"First bow to Heaven and Earth, second bow to the parents..."
Simple concubine-taking ceremonies are being held continuously throughout Jinyang.
When Zhao Hao took a concubine, his men naturally shared in the joy and formed in-law relationships with women from respectable families or noble households.
This was something Zhao Hao tacitly approved of, but only for those whose loyalty to him was 120 or higher, which constituted absolute loyalty.
Their marriage alliances with powerful families will only help Zhao Hao to better control these clans.
However, those who had only recently joined Zhao Hao's ranks and whose loyalty was not up to par would naturally be hinted to Zhao Hao not to emulate their superiors.
After all, Zhao Hao doesn't hesitate to wield the butcher's knife!
"My husband!"
"Okay, Lingqi, go to your sister Tong'er and pay your respects to her properly."
"oh!"
At this time, Lü Lingqi was only 8 years old. She was just a little stronger than the average person, so everyone thought she was a girl of about ten years old.
But Zhao Hao isn't starving to that extent. Let Fengxian's daughter nurse for a while longer, and then we'll make further plans.
"Hmph, my grandfather spoils me rotten, and you have to do the same!"
Dong Bai, who was of marriageable age, had an arrogant look on her face, which Dong Zhuo probably hadn't told her.
She married into this family not as a wife, but as a concubine.
Although Dong Bai is much older than Lü Lingqi, she is not really that sensible. She is just a spoiled young lady, like a willful little princess.
"Hehe, then I'll teach you."
From now on, you'll have to help me dig the well every day while I'm here!
If Dong Zhuo is the Great Demon King of Xiliang, then Dong Bai is the Little Demoness of Xiliang.
Since the little devil is so unruly, Zhao Hao naturally has to discipline her properly in terms of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, so she can get back on the right track.
Time quickly jumped to September 190. In that year, Bingzhou had a bumper harvest, animal husbandry flourished in the grasslands, and the surrounding barbarians gradually learned of Zhao Hao's unification of the grasslands and sent envoys to make peace.
However, they misjudged Zhao Hao, thinking that he was just like those lords who thought they were the "Celestial Empire" and that bringing a few gifts would bring them more rewards.
To everyone's surprise, the gifts they sent were like throwing meat buns to a dog—gone without a trace. After accepting the gifts from the tribes on Zhao Hao's behalf, Meng Tian simply wrote a list for Zhao Hao and did not reciprocate with any gifts.
Zhao Hao was naturally very satisfied with Meng Tian's approach. The reconstruction of Qin required breaking down all the old order.
Those people had done petty scheming and sought empty fame, and Zhao Hao and his civil and military officials naturally had to follow in Zhao Hao's footsteps.
From then on, everyone knew that foreign officials should only be received with ordinary protocol. Unless Zhao Hao gave a special order, the officials of Bingzhou would no longer think of treating foreign officials with the same lavish gifts as before.
With ample labor force among the people and officials daring not to slack off, the agriculture and economy of the entire Bingzhou region were already about to surpass those of Luoyang and Chang'an.
During that year, due to the collapse of the allied forces, Liu Bei and others, along with Gongsun Zan, petitioned for the appointment of Tian Kai as the governor of Qingzhou, who was stationed in Qingzhou. Because Yuan Shao occupied Nanpi, the new city of Bohai, all the counties in Bohai admired the name of the Yuan family and competed to change their allegiance and obey Yuan Shao's orders.
Yuan Shao quickly transformed from a minor warlord with only a small city and a nominal ally into a powerful lord who controlled an entire province.
Of course, Gongsun Zan was cut off from land routes to Qingzhou from then on. Although the Youzhou army was defeated but still honorable in the Battle of Hulao Pass, other warlords chose to antagonize the people of Youzhou from then on. Therefore, Yuan Shao would not continue to give Gongsun Zan face and allow his people to pass through Bohai.
Secondly, under Zhao Hao's hint and Liu Yu's explicit order, Gongsun Zan had no choice but to lead his main force to continue to garrison several counties in Youbeiping. If he disobeyed the order, Liu Yu would definitely impeach him.
Gongsun Zan was not afraid of Liu Yu, but he learned through Zhao Yun's informant that Zhao Hao had some ulterior motives, so he had no choice but to obey Liu Yu's orders.
Therefore, the current situation in Youzhou is roughly as follows.
The four commanderies of Dai, Shanggu, Zhuo, and Guangyang were all directly under Liu Yu's jurisdiction.
Yuyang Commandery, Youbeiping Commandery, and Liaoxi Commandery were under the jurisdiction of Gongsun Zan, while Liaodong Commandery, Xuantu Commandery, and Lelang Commandery were controlled by Gongsun Du, the Liaodong Prefect appointed by Dong Zhuo.
However, at this time, Gongsun Du was no match for Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan. Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan benefited from Zhao Hao's help, and the population, commerce, trade, economy, and agriculture of the areas under their jurisdiction far exceeded those of the three commanderies of Liaodong.
Therefore, as long as Gongsun Zan remains under Zhao Hao's control, the situation in Youzhou will not spiral out of control for the time being.
Turning his attention to the two provinces of Qing and Ji, Yuan Shao, as in history, naturally began to extend his reach to Han Fu on the advice of his advisors Tian Feng, Guo Tu, and Pang Ji.
Han Fu's subordinates, including Ju Shou, Ju Yi, and Zhang He, were all contacted by Yuan Shao's advisors. A conspiracy to usurp power and seize control was gradually brewing...
However, Zhao Hao naturally couldn't let Yuan Benchu get his way, so he sent envoys to contact Han Fu early on.
Only in Qingzhou has the situation changed somewhat.
After learning about the preferential treatment given to the people of Heishan by the Bingzhou army, Guan Hai, the commander of the Qingzhou tribe, felt a longing to join them.
Unfortunately, there was no suitable way for them to go to Bingzhou to seek refuge with a wise ruler. At this time, Zhao Yun, who had been "borrowed" by Liu Bei to assist in suppressing bandits in Qingzhou, discovered this opportunity.
A letter was sent by sea to Hanoi and then delivered to Zhao Hao...
There was not much movement in the various counties of Yuzhou, but the forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui in Xiliang declared their allegiance to Dong Zhuo and continued to garrison the border counties of Liangzhou.
In other words, Yuan Shu made a mess of Nanyang, so that the once prosperous Nanyang was no longer the fertile city he wanted. He then led the Sun family, who had come to him for refuge, to move to Huainan via Runan.
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