Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 281 Political Taboos, Take Yan as a Lesson

Anyi, the residence of the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Inside the palace, Zhong Yao was writing on a towel, his strokes full of calligraphy rhythm. On the table was a pile of documents, most of which were reports on the drought from the two states and counties.

"Taiyuan and Shangdang are less affected by drought, Henei is plagued by locusts, and Guanzhong and Sanfu are all affected by drought and locusts!"

Zhong Yao muttered the content, integrated the situation of each county in his mind, and copied it into the document for subsequent in-depth analysis.

"Ok?"

"Wudu County was not affected!"

Zhong Yao nodded, with a look of relief on his face.

Due to the rebellion of the Longxi rebels and the fact that there were many Qiang and Di tribes in Wudu County, although it was under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, the governance was not good. Since last year, when Zhang Yu sent You Yin and Man Chong to Wudu County to take office, the situation in the county has changed.

In particular, Man Chong was in charge of military affairs in Wudu County. With his two thousand soldiers, he defeated more than twenty Hao generals and Hu tribes. He also lured more than ten leaders who had not surrendered to a banquet, and killed them one by one by smashing cups as a signal.

Wudu County was peaceful for a while, and after Man Chong's campaigns in all directions, he gained more than 20,000 households, enriching the population of Wudu County. Because of Man Chong's achievements, Zhang Yu promoted Man Chong to General of the Central Army, and granted him the title of Pinglong Army, with a total of 5,000 soldiers. He was allowed to recruit soldiers on his own and to set up military settlements on the spot to be self-sufficient.

Now, due to the obstruction of the Qinling Mountains, locusts have difficulty moving southward to harass. And although the rain in the county has gradually decreased, the water situation is normal. It is even said that this year's agricultural harvest is very good, and grain and grass can be transported back to Guanzhong.

Seeing Zhong Yao talking about Wudu, Du Ji said, "Guanzhong has suffered from drought and locusts, but Wudu has had normal rains. We can now transfer grain from Longnan to Guanzhong. If we let refugees from Guanzhong carry grain to Longnan, the government can sell it when it arrives in Guanzhong. This way, we can make money."

Zhong Yao nodded and said, "What the Marquis said makes sense. We should order the counties with grain to supply the counties without grain. When autumn comes, mulberries will grow again, and there will be no worries about famine!"

Then Zhong Yao asked, "What is the current military situation in Shangdang and Henei? When will you return to Jin?"

Cui Yan cupped his hands and said, "Yuan Shao led his army to invade Shangdang from Fukou Pass, and General Hao led his troops to guard Huguan Pass. There is more than a year's worth of food stored inside the pass, which is enough to hold off Yuan Shao's troops."

"As for the military situation in Henei, Yuan Shao sent Chunyu Qiong and Zhang He to attack. Their troops are few and they are part of Jizhou's detachment. General Zhang has already led his troops to defend the city. Your Excellency sent someone to tell me that if the situation in Henei is critical, you can dispatch Shi Yi to lead his troops eastward to Henei. You can even dispatch Cheng Pu to Guanzhong to suppress Henei."

"But not only that, your Excellency has ordered General Li to return to Jin as soon as possible for maneuver!"

Du Ji felt relieved and said, "Although you have gone on a long expedition to Youzhou, you have left strong troops in Bingzhou and Yongzhou. Now Yuan Shao has invaded our border in order to get you to return to Jin. So when you see our reinforcements arriving one after another, you will retreat!"

"You and Yao have similar ideas!"

Zhong Yao put his pen on the shelf and said, "Although Yuan Shao has taken control of Ji and Qing provinces, it is only a rough settlement. Moreover, Hebei has been suffering from drought for several months, and now it is almost autumn and winter. Yuan Shao will not be able to hold out for long!"

Du Ji smiled and said, "Your Excellency has defeated Gongsun in Youzhou, and Lu Bu has captured Cao Cao in Yanzhou. When your Excellency returns to rest and pacify Guanxi, you can march eastward to Hebei and fight Yuan Shao to the death. If Hebei can be pacified by then, your Excellency will control half of the world."

"Ok!"

Zhang Yu's success in conquering Youzhou not only suppressed Yuan Shao strategically, but also made the officials in the government more convinced of Zhang Yu. After all, a leader's promise can only fool people for a while. If you really want people to continue to serve you, the key is to win battles, occupy more territories, and share more cakes with your subordinates.

