didn't dare to send a message, so he simply sold Zhao Ji.

Zhao Lian's face showed anger. Zhongfu was already so lonely and poor, but Zhao Ji still wanted to refuse. This was no longer a simple act of disobedience and unfilial piety.

"My husband's uncle?"

"It's the current councilor, Lord Yuan Ming."

Zhao Lian took a few steps back and sat on the low couch, holding the silk book and lost in thought: "I don't understand why Zhongfu would take a fancy to Aji."

Mrs. Pei frowned slightly: "Aji is too old to be adopted as an heir."

When her clan adopts a child, they always choose a child. How could they choose someone as old as Zhao Ji?
"My father is old. Three of my brothers died in war, and my four nephews all died defending the emperor. How can I, adopted as your father, inherit the family business?"

Zhao Lian still found it difficult to accept this change. He didn't want to be involved in a bigger incident.

He always suspected that his father-in-law wanted to use Aji, but he didn't dare to refuse.

Pei, on the other hand, quickly adapted to this sudden change. She wanted to say something, but felt it was inappropriate, so she simply sat aside.

At this time, son-in-law Pei Hu came in quickly and bowed: "Ah, mother."

"Why did Ah Hu come here so late at night?"

Zhao Lian motioned Pei Hu to sit down, then looked at his wife: "Go make some hot soup, have Alan and Axi clean the house, and you go and greet my third sister-in-law."

Pei Hu watched Pei leave before sitting down next to Zhao Lian and whispering excitedly, "Ah Weng, Qilang, Aji and the others captured and killed over 400 Xiongnu people, and even broke into the Hou family's manor. This afternoon, Aji even shot Li Le to death with a single arrow!"

"Aweng?"

Pei Hu saw Zhao Lian standing there in a daze, unable to come back to his senses. Zhao Lian took a deep breath and asked, "Why didn't Qilang say that in the letter?"

"I'm afraid of being intercepted by Han Xian."

Pei Hu whispered, "It was my cousin who brought the news. He saw with his own eyes how Aji killed people like he was cutting wheat. I heard he killed more than fifty people! I don't believe it either. He swore an oath that it was not false."

Only then did Zhao Yuan walk to the door, completely disbelieving: "Ah Hu, you are... I don't believe A Ji could have killed so many people."

Pei Hu pulled him closer and continued in a low voice, "Why should I try to trick you? He even killed the little Xiongnu prince and sent his head to Guanqiu Axing. My brother said that Aji was like a ghost when he killed the enemy, and he could even use his bow to shoot arrows from a distance of 125 steps! If his bow wasn't so weak, he might have been able to shoot 150 steps!"

"I don't believe it. Aji can only shoot birds and beasts at a distance of seventy paces. How can he shoot at a distance of a hundred paces?"

Zhao Yuan chuckled. They had just fought not long ago, so how could he not know Zhao Ji's methods?

Zhao Yuan just smiled and noticed Zhao Lian's cold eyes, so he immediately stopped smiling: "Father?"

"Fist fighting and fighting on the battlefield are two different things. My third sister-in-law and the others will be here soon, so watch your mouth."

Zhao Lian felt a little thirsty and looked at Pei Hu solemnly: "Ah Hu, are you kidding?"

"I absolutely wouldn't dare. You don't know, Aung, but my brother has already regarded Aji as a god and even persuaded me to go north with him."

Pei Hu also calmed down a little and said in confusion: "I know Aji is brave and strong, but I haven't seen him for a long time, and he is so strong. Aung, but?"

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of Jishan. The Jishan bandits were the remnants of Niu Fu's defeat.

"This brat... I knew he wouldn't settle down in the mountains!"

Zhao Lian clenched his fists and dropped them to his knees, furious. "He and Qilang killed Li Le, so how can Han Xian and the others let this go?"

He didn't think it was difficult to kill Li Le and his men, but the difficult part was killing them all in one go.

After so many years, Zhao Lian is no longer the straightforward young man he used to be. He doesn't like such rough methods.

Is it difficult to give in temporarily, hold a banquet, and gather these people together?

If he had been more ruthless back then, he would not have ended up living under someone else's roof in Hedong. He might have already become an official and held a position in a county.

It is also speculated that Pei Xiu's mother came here to avoid disaster.

"Don't worry, old man. My brother told me that Qilang and his men are gathering righteous men from the surrounding areas and will soon be marching south to defend the emperor. Han Xian is in Nanxiang, how can he escape?"

Pei Hu advised, adding, "My brother has been persuaded by my cousin and will also head north to Jiangyi tomorrow morning."

Anyway, it is impossible for him to join the army. His younger brother Pei Bao is unmarried and has no burden, so it is a good opportunity for him to join the army and make a living.

(End of this chapter)