Tiger Guards

Chapter 210 A flash of inspiration

Locusts come from Taihang Mountains, and there are more locusts in Queshu Valley than around Jiuze.

When the news of this strange scene reached the Zhongdu camp, the officials could no longer sit still.

There are also locusts in Zhongdu, but their number is obviously small, and they are killed by the net walls and campfires along the way.

Therefore, when the military and civilian men and women swatted the locusts in the fields, they also had the appearance of being able to defeat the locusts.

Unlike before, the locusts were overwhelming and seemed to be able to eat people, which was despairing.

Food is life and the greatest wealth.

When it comes to fighting and eradicating locusts, both the powerful and the common people at all levels have the motivation.

But every struggle has failed, giving rise to capitulationists.

Under the theory of the correspondence between heaven and man, other people were forced not to resist the locust god.

This year, the anti-locust effect is outstanding.

In the eyes of the ministers, it was not the credit of Zhao Ji alone, but the locust plague had lasted for three consecutive years, and the officials and the people had no way out.

The successful suppression of the locust plague was the result of the efforts of the officials and people who fought a desperate battle, and Zhao Ji was just one of the officials and people who were forced to fight due to the locust plague and drought.

Therefore, in the eyes of the ministers, Zhao Ji was still Zhao Ji, not the extraordinary man who could slay the locust god and fight locusts.

Under this inherent arrogance, the ministers were really reluctant to leave Taiyuan.

They were all too tired. The comfortable life in the Zhongdu camp and the huge army gathered by Zhao Ji made the ministers unwilling to leave Taiyuan easily.

There are so many benefits to being together with Zhao Ji now.

Even though it was just a discussion about punishing traitors and high-ranking officials, and before it was officially announced, several counties in Shangdang were so scared that they sent people to apologize.

If he separated from Zhao Ji, and continued to attack Gao Gan, Gao Gan might lead his army to attack the court as soon as he issued the imperial edict.

At this moment, Yang Qi even suspected that Li Jue's envoy had begun to contact Zhao Ji. It is better to believe it than not.

With all these thoughts in mind, one day while giving a lecture to the emperor, Yang Qi said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Pingyang defeated the Taiyuan clan bandits and quelled the Xiongnu rebellion. Such extraordinary achievements deserve a reward."

Liu Xie was writing with a pen in hand when he calmly asked, "I see that Zhao Aiqing intends to stay in Jinyang for a long time. What kind of reward can I offer to win back Zhao Aiqing's heart?"

He was writing a letter of apology to Fu Shou, writing to himself, and then added: "Lord Zhao and Duke Yuanming are both pillars of the country. Previously, Huan Dian, Zhong Yao and others looked down on and neglected Lord Zhao, which led to the military remonstration. Since the military remonstration, the court has been reformed, the government is in order, the people are united, and every battle has been victorious. This is all due to Lord Zhao's reforms, and he deserves to be promoted to a higher position."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qi glanced at the others around him and bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, how do you do it? I will grant you the title of Ten Thousand Households, promote you to General of Chariots and Cavalry, and let you lead the Imperial Court in government affairs as before?"

Anyway, the four key positions of Bingzhou Governor, Provincial Governor, General Zhenbei or General Zhengbei cannot be given to Zhao Ji. If Zhao Ji gets any one of them, he can legally recruit subordinates.

Zhao Ji's biggest shortcoming now lies here. He is unable to legalize the people gathered around him. Due to restrictions on their place of origin, they can only be arranged as officials in the Marquisate of Pingyang and the Marquisate of Jinyang.

Zhao Ji also did not trust the court and did not recommend anyone around him to serve as a palace official.

Basically, the meritorious Tiger Guards would serve in the Sanlang Office for a while, or be directly transferred to the Yellow Gate Minister, and then be appointed as the county magistrate or county lieutenant.

"General Chariot and Cavalry... that's a bit too light."

Liu Xie whispered, "Could the high officials send an envoy to plead their case and apologize?"

Yang Qi didn't know and turned his head to look around. Yang Biao, Yang Zhong, Zhang Xi, Zhao Wen, Zhou Zhong and Sima Fang all looked unaware, but the others mainly looked at Yang Biao because his wife was from the Yuan family.

Under everyone's gaze, Yang Biao took the initiative to speak: "I think they are still on the way. Pingyang Hou has not blocked the pass, and the messengers from Shangdang can travel freely. I believe that within three days at most, the envoys of the high-ranking officials will be able to enter the court to apologize."

Seeing the high-ranking officials' slow response, Yang Qi said, "The high-ranking officials were represented by Yuan Benchu, so this memorial of apology should also have come from Yuan Benchu."

Liu Xie continued to distract himself with writing his apology letter, saying, "The Yuan family's envoys have come to the court. The title of Right General is a bit low for Yuan. If Yuan family recommends Zhao Aiqing for his meritorious service, and the court convenes to deliberate and appoint him as General of Chariots and Cavalry, perhaps peace can be restored in the north."

Precious military forces should not be used to attack Shangdang. What is there to fight for in Shangdang?

Before the soldiers from Xihe and other five counties recruited by Zhao Ji arrived in Jinyang, the Black Mountain Army nearby, upon hearing the news, had already taken the initiative to attack the counties of Shangdang.

There are already few high-ranking officials and soldiers in Shangdang, and now with locusts everywhere, they can hardly use their skills to rescue the counties and towns in the mountain valleys.

The powerful people in a county are all of the same blood. Faced with the rebellion of the Black Mountain Army, they naturally do not want to die together. All they can do is to quickly turn to the court.

