Han officials

Chapter 272 Tact and Arrogance [4.3K]

The officials of Xuzhou in the governor's office ultimately dared not offend Wei Zhe.

They dared not be their enemy!
After some discussion, it was decided to take the initiative to send a generous gift to test the waters.

After seeing everyone's statements, Tao Qian understood the attitude of the Xuzhou gentry.

Whether they acted out of fear or admiration, this was undoubtedly a sign of weakness.

Just like in the original history when Cao Cao led his army south, many of the gentry in Jingzhou and Jiangdong were like this.

Thinking of this, Tao Qian couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

Those who know me say I am worried; those who do not know me ask what I seek...

Outside the corridor, Biejia Mi Zhu wanted to talk to Tao Qian again, but instead saw him reciting "Shu Li" in a low voice.

Upon seeing this, Mi Zhu immediately stopped in his tracks, pondered for a moment, and then turned and left with a complicated expression.

A moment later, when Mi Zhu returned home, his younger brother Mi Fang, seeing this, couldn't help but ask in surprise:

"Why did you return so quickly, brother? Did the magistrate grant your request?"

Upon hearing this, Mi Zhu slowly shook his head, then looked at the fallen leaves in the courtyard and sighed:

"My lord... is old!"

Mi Fang, puzzled, asked with a look of confusion:

"My lord is over sixty years old, so he is naturally old... But what does that have to do with me, little sister?"

Mi Fang said this because they wanted to marry their younger sister, Mi Jun, to Tao Qian's eldest son, Tao Shang.

Clearly, the Mi family had the same idea as the Cai family of Jingzhou: to advance their relationship through marriage.

As for Liu Bei, this potential talent, it wasn't that Mi Shi misjudged him; it was just bad luck.

Although Liu Bei performed quite well when he first arrived in Xuzhou, he was ultimately just a guest general.

Furthermore, Liu Bei's first wife was still alive at that time, so Lady Mi would naturally not allow her own daughter to become Liu Bei's concubine.

By the time Liu Bei became the governor of Yan Province, it was too late for Mi Zhu to regret his actions.

In fact, the marriage between Mi and Liu Bei in the original history was somewhat accidental.

At that time, Liu Bei, who had just become the governor of Xuzhou, was defeated by Lü Bu and retreated to Guangling. His wife was also captured, leaving him all alone.

Lu Bu's reputation for womanizing was known throughout the land, and no one could be certain what became of Liu Bei's wives.

Therefore, Mi Zhu presented his younger sister to Liu Bei as his "principal wife," addressing her as Lady. He also offered two thousand slaves and a hundred million coins in gold and silver to aid the army; Liu Bei was thus able to revive his army.

In a sense, the Mi family essentially bought the status of a "legal wife" through a huge financial sponsorship.

However, Mi Zhu probably never expected Liu Bei to have such a tragic fate.

In 198 AD, Lü Bu captured Liu Bei's family again, this time even taking Lady Mi with him.

In the same year, Lü Bu was captured by Cao Cao, and Liu Bei's two wives were able to return home.

In chaotic times, etiquette and laws were disordered, as can be seen from the fact that Liu Bei had two principal wives.

I don't know if Liu Bei was destined to be unlucky in marriage.

In 200 AD, the incident of the imperial edict hidden in the belt came to light. Cao Cao personally led an eastern expedition, Liu Bei was defeated again, and Guan Yu was captured.

In the Battle of Changban, Lady Mi chose to commit suicide by jumping into a well in order to protect Liu Bei's only son, A Dou.

If Zhao Yun hadn't found Lady Gan amidst the chaos and protected her and A Dou as they fought their way out, Liu Bei's two principal wives would probably have been killed.

This is truly a case of "losing both wife and army".

From this perspective, it might not be such a bad thing that Mi Zhu missed out on Liu Bei this time.

With Liu Bei, a highly eligible bachelor, gone, there were few suitable marriage partners for the Mi clan in Xuzhou.

Although Tao Shang was only mediocre, he was still Tao Qian's eldest son.

When Tao Qian passed away, Tao Shang naturally became the next governor of Xuzhou.

At that time, the Mi family's status in Xuzhou will naturally rise to a higher level.

