Tiger Guards

Chapter 487 Dispute over Titles
After the banquet, Zhao Ji helped the slightly drunk Zhao Yan back to the back garden of the Marquis's residence.

In the back garden, Zhao Yan sat on the heated kang, his expression inscrutable: "Killing Cao Cao was too hasty, it only damaged our reputation and made us despised by heroes of the world."

Strictly speaking, Zhao Ji had no personal grudges against Cao Cao. His paternal aunt's family was killed in Pengcheng, and Zhao Ji had never met them. So where did this kinship or hatred come from?
The same applies to the clansmen who remained in the ancestral lands of the Zhao family and were slaughtered by Cao Cao's army.

When Zhao Lian fled to Hedong, the small branch he developed in seclusion did not owe any favors to the main branch, and therefore had no obligation to avenge the main branch.

Therefore, Zhao Ji's killing of Cao Cao, which almost destroyed Cao Cao's legacy, was seen by Zhao Yan as him avenging Cao Cao's death.

Zhao Ji sat at the other end of the kang (heated brick bed), holding a black pottery teacup in his hand and smiled: "It was indeed a bit too hasty. I didn't want to kill him, but he came too quickly. Before I could think it through, he put his head in front of my knife, as if he was certain that I wouldn't dare to kill him."

Sometimes, a conversation between a grandfather and grandson can actually create a more harmonious atmosphere.

Zhao Ji pondered, “I know that killing Cao Cao has both advantages and disadvantages. Keeping him alive would be more conducive to maintaining harmony with Lü Bu and would also allow the people of Xuzhou to rely on my family. But I don’t like the feeling of being schemed against by Cao Cao. If I pursue profit in everything and calculate everything, and compromise in everything, I will be schemed against by someone like Cao Cao. After thinking it over, I might as well vent my anger and save myself from regretting it later.”

You must not let your enemies figure out your patterns of action, nor should you let your subordinates or friends and partners figure them out.

The more thoroughly someone studies you, the more likely you are to be taken advantage of if you still insist on doing things your own way.

Occasionally acting out or acting erratically has an effect of being 'unpredictable'.

Zhao Yan nodded slowly, quite agreeing, and asked, "What does Yuan Si think of Han Yuanchang?"

“These are notorious thieves of the world, former nobles and their ilk. There’s nothing more to say about them. Keeping such people around Grandfather as companions and guests for idle chats is a good way to pass the time.”

Zhao Ji had nothing good to say, and after a pause, he said, "Grandson has a difficult matter."

Zhao Yan straightened up slightly: "Is it Cai Zhaoji here?"

"Yes."

Zhao Ji took a sip of tea, placed the teacup on the low table on the kang (heated brick bed), and said, "I promised Zhang Zigang that I would choose one of Zhao Ji's sons to be adopted by Uncle Yuanda. According to Zhao Ji's letter, Grandfather intends to pass on the title of Marquis of Jinyang to Zhao Ji's son?"

The children born to Cai Zhaoji were born with the aura of being the grandson of Cai Yong from the Cai clan of Chenliu, and naturally possessed affinity and a sense of identity in the four states of the Central Plains.

Zhao Yan did not refuse outright. Strictly speaking, the child who inherited his title and was raised by him was the true heir of his lineage.

He naturally also had his eye on Cai Zhaoji's eldest son, and lowered his voice to say, "Zhang Zigang is not difficult to talk to. In the future, we will divide a branch from the Marquis of Jinyang and give it to Yuanda. In the afterlife, I will explain it to Yuanda myself."

Seeing that the old man was taking advantage of the fact that the dead couldn't speak, Zhao Ji nodded and said, "I can't break my promise to Zhang Zigang. In that case, Zhao Ji and I will try our best again."

Zhao Yan breathed a sigh of relief and realized he had gone too far. He explained, "I have seen Yuan Si on several campaigns and I like him very much. I really can't bear to part with him again. However, the court had ill intentions when it first conferred upon me the title of Marquis of Jinyang."

Forcibly changing the subject, Zhao Ji nodded in agreement: "Yes, the three Yangs were wary of me back then. They schemed so much, yet Yang Qi suddenly fell seriously ill and died, and his brother Yang Zhong also did not survive long. If they hadn't been so cautious, Yang Biao would have died in prison too."