If the county magistrate was not trusted by the court, they could also expel the county magistrate and welcome a new official appointed by the court.

Not to mention the old ministers, even Liu Xie felt the weakness of the senior officials.

There was really no need for Zhao Ji to send troops. Under the locust plague, the Black Mountain Army was collectively happy to follow the court's orders to attack Shangdang... Anyway, under this level of natural disaster, some people in the Black Mountain Army were destined to starve to death.

Death is inevitable, so it would be better to attack the Shangdang counties fiercely. Perhaps we won't starve to death; even if we die, we can die well-fed. This locust invasion once again unleashed the destructive power of the Black Mountain Army.

If the situation cannot be controlled, it is possible that the various units of the Montenegrin Army will turn around and attack Taiyuan.

If Gao Gan cannot hold on, the Black Mountain Army will take advantage of the situation and attack Weijun, Julu, Zhao State, Changshan State and other places.

The war that Zhao Ji launched against the traitor Gao Gan had not yet begun, but Gao Gan's defeat was already doomed. This was actually a dispute between Zhao Ji, the Black Mountain Army and Yuan Shao.

But for the imperial court, it should avoid a full-scale war between Zhao Ji and Yuan Shao at present.

At least we have to wait two years for the imperial court to gain a firm foothold and train a royal army that can barely defend itself.

With this royal army, the court has the confidence to speak and plan the overall situation.

Otherwise, if the various princes could arbitrarily send a detachment of troops to Luo, hang the ministers in front of the city gate and whip them, what prestige would the court have?

For Yuan Shao, failing to keep his nephew as the high-ranking governor of Bingzhou would shake Yuan Shao's control over the people under his rule.

If one wants Yuan Shao to resign from his high-ranking position as Governor of Bingzhou, he must be promoted and his control over Jizhou must be strengthened.

Only in this way, Yuan Shao would not appear to be at a disadvantage and would agree.

Otherwise, this would be a matter of life and death, and Zhao Ji would have no way out at that time.

After the decisive battle between the two sides, the imperial court would probably be finished as well.

Liu Xie was intelligent and he immediately found a way to appease Yuan Shao. The intelligence shown by Liu Xie was the greatest confidence that allowed the ministers to persist until now.

If they continue to waste time, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will be killed sooner or later.

Zhao Ji, who suddenly rose to prominence, is young, but that doesn't matter.

As long as the emperor stays in that position and does not make mistakes on his own initiative, his overall influence will grow extremely fast and no one can match it.

Considering Yuan Shao’s age, how many years can he live?

Considering the status of the Yuan family, there is nothing wrong in appointing Yuan Shao, who is now a Shangqing Right General, as a Huqi General or Chariot General, both of whom are at the level of the Three Dukes.

Since these two positions were vacant anyway, Liu Xie was very generous and asked everyone, "What do you think, gentlemen, is it a good idea to appoint Yuan as General of the Cavalry?"

If General Huoqi Yuan Shao could then describe Zhao Ji's achievements and give Yuan Shao enough space to perform, then there is a high probability that Yuan Shao would give up the high-ranking official.

Whether or not they are given the titles of Generals of Cavalry and Chariots will not affect their control over the army.

Because of Huo Qubing, the rank of General of Cavalry was more noble and prestigious than that of General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Yuan Shao had recently tried to pacify the Xianbei and Wuhuan again, so this position was something that really struck a chord with Yuan Shao.

And what can the court gain?
Of course it’s the Shangdang County Magistrate!
Yuan Shao would not let Zhao Ji take it away, nor would he let the Black Mountain Army take it away; Zhao Ji naturally would not let Yuan's former officials take it away.

This key position will fall into the hands of the court!
With Shangdang in hand, the court could do a lot.

It is not that Shangdang lacks population, money and food, but that communication channels can be established between Shangdang and various counties to convey the voice of the court to the county level.

This is very clever. Yuan Shao and Zhao Ji restrained each other, and no one could easily seize Shangdang, which was controlled by the court.

Whoever initiates an invasion will be condemned and morally attacked by the court!

Hedong, Taiyuan, Hexi, Yanmen, Shangjun and other places can be thrown to Zhao Ji, but Henei and Shangdang must be controlled by the court!
The military camp is a magical place. During this period, Liu Xie just lived in the military camp. His thinking developed and changed, and he began to become more direct.

You can give unnecessary things if you want. As long as you grasp the key, you will be able to counter Yuan Shao and Zhao Ji in the future.

When it comes to fighting wars and governing the people, the ministers can also speak very clearly.

Now, the situation that the emperor arranged as if on a whim could naturally be understood by the ministers who were well versed in this matter, and they were naturally happy to support it.

Sima Fang was sitting at the last seat, but he noticed that several people were looking at him intentionally or unintentionally. Did they suspect that he was secretly instructing and guiding the emperor?
Thinking of this, Sima Fang immediately felt uncomfortable.

If Zhao Ji also saw through this and had to accept...revenge, would he just hit him in the leg?

Seeing Sima Fang looking uneasy, Yang Qi and Yang Biao looked at each other and confirmed it.

The emperor has changed so much during this period, most likely because of the new professor Sima Fang.

Since modern times, the Sima family has been studying the Book of Han for generations. They have a thorough understanding of all kinds of Han Dynasty allusions and are naturally adept at political strategies.

The Three Yangs also chose to let this kind of thing go.

Anyway, it was Sima Fang who was in trouble because of the anger he caused to Zhao Ji. What does it have to do with them?
They were about to enter Luoyang. By then, Sima Fang would have greater influence, and being hit by Zhao Ji would save him a lot of trouble.

(End of this chapter)