He had led people running out from there. Even without bandits, they had lost nearly half their number. Of those, two and a half parts in ten died of starvation, and another one and a half parts died from the treacherous roads.
This was because the people he brought out were all Shu natives who had grown up climbing heights and descending depths. For outsiders entering Sichuan, the mortality rate would be even higher.
Zhao Shen said: “If the General wishes to send troops against the State of Cheng, I am the ideal choice for commander. Regarding knowledge of Shu territory, no one in court equals me.”
What Zhao Hanzhang was thinking, however, was: “Would the people of Shu hope for me to send troops?”
Zhao Shen was slightly taken aback.
Zhao Hanzhang asked: “Would Fuling and Ba Commandery prefer to be governed by me or by the King of Cheng? How much difference is there between him and me?”
Ji Yuan said: “In terms of governing the people, naturally the General surpasses him.”
Zhao Hanzhang: “Then what price must I pay to extend governance to the three commanderies? And what price and time must the people of those three commanderies pay and wait to be governed by me?”
The assembled officials fell silent.
Zhao Hanzhang sighed.
Ming Yu said: “General, one cannot look only at immediate benefits. For the greater plan, immediate interests can be temporarily abandoned.”
Zhao Hanzhang: “Are the people of Shu willing to be abandoned by us?”
If it were one person, or two people, that would be one thing. Zhao Hanzhang was not soft-hearted—even facing suffering directly, she could make such sacrifices.
But this concerned the lives and deaths of people across three commanderies, and could even affect the common people throughout the entire Ba-Shu region. To compete for those three commanderies, she would have to send troops here as well. Even if she occupied those three places, supplies would struggle to reach them from outside. Their development would still depend on the State of Cheng around Guanghan.
If they couldn’t connect with the outside world, when could they overcome the grain shortage?
Relying entirely on self-sufficiency, what meaning would their allegiance to Zhao Hanzhang have?
Just for Zhao Hanzhang alone to have the good reputation of “not abandoning territory,” for the sake of recovering the State of Cheng more smoothly in the future?
So ultimately, which was the greater price—abandoning the three commanderies now to recover Cheng in the future, or occupying the three commanderies now and leaving the people under her rule mired in poverty, famine, and war?
Zhao Hanzhang had never believed war was the most terrible thing.
Natural disasters, hunger and cold, scarcity of resources—those were truly terrifying.
The former killed quickly, seemingly with high casualty rates.
The latter killed slowly, seemingly with low mortality rates, but she had been on battlefields, mixed with refugee armies, and knew how false these officially recorded statistics were.
Those who starved to death, froze to death, or died from illness due to hunger and cold could all be under-reported or not reported at all, attributed to refugee conflicts, bandit raids, death from illness, or death from old age, among various other reasons.
The resulting data would be both attractive and reasonable.
Only those who had truly experienced it knew that each line of these statistics was heart-piercing. How could Zhao Hanzhang dare to ignore this reality when she clearly knew the truth?
After long contemplation, she finally said: “Have Zhao Xin agree to his terms. Except for retaining Hanzhong, all Ba-Shu territory south of Guanghan belongs to the King of Cheng.”
“General, you must not!” Ming Yu disagreed. “This is selling out the nation!”
Zhao Hanzhang’s expression was resolute. “Cheng is our vassal state. How can there be talk of selling out the nation?”
“Vassal states are still foreign states. Unless directly governed by the court, they are all foreign states,” Ming Yu said gravely. “Would the General abandon the realm merely to welcome back the Princess of Hongnong?”
Ji Yuan had originally been on Ming Yu’s side as well, but hearing this made him unhappy. He retorted: “Secretariat Director Ming, the General’s action is clearly for the people of Shu. What does it have to do with the Princess of Hongnong?”
