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Li Ru closed the memorial, lost in thought.
In his memorial, Cai Yong made no attempt to claim credit for himself. Instead, he repeatedly emphasized that the entire assimilation strategy was Fei Qian's idea. Using historical changes in Bingzhou over the years, he elaborated on the importance of this plan, hoping the Emperor would value and support it. His words were earnest, each character brimming with sincerity.
Li Ru thought about the passage at the end of the memorial, pondering the meaning behind Cai Yong's choice of words. Suddenly, he chuckled and called out loudly, "Attendant! Deliver this memorial to the North Palace and respectfully present it to His Majesty!" After all, this matter wasn't particularly significant; what harm could come from letting the Emperor see it?
The attendant took the memorial and left, but Li Ru fell into deep thought. Bingzhou's current state was actually determined by its history.
In the past, both Bingzhou and Youzhou had enjoyed periods of considerable glory!
"... Emperor Guangwu used the cavalry and soldiers of Youzhou and Bingzhou to pacify the empire..." Li Ru suddenly muttered this seemingly out-of-context phrase. He then picked up the draft appointment for Fei Qian prepared by the Imperial Secretariat. After pondering for a moment, he took up his brush, circled and altered a few characters on the appointment, sealed it with wax, and had an attendant deliver it to the Imperial Secretariat.
To be honest, Li Ru wasn't very optimistic about the so-called assimilation strategy. Since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Bingzhou had been close to the Rong and Di tribes, resulting in many customs that differed from those of the inland regions. The so-called adoption of Hu attire and cavalry archery by the State of Zhao was precisely implemented because this martial foundation already existed.
Bingzhou lacked not for the inheritance of martial prowess, but for the inheritance of civil affairs...
Li Ru shook his head slightly. Bingzhou's civil affairs were much like himself—marginalized outside the so-called orthodox culture of the Central Plains. This Fei Qian, Fei Ziyuan, who wanted to go to Bingzhou to promote the assimilation strategy, first and foremost had to pass the test of whether he had the courage for it!
Originally, Wang Yun had decided to send Fei Qian to Yanmen Commandery—Yanmen was north of Taiyuan, of course, and it was also an important strategic pass in northern Bingzhou. However, its south was Taiyuan, and its east bordered Jizhou and Youzhou. Therefore, from Li Ru's perspective, this wasn't a very good choice.
After all, Taiyuan was Wang Yun's territory.
But thinking of the appointment he had altered for Fei Qian, Li Ru felt somewhat amused. This Fei Qian, Fei Ziyuan, was really a slippery character. Last time in the court, he had originally intended to put some pressure on Fei Qian, but hadn't expected the young man to come up with an auspicious omen...
This time, he'd give him another difficult problem to see what kind of trick he could pull off!
Then Li Ru set this matter aside. For the present, the relocation of the capital tomorrow was the top priority; it couldn't afford the slightest mistake...
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With Li Ru's approval, the Imperial Secretariat's letter of appointment for Fei Qian was soon issued.
In the Han Dynasty, unless it was the appointment of a general with grand ceremonies, there weren't so many rules—no three days of fasting, no incense altar, and so forth. One only needed to dress formally and perform the grand ceremony of acceptance.
When Fei Qian, following every ritual precisely, performed the grand ceremony and received the letter of appointment after listening to the court eunuch's set phrases about diligence for the state and loyalty to the empire, he opened it and was instantly dumbfounded. This wasn't how things were done...
This was truly far too unexpected for Fei Qian. How could he have been appointed to this place?
It was so baffling that Fei Qian even forgot the customary practice of giving a red packet to the court eunuch who had delivered the appointment as a token of thanks for his trouble. He had even prepared it, but was so stunned by this outrageous appointment that he completely forgot.
Fortunately, Huang Cheng, who was standing nearby, though he looked simple and honest, was actually quite shrewd. Seeing the situation, he stepped forward and discreetly handed the red packet to the court eunuch on Fei Qian's behalf. The eunuch, accustomed to observing people's expressions in the palace, didn't know the specifics of Fei Qian's appointment, but judging by his expression, he knew it was probably rather problematic. So, he could understand to some extent. Though slightly displeased, he didn't blame Fei Qian for his breach of etiquette. He simply cupped his hands in salute and took his leave.
Cui Hou outside the door escorted the eunuch all the way, presumably slipping him another red packet, as the eunuch was soon seen leaving all smiles, chatting and laughing...
After seeing off the eunuch, Cui Hou turned back and immediately sensed something was wrong. Hesitating for a moment, he still came over and asked, "Well... Ziyuan, just where have you been appointed to?"
Fei Qian glanced at Cui Hou, a look of sorrow on his face, and pointed to the opened letter of appointment from the Imperial Secretariat on the desk, indicating that Cui Hou should look for himself.
Cui Hou blinked his small eyes, walked to the desk, craned his neck to look, and his small eyes instantly widened from the size of mung beans to that of soybeans...
This was just too treacherous!
Although the title sounded good, but... but...
Cui Hou turned to look at Fei Qian, at a loss for what to say. Offering words of comfort would only confirm that Fei Qian had been terribly duped? Offering words of encouragement? But he was only a friend, and currently just a commoner without an official post; it wouldn't be appropriate either way...
Frowning, Fei Qian took back the letter of appointment, looking it over left and right as if he could make flowers bloom from these few scant characters. He pondered incessantly, trying to discern what meaning was truly contained within this appointment letter.
Yesterday, the Cai residence had sent someone with some materials about Bingzhou. After reading through them, Fei Qian realized the current situation in Bingzhou could be described as riddled with holes—it was even worse than he had originally imagined!
Bingzhou originally had its local powerful families. During the Western Han Dynasty, and even into the early Eastern Han, it had appeared as a major province with strong military power, producing especially large numbers of military officers who made significant contributions in resisting the Xiongnu.
But interestingly, as the Xiongnu declined, so did Bingzhou.
During the Western Han Dynasty, Bingzhou had four great clans: the Wei, Linghu, Chang, and Feng. But with Bingzhou's decline, some moved inland, others perished. Of those remaining from the Western Han, only the Wei clan had moved to Henei, and the Feng clan to Shangdang. The Linghu and Chang clans had declined into obscurity. Additionally, the Wang clan of Taiyuan, which rose during the Eastern Han, and the Bao clan of Shangdang (later moved to Shandong), became the new actual rulers of the Bingzhou gentry.
However, due to the Eastern Han court's policies towards the Hu people and the lingering issues from the Green Forest and Red Eyebrows rebellions, Bingzhou, like Youzhou, gradually became a forgotten corner—transforming from a major province with ample soldiers and supplies into a bitterly cold and barren land...
Fei Qian suddenly understood the meaning conveyed by this appointment letter. Since Dong Zhuo now held the reins of government, although Wang Yun was in charge of the Imperial Secretariat, this appointment must have come from Li Ru's hand.
Therefore, based on this appointment letter, Li Ru likely had several intentions:
First, to let Fei Qian know that, just like the official position Li Ru had given him, Bingzhou was vast but also very empty. How to proceed would be entirely up to Fei Qian himself...
Second, since Fei Qian wanted to promote some assimilation strategy in Bingzhou, he should start by dealing with the Hu people in this place before talking about anything else...
Third, a more hidden meaning was to tell him not to get too close to Wang Yun's faction; it would be better to stay somewhat closer to Yongzhou, that is, Dong Zhuo's side...
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T/N: The fate of the powerless...