While Du Ji and Zhong Yao were chatting, the messenger stepped into the hall, handed over the letter, and said, "Report to the military advisor, Xu Ying, the official in charge of Fengyi, sent his servant to report the matter concerning the prince of Zuo Fengyi."

"Oh?"

Zhong Yao reached out to take it, opened the ink pad and looked at it. When he saw the contents of the letter, he couldn't help but frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Du Ji asked, "But did the prince violate the law?"

Zhong Yao did not lie to Du Ji. He handed the letter to Du Ji, stroked his beard and said in deep thought, "If it was just a violation of the law, I could tolerate it. But Wang Gong promised Kong Rong privately that he would not only provide Fengyi with grain for the court, but also ask Wang Henei to provide grain for the capital."

After Du Ji read the contents of the letter, he put it down and said, "Your Majesty has ordered that grain cannot be sold out of the country. Now the prince wants to supply grain privately, which may violate the order. However, the court is the king, and now the court is asking for grain, and our army cannot refuse to give it."

Zhong Yao exhaled and said, "This is not a problem of food supply, but..."

Although Zhong Yao did not finish his words, Du Ji understood. Wang Hong's private payment of grain to the court had violated the political taboo within Zhang Yu's group, namely the issue of political stance.

As long as Wang Hong did not cause the wrath of heaven or people, there would generally be no problem. But now, without the approval of Zhang Yu and the Chariot and Cavalry Bureau, he privately supplied grain to the court and interfered in the political affairs of Henei, which was already a political taboo.

"How to solve this problem?" Du Ji asked back.

Zhong Yao frowned and said nothing. Wang Hong's background and identity were too special, so it was difficult for him to show up.

However, if he did not come forward to stop it, once Zhang Yu knew about it, he would never be able to gain Zhang Yu's trust in the future. But if he came forward to stop it, he might not only offend Wang Hong, but also annoy his wife. "I wonder what Ji Gui thinks?" Zhong Yao suddenly asked.

Cui Yan was a candid person. He said, "Although the world is in chaos, the Han Dynasty still exists. The court is now short of food, and Wang Fengyi's supply of food to the emperor is in accordance with the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. However, Fengyi belongs to Yongzhou and is under the jurisdiction of the prince, so it should follow the prince's orders. Now the conflict of orders is a conflict between the Shangshutai and the Chariot and Cavalry Bureau, so Wang Fengyi cannot disobey the order."

"So in Yan's opinion, it would be a good idea to send someone to report to the Lord immediately, and then temporarily withhold the grain in Fengyi and wait for the Lord's order."

"good!"

"Let me think it over, you can all leave first!" Zhong Yao thought for a while, waved his hand and asked everyone around him to leave, and said.

"promise!"

After the attendants left, Zhong Yao asked Du Ji alone, saying, "I cannot ignore the prince's matter. I think we can ask Zhang Zhengxi to block Tongguan on the pretext of preventing Hongnong bandits and prohibiting the grain from leaving Guanxi."

"Hongnong bandits?"

Du Ji said doubtfully, "As far as I know, there are no thieves in Hongnong. It is just that the court sent Zhu Jun to lead troops to eat in Hongnong. Are you suspicious of Zhu Jun?"

"It's not that I doubt Zhu Jun, but Zhu Jun is the recorder of Shangshu affairs, a respected minister. Now he leads troops to Hongnong for no reason, and the court posthumously named him Prince Shi. Considering all these things, it is inevitable that I am suspicious!"

Zhong Yao paced with his hands behind his back and said, "In the past, you defeated Li Jue and followed the example of Ji Zhou's eastward migration, asking to divide Guanzhong into Yong Zhou, and the emperor had no choice but to agree. Now you are far away in Youzhou, Yuan Shao sent troops to Shangdang, and Zhu Jun stationed troops in Shaanxi for no reason, which inevitably makes people suspicious!"

Du Ji thought about it and said, "Your Excellency has been instrumental in supporting the court. How could the court turn against you?"

Zhong Yao stroked his beard with his hand, his eyes deep, and said: "Bo Hou is well-read, do you know the story of Zhao Xiang's plot to replace him?"

"Zhao Xiang is plotting to succeed him?"

