Tiger Guards

Chapter 331 A Minor Oversight
Early morning, in a residence near a military camp in the southwest corner of Jinyang City.

Alan attended to Zhao Ji's daily needs, while the personal guards who shared the house with him began feeding the horses and putting on their saddles and bridles.

While eating his wheat porridge, Zhao Ji noticed that Alan seemed distracted, so he asked, "Did something happen to you here?"

I suspect that Wang Can and his group of envoys from Jingzhou also gave gifts to Alan. If so, we should give Wang Can and his men a good beating during today's meeting.

Alan knelt beside the table, slightly turning his head to look at Zhao Ji, lost in hesitation.

After a moment's consideration, he said, "It's my sister-in-law. She wants me to borrow two households of servants for her."

"Oh? How much does she pay her?"

Zhao Ji casually inquired and learned that his elder brother, Zhao Jian, had also fought in the battles of Jiangyi and the Xiongnu, as well as the battles of Taiyuan and Shangdang, and that his troops had participated in the cover and support for the relocation of officials and civilians in Changshan.

He had accumulated merits and was promoted to Corporal, but still failed the squad leader assessment.

Zhao Ji was also puzzled. Everyone knew that he couldn't possibly kill him; at most, he could only wound him. So why couldn't he withstand the psychological pressure?

The selection and assessment of squad leaders and military officers have become part of the certification ceremony.

It wouldn't pass with the eldest brother, and it would be difficult for other military officers to agree with it either.

The fact that it has been repeatedly rejected has given outsiders the preconceived notion and perception that the leader is willing to remain at the grassroots level.

"There were no detailed wages either; my sister-in-law wanted to hire tenants."

Alan hesitated before saying, “My elder brother’s family has 100 mu of household land and household land, as well as 130 mu of military land. My sister-in-law’s idea is to rent out the household land and household land to slaves so that they can get 30% of the rent. As for the military land, my sister-in-law wants to cultivate it herself, but she is short of manpower and wants to borrow two households of servants.”

Upon hearing her say this, Zhao Ji immediately understood the difference.

Alan continued to observe Zhao Ji cautiously, worried about upsetting him.

Zhao Ji picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "My sister-in-law is quite good at managing the household. She's eyeing more than just the shortfall in the military farmland rental."

Alan looked puzzled, as she was aware of the difference in rent between military fields and rural fields.

She didn't know at first, but after her sister-in-law, Xiao Pei, explained it to her in detail, she began to understand a little.

Zhao Ji also gave her a thousand acres of land, which was not a large amount, but it was located outside the west gate of Jinyang, and included paddy fields, sloping fields and woodlands.

The total usable area is well over a thousand acres, especially the hillside forest land. The income from charcoal burning and timber trading alone is enough for Alan to make a living.

She was also provided with ten households of servants with complete families. These ten households built their own estates outside the city and were responsible for cultivating and developing the land.

Zhao Ji patiently explained, “Now many people don’t like household lands, but prefer military lands. Military lands were confiscated from powerful clans and bandits, and they are all fertile lands, including many rich and fertile fields that yield seven or eight shi per mu. When I formulated the military land regulations, I allowed everyone to cultivate their own military lands, but I also limited it to five hundred mu.”

"It's hard to define whether you work the land yourself or with hired workers. But it's not exactly renting, so what my sister-in-law is after is the difference in profit."

Alan became increasingly puzzled as she listened: "Aji, is what Sister-in-law said—that tenants recruited for military fields only receive 25%, while those recruited for fields like Toda and Kouda receive 30%?"

"This half-year is nothing. Your sister-in-law has the intention of seizing military farmland. She is only dragging you along to scare the farm officials below."

Zhao Ji only had this guess, and continued, "Everyone wants to build their own manor, so it's normal for my sister-in-law to have this idea. Everyone knows that my eldest brother can't stay a squad leader forever. My second brother is the Left General of Chen, so it's inevitable that my eldest brother will become a general in the future."

"No one dares to offend the eldest brother and sister-in-law; they also want to hone their business skills. You don't need to worry about this matter. The closer you get to them, the more difficult things will be for you in the future."

Zhao Ji smiled and comforted her, saying, "Let's work hard together. Grandfather also said in his letter that if you get pregnant, he will allocate 300 hectares of fertile land to you."

Three hundred qing is thirty thousand mu of land. Although it is a small amount of land, it is enough to build several manors. A single manor cannot manage such a large area.

Alan's cheeks flushed instantly, his eyes lit up, but he still managed to maintain a reserved demeanor.

Zhao Yan was the Marquis of Jinyang. Theoretically, the official fields of the Marquisate of Jinyang were all Zhao Yan's private fields, which he could allocate as he pleased. They were not part of Zhao Ji's military field allocation system, nor did he have to abide by that rule.

Moreover, the military officers and soldiers within the military land allocation system only cared about others exceeding their allotted quotas or encroaching on others' land; as for Alan and Zhao Ji's family outside this system, receiving land would not cause much of a stir.

