Tiger Guards

Chapter 81 Military Priority
"Your Majesty, I am eighteen years old and my parents are healthy."

Zhao Ji answered briefly in a clear voice, restrained his emotions without showing any self-confidence or humility, and his tone was natural.

Liu Xie asked again, "How many brothers do you have in your family?"

"Your Majesty, I have two older brothers and one older sister, all of whom are married. I also have seven younger brothers and sisters."

Liu Xie asked curiously, "I heard your nickname is Aji. Why is that?"

"When I was young, my family was poor and I was alone and weak. To avoid being looked down upon by the neighbors, my sister pretended to be a boy and gave herself the nickname Ah Shu to confuse the neighbors."

Zhao Ji answered calmly, and Liu Xie asked again, "Are you engaged?"

"Your Majesty, my family is poor, and I have seen the White Wave bandits passing through our borders, leaving families everywhere devastated, so I have no such intention."

"That's not right. Now that the traitorous ministers of Baibo have been brought to justice, and the traitorous clan of Hedong has suffered a great loss, I think you should get married soon."

Liu Xie glanced at the gradually darkening doorway and said with a smile, "Pacifying the empire is no easy task. Your clan is loyal and valiant, so you must not seek comfort. If you have no suitable match, wait for Lord Yuanming to enter the court, and I and Lord Yuanming will arrange a marriage for you."

Yang Qi was startled when he heard this and turned to look at the emperor. The young emperor was smiling as usual and looked very expectant.

Zhao Ji twisted his waist, turned sideways, and bowed to Liu Xie. "Your Majesty, I and my fellow Tiger Guards have sworn an oath that we will not marry until we drive out the Xiongnu. This oath was made less than seven days ago. How can I break it so easily?"

Liu Xie smiled and asked, "How do you explain the matter of the Right Wise King going to Bei?"

"It's nothing more than using barbarians to control barbarians, borrowing strength to defeat strength. Besides, the people in the border counties are few, and it's difficult to drive out all the Xiongnu. If we can organize them and govern them, and draw on their strength for the imperial court's use, why bother killing them?"

Zhao Ji had his own flexible strategies for dealing with the enemy. If Qubei had not seized Wei's granary and had defensive fortifications, he would not have let Qubei go easily.

What really saved Qubei and his men was the grain in the granary.

Although there will be opportunities to turn against each other and attack each other in the future, everyone only has a few such opportunities in his life. It is not worth it for the Right Wise King Qu Bei to ruin his reputation with these five hundred cavalrymen.

Another factor is that the father and son of the Wei and Fan families committed suicide out of fear of punishment, which made the situation in Hedong change a little too quickly. Keeping these Huns would make the situation more complicated, which would be beneficial to themselves.

It was precisely because of the pressure from these elite Hun cavalry that the imperial court placed particular reliance on the power of the Tiger Guards.

Otherwise, if the Huns rebelled, you would see that the clan bandits and the county soldiers would be in chaos.

The so-called county soldiers were still composed of the troops of powerful families, both large and small, but they were eating from the county's official granaries.

It was because these powerful troops ate the rice and millet in the government warehouse that Wang Yi was unable to recruit soldiers from his own county.

Wang Yi also had his own private army, but it was small and used for self-defense. If the county finances were sufficient, Wang Yi would use his private army as the backbone to expand the county army.

The county magistrate Wang Yi could not bypass the Hedong tyrants to command the county troops, otherwise how could he watch the emperor and court officials suffer?
It was also because Wang Yi was unable to take responsibility for his own actions that the court gave him a light sentence.

If Wang Yi was in power, his entire family would have been killed by now.

Seeing that Zhao Ji extended the topic to the campaign against the Huns, Liu Xie skipped the topic of marriage. He had an instinctive enthusiasm for things like arranged marriages that affected other people's destinies.

The queen was from Langya, and Lord Zhao was also from Langya. Choosing a girl of appropriate age from the Fu family for engagement must have been a good match.

With Lord Zhao around, Zhao Ji had no say in the matter of marriage.

Liu Xie had made up his mind and turned to the topic of the Xiongnu, asking, "How do you determine that Qubei will cooperate with the court?"

"Your Majesty, the Xiongnu are also in turmoil. After migrating into the Great Wall, the various tribes have become mixed and their affiliations have become even more chaotic. Conflicts over pastures are increasing day by day. According to Qubei, the death of the former Chanyu Yufuluo was related to internal disputes. He remained abroad and refused to return home to avoid danger."

"Well, the court will send envoys to investigate. If it's as Qubei said, it's indeed a rare opportunity for war."

Liu Xie looked at Zhao Ji's profile and saw that he was a little uncomfortable, so he said, "My dear, could you please take off your helmet?"

"I accept your order."

Zhao Ji raised his hand to untie the helmet strap, held up the golden helmet with both hands and took it off, revealing the red scarf wrapped around his head, and the smell of sweat and blood filled the air.

