Tiger Guards

Chapter 481 Old Feud Avenged
Later, at the main hall of the imperial palace.

It was just a fairly formal three-story pavilion, about thirty paces wide from east to west, not a very large building.

The entire structure was made of large timbers felled from Xihe County and Taiyuan County. These timbers could only be considered hastily dried in the shade, and even the Changqiu Palace was barely completed in September.

The empress did not hold political meetings or reside here. Its main function was probably to hold political meetings and conduct formalities when summoning foreign officials.

Zhao Ji entered the palace with his sword and shoes, accompanied by Tiger Guards holding halberds who stood under the eaves, on the steps, and in the corridors outside the palace. Even the gates of the palace were guarded by a squad of Tiger Guards.

The entire palace was staffed with over three hundred guards who combined farming, animal husbandry, and garrison duties, so they took turns on duty. Their duties consisted of patrolling outside the palace gates and along the roads.

The guards within the imperial palace were responsible for guarding the palace, and these guards took turns on duty.

Thus, when meeting with foreign officials, these palace women would open the armory, wear half-length sleeveless leather armor, and carry halberds and swords.

"Lord Zhao of Pingyang, enter the palace!"

A female official sang loudly, and Zhao Ji stepped over the threshold. He saw the Empress sitting in the main seat, with Consort Zhao and Consort Dong sitting on either side of her. Consort Dong was holding the crying eldest prince in her arms.

Inside the hall, on both sides stood many noblewomen, no less than thirty, all of whom were sizing up Zhao Ji.

Dai Lie, the Imperial Attendant, stood by a pillar near the entrance, wearing a pheasant feather headdress but not a crown, with a veil covering both sides of his face, and nodded slightly to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji returned the smile, placed his left hand on his sword, and steadily took about twenty-three steps forward, standing five steps in front of the steps.

"Your subject Zhao Ji pays respects to the Empress and the Crown Prince."

Zhao Ji leaned down slightly and looked up at the Empress. He saw that her face was much fuller and rounder than he remembered, but her face was covered with a thick layer of makeup that seemed impossible to wipe off. He couldn't help but think of the palace maids with very heavy makeup from before.

If those palace maids changed their clothes or makeup, he would have a hard time recognizing them another day.

“A seat will be offered to Marquis Zhao.”

As soon as Fu Shou spoke, two palace maids who were prepared immediately brought over a large chair that matched Zhao Ji's size.

"Thank you for the seat, Your Majesty."

As Zhao Ji sat down, the Empress asked, "Lord Zhao led his officers and soldiers to protect the country and fight against Yuan, making outstanding contributions to the nation. However, I have heard that the Central Plains are in ruins, truly as described in Lord Zhao's poem 'The Ballad of Hao Li,' where there is no one to be seen for thousands of miles?"

"Your Majesty, the description of 'a thousand miles without a human habitation' in the poems of that time was an exaggeration. In reality, it was only about seven hundred miles."

Zhao Ji paused, then continued, "This is all due to the uprisings and rebellions of the villains in Guandong. When I withdrew my troops, Yuan Shao pursued me with a separate force. The counties in eastern Henan, upon hearing this, refused to report it, indicating that they were indeed colluding with Yuan Shao in other provinces. I anticipated that there would be a battle with Yuan Shao in the future, so I took the opportunity to expand the scope of the rebellion and emptied six counties. As a result, from Huai County in Henan, there is no human habitation for a thousand miles along the south bank of the Yellow River."

The empress listened in silence for a long time, feeling very strange. She turned to look at the lady-in-waiting beside her, who was taking notes of their conversation.

Then she asked, "In his poem, Lord Zhao mentions that his brother from Huainan was given the title of Prince and that the imperial seal was carved in the north. Is there any evidence that Yuan Shao plotted a rebellion?"

"Judging from the past actions of the two Yuans, this was bound to happen, so the Empress need not worry."

Zhao Ji calmly replied that the court now needed a new 'arch-enemy'. Yuan Shu was no longer viable, and Cao Cao had suffered another setback. The court, Lü Bu, and himself all needed a common enemy to maintain their alliance.

This enemy could not be Liu Bei or Liu Biao, nor could it be Liu Ai, the governor of Yangzhou; it could only be Yuan Shao.

Lu Bu must have understood this logic, but the fact that he hadn't received any news about it for so long indicates that Lu Bu lacked the necessary influence to label Yuan Shao as a "traitorous enemy of the court."

This shows that there are too many forces in the court and the public opposing and obstructing this matter; in other words, the resistance comes from the emperor and the high officials.

Fu Shou remained silent for a moment, then asked, "How is the court doing recently?"

"Among the officials, Kong Wenju dared to criticize Yuan's rebellious nature, while the rest mostly adopted a wait-and-see attitude. However, this year when I went to conquer Guandong, fewer officials were found to be colluding with the rebels and plotting rebellion than last year, which is truly a cause for celebration."

This resulted in the death of Chen Gong, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, thus disrupting the reorganization and formation of the Yanzhou faction.

The key to killing Chen Gong was that Chen Gong actually held military power and dared to fight a real war.

This is fundamentally different from the previous nobles; it cannot be resolved simply by breaking a leg.

A broken leg wouldn't scare Chen Gong.

Fu Shou, unable to bear Zhao Ji's frankness and arrogance, retorted, "Was Cao Cao really a former subordinate of Zang Gong who launched a righteous attack?"

