Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 185: Polite Rejection, Strict Law

"In the first year of Chuping, on the day of Yinchou in the twelfth month, the rebels in Dingxiang rebelled, and you led an army to suppress them... Now that Jin has been pacified, I have specially appointed you for your merits. Gaodu Hou Yu, for your merits, is granted the title of Marquis of Jinyang County in Taiyuan, and the governor of all the counties in Bingzhou. I have issued a seal, ribbon, and seal to grant food to 3,000 households and 5 million grains of rice per year."

Tian Jing, the envoy from Chang'an, read the imperial edict in a dignified manner. In order to win over Zhang Yu, Dong Zhuo gave him a very generous reward. Although the title of general remained unchanged, Dong Zhuo gave Zhang Yu the right to command all the counties in Bingzhou and conferred him the title of Marquis of Jinyang County.

As for the rewards for his subordinates, Dong Zhuo issued them one by one according to Zhang Yu's proposal. For example, Zhang Yang was appointed as the cavalry commander and concurrently the governor of Shangdang, Zhang Liao was appointed as the cavalry commander, and Zhong Yao and Li Song were recommended as the governors of Dingxiang and Taiyuan respectively.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your reward!"

Zhang Yu took the imperial edict with both hands and said with a smile, "Jinyang is remote, thank you for your efforts."

Tian Jing was Dong Zhuo's chief clerk. He knew that Dong Zhuo valued Zhang Yu, so he smiled and said, "Your Excellency has made great contributions in defeating the enemy and running around for the meritorious officials. How dare you say you are tired?"

As he spoke, Tian Jing saw that Zhang Yu had many civil and military officials around him, and whispered, "I wonder if we can get to a secluded place. The Prime Minister has entrusted me with a message, wishing to discuss important matters with you."

"please!"

Zhang Yu invited Tian Jing to the side hall and asked, "What secret message did the angel say?"

Tian Jing sorted out his thoughts and said with a smile: "Weiyang Junbai is the granddaughter of the Prime Minister. She is gentle and virtuous, and can be a good match. Now the Prime Minister wants to marry you, I wonder what you think?"

Zhang Yu was confused and said, "Yu is already married and has a one-year-old son. How can the prime minister marry her?"

Tian Jing coughed and said, "You are young and promising. How can Wang be as respected as Dong? If you want to marry, you can make Wang a concubine and marry Weiyang Jun as your wife."

"It's against etiquette!"

Zhang Yu was slightly annoyed and said, "Thank you, Mr. Dong, for your kindness, but I already have a wife. If I divorce her and take her as a concubine, and take the daughter of the nobleman as my new wife, I am afraid that I will be criticized by the world."

Seeing that Zhang Yu was unwilling, Tian Jing took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Zhang Yu, saying, "My Lord, I learned that the Prime Minister is willing to marry his granddaughter to you, so I am sending this letter to you."

Zhang Yu opened the letter and saw that Wang Hong was persuading him to marry Dong Bai. His brows frowned instantly.

While Zhang Yu was reading the letter, Tian Jing smiled and said, "The Prime Minister said that if you are willing to marry Lord Weiyang, Zhang and Dong will be one family, and you can choose any official position in the world."

Dong Zhuo's conditions made Zhang Yu want to laugh. Wars were raging everywhere in the world, and anyone with a discerning eye knew that having an official was not as good as having soldiers. Now, what good would it be for Zhang Yu to choose officials at will, except for getting a bunch of titles?

Zhang Yu remained calm and said, "It's a good intention of the Prime Minister, but I am actually afraid. In the past, Emperor Guangwu wanted to marry Duke of Huyang to Song Hong, but Song Hong said, 'Friends in poverty and humbleness should not be forgotten, and a wife who has shared the hardships of life should not be divorced', so Emperor Guangwu changed his mind."

"But Yu is not talented. Although I dare not compare myself to the ancients, I am still unwilling to change my wife for wealth and status. I know the king's intention, but it is not what my wife wants, so I can't obey your order!"

Although Zhang Yu looked normal, his tone was exceptionally firm. Tian Jing knew it would be difficult to persuade Zhang Yu after hearing what he said.

