The Weather Changes

Chapter 8: Political discussion in the court

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"Class starts again so soon?"

"My Lord, what?"

"nothing?"

I was not wrong. I still went to my teacher to listen to his teachings. The people with me were my classmates. The only difference was that we changed places and identities. Really, I still don’t know what kind of officials those bastards are

I was still wandering on the streets of Xiangyang, but this time I had a horse with me. The girls were still the same as before, smiling at me from afar and whispering. I really didn't know how I could know what these people meant to me.

There was nothing to do along the way, except that the horse stepped on a middle-aged beggar's begging bowl. I originally thought, you are not old yet, why don't you find a job. But when I saw him limping to his feet with a look of fear on his face, I thought I was unlucky, and took out all the change I had and gave it to him. It was my first day in office, and I didn't have a salary yet. Those were pocket money my sister gave me. Judging from his appearance, he must be a wounded soldier at the front who couldn't afford to return home. Give him more money so that he can go home and reunite with his family as soon as possible.

When we arrived at the meeting hall, we saw classmates everywhere. Everyone seemed to have a habit of sitting in the same way as in the classroom. Mr. Wei looked at us from above and laughed.

"Remember, this is the court meeting room, not the thatched cottage. Why are you all still sitting like this?"

To be honest, we have been together for four years, and we have been sitting like this since the beginning. If we change our sitting positions, we will always look around and feel uncomfortable.

The gentleman chatted with us for a few minutes, then agreed to our sitting position and got down to business.

"Everyone is here, let's start the class."

"Yes, sir." Everyone answered in unison.

Immediately the whole hall fell silent as everyone realized what was wrong. Then, laughter broke out uncontrollably from us and the gentleman.

"Okay, stop laughing." It seems that Teacher Wei couldn't control himself, because he couldn't help laughing again.

Finally, everyone stopped laughing and the meeting could continue.

"Everyone, from today on, you will all be my ministers who contribute to the affairs of Jingzhou. I would like to hear your opinions first, and then make a decision."

I felt that there was something wrong with what the teacher said, but I couldn't tell where it was. But I was sure that I felt a little uneasy and doubtful.

"Sir, no, Lord Wei, um,... Lord" It was Zisheng. This guy popped up when I was thinking about something. It's over. It seems that he won't be able to stop in the next few hours.

"The Yellow Turban rebellion has affected all provinces in the country. The court has no choice but to lift the ban on political parties and order each province and county to recruit soldiers on their own to quell the Yellow Turban rebellion. But the Yellow Turban army is too powerful to be cut off. Our temporary measure now is to reorganize military affairs, deploy troops in Xinye, and wait until autumn to use troops against the Yellow Turbans." After saying this, he sat down.

We looked at each other. What was wrong with Zishe's look? I looked back. How could I know? Ziyuan turned his head and stared at him, saying that he was possessed. I nodded. We stared at each other. Four years was enough for us to communicate with each other through our eyes.

Teacher Wei, however, was not paying attention to us. He was lost in thought. After a moment, he asked Zisheng, "I'd like to hear more about it."

Zisheng stood up again, bowed to the teacher, and began. This time I really started to listen seriously.

"The problem lies in the severe drought last year!" He paused. "Last year, there was a severe drought in Jiuzhou, and the people were living in poverty. This year, Zhang Jiao rebelled against the Yellow Turbans. In order to win the hearts of the people, the Yellow Turbans opened their warehouses and released food wherever they went. The people were loyal to the Yellow Turbans and their power was at its peak. The four states of Qing, Xu, Yan and Ji have all fallen into the hands of the Yellow Turbans, and hundreds of thousands of government troops are still retreating. If we rashly send out troops now, it will undoubtedly be like a moth flying into a flame. It will be useless and we will also lose Jingzhou to the Yellow Turbans."

"Then why should we wait until autumn? After autumn, the Yellow Turbans will have enough food and grass, and we can suppress them then. It might be better to recruit soldiers from other states and suppress them together, as we will have a greater chance." Yun Shu asked doubtfully, and many people agreed immediately.

"That's ridiculous. Teacher Wei ordered me to be the chief accountant for grain and fodder. I looked through the account books of each year and I predicted that if the Yellow Turbans cannot get enough food after the autumn, their military morale will be low."

"Why?"

"Jingzhou is a rich place. The grain collected during last year's drought, minus the food for the people in Jingzhou and the surplus from previous years, is only enough to sustain an army of more than 10,000 people. It is impossible to recruit soldiers. Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Jizhou are not rich places. After the grain is released from various places, I guess the surplus will only be enough to sustain until the end of summer. By then, the Yellow Turbans will have to stop their advance and wait for the autumn harvest. If there is no food after autumn, the morale of the Yellow Turbans will be low. We can send troops then and defeat the Yellow Turbans in one fell swoop."

