Tiger Guards

Chapter 318 Matters of the Dead
Due to his stubborn biological clock, Zhao Jitian woke up before dawn.

A man lay on the heated kang bed, closed his eyes to rest, pondering the future and also thinking about Cai Zhaoji.

Alan has also begun his journey north and will soon arrive in Jinyang.

But there's a feeling that Alan won't improve his skills, perhaps because the 'medicine' isn't potent enough.

I'm afraid even Cai Zhaoji is like that; she's already developed a tolerance to the drug.

He couldn't help but think of Zhang Xiu's aunt, but the thought was fleeting and was quickly dismissed by Zhao Ji.

This isn't about harming Zhang Xiu's aunt. If this was just a woman Zhang Ji had abducted, it wouldn't matter at all.

Unfortunately, this Zou clan also led troops under Zhang Xiu's command; more accurately, these people commanded their fellow villagers and retainers.

Zhang Xiu also has his own troops, and he is currently just taking over the leadership of this group from Zhang Ji.

When Zhang Ji's son grows up, he will surely take back Zhang Ji's old troops.

To exterminate the Zou family would be tantamount to directly splitting and severing Zhang Xiu's armed group.

At present, there is a lack of mutual trust. Directly targeting Zou Shi would make Zhang Xiu worry about his future and make an impulsive decision.

If Zhang Ji's son grows up and takes away his father's former subordinates from Zhang Xiu, Zhang Xiu will not care about Zou's life or death at all.

So Cao Cao really deserved it back then; if he had waited a few more months, things wouldn't have turned out that way.

After thinking about this matter, Zhao Ji got up and went outside, where he saw Tang Xian on duty: "Zhongjie, prepare more than a hundred cavalrymen. After breakfast, come with me to Longshan to choose a cemetery site."

Tang Xian then asked, "Should we wake everyone up?"

"Let them sleep, we're just going to choose a location."

After Zhao Ji finished speaking, Tang Xian went to use facial recognition to mobilize troops. Now, Han Shu and Tang Xian could mobilize more than a hundred cavalrymen for an outing mission by using facial recognition.

It's not like I'm going out with someone else, I'm traveling with Zhao Ji, so there's no need to verify anything.

When Tang Xian left, he also instructed a group of guards to bring Zhao Ji hot water for washing up.

After washing up, Zhao Ji went outside and saw that Tang Xian had already finished collecting the guards, so Zhao Ji had breakfast with them.

They ate wheat cakes and drank fermented mare's milk and cow's milk. Zhao Ji got used to it after a couple of sips, though he noticed a slightly bitter taste from the alcohol.

After drinking three bowls, I indeed felt a slight kick from the alcohol.

Zhao Ji was also surprised that Jia Xu would like these things and keep these dairy products in the prefect's mansion.

When Jia Xu woke up, Zhao Ji led a hundred horsemen out of the west gate and drove slowly along the mountain road.

When walking on mountain paths, they would dismount and walk on foot, holding the reins.

Treading on the ice and snow, Zhao Ji first arrived at the hillside of Longshan Mountain, overlooking the new city of Jinyang.

He put his hands on his hips and observed carefully. At this moment, Jinyang City and the settlements outside the city were shrouded in smoke, making it difficult to see clearly.

After observing for a moment, he pointed to Jinyang Lake in the north of the city and said, "We have so much to do in the future. We not only need to manage the Fen River, but also build dikes to enclose Jinyang Lake. The Jin River also needs to be dredged and dikes built, as does the Jin Canal."

Tang Xian carried the mare's milk wine bag and observed the terrain below the mountain. Then he tilted his head back and took a few gulps. Seeing that Zhao Ji did not intend to drink, he tied the bag tightly.

Zhao Ji continued to observe, determined to eliminate Jin Ze at least first.

Without Jinze, the Jin River and Fen River would have one less flood discharge depression when they flood.

The size of Jinze can vary greatly, depending entirely on the flood.

This year there has been little rainfall, so the Jinze area is not very large.

If the rainfall is abundant and the floods are severe, then the entire eastern half of Jinyang New City would now belong to Jinze.

Even if the Jin River and Jinyang Lake don't flood in, the swollen Fen River will overflow.

Therefore, before eliminating Jinze and converting it into paddy fields, the initial management of Fenshui and Jinshui must be completed first.

After the Jin River flows out of Longshan Mountain, there is a canal that leads north to Jinyang Lake. In addition to flood control, this canal is also responsible for irrigation, and the irrigated area is now the western part of the new city.

The western part of the city will no longer need irrigation, but the Jin Canal must still be preserved and expanded.

In this way, when the Jin River releases floodwaters, the floodwaters can be diverted into the Jin Canal and flow into Jinyang Lake.

Therefore, dikes need to be built around Jinyang Lake to increase water storage during floods, and the aquatic products in the lake can also enrich the cuisine of Jinyang.

The Jin Canal will be expanded, and a levee will be built over Jinyang Lake. At the same time, the Jin River channel will be widened, and levees will be built on both banks to prevent damage to the banks during floods.

Currently, both banks of the Jin River are fields and marshes, but in the future, various attached urban residential areas will definitely emerge here.

The same applies to the Fen River. It has abundant water volume and its course changes greatly throughout the year, so it is even more necessary to build strong dikes.

Only after controlling the Fen River can Jinyang East City be built on its east bank several years later.

To enhance Jinyang's overall defensive capabilities, a mountain fortress must also be built on Longshan Mountain to prevent the enemy from occupying the high ground.

While the reconnaissance advantage from the high ground is one aspect, losing Longshan would damage the morale of the defending troops inside the city.

Although this is a matter for later generations, Zhao Ji was capable enough to help with the construction.

