Tiger Guards

Chapter 206: Words and Actions Are Inconsistent
Jia Xu worked in the county magistrate's office in the city, and he was basically the one who performed the duties of county magistrate.

Jinyang was once the capital of the Dai State, so there is also the former royal palace in the city.

Although it has not undergone any expansion, it has been maintained and repaired and can be used.

This palace is adjacent to the County Magistrate's Mansion, on the west side of the County Magistrate's Mansion... A more accurate statement would be that the County Magistrate's Mansion was separated from the palace.

The palace is located in the northwest corner of the city, where the terrain is the highest, and was raised above the foundation during construction.

Therefore, when the new city was expanded, this palace was also rebuilt and converted into a huge warehouse.

Cangge was an important place and captives and slaves could not be used for construction, so people from Hedong worked here.

When Zhao Ji and Pei Xiu arrived, Jia Xu was alone leaning against the west pavilion in the mansion, observing the progress of the construction of the warehouse pavilion.

Building Jinyang City was a huge project.

When the granary is built and filled with grain, the first phase of reconstruction is completed.

This means that the defenders can rely on the old city of Jinyang to hold out for a long time... They have the capital to resist stubbornly and hold out for a long time.

The second phase is to complete the original construction of the four city walls of the new city and build houses in the new city area to accommodate more people and defenders.

The third phase was simple, which was to strengthen the original city wall, build the inner wall with boards, and use the standard of horse racing on the wall; and build enemy towers, corner towers, urn cities, platform cities and other facilities to strengthen the defense.

As for the subsequent expansion, it will be time to build a new city on the east bank of the Fen River.

In front of the window of the West Pavilion, Jia Xu flipped through Zhao Yan's handwriting and observed the expressions of Zhao Ji and Pei Xiu.

Seeing Zhao Ji's composure and Pei Xiu's anxious expression, Jia Xu understood their mindsets and asked Zhao Ji, "May I ask, Minister, what good will it do to save Zang Ziyuan?"

Zhao Ji folded his hands on the table, holding the water cup. "It's not much use. Wenli told me that I could uphold justice throughout the world, and my grandfather also wanted me to use this opportunity to make a name for myself in Guandong. But I feel that there are no potential righteous men in Guandong. The righteous men in Guandong are either dead or have surfaced, and they are sworn enemies of Yuan and Cao. At this time, upholding justice will not weaken the treacherous ministers."

But objectively speaking, it can indeed boost the morale of the imperial court, but what does this have to do with me?
Glancing at Pei Xiu, Zhao Ji said matter-of-factly, "As for fame in Guandong, they wish I were dead sooner rather than later. Fame is meaningless. They even watched Zang Hong die right next to them. If I suffer in remote Hedong in the future, what will they do?"

Jia Xu looked at the dejected Pei Xiu and said, "Wenli, we are all from Xizhou. Now Xizhou is in ruins, and Minister Zhao's sudden rise has aroused the vigilance of Guandong. If we rashly send troops now, we may face unpredictable dangers."

"Yes, I just feel that a righteous man like Zang Ziyuan should not die in such an unjust way."

In response to Pei Xiu's answer, Jia Xu just smiled indifferently. Too many people, both those who deserved to die and those who didn't, had died in front of him.

So much so that Jia Xu found this answer a little funny, and just regarded it as the naive and foolish talk of a younger generation.

After a soft laugh, Jia Xu looked at Zhao Ji again and asked, "How should Lord Yuan Ming respond?"

"Grandfather didn't see it clearly at the moment. I think a letter will arrive in two or three days."

Zhao Ji was calm and composed. At this time, he believed in the old man's position.

The old man just hasn't fully adapted to the change in his status and is still advocating the old values of Kanto.

After a moment's silence, Zhao Ji said to Pei Xiu, "Should we obey Zang Hong, or will he obey us? How will the nobles of the past view you and me if they were to obtain a sword as sharp as Zang Hong's?"

Zang Hong also has appeal to the people of Hedong.

"Now I am responsible for 700,000 men and women in Hedong and Taiyuan. The situation in the world is ever-changing. I will advance if I can, but if I can't, I must protect the territory and the people. You and I have never eaten a grain of Zang's rice. What does his life or death have to do with you and me?"

Zhao Ji took a sip from his water cup as he spoke. Pei Xiu nodded as well. He tried to speak but his voice was hoarse, so he coughed twice before saying, "I understand. I just feel that Zang Ziyuan's survival would damage Yuan Shao's reputation."

"I have the same thought, but how can criticism of reputation with pen and ink compare to criticism with sword?"

Zhao Ji asked back with a smile. He didn't want to debate this issue in depth now. The deeper the debate went, the more embarrassed Pei Xiu would be.

Old man Zhao couldn't figure out the interests involved for a while, let alone Pei Xiu.

Pei Xiu also smiled. He naturally understood what Zhao Ji meant, so he asked, "Then should we save Zang Ziyuan?"

Zhao Ji turned his head to look at Jia Xu and grinned, "Mr. Wenhe, will you save him?"

"Save them! Of course we have to save them! We have to save them with great fanfare!"

Jia Xu also laughed: "It's just that I can't save him."

Zhao Ji suppressed his smile, stood up, and looked out the window of the West Pavilion at the Cang Pavilion reconstruction site. "I want the reputation, but I don't want the risk. It's really a dilemma."

