Tiger Guards

Chapter 566 Duke Protector of the Nation
When Liu Bei led his army into Xuchang, his officers and soldiers were stationed in Chen, east of Xuchang, and participated in military settlements in Chen.

In order to stabilize and gain Liu Bei's trust, Lü Bu also handed over the position of Chancellor of Chen to Liu Bei.

In any case, the power to appoint county and prefectural officials in the Yan and Yu regions was transferred to Lü Bu, and Zhao Ji's remaining personnel in the three provinces did not interfere or obstruct.

After Lü Bu developed a desire to retreat, he would quickly adjust the official positions in the Yan and Yu regions or other areas as long as he could make the decision on his own. He would send out his subordinates in the General's Office who he felt were suitable and could rely on to serve as county magistrates.

The aide to the Grand General was naturally from the government, and although he had a high starting point in his career, it did not mean that he could be directly appointed as the prefectural or county governor.

As for the long-term future... Lü Bu has placed his hopes on his descendants for the next two generations.

Even if these outlying officials served as county magistrates, they could not wield real power in the county, nor could they expand their influence to the surrounding areas and develop a powerful force.

But these people are, after all, local officials with a certain degree of decision-making power, and they might be able to monetize that power and sell it for a good price.

In the long run, if these former officials and protégés of General Lü Wenhou could become high-ranking officials of the rank of two thousand shi or above in the new dynasty, the Lü family would not decline too much if these people gave them a little help.

As April approached, General Lü Bu and General Liu Bei shared banquets and carriages, practically sleeping side by side and discussing the universe and their ideals.

As Liu Bei's power and influence grew, the same difficult problems that troubled the emperor, the ministers, and Lü Bu also lay before him.

With this rising star among the imperial clan taking the lead in proposing unconventional rewards to Zhao Ji, the public backlash against the emperor, high-ranking officials, and Lü Bu would be less.

Therefore, while Liu Bei enjoyed the prestigious status of Xuchang, he was also tormented by this thorny problem.

Normally speaking, Zhao Ji has already reached the point where he can be granted any more titles.

Normally speaking, Zhao Ji shouldn't have made such a great contribution!

Now that he couldn't kill Zhao Ji, Liu Bei couldn't back down in the face of battle.

The emperor, high officials, and Lü Bu were all watching him, as were all the discerning people in the world.

Having enjoyed the power and status that Lü Bu had given him, if Liu Bei were to back down and lose the trust of the world, what could he possibly achieve in the future?
Therefore, Liu Bei had to step forward to solve this problem for the emperor and the court.

After half a month of deliberation, Liu Bei finally submitted a memorial to the imperial court entitled "Memorial on Appointing Zhao Ji as Grand Marshal and Duke of Protector of the State." Liu Bei refused to grant Zhao Ji the title of Duke representing a region, and he was even less likely to provoke Zhao Ji and the people of the world into granting him titles such as Duke of Anhan or Duke of Fuhan.

After much deliberation with those around him, he decided to elevate Zhao Ji to the rank of Duke Protector of the Nation, a title brimming with glory.

This was both an acknowledgment and reward for Zhao Ji's initiative in launching the National Protection War against Yuan Shikai, and also a recognition of Zhao Ji's recovery of the seven prefectures as a normal military operation to protect the country's borders.

If Zhao Ji is willing to accept the title of Duke Protector of the Nation, then public opinion and morality will naturally compel Zhao Ji to work hard to improve himself and develop towards the title of Duke Protector of the Nation.

This was only Liu Bei's first step. He then submitted a memorial to the emperor, praising Grand Marshal Zhao Ji's achievements and noble character.

It is believed that having Zhao Ji, the Grand Marshal, oversee the military and political affairs of the four prefectures of Yong, Liang, Bing, and You is a blessing for the officials and people of the four prefectures, but a loss for the people of the other prefectures.

Therefore, Liu Bei believed that since the border troubles of the various Hu tribes had been eliminated, the court should move back to Luodu and invite the Duke of Protectorate and Grand Marshal to come to the court to govern.

If Zhao Ji is confined to the framework of the imperial court, many things will wear him down.

A person's energy and time are limited. When Zhao Ji is busy with various disputes and conflicts in the court and among the people, he will naturally relax his management and control over his old subordinates, Yongliang, Youzhou and Bingzhou. Otherwise, if Zhao Ji is left in Xizhou, thinking only about how to deal with the persecution of the court, he may one day really go astray and fight against the court.

