Tiger Guards

Chapter 699 Cause and Effect
The meeting has now temporarily ended.

Zhao Jisheng gathered his generals, seemingly urging mid- to high-ranking military officers to confess, but in reality, demanding written apologies was the least important thing.

The most important thing was to tell these people that he had returned and was in the Pingyang camp.

That's enough. Even if some officers in the Pingyang camp incited soldiers to mutiny, no one would blindly join them.

This mutiny, which occurred near Zhao Ji, was actually a farce.

Lacking subsequent responses and support from other military units, the soldiers who were merely passively coerced into participating in the mutiny were able to suppress such riots on their own once they realized what was happening.

The second step was to confirm the situation and organize the still reliable military officers to fight the hastily launched, almost disorganized, rebel army in an organized manner.

After the meeting concluded, Zhang Hong and Jia Xu took their leave, and Zhao Ji saw them off one by one at the entrance of the hall.

They wouldn't go far; they would remain in the central army camp, and Zhao Ji would visit them separately before nightfall for secret meetings.

Now that Pei Mao has been arrested, the Pei family has suffered a major blow and lost its influence in leading the scholars of Hedong.

However, this leadership tradition and relationship is based on the Pei family's generations of management and inheritance, and the formation of a consensus.

With the consensus broken, the people of Hedong naturally needed a new faction leader.

Without much thought, Pei Xiu is the only suitable candidate at present... Wei Ji and Wei Gu, these two cousins, are simply not suitable. The Wei family already has original sin because of their treasury, and the people of Hedong will no longer trust them.

As for the other high-ranking officials who came from the Tiger Guard, they all severely lacked relevant influence, whether in terms of family lineage or personal reputation, they were not as good as Pei Xiu.

Talking to Pei Xiu is like talking to most people from Hedong.

As for the small group of people who are unwilling or unable to have Pei Xiu represent their interests, they will be eliminated in this round.

In the spacious hall, when Zhao Ji turned back, Pei Xiu also stood up, wanting to greet him, but the words stuck in her throat.

He didn't know how to explain it; things had happened very hastily from the very beginning.

Even when he sent troops to intercept and kill Pei Zheng, who was holding Tongxiang Jun hostage, he only killed the bait troops that Pei Zheng had deliberately sent out.

Zhao Ji spoke first, letting out a long sigh: "I don't understand what they're thinking. Seventh Brother, please tell me from the beginning."

"Yes."

Pei Xiu gave a blank reply and followed Zhao Ji through the side door to the warm resting room.

A clay pot is being cooked on a stove, filled with boiling, milky-white liquid.

Beside him were slices of mutton cut into rolls. After Zhao Ji sat down, he used his chopsticks to pick up meat from the earthenware pot. This kind of mutton hot pot with fermented vegetable broth was very refreshing.

Pei Xiu took off his outer robe and hung it on the hook on the wall. After sitting down, he thought for a moment before saying, "Initially, it was Pei Zheng who sent the letter. In the letter, he spoke in the voice of Lord Tongxiang and said many malicious things about Aji. I knew that he intended to sow discord and disappoint me so that I could cooperate with him."

Zhao Ji then used a wooden spoon to scoop some hot soup with the aroma of mutton fat into each other's earthenware bowls. He picked up a bowl and took a small sip, finding it very appetizing, and asked, "Where is Tongxiang Jun?"

"I don't know."

Pei Xiu continued, “I sent someone to visit Lady Tongxiang in the clan. She was still alive at the time and was very flattered, with each family vying to curry favor with her. Pei Zheng sent someone to provoke her with words, and Lady Tongxiang repeatedly told people about Aji’s evil deeds when she visited various homes. This had a bad influence, and as the New Year approached, I wanted to invite Lady Tongxiang back to Jinyang. The person I sent… was beaten to death in public by Lady Tongxiang on the grounds of being impolite and offensive.”

Zhao Ji drank the very sour, appetizing hot broth without any emotion: "Did the Lady of Tongxiang instigate her servants and wicked slaves to kill the officials of the court? Or was she instigated or induced by someone to order the killing of the officials of the court?"

"Judging from the reply from the elders of the clan... it was the women of the clan who stirred up trouble, which is why Lord Tongxiang ordered people to torture them."

Pei Xiu's tone was dry: "The Lady of Tongxiang was unhappy that I interfered in her family affairs, so she beheaded all three men I sent, and sent their heads in boxes to my mother. My mother was quite frightened..."

Zhao Ji put down the earthenware bowl and asked, "Was your wife frightened?"

"She wasn't home; she went to Jinyang to keep Ashu company on New Year's Eve."

Pei Xiu forced a slightly awkward smile as he spoke, and Zhao Ji breathed a sigh of relief. Pei Xiu had not taken any more concubines since his last concubine had miscarried and both mother and child had died. Now that his wife was pregnant, he would not feel comfortable if she were to cause any trouble.

The so-called trip to Jinyang to keep Zhao Xing company on New Year's Eve was actually a hostage situation.

Zhao Ji picked up a slice of mutton from the pot: "Continue. I can tell that the various families in the clan are very jealous of you, and it has even affected the elders." "By the time I learned of this, Pei Zheng had already led his men to escort Lord Tongxiang to Jinyang, and his men replaced Lord Tongxiang's servants. I was worried that Jinyang would be in turmoil, so I ordered Jinyang to report to the Grand Tutor and explain the situation, and I also mobilized a hundred cavalry to rush to Queshu Valley to intercept and kill Pei Zheng."

