allendalepharm Chapter 655: Fake King of Wei Zhang Ji
Chapter 655: Fake King of Wei Zhang Ji
Chapter 655: Fake King of Wei - Zhang Ji
The Wei capital Daliang City, no, it should be Daliang County of Dang County.
After the demise of Wei, Qin merged several counties into Dongjun, and established Dangjun based on the Dasong County established by Wei. It had jurisdiction over 21 cities, including Suiyang County, Yu County, Meng County, Xiangyi, Waihuang County, Chenliu County, Yongqiu County, Daliang County, Jiyang County, Shanfu County, Li County, Ling County, Mang County, Dang County, Qiao County, and Yu County. In order to gradually eliminate the influence of Wei, Daliang was also included, but the county seat was still set in Suiyang, the former county seat of Dasong County.
The purpose of setting up the county seat in Sui Yang is obvious, which is for Qin’s next target - Chu!
Suiyang faces Huaibei directly. Regardless of whether the Qin army can break through the Huaihe River defense line of the Chu State Ji Navy and cross the Huaihe River, as long as heavy troops are stationed in Suiyang, it can pose a threat to the Chu capital Shouchun, thereby pinning down a large number of Chu troops.
In order to appease the people of Wei, Ying Zheng appointed Zhang Ji as the acting governor of Dangjun and Dongjun, intending to emulate the old story of Han Fei governing Han and Guo Kai governing Zhao.
If it is feasible to rule Han with Han and it is feasible to rule Zhao with Zhao, then it doesn't make sense why it is not feasible to rule Wei with Wei.
However, among the surrendered ministers of Wei this time, Ying Zheng did not find anyone who was both outstanding and someone he could trust with important matters.
The example of Han Fei, the prince of Han, governing the country of Han is not replicable, and a minister like Guo Kai who is aware of current affairs and can get things done is also rare. So before Master Xun was forced to run away by the burning gaze of his disciple Li Si, he reminded Li Si that Zhang Ji was also a Wei person!
The reputation of the Anyi Zhang family in the State of Wei was much better than that of the Wei people who entered Qin, such as Shang Yang, Wu Qi, and Fan Ju. After all, although Zhang Yi initially forced the State of Wei to return the land west of the Yellow River through diplomacy, he did not actually persecute his motherland.
Moreover, Zhang Yi had been trying to tie Wei to the battlefield of Qin from the beginning to the end, and to preserve Wei as much as possible under the premise of safeguarding the interests of Qin. It was a pity that several generations of Wei kings only cared about eating and not fighting, but Zhang Yi was able to spend the last three years of his life safely in Wei, and broke the old rule that only relatives of the Wei royal family could serve as prime ministers of Wei. This shows that the people of Wei still had a good impression of Zhang Yi.
Although Zhang Ji, the great-grandson of Zhang Yi, had also inflicted heavy damage on the Wei army in the last coalition war, he was still a Wei person after all, and would definitely be able to govern Wei better than a Qin person.
However, when Ying Zheng's royal decree was issued, there was an endless stream of opposition from both the government and the public.
Even Wang Jian and the three old generals Wang Qi, Meng Ao and Bie Gong, who had retired to teach military tactics in the Qin Academy, participated in the court meeting holding Ying Zheng's own dragon-headed cane to oppose this matter.
Many Wei people who first surrendered to Qin thought that Zhang Ji had made outstanding contributions and was envied by his colleagues, but they did not know that these people were actually helping Zhang Ji.
After all, Ying Zheng's appointment of Zhang Ji was really too shocking.
Being the temporary governor of both Dangjun and Dongjun, it seems that he is just the temporary governor of two counties at the same time. However, if you take a look at the map, you will realize that this is not just a temporary governor of two counties, this is clearly a division of land and a title of king!
Before the last coalition war, the land occupied by Wei was smaller than the two counties of Dang and Dong. This was almost like appointing Zhang Ji as the fake King of Wei!
Compared with this, resigning from the posts of Nei Shi and Wei Wei is nothing!
If Ying Zheng really rewarded Zhang Ji in this way, according to the ministers' thinking, the day when Zhang Ji would be abandoned after all his efforts were made would not be far away.
However, Ying Zheng, who destroyed the four kingdoms of Wei, Han, Zhao and Wei, was no longer the king who had to rely on the support of important officials in the court to grasp power. Even without the royal crown, royal robe, the winch sword and the golden seal of Qin that symbolized the identity and power of the King of Qin, Ying Zheng could still command the entire Qin State.
Any decision made by Ying Zheng only needed to be informed to his ministers and did not require anyone's support or consent, so Ying Zheng's royal decree was still sent to Anyi.
