Han officials

Chapter 276 The Fisherman's Fury

The following year, on the day of Xinyou in the first month of spring.

The Han court granted a general amnesty and changed the era name to Xingping, meaning "to revitalize peace".

Unfortunately, Chang'an was humiliated once again. The following month, Han Sui and Ma Teng fought against Guo Si and Fan Chou at Changpingguan.

The already limited prestige of the Han dynasty was trampled into dust time and time again.

Fortunately, Li Jue and his men performed admirably this time, defeating the Liangzhou rebels led by Han Sui and Ma Teng.

Otherwise, if veteran rebels like Han Sui and Ma Teng were to take control of the court and turn the tables, the Han dynasty would truly lose all face.

Humans are sometimes contradictory like that.

Although Wei Zhe had long planned to start anew, he did not want the prestige of the Han Dynasty to decline so quickly.

On this day, in Shangdang County.

Above Huguan Pass, Wei Zhe gazed into the distance and saw towering mountains that blotted out the sky.

Under the siege of tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers from Ji Province led by Zhong Hu, Gao Gan was quite resourceful, managing to hold out for more than a month with only one prefecture.

However, as the saying goes, even the strongest fortress can be breached from within.

Even though Huguan Pass is a natural stronghold, its geographical advantage ultimately cannot compare to the strength of the people.

After the Wei army besieged Huguan for more than a month, the garrison broke out in internal strife, and the mutinous soldiers took the opportunity to open the gate and surrender.

With the fall of Huguan, even though Gao Gan still held the other counties of Shangdang Commandery, he dared not linger any longer and immediately abandoned the city and fled, preparing to seek refuge among the Xiongnu.

But the Xiongnu weren't fools!

Having witnessed Wei Zhe's overwhelming power across the grasslands and his horses drinking from the vast sea, how could they dare to court death?

So, no sooner had the Wei army received the news than the Southern Xiongnu sent over Gao Gan's head.

With this, the entire territory of Bingzhou was pacified.

Six days ago, the emperor held his coming-of-age ceremony at Weiyang Palace. The officials requested that Changqiu Palace be built, but the emperor refused.

After a brief and concise explanation, Zhong Jun, the head of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, presented a detailed report.

Wei Zhe glanced at it briefly and couldn't help but sneer.

"A monkey wearing a hat, utterly ignorant!"

Don't misunderstand, Wei Zhe wasn't mocking the young emperor, but rather he felt that Li Jue was overestimating himself.

The so-called "Changqiu Palace" is a metaphor for the Empress.

Now that the Chang'an court is controlled by Li Jue and others, the officials who submit memorials naturally represent his will.

This is why the young emperor had previously used the excuse of not having been crowned to delay the process.

It's inevitable that Li Jue would insert some beauties into the harem, so how could Liu Xie possibly agree to such a thing?

The young emperor was unwilling, and dared not agree.

After all, if an empress is established, then the son born to the empress will be the legitimate heir. If anything "accidents" happen to him, whether the empress becomes regent or the young emperor ascends the throne, it will undoubtedly make the already precarious Han dynasty even worse.

Therefore, after his coming-of-age ceremony, the young emperor immediately used the excuse that his birth mother's burial site was still undetermined and that it was inappropriate to speak of auspicious omens during the three-year mourning period. He then posthumously honored his deceased mother, Wang Rong, as Empress Linghuai and reburied her in the Wenzhao Mausoleum.

Although Li Jue was quite dissatisfied with this, he did not dare to force the emperor to neglect his filial duties.

However, according to the intelligence gathered by the Imperial Censorate in Chang'an, Li Jue and Guo Si became increasingly violent as a result.

Looking at the report in his hand, Wei Zhe thought for a moment and suddenly spoke:

"Now that the emperor has completed his coming-of-age ceremony, then let us send envoys to the court to offer tribute. The officials in charge of the imperial envoys should act accordingly."

At this point, Wei Zhe added, "I heard there's a famine in Guanzhong, so let's waive the money and send more grain instead."

The young emperor was, after all, the son of the late emperor, and Wei Zhe couldn't bear to see him go hungry.

However, Wei Zhe estimated that the young emperor would only get a small share of these tributes, with the lion's share likely remaining in the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si.

But it doesn't matter, as long as the thought is there.

Ji Fa summoned eight hundred feudal lords to the Mengjin meeting. He controlled two-thirds of the world, yet they still remained subservient to the Shang Dynasty.

In comparison, his current strength is nothing.

Of the thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty, the Wei army has not even occupied a third of them yet, so there is no need to rush.

At least for now, Wei Zhe is more concerned about the changes in Ji Province.

After recovering Shangdang, Wei Zhe took the opportunity to reorganize the military system of Jizhou.

In short, it can be summed up in eight words: eliminating dissidents and appointing relatives and friends.

These don't sound like good words, but it depends on who's doing it.

If it was done by a subject, then naturally his intentions were malicious;

But for a regional warlord like Wei Zhe, this was actually a basic quality.

