Tiger Guards

Chapter 371 Perilous Transfer
Wandu, the residence of Zhou Zhong, the Minister of Works within the city.

The mansion was not large; it was just the layout of an ordinary wealthy family's home.

Under the sweltering heat of Nanyang, the officials who came to Zhou Zhong's residence were all wearing only thin clothing.

Yang Qi arrived last, leaning on a cane. Other officials greeted him in the courtyard and on the road outside, lining up to see him off.

Before the gate, Grand Commandant Yang Biao and Minister of Works Zhao Wen stood side by side, descending the steps to greet him.

Yang Qi asked, "How did it go?"

Zhao Wen remained silent, glancing at Zhang Ji (Zhang Zhongjing) standing beside him.

Grand Commandant Yang Biao then spoke: "Since I fainted this morning... my speech has become slurred and I have difficulty speaking."

"Lead me to see him."

Yang Qi's tone conveyed helplessness and regret, noting that the Zhou family wielded considerable influence in the Huai River region.

However, Zhou Zhong was already seriously ill during the Xudu riots last year.

After migrating to Nanyang, the situation was exacerbated by Lü Bu's usurpation of power and Zhao Ji's alliance with Lü Bu. Most infuriatingly, the assassination of Prince Chen and the death of Liu Yao caused the situation in the southeast to spiral out of control in an instant.

What truly broke Zhou Zhong was his cousin Zhou Shang, who was appointed governor of Danyang by Yuan Shu; and his nephew Zhou Yu, who was also appointed general by Yuan Shu at a young age.

That's how the news reached Wandu was; it was hard to tell if it was true or false.

Therefore, many people who oppose this view cannot be verified, and thus cannot be subject to political reckoning.

Besides, they're all thinking about turning against each other in the future, basically leaving themselves some room for maneuver.

However, Zhou Shang did accept the position of governor of Danyang appointed by Yuan Shu. Originally, Yuan Shu wanted to appoint Zhou Shang as a minister, but Zhou Shang declined and took the initiative to apply, which is why he was sent to Danyang as governor.

Yuan Shu also offered Zhou Yu the position of general, but Zhou Yu declined, not wanting to offend Yuan Shu too much.

Therefore, Zhou Yu only served as a county magistrate under Yuan Shu. After the battle for Xuzhou, if Yuan Shu wins, the Zhou family may become highly aligned with Yuan Shu.

By then, it would be highly likely that Zhou Yu would become a general and completely entangled with Yuan Shu.

These news weighed heavily on Zhou Zhong's mind. Already ill, and with no rain in Nanyang since April and unusually hot and humid conditions, Zhou Zhong finally couldn't hold on any longer under these unfavorable internal and external factors.

Yang Biao and Zhao Wen, both of whom were high-ranking officials, led Yang Qi into the house. Zhou Zhong lay on the couch, his face withered and bloodless.

Only his eyes were still moving with difficulty. When he saw Yang Qi, he wanted to speak, but he could only slightly twitch his face and could not make a sound.

Yang Qi quickly stepped forward, sat down by the couch and listened intently, but could not make out the muffled voice. He could only comfort him gently: "Jiamou, rest assured. With us in power in the court, we will protect the Southeast and prevent those people from harming the loyal and virtuous."

Zhou Zhong felt relieved and let out a long breath, which seemed to echo in Yang Qi's ears like a whisper from his soul.

He looked up again and saw Zhou Zhong staring blankly, motionless.

Yang Qi turned to look at Yang Biao: "The Minister of Works protected the Emperor during his eastward journey, and his achievements were outstanding despite the hardships he endured. I will go to the palace now, and after the Emperor issues the edict, the Minister of Works will be buried at Yushan Mountain in the east of the city."

"Here."

Yang Biao bowed and accepted, and at that moment he couldn't help but roll up his sleeve and gently wipe the corner of his eye.

Previously, Ding Chong, the Chamberlain, Zhong Yao, the Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, Dong Zhao, the Gentleman of the Palace, Huan Dian, the former General of the Imperial Guard, and other court officials had been murdered. Although Yang Biao was grieved and angry, he did not feel saddened.

