Tiger Guards

Chapter 130 Wenhe Enters the Court
Hongnong, Huayin.

After Bai Bo Si's head was pickled with saltpeter, he sent an envoy with a fast horse to deliver it here.

Also sent was Duan Wei's appointment as the governor of Hongnong County and the summons of Jia Xu to the court to serve as the Grand Coachman.

Duan Wei and Jia Xu, two fellow Wuwei natives, had a tacit understanding and did not agree or refuse at the first time.

Instead, he sent people to Anyi to investigate.

For Duan Wei, accepting the appointment as the governor of Hongnong County would mean being attacked by Li Jue.

Li Jue and Guo Si were not good at management, and when Duan Wei followed Dong Zhuo, he was assigned to Weinan and Huayin areas.

Duan Wei had many years of experience in serving in the border army, and the border troops could not rely on the court for military pay, food and logistics.

It is almost a common garrison mode for border guarding troops to carry out farming.

Therefore, in recent years, Duan Wei has led the troops by example and has been stationed in Weinan and Huayin military bases. Many people have come to rely on him, and now his overall strength is no weaker than Li Jue.

But if a real fight breaks out, Guo Si will definitely get involved.

The grain accumulated under Duan Wei's rule alone was worth Guo Si's intervention and risking his life.

Therefore, Duan Wei was cautious about the appointment of the Hongnong County Magistrate.

Jia Xu's case is even simpler. It would be strange if he didn't send someone to investigate.

Finally, on the seventh day after Shizhong Zhao Ji denounced the ministers, Jia Xu's envoy returned to Huayin, bringing handwritten letters from Fu Wan and Zhao Yan.

The "Petition to Punish the Great Traitor of Han" was also delivered, and Jia Xu could not help but hesitate.

Although he felt that Zhao Yan's scolding was very satisfying, he also felt that the ministers would not fall easily.

He did not think that Zhao Ji had the qualities and means to launch a military remonstration, and that the system of three provinces and six ministries should have been planned by Zhao Yan.

As for the so-called Zhao Ji of Jishan, he was probably a thug recruited by Zhao Yan and a medium to win over the people of Hedong.

Together with Pei Mao, who was promoted from Shangshu to Shizhong, the truth revealed was very simple after the disputes in Anyi gradually calmed down during this period.

That is, Zhao Yan and Pei Mao joined forces, with the Hedong Huben as the core, and launched a military remonstration and coup against the ministers.

As for Zhao Ji... people in the world are not familiar with this person.

Jia Xu was very tempted by Zhao Yan's proposal. As for Fu Wan, the promise was still a ministerial position, but Zhao Yan promised him the position of Shangshu You Pushe and concurrently the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of War.

Jia Xu asked the envoy, "How do you all feel?"

"They are all in the camp of Minister Xiao Zhao. Three days ago, the Emperor left the city and inspected the armies commanded by Minister Xiao Zhao with the other ministers. The troops were well-organized, their uniforms bright, and the officers and soldiers were delighted. There was hope in the streets that the court would be restored."

The envoy had obviously accepted the money, but Fu Wan had no money to give him, so he continued, "The emperor led the nobles, officials, and troops outside the city to plant 180,000 trees and built a temple to the locust god next to the Yuwang Temple. Afterwards, the emperor returned to the city, and the nobles remained in the camp of the Minister of the Court of Zhao."

Jia Xu asked again, "How is the Wei family's treasury?"

"Minister Zhao has entrusted the palace servant Fude with oversight. Fude's guards are primarily from Hedong, and the operation has remained unopened. I've heard that no less than 1 billion five-zhu coins were used, and none were ever transported. The levies and grain from the extermination of the Wei, Fan, and Beiguo clans alone are sufficient for the court's expenditures."

The servant's tone was full of envy. He couldn't imagine how much ten billion five-zhu coins would be.

As Jia Xu listened, he raised his hand and stroked his beard. He thought of the only remaining big family in Sanfu, the Pingling Su family.

This location is great, absolutely great.

To the west is Meiwu where Guo Si was stationed, and to the northeast is Huangbaicheng where Li Jue was stationed.

Li Jue and Guo Si would probably not be fooled by the Su family's small gifts again. If the two of them joined forces to attack the Su family's fortress, it would be unstoppable.

The downfall of the Su family is a small matter, but these two people will use this opportunity to reunite.

With the Wei family as an example, the troops from all over the Sanfu will also get involved in order to share the spoils.

Once the army gathers, it is not so easy to withdraw.

After taking over the Su family, the next target is most likely Duan Wei.

If they cannot defeat Duan Wei, they will force Duan Wei to hand over hostages and reach a ceasefire agreement.

Then, Li and Guo’s bandits would be able to cross the river and attack Hedong.

What would Duan Wei do?
Duan Wei is already old. Unless he abandons the military base in Weinan, the entire army will retreat to Huayin and rely on Tongguan to defend it.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to stop the combined forces of Li and Guo. As for the former comradeship... I believe that Fan Chou has turned to bones.

Jia Xu felt that this war was somewhat winnable. The imperial court was in trouble and had sent envoys to fight. If he didn't go, he would be blacklisted in the future.