"Why are the four states out of food?"

"There has been constant fighting in these four states this year. Most of the young and strong men have been recruited by the Yellow Turbans to fight in the war. Many places in these four states will have no harvest this autumn. I'm afraid Zhang Jue will have to go and harvest the grain this autumn, right?"

Everyone laughed.

"So, what we need to do internally is to rectify government affairs and military preparations, reform the bad policies left over from the past, and have all the counties transfer soldiers to Xinye to guard the northern gate of Jingzhou. Externally,... it may be a little troublesome."

"If I were He Jin, I would order all the troops to take a defensive stance against Zhang Mancheng's troops in Nanyang." Zi She took over the conversation. He seemed to be talking to himself, lowering his head and gesturing with his hands on the mat in front of him. "Although Zhang Mancheng's troops are powerful, they are trapped between the four states of Jing, Si, Li, Yi, and Yong. If we don't move, I don't think Zhang Mancheng will be able to take any action against us. Instead, let General Huangfu in Youzhou abandon Youzhou and head straight to the north of Jingzhou to relieve General Zhu's siege of Wancheng, and then join forces to defeat Bō Cai's troops. In this way, the Yellow Turban bandits' horn encirclement of the imperial capital Luoyang will be broken. It will be easy to hold out until autumn."

"Are Youzhou just going to be left to the Yellow Turbans?"

"Let's just throw it away," Zishe raised his head this time, as if he was still talking to himself, "Youzhou is the far north. If the Yellow Turban bandits really want it, just take it. Then, by September, they will not only have to worry about insufficient military rations, but also about how to keep warm through the winter, right?"

“In short,” Zishe stood up this time, looked around at everyone, and finally looked at Teacher Wei and bowed, “In short, we must hold on until the autumn harvest. Both the internal and external plans must be implemented. I voluntarily wrote to He Jin to propose this plan, but He Jin... will not adopt it. If we, as a man of good words and eloquence, convince the two generals, then after the autumn, half of the million-strong Yellow Turban army will have been buried in the ground.” He waved his hand.

We immediately agreed in unison and praised it as a great idea.

"Zi She, Zi Sheng, you are truly extraordinary talents. From today on, both of you will be my military advisors."

"However, Zishe, do you have anyone who can speak well and argue well?"

"I already have someone who can take on this task!" Zisheng and Zishe came out almost at the same time, which scared us.

"Oh!" Teacher Wei was silent for a moment and wrote a few words on the table, then covered them with bamboo slips. "I also thought of someone. I have written it on the table. You can come up and write down the name of the person in your mind."

"yes!"

Zisheng was closer to the teacher, and he went up and wrote three words. I knew he didn't write "I". Whether it was Xie Zhi or Zirui, they both wrote two words. The teacher covered up Zisheng's words again.

Zishe went up. I knew I could tell who he was writing about. I was very familiar with his writing style. He wrote a word like "Zi" and the second word was... "Yuan". I didn't expect this. Although Ziyuan was also good at speaking, he was so fat. I thought it was lucky that he could run to Xinye without dying of exhaustion. If he went to Youzhou, he would be dead! Ziyuan had been sitting in front of me. I went to pat his shoulder. He and other students were leaning over to see who it was. He turned around and I told him that Zishe wrote "you". When Zishe came back, he even blinked at me and Ziyuan. It seemed to confirm that my judgment was correct.

After reading Zishe's, the teacher smiled and said, "If you want to read it, come one by one. Leave after reading it. The person written on it, go back and find me here after lunch. Remember, don't say anything after reading it. Come one by one." Then the teacher went to the back hall.

It turns out that everyone was writing about the same person!

Everyone went up one by one, and after reading, they all smiled. I already knew the result, so I smiled too. Seeing people shaking their heads and laughing after reading, I couldn't help myself. In the end, only Ziyuan and I were left. Ziyuan also felt like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. He went up, and it seemed that he accepted his fate and walked away dejected. Well, it was my turn. It was really boring. I lazily went up, took a glance, turned around and left. Then, I immediately turned around and supported the table with my hands. I couldn't believe it. It said that the three were indeed the same person, but that person was me.

Mr. wrote "Zi Rui"

"Xie Zirui" written by Zisheng

Zi She wrote even more wonderfully "The one behind Zi Yuan"