Chapter 20: The Five Tigers of the Northern Army

  It was supposed to end like this, but as I stood up to thank them, I caught a glimpse of Yuwen Shu, Pei Jin, and Wei Guangliang's faces, which didn't look too good. They understood the opportunity, but being young, they were too eager to seize it, which made the old emperor feel uncomfortable. As a result, he took advantage of the situation to strip me of my powers, much to my bewilderment. I could sense that as they left, their eyes flashed with a complex light that was hard to describe, but I didn't think it was anything good.

  This usually busy and dark Wei Tiao came over with a rare serious expression, whispering in my ear "Boss, they are the Northern Army's Five Tigers" (this is the result of my efforts, in formal settings, I should be addressed as General or Sir, but I think this term with Shanghai gangster flavor is more intimate, and I insisted on correcting them)

  I've gotten familiar with those new colleagues from the Feathered Forest Army, and I've heard them boast about their glorious days in Chang'an City. There's even rumors of the "Five Tigers of the Northern Army", not because they're exceptionally brave or have outstanding military achievements, but because they're a handful. As the top dogs in the Imperial Guard, they're already the de facto rulers of Chang'an City, looking down on other military systems. The officers in the Imperial Guard are notorious for their arrogance and lawlessness, thanks to their noble birth and hereditary status. These five individuals may not hold the highest positions, but with their impressive skills and influential family backgrounds, they've become the most feared figures among the Imperial Guard officers. I'm not too concerned about this, though. Although these people have been making some underhanded moves, it hasn't affected the bigger picture, and I don't feel like dealing with it. Since the old emperor has granted me temporary authority to make life-or-death decisions, it would be a waste not to use it. I believe they won't be foolish enough to cross me at this point. As for what might happen in this chaotic situation, anything is possible. If they want to stir up trouble, who knows? Since Wei Tuo is so concerned about this, and I'm not one to act unilaterally, I'll let him assign someone capable to keep an eye on things. Why did Wei Tuo suddenly bring this up? I suddenly remembered that he and those people should be from the same noble family background. He noticed my confusion and smiled, "I'm from the Southern Imperial Guard's Feathered Forest Army." The Northern and Southern Armies belong to different systems, so there must be some friction between them in the capital. Did they have a "colorful past"? I couldn't help but feel a spark of interest.

  He walked over, his expression unreadable. "You..." "Yes, sir." He didn't ask why, nor did he show any other emotions. After spending time together, he was no longer as cold and icy as before. Originally the commander of the elite cavalry of the Geshu Han Yuanshuai army, after the defeat at Tongguan where tens of thousands of soldiers were killed, only his unit remained unbroken and undefeated. They fought their way out of the pursuit and killing by the enemy army and the betrayal of their comrades, with a brutality that was difficult to describe. Only over a thousand cavalrymen survived, covered in blood and wounds, and encountered us at the Wei River. At first, we couldn't even see their flags or unit numbers and mistakenly attacked them as enemies. What I admired most about him was his taciturn nature and unconditional obedience towards me, despite being younger and less experienced than him. His unit of over a thousand cavalrymen followed Geshu Han to the Hexi, Longyou, Anxi, and Beiting borders, and were also my most trusted striking force. He seemed to still be resentful about Geshu Han's capture. It was also because I dared to clear his name and prove his innocence that he submitted to me.

  It wasn't until later that I realized I hadn't understood the historical details at the time and had done something very foolish. In fact, they had previously received news from General Wang Silie, who had escaped back, that Geshu Han was captured but not dead, and had shamefully surrendered to An Lushan and been appointed as a minister. They were worried about shaking the morale of the army, so they kept it secret. Although this doesn't rule out the possibility that it was an enemy strategy, my mistaken proposal gave the court a more acceptable and dignified solution, assuming he was dead and awarding him posthumously. At least in the future, to the greatest extent possible, it offset the negative impact of the news that General Geshu Han had defected, which would have affected the overall situation and the morale of the people and soldiers.

  I've lost count of how many days I've been in this world, everything feels like a dream, history seems to have changed a bit, but my life has to go on. I'm already used to the life without water, electricity and far from the internet. The strange phenomenon of my body being electrified has long since disappeared, but I can still vaguely feel that something has changed.

  Speaking of the Northern Army's Five Tigers, I suddenly thought of the matter of organizing the refugee camp a few days ago.

  At that time, I was patrolling among the refugees and the scene in front of me made me very unhappy. I had long known that this was not a very fair society (even the world I came from had many unsatisfactory places). There were too many unfair things in this world, and even if I wanted to die from exhaustion, I couldn't handle them all. But since I encountered it, I couldn't pretend I didn't see it.

  Someone was causing trouble among the refugees, and there were even soldiers on the periphery helping him spread rumors. As soon as we appeared, someone came forward to block us, "Brothers are interrogating a few spies, it's none of your business." I took a glance at the so-called spies lying on the ground, including men, women, old and young, with bruised faces and bloodstains on their mouths. The surrounding refugees dared not speak out in anger, really taking us for fools. Would the rebel army send such weak and feeble people to spy? It's a huge joke. Before he finished speaking, at my signal, he was beaten unconscious by the guards beside me and dragged away.

