Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 293: Selecting the virtuous without avoiding the enemy, setting an example for other officials

"Yu Yuan is in the northern border and doesn't know about the changes in Guanzhong. I'm sorry that my father-in-law has been wronged!"

Zhang Yu looked guilty and apologized to Wang Hong, saying, "I will immediately order my attendants to set off to Guanzhong to summon Lü Fan and order him to kowtow to my father-in-law and confess his guilt."

Today, Zhang Yu, as the mastermind behind the scenes, has a face full of guilt, but his heart is indifferent. It can be seen that Zhang Yu's acting skills have reached perfection.

Although Wang Hong had suspected Zhang Yu before, he saw that Zhang Yu did not look fake now. For the sake of his own face, he sighed and said, "There is a severe drought in Guanzhong, and the people have no food. I violated the prohibition order, which is really my fault!"

Wang Hong held Zhang Yu's hand and said, "Lü Ziheng enforces the law impartially. How can Ji'an blame the officials because of me? In the past, Emperor Taizu wanted to punish Dong Xuan, but Dong Xuan was stubborn and refused to yield. I think Ziheng is similar to Dong Xuan. If Ji'an wants to help the world, he must rely on strong men, right-hand men, and lackeys."

"If you blame Ziheng because of me, the civil and military officials in your army will turn against Ji'an. In my opinion, Ji'an should not treat Ziheng badly, but should promote him and make him respected by the civil and military officials in your army."

Does Wang Hong hate Lu Fan?
Needless to say, Wang Hong hated Lü Fan. Because Lü Fan forcibly took him to Chang'an and detained him, he lost face in front of everyone.

However, Wang Hong could not allow Zhang Yu to retaliate against Lu Fan. Instead, he asked Zhang Yu to treat Lu Fan well.

Why?

The reason is not difficult to understand. Wang Hong has a strong personality and attaches great importance to his reputation and fame among the people.

Now he asked Zhang Yu to retaliate against Lü Fan, even if he could vent his anger. But needless to say, his reputation as a narrow-minded bully would spread far and wide, and he would hardly be respected by scholars. Therefore, in order to save face and show his magnanimity, Wang Hong not only could not let Lü Fan apologize, but also wanted Zhang Yu to use Lü Fan.

Of course, it is also possible that Wang Hong was driven by his inner morality and said the above words.

Zhang Yu was deeply moved by Wang Hong's words and said, "The Emperor favored his relatives and allowed his slaves to do evil. Only a strong order could stop them. My father-in-law is a man of high moral character. I don't need a strong order to stop him for me."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu bowed and said with respect: "You are not only my teacher, but also the elder of all the ministers. I should promote your deeds to warn the officials of the prefecture."

A strong man means a person with a stiff neck, and refers to a person who is upright and refuses to accept evil.

At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Xuan was appointed as the magistrate of Luoyang County. Princess Huyang, Liu Xiu's elder sister, indulged her slaves in doing evil. Dong Xuan led people to intercept the car and not only denounced Princess Huyang's crimes, but also beheaded the slaves on the spot. Princess Huyang was very angry and went to the palace to complain to Liu Xiu.

In order to help his sister, Liu Xiu brought Dong Xuan into the palace and had eunuchs hold Dong Xuan's head down to force him to kowtow and apologize. Because Dong Xuan would rather die than obey, Liu Xiu had no choice but to let him go, and people called him a strong man.

Although Liu Xiu spared Dong Xuan, it did not mean that he appreciated him. Dong Xuan, who was 69 years old at the time, continued to serve as the magistrate of Luoyang after the Qiang Xiang incident. He served for five years and died at the age of 74.

Although Wang Hong's generosity is not as great as Dong Xuan's, he deserves praise because of his unique status. After all, it is normal to be punished for committing a crime, and one should not vent one's anger on the law enforcers. However, because of Wang Hong's special status, he did not take revenge, but acted out of appreciation, which changed the meaning and made people sigh.

When Wang Hong heard that Zhang Yu wanted to use his deeds to admonish officials, he was slightly happy in his heart, but he was humble and said: "I have little virtue and violated the prohibition order. How dare I set an example for you!"

"The father-in-law recommends the virtuous without avoiding his enemies, just like Qi Huangyang in ancient times. Why can't he be a role model for you gentlemen?" Zhang Yu said solemnly, "Besides, the father-in-law's virtues are noble, which proves that Yu values virtuous people rather than relatives."

"Hey!"

Wang Hong said with guilt: "Ji'an gave me the great county of Fengyi. If I cannot make Fengyi a great place, I will fail Ji'an's expectations."

The population of the three prefectures in Guanzhong decreases from west to east, with Fengyi County having the largest population, followed by Jingzhao Yin, and Fufeng County having the smallest population. Therefore, Zhang Yu's appointment of Wang Hong as Zuo Fengyi was not a bad treatment, but an important position. Wang Hong just felt that he was on the same level as others and was secretly dissatisfied with it.

