The Three Kingdoms: My Wife is a Great and Good Teacher

Then he asked doubtfully, "Then why is Fengxiao waiting for me at this door..."

"Since you don't seem to be very sensitive about your own reputation, I would like to remind you that you will be on the 'winner' side when you face Han Fu's former subordinates later." Guo Jia said with a bow.

Liu Zhaoqing sneered at this and shook his head, saying, "Am I that ignorant? Don't worry, I know how to face them."

Hearing this, Guo Jia felt relieved.

For Liu Zhaoqing, the reason why Han Fu's old subordinates could still exist was all due to Liu Zhaoqing's previous battle to expel Dong Zhuo.

Although in name Liu Zhaoqing and Han Fu's former subordinates had a "cooperative" relationship, in fact, if Liu Zhaoqing wanted to annex them by force, they would be no match at all as they had suffered heavy losses and lost their helmsman.

The next meeting is an important occasion to decide the ownership of Jizhou. Liu Zhaoqing cannot use his usual easy-going attitude. Instead, he must be tough when necessary. Only by maintaining this attitude can he ensure that no major changes will occur in the land he has acquired.

After all, there is nothing wrong with being easy-going with your subordinates and loving your people and soldiers like your own sons. However, if you still treat your opponents like this, then you are too conceited.

Even during the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty, the way it dealt with foreign tribes was to fight and make peace at the same time, which was the only way to make the other side truly submit. Liu Zhaoqing, who was well-versed in history, certainly knew this better.

After entering the mansion, Liu Zhaoqing, Guo Jia and three others quickly arrived at the door of a lobby.

Before entering the room, I heard a burst of discussion inside. After the soldier next to me shouted, "Marquis Changping is here," the people in the room immediately stopped talking.

Then, whether it was Xun Yu, Jia Xu, Ju Shou, or Tian Feng, Shen Pei, and Gao Lan, they all turned around, bowed their heads, and saluted to Liu Zhaoqing.

"Don't be so polite, let's talk business first." Liu Zhaoqing smiled, walked into the hall and sat down on a high seat.

After looking around, he found that except for Zhang He who was protecting the emperor, his wife seemed not to be there either.

Does it take so long to pick up Baoer?

Liu Zhaoqing will be able to tell Zhang Jiao the results of the meeting later, and the same is true for Zhang He, so even though two people are missing, it will not have much impact on the meeting itself.

"My lord, you don't like complicated etiquette, so let me do the talking." After everyone stood on both sides, Guo Jia said to Han Fu's former subordinates who were standing on the opposite side.

"Han Fu's former troops will be incorporated into our army unconditionally, and the former soldiers and generals will directly take off their armor and return to their fields."

"Ah?" Tian Feng was surprised.

"If you have any objections, please speak up. Our lord is not Han Fu and will not be punished for this," said Guo Jia.

Gao Lan frowned, then stepped out of the line, bowed to Liu Zhaoqing and said, "Mr. Liu... there are at least 10,000 soldiers in Jizhou. If we take off our armor directly, it will not only cause a shortage of troops, but also may cause chaos..."

Liu Zhaoqing looked at him in surprise. As expected of one of the "Four Pillars of Hebei", Gao Lan was not initially concerned about being dismissed from his post, but was worried about the soldiers and the situation in the city.

"General Gao Lan, don't worry." At this time, Jia Xu stepped forward and said with a smile.

"Soldiers from Youzhou will come to fill in, and those who have taken off their armor will be properly arranged."

"Not only that." Liu Zhaoqing said at this time, "All civil servants in Jizhou will be dismissed."

what?

Even Gao Lan was surprised.

What on earth is this...doing?

Shen Pei glanced at Gao Lan, and then at Liu Zhaoqing, who had a calm expression. He was a little unsure why Liu Zhaoqing did this.

It is completely understandable that the military power of Han Fu's old subordinates was reduced in order to prevent rebellion, but isn't Liu Zhaoqing being a bit too cautious as he even dismissed the civil servants in Jizhou?

"Does anyone have any objections?" Guo Jia asked at this time.

Tian Feng and the others looked at each other, then they all lowered their heads, clasped their hands and said, "We have no objection."

This was an inevitable outcome, and they had long been prepared to be dismissed. As long as Liu Zhaoqing was not a violent person and treated the people of Jizhou better than Han Fu, that would be enough.

After Tian Feng finished speaking, he suddenly realized that neither Liu Zhaoqing on the stage nor Xun Yu and the others opposite him spoke.

This strange silence made them look up in confusion.

Then he saw Ju Shou smiled and said, "It seems that I won, Sister Wenhe, I said that Tian Feng and the others would not put up any resistance, right?"

Jia Xu showed a helpless look. She did not expect that Tian Feng and others would not even do anything to fight for her own interests.