Zhao Yan also said, "Although the Yang family did not achieve anything significant while in power, they were able to guard against my family in subtle ways. Who could have predicted that things would turn out like this today?"

When the imperial court moved east again last year, it rewarded those who had contributed by granting Zhao Yan the title of Marquis of Jinyang and Zhao Ji the title of Marquis of Pingyang.

Looking back now, if the Marquis of Jinyang had been given to Zhao Ji back then, many potential problems could have been avoided.

Now that the pit has been dug, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Marquis of Jinyang will have a great reputation but a small fief, while the Marquis of Pingyang will have a weak reputation but a large fief.

The Zhao family will split in the next generation of Zhao Ji unless a major change occurs, such as Zhao Ji obtaining a title higher than that of a marquis, which would be tantamount to a rebellion.

Now that they've all rebelled, they've broken free from the logic of succession to titles during the Han Dynasty, so the trap set by the Three Yangs last year has naturally become ineffective.

Zhao Ji was indifferent, but only today did he realize the trap the Three Yangs had set for him, and that he was destined to stride forward, so the trap was meaningless.

Zhao Ji showed no anger, and couldn't help but smile: "It would be extremely difficult to get them to quell the chaos and eliminate the evil forces before they even arise. Yet they are incredibly skilled at using these petty tricks. Thinking about it, it's truly laughable."

Now that the plan is to adjust the ranks of nobility from the central government, Lü Bu and the other high-ranking officials will realize this and will definitely obstruct and oppose it, making it impossible to pass.

Even actively adjusting the order of their family's titles could breed hostility among neutral courtiers, leading to negative public opinion.

Therefore, there is no need to rush. It is not too late to take action after accumulating sufficient strength.

In fact, he also tricked Sun Ce a bit regarding the issue of titles.

The original plan was to give Sun Ce the title of Marquis of Qi to increase his enthusiasm for taking over Qingzhou. The fear was that after becoming the Governor of Qingzhou, he would turn around and start flirting with Yuan Shao.

Let's just go all the way and put the title of Marquis of Qi on Sun Ce's head.

At that time, out of pride, Sun Ce would not bow down to Yuan Shao.

Zhao Ji's original plan was to enfeoff a new Marquis of Qi, leaving the Marquis of Wucheng inherited from Sun Jian unchanged, and to have the Sun family produce another county marquis to weaken Sun Ce's cohesion.

After Sun Ce became the Marquis of Qi, the title of Marquis of Wucheng could only be given to his two younger brothers from the same mother, or to his own son. If Sun Ce gave the title of Marquis of Wucheng to his own son, Sun Quan and Sun Yi would definitely be dissatisfied; if it was given to Sun Quan or Sun Yi, then the other person would definitely be dissatisfied.

As a result, Luoyang hesitated to approve the proposal, and after repeated wrangling and compromises, Sun Ce's title of Marquis of Wucheng was changed to Marquis of Linzi. This prevented Zhao Ji's strategy of sowing discord from taking effect, and the Secretariat was already showing signs of spiraling out of control.

As a supplement, Zhao Ji added another honor during the withdrawal of his troops: he granted Sun Ben the title of Marquis of a Township.

Sun Ben followed Yuan Shu for too long, and unlike Sun Ce, he did not decisively rebel against Yuan. Therefore, it was already a stretch to give him the title of Marquis of a Township, and it would be difficult for him to be promoted to Marquis of a County in one step.

Thus, Sun Jian's lineage was that of a county marquis, his brother Sun Qiang's lineage of Sun Ben was that of a township marquis, and Sun Jian's younger brother Sun Jing's lineage had no title.

After all, last year, Sun Jing's eldest son, Sun Gao, represented Sun Ce on his way to court, but was intercepted and killed by Sun Jing himself.

Sun Gao is dead, but this debt will be brought up sooner or later.

Therefore, it is meaningless to show goodwill and win over Sun Jing's faction; in the future, Sun Ce will definitely bring up the old issue again to win over and unite Sun Jing's faction, because Sun Gao's death made them his enemy.

Whenever the situation changes and Sun Ce needs to change his attitude, this old grievance will naturally come up again.

All the governors of various provinces held the title of county marquis. Liu Ai, the governor of Yangzhou, was promoted to township marquis last year because of his merit in protecting the emperor during his eastward relocation.

