Tiger Guards

Chapter 113 Dian Mang Gongqing
"Just now Xu Gongming dreamt that the sun entered his arms and asked me to interpret his dream."

Wei Ji followed Zhao Ji for a walk and told stories casually.

When a big sun comes into your arms, many things don’t need to be explained in detail.

Zhao Ji held the hilt of the sword at his waist with his left hand, his right hand tucked behind his back under his cloak. He smiled when he heard this, "He really had a good dream. The moon was so bright last night, it was hard to fall asleep because of the excitement. He was able to fall asleep right away, which means he was really tired."

Zhao Ji teased Xu Huang about his loyalty and stopped smiling as he approached the stable area.

The stable was covered with hay, and five people, including former Minister of the Interior Yang Qi, Grand Commandant Yang Biao, Minister of Works Zhang Xi, Minister of the Interior Zhao Wen, and Minister of Defense Zhou Zhong, were sitting on the hay.

Seeing that these five old men were so strong-willed, they didn't even look at him.

Zhao Ji turned to look at the officer in charge beside him and said, "If you let them go, will they kill my entire family first or you first to vent their hatred when they gain power in the future?"

This military officer had a lucrative job in charge of the horses in the camp, but now he was pale and collapsed to the ground in fear.

"Those who hold the rank of Three Dukes in the imperial court serve the country; their strength and talent are insufficient, and they harm the country and its people. However, we cannot deny that they have a good heart to serve their country."

Zhao Ji spoke casually, turning to look at Wei Ji. "Facts have proven that they are currently unfit to perform the duties of the Three Dukes. Baili Xi toiled and sweated in the construction of a building, and Tao Zhugong made a fortune by mingling in the busy streets and doing business. How can our Han nobles be so overambitious and incompetent as to not fulfill their duties? I ask you to clean the stables, to exercise your muscles and sharpen your will. Everyone should do their best and serve the country."

Wei Ji, with a wound on his face, thought seriously: "What the Minister said is very true. One should keep learning throughout life."

"Well, jade cannot be made into a useful object without being polished. Their parents are reluctant to let them suffer, so they have no choice but for me, an outsider, to take action."

Zhao Ji's face was expressionless. "Bo Ju has selected someone to come here and supervise the nobles in cleaning the stables."

Zhou Zhong grabbed a hidden stone and threw it at Zhao Ji. Suddenly, the stone was knocked away by a flash of sword light, and Zhao Ji calmly sheathed his sword.

Zhou Zhong simply stood up and cursed, "You little scoundrel, why do you humiliate me, a noble of the state, like this?"

"How can this be considered humiliating?"

Zhao Ji asked in response, "You hold the rank of minister, but despite your talent, you are unable to resolve difficulties and bring peace to the people, and your character is too weak to step down and make way for a virtuous person. Isn't this the greatest shame? You are stealing high positions without talent or virtue. You are bringing shame upon yourselves!"

A gust of wind blew, and Zhao Ji took a few steps back, choking on the air. He raised his hand and waved it in front of his nose. "If you, the nobles, wish to return to the imperial court, please start by cleaning the stables. First, prove your ability to clean the stables, then sweep the streets, then cultivate the fields, and graze the cattle and horses. Then, gradually ascend the ladder until you return to the imperial court. Don't you know that if you can't even clean one stable, how can you sweep the world?"

At this, Yang Qi jumped up in anger: "You brat! Why do you humiliate me like this!"

Everyone present understood that Zhao Ji was using an allusion in reverse. When the famous scholar leader Chen Fan was young, he lived separately and his courtyard was dirty and messy.

His father, brother and famous people from the same county came and criticized Chen Fan for not cleaning the house to receive the guests. Chen Fan’s answer was, "A real man should clean up the world, why should he worry about just one room?" The people from the same county were surprised by his ambition and were very surprised. From then on, he became famous.

Zhao Ji was unfamiliar with Chen Fan's story, but he remained unperturbed. "The sages taught us that without taking small steps, how can one reach a thousand miles? Cultivating oneself, managing one's family, governing one's country, and pacifying the world—everything in the world is accomplished step by step, from small to large. Only you are not human beings, born to be nobles and masters of state. Your parents should be ashamed. Why didn't they take it one step at a time and raise you to be the supreme rulers of the world?"

