Chapter 253: Don’t Torture Me

I heard from the envoy that the Hebei nobles always like to be indecisive and are now wavering.

Guo Jia couldn’t help laughing and said jokingly, “Sir, the ten counties of Jizhou have a large population, fertile farmland, rich people, and abundant grain reserves. The terrain is convenient and the fertile fields are thousands of miles long. The beans and grass can feed ten thousand cavalry. They can raise a million troops and look down on the princes in the country. Whoever occupies Hebei can become the hero of the world.”

“The families in Hebei Province have received great favors from the Han Dynasty. They have inherited the family property left by their ancestors. They have given up gold, jade, cloth, and corn and wheat. Just to talk about the farmland everywhere, it is conceivable that they probably have thousands or even tens of thousands of hectares. All the mountains and farmland are occupied. They are really rich enough to rival a country and are as rich as a ‘marquis of ten thousand households’.

The clan members wear brocade, eat meat every day, enjoy stringed music, and indulge in delicious food. They betray the virtues of their ancestors, the kindness of their teachers and friends, and forget the food provided by the Han family…”

Liu Bei couldn’t help but clap his hands and laugh. What Guo Fengxiao meant was that the families in Hebei had a good geographical location, had the blessings of their ancestors, had held official positions for many years and had lived a rich life with fine clothes and delicious food every day, and they had almost turned these people into pigs.

As long as Yuan Shao fed the pigs a little food in the pigpen, they would be content. They didn’t notice what was happening outside and only wanted to eat their fill.

Life was so good that we lost our vigilance.

Guo Jia then bowed and said, “Since this is the case, why don’t you eliminate the benefits and harms for the people, take their wealth and land, and use them for the people, so that they can live better? You can also tell the world that those who conspire to usurp the Han Dynasty will be punished.”

“Whether they are direct relatives or indirect relatives, they can all be imprisoned and punished. Don’t follow Guangwu’s example and burn letters to show leniency.”

“In the battle of Hebei, Qing and Yan provinces sent out tens of thousands of troops, and you rewarded the soldiers with land according to their military merits, and distributed farmland to the common people. If you don’t vigorously discipline the nobles and powerful families, I’m afraid there won’t be enough land to go around.”

“Although Youzhou has fewer noble families, it is mostly located in high mountains and steep ridges, and there are also Xianbei and Wuhuan people. The noble families do not obey the etiquette and laws and are unruly. It is very difficult to control them in a short period of time.”

“Jizhou is a fertile land in the world. We can give more of it to the common people and soldiers to guard it for you, so that Yuan Shao and his ilk will not be able to seize Hebei again. This is already done.”

Xu Chu, who was standing by, and Dian Wei, who had rushed back, both widened their eyes and opened their mouths when they heard what Guo Fengxiao said.

Xu Chu couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, “When I was a knight-errant, I would kill evil people and at most count them as a punishment. I didn’t expect that in the eyes of the nobles, killing people counts according to the clan. When you kill lawless tyrants, you only kill your direct relatives and those who have committed serious crimes.”

“I didn’t expect that Guo Jia had no scruples at all and wanted to kill people in Hebei with heavy crimes. But I couldn’t help but be excited… That’s right, those who were killed were all lawless people. As a knight-errant, it is my duty to eliminate evil and treacherous. I, Xu Chu, just happened to be in the army, and I am definitely not greedy for meritorious service and land.”

Dian Wei was also stunned when he heard it. He was quite familiar with Guo Jia, so he immediately stepped out of the tent and looked around to make sure no one else heard it.

Since the attack on Hebei, Xun Wenruo, Xun Gongda, Lu Zijing and others have advised the governor to treat people with leniency so that the counties and prefectures of Hebei can surrender as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, Guo Fengxiao, who also came from a noble family, actually suggested killing everyone. Although this made sense, if it got out, Guo Jia would be cut off from the literati community.

After cooperating with the envoy many times, Dian Wei has developed a cautious and meticulous character, and he can react instantly to what to do.

