Tiger Guards

Chapter 565 Ancestor of Jishan
On the fifth day of the fourth month, at the foot of a mountain in the eastern suburbs of Guangning County, north of Yuyang Prefecture.

The tomb of the Guangning County Magistrate, who committed suicide after being convicted of a Xianbei invasion, is located here.

When Zhao Ji arrived, all the other graves nearby had already been renovated.

Zhao Lian, the prefect of Dai Commandery, arrived here half a month in advance and had completed the preliminary preparations for the relocation of the burial. The ground had not been broken for a long time because he was waiting for Zhao Ji.

Although the grave owner was Zhao Ji's grandfather, they had never met.

Even when he committed suicide, Zhao Lian was only thirteen years old.

The elite cavalry searched layer by layer, setting up defenses at every turn.

Zhao Ji rode his horse over... The road conditions here were not good, and his chariot could not pass.

The tomb is located in a bend on the hillside of a ravine. Although it is in a low-lying area, it faces south and receives excellent sunlight and is covered with lush vegetation.

Because he committed suicide in time, he was buried as a county magistrate, not as a criminal official.

The various graves in the cemetery are not large, but they are still larger than the graves of ordinary people. This is the burial ground of the county officials who served in Guangning throughout the ages, so it can barely be considered a public cemetery.

When a local county official dies, he will naturally be buried in his ancestral graveyard to reunite with his father and brothers.

How could someone who was assigned to serve as a county magistrate, county lieutenant, or county assistant in a frontier region possibly have the financial or human resources to relocate their remains back to their hometown after death?
Therefore, the officials who took office in different dynasties would arrange manpower to sweep and repair this burial area.

Below the cemetery, large tents stand in rows. A shallow stream meanders through a wide open flat area. Three layers of curtains are erected on this flat area, along with various black flags with white lettering.

Led by his attendants, Zhao Ji reined in his horse before reaching the entrance to the curtained area. He looked up at the bend in the hillside where the alluvial soil had formed a flat accumulation layer... clearly a place of auspicious geomancy.

From Zhao Ji's perspective, it was very suitable for planting fruit trees, and it was also a good piece of farmland. It would also be good for digging graves and building tombs, at least the grave pits would be easy to dig.

He was also dressed in a gray-black robe today. After glancing at the nearby mountains, he jumped off his horse and handed the riding whip to Guan Shang, who was accompanying him.

Two Tiger Warriors standing in front of the curtain bowed and reached out to grab the uprights of the curtain wall and lift them up, tearing open the curtain gate. Zhao Ji nodded slightly to the two of them, adjusted the sword at his left waist, and then entered with his head held high.

After walking only a dozen steps, two fellow villagers, Tiger Warriors, appeared. They also opened the gate, and Zhao Ji took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The last curtain was no more than twelve or thirteen steps long, facing south with an opening, and there were no guards or soldiers on duty.

Guan Shang wisely stayed where he was, while Zhao Ji entered the central curtain alone.

A canopy was stretched across the center of the curtain, beneath which Zhao Lian sat drinking alone.

He sat on a low stool on a folding chair, with a long table in front of him that could be folded up. He picked up a wine cup and saw Zhao Ji, and couldn't help but stare blankly.

Two years have passed, and the father and son have finally met again.

Two years ago, Zhao Ji, who was seventeen and a half years old, was tall and robust, even in an era when starvation was rampant.

But in Zhao Lian's memory, Zhao Ji at that time was arrogant, and his eyes were fierce and menacing, as if he wanted to devour people.

He also knew that his youngest son's fierce behavior was just a warning to outsiders.

So many relatives and friends thought his youngest son was suffering in the mountains, but only he knew that his youngest son was truly enjoying the solitary life in the mountains.

A ferocious humanoid beast lacking a sense of security naturally thrives in the mountains.

What surprised him most was that when he recruited the Tiger Warriors to force his youngest son out of the mountains, he didn't become as furious and erratic as he had imagined. He just beat his second son up, and his temper had improved a lot.

What happened next was completely beyond Zhao Lian's control and comprehension.

Even now, he still finds it hard to understand his own changed identity.

Looking at his younger son, who was now much more robust, with features that were still somewhat familiar but with a fuller face and a serene demeanor, as if he had blended into the surrounding grass, trees, and streams, Zhao Lian felt a great sense of unfamiliarity.

In his eyes, he only had three sons. The others, as well as the sons born in the last two years, were simply part of the family's heritage.

When these children grow up, they will definitely be more comfortable using it than outsiders.

It wasn't just Zhao Ji's change that made him feel unfamiliar; after the second brother was appointed as a general of the Chen state and escaped from Chen state wounded, he became unrecognizable.

On the contrary, the boss still has that reliable feeling, and can be ordered around with just a word.

Zhao Lian instantly compared the changes in his three sons over the past two years in his mind, and put down his wine glass: "Aji?"

"Father."

Zhao Ji could only manage a single reply before slightly turning his head and raising his chin to look at the graves on the slope: "Father, do you wish to relocate the Langya ancestral graves, or move them elsewhere?" "Where does Aji think would be appropriate?"

