“No need to come see me. Ask him if he has confidence in taking down the ten thousand men Liu Cong stationed east of the city. If he does, attack after a brief rest; if not, have him come see me.”

“Yes.”

After a moment’s thought, Beigong Chun said, “General, Xun Xiu has come from afar to attack, and his soldiers are weary. Why not let me assist him?”

“Good,” Zhao Hanzhang immediately said, “General Beigong, depart at once.”

She turned to look at Ji Yuan and said, “Quietly spread word to Liu Cong’s army that Wang Mi seeks to marry me, and that the Zhao family army is willing to form an alliance with Wang Mi.”

Ji Yuan instinctively looked at Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan nodded in agreement. “This method is quite good. So how do you plan to respond to Wang Mi?”

Zhao Hanzhang ground her teeth. “I won’t respond!”

When the time came, she would just cut off his head. No need to specially reply to him.

Seeing her face pale with anger, Fu Tinghan feared she might harm herself and said, “Don’t be angry, you…”

His gaze fell on her shoulder, where the wound had not yet healed.

Zhao Hanzhang turned to glare at him. “Aren’t you angry?”

Fu Tinghan’s face darkened. “Do I look like I’m not angry?”

Those below immediately shrank their necks, all looking at Ji Yuan and exchanging glances, suggesting they should perhaps leave first. The lord and the eldest young master were quarreling, and it wasn’t appropriate for them to watch.

Zhao Hanzhang still had injuries, and Ji Yuan also feared she might harm herself in anger. He quickly said, “Your Excellency, how should we settle the common people rescued from Luoyang?”

Zhao Hanzhang reined in her anger and asked, “Have they all been rescued?”

“Except for those deliberately hiding, everyone who should have been rescued has been.”

Zhao Hanzhang stood up and walked out of the large tent, with everyone hurrying to follow.

Their encampment was on slightly higher ground, with water flowing not far away. This should have been when all things returned to spring, with greenery everywhere, but now looking around, except for a few scattered plots of land, everything else was barren wasteland.

Zhao Hanzhang let out a deep sigh. “Send soldiers into the city to search and seize all farming tools and iron implements. See that flat land? Fence it off and have them start sowing now.”

Ji Yuan said, “…Your Excellency, the wilderness is full of desolate cities. Where will we find seeds for them?”

Zhao Hanzhang raised her chin. “Send people to buy them from Xiangcheng.”

Someone suggested, “Your Excellency, why not move all these people to Yuzhou? Yuzhou lacks people anyway.”

“If we move everyone to Yuzhou, what about Luoyang?” Zhao Hanzhang asked. “Should we just waste such a large area?”

In Zhao Hanzhang’s memories from the young girl’s past life in Luoyang, looking at this desolate city and wilderness, her voice carried a sadness she herself hadn’t noticed. “When I was young, though Luoyang was unstable, it wasn’t this chaotic.”

“Back then, the streets were full of people and animals, very prosperous. The fields outside the city were planted with crops. Though the common people lived in poverty, their faces always brimmed with smiles. Now, of the common people rescued from Luoyang, whose face shows a smile?” Zhao Hanzhang said softly, “Not even tears do they shed.”

“Do they not know happiness, or have they forgotten sorrow? They’ve simply been numbed by this chaos,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I don’t want this land to be so sorrowful. Let them settle here and farm.”

“But Your Excellency, after we leave, who can protect them and the fields they’ve just planted?”

Zhao Hanzhang asked quietly, “Who said we’re leaving?”

With these words, everyone was shocked, then exchanged glances. Ji Yuan smiled slightly and took the lead. “Yes, Your Excellency speaks reasonably. I’ll see to it immediately.”

The others also agreed one after another and bowed before withdrawing.

After everyone had left, Fu Tinghan said, “If you don’t reply to Wang Mi, he probably won’t believe you.”

Zhao Hanzhang said seriously to him, “My reputation is very important. Not to mention me, even Mister Ji wouldn’t allow me to be connected with Wang Mi in such a way, even if it’s false.”

She snorted. “If I dared agree, Uncle Ming could break my legs.”

“But what if we removed Mister Ji’s and Uncle Ming’s opinions? In a situation where there’s profit to be gained, what would you choose?”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him. “What, afraid I’d agree to him for profit?”

She snorted. “Other things aside, I would never use my marriage for transactions. Moreover, I’ve already promised you and will keep my word. What would it mean to promise a second person?”

Fu Tinghan finally smiled slightly, but still asked, “What if the one seeking to marry you wasn’t someone with a notorious reputation like Wang Mi, but rather a talented and virtuous scholar?”

Zhao Hanzhang took his hand. “Even if it were the Jade Emperor himself, it would be useless. I’ll only accept you.”

Though he knew she might just be sweet-talking, Fu Tinghan couldn’t help feeling happy. He nodded. “I’ve remembered what you said today, and I hope you’ll always remember it too.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded firmly. The two held hands watching this desolate scene for a while, then turned back to the large tent.

Zhao Hanzhang ultimately wrote a letter to Wang Mi, just as Beigong Chun and Xun Xiu simultaneously attacked Liu Cong’s ten thousand troops.

She very regretfully told Wang Mi that they had fate but no affinity, because she had long been betrothed to Fu Tinghan. Their families were old friends, they had grown up together since childhood, and their feelings were already deep and meaningful, making it impossible to promise herself to another.

Zhao Hanzhang thought about it and felt that mere rejection might easily anger Wang Mi, so she called Zhao Liang over to ask, “Cousin, does Wang Mi have any sisters?”

Zhao Liang said, “…I’ve heard he has two concubine-born sisters, but he has a brother named Wang Zhang.”

“I know about Wang Zhang. He’s currently with Shi Lei. I just fought a battle with him before coming here. I’m asking if he has sisters, preferably unmarried ones.”

Zhao Liang shook his head. “I don’t know about that.”

“If he has no sisters, perhaps he has daughters?” Zhao Hanzhang stroked her chin thoughtfully. “He’s not young anymore, so he might well have daughters. Cousin, are you betrothed yet?”

Zhao Liang had a bad premonition and immediately said, “My family is already discussing marriage arrangements.”

Zhao Hanzhang was full of regret.

Zhao Liang paused before saying, “However, there’s Zhao Kuan. At his age, he still hasn’t settled on a marriage match. Perhaps he needs Third Sister’s attention.”

Zhao Hanzhang looked up at Zhao Liang. The siblings locked eyes and both broke into smiles.

Fu Tinghan stared at Zhao Liang. Was this the person Uncle Ming described as even more upright and rigid than Zhao Kuan?

After sacrificing his fellow daoist rather than himself, Zhao Liang composed his expression and said to Zhao Hanzhang, “Your Excellency, Wang Mi is like a wolf or tiger. Be careful not to bring fire upon yourself.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, indicating she understood.

She touched the wound on her shoulder and became even more serious about writing this letter.

After sending the letter, she began waiting quietly for news. Oh, and she also went to the civilian camp to see the common people rescued from Luoyang.

This was the first time Luoyang’s common people saw Zhao Hanzhang, but they were already very familiar with Fu Tinghan, who had been with Zhao Hanzhang. Seeing him, they all wanted to kneel and kowtow in respect.

Fu Tinghan stopped them and formally introduced Zhao Hanzhang. “This is Yuzhou Inspector Zhao Hanzhang, who is also the one who sent troops to rescue you this time.”