  Then I saw beside the bonfire, a young man in fancy clothes with a big head and ears holding a piece of bread, punching and kicking several children who were obviously kids, forcing them to do all sorts of humiliating things. Several men held down a woman's hands and feet, making ripping sounds, and shouting "You cheap thing, dare to bite me" "I'm doing you a favor by entertaining myself with you". There were also several military officers laughing on the side, saying "Linghu, your taste is too bad, finding such a saltless mother..." I felt my blood rushing to my head, and without making a sound, I flew forward and kicked him into the field, "Ah, that blind dog thing...". The man cursed and rolled around on the ground several times before getting up and leaving with his companions.

  Others reflected that it wasn't slow, and they immediately surrounded me. Since I wasn't wearing armor, they obviously didn't recognize my identity, only thinking that I was a patrol soldier from that unit. However, seeing that we had many people, they didn't dare to be rude. "Which department are you brothers from? If you give us some face, we'll pretend we didn't see anything and the Tiger Prestige Camp will owe you one." This sentence was both soft and hard, with a hidden threat that you shouldn't try to resist if you're not capable of it. (The Tiger Prestige Camp is one of the few old-brand hereditary camps in the Imperial Guard that have been granted royal titles due to their outstanding battle achievements, and they are also among the top in terms of combat strength in the Northern Army.)

  Unfortunately, I don't buy into their nonsense. The fire is getting bigger now. Originally, I wanted to take it back and handle it internally, but since they're being so arrogant, there's no choice but to lay it all out now. I'm not a person who indulges in justice, but this concerns the prestige of my military leadership. "Seize them!" "Take down everyone!" The other people were thrown into chaos. "Who dares to move?" A group of soldiers pounced like wolves and beat those officers to the ground with punches and kicks.

  These people apparently had some weight, and the surrounding ones turned back to shout loudly "Brothers, someone is looking for trouble," and a large number of soldiers rushed over from other places, all drawing their knives and rushing over to try to grab them back. The commotion also startled the officer on duty tonight, who brought his troops over.

  At this time, the officer in charge suddenly recognized me and I burst out laughing. They were startled and their weapons were already drawn, which gave me a good reason. "General" these days, those who haven't personally experienced it should have heard of my methods, all changed color. The leader of those people also rushed over, it was that Longbiao Wei Pei Wang.

  He climbed up, not expecting anyone to dare to lay hands on him, his face turned green with rage, spitting and shouting "Woo, my father is the Prime Minister, you blind fool, looking for death..." I kicked him in the fat face, pinning him to the ground. My smile was a bit ferocious, "You're going to die, your clothes, food, everything comes from the blood and sweat of the common people. Every soldier is a son born and raised by the common people. Without their taxes, labor, and military service, who would feed you? And yet you still dare to bully the common people?" A burst of punches, feeling much better, I dragged this swollen pig head away, leaving them stunned and speechless.

  This dead fat guy is really the son of a certain Prime Minister, single surname Chong. After being explained by familiar soldiers, it turned out that his old man was one of the nine prime ministers of Kaiyuan, Linghu Song. Although not as famous as Yao Chong and Song Jing, he was also a capable minister during his tenure. After death, he was posthumously honored as Prime Minister. This young son born in his later years gives me a sense of absurdity. However, it is clear that this Linghu Chong's character and personality are worlds apart from those of the great hero in Mr. Jin Yong's novels. "What kind of Prime Minister's son, even if the King of Heaven himself told me to acknowledge him, I'd add ten more strokes, not hitting this loser would make his two cheeks bloom, I wonder why flowers are so red." I ordered as such.

  As for the disposal of those officers, it's a bit troublesome. Many people have spoken out for them, but after weighing the pros and cons, I rejected them. If they can't be ordered to obey, and military discipline is not strict, how can we govern the army in the future?

  The charges I punished them with were mainly "dereliction of duty", "unauthorized leave", "disobedience" and "insubordination", not something like molesting women or oppressing the common people. Because at that time, I had a mind to spare, some of these people had backgrounds, if they were really punished according to these charges, it was unlikely that they would be severely punished. Now, just by pointing their guns at their superiors, they could be executed on the spot according to military law. They refused to surrender and desperately argued back, but unfortunately, after going through these things, I made up my mind to deal with them on the spot. Some people resisted, and some tried to rush out to call for help, but were turned into hedgehogs by a volley of shots from the shooting squad I had called over.

  They clearly didn't expect that the usually careless me had such a strong side. Pei Shu's face changed again and again, seeing things take a drastic turn. In the end, he tore his face off and pulled out something about how they were originally under General Zuo Longwu's command, and even if they were to be punished, it would require General Zuo Longwu Chen Xuanyu's decision. This was overstepping my authority, and I was using General Zuo Longwu Chen Xuanyu to pressure me. I simply pulled out a yellow silk scroll and slapped it on his face. He felt something was off and his expression changed greatly, the other people's faces also turned pale. "For officials of the fourth rank and below, those who disobey orders will be dealt with accordingly" Next to me was a large red seal "Tian Shou Qi Chang", this was something I had obtained from the old emperor after the military coup, originally intended as proof for when some people didn't listen to commands, but it hadn't been used until now.

  Then, when I was on fire at the time, I asked him to personally enforce military law. If he had any private feelings and hit lightly, let him also enforce military law. In this way, his face as the main officer of Huwei Camp, Longjinwei, was completely lost, and his prestige was swept away. This grudge was thus formed. Seeing Yuwen Shu's angry eyes, I thought to myself whether I should do something about it.

  I only found out later that he wasn't usually so easy to deal with, and the reason he lost his composure was because his incompetent younger brother was also involved, which made him worried and flustered, losing the upper hand everywhere, and giving me the opportunity to take advantage of him.