It was thought that Zhang Ji would disobey the king's order again and live a life of drunkenness and leisure in Anyi, but unexpectedly, this time Zhang Ji accepted the king's order without hesitation, willingly escaped from the underground secret room, this den of beauty, and headed straight for Daliang City.
Ying Zheng was definitely not the kind of person who would hide his bow after all the birds were killed. Even if one day he had no more titles to offer and Ying Zheng was too wary of him to sit idly by, the worst outcome would be that he would be transferred to remote places such as Qiannan, Jiangdong, and Southern Shu.
Besides, things wouldn't have come to this.
Some tacit understandings are ultimately incomprehensible to outsiders.
Well...it would be better if Ying Zheng could stop thinking about his precious daughter!
Until now, Ying Zheng is still thinking about Zhenzhen. He hopes that the two families can get married, let Fusu marry Zhenzhen as his wife, tie him to Fusu's chariot, and consolidate the position of the eldest prince.
In response, Zhang Ji still sternly refused.
You can't really do something ridiculous like that, can you?
……
More than ten days later, a huge convoy, escorted by more than a thousand cavalrymen and two thousand black armored soldiers, arrived outside the city of Daliang.
With such a large convoy, almost everyone guessed the identity of the convoy's owner.
"It seems that the fake King of Wei has arrived."
At the gate of Daliang city, a group of officials were waiting for Zhang Ji's arrival. Among them were some surrendered ministers of Wei State, who were whispering to each other and called Zhang Ji the "fake King of Wei."
Firstly, it was a joke, and secondly, it was to make Ying Zheng afraid of Zhang Ji.
"Shut up!"
In the crowd, a tall and straight young general looked at him coldly and said in a low voice: "If you don't want to die and your clan to be exterminated, then watch your mouth."
"Heh, do dogs and pigs have the nerve to bark like that?"
Another young man standing next to the young general glared back, his eyes full of disdain and disgust.
"Shuzi!"
"General Jinyao, Young Lord Xinling, Lord Luonan has arrived, please do not fight in front of Lord Luonan."
As a former trusted and old minister of King Wei, Shi Cheng frowned and couldn't help but speak up to persuade him.
One of them is the son of Jin Bi, a veteran general of Wei State in the past. Although he was defeated by Zhang Ji, he was also a good general. The young Xinling Lord Wei Mang, as the son of Wei Wuji, inherited the reputation of Xinling Lord's mansion. In addition, he is an old minister who is familiar with the political affairs of Wei State. If the three of them work together, it is entirely possible that they will imitate the rebellion launched by Zhang Kaidi and Zhang Liang in Xinzheng.
But it happened that Lord Xinling killed General Jin Bi in order to seize military power. Why didn’t he be detained and sent back to Daliang? Why did he have to be killed?
As a result, the hatred was transferred to the next generation, Jin Yao and Wei Mang. The two quarreled almost every day. Wei Mang insulted Jin Yao by calling him a dog or a pig, implying that he had been defeated by Zhang Ji in the past and had brought shame to the veteran general Jin Bi. The two sides even fought each other many times for this.
"I will let you go for now, or I will beat you so hard that even your mother won't recognize you."
Jin Yao, whose eloquence was not as eloquent as Wei Mang, withdrew decisively. He understood that if he wanted to fight against Wei Mang, the little Lord Xinling, he must get the support of Zhang Ji, so he must not be rude in front of Zhang Ji.
At this moment, Zhang Ji in the carriage did not notice the quarrel in front of the city gate, but was observing the dilapidated Daliang City. This magnificent city eventually went to destruction just like in history.
The once world-famous Daliang will disappear little by little in the long river of history and eventually be lost in history.
No one would choose to spend such a high cost to restore the former glory of Daliang City. At most, they would rely on developed water conservancy to make Daliang City a fertile land again.
However, the people of Daliang City suffered in the end.
"Greetings, Luo Nanjun!"
"Meet the General!"
With a sigh, Zhang Ji got off the carriage and was keenly aware of the difference in the way Jin Yao and Wei Mang addressed him.
Compared to Luonan Jun, he felt closer to Jin Yao, the "General" called by his old subordinate who he had personally persuaded to surrender and who had also served under him for a short period of time.
"As the intelligence reported, they are not getting along. I didn't expect them to be so at odds with each other."
The story of Ling Tong and Gan Ning turning their sworn enemies into friends over their father's murder can only happen in the novel. In real history, how could Gan Ning be worthy of fighting Ling Tong?
As the son of Ling Cao, Ling Tong's connections in the army are not comparable to those of Gan Ning, the Jinfan thief. Both of them are kind and respectful to scholars, and they value righteousness over money, but Gan Ning is rude and cruel, violent and bloodthirsty, and was ostracized by his colleagues and the gentry, so he had no chance to make any merit at all.
