Tiger Guards

Chapter 169 The Secret of the Marriage
"The attitude is not strong enough, rewrite it."

"It's full of flowery words, but ordinary people can't understand it. I'll rewrite it."

"Don't quote too many classics, but rather point out the dangers of the powerful in Taiyuan."

The five old men looked very unhappy, but they forced themselves to endure it.

Zhao Ji handed over another scroll of bamboo slips. "They're always pushing for more. Perhaps their ancestors initially made a fortune selling needles to the Xiongnu, supporting their children's education and careers. Now, they dare to sell everything from bows and crossbows to the Xiongnu and Xianbei."

Looking up at Yang Biao, Zhao Ji continued, "In the future, when the border is peaceful and the barbarians are obedient, what will these people's descendants do when they are short of money? Will they incite the barbarians to rebel so that they can sell weapons and use them to cause chaos?"

Yang Biao felt that this made some sense, but he didn't want to argue with Zhao Ji.

Even if you break his legs, he has no way to complain.

Even if he followed the emperor back to Luodu in the future, he would still have to rely on Zhao Ji's power to suppress the Yuan-Cao alliance.

In the future, it will be difficult for the imperial court to directly retaliate before Zhao Ji himself is defeated.

Zhao Ji looked at the others and said, "A three-foot-thick ice doesn't form overnight, and this culture of selling out one's country for personal gain can't be fostered in one generation. Write it down carefully. I'll do this job well and feel good about it. I won't let down your descendants in the future."

Yang Qi was correcting some text when he heard this. He stopped writing and raised his head in a serious tone, saying, "We are helping the Minister to boost his reputation. This is a small punishment to warn others and prevent them from getting worse. There is no other intention."

"Well, since you are a man of high moral character, I will not take care of your descendants."

Zhao Ji nodded seriously and looked at the others: "You must know that these people are despicable and have corrupt morals. If they continue to grow stronger, they will not only harm the country and their fellow countrymen, but your descendants will also be ostracized and poisoned by them. I will not say anything else, just pay attention."

No one responded to him, they were just making corrections to the draft.

Zhao Ji felt bored, so he looked at Yang Biao. Yang Biao was not as insidious as Yang Qi, and his expression could not be concealed.

Relatively speaking, Zhao Ji still prefers dealing with Yang Biao.

So, while observing Yang Biao, Zhao Ji said, "As far as I know, there is a woman who calls herself the Princess of the Ten Thousand Years..."

Yang Biao's hand suddenly stopped, and he continued to write with his head down.

Zhao Ji went to observe Yang Qi. "I suddenly feel that we should attack the Chanyu King's court and rescue this woman who looks like the eldest princess. What do you think, Lord Yang?"

Yang Qi replied, "I believe that escorting the Emperor back to Luodu is the most important task at hand. We will support the Minister of the Interior in his campaign against the bandits in Taiyuan. Once that is accomplished, the Minister of the Interior will have no worries about his future, and we can also provide a stronghold for the imperial court. Once Hedong has accumulated sufficient reserves and trained its soldiers and horses, we can then attack the Xiongnu royal court."

"Mr. Yang, I am also determined to help the country. You shouldn't hide it from me."

Zhao Ji carefully observed Yang Qi's expression. Yang Qi did not respond. He lowered his head and picked up the pen, looking like he was concentrating on revising the draft.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji said, "If the emperor knew about this, I really can't imagine it..."

Yang Qi raised his head and stared at Zhao Ji: "Minister, let's stop here and don't mention this matter again."

"Are you scaring me?"

"I dare not. I feel that such matters are of no benefit to the great affairs of the state. The Minister should be more concerned with the military and civil affairs of Hedong and Taiyuan, rather than these rumors and nonsense."

After saying this, Yang Qi lowered his head, determined not to respond to any of Zhao Ji's questions.

Even though Zhang Xi, Zhao Wen, and Zhou Zhong were unaware of the situation, they lowered their heads and pretended not to know.

If what Zhao Ji speculated here was true, and the eldest princess was really rescued, the emperor would never forgive these people, regardless of whether they knew about it or not.

The atmosphere began to become inexplicably tense again, and Zhao Ji tilted his head to look at the five people.

It seems that they accidentally caught someone's tail, and there was a big bomb buried between them.

The little bit of harmony that had just been brewing was gone.

Zhao Ji could only sigh, "Look at what you have done. Chanyu Yufuluo died suddenly, and Qubei stayed in Hedong and dared not return."

When it came to defending the king, it was not something that Qubei could mobilize alone to gather thousands of Xiongnu knights.

Without the strong support of Chanyu Yufuluo, it would be difficult to gather and mobilize so many knights capable of launching an expedition in a short period of time.

Seeing that they all lowered their heads and worked diligently on their homework, Zhao Ji could only appease them: "Something has happened to the Chanyu's court. Perhaps it is too late to send troops now. Let this secret remain hidden."

No one said anything. The matter of marrying the eldest princess off and trying to please the Huns could be done quietly, but it really could not be made public.

No one admitted it, no one denied it, it was as if Zhao Ji was the only one talking to himself.

Later, Zhao Ji saw that the drafts were all acceptable, so he took the silk book and the official and private seals of the ministers and asked them to copy them themselves. They were all made in triplicate. After all, Zhao Ji didn't write it himself, so he kept some copies in case he needed them later.

