Tiger Guards

Chapter 702 Portfolio Maneuvering
While Zhao Ji was in Pingyang reorganizing the army, Wei Ji, the official he had recommended, rushed into Jinyang.

When Wei Ji arrived in Jinyang, it was already the second day of the first month of the fifth year of Jian'an.

The northeast corner of Jinyang City is located on the fourth level of terrain, and like the entire eastern city area close to the city wall, it is in a low-lying area.

The lowest point on the entire west bank of the Fen River is outside the eastern city wall and between it and the west bank of the Fen River.

When Wei Ji returned this time, he discovered that after the terrain was replanned, the difference in elevation between the east and west sides of Jinyang City, which was more than ten miles wide, was so great.

Previously, when the old city of Jinyang was expanded into a new city, the urban area increased more than thirty times.

At the time, I didn't feel the difference in terrain.

Only after planning was it discovered that the difference in elevation between the Jin Canal outside the West City and the Fen River outside the East City is about seven zhang (approximately 33 meters).

This classification of terrain levels has also provided guidance for the planning of Jinyang Lake, drainage of Jinze Lake, and the construction of enclosed fields.

After a short rest, Wei Ji climbed Longshan Mountain on the second day of the lunar new year and went to the Martyrs' Cemetery within the mountain to pay his respects.

He didn't have time for gatherings or visiting relatives and friends, and he didn't dare to do these things even at such a crucial moment.

Out of curiosity, he climbed Longshan Mountain and looked eastward from the halfway point to survey the entire city of Jinyang. Then his gaze settled on the vast, flat land on the east bank of the Fen River.

This area has the advantage of irrigation from the Fen River, but there were not many paddy fields reclaimed previously.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, there were large-scale water conservancy projects in Hedong and Taiyuan that could control the flooding of the Fen River, and agriculture was still able to develop on both banks of the Fen River near Jinyang.

With the chaos caused by the Xin Dynasty and the previous population loss in Taiyuan, the population controlled by the prefectures and counties decreased, naturally making it impossible to maintain water conservancy projects.

Once the population becomes unregistered, powerful families will not organize large-scale manpower to repair and maintain water conservancy projects over many years.

Therefore, before the Zhao family took control of Jinyang, the water conservancy projects on both sides of the Fen River mostly relied on Qin and Han dynasty ruins, and were only used with minor repairs. Many ditches on both sides were submerged and turned into swamps and wetlands along with the fertile fields.

If the flat, wide eastern bank of the Fen River were fully cultivated, it could yield at least two million shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain annually.

It's not about increasing production by two million shi (a unit of dry measure), but rather about annual revenue and net income.

With the convenience of the Fen River canal, this amount of about two million shi of grain can ensure that a mixed infantry and cavalry army of 30,000 can be maintained along the Luoyang-Hanoi line.

Wei Ji squinted at the vast land on the east bank that awaited reclamation and reopening, and thought of a way to alleviate the conflict.

The current problem is that the Court of Justice is about to be established, and he will be in charge of interrogating Pei Mao and investigating further down the line from Pei Mao.

Wei Kai did not want to kill too many people. The Wei family of Hedong had long been unacceptable to the local people and their reputation was ruined.

To restore the Wei family's reputation as much as possible, Wei Ji cannot engage in indiscriminate killing.

After gazing upon the vast, undeveloped land on the east bank, he found a place to settle the large number of officials and civilians who had been implicated.

For Wei Kai, exiling these people to the four commanderies of Shuofang was worse than killing them!

As a scholar who had thoroughly studied Confucian classics, Wei Ji had a simple materialistic understanding: when a person dies, all things cease to exist!

Even if he executed tens of thousands of implicated officials and commoners during his tenure as head of the Court of Justice, it would certainly cause a huge upheaval and deal a devastating blow to his and the Wei family's already meager reputation.

But if he does that, he will be going down the path of cruel officials to the bitter end. If he can rise to a high position like the Three Dukes or the Prime Minister, scholars from all over the country will flock to him, and he will be able to gradually restore the reputation of the Wei family.

However, if one is too kind-hearted and exiles or sends tens of thousands of households from Hedong and Taiyuan to the border regions, these tens of thousands of households will take root in the border areas and multiply generation after generation, passing on that resentment.

They dared not hate the imperial court or the Zhao family, but they dared to attack and continuously smear the reputation of the Wei family.

What Zhao Ji didn't care about much was a major life event for Wei Ji, and also a major event for the revival of his family.

