Zhao Song personally escorted Zhao Hu to the ten-li pavilion outside the city, instructing him all the way, “When you get to Luoyang, speak nicely with Zicheng. Don’t always irritate him.”

Zhao Hu said helplessly, “Fifth Brother, am I his father, or is he mine?”

“I say one thing to you and you get angry. When will you change this temper?” Zhao Song said, “You’re already so old, can’t your temperament be more gentle? Sanniang has a strong personality too. Remember to yield to her, don’t always quarrel with her. I’m not there—if she does something to you, there’s no one who can stop her.”

Zhao Song still remembered when Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Hu first met years ago, she had dared to drag him along to be buried with Zhao Changyu. When it came to being tough, despite her constant smiling demeanor, her temper was much more stubborn than Zhao Hu’s.

Zhao Hu was more able to bend and stretch, so Zhao Song advised Zhao Hu that after arriving in Luoyang, he should bend more and stretch less.

This made Zhao Hu not want to go anymore, wanting to turn back to Xiping.

Zhao Ming quickly stopped his father, “Father, didn’t you say you had something to entrust Seventh Uncle to bring to Sanniang?”

He’d worked so hard to persuade him to go to Luoyang, so his father better not talk him out of it again.

Only then did Zhao Song remember. He took out a very thick letter from his bosom and handed it to Zhao Hu, “Give this letter to Sanniang.”

He paused, then sighed deeply, saying gloomily, “You must instruct her not to forget that our Zhao family are descendants of loyalty and righteousness, and we absolutely must not commit acts of betraying our lord and rebelling against our sovereign. Since you’re going to Luoyang, watch over her more. Don’t let her do anything too outrageous.”

Following Zhao Ming’s thinking, Zhao Song wanted to prevent Zhao Hanzhang from rebelling.

This time, however, Zhao Ming had different thoughts. After coldly observing for a year and working with Zhao Hanzhang for two years, Zhao Ming vaguely understood Zhao Hanzhang’s intentions.

“Father, I actually think Sanniang doesn’t have that intention.”

Zhao Song lifted his eyelids to glance at him, saying coldly, “Wasn’t it you who always insisted she had disloyal intentions? What, now that you’re her commandery governor, you’re starting to make excuses for her?”

Zhao Ming said helplessly, “Father, you know that’s not the kind of person I am.”

He lifted the carriage curtain to look outside, then lowered his voice, “I think she has no disloyal intentions. From her attitude toward His Majesty, one can tell that she probably wants to become a regional warlord.”

Zhao Song was slightly stunned.

Zhao Hu’s eyes brightened considerably, “Being a warlord is great! Then have her occupy Sizhou and Yanzhou too, and our Yuzhou will be wrapped in the middle—definitely the safest.”

Zhao Song and Zhao Ming both fell silent.

Zhao Hu, however, was ambitious, “Actually, just occupying Sizhou isn’t enough. Those Xiongnu are right in Bingzhou, they can reach Luoyang in one move. It would be best to occupy Bingzhou too, then no matter how they fight, they can’t reach Yuzhou. At most they can reach Luoyang.”

He chuckled, “Then as long as we hold Luoyang and Chang’an, Yuzhou will be safe.”

Zhao Song took a deep breath, then still couldn’t help erupting in fury, “Why don’t you say have her occupy Jizhou and Youzhou too? That way we’d cut off the Xianbei’s southern route and protect Bingzhou.”

Zhao Hu pondered, “That would work too, but can she occupy such a large territory?”

Zhao Ming rubbed his forehead. As expected, Zhao Hu was beaten severely by his father, “If Youzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou are all in her hands, what difference is there from the entire realm being hers? Are you trying to incite her to rebel?”

Zhao Ming turned his head to look out the window, pretending not to see his father taking action. Sigh, when elders fight, for a junior to see it and not intervene is wrong, but to intervene goes against his own conscience, so it’s better to pretend not to see.

Zhao Hu finally left with pursed lips in unhappiness. Zhao Song was also unhappy. He glared fiercely at Zhao Ming, then got in the carriage without letting his son back inside, directly telling the driver, “Go, return to the city.”

Zhao Ming stood to the side with hands clasped. The driver kept stealing glances at him. Zhao Ming mentally calculated the time it would take to walk back, then stepped on the stool to board the carriage, though he didn’t go inside but sat on the carriage shaft.

The driver breathed a sigh of relief and quickly drove the horse back to the city.

As they were about to enter the city, Zhao Song suddenly said through the curtain, “Zhao Ming, Sizhou is one thing, but Yanzhou is now where His Majesty resides. You must not covet it.”

Zhao Ming acknowledged without telling his father that Yanzhou currently wasn’t the Emperor’s but Gou Xi’s. However, before long, the Emperor should be able to control half of Yanzhou’s power, and then with his natural status to suppress others, saying Yanzhou was his wouldn’t be wrong.

Zhao Song sighed deeply, looking worriedly out the window. The carriage entered the city. People came and went on the streets, everyone’s faces bearing smiles. There were vendors loudly hawking their wares. It was the time for school, and seven or eight-year-old children carrying cloth bags darted quickly past the carriages. A nearby vendor saw this and laughed loudly, “Ergouzi, you’re late for school again! The teacher will slap your palms in a bit.”

Zhao Song watched quietly, his mouth twitching slightly. If several provinces were all in Zhao Hanzhang’s hands, would the entire realm be like Chen County?

He hadn’t seen Chen County during wartime, but Zhao Song had experienced much in his life. He’d witnessed cities broken by enemy armies, and even seen massacres.

What a miserable state Xiping had been in back then?

Now it was even more prosperous than Chen County, and the common people were very settled, as if they’d already forgotten the pain that war had brought them.

At least there were no such traces visible in the city.

Not everyone could achieve this, yet Zhao Hanzhang could do it at the fastest speed.

Zhao Song’s mouth trembled back and forth. In the end, he didn’t retract what he’d just said, but a certain thought in his heart wavered for a moment.

Zhao Ming didn’t know his father’s inner struggle. As soon as he returned to the prefect’s residence and glanced at someone hiding behind a wall, he jumped down from the carriage and said through the curtain to his father, “Father, I’ll go handle government affairs first. You should go rest.”

Zhao Ming strode away. As soon as he turned the corner, an attendant dressed as a soldier quickly ran up and whispered in his ear, “They’ve retrieved Ming Yu, but Gou General’s men gave chase. General Zhao Ju led men across the border, alarming Gou Chun. They might come to blows.”

Zhao Ming frowned, saying sternly, “Tell Zhao Ju to act according to circumstances, but he absolutely must not expand the conflict, and must not harm Gou Chun.”

He paused, then said, “Have him find a legitimate reason for crossing the border.”

The attendant frowned in distress, “What reason?”

Zhao Ming stopped walking and looked at him with a frown, “Any reason. Doesn’t Gou Chun often cause trouble at the border? Just say his men killed one of our people—that person can be Zhao Ju’s brother-in-law, uncle, or sworn brother; or…”

Zhao Ming’s gaze darkened, “Gou Chun has become increasingly harsh recently, making life unbearable for border residents. The areas where Yanzhou and Yuzhou border are mostly two adjacent villages. I’ve heard that some villages have even been split in two. If that’s the case, can Gou Chun really distinguish whether the people he plunders and punishes are definitely from Yanzhou? Or would he specifically try to distinguish?”