"I had prepared a lot of brilliant rebuttals, but now that you are like this, I can't use them." Guo Jia also looked regretful.

Xun Yu smiled faintly and nodded slightly towards Tian Feng and the others with a friendly expression.

This made Tian Feng, Gao Lan and Shen Pei confused.

What's happening here?

On this side, Liu Zhaoqing, who knew his advisers very well, had already seen through everything.

He smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, there's no need to scare Yuan Hao (Tian Feng) and the others anymore."

"Wen Ruo, please explain it to me."

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu took a step forward, first bowed to Liu Zhaoqing, then politely nodded to Tian Feng and others in turn, and then began to explain.

It was not false that they were dismissed from their positions; even the dismissal of all civil servants and the removal of all Jizhou soldiers' weapons and armor were true.

But the purpose was not to target them, or to worry about rebellion.

But for better "reorganization".

"As Wen Ruo said, I will reappoint Tian Feng, General Gao Lan and others." Liu Zhaoqing said, "The rest of the civil servants and military officers who were dismissed will also be reinstated or appointed to other positions after evaluation."

Tian Feng thought for a long time, and suddenly understood what Liu Zhaoqing wanted to do.

"Is the Marquis of Changping... dealing with the governors of other counties in Jizhou?"

Liu Zhaoqing nodded.

"If we can take over Jizhou without bloodshed, that would be the best scenario." Liu Zhaoqing said, "But compared to this, I would rather take over a 'brand new' Jizhou."

"The order of 'reorganization' will be sent to all counties in Jizhou. All prefects will be required to come to Yecheng to return their official seals. I will promise that their lives will be protected."

In this case, the county governors who did not come were people with ulterior motives, and there would be reason to issue a final warning to them and then use military force to subdue them.

On a deeper level, although this move is a bit too radical, if Jizhou is taken over gently, and the upper and lower classes in Jizhou remain unchanged as before, then Jizhou after Liu Zhaoqing takes over will still be the same as during Han Fu's period.

Local corrupt officials will still join forces with local aristocratic families to suck the blood of the people, and rotten termites will still gnaw at the marrow of the system.

Then, wasn't Liu Zhaoqing's generation of Jizhou just a pure loneliness?

Taking this opportunity, Liu Zhaoqing liquidated those parasites and those who were just filling in the numbers and eating without any work among Han Fu's old subordinates.

However, diligent officials and generals like Tian Feng and Gao Lan would certainly not be affected, and would even be promoted to varying degrees.

"But this might provoke fierce resistance, or even the unification of some counties. It would be safer with more soldiers, wouldn't it?" Shen Pei asked doubtfully.

"Zhengnan, do you think those soldiers are strong enough to go to the battlefield?" Ju Su asked back.

"What use are those weak soldiers who can't even draw their bows?"

Shen Pei was speechless.

Indeed, in order to increase the number of troops, Han Fu recruited soldiers with lower and lower standards. This group of troops had also experienced a disastrous defeat in the encirclement and annihilation, and had long been unable to take on the task.

Allowing them to retire and return to the countryside would not only reduce financial pressure, but also serve as a reason for the remaining county governors who commanded their own armies to surrender their military power.

"Then it's decided." Liu Zhaoqing said.

"Ju Shou and Tian Feng drafted the order, and three days later, the order was sent to all counties in the name of Han Fuzhou Mu."

During these three days, Liu Zhaoqing was able to make preparations for troop deployment.

He felt that no one would be so blind as to dare to oppose it, and there was a high probability that the generals around him would have spare energy but nowhere to use it.

Chapter 351: Rebellion of the Six Counties in Jizhou4.5K

After the overall strategy for Jizhou was determined, all that remained was to finalize some details.

For example, how to convey orders, how to ensure that someone can fill temporarily vacant positions so that there won't be too much chaos, etc.

All these were handed over to his own advisers to discuss with Tian Feng and others.

About two hours later, after noon, the results were roughly out.

Only Liu Zhaoqing, Xun Yu and Shen Pei were left in the lobby, while the rest went to do what they needed to do.

"Jia Xu and Zhao Yun will go to the army to select some smart and agile soldiers as spies, and secretly place them in various counties." Xun Yu said.

"General Zhang Liao will contact Youzhou in the north and establish contact with Duke Bo'an and Zhou Cang in Changping, so as to be ready to receive some necessary soldiers in case of any accidents."

"Ju Shou and Tian Feng have already gone to write the provincial governor's decree on behalf of Han Fu. We should be able to see the result today."

Everyone is doing what they are supposed to do in an orderly and efficient manner.

This also made Liu Zhaoqing feel very relieved, and he was more certain that he would not need to go out in person to conquer Jizhou this time, and it was more than enough to leave it to them.