Du Ji said: "Ji has heard that in order to annex the State of Dai, Zhao Xiangzi married his elder sister to the King of Dai as a gesture of goodwill. Then when the King of Dai was unprepared, Zhao Xiangzi invited the King of Dai to a banquet, during which he plotted to murder the King of Dai, and then annexed the State of Dai."

Zhong Yao stopped and looked at Du Ji, saying: "Even relatives can harm each other, let alone you and the Han Dynasty?"

"Your Excellency serves the Han royal family with courtesy, so the Han royal family is inevitably arrogant and wants to deceive your Excellency."

Du Ji remained silent. As Zhong Yao said, Zhang Yu served the Han Dynasty with kindness and was unwilling to do the things that Dong Zhuo and Li Jue did. Therefore, the Han Dynasty could not help thinking that Zhang Yu was easy to bully. In addition, the court was not relieved of the Guanzhong issue. In order to expand the capital, the court might really intend to take back Guanzhong.

"Although this is just my guess, we must be on guard against others. Cao Cao lost Yanzhou just now." Zhong Yao said, "Besides, you have entrusted the affairs of Bing and Yong to you and me, so we must be well prepared!"

Cao Cao, as a powerful lord in Henan, first defeated Yuan Shu and then captured Tao Qian, and was very powerful for a while. However, just because his subordinates rebelled and led Lu Bu into Yanzhou, his ruling order collapsed, which was enough to make all the lords worried, and it was inevitable that there would be people like Chen Gong under his command. Therefore, when the calm Zhong Yao saw Zhu Jun suddenly led his troops to Guanzhong, he had to be suspicious!

"The prince is the duke, the father-in-law, and although he supplies grain to the court privately, he should not betray it!" Du Ji said.

“Maybe!”

Zhong Yao said: "So just in case, we can ask Zhang Zhengxi to stop Fengyi from supplying grain to the court and seal off Tongguan to prevent the court from harboring evil intentions!"

"I have a plan that may be able to test the court's intentions!" Du Ji said with a smile.

"Please speak!"

"You can let Shi Yi lead his troops to station at Fengling Ferry in the south to block the Xiao Road in southern Shaanxi. If the court intends to seize Guanzhong, it will be worried that Shi Yi will cut off the Xiao Road, and Zhu Jun will doubt himself and will lead his troops to retreat; if the court goes to Hongnong for food due to food shortage, Zhu Jun will have a clear conscience and will not worry about Shi Yi's troops." Du Ji said.

"good!"

Zhong Yao showed a delighted look on his face and said, "The Xiao Road is narrow, and Fengling Ferry is in the north. The imperial court would never dare to cross Shiyi and advance westward, so if we station troops at the ferry, we can make the imperial court's troops suspicious. Bohou's plan is feasible!"

It has been said before that Hedong poses a huge threat to the Yao Road, such as the Battle of Yao where Qin was defeated by Jin. If we station troops at Fenglingdu now, Zhu Jun in Shaanxi will not dare to act rashly. If Zhu Jun has something to hide, he may station troops far away from Tongguan.

Du Ji pondered for a moment and asked, "Shiyi stationed troops at Fenglingdu to test Zhu Jun's heart. However, the military advisor asked Zhang Zhengxi to block Tongguan and prevent Fengyi from supplying food and grass to the east. I wonder if Zhang Zhengxi dares to conflict with the prince?"

Zhong Yao said: "Although Zhang Liao and you are not of the same clan, their relationship is comparable to that of a clan. The prince is your relative by marriage, the elder of all officials, and is both close and noble. Now that we do not know your intention, we cannot act recklessly. Therefore, you should supervise your relatives by marriage, and now that Zhang Liao cannot stop you, no one in Guanzhong can control you."

"Besides, Zhang Feng, the commander of Tongguan, is of the same clan as you. He is stationed in Tongguan to defend against bandits from the east. Now that Zhang Liao and Zhang Feng are here to stop us, even the princes and nobles will not dare to act rashly."

Zhong Yao was only a few years younger than Wang Hong. Because of his less prominent family background, he had spent many years in the prefectures and counties, and had long since developed the political skills of using the power of others to defeat them. Now that he had offended Wang Hong, he neither wanted to do anything nor to show up, so it was more appropriate to let Zhang Liao take action.

(End of this chapter)