Tiger Guards

Chapter 743 Not Gnawing on Bones
Jinyang, the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

Inside the West Pavilion, Zhao Ji, as usual, was studying military intelligence from all sides.

So far, the follow-up work in Liangzhou has been relatively smooth, and there have been no serious incidents such as military rebellion, the use of prisoners of war, or the creation of larger-scale unrest.

The rebellion of Pei Mao, the Prefect of Jingzhao, was successfully contained without causing any significant disturbances in the Sanfu, Hongnong, and Hedong regions.

This gave Zhao Ji the illusion that military victory was the only way to win, as if winning battles continuously could quell or delay the outbreak of various conflicts.

But he knew very well that continuous victories were like a child constantly swinging a wooden sword to cut through bushes and weeds, which could indeed frighten the poisonous snakes in the bushes into not daring to move.

If the child's wooden sword breaks or gets stuck, or if the venomous snake discovers its weakness, it will launch a fatal attack.

As long as the team maintains a winning percentage against external enemies, the wooden sword remains sharp, and no one dares to step forward and risk their lives to determine whether it is a wooden sword, an iron sword, or a stone sword on the verge of shattering.

The venomous snakes lurking under these bushes are the most difficult to guard against.

At this moment, Zhao Ji could only do his best to ensure the smooth progress of military operations at the front, so as not to expose any flaws and trigger a larger-scale turmoil.

Safeguarding victory at the front lines also requires ensuring that this victory is within a controllable scope.

Xu Huang was a steady and reliable general who, in critical moments, understood the big picture, listened to orders, and restrained his desires—a truly capable leader.

If Xu Huang had been in charge of the vanguard, it's highly unlikely that a series of victories would have occurred, leading to the advance from Liaodong to the north bank of the Yellow River.

At this moment, Zhao Ji felt more and more like he was performing a precise surgical operation, which required severing the other party's tendons without causing too much bleeding.

While he was studying the sand table, Wen Hui strode over and said, "Your Excellency, General Dang Kou has arrived at the West Hall."

"Ah."

Zhao Ji responded with a word and turned to look at Zhang Wei, who was recording the marching status of the various armies that day.

Doing these specific things doesn't require too much subjective motivation or wisdom.

Therefore, Zhang Wei was able to successfully complete these kinds of tasks and become a key advisor in the central government, which was much easier than being a county magistrate. Specific tasks were assigned, and he only needed to do his job.

A county magistrate, on the other hand, has to consider all aspects of things and needs a broad vision and ability to take a holistic view.

Of course, if one has no ambition or only indulges in pleasure, let alone a human, even a dog could be a good county magistrate.

At least a dog has limited means of plundering wealth and persecuting officials and the people without cause.

It wasn't that I was deliberately belittling Zhang Wei, but rather that it's good to be under a big tree. The Jin army was on the rise, and everyone's spirits were high, and even their work was flawless.

As long as you can get by, it's a good day.

After Zhao Ji glanced over, Zhang Wei immediately understood and put the marching logs of each army together and placed them on the side of the sand table.

Then Zhang Wei picked up a long pole with a hook and pulled open the curtains hanging above the four corners of the sand table. Soon the purplish-red curtains surrounded the sand table, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

Even if the passing shogunate officials turned their heads to look, they couldn't see anything clearly, let alone catch a glimpse out of the corner of their eyes.

There were also guards on duty in the hall, and during the time Zhao Ji was away, no one was able to see the secrets on the sand table.

Zhao Ji strode out of the West Pavilion. In front of the pavilion was a stone-paved ground, and in the center was a small fountain three feet high.

The fountain's water source comes from the Longshan Spring Stream, which is introduced from outside the western city. During the time Zhao Ji returned to Jinyang, he did not interfere with or modify Zhao Yan's plans for urban construction; the old man could build the city however he wanted.

However, within the existing water diversion and sewage system that ran from west to east, Zhao Ji organized his personal guards to construct a water diversion system from Longshan.

The clean spring water was first brought to the Empress's Palace at the western end of the city's high ground, and then guided eastward to Zhao Ji's Grand Tutor's Mansion, which resembled a field army camp.

