Chapter 382: People Fear Cao
On the Weinan Road, good news was delivered as fast as it could.

Du Ji, who came to Xinfeng to visit a friend, pulled the reins of his slow horse and turned his head to look at the messenger and the deputy rider who were galloping in the middle of the imperial road more than 20 steps away. He couldn't help but think of the Grand Marshal and General Taishi Wengong who were galloping along the imperial road last year.

Thinking about it now, Du Ji is filled with emotion.

I felt a little disappointed, but I also felt that Da Sima was sincere towards me.

He always felt that Cui Zhouping, the chief secretary who stayed behind, would be finished soon, and he was very confident in his judgment.

But after Cui Zhouping's death, who will be the suitable successor?

Anyway, I don't really want to. The reason why the situation in the world is changing is that I can't figure out Da Sima's bottom line.

Cui Zhouping may be just a stone testing the bottom line, and this may also be a fate that Cui Zhouping himself is willing to accept.

Anyway, my Du family cannot compare with the big families in Kanto or the Guan family, so there is really no need to test any bottom line.

If the opportunity is presented to you, you must refuse it.

Du Ji silently warned himself and couldn't help but think of Su Ze.

Su Ze never caught up with the Grand Marshal. When the Grand Marshal went to Shangjun and prepared to go out of the border, Su Ze went to chase him, but failed to catch up. Now he should have caught up with him in Hexi.

Some time ago, Da Sima returned to Ganquan Mountain, and I don’t know whether Su Ze followed him back.

If they chased him back, the Grand Marshal would return to Hexi. If they missed him again, given Su Ze's strong character, would he drink the sword out of anger and shame to end it all once and for all?
Du Ji thought about it, then turned over and rode back on the slow horse.

His destination was a farm outside Xinfeng, where a group of relatives and family members of the rebellious local tyrants from Taiyuan and Hedong were detained and treated. Among them were several of the fellow villagers and friends brought by Jingzhao Yin Zhang Shi when he took office.

When these people followed Zhang Shi to break out, they were killed by Tai Shi Wen Gong. Later, their family members responded to Wang Ling's call to rebel, and their family members were implicated, demoted to slaves and distributed to various farms.

Du Ji came to the farm and only brought two bags of grain. Without these grains, the slaves would not starve to death.

It's just that these grains represent his personal attitude, which can make the farm officials in charge of the farm show some mercy.

Few land officials dared to torture to death the family members of the powerful and rebellious families in the two counties.

As the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together", the scholars in Guanzhong and the officials of scholar origin would instinctively provide these slaves with some small conveniences.

Even though they were slaves, these people, even the women, had mastered various business and household management skills. On average, the women had a higher cultural level than the farm officials.

When Du Ji arrived at the farm, he saw five slaves related to Zhang Shi gathered together to add thatch to their mud houses.

A dozen children were also helping to deliver the straw, and only three young children were playing beside the straw pile.

One of the girls looked about three years old, sitting quietly on a rock. Her quiet appearance made Du Ji look at her sideways a few more times.

The farm officials here hurried over and said, "Mr. Du, it's a bad time to come today. Our captain has already led his troops to Hongnong in the east to fight."

"That's all right."

Du Ji also returned the gift and said with a smile: "Thanks to the great blessing of the Grand Marshal, Duling has a good harvest this summer and autumn. I want to take care of my friend's family. I wonder if you can help me?"

"This... the captain is not here, how dare the minor official make the decision?"

The farm official was in a difficult situation. He was just a minor official with a salary and had no military merit. He was recommended to be a farm official only because he was good at farming.

He was responsible for encouraging farming and improving farming techniques, and also worked part-time as the manager of the slaves on the farm.

The young and strong men have been sent elsewhere to concentrate on heavy physical work, so the management of the farm is not very strenuous.

After all, they were slaves, and their status was so low that these slaves who came from scholars and powerful families became more obedient and more motivated to work.

The more victories the Grand Marshal won in foreign wars, the more motivated these scholars would be to denounce the slaves.

When Tian Li saw Du Ji stop smiling, he immediately said, "The Grand Marshal said that common people can do anything unless prohibited by law. Mr. Du is a commoner. There is no official document from the shogunate, county, or centurion office prohibiting common people from giving grain to slaves. It seems to me that this is naturally allowed."