"My father-in-law has made great contributions to the court and has been very kind to me. How can he say that he has failed to live up to the expectations of the world?"

Zhang Yu comforted him, saying, "Yuan Shao has committed crimes in Jizhou and occupied the emperor's prefectures and counties. I would like to submit a petition to the emperor, asking him to appoint my father-in-law as the governor of Jizhou and to join me in the expedition to Jizhou."

Seeing Zhang Yuyao respecting him as the governor of Jizhou, Wang Hong nodded and sighed, saying: "I am old and not as energetic as I used to be. I will follow Ji'an's arrangements."

While the father-in-law and son-in-law were chatting, a servant hurried into the hall and reported: "Master, the daughter has arrived."

When Zhang Yu turned around and looked back, he saw Wang Ji's graceful figure appear outside the hall.

"Shu Lan!" "Father, Ji An!"

Wang Ji smiled and bowed to Wang Hong and Zhang Yu, and asked, "What did father and Ji An talk about?"

Zhang Yu felt guilty for no reason and said, "I wanted to punish Ziheng for my father, but my father thought that Ziheng enforced the law impartially and was not afraid of the powerful, comparable to Dong Xuan, the strong governor, and advised me to promote Ziheng. I admire my father for promoting talents regardless of his relatives and enemies, so I want to follow your example and admonish the county officials, but my father feels guilty and is unwilling to accept it..."

Wang Ji's expression eased a lot, and he said, "But Lu Fan enforced the law harshly and detained father for many days. This was Lu Ziheng's fault. However, father was generous and did not take Lu Fan's fault into account. He even recommended him to the prefecture. If the officials knew what father did, they would surely guide them to do good. Now we may as well follow Ji An's idea."

"It will be good for the administration of officials!"

After being persuaded by the couple, Wang Hong agreed. After that, the three of them chatted about some family matters, and as it was getting dark, the couple said goodbye to Wang Hong.

In the car, the couple each had their own concerns and were silent for a while.

After a while, Wang Ji looked forward and asked first, "Father is proud of his status and sometimes disobeys orders. Did you know about this before?"

"Zhong Yao and Du Ji reported it before, and I have heard a little about it." Zhang Yu said.

"Lü Fan was sent by you to detain my father for many days. What he did was really excessive!" Wang Ji said, "But fortunately, my father values his reputation and is broad-minded. Otherwise, this matter would be difficult to handle!"

Zhang Yu glanced at Wang Ji and said, "I wanted to ask Lü Fan to correct the mistakes of the ministers, but unexpectedly Lü Fan used the alcohol ban to punish my father-in-law. I have sent someone to warn him!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu did not admit what he had done, Wang Ji sighed inwardly. As his bedmate for many years, how could Wang Ji not know Zhang Yu's character?
I just hope that this matter was not instructed by Zhang Yu, otherwise it would be really heartbreaking.

Now the matter has been resolved. For the sake of the relationship between husband and wife, Wang Ji chose to forget about it and said, "I was just worried that my father's reputation would be damaged and I would be depressed. Now my father can be known as a virtuous man!"

After a pause, Wang Ji looked at Zhang Yu and asked, "My husband's foundation is gradually expanding. Now Mu Mo is four years old and very smart. I wonder if he can be made the crown prince?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and said, "Mu Mo is young. If he dies young, it will hurt the hearts of the civil and military officials. It is better to wait a few more years!"

"When Mu Mo grows up to be eight years old, can he be made the crown prince?" Wang Ji asked.

"There's no rush for another five or six years!"

Zhang Yu reached out and held Wang Ji's hand, smiling and saying, "Let's wait and see what Mu Mo looks like when he grows up. If he is not virtuous, we can replace his son as the heir."

Wang Ji's face was slightly cold at first, but after hearing the subsequent content, his expression changed.

Touching Wang Ji's soft belly, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "In order to prevent the eldest son from being useless, Madam may have to work hard to give birth to another son for me!"

Wang Ji, who had not been favored by the emperor for a long time, felt a little wet between his thighs. He rolled his eyes at Zhang Yu and said, "Mu Mo is very smart, how can he be useless!"

"As for having a child, I'm afraid that's not my responsibility, but it depends on whether my husband has the courage to defeat Gongsun Zan."

The conversation between an old couple is more unrestrained, but not as reserved as that between couples in their first love.

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu straightened his chest and raised his head, smiling: "The rain and dew are evenly distributed, and everyone has a share!"

After being away for more than half a year, his wives and concubines at home probably missed him a lot. He was exhausted from marching thousands of miles, so it was time to relax for a few months and have some fun with his wife and children. In this winter, he discussed with everyone about the eastern expedition to Longyou and the migration of the Han Dynasty to the south.

Not to mention that Zhang Yu returned home, first brought his children to visit his father Zhang Ji, and then exchanged pleasantries with his wives and concubines.

(End of this chapter)