Tiger Guards

Chapter 320 Enforcing Family Laws
Another heavy snowfall blanketed Jinyang, with snowflakes fluttering down.

Fortunately, there were no strong winds, and the soldiers and civilians in the city had already begun clearing the snow off the rooftops.

Liu Bei's envoy, Sun Qian from Beihai, led a caravan of a thousand people across the Jinshui Bridge and headed towards Linjin Gate.

Pei Xiu also sent someone to guide the Xuzhou Mi family caravan to the eastern part of the city.

After breaking Cao Cao's monopoly over the two provinces of Yan and Yu in the Central Plains, the biggest benefit was that Xuzhou caravans could travel through Yuzhou, passing through Henan and Hedong to reach Jinyang.

In the Battle of Bian River, Zhao Ji gifted Lü Bu a thousand warhorses and two thousand knights to be employed by Lü Bu on a long-term basis.

This move, which involved re-analyzing the Battle of Bianshui, played a crucial role in the impact of the battle.

This not only strengthened Lü Bu's assault and attack capabilities, but also solidified Lü Bu and Zhang Yang's determination to fight.

For Liu Bei's side, they naturally coveted so many horses.

If Liu Bei had given him three thousand horses, and Yuan Shu still dared to attack, he would never have gone to the Huai River to intercept him again. Instead, he would have let Yuan Shu come to Xiapi and the two sides would have fought a field battle!
If the cavalry shortage in the Central Plains is replenished and the proportion of cavalry is increased, the intensity of the war will rise sharply.

As the twelfth lunar month approached, Zhao Ji's Grand Marshal's office was quite simple.

Since civil engineering work could not be carried out in winter, the entire shogunate was militaryized, with barracks built of wood, creating a very serious office atmosphere.

Inside the main hall of the log cabin, Zhao Ji sat by the fireplace, flipping through Liu Bei's handwritten letter. Feeling somewhat bored, he said to those around him, "Liu Xuande certainly knows how to say nice things. Do you think I'm some spendthrift who can be given a thousand horses just because I flatter him a few times?"

Chief Clerk Wei Kai bowed slightly and smiled, "Grand Marshal Chenliu was extremely generous to the allies; how could Liu Bei not be envious?"

Does he have a daughter of marriageable age?

Zhao Ji asked with a smile, but Wei Ji replied seriously, "Since the Grand Marshal is interested, I can inquire with Sun Gongyou."

After saying this, Wei Kai also laughed. Liu Bei started his business late and rose to prominence late. Although he had children, they were all very young.

As the chief clerk of the Grand Marshal's office, Wei Ji was very familiar with Liu Bei's family situation.

After everyone had finished laughing, Zhao Ji said, "Go and negotiate with Sun Qian again. He traveled thousands of miles to Jinyang, how could he only bring a letter? Make him show some sincerity."

"Here."

Wei Ji agreed, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he said, "Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in Hebei have been locked in a stalemate at Xindu and Julu for more than ten days. Zhang Yan has repeatedly sent envoys to request battle. What should we say in response?"

“He has a treaty of mutual defense with Gongsun Zan. Since he wants to send troops, I can’t stop him.”

Zhao Ji picked up his teacup, took a sip, and pondered for a moment: "But I must warn him not to go too far, and to be wary of Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao suddenly ceasing hostilities. If that happens, I won't be able to save him in time."

Wei Ji was slightly taken aback: "Gongsun Zan is such a hero, how could he be so short-sighted?"

“He experienced the rebellion of the Han and Hu powerful clans in Youzhou. If I were him, I would hate the Han and Hu powerful clans who rebelled in this state even more than Yuan Shao.”

Zhao Ji smiled as he spoke: "If Yuan Shao is not certain of victory, he will naturally not be willing to fight Gongsun Zan to the death. The current situation in Hebei is like a stick trying to catch a wolf; people are afraid of wolves, and wolves are afraid of wolves too."