In order to avoid a falling out with Dong Zhuo, Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "There is an urgent matter in Guandong now, which concerns the safety of the country. I need to inform the prime minister to pay attention to it."

"What's the matter?" Tian Jing asked.

Zhang Yu said, "To be honest, the Prime Minister moved the capital to Chang'an, which made people in Guandong panic. In order to prevent the young ruler from having difficulty in governing the country, Yuan Shao and Han Fu were willing to welcome Grand Marshal Liu Gong as the emperor. A few days ago, Yuan Shao sent an envoy to contact me, but I firmly rejected it because I believe in orthodoxy. If the angel returns to the court, I hope he will report this to the Prime Minister."

After hearing what Zhang Yu said, Tian Jing's expression changed from unpleasant to solemn in an instant.

"Thank you very much for the report. I will return to Chang'an as soon as possible and report this matter to the Prime Minister." Tian Jing said.

"Thank you, angel!"

"Don't dare!"

Zhang Yu's stance of neither opposing Dong nor supporting Dong, as well as his friendly attitude towards Liu Yu, allowed him to take full advantage at the moment. By taking advantage of the information gap and reselling news to each other, he could prevent both sides from offending him.

Not long after Tian Jing left Jinyang, Hao Zhao escorted Zhang Yu's wives and concubines to Jinyang.

Inside the hall, Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao took inventory of the Taiyuan treasury.

"My lord, three hundred thousand dan may not be enough for the soldiers and officials of Shangdang to survive the winter?" Zhong Yao said as he handed over the official document about Shangdang's grain and fodder expenditures.

"How can it not be enough?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and said, "According to previous estimates, it should be enough to last until spring. Why is there a shortage now?"

“A lot of refugees have come into Hanoi.”

Zhong Yao said truthfully: "Since the news of your capture of two counties spread, and the peace in Shangdang was known to the people of Henei, tens of thousands of people have flocked to Shangdang in the next few months. Now the registered population of Shangdang has exceeded 40,000. There are many people in the county, but there is little food to eat in winter. The county needs a surge in relief food and grass, and it may need to transfer food and grass from Taiyuan."

Zhang Yu shook his head and smiled, saying: "Fortunately, we captured Taiyuan in October and used up all the money and grain in Taiyuan's treasury. If we had sat idle in Shangdang, you and I would have had a hard time surviving the winter!"

"Your Excellency is wise!" Zhong Yao praised.

"How much grain and grass is left in the Taiyuan treasury now?" Zhang Yu asked.

"About 400,000 stones!"

"Transfer 200,000 shi to Shangdang, and ask the officials of Shangdang County to treat the refugees in Henei well." Zhang Yu ordered, "If there are talented people, don't forget them, and recommend them to Jinyang!"

Zhong Yao said: "Shangdang is under the care of Bo Hou, and will definitely live up to your expectations." "Good!"

After conquering Jinyang, Zhang Yu moved the seat of government to Jinyang. The military affairs and military settlements of Shangdang were handled by the governor Zhang Yang, while the civil affairs were handled by the county magistrate Du Ji. This arrangement was to help Zhang Yang avoid the shortcoming of being incompetent in governance.

While Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao were talking, the attendant hurried inside and said happily, "Sir, Captain Hao has arrived in the city with your family."

"it is good!"

Although Zhang Yu wanted to welcome his wives and concubines, he had important matters to attend to, so he could only suppress his emotions and waved his hand, saying, "Take someone to help Madam carry her luggage."

"promise!"

After the attendants left, Zhong Yao asked cautiously, "I have just arrived in Jinyang. Will the Lord come out?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Let the family carry the luggage first, it won't interfere with you and me handling military and political affairs."

"Where did we talk about today?"

Zhong Yao said: "It was about allocating 200,000 shi of grain and grass to Shangdang, and recommending wise men from Henei."

"Correct!"

Zhang Yu tapped the table with his fingers and said, "Yuan Chang, it has been two months since we took over Taiyuan. All the counties have submitted their surrender. I wonder how we will govern Taiyuan next year?"