During this period, water storage tanks were built in the Grand Tutor's Mansion, the Imperial Palace, and Zhao Yan's Grand Tutor's Mansion.

The fountain here in Zhao Ji's place... uses copper pipes to draw water, which is why it has a fountain effect. He originally wanted to use cheap lead pipes to draw water for certain people, but he was worried that this cost-saving method would be learned by officials and then harm future generations.

Therefore, copper pipes were used luxuriously in the West Pavilion.

The fountain's design is also quite unique; it's a stone sculpture of a chubby four- or five-year-old boy, facing east with his back to the west, tucking in his waist and thrusting his hips as if he's urinating.

The fountain's water jets rise three feet above the head of the stone sculpture, finally landing among a group of large-mouthed stone toads.

This was a design requirement that Zhao Ji casually proposed, and the craftsmen below successfully achieved the desired effect.

Naturally, Zhao Ji would not dislike the mountain stream fountain that seemed to have a slightly warm, illusory feel to it.

Before he went to see Zhang Liao, he quickly walked out of the corridor, reached up to the swarm of toads to wash his hands, and then splashed water on his face, which made him feel refreshed.

He then took out a towel to wipe away the water stains and walked towards the west hall on the west side.

When Zhao Ji walked out of the West Pavilion, Zhang Liao was admiring a cluster of delicate white grape blossoms under the corridor of the West Hall. He then watched Zhao Ji go to wash up and cool off. When Zhao Ji walked towards the West Hall, Zhang Liao immediately turned around, bowed, and noticed that Zhao Ji was approaching. Zhang Liao bowed deeply and said, "This humble general Zhang Liao greets Grand Tutor and Grand Marshal."

"Wen Yuan, you may dispense with the formalities."

Zhao Ji didn't say much. He believed that necessary etiquette should be observed to maintain a proper distance between each other. Breaking it arbitrarily would be bad for both himself and Zhang Liao.

He entered the west hall first, followed closely by Zhang Liao and Wen Hui.

After everyone was seated in the west hall, Wen Hui quickly went out to arrange today's lunch.

Zhao Ji looked at Zhang Liao, whose face was dark: "Today, General Wen Yuan is being summoned to the court. There is something I need to tell you."

"I am willing to obey the Grand Tutor's orders."

"Wen Yuan, don't be anxious."

Zhao Ji smiled and asked, "In Wen Yuan's opinion, what kind of spider can eat birds?"

Zhang Liao instinctively raised his hands and gestured: "A spider the size of a bird?"

"Is it big enough to catch sparrows?"

Zhao Ji gave a thumbs-up, looking serious, and added, "Not counting legs."

Zhang Liao also looked like he was thinking seriously: "In my humble opinion, it is very difficult. Such a plump spider must be a delicacy for birds. Birds are so big that breaking through the spider web is child's play for them. How can they catch birds and eat them instead?"

Zhang Liao then seemed to understand, and solemnly cupped his hands, saying, "I humbly request Grand Tutor's guidance."

"It's not difficult. I've heard of a type of spider that doesn't spin webs, which the locals call wolf spiders. They are good at jumping and biting. They can often leap onto a bird's back and sting it with their venomous stinger, which paralyzes the bird. Then the wolf spider will inject venom into the bird's body through its stinger. This venom can dissolve flesh and blood into pus, which the wolf spider sucks to live."

As Zhao Ji was speaking, Wen Hui brought in lunch with his guards. Zhao Ji picked up a teacup and held it up, saying, "I don't like chewing bones; I want to suck them out one sip at a time. I think General Wen Yuan understands what I mean."

"Yes, I will finally understand."

Zhang Liao's voice also became much calmer. He held the teacup with both hands, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I'm afraid something unexpected might happen."

"The forest is only so big, how could ferocious beasts from outside the forest cause trouble?"

Zhao Ji countered, "There are advantages to quickly pacifying the world... but I don't think I can outmaneuver so many cunning old foxes from past generations."

If you can physically eliminate them, then using the process of eliminating the enemy to train your own manpower is not a waste.

Zhang Liao remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Is General Fubo the same way?"

"Yes, I need time. In fact, General Wen Yuan and General Xing Ba also need time."

(End of this chapter)