A large number of the original county soldiers and their families were relocated by Wei Zhe to Qingzhou for farming.

Instead, they were replaced by brave soldiers from humble backgrounds who had just been promoted by Wei Zhe in the Battle of Shangdang.

As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean. While the gentry of Ji Province frowned at Wei Zhe's actions, they were not entirely surprised.

After all, they knew in their hearts that the most effective way to control Wei Zhe in Ji Province was undoubtedly to do so.

Yuan Shao simply lacked the conditions and ability to do so; otherwise, he would have done the same without hesitation.

However, the various gentry families in Ji Province soon began to regret their actions.

Because Wei Zhe, that heartless man, actually dared to clear the fields—even Emperor Guangwu didn't dare to clear the fields in Jizhou back then, how dare he be so ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.
These words were not Wei Zhe's slander against them, but rather a genuine slogan shouted by the gentry of Ji Province.

Arrogant and domineering are not enough to describe their mentality.

For hundreds of years, these Jizhou gentry had been considered superior to others, which made them truly regard themselves as people above others.

If this trend of thought is allowed to continue, it will probably lead to the "heavenly being" mentality of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Although they are called Han Chinese and the common people, they are actually separated in spirit and body, as if they were foreigners.

In fact, the Chinese civilization during the Wei and Jin dynasties was perhaps the closest to the caste system of India.

Between the upper-class aristocratic families and the lower-class poor families, there are more than four castes.

As for ordinary people, they were even less treated as human beings.

Otherwise, Shi Chong would not have become the richest man by robbing people on the road, and he would not have been ashamed of it but rather proud of it.

Under these circumstances, it would be against all reason for the Sima clan not to perish.

In some ways, the Five Barbarian Invasions even extended the lifespan of the Sima Jin dynasty.

In an era when the Han people were reduced to mere "two-legged sheep," countless heroes could only temporarily set aside their dissatisfaction with the Sima clan and dedicate themselves to the continuation of Chinese civilization.

The saying "Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against external threats" illustrates this point.

The elegance and refinement of the Wei and Jin dynasties were ultimately nothing more than a decadent and dissolute existence for a very small number of aristocratic families!

Wei Zhe, who had long abhorred this, naturally wouldn't tolerate it.

Regardless of the clamor and opposition from various local gentry and powerful families in Ji Province, Wei Zhe remained steadfast in implementing the land reclamation policy.

However, the people from the Tuntian Division and the Xuanjing Division had just entered the area to carry out the land clearing work.

The Ma family of Julu and the Liu family of Qinghe, among others, immediately started making a fuss.

Instead of immediately gathering troops to rebel, they first had the women of their clan "voluntarily" hang themselves in front of the government office.

Then these clan elders resisted government orders on the grounds that the government was competing with the people for profit and forcing virtuous women to their deaths.

It must be said that the old revolutionary base areas of China are very experienced; even when it comes to riots, they have a whole set of methods.

To be honest, quite a few idiots have been swayed by the public opinion they've created.

These people underestimated Wei Zhe's determination.

He was not Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, who was the "son-in-law of Ji Province"!

Wei Zhe built his own foundation, and he controlled all his troops.

As long as his will remains steadfast, the Wei army will not be disturbed by these barking and howling.

However, these people may have been misled by the unfinished projects left behind by Emperor Guangwu.

Seeing that Wei Zhe did not immediately use a large army to suppress them, people in various parts of Ji Province became increasingly arrogant.

It wasn't until the troops stationed in Yingzhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou entered Jizhou to assist the Xuanjing Division in cleaning up the area that some people regained their composure.

From August to the end of the year, the entire Jizhou region spent almost all of its time in such "military-civilian team building activities".

The series of decisive battles between Wei Zhe and Yuan Shao did not take this long.

This shows that conquering Ji Province was not easy, but securing Ji Province was even more difficult.

Fortunately, the art of calming down during battle did have some effect, and the remaining gentry of Ji Province quickly became reasonable.

Only then did Wei Zhe have time to come to Shangdang to inspect the situation in Bingzhou.

After discussing matters in Chang'an, Wei Zhe inquired again about the situation in Ji Province.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Jun answered without hesitation:

"Since you joined the army, there have been some minor disturbances in various places, but most families have remained law-abiding and no riots have occurred."

In fact, most of the notable aristocratic families in Ji Province were on the surveillance list of the Bureau of Personnel.

Although espionage politics is notorious, it is undeniably effective; anyone who has used it knows.

Anyway, Wei Zhe was quite happy right now, but after listening to Zhong Jun's words, he shook his head with some regret.

He originally thought that some fools would jump out when his family left Jizhou, but he didn't expect that these people, who shouted loudly, were actually cowardly and timid. It was really disappointing.

He finally managed to go fishing, but unexpectedly encountered the misfortune of being shot down by the enemy.

This left him speechless.

However, just as Wei Zhe was considering whether he should be more patient, a message forced him to rush back to Ye City immediately because Tao Qian was seriously ill and in critical condition!

(End of this chapter)