Tiger Guards

Chapter 703 The Eve of Bloodshed

Wei Ji failed to gain an audience with the Grand Tutor, and thus returned empty-handed.

This trip wasn't a complete waste, as he immediately abandoned his plan to resettle the affected people on the east bank of the Fen River.

Anyway, he had already tried, and although the higher-ups disagreed, he felt that he had done right by his fellow villagers in Hedong.

His attempts and efforts... were nothing in Zhao Yan's eyes.

Wei Ji was merely a temporary appointment as the Chief Justice of the Court of Justice; the real officials responsible for investigating cases at each level in the Court of Justice were still those selected from Jinyang and surrounding counties.

Zhao Yan had great confidence in the officials he had promoted over the years... because he knew better than Zhao Ji how to cultivate his own power base and expand his influence.

Zhao Ji's strength in leading troops was his ability to rally the masses, and his core tactic for doing so was to offer them benefits.

No matter who it is, as long as Zhao Ji needs them and can use them, he can extract a portion of their profits.

These benefits were often not taken from Zhao Ji or other vested interests, but from the enemy.

As a result, Zhao Ji's base of support kept changing, from the Tiger Warriors of Hedong to the Tiger Infantry mainly composed of soldiers from Hedong and Taiyuan, then to the Xiongnu Righteous Cavalry, and then to the forces of surrendered generals from Guandong and Hebei.

Next came the daredevils selected from the remnants of Li Jue and Guo Si's forces. Finally, considering the current special circumstances of the Zhao family, the righteous soldiers of the various Hu tribes in Shuofang are more trustworthy.

It can be said that people of lower social standing have a high degree of overlap with the fundamental interests of the Zhao family.

Only by overturning the old order can the Zhao family and these low-ranking officials share a new world.

The lowest-ranking people were not slaves, nor were they Han border peoples who had been liberated... but rather the Hu people who were not considered human by the imperial culture.

Only by following the Zhao family did these Hu tribesmen barely gain some human rights.

Zhao Yan had long recognized this point. Moreover, he had spent nearly thirty years in various counties in the border regions, and he was very familiar with the Eastern Qiang, Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan.

Deep down, he wasn't that opposed to the various Hu tribes... provided that these Hu righteous followers would obey him.

A nomadic people who listen to you are definitely more lovable than a disobedient warlord from the heartland.

Besides these, what Zhao Yan disliked and worried about the most was Zhao Ji's methods of gathering people... which were too inferior and disadvantageous.

The benefits that can be obtained from the enemy are ultimately limited, and will eventually be exhausted, or the army will be defeated and the spoils will be less than the cost.

Therefore, in Zhao Yan's eyes, Zhao Ji's current methods of gathering followers and winning over the army are too simplistic.

Although a fair distribution like Zhao Ji's can quickly integrate the old and new forces.

Sustainable victories are not actually conducive to internal integration and cohesion.

On the contrary, Yuan Conghu Ben, taking advantage of his early entry into the group, has been rapidly improving, reaching a certain limit.

If these elite soldiers are promoted again, given their experience and skills, they will still be lacking in both military command and governance.

This is the disastrous consequence of winning every battle. Even though Zhao Ji consciously removed military officers who were not suitable to lead troops, the continuous victories made it impossible for even Zhao Ji to objectively and fairly evaluate the moral understanding behind the military prowess of a consistently victorious military officer.

At this moment, the surrendered generals and the various Hu tribes outside Xizhou have become a reliable pillar of support for the Zhao family.

Zhao Yan also came to this realization, but after this purge of the Hedong people, how would the Xizhou officials and soldiers, once they had come to their senses, view this issue?

This can only be put on hold for now; time will smooth out the rough edges of the stones in the river like waves.

Ultimately, the Zhao family lacked the highest level of orthodoxy and righteousness. At this moment, all Zhao Yan could do was to remove as many hidden dangers and malignant tumors as possible.

Therefore, Wei Ji's conservative proposal was directly rejected by Zhao Yan.

The people of Hedong, who have already fallen from grace, even if they are settled on the east bank near Jinyang... would they still feel grateful?

The problem now is that too few people are killed internally, so when officials and soldiers who make mistakes are punished even slightly, they complain and whine as if they can't live and want to die with you.

Only through repeated killings can the officials and common people who have been spared death or severely punished develop the gratitude they deserve!

The knife remained firmly in Zhao Ji's hand; it was something no one could take away. If they had previously relied solely on the people of Xizhou, then this collective organization of the people of Xizhou could have responded to the call of the Emperor of Xudu and made the choice to dismiss and abandon the Zhao family.