Liu Bei also did not want Zhao Ji to rebel... If Zhao Ji rebelled, many of the officials who were still holding on would collapse.

These officials were not only in the central government but also distributed throughout various prefectures and counties. It was precisely because these people held the belief that the Han dynasty could be restored three times and that the current turmoil would soon be quelled that local warlords were unable to quickly annex and unify the resources of the prefectures and counties.

Even warlords had to wear the guise of governing a region for the Han dynasty; otherwise, how could they get the counties to carry out their orders?
How can the counties then legally extract and exploit the human and military resources under their jurisdiction?
The influence of the Han dynasty's legitimacy has always existed, and even gradually increased with Zhao Ji's military victories.

It was this inherent consensus among low- and middle-level officials from all sides that allowed the influence of the Han emperor to continue to recover and grow.

If Zhao Ji rebels, even if some of his officials don't understand or want to support him, they will still continue to follow him... because the fruits of victory are too plentiful, and it's hard for a normal person to refuse, let alone officials whose professional nature is more greedy and tyrannical.

Therefore, the court must stabilize Zhao Ji and give the emperor the opportunity to assume personal rule... Ideally, when the emperor assumes personal rule, Zhao Ji should be brought into the court and presided over the ceremony.

Although Emperor Liu Xie had already hastily come of age and assumed personal rule during the reign of Li Jue and Guo Si, this personal rule did not bring any praiseworthy achievements, but only indirectly promoted the chaos in the Three Auxiliary Regions and the relocation of the court to the east.

In the short span of just over a year that the emperor assumed personal rule, the things he did were so terrible and unremarkable.

In contrast, Zhao Ji promoted the Three Departments system after the Anyi remonstrance; under the Three Departments system, Zhao Ji nominally supervised the troops and governed the people in the four prefectures of Yong, Liang, You and Bing, but in reality, he only had Taiyuan and Hedong prefectures when things got urgent.

However, it was precisely after Zhao Ji proposed and promoted the Three Departments system, which divided the power of the ministers and dismantled the inertia of ministers holding meetings to govern, that the court was able to efficiently handle personnel transfers in various regions.

It was precisely by freeing the court from the influence of powerful noble families and aristocratic clans on one's career that the imperial court was able to flourish.

It was only by shielding Zhao Ji from interference from high-ranking officials using the name of the imperial court that he was able to defeat the surrounding Han and Hu heroes so decisively that they could hardly breathe.

Even Yuan Shao, whose second son and nephew are currently being held hostage by Zhao Ji.

Li Jue and Guo Si were even directly beheaded... Given the hatred the emperor and his ministers harbored towards Li Jue and Guo Si, no amount of reward could fully express their joy.

Therefore, the relatively excellent Three Departments system can be retained, but the continued existence of Zhao Ji is truly detrimental to the revival of the Han Dynasty.

What could Liu Bei do in this situation?
Liu Bei had no choice. Whether he wanted to be a loyal minister who would restore the Han Dynasty, or he wanted to replace Zhao Ji, he had to find a way to suppress Zhao Ji, preferably by pressing Zhao Ji's head down and drowning him!

Thus, after the spring plowing in Xuchang ended, in the silent political atmosphere, Liu Bei's memorial to the throne swept across the land like a whirlwind.

The situation was clear: either agree to Liu Bei's proposal, or Lü Bu would find someone similar to Liu Bei to make the proposal again.

Even Lü Bu began to devise ways out and escape routes for the staff of the Grand General's office... The Xu Du court, under such circumstances, could only agree to Liu Bei's proposal.

Before receiving a formal reply from Zhao Ji or Zhao Yan, Lü Bu began pushing forward with the plan to move the emperor back to Luodu.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of this matter that was crucial to the stability of the country, Lü Bu followed Liu Bei in submitting a memorial to the court, wanting to personally lead troops back to Luodu so as to carry out military settlements in the Heluo region, so that the court would have various funds and provisions after moving back to Xuchang.

To avoid a repeat of the situation after the eastward relocation to Luodu, where they ended up starving and were coerced by Zhao Ji into fighting the Battle of Chenliu.

Before Zhao Ji and Zhao Yan could reply, various factions within the court were busy and in conflict over this matter.

(End of this chapter)