"what!!!!"

Yang Qi grabbed a handful of grass and threw it towards Zhao Ji. In a frenzy, he squatted down and grabbed the grass with both hands and threw it towards Zhao Ji again. The grass fell to the ground before it reached the outside of the stable.

Zhang Xi and Zhao Wen are relatively stable in their emotions, and their pressure is not as high as Yang Qi's.

Outside the stable, Wei Ji felt refreshed.

Yang Biao stood up and supported Yang Qi, suppressing his anger and looking at Zhao Ji: "Minister Zhao came here on purpose, is it to humiliate us?"

"My time is precious. Every extra curse I utter here is a dereliction of duty and a crime against the country."

Zhao Ji suppressed his last smile. "I'm not joking. Clean the stables first. Once you've cleaned them up within five days, I'll assign you to sweep the streets. Experience the suffering of the people. Only then can you serve them wholeheartedly after returning to government. If civil affairs are well managed, state affairs will naturally be at peace. If the country is stable, why worry about military affairs?"

After a pause, Zhao Ji continued, "If you are dissatisfied, horse manure juice is poisonous and you can swallow it to commit suicide."

After saying this, Zhao Ji bowed, took three steps back, and then turned around and strode away.

Wei Ji was not wearing a helmet. He was worried that these officials might be hiding stones, so he walked backwards, taking more than ten steps before turning around.

Only after seeing them walk away and the military officer in charge of the stables also leave did Yang Qi calm down.

The thought of having to sweep the streets after cleaning the stables made me feel like life was meaningless.

Of course, you can also refuse to clean the stable, but you will most likely be deprived of food.

Suicide by swallowing horse manure?

After suffering so much, who would be willing to die easily?
I really want to die. There are so many opportunities for the emperor to have his name recorded in history along the way he moved east.

Outside, Zhao Ji mounted his horse and said to Wei Ji, "It seems Pei Mao is still trying to conceal and protect me. He has hidden my 'Petition to Punish the Han Traitors'. Bo Ju, make four copies. Hang one at the north gate and send the other two copies to Wenxi and Jiexian. I want to see how Jiexian reacts."

"Another order was issued for the entire army to recite it thoroughly, with selections made daily to come to the stables morning and evening to chant it. This was to inspire the nobles, to make them feel ashamed and then to be brave."

"Here."

Wei Ji agreed readily. The Wei family was already badly weakened. If they did not follow Zhao Ji, the court would sooner or later kill them all after the ministers took control.

The Wei family has been ruined. Only by pulling down other powerful people in the county from their clouds can everyone have a fair starting point.

Therefore, he hoped that several prominent families in the county would be braver and more fragmented.

Before leaving the camp, Zhao Ji bid farewell to Xu Huang at the camp gate and gave detailed instructions: "Rewards will be distributed today. Aside from the Huben, Yulin, Hedong, and Xiongnu volunteers, the remaining Tiger Infantry and Garrison troops can take turns resting and be dispatched to clean up the ruins within the city and clear the streets. Military discipline must also be maintained and not neglected. Unless there are unexpected events, the gates will be opened shortly to allow civilians in and out." Thinking of the string of heads killed yesterday to enforce military discipline, Zhao Ji added: "Anyone who resists with weapons will be executed immediately. Anyone who assaults or injures civilians with weapons, forces them to buy or sell, extorts money, or abuses men or women will be assigned to the Punishment Battalion. They will serve as vanguards and dare to die in the coming battles."

"Here!"

Xu Huang bowed deeply. He liked Zhao Ji's strict pursuit of military discipline.

How much money can you get by robbing the people?

Do your job well. The court under Zhao Ji's control is not short of money. Why would you feel uncomfortable when the money is distributed?

Xu Huang asked again, "If the Minister of the Interior encounters an emergency and sends someone into the camp to mobilize troops, would he have a token or a password?"