"Then I'll have to trouble you to distribute the grain to each household on my behalf. One bag for each of my five old friends, and one bag for each of the remaining households in the farm." Du Ji said as he bowed his hands. The farm official also hurriedly bowed his hands in return: "It's very helpful. I feel very happy to be able to do something for Mr. Du."

After the official finished speaking, he glanced around and whispered, "Someone has come from the residence of the Inspector of the Capital, Yuan Changgong, and wants to buy two women to marry the servants."

Du Ji frowned and said, "I have also heard about this in Duling. It is said that Zhong Yuanchang has redeemed and rescued nearly a hundred widows and orphans. Since he is willing to pay for the redemption and they are widows and orphans, you can just follow the rules. Being redeemed is also a good deed."

The farm officials nodded after hearing this. The slaves assigned to various farms mastered many production and management skills, and were given the opportunity to redeem themselves or buy their own farms from the beginning of their exile.

From the very beginning, there was no intention to use these people as ordinary slaves.

The truth is that the powerful people in the two counties joined the rebellion and must be dealt with severely. After being demoted to slaves, they are also public assets and cannot be easily damaged.

Therefore, after the summer harvest this year, some of the slave households who were relatives and old acquaintances in Guanzhong were redeemed, and after going through the same procedures, they became registered households in the counties of Guanzhong.

Some people had applied for land grants and obtained the land at the end of August.

He chatted with Tian Li for a while, expressing his admiration for the great wisdom and bravery of the Grand Marshal and the increasingly happy lives of the people in Guanzhong. They also discussed in a low voice the war that had broken out in Hongnong in the east.

Tian Li was somewhat worried about whether General Gan could stop Cao's army.

General Gan had never had a glorious record of leading troops alone before, and he was facing the brutal Cao army that had been fighting for twenty years across the world.

They were afraid that Cao's army would break through Hongnong and enter Guanzhong, ruining everyone's good life.

This year is only the first year of great peace and prosperity in Guanzhong. The harvests in summer and autumn are still barely enough to support everyone through the winter. Next year, there will still be the hard days of hunger and hunger to endure.

Only after the farmland everywhere has adapted to intensive cultivation and restored its fertility can it truly support the rapidly growing population in Guanzhong and create a surplus.

By that time, the staple food will be sufficient and various side dishes can be put on the table.

Tian Li sighed with admiration and felt very regretful. It was a pity that he was only assigned a wife in winter and his son who came with his wife was still young, otherwise he would have let his son serve as a volunteer soldier.

As long as we hold the Tongguan line and wait for the Grand Marshal to return, the enemy will naturally not be a concern.

Therefore, before the county issued orders, many militiamen had already spontaneously begun to gather in Tongguan.

If someone else had invaded Guanzhong, they might not have been so aggressive and angry.

But it was Cao’s army that came, who dared to hope for the best?
Du Ji clearly noticed that the morale of the people in Guanzhong had changed, and the discomfort in his heart disappeared.

On his way back, he saw a group of volunteer soldiers composed of Chang'an scholars marching eastward.

The leader was Wang Can, who was riding a tall black donkey. The black donkey was strong and three points taller than Du Ji's horse.

The two greeted each other and chatted on the side of the road.

Wang Can asked, "Sir, do you know about the battle of Hongnong?"

"I don't know, but I have the natural barrier of Hangu Pass. Now Hangu Pass is not conducive to the army's march. In my opinion, Cao's army will be blocked by General Gan to the east of Shanjin."

Du Ji was calm and confident, "The Grand Marshal knew that Cao Cao had moved to Heluo, but he went to Hexi to manage the Xichui, which shows that the Grand Marshal already had a plan to deal with it. I think that the Chang'an University students can stop at Tongguan and should not go deep into Hongnong to avoid disturbing General Gan."

Wang Can frowned slightly and said, "I think so too. The students of Chang'an are the hard work of the Grand Marshal and are expected by the public. If they go to dangerous places, although it can inspire the officers and soldiers, it is also a waste of talent. If there are losses, it will ruin the future foundation."

Wang Can then asked, "Sir, you are a great scholar in Guanzhong, and you are loved by the officials and the people. Can you go to Tongguan with me to meet the needs of the shogunate?"

Du Ji turned his head and looked at the college students walking together on the road, and shook his head: "I am a guilty person, I dare not disturb you."

"Take care, sir."

Wang Can stopped trying to persuade him and bowed, and Du Ji immediately returned the greeting.

One of them kicked the horse's belly lightly, and the other one rubbed the donkey's back with his hips, and they passed each other.

(End of this chapter)