Han officials

Chapter 47 Catering to your wishes
Late at night, in the big tent.

I saw Xi Zhicai and Wei Zhe sitting opposite each other.

"Is there anything wrong with this battle report?"

Wei Zhe thought he had considered everything carefully.

For example, in the battle report he explained in detail why he sent troops.

This was because the Xianbei invaded Daifang at the beginning of the year, so in order to prevent the disaster from happening again, he led his followers to attack.

To this end, he also gave an excuse of "autumn defense".

As for why he "accidentally" destroyed the Xianbei, it only shows that he was too capable.

Of course, Wei Zhe also knew that such an explanation was a bit far-fetched.

If it were a later feudal dynasty, he might be accused of provoking border conflicts.

But in the Han Dynasty, as long as you can win, everything will be fine.

Such examples are common, whether in inner counties or border counties.

During the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Tang, as a deputy, once forged an imperial edict to send troops and coerced Gan Yanshou, the captain of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, to gather troops to attack the Xiongnu. In the end, he succeeded in killing Zhizhi Chanyu, Yanshi, the crown prince, famous kings and other 1,518 Xiongnu nobles, and left behind the famous saying "Whoever openly offends the mighty Han will be punished, even though he is far away."

If the previous dynasty was too far away to explain anything, then a similar thing would happen in three years.

Because in the original history, after the local rebellion, Sun Jian, who was appointed as the prefect of Changsha, not only suppressed the rebels of Qu Xing in his own county, but also suppressed the rebels in the surrounding Lingling and Guiyang counties.

You must know that according to Han law, not to mention leading troops across borders to fight, even local officials who left the country without permission were guilty of a serious crime.

However, the local authorities reported the incident truthfully afterwards. Not only did the court not punish Sun Jian, but it also conferred him the title of Marquis of Wucheng for his previous military achievements.

This is also the reason why Wei Zhe dared to send troops.

After all, the martial spirit of the Han Dynasty was not just talk, even scholars could pick up swords and kill people.

However, Xi Zhicai shook his head helplessly after hearing this.

"Mingsir, this is one time and that is another time; the two cannot be discussed in the same way!"

Although Xi Zhicai was not from a noble family, he had seen too many calculations of scholars since he grew up in Yingchuan County.

In terms of military achievements, who in this dynasty can compare with Duan Xing?

He fought on the border for more than ten years, and silenced the Qiang people in Liangzhou.

But so what? In the end, he still committed suicide by taking poison, and his family was exiled to the border.

If Duan Xing had died a few years later, Huangfu Song would not have had the opportunity to lead the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

After all, in front of Duan Xing, Huangfu Song was just a kid.

Xi Zhicai frowned and explained, "The court has been in chaos lately. Anything can be used as a pretext for factional strife. My Lord, it's best to be careful!"

In Xi Zhicai's opinion, Wei Zhe was simply offering himself as a target by writing the battle report so honestly.

Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe suddenly felt a headache and asked, "Then what should I do?"

He had no teachers to support him, no family to rely on, and no backers in the court.

Fu Xie, the only person who had a say in the court, had to serve as an official outside the capital.

However, Xi Zhicai smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, my lord. Just make a few minor changes and it will be fine."

Xi Zhicai naturally had a solution. After all, isn’t that what counselors are used for?

He took the battle report and started to modify it immediately.

...[The ugly Dongyi people, who stole the Shang territory and coveted our Han territory, have caused the Daifang region to be ravaged by war, the people to be scattered, and suffer unspeakably. Furthermore, some of the Xianbei people are even more rampant, ignoring the authority of the Han emperor and treating the Daifang region as their own.]

[If I do not avenge my humiliation, it would be a great shame and humiliation for me!]

Therefore, at the time of the autumn harvest, I mobilized all the righteous troops in the county and marched directly into the barbarian territory. We used both righteous and unconventional forces, and united our hearts to carry out the chastisement of Heaven. Thanks to Your Majesty's divine power, the harmony of yin and yang, and the favorable weather, we were able to capture the enemy and defeat them, ultimately recovering the lost territory of the Former Han Dynasty. This made the barbarian tribes realize once again the power of the Han emperor. This is a message to all the barbarians: righteousness and military strength will prevail, and those who act rashly will be slain, no matter how strong they are!

Now that the evil influence has been completely eradicated and Han power has been restored, the twenty-eight cities of the Hubei and Bei peoples, adored by the Han's virtue and might, are willing to submit to the Han and serve as its people, permanently defending the border and redeeming their past sins. I dare not make a definitive decision, and humbly request Your Majesty's careful consideration...

Seeing this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but widen his eyes and glanced at Xi Zhicai strangely.

Good man, I didn’t expect you to be so shameless when it comes to flattery?

He also returned the twenty-eight cities of Huibei. This was clearly arranged by him before he left!
However, Xi Zhicai didn't care at all about Wei Zhe's look.

"In today's court, if you are not favored by the emperor, you will be disliked by him." Xi Zhicai explained helplessly, "If you were born into a noble family, it would be fine. You could still keep this merit. But without such a family, you must win the emperor's appreciation!"

Xi Zhicai's purpose was simple, which was to make the emperor satisfied with the result.

The emperor was satisfied, and Wei Zhe's contribution finally had a foundation for implementation.

Otherwise, if any big boss interfered, Wei Zhe would probably lose all his efforts.

What counselors are planning is actually human nature.

For example, since I like vanity now, I will just write in this way.

As for when these twenty-eight cities appeared, that doesn’t matter!
After listening to Xi Zhicai's words, Wei Zhe had to admit that what he said made sense.

Compared to relying everything on luck or the conscience of the boss, he felt it was more reliable to take the initiative.

……

Not to mention how the people in the county cheered after Wei Zhe led the army back to Daifang.

As Wei Zhe's memorial was submitted to the Korean city, it soon caused an uproar in the county government.

Lelang County has only nine counties, and the county government has actually heard about what happened in Daifang County.

The governor of Lelang was actually happy to see Wei Zhe recruiting refugees to cultivate land.

Even when news reached him that Wei Zhe had re-established the Daifang County Schoolmaster and invited Bing Yuan to serve as Chief Priest, Zhang Qi, the prefect of Lelang, sighed to his chief clerk, "If only all the counties were as powerful as Duke Wei, I wouldn't have to work so hard with paperwork!"

It can be said that compared to Wei Zhe, the county magistrates of the other eight counties are almost useless.

Especially the Korean county magistrate under his nose, who was completely useless.

However, it was precisely this carelessness that made him somewhat complacent about Daifang County.

Therefore, when he learned that Wei Zhe had actually led the county's volunteer soldiers to go out of the border to attack the Hu, it was already too late.

To be honest, if Zhang Qi knew about this in advance, he would definitely not let Wei Zhe send troops.

After all, it is better to have less trouble than more, and he just wants to be a peaceful prefect.

However, Zhang Qi did not expect that Wei Zhe actually succeeded!

Thinking of this, Zhang Qi's expression suddenly became complicated.

Seeing this, the chief clerk Wang Ke couldn't help but hesitate and asked, "Lord, how should we deal with this matter?"

Hearing this, Zhang Qi did not respond, but instead asked, "What is the reaction in the city?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ke replied honestly, "Every household in the county rejoiced upon hearing this and highly praised the Daifang Commander, Duke Wei. I heard that several households have already sent people with gifts to pay their respects to Daifang!"

What Wang Ke said was absolutely true. After all, even local tyrants like a stable living environment.

(End of this chapter)