The ground near Luoyang’s city gate was littered with corpses. A few birds had landed on the bodies, but as the scouts approached, they fluttered their wings and flew up, settling on the city wall and turning their heads to stare sharply at the approaching men.

The deeper they went, the more uneasy the scouts felt.

Even though these were veteran scouts who had fought several battles with Zhao Hanzhang, upon reaching within a hundred meters, they couldn’t help but feel a chill in their hearts.

The roads were filled with corpses. The shops and residences on both sides were all eerily silent. This entire city seemed to have become a city of death.

“Squad Leader…”

“Shut up. Split into two teams. Team Leader Yi, take four men and scout westward. I’ll continue north. Report back immediately if you discover any enemy situation.”

“Yes!”

Half the southern city was deathly silent. The scouts didn’t emerge until nearly nightfall. By this time, Ji Yuan had also arrived with his forces and officially converged with Zhao Erlang.

Zhao Erlang feared Ji Yuan. Seeing him arrive so quickly, he was quite depressed. He hadn’t even had time to enter the city and save the emperor.

With his whole heart set on achieving merit to show his sister, Zhao Erlang was very depressed and complained to Xie Shi, “I said we should enter the city, but you wouldn’t allow it. Now with so many of us here, the enemy troops in the city have surely discovered us.”

Xie Shi said, “Rest assured, Erlang. I’ve already had people clear the entire area from here to the south city gate within a twenty-li radius. Enemy scouts can’t detect our presence.”

Before Zhao Erlang could speak, Ji Yuan had already nodded approvingly. “Well done.”

He looked at Erlang and said gently, “Erlang, how can one charge forward blindly in battle without knowing anything? If you encounter a trap, wouldn’t that endanger yourself and the entire army’s lives?”

“But the emperor is still in the city. Sister said to save the emperor.”

“The emperor must be saved, but I think in your sister’s heart, Erlang is certainly more important than the emperor. How can you disregard your own safety just to save the emperor?”

Zhao Erlang thought about it and felt he had a point. “Sister does indeed love me.”

Ji Yuan said, “Let’s wait for the scouts. If all goes smoothly, your sister should arrive soon as well.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a soldier ran in to report, “Mister Ji, the Administrator’s forces have reached twenty li away.”

Ji Yuan’s eyes brightened as he immediately stood up. “Let’s go meet the Administrator.”

Another person came to report, “Mister Ji, Magistrate, the scouts we sent out have returned.”

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but smile. “How perfectly timed.”

Zhao Erlang also jumped up. “Let’s go, let’s go meet Sister.”

There were quite a few corpses along the road. Birds pecked at them, and hearing the thundering hoofbeats, they took flight in alarm, flying right over Zhao Hanzhang’s head as she galloped past…

Wild dogs and wolves also scattered in fright, darting into the forest.

Beigong Chun and Fu Tinghan followed closely behind her, and the group soon saw Ji Yuan and others waiting ahead with torches.

Zhao Hanzhang reined in her horse and dismounted, striding toward Ji Yuan.

Zhao Erlang couldn’t contain himself and jumped out from beside Ji Yuan, running toward Zhao Hanzhang. “Sister!”

Only then did Zhao Hanzhang clearly see Zhao Erlang. She reached out and tousled his hair. “Why have you gotten so dark? Summer hasn’t even arrived yet.”

Making it hard for her to see him clearly.

Zhao Erlang said proudly, “Sister, I’ve eliminated all the bandits in Nanyang Commandery. Our Nanyang Commandery’s population has increased by nearly fifty thousand.”

What did this prove? It proved that Nanyang Commandery was rife with bandits—what was there to be happy about? Xie Shi silently criticized from the side.

But Zhao Hanzhang was genuinely pleased and patted his shoulder. “Well done.”

She smiled and said, “Since you’ve eliminated all the bandits, focus your energy on production and construction, especially agriculture and sericulture. You must put in great effort there.”

Zhao Erlang immediately agreed.

Only then did Zhao Hanzhang look at Ji Yuan and ask, “When did Mister Ji arrive?”

“Just before you—we arrived one after the other.”

Zhao Hanzhang knew he had brought mostly infantry, so his pace was slower than hers. She didn’t mind and had Zeng Yue, Huang An, and others settle the soldiers first while she and Fu Tinghan went to the main tent. Only after sitting down did she ask, “What’s the situation in Luoyang now?”

Zhao Erlang hung his head, his mood downcast. “Sister, I haven’t had time to go in and save the emperor yet.”

Xie Shi said, “The scouts we sent out have returned.”

And we also captured three enemy scouts who came to investigate. The rest are all dead.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Have our scouts report first.”

“Yes.”

“The southern city is empty—only corpses remain. There’s no human sound. Every household has their doors wide open. It appears to be the result of enemy troops attacking and massacring the city.”

Zhao Hanzhang pressed her lips together and asked, “What about the imperial palace?”

“The enemy troops are all gathered at the palace gates,” the scout said. “Divided into left and right camps, approximately twenty thousand men.”

