History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 444 Yuan Xiang's Downfall
The city of Qibo, which the Great Wei had just conquered, presented a different scene: the frozen ground and the pitted city walls were covered with bloodstains left by the war.

The captured Liang soldiers were digging and burying corpses under the supervision of Wei soldiers to prevent the spread of disease. The surviving people of Xiao Liang did not escape their suffering after the war ended. They had to work with the captured monks and Taoists to carry the civilians who had frozen or starved to the burial pits.

Each fire has claimed countless lives.

The mournful cries of the heavens questioned why it is always the common people who suffer!

Yuan Song led the Jingzhou troops to the capital. He had left the capital last year to take up the post of governor of Jingzhou. Upon receiving the news of the victory, he immediately came to meet with Zhao Zhi to arrange the transportation of grain and the relocation of prisoners.

As soon as the army entered the city, among the Liang people carrying corpses at the city gate, an old man suddenly shouted as if possessed: "The immortal spoke to me! What? Ah, I heard it clearly, the immortal said that the female general of the Wei army is the reincarnation of Empress Dowager Feng, and will soon seize..."

"Kill those people!" Yuan Song made a decisive decision, using his roar to suppress the old man's voice.

As he guessed, the possessed old man was clearly Liang's spy, and the five people beside him were also spies. Even though they were hit by arrows, they gritted their teeth and protected him in the middle so that the rumors could continue to spread.

Zhao Zhi's soldiers rushed over and began slashing with their swords. The most tragic victims were the other Liang civilians who couldn't escape in time; they were also cut down and killed.

Zhao Zhi led her military officers and commanders to welcome Yuan Song. Upon seeing more than twenty corpses at the city gate, she inquired about the cause and angrily ordered Diao Zheng: "Investigate! Anyone who deliberately killed prisoners will receive one hundred strokes of the military rod!"

The Wei soldiers, their blades bleeding, bowed their heads in fear.

The Liang captives around them felt less resentful. This world was too chaotic and cold. They didn't care about the officials of Liang or Wei. As long as they were fed and treated like human beings, they would be grateful.

Yuan Song dismounted and walked with Zhao Zhi and Diao Zheng through the city streets, saying, "Congratulations, General, on your meritorious service once again."

Zhao Zhi successively captured two counties in Yingzhou and approached the capital of Qixing Commandery, pushing the military boundary between the north and south forward once again. Any Wei person walking on the newly conquered land would feel proud and joyful.

Overjoyed, Yuan Song recalled the time when Zhao Zhi and her mother had just become officials. At that time, his elder brother Yuan Cheng had instructed him to take good care of Zhao Zhi and Wei Yao in the palace. Unexpectedly, in just two or three years, Zhao Zhi had led 20,000 elite troops and even killed Xiao Yan's trusted generals. Such military achievements meant that if he returned to the capital, he might be granted the opportunity to establish his own government and be promoted to a higher rank.

Zhao Zhi: "My meager achievements are not enough to repay the lives of the soldiers who died in this siege. My only regret is that I cannot fight Xiao Yan face to face."

If someone else had said this, Yuan Song would have thought they were just putting on an act. But Zhao Zhi was different. She said it because she genuinely looked down on Cao Jingzong's and others' achievements.

Yuan Song: "I also regret it. If I could have fought alongside the general and Xiao Yan, I would have lived a life without regrets! Speaking of Xiao Yan, as far as I know, he is skilled in intrigue and trickery. Just now, he used the trick of spreading rumors by Empress Dowager Wenming. It was vicious and despicable, just like Xiao Yan's methods."

Diao Zheng: "This plan is indeed vicious. It not only aims to sow discord between the Emperor and General Zhao, but also to cause trouble for Attendant-in-Ordinary Wei. If the rumors reach the capital, ministers in the court who disapprove of women leading troops will definitely use this as an opportunity to petition the emperor, leaving General Zhao in a dilemma of whether to continue to achieve merit or not. In addition, the spies just now caused so many casualties among the Liang people. If the general allows indiscriminate killing, it will surely quickly arouse the indignation of the entire city. When these refugees, harboring hatred, move to other prefectures and counties, they will spread rumors and slander General Zhao and Attendant-in-Ordinary Wei in those prefectures and counties."

