Zhao Hanzhang: “Don’t speak nonsense. When did I insult you? I merely spoke the truth.”

Standing beside Wang Zhang, Shi Le’s lips twitched upward. He also looked down on Wang Mi and Wang Zhang, yet remained wary of Wang Mi.

Among Liu Yuan’s several top generals, only Wang Mi could be compared with him—their achievements were comparable.

As the thought crossed his mind about his wariness toward Wang Mi, Zhao Hanzhang had already smoothly begun sowing discord. “General Shi, you led your army to intercept Prince Donghai. Now Prince Donghai is dead. Your merit to the Xiongnu-Han state is unmatched. But what if Wang Mi is currently leading troops into Luoyang?”

“Who will weigh more heavily then—your achievement or his?”

Wang Zhang’s expression changed drastically. He quickly shouted, “General, these are Zhao Hanzhang’s words of discord!”

“Do such matters even need my instigation? I’m merely reminding General Shi—dare you claim Wang Mi hasn’t headed for the capital?” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Prince Donghai took three hundred thousand soldiers and civilians from Luoyang. Now Luoyang is an empty city. The emperor has only a few hundred to a thousand troops at most. Forget resistance—they probably can’t even guard the palace gates, let alone the city gates.”

“Wang Mi had you single-handedly lead the army against three hundred thousand without providing aid—his malicious intent is clear.” Zhao Hanzhang continued, “This time, regardless of whether you succeeded in intercepting Prince Donghai, he could wait like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, and attack Luoyang at minimal cost.”

“When history records this, it will note that Wang Mi destroyed Jin, not you, General Shi. The one who ended this chaotic era won’t be General Shi—it will be Wang Mi!”

Wang Zhang was furious. “You’re slandering us!”

Zhao Hanzhang sneered repeatedly. “Whether it’s slander or not, we’ll know once we see if Wang Mi went to Luoyang.”

Wang Zhang was rendered speechless, because Wang Mi had indeed gone to the capital. What a perfect opportunity—only a fool wouldn’t seize it.

Shi Le narrowed his eyes and called out loudly, “General Zhao, aren’t you a loyal subject of Great Jin? The Jin emperor is in danger—why haven’t you gone to his aid?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied with a half-smile, “How does General Shi know I haven’t sent aid?”

Shi Le stared at her from across the distance. For a time, neither spoke.

Had Zhao Hanzhang truly sent people to rescue, or was this mere bluffing? Had everyone actually secretly redirected forces here?

Shi Le couldn’t determine the answer.

The main issue was that Zhao Hanzhang’s behavior was too erratic. If you called her a loyal subject, many of her actions weren’t those of a loyal subject—for instance, without any court decree, she simply declared herself Administrator of Yuzhou. The officials within, the selection and employment of talent—she made all decisions herself without consulting the court.

She appeared wildly ambitious.

But if you called her a traitor who wanted to replace Great Jin, she would rush to rescue Prince Donghai, with whom she had deep enmity, at such a critical moment.

Apart from loyalty to the Jin imperial house, he could find no other explanation.

Looking at Zhao Hanzhang’s smiling face, Shi Le felt he was seeing a fox. He truly couldn’t determine whether her words were truth or lies.

He simply cast aside these distracting thoughts and approached from practical reality.

After serious consideration, he said, “We can exchange.”

Wang Zhang exclaimed in surprise, “General!”

Shi Le glanced at him, then told Zhao Hanzhang, “But we cannot exchange according to your terms. For ten thousand people, you must provide two chests of jewels.”

Zhao Hanzhang frowned deeply. “That’s far too expensive. Right now, buying a person outside only costs a few strings of cash.”

Shi Le remained confident. “General Zhao may choose not to exchange.”

Zhao Hanzhang pondered for a moment, then finally said, “Very well. I’ll use ten chests of gold, silver, and jewels to exchange for all these people. How about it?”

Shi Le’s lips curved upward. He turned to confer quietly with Zhang Bin, who immediately led people charging into the refugees, pulling out those dressed in finer clothing. Soon they had dragged out over a hundred people and herded them to another area.

Sima Fan and the Wang sisters, who had been standing before the refugees, were also pulled out.

Only then did Shi Le point at the still-encircled refugees. “These people—ten chests of gold, silver, and jewels.”

Only now did Zhao Hanzhang notice the Wang sisters. Her gaze met Wang Siniang’s across the distance. Her expression grew solemn, but when she raised her head to look at Shi Le again, she smiled brightly and readily agreed, “Excellent!”

Zhao Hanzhang called out loudly, “Someone, select ten chests of gold, silver, and jewels and go receive the people!”

“Yes!”

Forty personal guards, four men per chest, headed toward the other side. Under the barbarians’ watchful gaze, they walked steadily step by step across, reaching the platform despite their inner chill.

The ten teams set down their chests and opened them for inspection.

Shi Le merely glanced down, seeing the contents were all gold and silver jewelry, pearls and gemstones. He nodded slightly and waved them through.

The forty men remained at the rear, escorting the fifty thousand refugees across the river to the rear of the Zhao family and Xiliang armies.

Some were injured and weak, unable to walk on their own. The refugees helped each other, carrying or supporting them across to the opposite bank.

The forty men spread out, standing watch and slowly following behind. It took a full two quarters of an hour before everyone crossed to the opposite bank.

Zhao Hanzhang turned to nod at Fu Tinghan, who led people to bring all the refugees to the rear, then divided them into groups for departure.

Beigong Chun watched quietly. Seeing that Fu Tinghan used less than two quarters of an hour to organize the continuously arriving refugees, then had people escort them away in an orderly manner—without the slightest chaos, not even a single discordant voice—Beigong Chun couldn’t help but glance at Huang An.

Huang An noticed and silently straightened his spine. Yesterday he had fought in battle, battling for an entire day!

Seeing everyone had crossed, Shi Le said, “Zhao family army, the transaction is complete. Please depart.”

But Zhao Hanzhang dismounted, walked to the water’s edge, and jumped onto a rock, barely managing to face Shi Le across the banks. “General Shi, why the rush? We’ve just completed one transaction. You kept faith, and I kept faith. With the first time, can the second be far behind?”

Without waiting for Shi Le to respond, she smiled and said, “See—the second opportunity has already arrived.”

Zhao Hanzhang clapped her hands. Immediately, personal guards brought two chests forward and opened the first, revealing bolt after bolt of exquisite silks and brocades. These items attracted the barbarian soldiers’ attention even more than jewels.

These were beautiful things that could only be produced in the Central Plains—techniques their barbarian people could never master no matter how they studied.

Zhao Hanzhang casually picked up a bolt of brocade. “Shu brocade—vivid colors, clear patterns, exquisite craftsmanship. This bolt in my hand is the finest among them. General Shi, how about I trade this Shu brocade for one person?”

“You dared demand twenty or thirty people for one pearl, yet you offer just one bolt of brocade for one person?” Shi Le mocked. “Who does General Zhao wish to exchange for?”

Zhao Hanzhang’s finger pointed directly at Wang Yan. “I’ll exchange for our court’s Minister of Works!”

Shi Le wasn’t foolish. Releasing Wang Yan would be tantamount to releasing a tiger back to the mountains. He immediately refused: “No exchange!”