“I’ve had people prepare and send the grain and supplies you requested. They should be halfway there by now. How did you come back alone? Is there a problem with the Yellow River?” Although she was happy to see Fu Tinghan, she was still worried about the current situation at the Yellow River.
Fu Tinghan stirred a bowl of honey water for her to help with the alcohol, “The Yellow River is fine. I came back because I missed you.”
He explained: “I’ve now moved to Chenggao County. From there, it only takes a day by fast horse to reach Luoyang. If I squeeze my schedule, I can spare two days.”
Zhao Hanzhang said: “And then stay one night and leave?”
Fu Tinghan smiled at her and set the bowl on the table. “Let’s not talk about me. Tell me about you. I saw you drank quite a bit tonight—you must have been happy. Why was your mood poor when you returned?”
Unlike others who liked to drink when unhappy, Zhao Hanzhang was the opposite. When she was unhappy, she only liked to drink tea and stay up late. She only wanted to drink alcohol when she was happy.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Hanzhang said: “Uncle Cheng wants to resign from office.”
Fu Tinghan was slightly surprised. “Why?”
Zhao Hanzhang: “I’ve reduced the young emperor’s time spent on governance and study. Now that the north and south are unified, neither he nor I need to work so hard.”
They no longer needed to work so hard pretending to be loyal subjects who never overstepped their bounds. She could do much more now.
Fu Tinghan: “Uncle Cheng is a gentleman. Although the young emperor is clumsy and timid, he’s still fairly diligent. Plus, his nature isn’t as cruel as those relatives of his, so Uncle Cheng has developed feelings for him.”
“It’s good for him to leave for a while. Getting through this period will prevent you two from developing resentment in the future,” Fu Tinghan said. “Although Uncle Cheng has always traveled among the people and knows the hardships of the common folk, he seems never to have directly asked ordinary people what they think. Consider this a new beginning for his educational journey.”
“Haven’t you always said Uncle Cheng has the potential to become a great educator? Some things you need to let him figure out on his own, and only then can he teach those principles to his students and cultivate more talent for you.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, feeling more comfortable in her heart.
Fu Tinghan touched her earlobe and asked with a smile: “Feeling better?”
Zhao Hanzhang asked him, “Are you really leaving first thing tomorrow morning?”
Fu Tinghan hesitated before saying: “At the latest, I must leave the morning after tomorrow. The soldiers and laborers repairing the river channels can’t go home for the New Year this year. I need to stay with them.”
Zhao Hanzhang felt a sudden impulse: “I want to go see the Yellow River too.”
Fu Tinghan: “What about Luoyang? People’s hearts are not yet settled. You need to hold down the fort in Luoyang. If you leave, even Ji Yuan will have a hard time.”
Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes in thought and lay down on the bed. “Let’s shelve this matter for now.”
Fu Tinghan’s return wasn’t publicized, and he didn’t go out. The next morning, Zhao Hanzhang met separately with generals like Zu Ti and people like Gu Rong, then hurried back to the General’s Mansion to meet with Yuan Li.
Yuan Li had gone to the intelligence department early that morning. Fu Tinghan’s return could be hidden from others but not from him.
So when he arrived at the Grand General’s Mansion and Zhao Hanzhang hadn’t yet returned, he first went to pay his respects to Fu Tinghan. “Sir, Gao Hui and Zhao Chang’s group are currently in Dai Kingdom. Won’t they be returning to Luoyang this year?”
Fu Tinghan was stunned and looked at Yuan Li. “How do you know about Gao Hui and Zhao Chang?”
Yuan Li smiled faintly. “I know quite a lot. This merchant group does extremely large business. They’ve built two large compounds in the eastern and western outskirts of Luoyang, each with a row of warehouses. Such a profitable business naturally drew my attention. I discovered that you, sir, have been quietly entering those two compounds.”
