Seats were arranged on both sides of the main hall, two people per mat. Ting He gestured. “Young Master Yang, Young Master Xie, please take the seats of honor.”
Not only were Lu Wen and the others surprised, but even Xie Yin himself was astonished. Why was he sitting with Yang Yi in the first position on the left?
Xie Yin was the oldest and had formerly held the highest official position among this group of young men, but aristocratic families didn’t actually judge by this. They judged by family status, not individual achievement. Unfortunately, the Xie family currently ranked in the lower-middle tier among these families. By rights, Yang Yi should be sitting with Lu Wen in the first position on the left.
Zhao Hanzhang arranging things this way was expressing great regard and appreciation for Xie Yin.
Everyone looked at Xie Yin simultaneously. Could this senior companion of theirs have outstanding talents they hadn’t yet noticed, which Zhao Hanzhang had already perceived from thousands of miles away?
What Xie Yin thought, however, was whether Zhao Hanzhang knew he was close to the Prince of Langya and therefore suspected him of ulterior motives.
Thinking of the soft sword and short dagger that had just been confiscated, Xie Yin felt somewhat panicked. Could she truly have developed a misunderstanding because of this?
He panicked for a moment but quickly steadied himself. Fine—having come this far, if Zhao Hanzhang truly intended to harm him because of this, it was his fate. Struggling would be useless.
With this thought, Xie Yin calmly accepted the seat and sat down with Yang Yi in the place of honor.
The others also sat in their assigned positions.
Ting He glanced at a maid waiting by the door. She withdrew, and soon a group of servants entered carrying trays in single file.
They were all only about sixteen or seventeen years old, with nimble movements and light steps. When placing tea and refreshments on the tables, Lu Wen noticed the calluses on their hands—clearly from gripping weapons.
Lu Wen’s heart trembled. Could it be that everyone in this General’s Residence, from top to bottom, inside and out, was military personnel?
What Lu Wen thought, though not entirely correct, wasn’t far off. Except for the servants in the inner courtyard, who were trained by Wang Shi before being sent over, everyone in the outer courtyard was selected from the military.
These tea-and-water-serving servants weren’t just for serving tea and water—they also protected Zhao Hanzhang. If something unexpected happened, they could react more quickly.
They weren’t of slave status but military status. More importantly, they served to protect Zhao Hanzhang. If anything went wrong, they could respond faster.
After setting down the tea and refreshments, the servants filed back out, leaving only six people standing on either side behind everyone, attending to their needs.
Ting He invited them to drink some tea first, saying Zhao Hanzhang would arrive shortly.
Zhao Hanzhang had actually been waiting in the main hall for them, but she’d suddenly received news from Shu. After half a year, Zhao Xin had finally persuaded the Dajin officials still stubbornly resisting Shu to hand over those territories to Shu’s administration.
Zhao Hanzhang immediately went to contact Zhao Xin, telling him to select trustworthy people to remain in Shu while bringing all other officials and soldiers back, and telling him, “If King Cheng wants any talented individuals and they’re willing, don’t force them to return.”
After New Year’s, Cheng’s envoy delegation returned. Zhao Hanzhang formally issued an edict, enfeoffing Li Xiong as King of Chengdu, abolishing his Yanping era name, and enfeoffing his crown prince as Heir Apparent of Chengdu, having him remain at the Imperial Academy to study governance.
Li Xiang led the delegation back on his own.
The reason things went so smoothly was that Zhao Hanzhang had no intention of keeping Li Ban. Keeping him now would smack of taking him hostage.
Zhao Hanzhang and Li Xiong were just beginning their relationship, tentatively feeling each other out. She didn’t want to sour things.
But Li Ban desperately wanted to stay, especially after meeting Zhao Cheng. He went to find Zhao Cheng every day, wanting to become his student.
To this end, he waited at people’s doors before dawn in the dead of winter. Knowing Zhao Cheng liked the lamb soup and flatbread from Willow Lane, he bought a portion every morning to deliver to the Zhao residence.
