Tiger Guards

Chapter 725 Only the Rong and the Sacrifice
Jinyang, the residence of the Grand Tutor.

Zhao Yanxin's newly recruited registrar, Fu Gan from the north, walked along the corridor of the West Garden in his brand-new official uniform. He was tall and had the eight-foot height that a man from the north should have.

At the same time, he has a lean and capable appearance, with a neat little mustache, and his overall demeanor is shrewd yet refined.

He carried a four-foot-long sword at his left waist, holding it with his left forearm as he walked to prevent the scabbard from swinging.

With a stack of documents in his right hand, he walked briskly, and the clerks and officials he encountered along the way would often bow or give way to him, to which Fu Gan would always return the gesture with a smile.

As he walked through the waterside corridor and was about to quickly ascend the steps to the West Pavilion, he saw a person coming to greet him from the waterside platform in front of the pavilion, bowing and saying, "Registrar Fu."

Fu Gan looked closely and saw that it was Wang Lang, Wang Jingxing, the former governor of Kuaiji, now an advisor and a renowned scholar from Donghai. Fu Gan stopped and immediately returned the greeting: "Mr. Jingxing."

In terms of seniority, if Wang Lang were to remain in office for another ten years, or even five years if things go smoothly, he would naturally be addressed as "Lord Wang," "Lord Jingxing," or "Lord Ming" by younger generations of officials.

"I have come to pay my respects to the Grand Tutor on the orders of the palace."

Wang Lang didn't mince words and said directly, "I originally wanted to inquire about the etiquette and pomp when the Grand Tutor came to court and the officials came out to greet him at the Linjin Gate. The palace had already made arrangements for this, and the officials were all dressed in their finest attire to wait. But now the Grand Tutor passed through Jinyang without entering, and went straight to the Longcheng Mausoleum to pay homage to the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country... This matter is quite distressing and troubling, so I was ordered to visit the Grand Tutor to seek an explanation."

"What kind of explanation does Duke Jingxing want?"

Fu Gan emphasized his words. As one of the few surviving members of a prestigious family in Liangzhou, his stance no longer needed to be tested, nor could it withstand the test.

After Ma Teng vouched for him, Fu Gancai and his family escaped a calamity. In return, he was obligated to serve the Zhao family.

Otherwise, given the Zhao family's current control over Liangzhou, they could have wiped out the Fu family even before their demise.

During this special period of confrontation between East and West, most people went with the flow, their identities changed constantly, and their relationships became complicated. Fu Gan didn't really care that Wang Lang was from Xuzhou.

Being born in Xuzhou is certainly a good thing, but sometimes it can be a bad thing.

Fu Gan's attitude wasn't arrogant; it was just a normal inquiry. What was abnormal was that he was too direct.

After a moment's thought, Wang Lang said, "The most important matters of state are war and sacrifice. Jinyang is the temporary capital of the imperial court. Although it does not have the altar of the Han dynasty, it does have the empress regent and the eldest prince."

When Wang Lang spoke of the Empress Regent and the eldest prince, he bowed slightly to the southeast of the temporary palace and continued, "Logically and morally, the Grand Tutor should first pay respects to the Empress Regent and the eldest prince before discussing personal matters. Furthermore, the Zhao family's altar of the state is located on the sunny slope northwest of Jinyang City. If the Grand Tutor were to return from the Longcheng Mausoleum and first pay homage to the Zhao family's altar of the state and ancestral temple, where would that leave the Han family's altar of the state?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Gan nodded slowly. Seeing that no one was around, he said in a low voice, "Judging from what Duke Jingxing said, the Grand Tutor's actions were indeed inappropriate."

"Don't dare."

Wang Lang quickly spoke up, emphasizing, "What I mean is that there are still treacherous ministers like Yuan Shao, Sun Ce, Liu Bei, and Liu Biao in the world. Grand Tutor, you should value our past camaraderie and also consider the potential impact, so as not to give these treacherous ministers any ammunition to criticize you."

"Yes, I will go see the Grand Tutor immediately and inquire about this matter with Duke Jingxing."

"Thank you."

Wang Lang bowed to express his gratitude. Although he had already reported his visiting card and purpose to Zhao Yan and arranged to wait in line outside the West Pavilion for an audience, it was getting late at Shenshi (3-5 PM). If Zhao Yan did not summon him, he would have no choice but to resign and return to his home before the city's curfew.

As a remonstrating official, Wang Lang was supposed to accompany the emperor, responsible for filling in gaps and providing advice. Like the attendants, censors, and advisors, he was a close courtier of the emperor.