Imagine if Yuan Shao had been defeated in the Battle of Xindu, what kind of upheaval would that have caused?
If we put ourselves in Gongsun Zan's shoes, would he believe Xianyu Fu, Yan Rou, and their group?

They certainly couldn't believe it, so they simply held their ground and waited for Yuan Shao's decision.

Since Yuan Shao dared not launch an attack, Gongsun Zan simply held his ground... In any case, he was also consuming grain from Ji Province.

If Yuan Shao is determined to fight to the death, Gongsun Zan has no way out, so they have to go all in and take another gamble.

If we lose, all we can do is retreat to Yijing, rest and recuperate our soldiers, and wait for another opportunity.

If Zhao Ji were Yuan Shao, he would definitely cooperate with Gongsun Zan.

Yuan Shao gained valuable time to recuperate, and Gongsun Zan was able to take revenge on Xianyu Fu and his ilk.

These people also have the power to protect themselves and resist. If Youzhou were to fall into internal strife again, Xianyu Fu and others who wanted to survive would have no choice but to join forces with Yuan Shao once more.

Seeing Zhao Ji's confident demeanor, Wei Ji nodded slightly, somewhat puzzled.

Wei Ji also had his own opinion; he felt that Gongsun Zan would seize this opportunity to seek a decisive battle.

The intention was to wear down Xianyu Fu and his ilk. As long as Xianyu Fu and his ilk gritted their teeth and sacrificed themselves, paid a sufficient price, and shed enough blood, given the unique cultural environment of the border region, Gongsun Zan would forgive and trust them.

Therefore, the two decisive factors in the renewed confrontation between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were whether Yuan Shao dared to initiate a decisive battle and the true stance of people like Xianyu Fu.

This was Wei Ji's idea, but he dared not argue with Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji's judgment was based on his understanding of Yuan Shao and the human instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm.

After the meeting, Zhao Ji returned to the backyard for lunch.

This place is like a battlefield, and the main characters in the war are Zhen Mi and Lü Qi.

It is reasonable that cloth can produce gorgeous and bright brocade.

Both were thirteen years old. Zhen Mi had over a thousand servants as her dowry, while Lü Qi had very little, but she had a strong personality.

Zhen Mi was outwardly gentle but inwardly strong, and she refused to back down.

Therefore, when having lunch with Zhao Ji, both of them ate casually with their chopsticks in front of him, out of consideration for his presence.

Fortunately, they ate separately, and the two were about six or seven steps apart, so they didn't end up fighting. The reason for their argument was a dispute over status. Lü Qi considered herself the daughter of the Marquis of Wen, a great general with a fief of six counties and twelve thousand households. Her dowry included more than a thousand warhorses, worth no less than ten thousand gold pieces.

What does 10,000 taels of gold mean? It's the same level as the Empress's betrothal gifts!
In her mind, Zhen Mi was a spoils of war, a concubine.

Zhen Mi looked down on the uncouth Lü Qi. She brought over a thousand servants as dowry, but what did Lü Qi bring?
If Zhen Mi were to truly leave Zhao Ji's control, she could find a dozen or so brave and strong servants who could easily kill Lü Qi.

Lü Qi frequently used Lü Bu's status to pressure Zhen Mi, which touched a raw nerve regarding Zhen Mi's childhood loss of her father.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji felt that these two guys were going to fight for the rest of their lives.

He had no interest in mediating the fight; as long as he was there, they could eat quietly together.

After the meal, Madam Du led the maid to clear away the dishes.

After clearing away the dishes, Zhao Ji looked at Zhen Mi and asked, "Why haven't you had a good appetite lately?"

"Yes, Mother sent a letter saying that the war in Hebei is still unpredictable, and the people in the county are in a state of panic and don't know what to do."

Zhen Mi frowned slightly and asked, "What does my husband think?"

