Tiger Guards

Chapter 177 Heading North Alone
South of Taiyuan is Zhongdu County.

This is Sun Zi's hometown. Zhao Ji sent Li Kandu to lead a thousand people by boat to the north and successfully took over Zhongdu County on the east side of Fen River.

To the north of Dongdu County, the Fen River Basin still has lakes, wetlands and swamps of various sizes that have remained from ancient times.

Therefore, within a hundred miles of the east bank of the Fen River, there are abundant resources and a dense population, with as many as five counties!

To the northwest of this lake and wetland, there are four counties, including Zishi and Pingtao, which are more widely distributed.

These nine counties are located around lakes and wetlands, forming a kind of separate business and cultural circle in the south of Taiyuan.

According to traditional knowledge, the Wang family of Qi County in this area should be weaker than the Wang family of Jinyang of the same clan.

The Wang family that was able to take root in Jinyang, the county seat, should be the Taiyuan Wang family; but if the Taiyuan Wang family is specifically referred to, it currently refers to the Qi County Wang family where Wang Yun was.

After Li Kan arrived in Zhongdu, he conveyed the request to build the emperor's camp to the nine surrounding counties through Sun Zi.

The nine counties of Zhongdu and the nomadic Xiongnu people nearby began to gather manpower and material resources in an effort to entertain the imperial court.

Scholars from various counties in Taiyuan also began to gather in Zhongdu, seeking opportunities to become officials.

When Chang'an was hit by a disaster, the emperor would travel around the capital and select the affected scholars to serve as palace officials.

The court is in a state of disrepair, so now is a great opportunity to take up an official position.

The Huns had previously closed the roads, so a lot of information was delayed.

Some messages will disappear or be confused with each other when they are stagnant or stacked; therefore, much of the information received by the people of Taiyuan is distorted.

Such sensitive news as the Wei family's treasury did not cause much vigilance.

The Wei family’s treasury has its own particularity. There is only one such treasury in Hedong Salt Lake, so it is reasonable for the Wei family to save up treasury. But how do you save up treasury in other places?
Even the powerful people in Taiyuan who smuggled weapons and people with the Hu people had been doing this for generations and had become accustomed to it.

Therefore, the emperor's visit to Taiyuan this time was naturally understood as the court coming to extort money.

But the scholars in Taiyuan could not suffer any loss. Ordinary scholars could use this opportunity to enter the officialdom, join the court, and receive the court's salary.

Powerful families with women of marriageable age could also try to get through the Grand Chamberlain Shi Qian and place their women of marriageable age around the emperor.

After filling the court and the harem with people, and then sending some leftovers to Zhao Ji and Zhang Yang, you can get rid of these poor beggars.

Therefore, the people of Taiyuan were very calm, and some descendants of famous families had already begun to head south to welcome the emperor along the way.

A large number of Taiyuan scholars gathered in Zhongdu, and scholars from the nine counties of Zhongdu went down the Fen River, ready to join the emperor's team when the opportunity arose.

In this atmosphere, Wen Hui, a native of Qi County, traveled north alone with his family.

On the way, they met the Linghu and Guo families, who also had prominent families in the same county.

Linghu Shao saw Wen Hui feeding his donkey by the roadside and asked, "Everyone is going south to pay homage to the emperor, why are you going north alone?"

Linghu Shao's cousin stepped forward and joked, "Is Manji going to lobby Yanmen?"

Wen Hui just smiled and asked, "How is Yanmen County?"

The Linghu family has lived in Langmeng for generations, and the Guo family has lived in Yangqu for generations, both close to Yanmen.

The Taiyuan County's clan is headed by the Taiyuan Wang clan, which is composed of the Jinyang and Qixian Wang clans; followed by the Langmeng Linghu clan, the Yangqu Guo clan and the Qixian Wen clan. Others such as the Song clan, the Xun clan, the Jia clan and the Jiexiu Guo clan are all weaker.

Linghu Shao replied, "Mr. Shentu of Yanmen has issued an order to all the counties to gather the best men and present the local products of Yanmen to the emperor."

Then Linghu Shao looked at the donkey in front of Wen Hui and asked, "Why is Manji doing this?"

Wen Hui's father was the prefect of Zhuo County. He died of illness three years ago, and Wen Hui returned home to attend the funeral.

Wen Hui was fifteen years old at the time. Seeing that his family was very wealthy, he distributed the family property to his relatives and friends after the funeral.

At this moment, Wen Hui smiled and answered Linghu Shao's question, "The court has appointed Zhao Ji of Hedong to lead this county. Zhao Ji is a young and talented man, skilled in military affairs. I am afraid that he will fight with the Xiongnu, so I went to Yanmen to avoid disaster."