“Twenty thousand?” Zhao Hanzhang frowned. “Didn’t they say Liu Cong only brought twenty thousand, while Wang Mi brought thirty thousand? Where are the remaining forces?”

Ji Yuan and Xie Shi exchanged glances but said nothing.

“Investigate!” Zhao Hanzhang ordered. “Find those thirty thousand men.”

She asked, “Can the palace still hold?”

The scout said, “This subordinate looked carefully—there are archers on the palace walls, and their numbers appear substantial. The palace gates are tightly closed with no visible damage.”

Zhao Hanzhang breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up outside. “It’s getting dark.”

Ji Yuan said, “Tonight should be fine, but now that they’ve already attacked the palace gates, how can we still rescue anyone?”

Zhao Hanzhang was also contemplating. “How are the other areas of the city?”

“Their doors are tightly shut. This subordinate and the others couldn’t investigate.”

Zhao Hanzhang then said, “Bring up the captured enemy scouts.”

They were two Han Chinese. Zhao Hanzhang could tell at a glance. “You’re Wang Mi’s men?”

The scouts said nothing.

Zhao Hanzhang understood and asked, “Who will question them for me?”

Immediately someone stepped forward and clasped his hands. “This subordinate is willing to question them for the Administrator.”

Zhao Hanzhang narrowed her eyes. “Yuan Li?”

“Yes!”

After a moment of silence, Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Very well, take them away. Don’t kill them.”

“Yes.”

Yuan Li immediately had the two men dragged away. He followed them out, and soon after, agonized screams could be heard outside.

Zhao Hanzhang paid no attention and said to Xie Shi, “Prepare the cooking fires. From yesterday to today, we’ve been rushing about for a full day. The soldiers are all exhausted—have them feed the horses as well.”

Xie Shi bowed and replied, “Yes.”

Fu Tinghan also stood up. “I’ll go check on logistics.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “The battle for Luoyang may be difficult to conclude quickly. We must ensure adequate provisions.”

Fu Tinghan understood. “I’ll calculate it as soon as possible. When the time comes, I’ll need Mister Ji to procure supplies.”

Ji Yuan indicated this was no problem.

Fu Tinghan turned to leave and happened to see Yuan Li conducting torture. He frowned and turned his head away, then departed.

Yuan Li happened to look back and saw Fu Tinghan. He wiped the blood splattered on his face and felt an iron taste in his mouth. He spat on the ground, pulled out a small knife, and said to the two scouts, “Do you know what this is?”

“This is the small knife I use for self-defense. Once, I accidentally drove it under my fingernail and was in agony. That’s when I realized such a small knife could be used this way…”

Fu’an followed closely beside Fu Tinghan and couldn’t help complaining, “Young master, that Yuan Li is disrespectful to you. Why does the young lady still employ him?”

Fu Tinghan’s expression was calm. “When was he disrespectful to me?”

“Last time you reported him to the young lady for abusing prisoners, he was demoted. Since then, he’s been disrespectful to you. Just now he was even looking at you and spitting—I saw it!”

Fu Tinghan saw him so angry and couldn’t help but laugh. “These are all private matters, not worth mentioning. You’re quite observant—clearly you’ve made progress. Come help me with the abacus in a moment.”

Fu’an, seeing he didn’t take it to heart, muttered under his breath, “You’ve been helping the young lady manage logistics and earned her so much money. You’ve worked just as hard, yet everyone else has official positions while you don’t. This is too unfair to you.”

Fu Tinghan was helpless and tapped his head. “Fool, not having an official position is the greatest position. Don’t you see Mister Ji also has no official position? Yet he can command the three armies on Hanzhang’s behalf.”

Fu’an said, “But that’s Mister Ji. Can you do the same, young master?”

Fu Tinghan replied, “I can, but I hope such a day never comes.”

Fu Tinghan was always with Zhao Hanzhang. If there came a day when he needed to command the three armies, it would mean Zhao Hanzhang had met with trouble.

Fu Tinghan instructed Fu’an, “You don’t need to compete with him over such things. Just do your own work well.”

Fu’an reluctantly agreed.

Night had fallen, but few in the army were sleeping. The soldiers were waiting to eat their fill before resting, while Zhao Hanzhang was conferring with Ji Yuan, Beigong Chun, and Xie Shi, tallying the forces and contemplating the best strategy for rescue.

She also had to listen to the agonized screams from outside. Zhao Hanzhang’s expression remained unchanged, but Zhao Erlang’s face had turned pale, and he couldn’t help glancing outside repeatedly.

Zhao Hanzhang noticed and called him to her side. “Ting He, bring some cotton wadding.”

Ting He retrieved two balls of cotton from her pouch and gave them to her.

Zhao Hanzhang stuffed them into Zhao Erlang’s ears, then had a blanket brought to spread on the mat where they sat. “Come, lie down and sleep. Don’t think about the sounds outside.”