"What about Fengxiao? Didn't Fengxiao go out too?" Liu Zhaoqing suddenly remembered that Guo Jia's name was not among the people Xun Yu mentioned.

"Fengxiao is sorting out some information." Xun Yu said.

"intelligence?"

"Well, about all the civil and military officials in Jizhou, from the governor to the county magistrate." Guo Jia replied.

With a look of surprise on his face, he asked, "Can she handle this workload?"

"There's no need to worry about Zhao Qing. We've discussed this before. Ju Shou, Jia Xu and the others will go to help Feng Xiao after they're done with their work. I'll go help her later, too."

After hearing what Xun Yu said, Liu Zhaoqing also nodded.

Then he looked at Shen Pei who was still in the hall and asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Do you have any doubts? Feel free to ask."

Shen Pei shook his head and said, "We have discussed this before. I will stay here to help Marquis Changping understand all the information about Jizhou so that he can understand our sincerity."

"That's great. After Fengxiao finishes sorting out the information, he will probably need Zhengnan's help." Liu Zhaoqing said with a smile.

Shen Pei bowed his head and clasped his hands.

Then Xun Yu, who was standing by, noticed that Shen Pei seemed to be still hesitating and undecided.

"If you have any questions, it's best to ask. I believe Zhao Qing will answer them for you." Xun Yu advised in a calm tone.

After Shen Pei heard this, he hesitated for a moment and then said to Liu Zhaoqing, "I don't have any questions, but... it's still a little strange now."

"What's weird?"

"Marquis Changping actually still trusts us and uses us." Shen Pei said.

Liu Zhaoqing laughed: "What are you talking about? Do I need to use divination to employ people?"

Of course, Shen Pei didn't mean that. He quickly explained, "Of course not. The Marquis of Changping is very good at judging people and treats his subordinates very well. The officials in Hebei basically understand this."

"It's just that... Tian Feng and I are not only Han Fu's former subordinates, but we have also never left Han Fu's army. We rarely fawn on the Marquis of Changping... Now, although the Marquis of Changping has dismissed us from our posts, he has not put us in jail, and has not even deprived us of our power."

Shen Pei’s thinking logic seems a bit strange from Liu Zhaoqing’s perspective, but in this era, there are many people who have similar ideas.

When dealing with a submissive person, no matter how polite you are on the surface, the most basic thing to do is to secretly take back the power from him.

After all, if you can surrender once, who can guarantee that you can't surrender a second time? Of course, you have to start the investigation from the beginning.

Liu Zhaoqing's dismissal order was obviously not directed at them, but at the other county governors in Jizhou. Liu Zhaoqing seemed to have an inexplicable trust in them.

Shen Pei didn't understand where this trust came from. Although Tian Feng and the others didn't say anything, he believed that they had similar thoughts in their hearts.

This question is actually very easy to answer, and Xun Yu on the side could give some answers, but she was also very tactful and handed it to Liu Zhaoqing, so that it would be more convincing when he said it.

"Haha." Liu Zhaoqing laughed twice first.

"Although I have been in Youzhou dealing with the northern barbarians, I have also been paying attention to Jizhou."

"Han Fu is obviously hostile to me, so I pay more attention to him. I also know a lot about his capable men such as Shen Biejia and Tian Zhubu."

"You are all good and conscientious officials. Shen Biejia and Tian Zhubu are both upright and resolute, and Han Fu often resents them."

"People like Han Fu cannot see the road ahead. They are close to villains and stay away from wise ministers. They will not go far. Can he blame you for not reminding him loud enough now that he has 'fallen'? It is obviously caused by the countless causes and consequences he had planted before."

"It is precisely because I understand you that I trust you."

"Besides, there may be people in Hebei who are wiser than me, but there is definitely no one more suitable to be your new master than me."

Liu Zhaoqing's smile was confident and his tone was calm but sincere.

Shen Pei didn't expect that Liu Zhaoqing knew them so well, and what Liu Zhaoqing said at the end was also true. How many wise leaders can they turn to now?

"It seems that our worries are really unnecessary. To be honest, when I was meeting with Tian Feng and others in private, I speculated that the Marquis of Changping might only be polite to us on the surface. In fact, after taking over Yecheng and other places, he would replace all positions with his own subordinates and leave the land to drive away the people." Shen Pei said with his head down in shame.

"It's human nature. You don't have to worry about it, Mr. Shen." Xun Yu said with a smile.

If you don't doubt anything, think of Liu Zhaoqing as a perfect saint, and trust him unconditionally, then Liu Zhaoqing will suspect that the other party has secretly joined the Yellow Turban Army.

Afterwards, Shen Pei also talked about the true situation of Han Fu’s former subordinates in the past few days.