Unfortunately, from the very beginning, Zhao Ji did not trust the emperor, the ministers, or the Tiger Warriors and Tiger Steps. He formed his personal guards and volunteer troops by capturing and rescuing Han border people and mixed-race individuals.

Zhao Ji's influence in the military was gradually built up in this way. The Five Offices and Eight Garrisons system within the Tiger Guard, and the Three Departments system... were all just transitions. Under these pretexts, Zhao Ji's personal guards expanded continuously with the war and eventually took over the majority of the shares.

The reasons why people in Hedong responded to the rebellion or remained neutral after hearing about it can be summed up in three ways. The first is that they are truly loyal to the Han Dynasty and dare to take action after receiving the emperor's edict.

The second type is those who consider the interests of the people of Hedong, and the third type is the neutral faction, which always accounts for the largest number of people.

The best way Zhao Yan could think of to deal with these people was...

kill.

There was no better solution, but the problem was that Zhao Ji himself did not approve of such a large-scale killing.

Since the people of Hedong followed the Zhao family, they have been fighting abroad for four years... The number of people killed or injured during the war may not even be as great as the purge caused by this round of Zhao family counterattack.

Zhao Ji did not approve of killing, and there was another issue: the public image of Zhao Ji and Zhao Yan.

Previously, the wars were almost entirely foreign, and Zhao Ji showed a cruel, ruthless, and resolute side to military enemies and opposition officials, with extremely high efficiency; while Zhao Yan acted as a kind and benevolent elder who eased the conflicts.

Now, Zhao Yan is leading the killings... It's not that he's unwilling to sacrifice this image, but that by preserving this image, he can continue to deceive potential partners like Han Rong, Kong Rong, Wang Lang, Zhao Rui, and Zhao Wen.

The skin of this kind elder may be sacrificed and broken, but not now.

The real killing will begin after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, when the Court of Justice is officially established.

Zhao Yan has more than ten days to think about and weigh this issue. If all else fails, he can try to persuade Zhao Ji to take the lead in the killing.

In the imperial palace, Empress Dowager Fu Shou, the regent, repeatedly read Zhao Ji's reply, carefully savoring the emotions conveyed between the lines.

In fact, Fu Shou was not that saddened by Fu Wan's death.

The death of her stepmother, the Grand Princess Yang'an... would not cause Fu Shou any grief.

Just as when Voldemort was killed in front of her, what she felt most at that moment was terror, rather than sadness or anger.

What distressed Fu Wan even more than the massacre of her entire family was that her own mother was also killed in the procession.

Having witnessed the mutual attacks and killings between the Li and Guo armies, and personally experienced the turmoil and dangers during the eastward migration.

Fu Shou was well aware of the brutality of a chaotic army, and that people like Zhao Ji, who were strict in managing their troops, were ultimately a very small minority.

In that era, apart from Liu Bei's army which had good military discipline, the armies of other factions, when they went on expeditions, would kill wherever they went.
Therefore, the entire Fu family was murdered... If they were captured and executed in a concentrated manner, the hatred that arose in Fu Shou's family would be a relatively normal blood feud. If enough enemies were killed in revenge, this matter could be barely quelled.

But in reality, the scene when the entire Fu family was murdered was so cruel that she didn't want to imagine or face it.

Driven by this indescribable hatred, Fu Shou carefully read Zhao Ji's reply to his letter, trying to discern his attitude and bottom line. Her resolve grew stronger and stronger.

In fact, she had absolutely no good feelings towards people from Hedong.

Now these people from Hedong who followed the Zhao family to rise to prominence are now following the Pei family in trying to harm the Zhao family... If she harms the Zhao family, how can she possibly have a good end?

"Bring me pen and ink."

Once Fu Shou made her decision, she was not going to delay any longer. She was going to express her attitude to Zhao Ji, the attitude of the regent empress!

She had to express her stance and anger regarding this matter.

Since the Pei family and the people of Hedong believe she is a puppet empress regent, then let's prove them wrong through slaughter!

Throughout the Han Dynasty, there were empress dowagers and grand empress dowagers who held real power. What's wrong with her acting as empress overseeing the country?
If the world continues to criticize that, then find a way to be promoted one rank and become the Empress Dowager Regent!
As for whether Zhao Ji will agree... Fu Shou has a way to persuade Zhao Ji.

(End of this chapter)