"Since there is no token available, I will use the four characters 'Dragon Soars, Tiger Leaps' as my password. If you see a Tiger Guard passing this message, Gongming will dispatch his troops."

"Here!"

Xu Huang agreed, and then reminded him, "Please prepare the official and private seals of the Minister of Justice as soon as possible. The military commander's token is also of paramount importance, and this is not the responsibility of the Minister of Justice alone."

"Okay, I'll get this done today."

Zhao Ji immediately agreed, bowed to Xu Huang and said goodbye, then turned around and mounted his horse.

Surrounded by a team of Tiger Guards, more than fifty riders slowly galloped towards the palace transformed from the county magistrate's mansion.

The sound of horse hooves clattered, and some houses on the street had already opened their doors.

Occasionally, there were common people visiting, and when they saw Zhao Ji's team of knights passing by, they would stick to the edge of the street, and at most they would lower their heads and not look at Zhao Ji and his men.

To avoid eye contact and causing trouble.

"That's Zhao Ji of Wenxi. He was instrumental in rescuing the emperor and is now a prominent figure in the court. It's said that he can shoot a bow a hundred and fifty steps away and hit a Hu Bing at the gate with one shot!"

Several scholars watched the passing Tiger Guards through the window. Sun Zi stood in the middle, listening to the people around him telling the story.

Jia Kui had already sent him a letter, and Sun Zi was also hesitating whether to go and meet Zhao Ji.

Sun Zi was from Zhongdu County in the south of Taiyuan. He was appreciated by Wang Yun and was a student of the Imperial Academy. He was originally appointed as a county magistrate.

Upon hearing that his brother had been murdered, he resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown to organize his relatives and friends. After assassinating his enemy, he and his family hid in Hedong and became good friends with Jia Kui.

On the street, Zhuge Jin, who was starving and in tattered clothes, was cleaning up the burnt ruins with a group of equally poor scholars in exchange for food.

When Zhao Ji passed by and saw Zhuge Jin, he was a little surprised at how tall and thin this man was, with a face that looked like an alien.

Zhuge Jin's legs were weak from hunger and he suddenly fell to the ground.

"Tzuyu! Don't scare me!"

Fellow townsmen went to support Zhuge Jin. When Zhao Ji heard the Langya accent, he raised his right hand and the surrounding knights slowed down.

Zhao Ji turned his horse around and more than a dozen working scholars also came over, but they didn't dare to get close and just watched the fun.

The male member of the family who was supervising the work also stopped his work, walked to the front row with an embarrassed smile, and waited to be questioned.

Zhao Ji glanced at the strange-looking face with pale lips on the ground, took out a bag of Hu pancakes from his harness and handed it to Han Shu: "Give it to them."

"Yes!"

Han Shu jumped off his horse, took the bag of Hu Bing and put it on Zhuge Jin's chest.

Zhuge Jin's vision was dim. His fellow townsman looked up at Zhao Ji and said, "May I ask your name, benefactor?"

"Jishan Zhao Ji."

Zhao Ji replied, "You speak with a Langya accent, why are you here?"

"Thank you, sir. We are students of the Imperial Academy or wandering scholars. We followed the emperor to the east, so we stayed in Hedong."

"Wait two more days. The Emperor will select officials outside the North Gate to fill the various offices of the imperial court."

Zhao Ji paused, then added, "My army is also short of clerks. If you don't mind, you can come and help copy military registers and handle miscellaneous affairs. When the court recruits talented men, I will not hinder your career. Please also tell the hungry soldiers in and outside the city to join my camp. I can't say anything else, but I can do my best to help."

"Graceful and benevolent."

A dozen scholars bowed, and Zhao Ji just smiled and said, "Farewell."

After saying that, he lightly kicked the horse's belly and pulled the reins, driving the horse to turn across the street and gallop eastward along the main street.

The sound of hooves clattered by, and a scholar brought a jar of clear water. He took water out with a bowl, broke up the Hu cake, soaked it in the clear water, and gave it to Zhuge Jin to drink and swallow.

The scholars around him also shared the Hu cakes in the bag.

(End of this chapter)