“The heavy snow has blocked the roads. Your messenger can come to Jinyang, but my army can hardly pass through.”

Zhao Ji turned to look at Lü Qi: "She shouldn't have spied on military intelligence. You are permitted to administer the punishment."

"Here!"

Lu Qi immediately stood up, took out the ruler he always carried with him, and Zhen Mi was so frightened by the spying that her face turned ashen, and she shrank her neck like a quail and dared not move.

But Lü Qi didn't care about anything else. She grabbed Zhen Mi, pinned her to the ground, and started hitting her buttocks with a ruler. After hitting her five times, she turned to look at Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji served tea and drank it again. Lü Qi grinned and struck Zhen Mi five more times, making her bite her lip and hold back her tears.

Seeing her tears, Lü Qi lost her initial enthusiasm, gave her a perfunctory tap, ticked the box thirty times, and then went to see Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji nodded: "That's settled then. You can make a scene at home, as long as it doesn't lead to anyone getting killed, I won't interfere. As for military and political affairs, you can't ask about them unless I'm asking you."

Looking at Zhen Mi, Zhao Ji continued, "I know you didn't mean it, but the thoughts of your family are unpredictable. Even if it's a matter of national importance, I wouldn't stoop to lying to you, and it's not that I can't discuss it with you. But it must never be revealed to outsiders. If there's a next time, I'll lock her in a forbidden room."

"Yes, I understand."

Zhen Mi answered, wiping away her tears with her sleeves. Zhao Ji looked at Madam Du, who was waiting at the door, and said, "Take them to Grandma Cai's place."

"Here."

Du bowed and thoughtfully assigned a maid to step forward and help Zhen Mi.

Lü Qi tucked the ruler behind her waist and bowed to Zhao Ji, saying, "This concubine takes her leave."

After seeing Zhao Ji nod, he took a few steps back, turned around, and walked away with light steps, feeling very happy.

Having resolved this minor dispute, Zhao Ji carried his tea out through a side door and headed to the front hall to work.

In winter like this, he actually doesn't have much to deal with.

Once the planning for Jinyang City was completed, Pei Xiu was put in charge of the specifics.

The disaster victims and refugees who migrated here were also easy to settle; they would become tenants of the government.

It was impossible to divide the land among the young men in the family. Only if they joined the army and made meritorious contributions could they be allocated land.

Taiyuan had enough government-owned land, all of which was requisitioned from the powerful clans and wealthy families of Taiyuan.

There was a shortage of tenants, so the income was split 50/50 with the tenants, which was much higher than the taxes.

Although there were many miscellaneous taxes, the cost of collecting them was also high, and in fact, the government's finances had been in dire straits before.

With the current implementation of government-mandated tenancy, tax collection costs have decreased rapidly, and Taiyuan's tax revenue next year is sure to be very impressive.

Even such an important matter was handled by Jia Xu's Taiyuan Prefecture.

Even official documents from the Taiyuan Prefecture would be sent to the puppet state government, and after passing through the state government, they would be sent to the Grand Marshal's office.

The process is complicated, but it cannot be skipped; it sets an example for Yongliang in the future.

The puppet prefecture was poorly managed, so Zhao Ji recruited Sun Zi to serve as an aide in the Grand Marshal's staff and concurrently as the prefectural administrator.

Meanwhile, the chief clerk of the prefecture was recruited to recruit Wen Hui, who was then tasked with keeping an eye on Sun Zi.

As long as the Grand Marshal's office remains in Jinyang, the provincial authorities will not have the power to make decisions or judgments.

This arrangement is a test for Sun Zi, and also a test for Wen Hui.

The powerful families and clans in Taiyuan are in a terrible state. Even if Zhao Ji dares to trust Sun Zi and Wen Hui, others will question their stance.

Only given enough time can they prove their loyalty.

If anyone slacks off or colludes with outsiders during this period, they will be eliminated.

(End of this chapter)