Ji Yuan was deeply moved and immediately said, “Tomorrow I’ll accompany the young lady.”
“Teacher Ji should stay with Uncle Qianli. Following me, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you.”
Zhao Ju immediately added, “Right, Teacher should come with me. Let Qiuwu and Ji Ping accompany the young lady.”
Ji Yuan hesitated. “Young lady, this is after all your first time being active publicly. With me following…”
Zhao Hanzhang glanced outside the tent, then pulled Ji Yuan closer and whispered, “Actually, having Teacher follow Uncle Qianli serves another private purpose of mine.”
She said, “You can watch for opportunities and act accordingly.”
Ji Yuan raised an eyebrow. “For example?”
“For example, raid the Xiongnu army’s camp and cut off their retreat.”
Ji Yuan: “…With this batch of new recruits who’ve never been on a battlefield or received training?”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Tell them the camp contains gold, silver, and jewels plundered by the Xiongnu army, countless grain supplies. Teacher, among the refugee soldiers everywhere, who has received training? Before becoming refugees, who had fought in battles?”
Ji Yuan pondered. “I understand. I’ll assist Zhao Qianli in coordinating properly and acting as circumstances allow.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded with satisfaction. “If you can go, go. If not, just try your best to preserve our effective forces.”
“Effective forces?” Ji Yuan murmured the phrase twice, his eyebrows rising sharply as he laughed heartily. “The young lady speaks well. They are effective forces. As long as we preserve the people, we are the winners.”
Zhao Ju on the side listened silently, understanding some but not all. However, he did understand what Zhao Hanzhang said earlier about watching for opportunities to raid the Xiongnu camp.
“It’s getting late. Teacher and Uncle Qianli should rest.” She needed to sleep too.
Ji Yuan and Zhao Ju stood and took their leave.
Soldiers brought hot water for her to wash up. Zhao Hanzhang wiped her face and hands, thinking next time she should bring Ting He along—it would be more convenient entering and leaving the camp.
Zhao Hanzhang sat on the freshly planed bed board. The blanket spread over it and the leaves underneath couldn’t block the fresh scent of the wood.
Zhao Hanzhang removed her clothes, took off the cloth pouch tied to her calves and placed it at the head of the bed. It made a clunking sound as it hit the board.
She also removed the cloth pouch bound to her wrists, rubbed her wrists, stretched her waist, then lay down.
After fighting with Shi Le, Zhao Hanzhang realized that skill on horseback required not just technique and ability, but also strength, especially when cutting people down.
After cutting for a while, strength would diminish, so she deliberately practiced arm and leg strength.
The cloth pouches contained stones. Previously they were small, but two days ago she added more, binding them not only to her hands but also her calves. At first it was very uncomfortable, but over time, once she adapted to the weight, she could run and jump like a normal person.
Combined with breathing techniques, perhaps she could even develop martial arts lightness skills.
Of course, not the kind that defied Earth’s gravity and flew through the air, but the kind that allowed nimble dodging and movements light as a swallow.
Zhao Hanzhang lay for a while, then suddenly opened her eyes. Strange—she was clearly very tired, so why couldn’t she sleep?
Zhao Hanzhang lay there for quite a while before finally getting up and rummaging through her luggage until she found brush, ink, and paper.
She silently gazed at the darkness outside the tent, then picked up the brush and wrote: Professor Fu, greetings.
The long night stretches on, my thoughts are complex, and for the first time I feel a sense of trepidation…
This battle was different from the previous defense of the Zhao clan’s fortified estate and Xiping County. Last time events were too urgent—she had no time for extensive deliberation and no alternative paths to choose.
But this time she did.
So she hesitated and even felt somewhat afraid. She didn’t know if her choice was right or wrong.
She could already foresee the outcome if things went right, but the consequences if they went wrong had no end in sight. She wasn’t even certain she could bear them.
Yet she couldn’t reveal this before Ji Yuan and Zhao Ju.
Before tonight, she thought she could foresee both outcomes. Even if it was the worst outcome, she wasn’t afraid.
But now, she suddenly wasn’t so sure.
Zhao Hanzhang exhaled, silently looking at the letter in her hand. She very much wanted to cross it out, destroy this letter, pretend she’d never written it. But after a moment’s hesitation, she set down the brush, blew the ink dry, folded the letter and placed it in an envelope.
If she could safely lead people back, she would show this letter to Professor Fu.
Zhao Hanzhang put the letter away and lay back down on the bed.
Perhaps because she’d poured out her feelings in writing, her heart relaxed. Not long after closing her eyes, she fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Zhao Ju rose and had people prepare breakfast.
Magistrate Zhang and the others were punctual, organizing their troops at the appointed time and setting out.
Zhao Hanzhang led Zhao Ju to meet Staff Officer Cai, who would share the right wing with them. He represented Nanyang Commandery.
He brought few troops—only two thousand men. However, he considered himself more capable and important than this young girl Zhao Hanzhang, so he directly claimed command of the right wing.
Zhao Hanzhang agreed immediately, then turned and told Zhao Ju, “Listen to Teacher Ji.”
Openly agreeing while secretly disobeying, quite brazenly.
Zhao Ju couldn’t help glaring at Ji Yuan, feeling their young lady’s increasing shamelessness was his fault.
Ji Yuan couldn’t help but reflect—had the young lady really become this way because of his teaching?
Zhao Hanzhang had already mounted her horse and, taking Qiuwu and Ji Ping, rode off to watch the excitement at the center army.
Qiuwu and Ji Ping each led a squad and followed. Twenty men escorted Zhao Hanzhang as they pushed toward the front of the center army.
The various relief forces’ staff officers, commandery magistrates, and county magistrates were all here, gathered around Magistrate Zhang.
Zhao Hanzhang’s arrival with twenty men was neither particularly many nor particularly few. Others had only brought three to five guards. Few brought as many as she had.
Magistrate Zhang glanced once but paid no mind. She was a young girl after all—being afraid was natural. Bringing more guards was understandable.
However, he still didn’t want Zhao Hanzhang here. If fighting broke out, he’d have to worry about her. So he beckoned to her. When she rode over with a beaming smile, he said, “Sanniang, the center army is dangerous. You should go to the rear. If a stray arrow accidentally wounds you, that would be terrible.”
Zhao Hanzhang said with an innocent expression, “Uncle, I’m not afraid of stray arrows. I can protect you here.”
Seeing her insistence, Magistrate Zhang stopped urging. He nodded. “Fine, but if you stay, you must follow orders. Don’t run around.”
“Alright.”
Zhao Hanzhang retreated to the side with her twenty guards, keeping a very low profile as she moved forward.
This relief force had long been observed by the Xiongnu army. Not long after the army set out, the Xiongnu force that had been attacking Quyang received the news.
The Xiongnu army withdrew in an orderly fashion. After retreating beyond the range of the city wall’s arrows, the rear guard became the vanguard, waiting calmly for the approaching army.
Actually, if the two armies weren’t so close with scouts stationed all along the route, they would have wanted to set up an ambush.
But because the armies were near each other, ambushes were difficult for either side.
The two armies soon met on the open ground outside Quyang City. Magistrate Zhang raised his hand to halt everyone’s movements. He stepped forward and called a messenger. “Call their general. Tell him I wish to speak with him.”