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After Yang Feng of the White Wave Army escaped, the entire front instantly collapsed. Those White Wave bandits without horses simply couldn't flee. Surrounded and blocked by Yu Fuluo, they surrendered one after another.
However, Yu Fuluo simply delivered the captured White Wave bandits to Fei Qian, calculating a price of one dou of provisions per person without the slightest hesitation, leaving Fei Qian both amused and exasperated.
Dealing with the White Wave bandit army was a rather tricky matter. Additionally, there was an even more troublesome issue: Yu Fuluo had also sent over that black-robed elder...
"A clever move to divert trouble onto us. This Xiongnu Chanyu is no simple character either..." Jia Qu said slowly.
Having rested briefly, Jia Qu was now changed into clean clothes. He wore a deep cyan silk robe with long lapels. The collar of his inner garment was snow-white, setting off his jade-like, gentle, and pleasing complexion. His face was still that of a youth, but his expression was serious, a touch of maturity added between his brows, making him seem almost like an adult. This contrast made Fei Qian look at Jia Qu a couple of extra times.
However, after experiencing the Battle of Pingyang, many no longer saw Jia Qu merely as a sixteen-year-old child but truly began to acknowledge his identity and status.
"Hmm..." Fei Qian nodded in agreement.
Fei Qian turned to look at Xu Huang, only to see this fellow with thick eyebrows and big eyes sitting upright on his mat, eyes fixed on his nose, nose fixed on his mouth...
"Gongming, what do you think of this matter?"
Xu Huang merely bowed slightly with clasped hands, replying evenly, "I defer entirely to the Lord's decision."
Hey!
I'm talking to you, Xu Gongming, can't you change your phrasing?
But Fei Qian could understand. The Hedong Wei clan wasn't a single person; it was a matter involving a group of people, not that simple. Moreover, Xu Huang had just arrived under Fei Qian's command and hadn't explicitly declared his stance. Adopting a self-preserving attitude was entirely normal.
And it wasn't just Xu Huang; even Yu Fuluo understood the crux of the matter.
Yu Fuluo himself was a Hu. A deft, effortless transfer allowed him to extricate himself. His meaning was also clear: one, it was a matter among you Han people, he didn't want to get involved; two, it indicated Yu Fuluo wouldn't take the lead for Fei Qian in this; three, if by any chance Fei Qian ran into trouble later, Yu Fuluo would have an excuse and a way out.
In short, everyone was full of cunning schemes.
Fei Qian secretly curled his lip.
The White Wave's defeat wasn't too surprising. Fei Qian didn't know about Lü Bu's unexpected battle in Henei, which had invisibly aided him. He only felt this black-robed elder was now like a fishbone stuck in his throat, extremely difficult to handle.
The black-robed elder refused to speak. Unless Fei Qian was prepared to gather momentum and directly take down the Wei clan, he really couldn't do much. Even torture wasn't a good option. At the level of the Wei clan, they were no longer minor local magnates like the Zhang family east of the city, whom one could simply eliminate...
The Wei clan had been entrenched in Hedong for two to three hundred years. Setting aside other aspects, just the matter of marital alliances—probably no one except the Wei clan patriarch knew exactly what kind of massive web the Wei clan had woven through this channel. Even Cai Yong, seeking a suitable match for his daughter, ultimately chose the Wei clan. This showed the influence of this great family within the entire court.
To act rashly risked disaster.
Like in martial arts novels—kill a man within ten paces, leave no trace for a thousand li—exceedingly cool, but ultimately adult fairy tales. Without the cooperation of power and influence, one could only endure wind and dew, like a stray dog!
It's like people sitting around a table at a banquet. What one can eat depends entirely on one's skill, with everyone scheming and employing tactics. Then someone charges in wanting to overturn the table. What will those originally seated at the table do?
They will certainly unite and crush the rule-breaker first!
Just like Dong Zhuo now. Unless Fei Qian could dig up the entire Wei clan, including all its allied families, and exterminate them utterly, killing every person with connections, even someone with Dong Zhuo's power over the court was still attacked by all...
Because rules were broken.
Pingyang County, Pingyang Marquis. Back when the emperor wanted to execute the Pingyang Marquis implicated in the rebellious Crown Prince's case—a crime of high treason, right? But in the end, only the main line was killed; the branch lines were spared...
Why?
Because there must be rules.
Raising the executioner's blade is simple. Heads fall, and it's all over.
One feels satisfied, but then what? Will that lead to spiritual enlightenment, instant ascension?
Do his own soldiers need food, cloth, need all sorts of daily supplies brought in from all directions? In whose hands are these things?
The scholar-official families.
And then?
Heh heh.
If you don't let others live, why should they let you live?
From then on, would any scholar-official family standing in opposition easily lay down their weapons and sit down to compromise?
How many soldiers would he need to fight bloody battle after bloody battle, one commandery, one county at a time?
Fei Qian subconsciously tapped the table lightly with his finger. This was truly an incredibly thorny problem.
Annihilating the entire Wei clan was not feasible.
If he only killed Wei Ji...
What good would that be?!
Kill Wei Ji, and there would still be Weisheng, Weijin..
With his own foundations unstable, making the Hedong Wei clan hate him for generations, having to constantly guard against knives stabbed from Hedong?
Bian Rang.
A famous scholar from Yanzhou, his classical learning as renowned as Kong Rong's.