"This is a consensus throughout the land, Your Majesty need not worry." Zhao Ji continued to defend himself: "If I wanted to kill Cao Cao, how could I have caused such chaos in Yanzhou? It was merely a matter of chance, and my reaction was too slow, which led to so much disaster. However, Cao Cao was a wicked man, and his death is not a pity. When I heard the news of Cao Cao's death reach Xuzhou, the officials and people were overjoyed."

Zhao Ji didn't smile much when recounting the reaction from Xuzhou. As long as Cao Cao was alive, the blood feud of Cao's army massacring Xuzhou twice would be hard to forget. The people of Xuzhou today would remember this event firmly, and they would be more likely to reach a consensus and cooperate under an anti-Cao stance.

With Cao Cao dead and revenge avenged, the anti-Cao camp in Xuzhou was disintegrating... and their dependence on and cooperation with the Zhao family would decrease.

To put it more bluntly, it will be difficult for Zhao Ji to maintain the same level of influence in Xuzhou as before.

Now, after taking revenge, all the forces in Xuzhou need to consider more practical matters.

Fu Shou nodded as she listened, and even she felt a joy from the depths of her soul upon hearing it.

After this joy, there is also emptiness... not knowing what to do next.

Revenge against Cao Cao's army was a common aspiration among the prominent figures of Xuzhou; this hatred intensified especially after Zang Hong was ambushed and seriously wounded by Cao Ren.

If there's no opportunity, just be patient; when the opportunity comes, you'll naturally participate, whether actively or passively.

Now, when Zhao Ji occasionally reviews the situation, he also reflects on it... If Zhang Hong hadn't been by his side at the time, and he had been less affected by the situation in Xuzhou, perhaps Cao Cao could have succeeded in his gamble and saved his life at the Feast at Hongmen.

But humans aren't plants or trees, so how could they always be so obsessive and tirelessly pursuing profit?

While it's true that with Cao Cao gone, it's difficult for the people of Xuzhou to reunite; however, those with significant influence understand that it was Zhao Ji who killed Cao Cao, thus avenging the wronged souls of Xuzhou.

Any explanation from Zhao Ji would be useless; this gratitude will last for a long time.

The Empress, for example, was already displeased with Zhao Ji's way of speaking... If anyone else had spoken to her like that, she would have been dragged away and severely tortured long ago.

However, the slight displeasure Zhao Ji had caused her when Cao Cao's death was mentioned was quickly overshadowed by joy.

Her inherent morality and understanding told her that Zhao Ji paid a heavy price for killing Cao Cao.

Even if Zhao Ji were to swear an oath to heaven and earth at this moment, it would not be enough to undo the loss of credibility.

For many years, when Zhao Ji invited people in similar circumstances to banquets as Cao Cao, they would rather fight to the death than negotiate face-to-face.

The atmosphere eased slightly, and the Empress asked, "I've heard that the epidemic has resurfaced in Huainan. Could Marquis Zhao give a detailed account?"

"When I withdrew my troops, the General's forces had already moved from the south bank of the Huai River to the north bank. As the weather turned cold, the movement of soldiers and civilians was slowed down, and doctors from various places came to provide medical treatment, which slightly alleviated the epidemic in Huainan. According to my estimate, before and after Yuan Shu's rebellion, a million people in Huainan died due to chaos, hunger, cold, and epidemic."

Zhao Ji spoke calmly, glancing deliberately at the female historian holding a pen, knowing he would seize any opportunity to publicize the evil deeds of the Yuan family.

Whether the Empress knew about it or not was irrelevant; the important thing was to record it using the pen here.

Future research into historical materials will naturally deal a heavy blow to Yuan Shikai's supporters.

What grand occasions hasn't Empress Fu Shou seen?
She too crawled out of a pile of dead bodies. How does the death of a million people in Huainan compare to that in Guanzhong and Luozhong?
It wasn't that the empress was cold-hearted, but rather that she had become somewhat accustomed to this chaotic world and numb to the death toll.

At this moment, Zhao Ji was still speaking in a tone she disliked, but she no longer felt that disgust.

It wasn't just fear or gratitude; she sensed Zhao Ji's righteous indignation at the suffering of the people.

This is a kind of compassion that transcends kinship, hometown ties, and region.

The empress was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "Evil ministers and treacherous officials are poisoning the world. I hope that Marquis Zhao will uphold his true nature, wipe out those people, and restore peace to the world."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I dare not relax for a moment."

Zhao Ji cupped his hands and turned his head slightly to look at the eldest prince in Consort Dong's arms: "Since the officials in the court are dragging things down, His Majesty is reluctant to bestow a name upon the eldest prince. I humbly request the Empress to bestow a name, so that I may announce it to the people and let the five million officials and commoners know about it."

At this moment, both the Empress and Consort Dong experienced different changes in their thoughts.

Consort Dong's hostility towards Zhao Ji, on the contrary, quickly diminished.

How can the current emperor compare to his son becoming the emperor of tomorrow?
Although the Empress did not want to disrupt the Emperor's plans, what could she do?
If this truly enrages the Zhao family, the former palace women and noble ladies gathered here won't know how to farm. If they don't want to starve, they might have no choice but to set up stalls and sell handicrafts.

Faced with Zhao Ji's warning to five million officials and commoners, she could only smile and agree.

(End of this chapter)