Chapter 405: The ways of officialdom, a letter from home! [4]

Half an hour later.

The battle had basically ended.

However, because a large number of carriages had been burned, the supplies carried on this northward trip to Liangzhou could only be pulled by horses.

Fortunately, they had captured quite a few horses in this battle.

At the exit of Shehu Valley.

Only the large and luxurious carriage ridden by Dong Yi and Diao Chan had been preserved.

Li Jue, Guo Si, Wang Fang, Li Meng, and the others walked out of the valley entrance with the captured warhorses, carrying whatever could be packed up on the spot.

Jia Xu and Liu Bai Tu were both riding on horseback.

They followed beside the carriage ridden by Dong Yi and Diao Chan.

The valley entrance had been cleared.

The corpses of the dead Qiang soldiers had mostly been thrown to the sides of the valley.

All that awaited them was to be gnawed on by wild beasts in the forest and to rot.

Several hundred captured Qiang people had also been tied up.

Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu, uncle and nephew, stood together with Gai Xun, Yang Fu, and Jiang Xu.

Seeing the few people who had suddenly appeared beside Zhang Ji, Li Jue and the others were somewhat puzzled.

"Boji, who are these people?" Li Ru asked, looking at Gai Xun and the others.

Boji was Zhang Ji's courtesy name.

Li Jue, Guo Si, Wang Fang, Li Meng, and the others were all old acquaintances, so there was not much politeness or small talk when they met.

Zhang Ji hurriedly stepped forward to introduce them: "This is Chief Clerk Gai Xun, Gai Yuangu; this is Liangzhou Attendant Yang Fu, Yang Yishan; and this is..."

Zhang Ji introduced them to Li Jue and Guo Si.

Li Jue and Guo Si hurriedly dismounted to exchange greetings.

Meanwhile, Jia Xu and Liu Bai Tu, who were riding beside Dong Yi and Diao Chan's carriage, did not participate.

Neither of them liked to participate in such occasions.

Liu Bai Tu, riding on his horse, looked at the few people in the distance and said in a cold tone: "We wrote to them for help before, but they didn't respond. Now they come only after we have already solved the problem—is this just icing on the cake?"

Not far away, Jia Xu tucked his hands into his sleeves and shook his head, saying: "That is not the case."

"Among these people, the Liangzhou Inspector Liang Gu is not present, and these people do not have a good relationship with Liang Gu."

"Hmm?"

Liu Bai Tu turned his head to look at Jia Xu.

He continued to inhale and said: "You are different from Chen Qing'an and the others."

"Chen Qing'an, Tie Shitou, and Wang Hunu are all generals of the battlefield and will not touch these matters of officialdom."

"But you are different."

"The role of the Military Intelligence Department is self-evident."

"You will inevitably have to deal with officialdom in the future, especially those under your command..."

"As a colleague, I will give you a lesson for free today."

Jia Xu pursed his lips and said: "Liang Gu is not from Hanyang Commandery, but of the three people standing here, although Gai Xun is from Dunhuang Commandery, his relationship with the Yang clan of Ji County is very deep."

"So he counts as half a Hanyang Commandery man."

"And Yang Fu and Jiang Xu are both from great clans of Hanyang Commandery."

"In the future, when the Lord becomes the Administrator of Hanyang Commandery, he will inevitably have to deal with them."

"And since the Lord's reputation is well-known, these local great clans have only two choices: either stand with the Lord or oppose the Lord."

"But to oppose the Lord, one must have a corresponding reliance, and this reliance should have been the Liangzhou Inspector."

"Hanyang Commandery is the seat of Liangzhou, and under normal circumstances, the Administrator of Hanyang Commandery has a higher status than the Administrators of other commanderies in Liangzhou."

"The Lord also concurrently holds the position of Colonel Protector of the Xiongnu, has military power, and has the authority to appoint and dismiss officials; his administrative supreme power is equivalent to the power of a Provincial Governor in the early Han Dynasty."

"The only one who can stand in opposition to the Lord is the Liangzhou Inspector."

Liu Bai Tu nodded as he listened.

"But Liang Gu is a cowardly man; he had a dispute with Gai Xun over the Su Zheng affair," Jia Xu said, looking at Gai Xun, who was exchanging greetings with Li Ru in the distance. "So Gai Xun is naturally not valued under Liang Gu."

Liu Bai Tu seemed to understand something and replied: "So that is to say, they want to perform in front of Big Brother Duan?"

Jia Xu smiled and said: "You can understand it that way."

"They came late, likely because they were blocked by Liang Gu, but since they have come, it is to cater to the Lord and choose a side."

"This is the way of being an official."

Liu Bai Tu nodded and said: "I understand."

"Thank you."

"How about... I teach you something too?" Liu Bai Tu looked at Jia Xu and then gave a shy, toothy smile.

Jia Xu instantly shivered.

"Spare me. Just stay a little further away from me; your *yin* energy is too heavy," Jia Xu said.

On the other side.

After exchanging a few greetings with Li Ru and introducing themselves, Gai Xun and the others came to the side of Dong Yi and Diao Chan's carriage.

"Two ladies, we have arrived late; we hope the two ladies will not blame us."

Gai Xun took the lead and bowed to Dong Yi and Diao Chan inside the carriage.

As female family members, Dong Yi and Diao Chan naturally could not show their faces in public.

But their voices came from inside the carriage.

"The lords have worked hard," Dong Yi said. "My husband is currently among the Xiongnu. When my husband returns, I will naturally explain to him the hard work you lords have put into coming to our rescue, and then we will pay a visit to express our gratitude."

Gai Xun, Yang Fu, and the others hurriedly said they dared not accept such thanks.

Although in terms of age, Duan Yu was not as old as Gai Xun and Yang Fu and the others.

But in terms of official rank, Duan Yu was far above them, not to mention his noble title. ===== CHAPTER 407 =====