He Jin heard Zhen Yan say that Zhang Chen was related to the Zhen, couldn't help but be overjoyed, and quickly said to Zhen Yan, "Excellent, your Zhen has arranged a good marriage! Zhen Yan, since he is related to your Zhen, then go on a trip for General. Take General's order token, head to Wei Commandery, and summon him to the capital. General wants to see with his own eyes just what kind of person this young man is!"
Zhen Yan, upon hearing this, was also beaming with joy, thinking to himself that if his brother-in-law could gain the favor of the General, his future prospects would be limitless, and the Zhen would also prosper along with him.
Thereupon, Zhen Yan quickly said, "General summoned him to the capital, could it be to recruit him?"
He Jin smiled and said, "If this person truly has talent, General is naturally eager for talented individuals. You don't need to ask further, just go."
"Yes, this subordinate will go and handle it now."
Zhen Yan was overjoyed, agreeing repeatedly, turned and exited the door, went back to pack up properly, and returned to Ji Province.
Second year of Zhongping, second day of the tenth month of 185 AD, Prefect's Residence.
In the past few days, the autumn harvest was completed. Zhang Chen looked at the reports from the various counties, his face changing between clear and cloudy.
Guangping County had a great harvest this year. The newly cultivated land combined with the original farmland yielded over one hundred thousand shi of grain.
Although Cheng'an and Linzhang County had experienced war, thankfully Qian Zhao and Fang Ping later managed the overall situation, the people's lives gradually recovered, and they also had good harvests.
But the reports from the other counties made Zhang Chen furious. Either they reported a disaster this year, or they reported being plundered by bandits. In short, the harvest was poor, not only was there no tax grain to submit, but they also needed the commandery to allocate grain for disaster relief.
Zhang Chen threw the reports onto the desk, feeling extremely angry.
In the same commandery, how could one county have a bumper harvest while another suffered a disaster? These people were clearly treating him like a fool!
Zhang Chen suddenly felt restless and annoyed. He immediately stood up, flicking his sleeves, and intended to return to the back hall for a short rest.
Suddenly, Tian Feng walked in from outside, and also ordered people to carry in two wooden boxes.
As soon as Tian Feng entered, he bowed to Zhang Chen and said, "Lord."
"Mr. Yuan Hao." Zhang Chen stood up and returned the greeting, quickly inviting Tian Feng to sit, and said, "Sir, you guarded Ye City for me, your efforts were great. Half of the victory in this battle was due to Sir stabilizing the rear, preventing the soldiers from being distracted."
"Lord, you overstate my contribution. This is merely my duty as an old man."
"May I know why Sir has come today?"
Tian Feng looked at the two wooden boxes placed in front of him, smiled and said, "This old man observes that Lord has been troubled by worries recently. I have specially come to offer Lord a spiritual medicine that can dispel worries and difficulties, and make your wishes come true."
"Oh?" Zhang Chen smiled and said, "Does Mr. Yuan Hao perhaps know what I am worried about?"
Tian Feng smiled and said, "The Yellow Turban can be considered an external threat, which has now been pacified. What is causing Lord to worry is naturally internal troubles. Within Wei Commandery now, Lord truly controls only Guangping County, Cheng'an, and Linzhang County. Although this battle was won, the troops from these three counties also suffered considerable losses. If you want to recover your strength, you must quickly bring the remaining counties under your control."
Zhang Chen, upon hearing this, quickly said, "Sir is the one who understands me. That's right, I have been thinking about this matter these past few days. However, the officials in those counties are all from wealthy and influential families. Although not noble clans, their power is deeply entrenched. Gongyu once said that when one's strength is weak, one should not touch their interests, but rather focus on appeasement."
"Lord, that statement is incorrect." Tian Feng smiled and said, "Although what Gongyu said is not wrong, Lord is being overly humble. This time, after annihilating the Yellow Turban, Lord's prestige has already spread throughout the land. How could those wealthy and powerful families still dare to oppose Lord? Now is the perfect time to use decisive measures to rectify Wei Commandery!"
Tian Feng paused, then pointed to the wooden boxes in front of him and said, "Lord, do you know what is in these boxes?"
Zhang Chen shook his head and looked at Tian Feng.
"Inside are the criminal evidences of officials from various counties secretly colluding with the Yellow Turban over the past month! Especially during the days Lord was battling Guan Hai, these people frequently exchanged letters with the Yellow Heaven Holy Sect. Even more, some even wanted to collude with the bandits from inside and out, and surrender the cities!"
