Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Ming had no idea that at this moment, Luoyang was in critical danger, and Dajin was in peril as well.
The Prince of Donghai and Gou Xi were locked in fierce battle. Gou Xi was something of a military genius—on the battlefield he won more than he lost. But the Prince of Donghai wielded enormous power, and after several months of fighting, Gou Xi still couldn’t get the better of him.
Gou Xi was too formidable. The Prince of Donghai could neither weaken his military strength nor diminish his prestige, and instead ended up exhausting himself.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Donghai’s forces were vast, and he held the Emperor in his grasp. Gou Xi could only defeat his armies, but had no way to seize territory, let alone break into Luoyang to “rescue” the Emperor.
So after two months of warfare between their armies, aside from consuming massive amounts of grain and soldiers, and making the common people caught in the crossfire even more destitute and miserable, nothing was accomplished.
Liu Yuan watched coldly from the sidelines for two months. Seeing that they seemed weary and inclined to stop fighting, he immediately seized the opportunity to lead his forces southward, charging straight toward Luoyang.
Already disheartened by Gou Xi’s attacks and having lost all fighting spirit, the Prince of Donghai suddenly found his rear base under attack. In his anxiety and fury, he fell ill at once.
With the supreme commander sick, control over the front lines became less strict, and the Jin army retreated steadily before the Xiongnu cavalry.
Gou Xi took advantage of the situation to seize the Prince of Donghai’s territory, likewise driving straight toward Luoyang. Just as Luoyang was about to fall to the Xiongnu army, Wang Yan, who had been observing from the sidelines all along, finally couldn’t help but step forward to mediate. The court ministers also finally took a firm stance, pleading for reconciliation between the two men.
The fighting between the Prince of Donghai and Gou Xi temporarily ceased. Liu Kun, who had been shouting in Bingzhou for two months, nearly cried himself to death in the privy—they had finally agreed to stop fighting!
Liu Kun couldn’t wait for them to slowly make peace. He immediately wrote to the court, hoping the Prince of Donghai and Gou Xi could form an alliance on the spot, attack Liu Yuan from both sides, and ideally drive him back to Bingzhou…
But this was impossible.
Shattered glass, no matter how carefully mended, will always show cracks. The rift between the Prince of Donghai and Gou Xi could not be repaired, and naturally they could not cooperate.
Though they temporarily turned outward, Gou Xi did not actively attack the Xiongnu army. Instead, he stationed his troops at the border of Yuzhou, simply watching as Liu Yuan’s army pressed toward Luoyang step by step.
The Prince of Donghai was utterly frustrated. Moreover, the Emperor kept wanting him to clear the way and allow Gou Xi to lead his army into the capital, supposedly to defend Luoyang and repel the Xiongnu—but who knew if it wasn’t actually to deal with him?
So the Prince of Donghai became disheartened and fought halfheartedly, and under these circumstances the Jin army retreated steadily.
The Emperor had no choice but to issue a proclamation to the realm, commanding all military forces throughout the land to come to the King’s aid.
The governors of every province received the imperial edict, but very few were willing to lead troops there.
Even the Governor of Yuzhou, closest to Luoyang, hesitated and did not go. His reasoning was quite sound: “The Xiongnu army has now reached the borders of Yuzhou. I must defend Yuzhou.”
Due to the warfare, communications were cut off, and news from Luoyang took a long time to get out. So at first Zhao Hanzhang didn’t know Luoyang was in such dire straits. It was only when Zhao Ming received a letter from Zhao Zhongyu that she learned the area outside Runan Jun had descended into complete chaos.
At this time, it was just before Zhao Hanzhang’s birthday. The county magistrates from various counties had already arrived in Xiping one after another, waiting to see Zhao Hanzhang.
After reading the letter, Zhao Ming had someone fetch Zhao Hanzhang and directly showed her the letter.
Zhao Hanzhang stared blankly after reading it, then looked up at Zhao Ming and said cautiously, “Uncle also thinks this is my opportunity?”