Zhong Yao stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then said, "The Han Dynasty ruled by lenient laws, so officials were ordered to enforce the law, and thieves were allowed to run rampant. The prefectures and counties knew about it but did not punish them, and the people suffered because of it. Now there are many noble families in Taiyuan, and they have encroached on the people's household registration. Although Taiyuan has a large population, there are few registered households."

"Therefore, in Yao's opinion, you should not rule Taiyuan with a loose law because of personal feelings; instead, you need to rule it with strict law, search the Taiyuan people's register, and deter the lawless and powerful."

Zhang Yu agreed with this and said, "Our dynasty has caused chaos due to its lenient policies. In this chaotic era, we need to use strict laws to eliminate the bad guys. Only when Jin is at peace can we dare to talk about the struggle for supremacy."

"The laws and civil affairs of Taiyuan County must be managed by Yuan Chang!"

"promise!"

Previously, Zhang Yu was worried that his crackdown on the powerful and the nobles would alienate them from him, but after forcing the Shangdang nobles to pay taxes and borrow grain, Zhang Yu had tasted the sweetness.

Moreover, Zhang Yu gradually understood the temperament of the big families. If you don't touch the bottom line of the big families, they will not turn against you. On the contrary, if you recruit the children of the big families and indulge the big families to do evil, they will ignore you and become more indulgent in the local area.

Only by recruiting the sons of the great families, letting them see your benevolence and work for you, and by disciplining the great families, making them fear you and not dare to use their power to do excessive things. The rise and fall of dynasties all verify the lesson that they rose because of strict laws and fell because of lax laws.

As for why strict laws can make a country prosperous?
The reason is not difficult to understand. Whether it is Shang Yang's law or the so-called law of Zhuge Liang's governance of Shu, the strict laws they enforce are aimed at the gentry, the powerful, and the knights.

Ordinary people are a naturally vulnerable group. Harsh laws cannot hit them, but instead protect them from being harmed by evil forces.

Of course, if the law is so harsh that it harms the people, then this law is an evil law, not a strict law among the good laws.

Previously, Zhang Yu made a rule for the Xianzhen Camp that those who retreated would be killed and their entire family would be confiscated and enslaved. Many people thought it was too harsh and that the family members should not be punished. However, the facts proved that it was precisely because of the harsh law that the soldiers of the Xianzhen Camp only knew how to advance and not retreat, and they achieved great merits.

After chatting about a lot of things, Zhong Yao finally took his leave.

After parting with Zhong Yao, Zhang Yu hurried to the mansion to meet his family members whom he had not seen for many years.

Perhaps wanting to see his family sooner, Zhang Yu walked quickly and bumped into a child wandering around at the corner.

"Wow~"

The child stumbled and fell to the ground. He looked up at the man who looked both familiar and unfamiliar, and suddenly froze.

Zhang Yu stretched out his arms, held the little boy, who was staring at him with his big black eyes, in his arms, and smiled gently.

Zhang Yu raised his head, looked at Wang Ji who was about to help the child, and said, "Thank you for your hard work!"

"Husband!"

Wang Ji was stunned for a moment, then suddenly showed a look of joy. Although they had not seen each other for several years, Wang Ji still recognized the face that was so familiar to him.

"I thought you didn't want to see me?"

There was some anger in Wang Ji's voice, but there was also some grievance hidden in it. Over the years, he had been alone in the frontier, taking on the responsibility of raising children. Now that he had finally gone south, he thought his sweetheart would come to meet him, but unexpectedly, there was still no sign. How could Wang Ji not feel resentful?
Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I miss you day and night, how can I say I don't miss you?"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu lifted up the little boy in his arms and laughed, "The foundation I have established will be passed on to this child. And my wife will rule the world with me in the future!"

"Ha ha!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's boast, Wang Ji rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are just starting to make progress, and you are talking nonsense like this. If the world knew about this, wouldn't they laugh at you?"

Zhang Yu held the child in one hand and held Wang Ji's hand in the other, and said with a smile: "From now on, Madam, you will need to supervise me!"

"Just don't find me annoying!"

(End of this chapter)