“Not only the money and grain—there’s also absolutely no trust between Zhao Hanzhang and me. How dare I give her my back? Would she dare entrust me with her trust?”
This was the most objective reason.
In the space of one year, trust between Gou Xi and Zhao Hanzhang had been completely lost. The surface peace they could now maintain was only because of the general trend.
Wanting them to cooperate to recover lost territory was simply impossible.
Zhao Hanzhang’s memorial could only deceive people like the emperor.
But there were quite a few people who shared the emperor’s view. They agreed with Zhao Hanzhang’s discussion of the situation in the realm on the memorial, and naturally also agreed with her idea of recovering lost territory.
When aristocratic families fleeing south saw copies of the memorial circulating, quite a few people decided to return north.
Zu Ti and Wang Xuan were two of them.
Zu Ti had fled during last year’s Luoyang grain shortage. At that time, over a hundred families had fled together with him.
Luoyang’s food supplies were decreasing daily, with large numbers of people fleeing every day. Zu Ti had several times asked people to petition the emperor on his behalf, hoping he could move the capital.
Luoyang in this state could no longer be defended.
But the emperor was controlled by the Prince of Donghai, and most of the assembled ministers were unwilling to move the capital due to their interests. Zu Ti could already see that Luoyang would fall to warfare and naturally was unwilling to stay longer.
He could only flee outside together with neighbors and fellow townsmen. When leaving the capital, they also encountered some fleeing common people on the road, and everyone traveled together.
He expended great effort to lead his family and dependents in escaping to Sikou. Today, seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s memorial, his emotions surged. He immediately decided to go to Luoyang to seek out Zhao Hanzhang.
Zu Yue could not understand this at all. “Elder brother, we escaped from Luoyang to here with such difficulty. Along the way we encountered bandits and obstacles. We just arrived at Sikou—why go back?”
Zu Ti said, “We fled because we saw no path forward. Luoyang had no way to survive, so we could only flee to seek survival. But now Luoyang has a way forward again.”
He said, “The Jin absolutely cannot lose the Central Plains. Otherwise, the Xiongnu cavalry will drive straight down, and north of the Yangtze will be impossible to defend.”
Zu Ti took out the booklet he had bought from a book merchant, saying, “This is the memorial that Yuzhou’s Zhao Hanzhang submitted to His Majesty. It thoroughly discusses the situation of the realm.”
“Looking at it now, the Zhao Han regime is indeed imposing and we find it difficult to match their edge. But as the memorial also says, the Zhao Han is a mixture of Xiongnu, Jie barbarians, and Han people, with Xiongnu and Jie barbarians making up the majority. They mostly rely on herding.”
“Comparing agriculture to herding, our cavalry is inferior, but in defensive city warfare, we are not afraid. As long as we have sufficient grain and fodder, we can completely reclaim the lost territory bit by bit.” Zu Ti’s eyes shone. “Besides, the Zhao Han is not a unified bloc either. Liu Yuan wants to govern using Han methods, but the tribal chiefs and generals under him disagree. He has six sons, of which the fourth son Liu Cong has outstanding military achievements, his intelligence and talent far exceeding the eldest son, yet he has long delayed establishing a crown prince. Just wait—as soon as Liu Yuan falls ill, the Zhao Han can be schemed against.”
Zu Yue said, “But the Zhao Han’s grand generals are no pushovers. We’ve been suppressed in battle several times…”
“Hmph, we’ve been suppressed, but they haven’t gained much advantage either. They have grand generals—don’t we have them too?” Zu Ti said, “General Gou Dao has consecutively defeated Ji Sang, Lü Lang, Liu Gen, Gongshi Fan, Shi Le and others. Although he’s done some absurd things this past year, his military prowess is there—he can’t be that bad. Zhao Hanzhang has also consecutively defeated Shi Le, Liu Jing, Wang Mi, Liu Cong and others. Under her command is a fierce general like Beigong Chun. As long as both sides work together, we can completely recover the lost territory.”
Zu Ti grew more excited as he spoke. “If we can reclaim Bingzhou and Jizhou, then the Great Jin’s external troubles will temporarily disappear, and the people can live and work in peace without suffering the disasters of war.”