“How is it unrelated? If not for bringing back the Princess of Hongnong, why would the General send Zhao Xin to negotiate?” Ming Yu said: “Even if we don’t intervene now, Li Xiong will struggle to capture the other commanderies in Ba-Shu. Let them exhaust themselves, and in the future we can reap the benefits…”
Zhao Hanzhang asked: “When they exhaust themselves, who gets exhausted?”
Ming Yu opened his mouth but couldn’t speak.
The exhaustion naturally fell on the soldiers, civilians, and finances of Shu territory. Why had so many Sichuan-Shu refugees flooded into Jingzhou and the Poyang Lake area? Wasn’t it because they could no longer survive in Shu?
Some people could escape, but far more people couldn’t escape or lacked the courage to try.
Should these people simply be condemned to be dragged to death by war within Shu territory?
Ming Yu opened his mouth several times but couldn’t produce a rebuttal.
Zhao Hanzhang had already made her decision. “This matter is settled. Zhao Yunxin, draft a telegram.”
Zhao Yunxin acknowledged and immediately drafted a telegram to present to her.
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at it, then handed it to Ji Yuan. Ji Yuan looked it over, took out a small seal and stamped it, then passed it to Ming Yu.
Ming Yu: …
He took it, and under everyone’s gaze, contemplated for a long while before finally pressing his own seal on it.
Zhao Yunxin took the returned order and immediately sent it to the telegraph office to transmit.
Seeing everyone’s faces still very serious, Zhao Hanzhang smiled: “You lords need not be so grave. I’m still quite confident about recovering Shu territory.”
Ming Yu reminded her: “Li Xiong is in his prime, thirty-seven years old this year. I observe he can live much longer. From his policies these past few years, he is lenient and gentle, protective of the people, and knows how to employ capable persons. I fear that in twenty years, the people of Shu will know only the King of Cheng and not His Majesty.”
Of course, they wouldn’t know Zhao Hanzhang either.
Zhao Hanzhang laughed heartily: “Director Ming may rest assured. I am younger than him, will live longer than him, will protect the people better than him, and will be better at employing capable persons. In the future, Director Ming must use this to encourage me, lest I stray from the correct path and fail to recover the Shu territory released today.”
Hearing this, Ming Yu’s expression improved considerably. The other officials also breathed easier. As long as Zhao Hanzhang had this intention, it made for a fine tale of sovereign and minister—ah, no, of fellow officials working together.
After Zhao Xin received the reply, he immediately entered the palace frequently to negotiate with the Cheng court. This made Li Xiong suspicious.
He couldn’t help asking Fan Changsheng: “Strange—his letter was just sent out. How can he already act as if he’s certain Zhao Hanzhang will agree and negotiate with us?”
Fan Changsheng remained silent. An official beside him said: “Perhaps this is simply within his authority as an envoy.”
Li Xiong looked at Fan Changsheng.
Fan Changsheng shook his head: “No, he must have contacted Zhao Hanzhang and received instructions.”
Li Xiong: “But we only made progress the day before yesterday. Even if the letter was sent out immediately, it would just now be reaching Hanzhong. How could there already be a reply?”
Fan Changsheng said: “I have long had one doubt. Zhao Hanzhang’s deployment to Hanzhong was too sudden—not like early preparation, yet if it was a spontaneous decision, she had already sent Zhao Xin as envoy. Without receiving his reply, she dispatched a large army. This doesn’t match her character…”
“So I suspect she received information from Zhao Xin and only sent troops to occupy Hanzhong after learning we had proposed conditions.”
Li Xiong: “That’s impossible. The court’s discussion that day was spontaneous. Zhao Xin couldn’t have known in advance.”
“What if he learned of it afterward and then transmitted the information?”
“Does Zhao Hanzhang have divine ears?” Li Xiong asked. “How could she receive news so quickly?”
Fan Changsheng murmured: “What if she truly has divine ears?”
He said: “Haven’t there always been rumors that the Zhao family army possesses divine artifacts—able to break through city gates like thunder and lightning, and also transmit sound across a thousand miles like thunder?”