Zhou Zhong was different; he was the same age as Zhou Zhong and came from a family that had produced two generations of Grand Commandants.

If there had been no chaos in the world, given the rapid development of the Zhou family, they would undoubtedly be a top-tier noble family with three generations of high-ranking officials by today.

Yang Qi glanced at Zhao Wen, who simply returned his gaze.

Zhao Wen was clearly being sidelined by the ministers led by Yang Qi, but Zhao Wen didn't bother to explain.

He did not side with Lü Bu or Zhao Ji; he simply did not want to waste his precious life on meaningless struggles and attrition.

No matter how much he sacrifices, the beneficiaries are the scholars of Guandong... Even if the scholars of Xizhou benefit, it has little to do with his family of scholars from the remote region of Yizhou.

Yizhou can be divided into four units: Shuzhong, Bazhong, Nanzhong, and Hanzhong. Although there are many noble families in the region, they are generally suppressed by other scholar families in the court.

The more outstanding a family is among the elite families of Yizhou, the more they will feel this kind of exclusion.

Having experienced a series of troubles during the emperor's eastward relocation, Zhao Wen had only reached a certain tacit understanding with Zhao Yan.

On the contrary, because of the reform policies, these former officials did not dare to openly criticize him, for fear that he would give up and completely side with the Zhao and Lü families.

From the perspective of the high-ranking officials, both the Zhao and Lü families were power grabbers.

After the coups in Luoyang, Chang'an, and Anyi, let alone a family of high rank like Zhao Ji, even if traditional relatives of the empress, such as Fu Wan and Dong Cheng, were to govern, the high officials would not agree.

The path of ruling by maternal relatives has historically led to numerous coups and deaths, clearly hindering the development and succession of scholar-official families.

They wanted to forge a new path that would stabilize the nation, keep the common people at ease, and allow them, in the middle, to wield power and ensure its perpetuation for generations.

To some extent, Yuan Shu was merely a pioneer and practitioner of this idea.

Once this is recognized, then there will be no sense of guilt in slowing down the imperial army's suppression of the rebellion. However, the problem is also obvious: the combination of Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, along with the three vassal states of Jing and Yi provinces and Liu Bei in Xu province, clearly have the strength to fight.

While it may seem that Zhao Ji and Lü Bu seized power within the framework of the reform movement, in essence, the more fiercely they fought, the more they were upholding the old traditions of the court.

The true essence of the reform movement, at present, is still to maintain the imperial court; it is conservative.

On the contrary, Yuan Shu's bold attempt was more like another, more advanced reform... This kind of reform was like the revolution of Tang and Wu, if you won it was a revolution, if you lost it was a rebellion and a traitor!
This is exactly what Zhou Zhong is worried about.

Zhou Shang and Zhou Yu, uncle and nephew, were merely a minor branch of the Zhou clan of Lujiang.

The direct descendants were Zhou Zhong's three brothers. Zhou Zhong was only the second oldest. His two sons were ambushed and killed by Dong Zhuo's troops when they led their troops to Luoyang.

However, Zhou Zhong also had nephews and grandnephews. As direct descendants, their characteristic was that they were younger in age than their generation. His grandnephews were older than Zhou Yu, but younger in generation.

There must have been members of the Zhou family serving Yuan Shu.

With them around, Zhou Shang resigned from his position as a high-ranking official, and Zhou Yu declined the post of general... It was just a normal division of the family to avoid trouble. Yuan Shu understood this and wouldn't take it too seriously.

The Zhou family's downfall came after Yuan Shu's defeat and death, but the Yang family of Hongnong's downfall is imminent.

After Zhao Ji pacifies the Three Auxiliary Regions, he may issue a conscription order to his cousins ​​Yang Liang and Yang Xiu at any time. At that time, it will be Yang Qi and Yang Biao's turn to be exploited by Zhao Ji.

The recruitment of Yang Liang and Yang Xiu into the Grand Marshal's staff may seem like an attempt to infiltrate Zhao Ji's ranks, but in reality, it gave Zhao Ji an opportunity to exploit their oversights.