Zhao Ming: “…I said nothing of the sort.”
Zhao Hanzhang sat down cross-legged across from him and said earnestly, “Uncle, opportunity waits for no one. I’ve decided—I’ll station troops in each county and directly take control of county affairs.”
Zhao Ming: …He had wanted her to make an effort, but he hadn’t expected her to try this hard.
Zhao Ming said, “You’ve only just taken control of three counties. Suddenly reaching out to seven counties at once—do you know how dangerous that is?”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly. “But Uncle, don’t forget—I’m now the Administrator of Runan Jun. Taking control of the subordinate counties is perfectly legitimate.”
Zhao Ming paused, then asked, “Are you going to replace all the county magistrates?”
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head. “No. As long as they don’t openly oppose me or resist me, I don’t plan to replace the county magistrates in the short term.”
Only then did Zhao Ming nod with satisfaction. “Good. Go ahead and do it.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled broadly, stood up and bowed to him. “Thank you for your help, Uncle.”
Without specifying what help he’d given, Zhao Ming didn’t avoid the bow, accepting her courtesy.
This matter was significant. Zhao Hanzhang ran straight back to find Ji Yuan and Fu Tinghan.
Fu Tinghan showed little reaction, but Ji Yuan was so excited he spun in circles, saying, “This way, Nulang will have far more resources to work with.”
He asked, “In another month we’ll need to prepare for the autumn harvest. At that time, the autumn taxes…”
Zhao Hanzhang: “I’ll collect them. We won’t remit them to Yuzhou.”
Ji Yuan pursed his lips. “Right now Governor He can barely take care of himself. If you can truly control the other seven counties, he indeed won’t be able to do anything to you. As for the military grain we promised him…”
Zhao Hanzhang sighed. “Continue raising it. In a couple days we’ll send him a batch. I can’t go back on something already promised, especially since it was Uncle Ming who made the commitment. We can’t let him lose credibility.”
Seeing her insistence, Ji Yuan could only nod.
Fu Tinghan asked, “Do you need me to help you compile the information?”
Zhao Hanzhang immediately nodded. “Yes, yes! Besides compiling information on the county magistrates, I’d also like you to accompany me on a tour of each county. Then we can turn all the county data into databases.”
Fu Tinghan’s mind was too useful. He could turn the information from Xiping, Shangcai, and Quyang into data, making many things clear at a glance.
Whenever she wanted to do something, she only had to look at that data to know how to proceed.
Ji Yuan had only recently gained access to Fu Tinghan’s database of Quyang, and honestly, he’d been quite shocked.
After learning to read those numbers, he could see a county’s population, land area, even taxation emphasis—all in just a few tables. It was…rather terrifying.
With that data, Zhao Hanzhang had directly decided to maintain a thousand household troops in Quyang, and all subsequent policy decisions also referenced the data.
Only at this moment did Ji Yuan realize why Zhao Hanzhang insisted so strongly on teaching mathematics in the school. When mathematics was mastered well, it truly became a powerful tool.
Ji Yuan looked at the two of them with a beaming smile, saying very gently, “Master Fu, Nulang’s coming-of-age ceremony is approaching. Have you prepared a gift?”
Fu Tinghan looked at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang also looked at Fu Tinghan.
Very coincidentally, the birthday of young Miss Zhao Hezhen was also Zhao Hanzhang’s lunar calendar birthday, and her family had always celebrated her lunar birthday.
Fu Tinghan also knew this, so he nodded. “I’ve prepared something.” He just wasn’t sure whether this counted as her twenty-ninth birthday or her fifteenth birthday.
Zhao Hanzhang was very curious. “What is it?”
Fu Tinghan was about to go fetch her gift when Ji Yuan quickly said, “The day hasn’t arrived yet. Why must Nulang be so impatient?”
He gave Fu Tinghan a meaningful look, suggesting he find another opportunity to give it to Zhao Hanzhang privately.
Fu Tinghan stopped and looked back at Zhao Hanzhang before nodding. Yes, he’d give it to her later.
—