Of the vast lands in Taiyuan and Hedong, the official lands that Zhao Ji and Zhao Yan could freely allocate were limited to their respective marquisates.

In the future, there will still be official land in Xihe, Yanmen, and Shangdang, so the land resources available for allocation are plentiful.

The nine counties of Zhongdu were the largest grain-producing areas in the Taiyuan region. Zhao Ji did not seize the official land in these nine counties, nor did he affect the distribution of military land.

There is no point in encroaching on it; if there were encroachment, it would simply mean using the grain produced from these fields in a private capacity.

Even if he didn't seize the land, after the official land was leased to tenants and the rent was deposited into the treasury, Zhao Ji could still use the grain by following official procedures.

Those close to him needed some stable income, and Zhao Ji cutting back on the smallest details was enough for them. Even Zhen Mi's thousand-plus servants had not yet been granted land; they would collectively lease large tracts of land, splitting the profits 50/50 with the government.

Zhao Ji would also provide them with animal power, and these thousand or so people formed a dozen or so farms, which could also bring Zhen Mi a considerable income.

As for the marriage or other distribution of these thousand-plus servants, that's a problem for later. Right now, they're all easily frightened. If they can have enough to eat and live safely, they'll work hard.

Since this chaotic era began, everyone has been terrified of hunger, and they prefer land with a stable food supply.

In Zhao Ji's eyes, the land in Jinyang was the most valuable thing.

How much money can you make growing rice on just those thousand acres of land outside the West Gate?
Growing vegetables is much more profitable than growing rice.

Jinyang was destined to become the northern capital of the empire, a major trading city between the Han and various Hu tribes, and the land surrounding the city would become extremely valuable commercially.

When Zhao Ji finished his meal and walked out, the curfew in Jinyang had not yet ended.

People in the neighborhoods throughout the city could only move around within their own neighborhoods. They could only enter and leave once the curfew ended and the doors of each neighborhood were opened.

Alan's house had its gate facing the alley, opposite which was a military camp; important houses in the city all had separate gates and did not go through the gates of other neighborhoods.

Therefore, the streets were empty at this moment, with patrol teams of five men patrolling from time to time. As dawn approached, these patrol teams were converging on various posts in the military camp.

Zhao Ji mounted his horse, surrounded by more than twenty knights, and headed towards the Grand Marshal's mansion on the central axis of Linjin Gate Street.

In the morning, Linjinmen Street was empty and quiet, with only wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys on both sides.

The guards at the various posts along the way, as well as the night patrol troops, would stand at the entrances of roads or alleys to watch Zhao Ji's cavalry pass through the city.

Those who could serve as chiefs, soldiers, patrolmen, and night patrolmen within the city were all Tiger Step Army soldiers from Hedong.

Since the construction of Jinyang New City, under Pei Xiu's supervision, people from Hedong have filled management and supervision positions.

Walking along Linjin Street, the Drum Tower, built at the intersection of Ximen Street and Linjin Street, is still ringing the morning bell.

The morning bell and evening drum are both played three times.

Upon arriving at the Grand Marshal's residence, Zhao Ji first returned to the backyard to change his robes.

Zhen Mi and Lü Qi finished their meal when the second bell rang, and then, accompanied by their respective maids and study companions, took a carriage to the East City to study under Cai Zhaoji.

Before the curfew ended, there were few people on the city streets, so the two of them could drive their carriages at will.

If there is a delay, the car will move very slowly, which is not very pleasant.

Even Zhen Mi enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of riding in a car.

Zhao Ji had no interest in such high-speed driving at 30 to 40 kilometers per hour, nor was he worried about their safety.

If they can't be protected within Jinyang City, then there's nowhere safe to go.

With the curfew lifted, Wang Can, Fu Xun, and Pei Qian, dressed in their finest attire, left their residence, rode together in a carriage, and, carrying official documents, gift lists, and congratulatory gifts, went to the Grand Marshal's headquarters to formally pay their respects to Zhao Ji.

Whether the lobbying will be successful depends on this mediation effort.

As long as Zhao Ji's support is secured, Lü Bu will not dare to launch a full-scale attack on Jingzhou.

It wasn't that Lü Bu feared Zhao Ji's military intervention, but rather that he feared Zhao Ji would hold back his troops when Cao Cao attacked Zhang Yang.

Without Zhao Ji watching over him, Zhang Yang is in danger.

If Zhang Yang is defeated, the Ruying region will be exposed to Cao Cao's military might, and Lü Bu will be attacked from both sides.

Zhao Ji didn't need to send troops. If Jingzhou wanted to survive, all it needed was Zhao Ji's attitude and a single word.

However, Liu Biao's three envoys each had their own agendas.

Cai Zhaoji, who was negotiating with the chief envoy Wang Can, also sent a handwritten letter to Zhao Ji before Wang Can arrived.

Wang Can also paid his respects to Zhao Qi, but he could only conduct himself in an official capacity with Zhao Qi.

However, with his senior sister Cai Zhaoji, Wang Can would reveal even lower prices so that Cai Zhaoji could relay them to Zhao Ji and have him negotiate the price.

(End of this chapter)