He looked at Fu Tinghan with a half-smile. “Sir, you and our lady have been through life and death together. Previously you could share hardships together—I believe you should also be able to share wealth and honor. Sir, please don’t disappoint our lady.”
Fu Tinghan: “Since you’ve investigated this, you should tell Hanzhang directly. Why come to me privately?”
Because I suspect our lady already knows all this, and that she’s the one directing it from behind.
The desire for self-preservation prevented Yuan Li from daring to ask Zhao Hanzhang, but curiosity made him unable to resist testing Fu Tinghan.
Actually, as soon as he opened his mouth, he regretted it a little. He should have let someone else do this. That way, even if the lady got angry, someone else would be the unlucky one.
He should have restrained his curiosity a bit more.
Yuan Li’s mind raced as he quickly found an excuse for himself. “You and I are also…”
Before he finished speaking, his sharp ears caught the sound of footsteps. He immediately stopped and turned around. Zhao Hanzhang strode in with large steps.
Yuan Li quickly bowed respectfully.
Zhao Hanzhang nodded at him and sat down in the main seat. “Both of you sit down. We don’t need such formality at home.”
Fu Tinghan walked to Zhao Hanzhang’s left side and sat down. Yuan Li took a seat across from him.
Zhao Hanzhang had servants bring tea and refreshments, then dismissed all the servants in the room before saying: “I know about Gao Hui’s group. I had Tinghan authorize them to accumulate strength and wealth outside. At the time, I thought we shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket, and that with competition, there would be higher returns.”
Yuan Li’s forehead broke out in a slight sweat as he quickly lowered his head and responded affirmatively. “I didn’t know they were your people, Lady, so I had them thoroughly investigated. I discovered they were more popular than Wu Erlang in Dai Commandery and had better relations with Tuoba Yilu, so…”
“So you suspected they had treasonous intentions?” Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “You’re not wrong to be suspicious. Although I authorized the establishment of this merchant group, they themselves don’t know this. Since you’ve investigated them, continue monitoring them.”
Yuan Li looked at Fu Tinghan in surprise.
Fu Tinghan’s expression didn’t change. He sat quietly, and when he noticed the look, he glanced back with a puzzled expression.
Yuan Li withdrew his gaze and pulled a stack of documents from his sleeve to present. “Lady, these are the assets Wang Dun had hidden in Luzhou that I uncovered.”
Zhao Hanzhang took them and flipped through them before praising: “Well done.”
She set the documents aside and said: “I want to establish an Investigation Department with you as the Investigation Commissioner. It will still be divided into overt and covert divisions. Besides overseeing all investigation matters, you’ll also directly lead the covert division. However, times are different now. The covert division doesn’t have much to do. Besides regularly collecting public opinion, I want you to build postal relay stations, with some of the investigators stationed at these relay stations in the future.”
Yuan Li was slightly stunned. “Relay stations?”
How could she have him do such trivial work?
Zhao Hanzhang could tell at a glance that he was dissatisfied and smiled: “Don’t underestimate the relay stations.”
Yuan Li: “I work in intelligence, so I naturally know how important information transmission is and wouldn’t dare underestimate relay stations. But… currently the relay stations in various places are in disrepair. You can’t find more than a few usable relay stations in an entire province. Are the investigators stationed at relay stations just to deliver messages?”
“If the relay stations are in disrepair, then rebuild them,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “First restore the old system—establish a relay station every thirty li. Under the Investigation Department, set up the Relay Commissioner’s Office. Under this office, divide it into construction, maintenance, management, operations…”
“Wait a moment,” Fu Tinghan said, holding his tea in a daze. “Shouldn’t this be managed by our Ministry of Works?”
Yuan Li had originally thought these tasks were both trivial and troublesome, and not at all as interesting as going deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence. But hearing Fu Tinghan’s question, he immediately said: “The Relay Commissioner’s Office is a newly established department. How can it be assigned to the Ministry of Works? The lady clearly said it should belong to our Investigation Department.”