Tiger Guards

Chapter 724 The People's Stele
For Zhao Ji, the most important thing upon returning to Jinyang was not to visit the Empress Dowager in the palace, nor to discuss and summarize the military and political affairs of the past six months with his grandfather.

It was certainly not about visiting women and children in various villas.

Family was not a necessity for Zhao Ji's life long ago, especially after he launched the Anyi Mutiny. From that time on, any family would only become a burden to Zhao Ji.

Either he died in battle, or his career failed and he fled to the various Xiongnu tribes... In short, after the Anyi remonstrance, Zhao Ji could no longer strengthen himself through marriage alliances by building a strong family.

Forcibly building a family and regarding it as a source of emotional support and a safe haven... that huge vulnerability will become the source of all disasters!

Even now, Zhao Ji still maintains a barefoot, bachelor spirit... He'd rather smash everything and start all over again.

This is not only a deterrent to the enemy, but also a warning to our own people.

With this faint aura of destruction in mind, the first thing Zhao Ji did upon returning to Jinyang was to climb Longshan Mountain in the west of the city and go to the Martyrs' Cemetery to sweep and pay tribute to the heroic spirits of the officers and soldiers who died in battle over the years.

The cemetery is actually a horse farm, and the graves here are buried on the flat ground on the hillside, like terraced fields.

The graves were arranged in an orderly fashion, like battle formations.

Steep slopes unsuitable for grave digging will be dug out into flat areas three feet square, used for water storage and tree planting, mainly chestnut and pine trees.

In flat, open areas, weeds and shrubs are harvested, and alfalfa is continuously planted and transplanted.

This is why it's called a horse farm; the horses graze freely within the cemetery area, accompanying the spirits of the fallen heroes day and night.

When Zhao Ji came to sweep and clean, it was too sudden. The magistrate of the mausoleum had not made any prior arrangements. As a result, when the mausoleum was suddenly taken over by Zhao Ji's guards, there were still more than two thousand horses in the mausoleum, divided into large and small groups, foraging for food in various places.

As the chariots arrived, Zhao Ji looked at the forest walls formed by pine and cypress trees on both sides of the road. These artificially planted forest belts were very dense and could effectively isolate large livestock.

The roadside is lined with various fruit trees, and whoever comes to the cemetery to pay their respects must bring five saplings as thick as a thumb.

Ma Chao reined in his horse and looked around curiously.

At this moment, Ma Chao was wearing a specially modified silver-plated bright basin-shaped armor, covered with a crimson and bright red twill-patterned embroidered robe, and on his head was a felt hat with a specially made large front brim and upturned curves.

To make it look better and not affect his archery, Ma Chao's felt hat was shortened on both sides.

In Zhao Ji's view, Ma Chao's specially made felt hat was a modified version of an exaggerated airplane hairstyle.

Ma Chao looked around... He actually felt very uncomfortable in this kind of place and didn't understand Zhao Ji's thoughts at all.

For the vast majority of normal officials, returning to Jinyang after nearly half a year should be a time to quickly reunite with their families, hold a banquet to meet with former officials, exchange various matters and viewpoints, and disseminate new guiding principles.

But Zhao Ji, on the contrary, actually came to Longcheng Cemetery.

The place was cool and breezy, and Ma Chao remained alert and vigilant at all times.

Zhao Ji remained calm, disembarking in front of the cemetery ranger and changing horses before entering.

He observed that the graves on both sides of the road were all dug after the slope had been leveled.

Therefore, the tombs are evenly spaced, but due to the changes in terrain, the tomb groups are scattered in various places, and various newly transplanted fruit trees resemble flags, making the tomb groups in different places look like an army formation.

After traveling another five li, the surrounding terrain became more open and flat, but a large amount of flat land was left unused... The number of officers and soldiers who died in battle was limited and had not yet been filled.

There are trickling mountain streams nearby, with relatively abundant water.

So they dug up the stream, piled up earth and stones to build a dam, forming a calm pond of more than ten acres in size.

Near the pond was the completed mausoleum temple. There were no pine or cypress trees around the temple, but five-colored flags were planted. To welcome Zhao Ji, the old flags were all removed and brand-new ones were planted.

These new flags are mostly gifts from officials and scholars who come here to pay respects to their relatives, friends, and comrades; while the old flags are actually more sought after, and selling these old flags, which are imbued with the spirit of heroes, is one of the main sources of income for the cemetery.

It can't be called a sale, it's more like a gift.

The cemetery accepts donations. If you donate more than a certain amount of supplies, the cemetery will definitely give you a set of five-colored flags as a memento.

Chestnut sales and improved seed breeding are the other two revenue streams for the cemetery.

When Zhao Ji arrived, the magistrate, his assistant, and more than thirty other officials and supervisors stepped forward and saluted him, saying, "This humble servant greets the Grand Marshal."

Several of the junior officials and messengers were severely disabled, making it difficult for them to perform the rituals.

Zhao Ji did not treat them as disabled people, as if he did not see their disabilities or inconveniences: "I will slaughter cattle and sheep and give a grand feast to the officials and soldiers."

"Here!"

The crowd bowed again, and Zhao Ji remained silent, walking towards the mausoleum.

There are no statues or portraits of gods in the temple, let alone any memorial tablets. Behind the offering table is only a stone tablet carried by Baxia, with the words "common people" on it.

As Zhao Ji gazed at the words "common people," he felt an extraordinary sense of coolness throughout his body.

When Ma Chao, who had followed him inside, came here for the first time and saw the stone tablet for the common people, he lacked a sense of connection with the place.

It was also Zhuge Liang's first time here. He managed to squeeze into the temple by following at the very back of the procession.

His height of eight feet two inches was inconspicuous among Zhao Ji's close officials, but fortunately the stone tablet of the common people was tall enough that Zhuge Liang could see the two characters on it at a glance.

The term "common people" essentially encompasses every heroic soul within the cemetery.

Even the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and various Qiang tribes were within the coverage area.

Zhao Ji unfastened his sword, took seven or eight steps forward, placed it on the offering table, and said, "The war in Liaodong is imminent. Once the bandits are defeated, there will be more manpower to expand and repair the mausoleum. If this can be of any help in the underworld, I hope you will not neglect it."

After saying this, Zhao Ji took seven or eight steps back and gestured to his personal guard, Gao Yanglong. Gao Yanglong and Chang Mao immediately stepped forward with a basket of large incense sticks as thick as a thumb.

The others followed Zhao Jili and watched quietly. Gao Yanglong and Chang Mao quickly lit a hundred large incense sticks and inserted them into the holes reserved on the "People's" stone tablet. These incense sticks were angled upwards, and when they burned, the blue smoke filled the air and flowed away through the small skylight reserved on the roof, giving many people an indescribable eeriness.

After offering incense, Zhao Ji waved his hand, signaling his accompanying officials to back away, leaving Zhao Ji alone soon.

He sat casually on the rush mat, showing little emotion.

He wouldn't develop any obsession, dependence, or bias towards anything here. He came here primarily to express his stance, to inspire the entire army, and to reduce resistance within the military during the Liaodong Campaign.

As for things further ahead, Zhao Ji didn't bother to think about them.

At this moment, perhaps only these heroes whose names have been definitively proven are truly trustworthy.

Only after coming here can Zhao Ji re-examine the meaning and value of life.

Of course, coming here first to pay homage to the fallen heroes is also a deliberate way of exposing those self-important living people in Jinyang City.

In this way, we can tell those people that compared to the heroic spirits and the army behind them, the value of you living people is actually very low.

(End of this chapter)