Zhao Lian was also troubled by this issue and wanted to take the opportunity of relocating the burial site to erase the matter of Zhao Ji's adoption.

Well... although he has never been an emperor emeritus, the situation is very favorable now, so why does he refuse to be an emperor emeritus?
Not only him, but also his wife, Pei, who had been separated from him for two years, was actively pushing for this, wanting to win Zhao Ji back from Zhao Yan.

As the saying goes, times change. At that time, with the imperial court by his side, Zhao Yan held a lowly but powerful position, which was very important to Zhao Ji's development.

Adopting Zhao Yan as an heir was an inevitable step, whether in terms of power, patriarchal system, or practical effects.

However, this act of adopting an heir was actually somewhat unfair to Zhao Lian and his wife.

Even though Zhao Ji rewarded him with the title of Prefect of Dai County, the title of Lord of Tongxiang with a fief of 500 households for the Pei family, and so on, Zhao Lian still felt he had lost out.

No official position is higher than that of the retired emperor or retired empress.
Zhao Ji turned his gaze away from the mountains and looked intently at Zhao Lian. He found that, thanks to the rich and refined life Zhao had led over the past two years, he looked even younger than before. At first glance, he seemed to be only in his early thirties, in the prime of his life.

Zhao Lian's handsome and dashing face no longer possessed the imposing and sinister air that Zhao Ji remembered; instead, it had warm, bright eyes and softer facial features.

Especially his gleaming eyes, which possessed a kind of loving kindness that disgusted Zhao Ji.

Their eyes met, and Zhao Lian made no attempt to hide his affection for his youngest son.

Zhao Ji could look straight ahead at the charging army, but he simply couldn't stand Old Zhao's gleaming eyes.

He turned his head to look at the table on the side, walked over and sat down, picked up a roasted chestnut on the table, rubbed it, and put a golden, oily, and perfectly shaped chestnut into his mouth to chew.

After a moment's thought, he said, "The Zhao family of Langya has now spread far and wide. Our main branch is led by Uncle Yuanda's lineage. I will personally send one son to be our heir. As for the other branches, my eldest brother can be the Zhao family of Tongxiang and be our father's heir; my second brother is the Zhao family of Yanmen, which can also be considered a minor branch of the Zhao family of Langya."

The younger branch of the clan will definitely suffer losses in the future when it comes to the succession and the distribution of benefits within the clan.

Therefore, Zhao Ji did not want his second son to suffer a loss. His second son had almost died in Chen State. If he was mistreated again, outsiders would gossip.

Zhao Lian was disappointed, but he couldn't show it.

He also understood that this was his youngest son setting a trap for his eldest son. By making the second son and the eldest son both branches of the Langya Zhao clan, they could divide the spoils equally when things were distributed, instead of the eldest son taking the lion's share and the second son, as a minor branch, only getting a small share.

Even during clan ancestral rites, the second son's lineage has to be mindful of the eldest son's wishes.

There's nothing to be angry about. Although he looks down on the second son, the second son really did bleed, and that's only fair.

As for his subsequent children, they were naturally collateral branches of the Zhao family of Tongxiang, and they should be content with just a marquisate.

After calming his agitated emotions, Zhao Lian asked again, "What about Aji?"

“Unlike the Zhao clan of Langya, I am the ancestor of the Zhao clan of Jishan.”

Zhao Ji spoke calmly, saying that things had come to this point and there was no room for naive illusions.

He had already overextended himself, and the era of warlords attacking Zhao was about to begin.

At this critical juncture, any who chooses to surrender or remain neutral will meet a terrible end!
Zhao Ji turned his head to look at the hillside, his eyes slightly narrowed. Perhaps if his grandfather hadn't died back then, and had given old Zhao a good beating, old Zhao would have learned how to be a son and how to be a father.

Then the original owner would suffer less.

But it didn't matter anymore. He was calm and showed no emotion whatsoever towards his nominal grandfather who had committed suicide.

Perhaps the original owner of this body still fantasizes that if her grandfather were alive, her miserable childhood and adolescence could be warmer.

Although I am not the original person, I have relevant memories, but it is difficult to arouse similar hatred or nostalgia.

Zhao Ji peeled another chestnut, put it in his mouth and chewed, his face expressionless: "Military duties are heavy, I shall take my leave."

Zhao Lian didn't know how to reply, so he just got up and followed behind his youngest son, hesitating to speak several times.

When they reached the opening in the curtain, Zhao Jicai said, "Father, please stay. Grandfather will be reburied in Tongxiang. If there is no good burial site nearby, we will choose a place south of Zijin Mountain for burial. When Tongxiang becomes a county in the future, I will cede Zijin Mountain to Tongxiang."

Anyway, Jishan won't do.

This is the burial site that Zhao Ji has chosen for himself. After defeating all the heroes who will come to attack Zhao in the future, he can capture slaves to build his tomb.

Although he didn't really care about such things, he instinctively felt that he should build a 'coordinate' similar to a wonder.

What if we need it someday?
(End of this chapter)