However, on the other hand, everything is subject to comparison.

Tao Qian noticed the situation in the main hall of the governor's mansion today, as did Mi Zhu.

This is why Mi Zhu, who was already somewhat hesitant about the marriage, decided to change his mind at the last minute.

Seeing Mi Fang's confusion, Mi Zhu said with a worried expression:
"The people of Xuzhou are in turmoil. From what I've seen today, it's uncertain how long the Tao family can stay in the governor's mansion. Let's postpone the marriage alliance for now!"

Upon hearing this, Mi Fang was immediately speechless.

Indeed, if the Tao family lost their prestigious position as governors of Xuzhou, then this marriage alliance would lose its meaning.

After all, marriage alliances are blatant political transactions that leave no room for human sentiment.

Even though Mi Zhu was appointed as the Prefect by Tao Qian, he still wouldn't act on emotion at this time.

However, Mi Fang's mind raced, and she suddenly looked at him with bright eyes and said:
“Brother, since the magistrate wants to send an envoy to offer congratulations, why don’t you take on this task?”

Mi Zhu immediately understood the implication in his words.

After a moment's thought, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and sigh:
"To be a concubine... sigh, that would be a disservice to my little sister."

Although the Mi family was originally a merchant family, Mi Zhu is now the Prefect of Xuzhou and considers himself to have joined the ranks of the gentry.

Under these circumstances, he still felt somewhat ashamed to ask his own sister to become someone's concubine.

However, Mi Fang shook her head helplessly upon hearing this:

"Brother, you shouldn't be too happy yet. It's still unknown whether you'll even get to suffer this injustice."

"General Zuo's reputation is now at its zenith in Xuzhou. Although my family is quite wealthy, it is nothing in Hebei. Without support, Ji County may not even look at us."

Upon hearing this, Mi Zhu's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant, but he had to admit that his younger brother was indeed right.

Now, Wei Zhe almost controls all four provinces of Bing, You, Ji, and Qing, and his power and influence are at their peak.

Not to mention the Donghai Mi clan, even the powerful clans of Jizhou are probably eyeing Wei Zhe's backyard now.

In this situation, the family's wealth and possessions were really nothing.

Thinking of this, Mi Zhu, who had been somewhat reluctant, immediately adjusted his mindset and began to plan.

That evening, after much discussion, the two brothers finally came up with a solution.

That is to depict the topography, features, strategic locations, armories, and troop deployments of Xuzhou on a single map. No matter how profound the foundation of the powerful clans of Jizhou may be, how could they compare to the entire territory of a province?
With this dowry, it shouldn't be difficult for Miss Mi to enter the Wei family's inner quarters!
It has to be said, these two brothers are quite clever.

The next day, Mi Zhu volunteered to ask Tao Qian for the mission.

While most of the Xuzhou gentry were still observing, the Mi clan took the lead in selling out the state for personal gain.

……

Ye City, the governor's residence.

With Yuan Shang's voluntary surrender, Ye City narrowly escaped the ravages of war.

This magnificent and spacious mansion has once again changed hands.

With Wei Zhe leading his officials to settle here, Ye City, which had been in a state of economic depression, quickly recovered.

Ye City, once hailed as the premier city of Hebei, has finally regained its former prosperity.

Of course, this is inseparable from the good military discipline of the Wei army.

As an army built by Wei Zhe, the Wei army, although unable to "starve to death rather than plunder, freeze to death rather than dismantle houses," still adhered to basic military discipline and laws, and executed them meticulously.

It wasn't that Wei Zhe loved the people like his own children and had always wanted to build a kingly army from the very beginning.

The more powerful the disobedient troops become, the more serious the hidden dangers will be.

Since Wei Zhe personally built his own foundation, he naturally wouldn't allow even a single bad apple to spoil the whole bunch.

Frankly speaking, in this world where everyone is trying to outdo each other in terms of rottenness, there are basically no troops with better discipline than the Wei army.

Wei Zhe didn't actually do that well, but he got to where he is today thanks to the contrast with his peers.

Needless to say, Yuan Shao's army was already of diverse origins and backgrounds.