Assigning Yang Liang and Yang Xiu some tedious tasks would be enough to wear them down and demoralize them; Zhao Ji could find fault with them at any time and punish Yang Liang and Yang Xiu severely with a legitimate reason.

Therefore, the current group of officials and ministers are eager to sabotage Lü Bu, but they dare not act rashly due to their weaknesses or their own stance.

If it were just Lü Bu or Zhao Ji alone, they would naturally dare to take a gamble.

Dong Zhuo was assassinated three times, but he still fell from grace.
The problem now is that Lü Bu is inside and Zhao Ji is outside. If they cannot be eliminated at the same time, the survivor can quickly take over the enemy's forces and then launch a bloody revenge.

High-level scholars are not like reeds by the river; in the current chaotic world, it is not conducive to the growth of high-level scholars.

In times of chaos, young and middle-aged scholars generally served under various warlords and were firmly bound to them.

This resulted in them having a high level of influence locally, but not being recognized by scholars in other places, and instead regarding each other as enemies.

Before the chaos of the world, the high-ranking scholars who had emerged were universally recognized, with their students and former officials spread throughout the country, and they had a wide range of influence and recognition.

As these influential and prestigious scholars grow old and pass away, it will be difficult to find suitable replacements.

If subsequent high-ranking officials lack public support, what is the point of their positions?
It did little to enhance the legitimacy or influence of the imperial court, nor did it contribute much to its prestige.

Zhou Zhong died peacefully amidst the farewells of other high-ranking officials and was given a proper burial. Compared to Huang Wan, Wang Yun, and Cui Lie, Zhou Zhong's end was not considered tragic.

At least in Lü Bu's eyes, Zhou Zhong's peaceful death was a rare occurrence.

Lu Bu had done his fair share of grave robbing and murder, and he wasn't particularly optimistic about his fate or his end.

The current predicament is that the succession of the governor of Yangzhou requires repeated communication with Zhao Ji, which is not something that the puppet governor of Luodu can decide.

Now he's even more troubled, having to argue with Zhao Ji about the succession to the position of Grand Commandant.

Should they be selected from the existing Nine Ministers, or should the positions be temporarily vacant?

Reflecting on the deaths of He Jin and Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu no longer liked these officials, and even the emperor could be temporarily handed over to him for a period of time.

During this time, he also realized that Zhao Ji did not have real control over the emperor and ministers. Although he had given them to Zhao Ji and enjoyed a high reputation, danger was also lurking around him.

Especially with the two prefectures of Jing and Yi receiving an imperial edict to send troops to Nanyang to assemble, this could very likely trigger a new round of long-planned rebellion and mutiny.

Even after the emperor and high-ranking officials were handed over to Zhao Ji, Lü Bu was still uneasy.

If the emperor and his ministers are sent back to Luodu, both sides will jointly send troops to protect them, with Zhang Yang, an honest man, in charge of the specific work.

In that case, Lü Bu himself could stay away from the danger posed by the high-ranking officials.

The longer Lü Bu spent close contact with high-ranking officials, the more rumors began to circulate. He began to doubt the stances of Chen Gong, Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Li Tong, and others, and was worried that they would become the next Lü Wenhou who would assassinate Dong Zhuo.

But this matter had such a huge impact that he didn't even dare to discuss it with Yang Jun or his wife, let alone send an envoy to Zhao Ji to discuss it.

Therefore, he decided to test Zhao Ji step by step.

For example, during this campaign to quell the rebellion against Yuan Shikai, the emperor was taken along, and the high-ranking officials were moved to Luodu, separating them from the emperor and forcibly interrupting any potential or ongoing conspiracies.

As for how much Zhao Ji could understand, Lü Bu didn't care.

This matter must be discussed in person with Zhao Ji.

Fortunately, he had enough time to make the arrangements; there were still two months left, allowing the envoys from both sides to exchange visits at least six times.

If possible, appointing Zhang Yang as Commandant of the Guards and having Zhao Yan return to the court as one of the Three Dukes would concentrate many potential threats in Luodu, rather than around Lü Bu himself.

(End of this chapter)