Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 505 Extra Chapter: Zhao Qi (Part 1)

Various tribes of the grasslands offered large sums of money, grain, and supplies, and herds of cattle and sheep were continuously sent over. Many other tribes also traveled thousands of miles to pay tribute.

The Xiongnu Khan was the universally recognized leader of all nomadic tribes. Now, the Xiongnu had suffered a crushing defeat, and Moton Khan had been personally executed by Emperor Zhaoyuan. According to the customs of the grasslands, Emperor Zhaoyuan was the Khan of all the tribes. The Khan wanted to build a city, and they all offered money, grain, cattle, sheep, and warhorses, fervently pleading with Emperor Zhaoyuan to allow their tribes to enter the Han city.

Ultimately, it was the news of the border trade that resonated with people, leading all the grassland tribes to willingly pay tribute.

Incentives are the most powerful tool for winning people's hearts.

Of course, not all tribal chiefs were qualified to meet the emperor. Small tribes with no more than a thousand herders and too little tribute were all received and entertained by Zhao Qi, the governor of Hancheng.

Prefect Zhao was young, beautiful, and held a high position of power. She was also a widow. Some cunning individuals, in an attempt to curry favor with Prefect Zhao, did some things that were both laughable and absurd.

"I heard someone sent you a handsome young man?"

On this day, when Prefect Zhao came to report on the city's construction, Emperor Zhaoyuan suddenly asked a question. Then, Pei Yan, Pei Xuan, Pei Feng, and others looked over, their eyes gleaming with curiosity and gossip.

Zhao Qi hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Shi Yan beside him before looking up at Pei Qinghe: "Actually, they originally intended to present the handsome young men to His Majesty. However, they were not qualified to have an audience with the Emperor, and having heard that the Imperial Secretary was extremely jealous, they dared not offend him, so they gave those handsome young men to me instead."

Pei Qinghe: "..."

Shi Yan: "..."

Pei Yan laughed heartily, Pei Xuan and Pei Feng couldn't help but chuckle, and Pei Lang and Pei Wang lowered their heads and secretly laughed.

According to grassland customs, the Great Khan's wife is the Khan's principal wife, and the Khan can also marry multiple wives. Just as Han Chinese emperors had three palaces and six courtyards, grassland Khans openly and legitimately married and took concubines. In the past, when the old Khan and his son, Motun Khan, were in power, each tribe was required to present beautiful women as tribute.

Now that they have recognized Emperor Zhaoyuan as Khan, they should naturally offer some handsome young men to entertain and amuse him.

Unfortunately, the Grand Chancellor of Emperor Zhaoyuan was extremely jealous and could not tolerate anyone sharing his favor, firmly holding onto Emperor Zhaoyuan's position. The Grand Chancellor was a high-ranking official in the Six Ministries, in charge of finances, taxes, and overseeing the construction of Hancheng; they could not afford to offend her. After much deliberation, they simply sent the carefully selected strong and healthy young men to Prefect Zhao.

After Zhao Qi spoke the truth, a burst of laughter erupted in the military tent. Even Pei Qinghe, after a moment of surprise, laughed and turned to Shi Yan, asking, "Shan Ji's reputation isn't very good. Should the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat do something to salvage his reputation?"

Shi Yan shamelessly replied, "No need, I am indeed both favored and jealous."

Everyone laughed.

Zhao Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since the Emperor had inquired, she couldn't hide anything and had to bite the bullet and answer truthfully. Fortunately, the Emperor didn't mind; after all, it was a fashion magazine, enjoying the greatest benefits and living off a powerful figure, so some occasional gossip was inevitable!
“Prefect Zhao,” Pei Qinghe smiled for a moment, then gave a special instruction: “Paying tribute is a custom of the grasslands. As the Prefect of Hancheng, you will inevitably have to deal with various tribes when you stay to govern Hancheng. You should accept all the cattle, sheep, warhorses, money and grain they offer. You should also accept the people they send. As for how to settle them, that is up to you. I will not interfere.”

Zhao Qi had probably been too bound by numerous rules and regulations for the past twenty years. After breaking free of these shackles in recent years, he seemed to have a strong desire to soar to the sky and no longer be troubled by worldly affairs. He boldly said, "Your Majesty, I wish to bring them into your harem."

Everyone: "..."

Pei Qinghe remained expressionless and nodded, saying, "I grant your permission!"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Zhao Qi bowed in gratitude and took his leave. A subtle silence suddenly fell over the military tent.

Pei Xuan seemed to be deep in thought, Pei Feng hesitated to speak, and Pei Lang and Pei Wang, the two younger ones, secretly exchanged glances and winked at each other.

Pei Yan, who was even more careless than a man, couldn't help but scratch her head: "This Zhao Qi's actions are quite unexpected."

The women of the Pei family are known for their bravery and fierceness, and many of them have taken in husbands who married into their families. Pei Yun and Pei Yan have been married for many years but have refused to have children, leading to much gossip among them. However, none of the women of the Pei family have yet set a precedent for taking concubines.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Qi brazenly took in a bunch of grassland youths and even obtained the emperor's permission in a perfectly legitimate manner.

Pei Qinghe smiled faintly: "Zhao Qi was the top female scholar in the first imperial examination and is deeply favored by me. Anyone with eyes can see that I must promote and give Zhao Qi a bright future, and set an example for all women who study in the world."

"Her maternal and paternal families were vying to adopt a boy from their clan into her family. Her husband's family was particularly despicable; they even wanted to give her a dissolute young man from their clan as her son-in-law."

"Zhao Qi did this for two reasons: first, to quickly integrate into the customs of the grasslands and appease the various tribes; and second, to completely eliminate any thoughts of her husband's family or her own family."

Thirdly, it's human nature to enjoy food and sex. Men can be attracted to beautiful women, so why can't high-ranking female officials who have achieved success and wield great power also enjoy such pleasures?

Pei Qinghe didn't say this last point aloud, but everyone present was intelligent enough to understand the implication of her words.
Everyone couldn't help but grin at Shi Yan.

Shi Yan was at a loss for words, and could only keep a straight face and let everyone tease him.

Pei Qinghe instructed everyone, "This is Prefect Zhao's private matter. Don't pry into it in the future."

Everyone agreed, with Pei Yan's response being particularly loud.

……

"I heard there were eight handsome young men in total. Zhao Qi picked three of the strongest and most robust young men to take into his room, and sent the other five to raise cattle, sheep and warhorses."

"Those three boys were all under twenty years old, and one of them even had blue eyes!"

Pei Yan, engrossed in gossip, had her eyes gleaming and was talking non-stop.

Pei Qinghe listened intently to the gossip while reminding him, "Didn't I say before? This is Zhao Qi's private matter, don't pry or ask."

Pei Yan chuckled: "I didn't specifically look into it. Everyone knows about it, it's all over the place. I've also heard that the handsome young man with blue eyes is the most favored by Prefect Zhao. When Prefect Zhao goes to supervise the construction, he often wears the blue-eyed boy."

Pei Qinghe usually maintained an air of imperial authority in public, but he was much less so when he was with Pei Yan in private. He casually offered a reminder, then continued with interest, "Now that word has spread, has anyone continued to send handsome young men to Zhao Qi?"

Pei Yan grinned: "Of course. Those tribal leaders are all very shrewd. They know that there will be a fixed market in Hancheng in the future, and they are all trying to grab a spot so that it will be convenient to trade tea, salt, sugar and cotton cloth in the future. They are very happy to know that Prefect Zhao is willing to take in handsome young men. I heard that two more were presented today."

(End of this chapter)