Yuan Song recited: "If three people say there is a tiger in the market, will the king believe them? Alas."

Diao Zhengzhi, knowing Zhao Zhi didn't understand, explained in a low voice: "What Governor Yuan meant was that if one or two court officials said there was a tiger in the market, the king might not believe it, but if three people said it, the king would very likely believe it."

Zhao Zhi stared at the road ahead, silent. Her dislike of reading and writing didn't mean she was simple-minded; if she relied solely on bravery without careful thought, she would have perished long ago in the battles against the Rouran. In fact, after taking Erzhu Rong as her apprentice in Pingcheng, she had considered Xiurongchuan as a possible escape route, but she hadn't given it much thought at the time. It was only after her daughter married Yuan Mao and Erzhu Maizhen was transferred to the Sizhou government as a military advisor that she and her husband seriously considered the Qihu power behind Erzhu Rong.

So if the emperor is a benevolent ruler, she will be a loyal subject. If the emperor only uses her and plays some kind of treacherous imperial scheme, she will take her family to Xiurongchuan and seize the power of the Qihu tribe! Then she will stir up trouble in the important town of Yinshan, which the court despises!

Yuan Song and Diao Zheng assumed that Zhao Zhi was troubled by rumors. The former assured, "General, rest assured, I will restrain my men. Anyone who dares to spread rumors will be flogged to death according to military law!"

Two days later, the Liang people of Qibo County and some barbarian prisoners left with the Jingzhou army. Once the imperial court issued the documents to arrange the relocation of the prefectures and counties, they would all become subjects of the Great Wei.

After Yuan Song left, Zhao Zhi did not appear in or around the county town for half a month, which was normal. Whether the army would continue to attack the next county or prepare for defense against retaliation from the Xiao Liang army depended on the Wei emperor's decree. During the waiting period, Zhao Zhi and her subordinates made many plans, as they could not wait for the decree to be issued before considering their strategy.

However, the spies from Xiao Liang who were keeping an eye on Qibo City were also shrewd. Among the various messages they were sending out in the shadows, one was that Zhao Zhi was not in the Wei camp at all!
Spring breezes rise, spreading from south to north.

The reason why the Luoyang military command did not issue military orders for more than half a month was because a major event had occurred.

The high and mighty Prince Yuan Xiang of Beihai was summoned to the palace again for a reprimand because he was involved in a case of missing people in the twenty-first year of the Taihe era. This reprimand was different from the past. Not long after Yuan Xiang left the palace, the elite Imperial Guards surrounded several of his mansions in the inner city. Yuan Xiang's family members were all gathered in the mansion next to Hualin Garden, and no one was allowed to go out or send any messages.

Consort Gao, in a state of confusion, didn't even bother to put on her fake nose. She summoned all the women of some status in the household to her side to listen to her lecture.

"Especially at times like these, you must all be mindful of propriety. If I find any of you acting foolishly and talking nonsense about the King to the guards in the courtyard, don't blame me for enforcing the family rules!"

“Your Highness, things are different now. How many valuable items do you have? Give some to each of them.”

"You must understand that as long as the king is alive, you will enjoy wealth and honor in the future. If something happens to the king, not only you, but your parents and brothers will all be doomed! Once the king is punished, you will have nowhere to turn to help him! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Yuan Xiang's concubines dared not disobey, replying, "Understood."

Consort Gao, you deserve to lose your nose, what a vicious woman! This is both an attempt to get them to use their beauty to gather information from the guards in the courtyard, and an implication that if the guards catch them doing something wrong, they must commit suicide, or they will be beaten to death according to family law.

Poor Yuanxiang's wife did as instructed, distributing all her accumulated valuables, but this still displeased Consort Gao. All the other concubines were allowed to leave, but she was left behind.

"Liu, you seem quite composed. What? Isn't Xiang'er your husband?"

Liu Nian knelt down, bowed her head, and said, "This humble woman dares not."

Yuan Xiang's concubine, Shi'er, deliberately walked at the back. She only stood outside the threshold for a few breaths before she heard the Dowager Consort beating the Princess Consort inside.

Amidst screams, Shi'er was filled with hatred and anger. She strode back and knelt before Consort Gao.