Even if a Golden Terrace were to be set up in Jinyang City… Zhao Ji knew from the moment he conceived the idea that the gold on the Golden Terrace would eventually be scattered to the four corners of the earth. Even knowing this, what difference would it make?

He wanted to build this spectacle, hoping it would provoke the Xianbei people to come and fight him.

As long as Huangjintai exists, the people's sense of cohesion and dependence on it will grow stronger day by day.

After a short rest on the hillside of Longshan, Zhao Ji led a dozen people up the mountain to the highest point to begin observing areas within Longshan suitable for building a martyrs' cemetery.

Around noon, Zhao Ji finally selected a spot.

About fifteen miles inward from the mountain pass, and then another five or six miles west, lies a wide valley.

The valley is densely wooded, and the slopes are gentle and not steep.

Judging by sight alone, the steep mountains surround the area on three sides, stretching three miles from north to south and nearly five miles from east to west.

After logging, there will be enough land to create a suitable cemetery area.

After choosing the location, Zhao Ji led his guards back to Jinyang City.

There's not much that can be done in winter, and there's no need for extra soldier training this year. All that can be done is forge equipment in preparation for resuming production next year.

As for building the martyrs' cemetery, there was no shortage of manpower, but Jinyang City, which was under construction, always lacked timber.

The army was mobilized to cut down and transport timber, and a mausoleum was built on the spot.

During this period, he was also able to establish the Grand Marshal's Office and begin to assess merits and implement the final rewards.

We need to find something for the soldiers to do, and nothing is more worthy of their full attention than building a martyrs' cemetery.

By diverting the army's attention, the Grand Marshal's office was able to carry out the merit-based assessment work in an orderly manner under this relatively relaxed environment.

Otherwise, with tens of thousands of people eagerly waiting, their impatient urging would cause a lot of trivial troubles that Zhao Ji would not want to deal with.

When he left Pingyang, he sent a letter to Zhang Chang of Hongnong to recruit him as the chief secretary of the Grand Marshal's office.

Zhang Chang was the second son of Zhang Huan of Sanming in Liangzhou and the younger brother of Zhang Zhi, a master of cursive script.

Having met with Zhang Chang on behalf of the scholars of Yong and Liang before, and given his current military achievements, Zhang Chang certainly wouldn't refuse.

The Western Office selected Zhuge Xuan, while the Eastern Office selected Zhao Rui.

As for the chief clerk, he could only be selected from people from Hedong, and Wei Ji was a good fit.

In addition, the governorship and prefecture of Bingzhou will also be established, although this will only be a puppet and executive body subordinate to the Grand Marshal's office, and will be limited to those from Bingzhou. Therefore, the other officials and subordinates will not need to worry about this; only the Prefect and the Chief Clerk will need to.

Over the years, the title of "Biejia" has been developed by the various warlords into "Zhizhong Congshi". "Zhizhong" is another name for "Biejia", and "Congshi" refers to an unscheduled official in the general's office of the various warlords.

Combining these two unrelated official positions resulted in a 600-stone official in the General's office, concurrently serving as the Prefect of the state. This legally resolved the issue of the General being unable to govern the affairs of a state and lacking a binding authority between the two.

Zhao Ji held the position of Governor of Bingzhou, but he also needed to consider the issues of Liangzhou and Yongzhou in the future. Therefore, he needed to take a one-step approach and change the title of Prefect of Bingzhou to Attendant-in-Ordinary.

That is, within the Grand Marshal's staff, those from Bingzhou concurrently served as the Chief Administrator of Bingzhou.

Therefore, two chief clerks need to be carefully selected: one from the Grand Marshal's office and the other from the provincial government.

The role of the state clerk is that of an accompanying official; the clerk is never a single person, but rather has a group of people under him.

The chief clerk's office was close to the core area, often located in pavilions or gatehouses, hence the chief clerk's team was also known as the Yellow Pavilion.

In Zhao Ji's plan, the Bingzhou Registrar was more like a supervisor within the Bingzhou government; the Chief Administrator was responsible for connecting the higher and lower levels, the Registrar Huang Ge's team supervised, and the various departments carried out the tasks.

The real secrets were handled by the shogunate's chief clerk; this was the truly crucial position.

Zhao Ji did not intend to select any outstanding person as the first chief clerk; he originally wanted to select Hu Ban.

The candidate for this position must be reliable.

But Wei Ji is more powerful, and the bond between them is very strong.

First, use Wei Ji as a transition, then bring Hu Ban over.

The defensive ability is too strong; it cannot be used for long.

As for Pei Xiu, like Jia Kui, he served as the Chancellor of Jinyang with the title of Zhonglang in the General Staff; Jia Kui served as the Chancellor of Pingyang with the title of Shishi.

The two individuals each took charge of two key stronghold cities.

In addition, there is the Shogunate Sima who assists in managing military affairs. Zhao Ji plans to split him into the Left Sima, the Middle Sima, and the Right Sima to assist him in managing the Tiger Infantry Army.

In addition to the Tiger Infantry, the Grand Marshal's Five Battalions were established, dividing the army into three parts: the Five Battalions, the Tiger Infantry, and the state and county troops.

As for the positions of Chief Clerk and Director of the Imperial Household Department, which are both prone to offending people, they will certainly be filled by people who claim to be honest and upright.

If being a cruel official can lead to a steady rise in rank, then most officials can actually maintain their ruthlessness.

Once the Grand Marshal's headquarters is set up throughout the winter, things will be much easier, and he won't have to do everything himself.

On the other hand, Lü Bu's General's headquarters was set up very quickly, and this speed shocked Zhao Ji.

(End of this chapter)