Even Zhao Hu couldn’t help speaking up for Li Ban. “He’s more filial than your own son. Why won’t you take such a good student?”
Zhao Cheng had been momentarily tempted, but thinking of Li Ban’s identity, he shook his head again.
Li Xiang went to plead with Zhao Hanzhang, and Zhao Hanzhang spoke to Zhao Cheng, who only then accepted Li Ban as his student.
Zhao Hanzhang’s original plan was to send him away after the Lantern Festival. As for Li Ban’s studies, he wasn’t really a child—they could continue through correspondence.
But… Li Ban insisted on staying. He was interested in the new teaching materials at the Imperial Academy, interested in the various different viewpoints in the Court Gazette and “Boundless Learning,” and interested in Zhao Cheng’s educational philosophy…
He felt he was currently weak and ignorant. Even if he returned to Shu, he couldn’t do anything for the people. He wanted to learn skills here, and after mastering them, return to Shu to assist his uncle and help the people of Shu.
In short, he wanted to study in Luoyang!
Ji Yuan, Ming Yu, and Zhao Cheng took turns trying to persuade him to no avail. Finally, Zhao Hanzhang, seeing his determination was so firm, waved her hand decisively and let him stay.
Li Xiang left some people to protect Li Ban and returned with the delegation.
Because Cheng had become a vassal state of Dajin, the two places strengthened their exchanges and mutual learning.
As soon as Li Xiang returned to Cheng, Li Xiong immediately selected twelve young people to send to Luoyang for study. At the same time, Cheng purchased large quantities of salt from Dajin and exchanged many craftsmen to build water mills, waterwheels, and so on.
These exchanges reached into the southwestern mountains. The Dajin officers and soldiers who had refused to listen to Zhao Xin’s persuasion to hand over their commanderies and counties to Cheng for governance fell silent, finally willing to sit down and communicate face-to-face with Zhao Xin.
“Cheng’s crown prince is now in Luoyang as a hostage?”
Zhao Xin corrected him: “Cheng is now a vassal state of Dajin. There is only an heir apparent, no crown prince.”
Then he nodded. “The heir of Cheng is currently studying at the Imperial Academy, under the tutelage of Imperial Academy Chancellor Zhao Zitu, who is also my teacher.”
Ma Cheng had never heard of Zhao Cheng’s name before. Naturally, he knew he wasn’t any great scholar, but with the surname Zhao and able to serve as chancellor, plus Li Ban’s apprenticeship to him, he must be from the Xiping Zhao clan and related to Zhao Hanzhang.
This meant Cheng truly obeyed Zhao Hanzhang and wasn’t pretending weakness—they had genuinely become a submissive vassal state.
Ma Cheng turned to look at his starving, freezing comrades. Because of the fighting, many civilians had fled. They couldn’t collect military provisions, and the soldiers had been going hungry since winter began.
“If we hand over our territories to Cheng, what happens to us?”
Zhao Xin immediately said, “General Ma naturally returns to the capital with me to report on your duties. You have defended the land for the country—the General will certainly make proper arrangements and won’t treat you unfairly.”
He glanced at the people behind him and added, “If you gentlemen don’t mind, you can return to the capital with us. If you cannot bear to leave Shu, you can stay. I’m willing to recommend you all to King Cheng.”
Zhao Xin said, “King Cheng is magnanimous and benevolent. He certainly won’t hold past grudges against you all.”
Ma Cheng snorted coldly, not believing it. He said directly, “We’ll all leave together!”
Zhao Xin didn’t object, nodding directly. He could place people anywhere outside—no matter how many he brought, he could arrange them.
With Ma Cheng’s surrender, Zhao Xin knew the key to persuading them. Over the next four months, he traveled everywhere, climbing mountains and crossing rivers, wading through water and crossing streams, finding one resistant force after another stubbornly opposing Cheng. Using Cheng’s transformation into a Dajin vassal state and the Cheng heir being held in Luoyang as leverage, he pried them all loose.