So Zu Ti wanted to go to Luoyang to seek out Zhao Hanzhang and help her recover Bingzhou.
Zu Yue worried, “Elder brother, haven’t you forgotten that yesterday the Prince of Langya just sent someone with a letter asking you to serve as Inspector of Xuzhou? You’ve already received the letter. To suddenly leave now…”
Zu Ti lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then said, “The Prince of Langya is courteous to the worthy. I did receive the letter, but I didn’t agree to him. You wait while I write a letter refusing him.”
Zu Yue could not understand at all. “Elder brother could serve as Inspector of Xuzhou and still help His Majesty recover lost territory. Why must you go to Luoyang? That Zhao Hanzhang is merely Inspector of Yuzhou.”
Hearing this, Zu Ti smiled bitterly. “One inspector is not the same as another. Although she only holds the title of Inspector of Yuzhou, she currently also occupies the Luoyang area, directly facing the Xiongnu, and she can communicate directly with His Majesty—she’s the third most important person in the realm today.”
“Yuzhou occupies an advantageous position and governs ten commanderies, taking up almost two-thirds of the Central Plains. Xuzhou only administers seven commanderies, and the Prince of Langya says he wants to invite me to be Inspector of Xuzhou, but in reality, he still holds the power.” Zu Ti said, “I, this Inspector of Xuzhou, would merely assist from the side. Even if I wanted to campaign north to recover lost territory, if he didn’t agree, I would have no recourse.”
“How could the Prince of Langya not agree?” This was his Sima family’s realm—if someone was willing to win it back for them, would he be unwilling?
But Zu Ti’s expression was grave. “Last time I spoke with him, the Prince of Langya only had thoughts of defending this territory and no intention of advancing.”
It was just that he didn’t know if this was his true thinking or false.
Zu Ti lowered his eyes, concealing the contemplation in them.
If there were no Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Xi, Zu Ti might have accepted Sima Rui’s recruitment. At present, there was no one more suitable than him.
Luoyang could not be defended, and Yuncheng might not be defendable either. Once His Majesty…
Sima Rui controlled Xuzhou and had also quietly infiltrated Qingzhou somewhat. He was not a bad choice.
But with these two people beside the emperor, Sima Rui was not enough. This was also why Zu Ti had delayed two days without accepting Sima Rui’s recruitment.
Zu Ti’s mind was made up. He said to his brother, “My decision is firm. After I write a letter to refuse the Prince of Langya, I’ll leave. You take the family and stay in Sikou.”
Zu Yue’s eyes widened. “Won’t we travel together with elder brother?”
Zu Ti shook his head. “Luoyang is not safe. Since Zhao Hanzhang has northern campaign intentions, raising troops is inevitable. You should stay here. Besides, the journey to Luoyang won’t be peaceful either.”
Because of the chaotic times, bandits ran rampant. They had experienced this during their southern migration. Going back again—did they have to experience bandit attacks again?
Although Zu Ti was not afraid, casualties were inevitable.
He was unwilling for his clan members to suffer further losses.
Zu Yue was frightened in his heart. He had little initiative, always depending on his elder brother. Now that Zu Ti wanted to leave him behind and have him care for the family, he was instantly stunned.
Zu Ti patted his shoulder, saying, “After I leave, if the Prince of Langya recruits you, just accept. It’s best not to take a chief position—serve as a deputy.”
Zu Yue wanted to cry. “Elder brother, this is a major matter. You should discuss it further with sister-in-law.”
Lady Xu listened carefully to her husband’s explanation and immediately said, “You go. I’ll take good care of the home.”
Zu Ti looked at his wife with gratification, reached out to grasp her hand, and said, “The home will be hard on you.”
Zu Yue: …
Not very far from Sikou, Wang Xuan, who had just escaped from a bandit lair with his friends, also by chance saw this bound booklet. He looked it over carefully again and again, clenched his fist, and immediately decided, “I’m going back to Luoyang!”
His friends were shocked. “Meizi, didn’t you say you weren’t going back? We’ve already encountered bandits nine times along this journey, twice falling into bandit lairs. Next time we won’t be so lucky.”
“Exactly! This time we nearly died at the bandits’ hands. If you hadn’t been quick-witted and said you wanted to join them, and you’re so handsome—otherwise, we would have died.”