The situation in the county town was dire. Those with even moderately comfortable circumstances had been thoroughly plundered.
Some had died, others were injured. Zhao Hanzhang led her people from house to house to inspect the damage. Some victims were still bleeding, with no medicine available, and could only lie on grass mats awaiting death. Others had lost their entire families, with only a single survivor remaining.
Had Zhao Hanzhang not brought people in to dig them out from the piles of corpses, no one would have known they were still alive.
Zhao Hanzhang had the severely wounded carried to the county office for treatment, and said to Zhao Ju: “Have the night watchmen spread the word—all injured persons should be sent to the county office for treatment.”
She continued: “The medicinal herbs in the county office warehouse are still intact. You personally lead people to take over the medicine shops in town. Record all medicines used—the county office will repay them later.”
Zhao Ju asked in a low voice, “Will it be the future county magistrate who repays, or will we repay?”
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him and said: “Naturally, whoever runs the county office in the future will repay. First, take control of everything. Invite all the physicians to the county office, and also the midwives and veterinarians in town—every single one of them should come to the county office.”
Zhao Ju looked dazed. “Midwives and veterinarians…”
“They’re all external injuries. They know at least something about treating them, which makes them slightly better than you lot.”
Zhao Hanzhang sighed: “It seems we’ll not only need to raise horses, but also cultivate some specialized technical personnel—medical workers, for instance.”
Zhao Ju only understood half of what she said.
Turning the corner into another alley, they entered a different world. The houses were low and shabby, constructed of wooden shacks, and even the streets had narrowed considerably.
As soon as Zhao Hanzhang’s group entered, several people in tattered clothes emerged from the wooden shacks, hiding behind the thatch and watching them warily.
Zhao Hanzhang looked them up and down. Seeing they appeared to have no external injuries, she beckoned to them.
The several people did not approach.
Zhao Ju’s face darkened as he strode forward. Seeing his fierce appearance, the people turned to flee, but Zhao Ju moved faster. He reached out and grabbed one by the back collar. The person was about to struggle when Zhao Ju seized the back of his neck, and he immediately dared not move.
The other two did not escape either. The retainers had moved forward when Zhao Ju took action, and quickly captured them as well.
The three were brought before Zhao Hanzhang and made to kneel.
Zhao Hanzhang crouched down to face them at eye level. Seeing they appeared to be only in their teens, she sighed and asked, “Why did you run?”
The three cautiously raised their heads to glance at Zhao Hanzhang but said nothing.
Zhao Hanzhang looked them over and waved to a retainer.
The retainer immediately entered the dwelling to search, and quickly found a roll of cloth wrapping from under the bed. Opening it revealed two strings of pearls and a silver bowl.
The retainer brought it out and handed it to Zhao Hanzhang.
Upon seeing this bundle, all three began struggling violently. Zhao Ju held them down and smacked one on the head. “Behave yourselves!”
The three flushed red with anger. One youth shouted loudly: “This is ours!”
Zhao Hanzhang asked: “Where did you get it?”
The three fell silent.
Zhao Hanzhang turned and handed the bundle to a retainer, staring into their eyes as she asked, “Did you kill anyone?”
The three glared resentfully at Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly and patted their heads, saying: “Good. As long as you didn’t kill anyone, that’s fine.”
Seeing them about to leave, the youth protested indignantly, shouting: “We found this! Finders keepers—it’s ours!”
Zhao Hanzhang had already started to leave, but upon hearing this she crouched back down, stared at him for a moment, then smiled. “You’re not wrong, but the rebel soldiers in this town were all killed by my people. When killing them, I forbade my men from taking spoils in order not to delay the battle. Now that the fighting is over, these are all spoils of war, which I naturally must reclaim.”
Zhao Hanzhang did not mind his grime and dirt, reaching out to pat his shoulder: “Young man, I can’t let my people shed blood and get nothing in return, can I?”
With that, she stood up to leave.
The youth suddenly called out: “Do you still need people? I—I can fight too.”
Zhao Hanzhang looked down at him. “You?”
The youth flushed red and said: “I’m not younger than you. If you can kill people, so can I!”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Alright then, you can follow along.”
The youth immediately scrambled up, glancing at his two companions who were looking at him hopefully, and quickly said: “They can do it too.”
The two nodded vigorously.
Zhao Hanzhang was quite generous, waving her hand to accept them all.
The youth swallowed and asked: “Miss, can we also be like your retainers, earning money from battles in the future?”
Zhao Hanzhang said: “That’s not called earning money, that’s called making money. Retainers receive military pay, and if battles go well, there will be some spoils to distribute.”
“Speaking of battles, it seems this area wasn’t touched by the rebel army?”
“They came, but seeing we lived in broken-down shacks with nothing to plunder, they left again.” The youth rolled his eyes and said quietly: “Miss, I know who else has hidden treasures. If I tell you and you find them, can you give me some?”
Zhao Hanzhang turned to look at him, then suddenly smiled and strode forward without answering his question. Instead, she said to Zhao Ju: “Have someone go back and bring a squad of soldiers.”
Soon, this slum spanning three streets was surrounded. Those who had been hiding indoors, pretending not to notice Zhao Hanzhang’s group, could finally bear it no longer and cautiously poked their heads out to observe.
Zhao Hanzhang raised her eyes and signaled to the night watchman.
The night watchman came forward with his gong and drum, beating them loudly. His voice was resonant, long and sustained, calling out repeatedly: “Come out, young and old—Miss Zhao Sanniang requests everyone’s presence.”
After calling out three times, people still only peered from doorways and windows, with no one coming to the street.
Zhao Hanzhang said to the night watchman: “Tell them, if they don’t come out now, I’ll have my retainers go invite them one by one. I still have people at the county office—should I call more soldiers over?”
Her voice was loud enough for the entire shabby, barely concealed street to hear clearly.
Immediately, someone emerged from their door, pulling their whole family along, heads hunched as they approached. They inched forward slowly until finally reaching Zhao Hanzhang, not daring to speak, and simply placed a broken silver pot and two strings of cash in front.
Zhao Hanzhang watched silently.
With the first person, there quickly came a second. Most people came out empty-handed; only a few brought items—all財物 picked up from the streets.
It seemed those with great courage were still the minority, though this did not mean they had surrendered everything hidden.
Zhao Hanzhang looked at the scattered items on the ground, not particularly concerned with them, nor did she pursue potentially hidden財物. Once everyone had gathered, she spoke leisurely: “The county town is severely short of people right now. Previously, the household registry office was ransacked by rebel soldiers, losing some household records. I cannot confirm whether you’re all still registered. Since you’ve come out today, you should all go to the county office to re-register. Once I’ve surveyed the wasteland in the county, I’ll allocate plots to each household. Take advantage of the time before winter arrives and plant wheat first.”
Everyone was stunned, staring blankly at Zhao Hanzhang.