Linghu Shao observed Wen Hui's entourage. Wen Hui, who was single and unmarried, had only a dozen followers, some of whom had their families, women and children.

I feel that Wen Hui's concerns are somewhat reasonable. The nine counties of Zhongdu are densely populated, and the left wing of the Xiongnu has moved to the vicinity of Zishi in recent years.

It is also very likely that Zhao Ji went to war with the Huns again to establish his rule over the county.

War, especially the war against the Huns, can inherently win the favor of most people.

There are plenty of ways to eliminate those who refuse to obey and submit in war.

Often, after victory in a war, prestige and ruling power increase greatly... It's not just the prestige that increases, but also the fact that the vast majority of opponents are eliminated in the war.

However, Linghu Shao was not too worried. His family was in Langmeng, too far away from the Xiongnu. Even if a war broke out, the flames of war would not reach the north of Taiyuan County.

On the contrary, he could actively intervene in the war. Whether serving in the imperial court or staying in the county, both were excellent options.

The children of the Linghu family thought so, and the Yangqu Guo family who were watching had a similar attitude.

They were inherently in an invincible position, and even if Zhao Ji was defeated, it would not hinder them.

Wen Hui was a pitiful case. He was the only child in the family, and all the family assets were scattered everywhere.

Although he won high praise and made up for the decline of his family caused by his father's early death, Wen Hui was only eighteen years old.

There is still a long time before he can take up an official position. During this period, Wen Hui and the Wen family are very vulnerable.

After chatting with each other for a while, Wen Hui said goodbye to Linghu Shao, Guo Huai and others with a smile.

Guo Huai was one year younger than Wen Hui and was rather shy. Standing among his brothers, he just observed Wen Hui without going up to talk to him.

Among the new generation of scholars in Taiyuan, Wen Hui was the first to become famous.

Spent all the savings and property in one go, this is a feat that others dare not emulate.

If Wen Hui had more brothers and uncles, and if his family had more constraints, it would have been difficult to accomplish this task.

But Wen Hui still did it, and only Linghu Shao, Guo Huai and other direct descendants of big families knew how cruel Wen Hui was.

This meant spending the entire family's savings in exchange for Wen Hui's personal reputation. With this reputation, Wen Hui could naturally enter the officialdom step by step. But if Wen Hui died, the inheritance of the Wen family's prestige would be over.

The key is the attitude of other Wen clan members.

Things like money, goods, and property are difficult to gather again once they are divided up.

The attitudes and positions of distant relatives and close relatives are all kinds of strange.

In short, after Wen Hui did this, the Wen family became different from other prominent families in the county.

In the eyes of many people, Wen Hui was too arrogant when he was young and had swallowed a poison for his family.

Therefore, conservative families also teach their children, basically using Wen Hui as a negative example.

Wen Hui rested for a while here and then set off on his donkey.

The ones who followed him away were the poor families from his hometown. How could the Wen clan members who got the property give up this hard-earned real estate?
Would he leave his hometown and go to Yanmen to escape the disaster just because of Wen Hui's concerns?

Wen Hui didn't care much about not getting recognition and support from his relatives.

He is the only child in his family, so giving away his savings and property early can also ensure his safety.

And now, he felt Zhao Ji's malice even more.

Although he didn't know much about Zhao Ji, he didn't want to take any risks.

With the reputation he has accumulated, even if he runs away now and comes back in the future, it will not affect his career.

If this premonition is correct, then we must run.

Only after running far away and surviving can you have the right to talk about other things?
A dozen or so proletarian teenagers who were influenced by Wen Hui's character also had silent expressions. They thought that Wen Hui would become a big man in the future, so they were naturally willing to follow him at the risk of their lives.

If they work hard and serve their parents tirelessly, they will naturally have the opportunity to change their fate when their family becomes prosperous.

As a man who had squandered all his family wealth, Wen Hui knew very well how cruel Zhao Ji, who regarded money as dirt, could be.

Money is a basic human desire.

Zhao Ji, who was the same age as him, looked down on money. He escorted the emperor to Taiyuan and asked for the position of Taiyuan County Magistrate... The purpose of doing all this was definitely not that Zhao Ji missed his ancestors' foundation.

How can you bribe someone who doesn't love money?

A person who doesn't love money is in a hurry to come to Taiyuan just after finishing a war. How much goodwill can this be?
The families from Taiyuan who stayed in the local area were used to being arrogant and had long lost their vigilance and awe.

Wen Hui had previously served as an official in Zhuo County with his father, wavering between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, and had witnessed many insidious and cruel things.

Therefore, at this moment, Zhao Ji had not arrived yet, but Wen Hui ran away like a frightened bird.

He ran even more quietly, without giving any warning to the scholars he met along the way.

There is absolutely no frivolity like the Qin and Han scholars who were boastful and eager for fame.

(End of this chapter)