Liu Biao was the Marquis of Chengwu, General Who Guards the South, and Governor of the four provinces of Jing, Yi, Jiao, and Yang; Liu Zhang inherited his father Liu Yan's titles of Governor of Yi Province and Marquis of Chengyang.

On the contrary, Liu Bei's title was vacant.

Zhao Ji wanted to grant Liu Bei the title of County Marquis, but Liu Song, a subordinate official, led the obstruction, and this man had clearly lost control.

Even Liu Song's opposition to Liu Bei being granted the title of county marquis was a matter of personal likes and dislikes, not the collective opinion of the emperor, Lü Bu, or the high officials.

If Liu Song's personal likes and dislikes could, in turn, influence the decisions of Zhao Ji or Lü Bu, it would mean that the other four Attendants would have a chance to escape their puppet status, greatly increasing the authority of the Secretariat and leading to the restoration of the power of the Chancellery.

Lu Bu, however, was clearly watching the spectacle with amusement and had no intention of getting involved.

Zhao Ji wasn't in a hurry. It was Liu Song who was hindering Liu Bei from being granted a title, not himself.

If Liu Song dares to cause trouble in other matters again, Zhao Ji will naturally slap him to death... But slapping him to death directly would affect the authority of the Three Provinces system.

How to deal with Liu Song and find a suitable famous member of the imperial clan to replace him requires an opportunity.

Avoid bloodshed if possible.

After laughing at the officials, Zhao Ji turned to the matter of Liu Song: "Grand Commandant Liu Kuan's son despises Liu Xuande, probably because he thinks Liu Xuande is unwilling to take the initiative to flatter the officials in the court, which is why he has delayed the matter of Liu Xuande being granted a title."

Zhao Yan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhao Ji was no longer discussing the selection of the successor to the title of Marquis of Jinyang.

They don't care about Liu Song's life or death, nor do they care whether the methods are cruel and brutal, as long as they don't interfere with his raising of his offspring.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yan said, "Liu Kuan is very famous in Hebei. This winter, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao will have another major battle. The court can send an envoy to mediate, and Liu Song would be an excellent candidate."

The number of Attendants in the Secretariat should be kept odd. It can't just stop when Liu Kuan is away on official business, so we can take the opportunity to replace them with an obedient member of the imperial clan.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji nodded: "Grandson understands. I suppose Liu Song also wants to try his luck in Hebei."

Zhao Yan was puzzled, but quickly realized what he meant and became even more confused: "Yuan Si is saying that the court officials can no longer tolerate Marquis Wen?"

"Yes, when the emperor was in Wan, the Liu clan plotted a rebellion, which was essentially a mutiny. Now that Lü Bu is in charge of the army in Huaibei and refuses to return to Xuchang, perhaps he has other intentions."

Zhao Ji was also somewhat puzzled and continued, "Whether Lü Bu is trying to lure the snake out of its hole or waiting for me to punish Liu Song, I think Liu Song definitely wants to take advantage of the official business to seek refuge in Hebei. If he goes to Hebei, Yuan Shao can also claim to have obtained a secret edict from the emperor."

The key point is not whether Liu Song had a secret edict, but that this person had a special identity. He went to Hebei, and Yuan Shao said he had a secret edict, so he must have one.

The attempt to strip Liu Bei of his title was most likely a ploy to force him to side with the court officials and gain their support.

If Liu Bei is forced to take sides, Wang Kai and Xu Si, who are controlled by Lü Bu, will oppose and delay the conferment of Liu Bei's title, which will only accelerate the conflict between Liu Bei and Lü Bu.

Liu Song was involved in, and even the mastermind and leader of the Liu-led rebellion against Lü. The reason he's jumping around like this now is probably because he's genuinely looking for a sense of purpose.

Like sand in your eyelid, I hope you can rub it out.

Zhao Yan fell into deep thought, and after a moment said, "Lu Bu might also be waiting for Liu Bei to fall into his trap; he wants to take Xuzhou. Let's not worry about these things anymore, go see your child."

"Yes, grandson, take your leave."

Zhao Ji stood up, while Zhao Yan sat on the heated kang bed, smiling and nodding, still pondering and countering the strategies of the court officials.

(End of this chapter)