The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#614 - The policy of restraint

The Chen Dynasty and Lu Jing's previous life, the Tang and Song Dynasties, were similar in that they adopted a policy of indirect rule (jimi) for the areas bordering and inhabited by ethnic minorities.

The term 'ji' refers to the headstall of a horse, while 'mi' refers to the nose rope of an ox.

In simpler terms, it means employing both political and military pressure, while also offering wealth and material benefits, combining both hard and soft tactics, in the hope of subduing the barbarians within the four borders like cattle and horses under control.

In those prefectures where the jimi policy was implemented, the imperial court would select a powerful and respected individual from among the local indigenous people to serve as chieftain, known as the 'local chieftain,' to govern and pacify the area.

In addition to civil officials, the imperial court also established military garrisons in various prefectures.

Unlike the civil officials who were rotated every three years, these military garrisons were basically permanently stationed in the region, taking root there and forming the so-called Northwest Military Clans, which had developed to the point where they had numerous soldiers and generals, and were full of talented individuals.

Among them, the emperor's most beloved concubine, Consort Ning, came from a Northwest Military Clan.

Like the appointment of local chieftains, the establishment of military garrisons was also a last resort.

The emperor also knew that these military leaders held significant military power and were in a remote location far from the capital. After several generations of careful management, they could easily become powerful and uncontrollable.

However, this was also the only feasible solution. If they wanted to use the border troops to check the local chieftains, it was impossible not to give them a certain degree of autonomy and allow them to take root there.

In fact, the current number of Chen people in Liang Prefecture, which is roughly equal to that of the indigenous tribes, is the result of the hard work of these military clans over the past century.

In short, the three prefectures of the Northwest were basically in a tripartite situation.

Local chieftains, military garrisons, and officials appointed by the imperial court, the three parties cooperated and conflicted with each other, jointly governing this land.

Of course, this was the case when the Chen Dynasty was still strong. Since the local chieftains of the three prefectures successively declared themselves kings, this balance has been broken.

The most miserable among the three were those imperial civil officials who had no military power.

Some of them were killed by the local indigenous tribes, while others were slightly better off, only being expelled. They sought out those military clans, but they were not very welcome there either. Although they were served with good wine and food, they were excluded from anything involving warfare or even local government affairs.

The place Lu Jing was going to now was the residence of a registrar surnamed Luo.

If Huang Jianyuan hadn't said it himself, Lu Jing wouldn't have believed that the secret realm located in Liang Prefecture was actually in this county town.

In his imagination, secret realms, such mysterious places, should naturally be in remote and uninhabited areas, such as the secret realm deep in the East Sea, which perfectly fit the typical location of a secret realm.

The same was true for the secret realm north of the academy. Lu Jing still didn't know exactly where the academy was located.

However, the location of this secret realm in Liang Prefecture was somewhat surprising.

Because it was actually located in the bustling city center.

Before Registrar Luo fled to Liang County, this was originally the residence of a minor chieftain, who had secretly hidden a hundred elite soldiers here, intending to cooperate with the indigenous troops outside the city when they attacked, and take the opportunity to cause trouble.

As a result, he didn't expect the news to leak out in advance, and he was executed on the spot several months ago.

Therefore, his residence became the property of Registrar Luo, who had fled with his family.

However, although he had obtained a mansion for nothing, Registrar Luo was not happy at all, and sighed in his study all day long.

Le Shaobai, the garrison general of Liang City, only went to welcome him once when he entered the city, and then inquired about the affairs of the Shizhou local chieftain. Since then, he had not looked for him again.

A few days ago, when Liang City was besieged, everyone was fighting back and forth on and off the city, and no one remembered Registrar Luo in the mansion. Therefore, Registrar Luo also realized that he had been completely forgotten.

He was naturally very dissatisfied with this situation, and even wrote a memorial to send to the imperial court to complain. However, the person who sent the letter took his secret memorial to Le Shaobai as soon as he left the door, and the latter burned it as firewood.

Fortunately, Registrar Luo only complained in the memorial and didn't say too many bad things about the Northwest Military Clans. The most serious word in the entire article was only 'arrogant and rude'.

Otherwise, it would be hard to say whether he could still be sighing in this mansion now.

Lu Jing easily bypassed the two soldiers guarding the gate and sneaked into the courtyard by climbing over the wall.

He hadn't walked far when he saw Registrar Luo picking his feet idly. After taking a few more steps, he suddenly turned around and jumped onto a white wax tree.

Then he saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old walking over here with a bowl of ginger tea.

At first, Lu Jing thought she was a maid, but when she knocked on the door, walked into the study, and placed the ginger tea in front of Registrar Luo, she called him 'Father'.

Lu Jing then realized that this girl was Luo Yingying, Registrar Luo's only daughter.

"The rebel army retreated a few days ago, Father, why are you still frowning?"

"Hmph, I admit that the surname Le has a good hand in defending the city, but dragging on like this is not a solution. The problem in Shizhou is not big. Although the Tong chieftain looks fierce, he is actually a timid person at heart. The reason why he joined the rebellion this time was firstly because he couldn't resist the constant instigation of his subordinates, and secondly because he wanted to gain some benefits for himself."

"Once he has gained enough benefits, he will naturally want to stop. The Ma chieftain in Liang Prefecture has similar thoughts, but he is bolder and has a bigger appetite. If the imperial court wants to quickly quell the rebellion in the three prefectures of the Northwest, it may as well agree to his demands first, and then settle accounts with him later."

"Only the Meng chieftain in Shunzhou is extremely ambitious. He not only wants to control a territory, but also covets our fertile Central Plains. We must quickly get rid of him. Although these three started the rebellion together, in terms of the number of troops and personal strategies, the other two are not Meng chieftain's opponents. I am worried that if we delay any longer, the other two will be swallowed up by Meng chieftain."

"Father has been a registrar under the Tong chieftain for so long, and understands the three chieftains very well. Have you told General Le about this analysis?"

"I said it, but the surname Le didn't listen."

"Why?" The girl asked in confusion.

"What else could it be?" Registrar Luo sneered, "The surname Le is also watching the situation."