Zhao Erlang sat by Zhao Hanzhang’s feet and discovered the outside sounds had indeed become quieter. He couldn’t help but ask, “Sister, why are they screaming so terribly? Even more terribly than our wounded soldiers who’ve had their hands and feet cut off in battle.”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “When in pain, one can’t help but scream. This is torture—methods you needn’t know as someone who will be a great general in the future and must walk the righteous path. You shouldn’t know them, much less use them. Understand?”

Zhao Erlang nodded with a confused expression.

Zhao Hanzhang had him lie down and sleep.

Zhao Erlang lay down, resting against his sister’s knee, and soon fell into deep sleep.

The young teenager fell asleep just like that, without a moment’s hesitation.

Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly. She removed her cloak to cover him, then looked at Beigong Chun. “General, you excel in open battle. If we fight within the city, leave the interior to me.”

Beigong Chun nodded. “I’ll be outside—the General can rest assured about your rear.”

Ji Yuan sighed. “But there are twenty thousand enemy troops at the palace gates. Fighting within the city will be difficult. How can we get past them to rescue the emperor?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Let’s wait for Yuan Li’s confession.”

The soldiers brought in the food just as Yuan Li obtained his confession. Covered in a bloody stench, he entered the tent to report.

Even someone as ruthless as Ji Yuan felt uncomfortable sensing the bloody aura about him.

Zhao Hanzhang and Beigong Chun were fine, however, showing no change in expression as they held their bowls. They continued eating while asking, “Have they confessed?”

“Yes, both men have spoken.”

To help Zhao Hanzhang understand more clearly, Yuan Li had the two scouts dragged in.

Fu Tinghan happened to enter the tent and saw the two bloody, mangled figures on the ground. He couldn’t help but turn his head away.

Zhao Hanzhang quickly stood up. “Have you eaten?”

“No,” Fu Tinghan said, walking around the two men on the ground to reach the table. “They said the food was set out in the main tent.”

Zhao Hanzhang glared discreetly at Ting He. Ting He hadn’t expected such coincidental timing either—she’d just wanted to give the young lady and the young master more time together.

Ting He lowered her head, wondering whether she should step forward to serve the young master a portion and send him out.

Fu Tinghan had already sat down beside Zhao Hanzhang. She quickly scooped rice for him, and Ting He hurried to serve it.

Fu Tinghan took the bowl and chopsticks and said to Zhao Hanzhang, “The food is getting cold. Eat while we talk.”

Zhao Hanzhang sat back down but didn’t pick up her bowl and chopsticks. Instead, she wanted to finish quickly. She asked, “Who’s commanding the forces in the city?”

Scout A said in a hoarse, low voice, “General Wang Mi and General Liu Cong.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Are they allied?”

“No, they’ve split their forces,” the man paused, sensing the coldness in Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes. He quickly added more details, “Our general and Liu Cong don’t get along, so they refuse to ally. They’re competing to be the first to break into the imperial palace.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Who entered Luoyang first?”

“Our general,” Scout A said. “Luoyang’s defenses were weak. It took us only two days to break in.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Did you massacre the city?”

“No. The eastern, western, and northern districts were all preserved—it’s just that our general requisitioned grain from within the city.”

Zhao Hanzhang was very dissatisfied. Looking at Yuan Li, she said, “This is what you call making them talk?”

Yuan Li’s face darkened. He stepped forward and ground his foot into Scout A’s injured hand. The man screamed, but Yuan Li showed no mercy. He had him dragged away directly, then walked up to the trembling Scout B. “Your turn to speak. Think carefully before you open your mouth—don’t end up like him.”

Scout B said with a deathly pale face, “Our general entered the city two hours before General Liu Cong. Upon entering, he ordered us to massacre the city and seize whatever we could.”

“After General Liu Cong arrived, he was furious and forbade our general from massacring the city. The two armies clashed in the southern district, with nearly a thousand casualties. Later, because the imperial palace hadn’t been breached, they temporarily ceased hostilities.” Scout B trembled as he spoke. “Afterward, Liu Cong sent men to guard the various streets, forbidding civilians from leaving their homes and preventing our general’s men from crossing over. The two sides have clashed constantly. Now Liu Cong has mostly stopped interfering, allowing our general to plunder wealth but forbidding further indiscriminate killing.”

No wonder they found wounds from enemy weapons on Xiongnu corpses—it turned out they had fought among themselves.

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes and asked, “Does your general know I’ve arrived?”

“No, but our general suspects Gou Xi might come to support the emperor, so he had us watch for activity outside the city. We were captured while scouting and haven’t been able to report back.”

“How many scout teams do you have deployed?”

Scout B hesitated, seeing Yuan Li crouch beside him. He quickly said, “Five teams—two in the south, one each in the other three directions. We’re mainly worried about Gou Xi’s army flanking us.”

Zhao Hanzhang leaned forward and asked, “Where are Liu Cong’s remaining ten thousand troops?”

Scout B swallowed hard and finally said, trembling all over, “In… in Mao’er Mountain in the eastern suburbs.”

Fu Tinghan said, “If Gou Xi sends troops, he won’t approach from the south. Most likely he’ll enter from the east.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded and asked, “What about Wang Mi’s twenty thousand troops? Where are they?”