He turned to look at Pei Xiu: "People are fickle. Zang Hong, who died while trapped in an isolated city, is a model martyr. His name can be recorded in history and he is still alive even after his death. If he is rescued, he will inevitably become like me in the future, which is really not good." Seeing him making fun of himself, Pei Xiu wanted to laugh but felt that he should not make fun of Zang Hong, so he went to look at Jia Xu.

Jia Xu smiled and turned sideways towards the window: "Has the Minister made a decision?"

"Well, report this to the emperor and ask him to issue an edict to summon the infantry and cavalry from Xihe, Yanmen, and Dai Commanderies to follow me in rescuing Zang Hong."

Zhao Ji's face was devoid of smiles. "Minister Zhong Ji has been in Henei for a long time, Zhao Qi has been traveling between Yuan and Cao, and now he's in Xiangyang again. From the Emperor down, who doesn't know about the affairs of Zang Hong in Dongjun?"

Zang Hong was not an ant. He was the main drafter of the coalition's manifesto against Dong Zhuo and the speaker of the oath to heaven and earth.

He raised an army again to resist Yuan Shao, but the court pretended to be unaware of the situation in order to gain the support of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

It can be said that the court had acquiesced to Zang Hong's demise.

So Zhao Ji also guessed that Old Man Zhao had known about this matter for a long time, but since the villagers came to him for help, he had to make the scene right.

Even if the old man really wanted to save Zang Hong, Zhao Ji would still hesitate even if he agreed.

After hearing what Zhao Ji said, Pei Xiu completely gave up and his hope for the court was gone.

If they had previously condoned the demise of Zang Hong, they would naturally condone or lead the demise of Hedong in the future.

Zhao Ji narrowed his eyes and looked at Longshan Mountain in the west. His personal admiration for Zang Hong was his own matter, and besides, they had no friendship before. If he rashly sent troops to attack for two thousand miles, he would be playing with the lives of his relatives, friends, partners, and tribesmen.

Jia Xu asked, "Is the Minister going to attack Gao Gan?"

"Yes, we need to find something for Yuan Shao to do. Gongsun Zan has taken refuge in Yijing, indulging in wine and women. Yuan Shao is the only one who dominates You and Ji, with followers from all over. Yuan Shao is expanding too quickly. We must use a killer move, give him a slap in the face, and perhaps that will arouse Gongsun Zan's fighting spirit."

Zhao Ji turned around and looked at Jia Xu: "He is a fake governor, yet he dares to send an envoy to the court. Does he really think the court belongs to his uncle?"

As the current guardian of the imperial court, cleaning up high-ranking officials and enhancing the prestige of the imperial court will also enhance his own prestige.

Using war to force Xihe, Yanmen, and Daijun to send troops to help... There is no other meaning, we don't really expect these troops to fight.

I just want to withdraw troops to prevent these counties from causing trouble behind the scenes.

At the same time, if these troops come over and make meritorious deeds, they can adjust personnel and attract more people; even if they have no meritorious deeds, they have worked hard and can naturally attract a group of people to come over.

Therefore, the scope of this conscription cannot be limited to the three counties of Xihe, and envoys must also be sent to Shangjun and Beidi counties to conscript.

As many as can come, as long as they are willing to come and establish friendship with the leading military officers and Han and Hu nobles, then these counties will be your radiation range.

Jia Xu also agreed with this strategy. Making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones is always the only way for warlords to grow stronger.

Zhao Ji did not recognize the value system of Guandong, and this was what made Jia Xu most pleased.

After a moment's hesitation, Jia Xu said, "The wheat harvest is approaching this summer, so we can send an envoy to Guanzhong. We can also send another envoy to ally with Zhang Yan. With Zhang Yan's help, troops from Hebei can come to Shangdang to aid them, which will insecure the grain route. To protect the grain route, we must station troops at every level, which is extremely costly."

Zhang Yan was notoriously disliked by Yuan Shao, and the Black Mountain Army Alliance had basically collapsed, so they could only work together when fighting Yuan Shao.

There is no other reason, because the vast majority of the Black Mountain Army are from Jizhou.

When Huangfu Song's army was in control of Jizhou, they were unable to defeat Huangfu Song and could only take refuge in various valleys in the Taihang Mountains. They only settled down after being persuaded to surrender.

The contemporary people are still alive and in their prime. Who doesn’t want to fight back to their hometown?
So it was not Zhang Yan who was hostile to Yuan Shao, but the entire Black Mountain Army was hostile to any ruler of Jizhou.

The Montenegrin Army represents population and military force, but they have lost their land and houses, which have been occupied by local powerful neighbors.

Whoever resists the Black Mountain Army will gain the support of the people of Jizhou.

According to this logic, no matter who is the leader of the Black Mountain Army, he will not be able to unite with the ruler of Hebei.

Previously, Zhao Ji also sent an envoy to Zhang Yan, hoping to borrow 500 soldiers, but Zhang Yan did not respond.

The situation is different now, and Zhang Yan must pay attention to Zhao Ji's voice.

Zhao Ji understood very well the practice of making promises and winning allies everywhere before the war.

Not to mention Duan Wei of Hongnong, even Li Jue can be discussed.

(End of this chapter)