At this moment, having received Zhao Hanzhang’s permission, Zhao Xin began arranging personnel to relay information. Over the past six months, whenever he left a place, he would quietly leave behind some people there. Of course, they weren’t selected from those he brought with him, but rather chosen from local power structures.
He wasn’t certain how long they could work or how long they would remain loyal, but… who cares? Even keeping one would be a profit for him.
Knowing that Zhao Xin was about to return, Zhao Hanzhang walked toward the great hall with light steps, her face bearing a smile she couldn’t suppress no matter how hard she tried. Just like that, she happily entered the hall suddenly. The assembled guests who had been examining their tea with lowered heads were startled and quickly looked up.
They saw a young woman wearing dark gold round-collar garments without any embroidered patterns, quite simple indeed. Around her waist was a black belt a finger’s width wide, with only a pouch hanging from it and no other accessories. Looking at her clothing, aside from the fabric and color being somewhat superior, the rest didn’t even compare to Ting He who was serving them nearby.
However, her sleeves were arrow sleeves.
Rumor had it that Zhao Hanzhang rarely wore wide sleeves. Most of the time she either wore arrow sleeves, straight sleeves, or垂胡 sleeves.
This style of dress had already spread to the south of the Yangtze River, with many young women quietly imitating her, wearing arrow-sleeved riding clothes daily to go out for spring outings and recreation.
So this was… Zhao Hanzhang?
The thought had barely formed when Zhao Hanzhang was already smiling and greeting them, “I’ve kept you all waiting.”
The young gentlemen hadn’t expected this to truly be Zhao Hanzhang, and that she looked so refined and beautiful. Although they didn’t believe the rumors claiming she was eight feet tall with a robust, imposing physique, someone who could carve out a place for herself on the battlefield surely wouldn’t be… too attractive.
The young gentlemen hastily rose to bow. Only when Zhao Hanzhang walked past them did they discover she was… very tall, seemingly on par with them, with a slender figure and light footsteps. Without even needing to look up, just listening to the sound of her passing, they could tell her martial skills were considerable.
Zhao Hanzhang walked to the seat of honor and pressed down with her hands, saying, “No need for excessive formalities, gentlemen. Please be seated.”
The seating had been arranged in advance. Zhao Hanzhang needed only a glance to match faces with names, saving everyone from awkward self-introductions.
Zhao Hanzhang turned to Yang Yi and asked, “How are my maternal uncles faring in the south?”
Yang Yi paused before saying, “The south is very good, only the dietary customs are different, which takes some getting used to.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “The Central Plains are now stable. Wanderers displaced abroad who return to their homeland may not find familiar people anymore, but if my maternal uncles are willing to return home, perhaps these wanderers can also find their belonging.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Yi felt a slight pang in his heart. In truth, weren’t those of them who had migrated with their entire clans also wanderers?
When the Yang family migrated south, they split into two groups, and his group set out later. Midway through their journey, some clan members left or stopped, unable to continue. In the end, those who reached the south numbered only three or four out of ten. The rest either died or were scattered elsewhere.
Now that the Central Plains were stable, he wondered if they would return home.
If they did return and found not a single clan member in their homeland, how heartbroken would they be?
The others shared this sentiment deeply. Zhao Hanzhang looked toward Ting He and raised her hand, saying, “I had the kitchen prepare some hometown dishes. I’m not sure if the taste is right—please try them for me.”
Ting He bowed and withdrew. Soon she returned leading servants in a procession, placing two dishes on each table featuring traditional foods from the ancestral homes of each young gentleman.
They were all common foods—flatbreads, steamed buns, filled buns, noodles paired with a home-style dish, just that the preparation methods varied slightly by region.
Yang Yi received a bowl of sweet water noodles, a type only made in their county town back home.
Their family’s sweet water noodles had always used spring water from the mountains. This bowl was somewhat inferior to what he used to eat, yet far superior to what he’d had in the south.
No—in the south, in restaurants and wine shops outside, one simply couldn’t find sweet water noodles. To eat them, one had to return home and have one’s own cook make them.
In the past two years, southern dietary customs had changed somewhat with the influx of northerners, but small niche items like sweet water noodles still didn’t exist.
Yang Yi ate, and as he ate, tears began to fall involuntarily.
The other young gentlemen’s eyes also reddened.
Zhao Hanzhang was eating Xiping’s specialty dish—noodle paste soup.
Seeing them like this, she set down her spoon, wiped her mouth, and asked, “What’s wrong? Is it not to your taste?”
With reddened eyes, Yang Yi set down his chopsticks, walked to the center of the hall and knelt down. “General, if we return, will there truly still be a place for us in the Central Plains?”
Zhao Hanzhang leaned forward and answered him seriously, “Dajin belongs to the people of Dajin. You are all subjects of Dajin. No matter where you are, there will always be a place for you. What’s more, this was once your homeland, wasn’t it?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Yi knew he had achieved half his mission’s objective. He immediately bowed deeply. “This humble one thanks the General on behalf of his clansmen and on behalf of the scholar-gentry displaced in the south.”
Zhao Hanzhang rose and helped him up, saying to the equally moved young gentlemen, “As long as you are willing to return, your homeland’s doors will always be open waiting for you.”
Everyone rose to express their gratitude. “Thank you, General!”
“Perfect timing. Since you’re here, why not have me test your learning today?” Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, “Even having gone to the south, you shouldn’t have neglected your studies.”
Yang Yi and the others were excited—this was precisely what they wanted, as the other half of their elders’ assigned task still remained.
Among the six arts of a gentleman, what Zhao Hanzhang tested them on wasn’t limited to literary matters. Moreover, what she posed wasn’t a normal examination question. She asked directly, “The national treasury has one hundred thousand coins. It’s spring plowing season. One region lacks grain seeds, requiring forty thousand coins. It’s also prone to flooding, with dike repairs estimated at eighty thousand coins. Furthermore, due to the uneven terrain, it’s extremely susceptible to drought when rainfall is scarce, requiring irrigation. Building one waterwheel costs two thousand coins. If you were the local official, what would you do?”
Yang Yi and the others were dumbfounded. How did this become an arithmetic problem?
Lu Wen, however, lowered his eyes in thought, already forming a rough answer in his mind.
Seeing most of them looking confused, Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, “You needn’t give me the answer now. You can think about it when you return. Write it out and send it to my residence. Come, today I’ll first test your martial skills.”
Zhao Hanzhang looked at Xie Rong and said, “I’ve long heard of General Xie’s martial prowess. Today we must spar.”
Xie Rong quickly said, “Xie has already resigned his commission. Moreover, in terms of martial skills, how could this humble one compare with the General?”
Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “Just try. If you don’t serve as an official in the south, you can serve here. Being an official—isn’t it the same wherever you serve? It’s all for Dajin and the people of the realm, isn’t it?”
Xie Rong fell silent for a moment. What she said wasn’t wrong, but her enthusiasm always made him somewhat uneasy.
Zhao Hanzhang called for everyone to go to the training grounds. These were all sons of aristocratic families who had practiced riding and archery since childhood. She wanted to use them as examples, so naturally she needed to test them thoroughly.
Although she wanted to use them to express her attitude toward the scholar-gentry displaced in the south—that regardless of their abilities, she would find them suitable positions—she still hoped they could be a bit more capable.
—