Then killed by Cao Cao.
Bian Rang's entire household, over three hundred people, were all executed.
And then...
Cao Cao felt momentarily satisfied.
But the scholar-official families throughout Yanzhou believed Bian Rang's crime didn't merit death—it was Cao Cao's fault!
So Yanzhou instantly changed sides. Most counties immediately rebelled. Even Zhang Miao, who had always supported Cao Cao, joined Chen Gong in welcoming Lü Bu to take over Yanzhou!
And earlier, Zhang Miao had been such a close friend with Cao Cao that they could entrust their wives and children to each other, basically on par with the relationship between Liu Bei and Guan Yu...
Overnight, the scholar-official families of Yanzhou, large and small, preferred to accept Lü Bu rather than Cao Cao!
Why?
Because Cao Cao had violated the rules of the scholar-official families.
Later, Cao Cao suppressed the rebellion in Yanzhou. Did he then behead all the scholar-official families in Yanzhou?
He didn't dare. He had learned his lesson.
He only executed a few leaders to settle the matter, and even had to keep the wives and children of those executed under his watchful eye, saying to Chen Gong with tears, "Your wife and children, I will care for them!"
That was a case where the whole world knew Zhang Miao and Chen Gong had rebelled against Cao Cao, so Cao Cao killed them—no one could argue.
Therefore, if one must kill, one should learn from Cao Cao: seize the highest moral ground, then "execute with tears," followed by "take in their wives and children." Unfortunately, Fei Qian's current status wasn't yet at that level...
Fei Qian frowned in distress, feeling utterly vexed.
Fei Qian wasn't yet at the level Cao Cao reached later, where killing Yang Xiu only elicited a few complaints from Yang Biao. Moreover, the excuse Cao Cao used to kill Yang Xiu was military law, not the usual Han statutes applied in court. The difference here was very significant.
He used military law!
If they hadn't been in the army at the time, Cao Cao could only have laughed it off helplessly, just like with Yang Xiu's previous verbose remarks.
Scholar-official families...
In the early Han Dynasty, because many founding heroes rose from humble origins, scholar-official families weren't prominent. But by the Eastern Han established by Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu), Empress Ma of Emperor Ming was the daughter of Ma Yuan (Fubo). Empress Dou of Emperor Zhang was from the line of Grand Minister of Works Dou Rong. Empress Liang of Emperor Shun was the daughter of General Liang Shang. As the Spring and Autumn principle states, "Marry first from a great state." By then, the atmosphere of scholar-official families and influential clans was already quite strong.
Scholar-official families originated locally, possessing well-established rural clan management models. Combined with monopolizing knowledge transmission—father to son, family learning traditions—plus various followers and students attached for career advancement, they formed "little emperors" in the countryside under the "great emperor" in the central court, somewhat similar to Western feudal lords in certain aspects.
No new political system had emerged, and the old political model hadn't been improved. Therefore, at this time, many patterns and inherent rules among scholar-official families invisibly replaced some state decrees and codes of conduct.
Jia Qu's unspoken implications, Xu Huang's cautious silence—these were mostly due to this reason. Cui Hou and Huang Cheng were easier to deal with; one was from Sili, the other from Jingxiang. But those also belonging to Hedong...
Fei Qian glanced slightly at Jia Qu and Xu Huang, both from Hedong, and pondered in silence.
Scholar-official families had their rules, but Fei Qian had his own interests. So Jia Qu couldn't speak plainly, only hint. Xu Huang had just joined him, so it was even less likely he would say anything.
Now the choices lay before Fei Qian:
One: Act recklessly, kill to his heart's content first, then likely face rejection by scholar-official families, leading to widespread betrayal and isolation. With unstable foundations and few followers, he would ruin the foundation in Bingzhou and have to return to Jingxiang.
Two: Politically compromise, use this opportunity to extract sufficient benefits from the Hedong Wei clan, first stabilize his own foundation, strengthen his own forces. The Wei clan members could be spared, but their flesh couldn't be spared...
Which was better?
"Report!"
A soldier broke the silence, running up a few steps, kneeling, and reporting, "Linfen has sent cattle and wine to console the army!" He presented a gift list and withdrew.
Console the army?!
They really knew how to time it perfectly!
Fei Qian scanned the list up and down, chuckled, and passed it to Jia Qu beside him.
Jia Qu took it, looked, and also smiled, saying, "This is the Wei clan's gesture of goodwill." Fei Qian's resources—Jia Qu knew—if they truly pushed hard, it was hard to say how long they could last...
Normally, gifts to console the army would be no more than five head of cattle, fifty sheep, and a hundred jars of wine, adjusted slightly based on army size and status. But this time, the gifts from Linfen included twenty head of cattle alone, not to mention other miscellaneous items...
These items exceeding the normal range represented the attitude the current Linfen Magistrate, or rather the Hedong Wei clan, wished to convey through this gift list.
It was a gesture of compromise.
Fei Qian took in the slightly relaxed expressions on Jia Qu's and Xu Huang's faces, feeling somewhat helpless himself. Just as he was about to say something, another soldier hurriedly ran up, reporting that the imprisoned black-robed elder had suddenly gone mad—throwing fits, rolling on the ground, sitting and eating dirt...
Gone mad?
Including Fei Qian, everyone present looked stunned, unable to believe it.
What kind of joke is this? Really gone mad?
How convenient that he went mad...