Liu Bei was slightly startled, and then he saw Dian Wei walk out quickly. He could not help but nod his head and thought to himself: “Not only does Feng Xiao win my heart, but even Dian Jun is getting closer and closer to me. He knows what to do before I even glance at him.”

When his eyes rested on Guo Jia, Liu Bei could not help but show his joy. The Legalists still emphasized severe punishment and did things without mercy. He liked such staff members who dared to make suggestions. Although Wen Ruo and Gong Da’s suggestions were good, they still couldn’t let go when dealing with the gentry issues. They were a little afraid of many Hebei gentry.

Among his many aides, only Guo Fengxiao, who was trained in “Xiao Du Lu”, would be highly consistent with him in dealing with the gentry.

Liu Bei then smiled and said, “Feng Xiao is worthy of being my military advisor. He has done everything right!”

But he still carefully reminded him: “Fengxiao, in the future, don’t mention this in front of Wenruo and Gongda. You can talk to me privately.”

This was also done to protect Guo Jia. It was not that he did not trust Xun Yu and Xun You, but it would be better for everyone if fewer people heard such words.

Otherwise, in the future he would treat the Hebei gentry in the same way as he treated the powerful families, removing the fuel for the problem on a large scale and eradicating the roots.

Wouldn’t Guo Jia then become the scapegoat?
This pot is a bit heavy and it is full of offending things. Guo Fengxiao may not be able to carry it with his frail body. He has to find some shameless officials under Yuan Shao to offer advice.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Feng Ji. Why did he risk his life to run so fast? This made it so difficult for him and Dian Wei and Xu Chu to capture him alive, but they couldn’t catch up with him after chasing him for several miles. If he had surrendered directly at that time, he could have avoided death.

It was because Feng Yuantu did not realize that Yuan Shao was able to have the heart to kill his aides. The battle of Yu County shook the morale of Yuan’s army. Without Qu Yi, you were the only one to bear the anger. How could you restore the morale of the army if you did not find someone to kill as a warning to the rest?

If Xu You had been the military supervisor, he would have definitely run away overnight after attacking on his own and causing such a big mess.

Xu Ziyuan had known Yuan Shao for a long time and undoubtedly knew Yuan Benchu’s character better.

After the incident in Jizhou where Feng Ji was executed and his wife were exterminated, if Yuan’s army suffered a disadvantageous battle or even returned in defeat, the generals and captains of Yuan’s army would be afraid of following Feng Ji’s fate.

There were only two options left at that time: either fight to the death or surrender with the army.

Liu Bei muttered silently in his heart.

Guo Jia, who was in the center of the military tent, couldn’t help but smile slightly when he heard the envoy’s solemn instructions. He felt a warmth in the soft corner of his heart. He bowed his hands with eager eyes and said, “Thank you for your reminder, envoy. Jia naturally knows. If it weren’t for the national interest, I wouldn’t dare to say more.”

Liu Bei laughed and added, “Although many noble families and powerful families in Hebei Province have followed Yuan’s rebellion, they should be exterminated and their heads should be hung in the market for public display. However, considering their ancestors’ merits in assisting the Han Dynasty, they can be imprisoned first to make them think more about their ancestors’ contributions to the Han Dynasty. When they are pardoned in the future, based on their performance in the county prison, the state department can decide to exile them to one of the three counties of Jiaozhou, Liaodong, and Dunhuang to enrich the local population.”

Guo Jia was slightly stunned when he heard this, and could not help but ask, “Sir, isn’t it too far from Hebei to Dunhuang? We are almost close to Yumen Pass. Moreover, there are often miasma and malaria in Jiaozhou, and few people who go there survive. How can we replenish the population?”

Although the counties of Jiaozhou, especially Jiaozhi County, were returned to the Han Dynasty two hundred years ago after General Ma Yuan, the Fu Bo General, went south to quell the rebellion and set up the Bronze Pillar, fourteen or fifteen military officials died of malaria, which made the three dukes and nine ministers of the court extremely terrified.

If we were to send them to Jiaozhou now, wouldn’t we be torturing them to death? It would be better to just behead them.

(End of this chapter)