Once outside Ye City, it wouldn't be surprising if Yuan Jun did anything in private.

Cao Cao's Qingzhou army had a history of raping and plundering in private.

If it weren't for the contrast between Liu Bei's suspicious nature and his tendency to kill Cao Cao, he wouldn't have earned the reputation of being "benevolent and virtuous."

Compared to the two, Wei Zhe was neither particularly bloodthirsty nor benevolent. To be honest, at best he was just a womanizer.

In this respect, Wei Zhe and Prime Minister Cao had a lot in common.

However, after various counties and prefectures in Ji Province gradually submitted to him, Wei Zhe discovered that Cao Cao was actually an imposter.

Looking at the map of Jizhou on the table, Wei Zhe was at a loss for words.

To be honest, although he later heard that scientists had compared the DNA of Cao Cao's family with the genetic samples of Cao Can's descendants and confirmed that the two were not related by blood, thus proving that Cao Cao was not a descendant of Cao Can and also had nothing to do with the Xiahou family.

However, Wei Zhe believes that the identification of remains is inherently uncertain, and such genetic testing may not be accurate either.

Therefore, Wei Zhe has always been skeptical of this viewpoint.

However, Wei Zhe only learned today that Cao Can's descendants had been living in Ji Province all along.

The Cao family of Rongcheng were the true descendants of Cao Can.

At the end of the Former Han Dynasty, Cao Benshi, the great-great-grandson of Cao Can, was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pingyang, with a fief of one thousand households.

In the first year of the Yuanshi era, after Wang Mang seized power, he added another thousand households to the fiefdom, bringing the total to two thousand households.

During Wang Mang's reign, Cao Benshi of the Former Han Dynasty died, and his son Cao Hong succeeded him.

In the second year of Emperor Guangwu's Jianwu reign, Cao Hong raised troops to assist Emperor Guangwu in pacifying Hebei, and therefore inherited his title.

Therefore, even in this dynasty, Cao Shen's descendants were still granted the title of Marquis of Rongcheng, which can be described as living alongside the country for four hundred years.

As for Cao Cao's great-grandfather, Cao Meng, he was just a poor farmer from Qiao County, Pei State.

It was precisely because of this that Cao Teng, being the youngest son, was castrated at a young age and sent to the palace to become a eunuch.

There was no way around it; even in later periods like the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the same.

When poor families could not afford to raise their children, sending them to the palace to become eunuchs was considered a good way out.

However, Cao Teng was undoubtedly lucky, because he finally made it big and became the Grand Chamberlain.

Therefore, after achieving great success, Cao Teng adopted the son of his own brother, Cao Song, who was Cao Cao's father.

To be honest, the Cao family of Qiao County only prospered for two generations.

Including Cao Cao's generation, it was only three generations, and they even started their careers as eunuchs.

In this situation, it's not surprising that people would try to climb the social ladder by associating with prestigious families for the sake of their own reputation.

As for the relationship between the Xiahou and Cao families, it was simply a marriage alliance, having been linked by marriage for many years.

For example, Xiahou Yuan's wife was Cao Cao's sister-in-law.

This is also the origin of the saying that "Xiahou and Cao were actually one family".

However, it now seems that Cao Cao's claim of being a descendant of Cao Can was false, so Xiahou Yuan's claim of being a descendant of Xiahou Ying is probably not entirely true either.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

It was precisely because of this that when Wei Zhe took over the governor's office, some of the surrendered officials from Ji Province took the initiative to suggest that they compile his family genealogy.

It's no wonder they had this idea.

After all, the Wei surname originated from the Ji surname. During the Warring States period, after the division of Jin into three states, the Wei clan with the Ji surname began to exist.

When King Jia of Wei was destroyed by Qin Shi Huang, his descendants took the name of the state as their surname.

Most of the Wei families in Hebei Province originated from this branch, but their blood ties have long since thinned.

Many people with the surname Wei cannot even explain their origins or know where their ancestors came from.

However, the Wei Commandery where Ye City is located was named as such because it was the former territory of the State of Wei.

During the Former Han Dynasty, Wei Xin, a sixth-generation descendant of Lord Xinling (Wei Wuji), served as the governor of Julu Commandery and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Quyang.