"Preposterous!" Zhang Chen slammed the desk, rose in a rage, and quickly opened the boxes, only to see that they were indeed full of scrolls and letters inside.
Zhang Chen casually picked up a few letters to examine, and immediately became furious: "These traitors, as officials of Han, actually colluded with bandits and plotted rebellion. This is truly unbearable!"
Tian Feng stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Lord, I wonder if this spiritual medicine of mine can resolve Lord's worries?"
The gloom in Zhang Chen's heart was instantly swept away, and he couldn't help but laugh: "Haha, Mr. Yuan Hao is truly brilliant! Now, the weight in my chest is completely gone, and I feel refreshed and invigorated!"
The two exchanged a smile. Tian Feng then said, "It's just, I wonder how Lord plans to deal with these people?"
Zhang Chen pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "These people's family power is immense. If we use force, it might backfire. How about... setting up a 'Hongmen Banquet'... Mr. Yuan Hao, I trouble you to draft an order and send it to all the counties. Say that this great defeat of the Yellow Turban was entirely due to the concerted efforts of all officials and people in the commandery. This official intends to hold a banquet at the Prefect's Residence to entertain the officials from all counties, and ask them to come to the Prefect's Residence for the banquet three days later."
Tian Feng, upon hearing this, couldn't help but stroke his beard and laugh heartily: "Hahaha, Lord's brilliant plan! At the banquet, we will present these criminal evidences and see what these corrupt officials have to say!"
"Right, remember, to prevent the news from leaking, issue the order to Guangping County, Cheng'an, and Linzhang County as usual. It won't be too late to explain to Gongyu and the others when they arrive."
"Lord, rest assured, this old man understands."
After Tian Feng finished speaking, he bowed and withdrew.
Zhang Chen looked at the two wooden boxes in front of him, feeling greatly pleased.
This time, by catching all these corrupt officials in one swoop, he would be able to completely take control of Wei Commandery.
Right, those people colluded with rebels; this is a great crime of treason. At that time, he could rightfully confiscate their family properties. This way, the treasury would be full, and he would no longer have to worry about money matters.
After this matter, it would be about time to proceed with the second step of Ju Shou's "Three-Step Strategy".
Three days later, officials from various counties received the order and arrived in Ye City one after another.
Zhang Chen ordered people to take them to the guesthouse to settle down first. In the evening, a banquet was set up at the residence.
The attendants took the order and led the Lords to the guesthouse. Afterwards, Zhang Chen immediately ordered people to quietly summon Ju Shou, Qian Zhao, and Fang Ping to the residence.
At this time, within the Prefect's Residence, Guo Jia, Tian Feng, Zhang He, Qu Yi, Gao Lan, and others had already gathered here.
The three came to the front hall and greeted Zhang Chen. Ju Shou saw that everyone was present, his eyes rolled, and he immediately understood most of it in his heart. He then said, "Lord, you have set up this 'Hongmen Banquet' today, are you preparing to act against those corrupt officials?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Qian Zhao and Fang Ping couldn't help but be startled and looked at Zhang Chen at the same time.
Zhang Chen looked at everyone, smiled at each other and said, "Gongyu is indeed quick-witted, nothing can be hidden from you. That's right, a few days ago, Yuan Hao found conclusive criminal evidence. This time, we will catch all these pests who harm the country and the people in one swoop!"
"Excellent! I've wanted to deal with that bunch for a long time!" Qian Zhao was the first to step out and say, "These people usually oppress the common folk and line their own pockets. This time, we must let them see our power!"
Fang Ping also said, "That's right, Lord, please give the order. What should we do?"
"Fengxiao, Yuan Hao, you two are responsible for presiding over the venue matters. Anyone attending the banquet is not allowed to bring weapons inside."
"Understood."
"Zhang He, Gao Lan, you two will lead two hundred swordsmen and axemen and lie in ambush under the corridors and around the front hall. During the banquet, listen for my signal of dropping a cup, and capture all these corrupt officials. Anyone who dares to resist shall be killed without mercy!"
"Understood!"
"Gongyu, Zijing, Fang Ping, to avoid arousing suspicion from others, you three will attend the banquet as usual."
"This subordinate (Zhang He) receives the order!"
With the deployment completed, everyone went about their tasks, while Zhang Chen returned to the back hall, quietly waiting for evening to arrive.
After today, Wei Commandery would be completely under his control.