Liu Xie subconsciously tensed up, peering outside the door. The sky darkened, and only the occasional neighing of horses could be heard. No other unusual sounds were heard. Feeling slightly relieved, he curiously asked, "It's said that you're a rare archer. How did you learn this skill?"

"Your Majesty, there was a severe drought two years ago. My family was poor, so I had no choice but to go to Jishan to hunt. Game is scarce in Jishan, and if I had missed my target, I would have starved to death. Between life and death, my archery skills improved greatly."

Zhao Ji recalled with some emotion that it was not easy for people to survive in troubled times and natural disasters.

Liu Xie was eager to witness this kind of archery, but he felt that now was not the right time, so he asked, "My dear, your family is poor, why don't you want an official position in the court?"

During the questioning, his tone was a little heavy as if he was angry, but his eyes and eyebrows were smiling, as if he was pretending to be angry, making it difficult to understand what his mentality was.

Yang Qi and Liu Ai also listened attentively. Zhao Ji paused briefly before speaking, "Hedong has suffered repeated disasters. The people have no food reserves, and the government granaries are depleted. If I accept a high position and generous salary from the court, my fellow countrymen will be burdened with heavy taxes. If the court cares for the people and imposes lenient policies, then salaries will be difficult to support. Rather than suffer from the hardships of both my superiors and subordinates, it is better to humble myself and use the funds and grain to prioritize military affairs. With a strong military, my family, though poor, will enjoy peace and contentment, and will not be displaced or separated from loved ones."

Hearing this, Liu Xie calmed down and said, "You are truly a kind and benevolent person."

He turned to look at Yang Qi, his tone grave: "Lord Ziqi, the national treasury is insufficient, and the military should be prioritized. I want to set an example for all officials and ministers. I will have two meals a day, each consisting of only one dish of vegetable and a bowl of rice. All officials and ministers will have their salaries reduced to fund military expenses."

"His Majesty!"

Yang Qi, with a sorrowful expression, tried to persuade him, but Liu Xie stopped him with a wave of his hand, his voice trembling, "I would rather live a simple life than to strengthen my army and promote martial arts!"

"Your Majesty is holy."

Yang Qi knelt down at the small square table and bowed deeply, and Liu Ai followed suit.

After Yang Qi stood up, he glared at Zhao Ji opposite him. Zhao Ji remained expressionless and said nothing.

Seeing Yang Qi like this, Liu Xie advised, "Master Ziqi, there's no need to blame Zhao Qing. I've had this thought for a long time. Without a strong army, I and the others are at the mercy of the enemy, like cattle and horses."

"Yes, I will also supervise all places to ensure that the money and grain are properly used."

Yang Qi couldn't hold back his tears and wiped his eyes with his sleeves. All this money and grain was squeezed out from the emperor's teeth. The emperor was at the age of growing up and could not stand hunger the most.

He couldn't help but think of the days he spent with Emperor Ling. No matter how Emperor Ling imagined it, he could never have imagined that his beloved son would suffer such hardships.

Emperor Lingdi was also tolerant of him despite the harsh party imprisonment.

She felt even more sad, and could no longer control the grievances and resentment accumulated over the past six months. She burst into tears, directly drowning out Liu Ai's tears.

Yang Qi cried bitterly, and Liu Xie was also reminded of sad memories. He covered his face with his sleeves and wiped the corners of his eyes with a towel in the other hand.

Hearing the crying, Fu Shou peeked out from the side door of the dormitory and saw Zhao Ji's sitting back through the gauze curtain. He was sitting there straight, without any change at all.

Fu Shou shrank back again, leaned against the door frame, and listened carefully.

Yang Qi burst into tears, attracting several counselors and eunuchs to look over.

Seeing that the status of the emperor and his ministers was different in the "hall", he retreated back under the eaves.

Counselor Dong Zhao looked at the campfires lit outside the wall with a calm expression. The campfires tonight were particularly rich and vigorous, incomparable to any before.

His identity was somewhat complicated. He entered the court as a counselor when he followed Zhang Yang to welcome the emperor and escort grain. He had no experience in the five brutal battles in Guanzhong and Hongnong.

He was originally ordered by Yuan Shao to go to the court to deliver a memorial, but was intercepted by Zhang Yang on the way and forced to stay by his side to serve him.

Everyone in the court regarded him as Yuan Shao's envoy and representative.

Listening to the crying sounds in the hall and the previous discussions, Dong Zhao clenched his fists in his sleeves, still maintaining a calm expression.

Outside the courtyard, Qubei stood in front of a plum tree, plucking the leaves with his hands. From time to time, he would grab a bitter plum as big as a soybean, put it in his mouth, take a bite and squeeze out a little juice, which was bitter and slightly sour. He would spit out the plum, savoring the bitterness carefully, just as a pastime.

He didn't wait long. After Yang Qi calmed down, he sent Zhao Rui out to welcome Qu Bei into the palace.

(End of this chapter)