Therefore, the Wei family of Xiaquyang can also be considered a member of the gentry of Jizhou.

The Wei clan of Julu is even considered the legitimate lineage of the Wei surname in the world.

The reason these surrendered officials from Ji Province are now making such suggestions is simply to get the Wei clan of Xuan Tu and the Wei clan of Ju Lu to form a kinship alliance.

In doing so, he would be considered half a Jizhou native, which would put the surrendered officials at ease.

But... why?
Just to put their minds at ease, I have to inexplicably acknowledge an ancestor?

Wei Zhe has now truly experienced how arrogant these aristocratic families can be.

Even though they surrendered to him, they still harbored a condescending attitude towards him deep down.

Compared to the gentry of Ji Province, the gentry of You Province were too simple and too humble.

Testing, infiltrating, influencing, manipulating... these Jizhou gentry families really have one set of tricks after another.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but secretly make a mental note of their actions.

However, to the disappointment of these surrendered officials from Ji Province, Wei Zhe merely said indifferently:

"Why acknowledge someone else as your ancestor? The Wei clan of Xuan Tu flourished from within; is that not acceptable?"

Having said that, Wei Zhe did not continue the topic, but turned to Xun Chen beside him and said:

"What, are the high-ranking officials still unwilling to surrender?"

As Yuan Shao's chief strategists, Feng Ji, Xin Ping, Xun Chen, Xu You, and others naturally became Wei Zhe's prisoners.

However, a few days ago, Feng Ji and Xu You were beheaded by Wei Zhe on charges of colluding with the barbarians and causing chaos in the Central Plains.

His swift and decisive actions caught many off guard, leading some to believe he was about to unleash a massacre in Ji Province.

It wasn't until Wei Zhe sent Yuan Shang to the prison to persuade Xin Ping and Xun Chen to surrender that the surrendered officials from various regions felt somewhat at ease.

After speaking with Yuan Shang, Xin Ping and Xun Chen successively expressed their willingness to submit.

After all, it's good enough that we have a way out now; if we insist any further, it's easy to make things worse.

The first thing Xun Chen did after surrendering was to go to Shangdang to persuade Gao Gan to surrender.

Because Shangdang County is situated on high ground, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, Wei Zhe did not want to sacrifice his sons' lives if he had a choice.

To Wei Zhe's disappointment, although Xun Chen returned safely, the outcome was not as he had hoped.

Xun Chen said with a rather helpless expression:

"Your Excellency, Gao Gan wishes to surrender, but..."

"Gao Gan volunteered to be the governor of Shangdang, to guard the frontier and defend against the Qiang people of Xihe."

To be honest, Xun Chen understood Gao Gan's concerns, but his actions were simply too foolish.

At least Xun Chen, looking at Wei Zhe's past experiences, had never allowed his subordinates to establish their own independent regimes.

This can be seen from Wei Zhe's exaggerated logistical capabilities in this battle. He was truly able to mobilize most of the resources of the counties under his jurisdiction, and his power was so great that it made people tremble with fear!

And things did indeed unfold exactly as Xun Chen had predicted.

After hearing the high-ranking official's reply, Wei Zhe immediately shook his head in disappointment.

He has already given high-ranking officials opportunities, but this guy didn't cherish them, so he can't be blamed.

Wei Zhe immediately said coldly, "Bo Yuan!"

Zhong Hu immediately stepped forward in response to the voice: "Present!"

"Accelerate the training of captured soldiers, and within two months, together with Cui Yan, the Prefect of Taiyuan, we will take Shangdang County!"

"Here!"

Upon hearing the military order, Zhong Hu calmly withdrew.

Upon hearing his words, all the surrendered officials in the hall felt a chill in their hearts.

They could almost see the scene of blood flowing like rivers in Shangdang County.

As for high-ranking officials? They'd be lucky to even have a complete corpse.

However, Wei Zhe didn't think much of it; it was a good opportunity to use Shangdang County to hone the skills of the surrendered troops from Ji Province.

Those who are obedient and capable can stay.

Apart from that, everyone else had to go to the military farms.

His military rations are not for supporting idlers!

(End of this chapter)