The relationship between Jin Yao and Wei Mang is just like that between Ling Tong and Gan Ning.
Jin Yao has good connections and reputation among the surrendered generals of Wei State. After all, these people were all former subordinates of Jin Bi, and this friendship is impossible to forget.
Wei Mang was more popular among royal family members, nobles and scholars.
The two tigers were fighting each other, and their forces were as fierce as fire and water, but it was an advantage for Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji did not point it out. He rode on his war horse and entered the Daliang city with the carriage behind him and a group of officials.
Looking at the accompanying Qin soldiers holding the Qin black dragon flag and clearing the way in front, driving the people to the sides of the road, Zhang Ji could not help but feel emotional as even the former wealthy families in the city were pale and thin, with tattered clothes.
After all, his blood was not cold. The lively appearance of the Qin soldiers, compared with the pale and thin appearance of the people in Daliang City, really moved him.
Fortunately, the Qin army had long since adapted to the volunteer army system. Half a year had passed since the Qin army entered Daliang City, and there had been no incidents of the Qin army plundering or oppressing the people, nor had the conflict between the Qin and Wei people been further intensified.
"Young Lord Xinling, although the flood has subsided, the people affected by the flood will certainly not have any harvest. The task of providing relief to the victims is now in the hands of Your Excellency. I believe that the successor of Master Wuji will certainly not allow anyone to embezzle the food provided for the victims."
Among the royal family of Wei State today, the elderly are too old to work. Lord Anling also fell seriously ill after the demise of Wei State. If Ying Zheng had not sent Yang Qing, the new young leader of the Fangji family, to treat him, Lord Anling might not have survived this disaster.
But after a serious illness, Anling Jun no longer had the demeanor of the former Wei Xiang. He was just an old man who wanted to spend his later years in peace and was full of guilt.
If the Wei Kingdom is to be stabilized, the help of the Wei royal family is indispensable.
After Lord Anling also stepped down, the only available member of the Wei royal family was Wei Mang.
"Even if it's just for the sake of the people of Daliang, I will never let anyone get their hands on the money and food used to help the people."
A determined look appeared on Wei Mang's slightly immature face, and his answer made Zhang Ji very satisfied.
As the son of Wei Wuji, Wei Mang may be far inferior to his father in ability and demeanor, but Wei Mang's character is more pure and straightforward. He doesn't have so many twists and turns. He likes to be straightforward and is quite disgusted with corruption.
Treat Wei Mang with sincerity, and he will repay you with sincerity.
The name of Xinling Jun is also an excellent golden signboard to stabilize people's hearts.
But even so, it was impossible for Zhang Ji to completely entrust the task of stabilizing the people's hearts to Wei Mang.
The name of Xinling Jun can calm people's hearts and also incite them. How do we know that Wei Mang is not sleeping on straw and eating bitter food?
So, Zhang Ji chose a good partner for him.
"General Jinyao, a corrupt person may be desperate. Why don't you handle this matter with Lord Xinling together?"
Zhang Ji looked at the familiar face beside him, which was obviously much more mature, and smiled playfully.
As the deputy general of Wei who surrendered to the Qin army during the last alliance of five countries, and also the son of Jin Bi, a veteran general of Wei State who had a grudge against Wei Wuji for killing his father, Jin Yao naturally had an irreconcilable feud with the lineage of Lord Xinling.
Putting these two people with irreconcilable hatred together is definitely the best choice to check and balance Wei Mang.
If Wei Mang did anything wrong, Zhang Ji had no doubt that Jin Yao would take the opportunity to kill Wei Mang with a single blow.
After seeing off Wei Mang and Jin Yao, Zhang Ji continued to review the piled up official documents. Looking at the piles of documents, he couldn't help but feel a headache.
There is still a lack of talent.
If there had not been an extreme shortage of officials, Ying Zheng would not have thrown him, a Wei man, out to take charge of the affairs of Wei's old territory. Zhang Ji simply carried out Ying Zheng's choice of governing Wei with Wei to the end, using Wei Mang and Jin Yao to calm the people's hearts.
However, the number of talents in Wei State was really limited. Zhang Er and Chen Yu, two of the two most talented people in Xinling Jun's mansion, who were entrusted with high hopes by Xinling Jun, had their power taken away by Wei Wang Zeng after Xinling Jun's death. The two fled before the siege of Daliang City and their whereabouts have been unknown to date.
Fortunately, there were people from Pei County such as Xiao He, Shen Yiji, and Lu Wan in his court.
In this life, Pei County was part of the Wei State, so Xiao He and others were also Wei people. If Xiao He and other people from Pei County were to do things, they would probably encounter less resistance, and it should not be difficult to clean up the mess in Dang County and Dong County.
(End of this chapter)