Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 817

"That sounds nice," Zheng Jie sneered. "For the sake of Liang, they're probably just doing it for themselves."

“Sir, this map is an old one from three years ago,” Meng Changqing said. “Now, more than half of Maotang County has been occupied by the savages.”

"Then what's the point of fighting?" Zheng Jie paced back and forth in front of the map, arms crossed.

Now that the matter has come to him, he needs to make a decision.

Should we reject the savage's proposal outright? Or should we continue to report it upwards and let the imperial court make the choice?

When the news reached the imperial court, there were only two possible outcomes: if the court rejected the proposal, Zheng Jie would be seen as someone who acts without thinking and would inevitably be reprimanded; or if the court agreed, then he would be in for a lot of trouble.

Agreeing would only result in a few outcomes: getting the spears back as desired, wasting effort, getting burned, and attracting an attack from the Yan army.

No matter how Zheng Jie considered the comparisons, he felt it was better not to get involved in this matter.

Moreover, the battle in Liangzhou only took place in February, and now it's only mid-March, and another battle is about to begin. How are the people supposed to live?
Personally, Zheng Jie wanted to reject the proposal directly and not send it to the capital; he wanted to stop there.

But what if we could actually take this opportunity to reclaim some of our territory? With such a one in ten thousand chance, who wouldn't be tempted?
Besides, even if he manages to suppress them here, what if the Weishan Camp suddenly reappears? In that case, his good intentions for the people will be seen as cowardice, incompetence, and harming the country and its people.

"Changqing," Zheng Jie stopped pulling the millstone, "what are you thinking?"

“I didn’t think about it,” Meng Changqing said.

Zheng Jie was stunned. What kind of nonsense was this?

Meng Changqing immediately smiled ingratiatingly, "What I mean is that no matter how many ideas we prepare, the actual situation will always be unexpected."

In this matter, if the higher-ups directly rejected the barbarian's suggestion, they would inevitably be scolded, and might even be demoted. Some people in the court would never dare to fight a battle before it even begins, but they are incredibly enthusiastic when it comes to criticizing others after the fact.

The implication is that, for your own sake, you should report it.

Zheng Jie said, "I don't care what those people do. His Majesty is a wise ruler and will not listen to the slander of petty people."

On the surface, Meng Changqing agreed, but in his heart he thought: That's not necessarily true.

"The reason I hesitated is that I thought, what if we could really take the spear back from the Yan army? Even if the Xueye tribe wanted to seize it by force, these Jiewan savages would be easier to deal with than the Yan army." Zheng Jie continued, "If my shallow opinion causes the Great Liang to lose a good opportunity to reclaim its homeland, then I would truly be a sinner for all eternity."

"Then you should write to the court and let the senior officials discuss it and reach a decision," Meng Changqing said. "I'll send the people from the Xueye tribe back now."

"Wait a minute." Zheng Jie called out to Meng Changqing, who was about to leave. "I'll go with you and ask him what's going on before we talk about it."

"You've thought of everything so thoroughly." Meng Changqing feigned sudden enlightenment, then regretted, "I didn't even bother to verify before I came. I was so careless."

Zheng Jie started walking out, saying, "Let's talk as we go. The message from Captain Zhang's men is probably true..."

When Meng Changqing's group and Zheng Jie's group arrived in Beishan County, it was already dark.

Fortunately, the moon is beautiful tonight, with a silvery moon hanging in the sky like a plate.

When Zheng Jie was silent, Meng Changqing would occasionally look up to admire him.

How wonderful it would be to ride on horseback like this, with the wind blowing and the night sky as my companion, without thinking about anything or doing anything.

Just as she finished thinking this, Zheng Jie spoke up from her right front, "There are still too few people here. It looks like a wasteland at first glance. We need to think of a solution."