He was anxious and had no time to think deeply. He returned to the northeastern area of ​​the city, where the location of the Court of Justice was being planned.

Due to the freezing weather, there was no time to build houses, so they had to move timber to build fortifications.

From its inception, the Court of Justice has carried a strong military and field warfare style.

Inside the wooden fence were rows of neatly made leather tents.

Wei Kai dismounted at the wooden gate, and the officer on duty quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Master Bo Yu." "Prepare the carriage; I will be visiting the Grand Tutor later."

Wei Ji also gently instructed that the other party was a national soldier from the Marquis of Jinyang, who was only there to temporarily help him build the Court of Justice.

Before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, all kinds of personnel in the Court of Justice must be gathered. It is not easy to draw personnel from other prefectures, so we can only give priority to recruiting officials from the Marquisate of Jinyang and the counties of Taiyuan Prefecture.

In terms of rebellion, people from Taiyuan, Shangdang, and Xihe were somewhat unqualified. Those who could participate in the rebellion orchestrated by Pei were mainly from Hedong.

This means that once the Court of Justice is established, it will be a court of justice dominated by scholars from humble backgrounds in Taiyuan, and it will be responsible for judging people from Hedong.

Once the Court of Justice is established and officially begins operation after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there will be a steady stream of prisoners coming here to be tried. These free prisoners will then be able to continuously build the various structures needed for the Court of Justice.

In order to reduce the losses caused by the transfer of prisoners, they were arranged to be stationed on the east bank of the Fen River... Perhaps this was the opportunity for the Court of Justice to control a piece of land, population, and prisoners.

With these thoughts in mind, Wei Ji returned to his tent and immediately began writing down the relevant proposals.

As dusk approached, Wei Ji changed into a brand-new set of plain black official robes and arrived at the Grand Tutor's residence.

His plain black official robes were lined with fur, making him feel warm all over, except for his face, which looked a little cold.

However, Zhao Yan did not have time to meet with Wei Ji at the moment.

In the backyard, inside the attic.

Zhao Yan sat upright in the main seat, his face expressionless, showing no anger whatsoever.

At his age, there's nothing left to make him furious.

Even the issue of succession, which he had been constantly talking about, was being neglected by Zhao Ji, whose excellent physical condition had made Zhao Yan somewhat numb to the initial fervent expectations for the next generation. As a result, Zhao Yan had to worry that the imperial clan would become too powerful and difficult to control in the future.

Therefore, Zhao Yan's most important task now is to maintain emotional stability, live as long as possible, and keep an eye on the court and the rear for Zhao Ji.

Zhao Yan glanced around with an emotionless look. Zhao Lian, Pei Shi, Zhao Jian, and Zhao Yuan were sitting at the lower end of the table, arranged in two rows, one in front and one behind.

To effectively intimidate Zhao Lian, Zhao Yan had a row of masked soldiers standing on each side.

These soldiers were from various Hu tribes and could only understand Zhao Yan's gestures, not his language.

During this time, Zhao Yan gradually came to understand the various ingenious uses of the Hu Yi Cong.

The term "enlightened" is used in one sense, while "unenlightened" is used in another.

Living in seclusion, the Hu people, who did not learn Chinese or writing, served as guards, providing them with far greater security than the soldiers recruited from various Han counties.

During this critical period, the more knowledgeable and cultured the Han officials and scholars were, the more likely they were to be incited by the enemy.

"None of them will talk?"

Zhao Yan asked, glancing sideways at Zhao Lian: "After the fifteenth, I will petition the Empress Dowager to appoint you as the governor of the four prefectures of Hexi."

Zhao Lian's eyes trembled upon hearing this. He opened his mouth as if to defend himself, but was afraid of adding fuel to the fire.

So, like a rebellious teenager, Zhao Lian tilted his head to the side, avoiding eye contact with Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan raised his hand and patted the door. Gao Chong stepped onto the stairs and came to the pavilion: "Your subject is here."

"Eliminate all those bandits."

Zhao Yan's tone remained normal as he noticed Gao Chong holding an official document: "What is this?"

"It is a proposal put forward by the newly appointed Chief Justice Wei Ji."

"Bring it here."

Zhao Yan reached out his hand, and Gao Chong slowly stepped forward to hand it over. Zhao Yan picked it up, glanced at it, and tossed it back to Gao Chong: "Nonsense, have him rewrite it."

"Here."

(End of this chapter)