After all, there are really too many people to kill.

With the endorsement of the emperor and these former ministers, there will be less backlash and turmoil in Taiyuan.

After finishing these messy things, Zhao Ji returned to the dormitory, sat cross-legged on the floor, and practiced his skills.

The five ministers naturally stayed in the camp. When meeting Zhang Yang, they would be needed to come forward to dispel Zhang Yang's suspicion.

Then he kicked the tomb of Emperor Yao. The ministers were filled with righteousness and strongly requested that they personally participate in the construction of the mausoleum and temple. How could Zhao Ji refuse?
The sky was bright and Zhang Yang's envoy came to visit early in the morning.

The number of infantry and cavalry stationed in the Jiangyi military camp is decreasing every day, and in the end, only elite field forces will remain here.

This morning was no exception. Five hundred Tiger Infantrymen left the camp in an orderly manner at the sound of the early morning bell and boarded a boat north. They will go to Pingyang to participate in the military settlement.

More than 5,000 households moved to Pingyang from Ma Wansanjiang, and there were too many things to deal with.

In the military camp, Zhao Ji participated in military training after breakfast.

They could only use the old method of training. In addition to the soldiers who needed to be stationed in the military camp, the Hedong knights, three hundred tiger soldiers, and five hundred hostage guards who stayed behind and stationed in the camp, a total of 2,000 people were undergoing formation training.

Like most soldiers, Zhao Ji was shirtless and enjoying the sun.

His body recovers so quickly that his skin turns white quickly without sunlight.

It’s better to be a little tanner and more sociable.

In this case, Zhang Yang's envoys brought three carts of gifts and a letter from Zhang Yang himself.

When Zhao Ji met the envoy, he was just casually wearing a single piece of clothing with his collar open.

After reviewing Zhang Yang's letter, Zhao Ji said, "General Zhang and I serve in the same palace. He wants to pay his respects to the emperor first. How could I stop him? You don't need to ask me about this matter; the emperor's consent is sufficient. As for the supply of food and fodder for the soldiers in Henei, Hedong is in great difficulty. I cannot agree to it hastily. After General Zhang pays his respects to the emperor, we can discuss this matter in person."

Seeing Zhao Ji's agreement, Zhang Yang's envoy Xue Hong expressed his gratitude and then inquired, "May I ask, Minister of State, what crime did Dong Zhao and Dong Gongren of Jiyin commit to deserve their death?"

Zhao Ji's smile faded. "Are you asking on behalf of General Zhang, or for whom?"

Xue Hong composed himself and bowed, "I have no other intentions. It is simply that Dong Gongren has been stationed in Hanoi for three years and has become quite a colleague to us. If he is executed for his crimes or dies unexpectedly, it will help to reassure General Zhang."

"You should ask General Fuguo, the Marquis of Buqi, about this."

Zhao Ji looked at Xue Hong, a man in his thirties, his face filled with caution. "To be honest, Dong Zhao initially deceived the court and failed to truthfully report the true situation in Guandong. This was a crime of deceiving the emperor. After I exposed him, Dong Zhao changed his previous statements, which greatly angered the General Auxiliary State. Therefore, he was imprisoned and tortured to verify his claims."

Zhao Ji's story was entirely true. He continued, "Dong Zhao was a man of unwavering character, steadfast in his words. At the time, I was hoping to earn a favor with General Zhang, so I released Dong Zhao from prison and placed him in the official residence in Anyi. I never imagined he would be so severely injured. The clan thieves were still lingering in Anyi City, and they set fire to the official residence that night. Dong Zhao... somewhat blamed me. If I hadn't given him the wine, he wouldn't have gotten so drunk and been burned."

Zhang Zan, who had remained with Zhao Ji as the chief accountant, stood up and bowed to Xue Hong. "I was also in the residence at the time. Dong Gongren was seriously injured in prison and only drank to relieve the pain. Minister Zhao had no intention of doing this. I simply didn't expect the clan thieves to be so rampant that they harmed Dong Gongren."

Xue Hong observed Zhang Zan, and Zhao Ji stretched out his arms and explained, "This is Zhang Zan of Hongnong, a meritorious official who accompanied the emperor on the eastward migration."

"Disrespect, disrespect."

Xue Hong bowed and sighed, "Mr. Dong is a man of great talent and ability, yet he didn't even think of...making the Minister laugh at him."

"Life is unpredictable. Mr. Xue, I feel deeply sorry for you."

Zhao Ji said a word of comfort and turned to look at Zhang Zan. Zhang Zan extended his arms and invited Xue Hong away.

Looking at Xue Hong's back, Zhao Ji narrowed his eyes.

Only now did I remember that Dong Zhao was imprisoned and tortured by Fu Wan. It didn't matter whether Dong Zhao was tough or not. In any case, there must have been any destroyed letters around him.

These letters must be in Fu Wan's hands.

After thinking about it, Zhao Ji felt relieved.

Even if Dong Zhao were alive, he would not have expected that he would expand so quickly.

Even if Fu Wan and Zhang Yang cooperate, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Dong Zhao is already dead, there is no need to analyze or consider these things anymore.

If Zhang Yang can look forward, then we can deepen our cooperation.

(End of this chapter)