Pei Xiu also picked up his chopsticks, looking down at the mutton slices bobbing in the boiling soup in the pot: "We failed to intercept Pei Zheng, nor were we able to rescue Lord Tongxiang. I guess he took a detour through Hanxin Ridge, and now he has either been captured by the Grand Tutor's troops or fled to Shangdang."

"Pei Zheng has gone mad."

Zhao Ji commented that the main units of the Pingyang camp were located on the west bank of the Fen River, while the enemy was heading north along the road on the east bank.

It's normal that Pei Xiu couldn't catch the person because of the delay in receiving information and the passive response.

At this moment, Zhao Ji recalled the timeline and lost all interest in eating the sour mutton slices: "I understand now. It was when Su Ze entered Gaoling and sealed off the counties of Fengyi that Pei Mao's correspondence with Hedong was cut off. This made Han Song, Pei Zheng and others realize that the situation had changed, which is why one fled and the other hastily launched an attack."

Zhao Ji felt a sense of powerlessness and resentment, as if his arms were wrapped in ropes, yet he could neither blame Su Ze nor Pei Xiu in front of him.

With Su Ze's abilities, he could have done things much better; however, when it came to improvisation, he was rigid and doubled down on executing his own instructions.

It wasn't that Su Ze lacked the courage to take responsibility, but rather that Su Ze himself was trying to prevent the situation from escalating... It seems that there is a sacred explanation for this behavior, namely that he was protecting loyal ministers who were devoted to the Han Dynasty.

In the universal concept they promote and advocate, loyal ministers and filial sons are both supposed to be forgiven.

Not only Su Ze, but Pei Xiu and Jia Xu also had this tendency and did not want it to escalate.

Zhao Ji did not want to escalate the situation. In fact, these relatively simple and stubborn loyal ministers were the backbone of the army.

But if you give these people a little more time, they'll eventually realize what's happening.

Ultimately, these young people from Hedong were just too lucky, unbelievably lucky, as if everything was a gift from the Han Dynasty.

Without experiencing the trials and tribulations of high-ranking officials and nobles, any official in the central government, regardless of working hours or daily life, would instinctively suppress military men from humble backgrounds.

Ordinary military men could neither reach them nor threaten them; the poor scholars who also possessed knowledge were forced to enter officialdom by joining the army. These poor military men were the most challenging and impactful, and the conservative officials in the court would naturally do their utmost to suppress, alienate, and distort them.

This should have been a form of suppression that contemporary martial artists could hardly escape, but because Zhao Ji was in charge, and through the imperial court, he arranged various official positions for them. Their promotions and transfers were so smooth that they were treated almost the same as the sons of high-ranking families.

As a result, many people believed that their rapid rise to prominence was due to their own talent, outstanding achievements, and the court's ability to recognize and utilize talent.

Therefore, these people were more grateful to the Han court than Zhao Ji, and some of them dared to rebel... This was enough to stir up a storm.

Zhao Ji pondered patiently, and his resentment quickly subsided: "So that's why Seventh Brother sent troops to besiege the Pei family manor, hoping to rescue Lord Tongxiang?"

She disappeared while returning to her parents' home, so the Pei family should hand her over. If they can't, it means the Pei family has kidnapped Tongxiang Jun. It's a very simple logic.

If they can't hand over the person, or even just a corpse... then the Pei family deserves to suffer such a heavy blow.

When Pei Xiu made a move, the members of the Pei family were only injured but not killed.

It wasn't that Pei Xiu was heartless, nor that he wanted to avenge his mother, but rather that he acted before Zhao Ji could, so that he could protect the women and children and preserve their strength.

This behavior is strikingly similar to Su Ze's practice of doubling down on Zhao Ji's orders.

Everyone was working hard, but their goal was to prevent Zhao Ji from capturing them all in one fell swoop.

In response to Zhao Ji's speculation, Pei Xiu sighed, "Now that things have come to this, I only hope that Aji can exercise more restraint."

"I find it hard to control myself. Pei Mao leaked information to Han Sui, and the situation in Liangzhou almost deteriorated. Are the lives of two hundred people from the Pei family worth more than the hundreds of thousands of people who died unjustly?"

Zhao Ji put some meat in Pei Xiu's bowl, saying, "I hope you are safe and well, Tongxiang Jun."

He didn't care, and he suspected that Pei Xiu wanted to take the opportunity to kill him, but as long as Pei Xiu's hands weren't stained with blood, there wouldn't be such a big rift between them.

After a pause, Zhao Ji asked, "With the Court of Justice about to be restored, I feel it's inappropriate to select an outsider as the Chief Justice. Wei Ji is quite knowledgeable about the law; could he temporarily serve as the Chief Justice?"

The opportunity to purge the people of Hedong should not be given to outsiders. If it is given to Wei Kai, a native of Hedong, then there will be less resistance from the people of Hedong.

Upon hearing this, Pei Xiu raised her eyebrows to observe Zhao Ji's expression. Their eyes met, and Pei Xiu replied, "Only Wei Boyu is suitable."

(End of this chapter)