Even if Zhao Yan colluded with the people of Hedong to launch a mutiny, he would not directly release the ministers.

Only scholars like me from Xiliang who have little connection with any party are suitable for mediating peace. At worst, the court can move to Luoyang, and the Zhao family can stay in Hedong and keep a safe distance.

Zhao Yan had an irreconcilable feud with Li Jue and Guo Si, and it was impossible for him to surrender to the Li-Guo coalition; if the people of Hedong dared to launch a mutiny, how could they easily surrender to Li and Guo?

Now Li Jue and Guo Si have become the biggest obstacles to restoring order in Sanfu and Xizhou.

Even former colleagues cannot be lenient at this moment.

Otherwise, you will be implicated sooner or later.

After a long time, other people dug and dug until they finally uncovered Duan Wei's sins.

There is a good opportunity right in front of us. After Li Guo crosses the river, it will be difficult for him to come back.

Jia Xu made up his mind and asked specifically about the changes in various aspects after the Anyi coup.

He didn't want to cooperate with a fool who was courting his own destruction, so the envoy who took the red envelope from Zhao Yan also described the military affairs in all aspects as fairly as possible.

Finally, he sighed: "The young Zhao Shizhong is the most brave and valiant in Hedong. The tiger soldiers he supervises are all brave and daring, just like the flying bear soldiers of that year."

"Stop talking about the Flying Bear Warrior."

Jia Xu warned him, then turned to his messenger and said, "What is most remarkable is that Minister Zhao is not greedy for money and goods. All the officers and soldiers of the newly recruited army in Hedong admire his prestige and virtue. In my opinion, the soldiers under his command are worthy of being the emperor's teachers and the Han Dynasty's tiger soldiers. After a few more months of training, they should be superior to the Western Garden Forbidden Army."

The Xiyuan Imperial Guards were destroyed long ago and were even incorporated into the army by Dong Zhuo.

Jia Xu glanced at this man and remembered that this guy seemed to be from the Xiyuan Army and was later selected into the Feixiong Army.

"Well, I'll go see Duan Zhongming now."

After Jia Xu burned the letters written to him by Fu Wan and Zhao Yan respectively, he took the silk-written copy of "A Memorial to Punish the Great Traitors of the Han Dynasty" and went out to find Duan Wei.

This year there was a drought, so after Duan Wei finished his spring plowing, he started leading people to dredge water conservancy projects.

Duan Wei’s weakness also lies here. The core military settlement is in Weinan, where it is convenient to draw water.

Dong Zhuo initially ordered Duan Wei to garrison Weinan to defend against enemies coming from east of Tongguan.

However, there are no strategic locations to defend on the northwest side of Weinan.

If they gave up Weinan and went to Huayin and Hongnong, they could rely on Tongguan to fight back against the Li-Guo coalition forces that were blocking Guanzhong.

In this case, stable food output will be given up.

There were as many as 50,000 to 60,000 people who depended on Duan Wei. If so many people moved to Hongnong, considering Hongnong's grain reserves and this year's drought, most of them would starve to death.

By the side of a canal, Duan Wei rolled up his trouser legs, soaked his feet in the flowing muddy canal water, wore a tattered bamboo hat on his head, and dressed in a friendly manner.

Jia Xu's condition was not much better. His clothes were half worn out, but they were washed very clean.

Jia Xu sat on a stool to the side and said with emotion, "Zhao Yuanming has accomplished such a great thing without making any noise. What do you think, Lord Zhongming?"

"How can I see that?"

Duan Wei's face was devoid of smiles. "Zhao Yuanming's four grandsons died in battle protecting the emperor. He's old and might go mad, but I can't. Here, there are over three hundred members of my Duan clan, a thousand households of loyal followers, and over twenty thousand refugees who have come to rely on us. If I abandon Weinan, how many will starve to death? Then the hungry people will rebel, and the officials will be weakened. That little Li Jue will be able to capture me by sending a few generals."

He looked at Jia Xu seriously and said, "I can accept Hongnong, but I cannot fight Li Jue. I will also hand over 30% of this year's summer grain to him. If Zhao Yuanming can thwart Li Jue's offensive, I will naturally raise an army to respond."

Raising troops to respond is one thing, but whether to take the initiative to attack Li Jue depends on the specific situation.

Seeing that Jia Xu was silent, he seemed to understand his difficult situation.

Duan Wei sighed deeply and said, "After Wenhe enters the court, please explain everything to Zhao Yuanming. When the situation improves, I will personally attack Li Jue and eliminate this extremely evil minister for the court."

Jia Xu bowed in agreement and asked, "Could Lord Zhongming write a letter to plead for the ministers and officials that Zhao Yuanming has detained?"

Duan Wei chuckled coldly upon hearing this. "Yang Qi and Yang Biao's lives are lives, but my brother has made special contributions to the country, so his life is not a life? I think Zhao Yuanming's criticism is very correct, and my family members also agree with him. If it weren't for these beasts who are just sitting there and doing nothing to manipulate power, how could the country be so corrupted!"

(End of this chapter)