Currently, Jinyang only has the Empress Dowager in charge of the country, and although there are places for Wang Lang and other court officials to be on duty and to discuss matters within the palace.

However, there were no government offices for these court officials outside the palace, and the palace curfew would be lifted before nightfall... Therefore, Wang Lang's time was very tight. If he didn't find out the truth soon, he would have to take his leave and return to his residence as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would have to stay overnight at the Grand Tutor's residence or at the outpost outside; the former had many rules and regulations, while the latter was a simple place where officials and commoners were mixed together in one room, which would not sound good if word got out.

Wang Lang watched Fu Gan leave, hoping that this matter was just a spur-of-the-moment decision by Grand Tutor Zhao.

Otherwise, if we delve deeper and find that the Grand Tutor was also aware of and agreed to the plan, then Wang Lang would have to re-evaluate the Zhao family's sustainability... A family that lacks patience is clearly not suitable as a long-term partner.

Inside the West Pavilion, Zhao Yan sipped his tea, holding his recently polished reading glasses as he scanned official documents... In fact, under good daylight, Zhao Yan could see the clear black and white writing on the paper without the glasses.

However, using these unique reading glasses to read official documents seems to make them more insightful and penetrating.

Compared to the monocular glasses that Zhao Ji initially had polished and selected from various lenses, Zhao Yan preferred the Yangsui lens in his hand, which resembled a magnifying glass.

As he was reading the official documents, Fu Gan brought over the documents that the various departments had processed that morning for Zhao Yan to review and approve. When Zhao Yan saw that Fu Gan had put down the documents and taken a half step back without moving, he asked, "Yanlin, is there something you need?"

"Yes, Wang Jingxing, the Grand Counselor, said that he came on the orders of the palace to inquire about the Grand Tutor's decision not to enter Jinyang but to go to the Longcheng Mausoleum to pay his respects."

"Wait a little longer and then go tell him that I sent Yuan Si to the mausoleum. There was no other intention. Firstly, I disliked the officials coming out to greet us at Linjin Gate. Yuan Si and I were merely sharing the burdens of the country, not the rulers of the officials. How could we burden the officials with coming out to greet us at Linjin Gate?"

Instead of welcoming Zhao Ji at Linjin Gate, they went to wait for him on the south bank of Linjin Bridge, five miles outside Linjin Gate.

Zhao Yan merely sent someone to inform them of the matter; the specific choice was up to him.

In any case, Zhao Yan would not go out of the city to welcome Zhao Ji. On the contrary, he was stationed at the Grand Tutor's residence and was already prepared to welcome a new round of riots.

Given the prestige of the Han Dynasty, there must have been no shortage of ruthless individuals among the officials who would suddenly jump out, brandish their swords, and kill the traitors of the state.

Even knowing that the success rate of an assassination is extremely slim, many people still find it very profitable to risk their lives for fame and elevate their family's status.

Zhao Yan didn't want to gamble on the probability of such a thing happening, nor did he want Zhao Ji to be surrounded and flattered by these cunning old ministers and famous scholars.

Compared to assassinations launched by impetuous young scholars, these middle-aged and elderly officials and renowned figures are the more treacherous and difficult-to-guard venomous snakes.

So Zhao Yan wanted to see how Zhao Ji would handle it. He didn't expect that Zhao Ji would not come to Jinmen at all, but would disembark in advance and take a small path south of Jinshui straight to Longshan Mausoleum.

Based on Zhao Yan's understanding of Zhao Ji, he would definitely stay in the mausoleum for the next few days until he had a clear understanding of Jinyang's interior and exterior. Then, Zhao Ji would quietly enter the city without clashing with the officials outside the court.

The most important matters of state are war and sacrifice. Zhao Ji did not go to worship the Zhao clan's ancestral temple and altar, which were nominally the most important, but instead went to the mausoleum... Zhao Yan was completely relieved and did not mind giving Wang Lang a warning.

There are many uses for someone like Wang Lang. He hopes that Wang Lang can also realize his own situation, cooperate well in doing things, and not associate with those rebels and treacherous officials.

Otherwise, it would be a shame to just dispose of it like this.

There are always only a limited number of people with the right qualifications and reputation; killing one means one less.

No matter what, Wang Lang was a disciple of the Yang family of Hongnong and a renowned scholar from Xuzhou who rose to prominence in the same period as Zhao Yu.

Wang Lang's existence can effectively compensate for the shortcomings of the Zhao family. Zhao Ji desperately needs a standard-bearer who can unconditionally cheer for the Zhao family.

(End of this chapter)