When Zhao Hanzhang left the county office, the sky had already darkened. Quyang had arranged lodgings for them at the relay station, while the main army was still encamped outside the city.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t go to the relay station but instead led Qiu Wu and Ji Ping directly out of the city.
The city gates were still open. After she left, the timing was perfect—the gates slowly closed behind her.
She turned back to glance at Quyang City, let out a breath, then turned and cracked her horse whip. “Let’s go find Master Ji and Uncle Qianli.”
The main army wasn’t all encamped together. After the battle ended, the forces had separated, with troops from various prefectures and counties tacitly keeping their distance from each other as they made camp.
Zhao Hanzhang and Qiu Wu searched along the way but couldn’t find their people. Ji Ping went to ask around while Zhao Hanzhang held her horse’s reins and stood in the darkness waiting.
In the breeze, she heard whispers carried on the wind: “I’m so hungry. Did you eat your fill?”
“Just one bowl of thin gruel and a coarse grain bun—how could that be filling? Drink some more water. Hold out until tomorrow morning and there’ll be more food.”
“These officials are so stingy. We fought a victorious battle for them, yet they won’t even give us a full meal. We lost so many brothers.”
“Stop complaining. It’s still better than starving to death.”
“I think I smell food.”
“You must be mistaken.”
He wasn’t mistaken. Zhao Hanzhang sniffed the air, then led her horse toward the scent. Along the way, she passed several encampments where people were quietly grumbling about being hungry.
Finally reaching the end, she spotted Xiping’s banner by the roadside.
Ji Ping and Qiu Wu anxiously caught up from behind. “My lady, why did you walk ahead? We thought you’d gone missing…”
Zhao Hanzhang replied, “I followed the smell. Let’s go.”
Their people were having their evening meal, and some were bandaging wounds.
Zhao Hanzhang looked around and finally found Ji Yuan in the crowd. “Master.”
Ji Yuan turned back. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang, his face broke into a smile. “My lady, you’re back. Did everything go smoothly?”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and, after looking around, asked, “These are all fresh wounds. Why are they only being bandaged now?”
Ji Yuan pulled Zhao Hanzhang aside and said quietly, “Following your instructions, when the Xiongnu forces fled in defeat, I had Zhao Ju lead a squad to raid their encampment.”
Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow and lowered her voice as well. “Was there anything inside?”
“A little,” Ji Yuan said with a smile. “Not much, but enough to cover our expedition’s provisions, which is better than the other prefectures’ and counties’ forces.”
Zhao Hanzhang had been about to ask, “Didn’t Quyang send out provisions?”
Ji Yuan sighed. “Governor He is too miserly. He only sent a pittance—not even enough for one bowl of gruel per person. In the end, each prefecture and county had to rely on the military rations they brought themselves, but they’re reluctant to use them either. So I saw many people tonight who haven’t eaten their fill.”
Zhao Hanzhang frowned slightly. “Governor He is this kind of person?”
Ji Yuan glanced at her and could tell she and Governor He must have gotten along well. “It’s good that my lady and Governor He are on good terms, but you mustn’t trust this person too much.”
He continued, “Though Governor He has strategic ability, he’s excessively greedy and miserly. In my view, the crisis at Quyang could have been resolved.”
Ji Yuan explained, “As I understand it, when Quyang was first besieged, he summoned Runan Prefecture’s garrison for defense. But the soldiers’ morale was low, so they refused to put in effort. If he had been willing to part with money to motivate the troops, how could this small Xiongnu force have besieged Quyang?”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Liu Jing penetrated deep into enemy territory alone. He didn’t dare fight too recklessly. He could fight for over half a month, and Governor He could defend the city for over half a month—both are quite impressive.”
Ji Yuan curled his lip. “What’s impressive about that? Later, when the court sent reinforcements from Yingchuan, if he had been willing to spend money, Liu Jing would have been defeated long ago. He dragged it out until now simply because he didn’t want to use his own money, and Quyang’s county office had no funds.”
“To sacrifice an entire city’s people over reluctance to part with wealth, even disregarding his own life—such a person cannot be trusted.”
Zhao Hanzhang looked at Ji Yuan seriously for a moment, then asked with gossip in her voice, “Master, everyone says my grandfather was miserly. So tell me—was my grandfather miserly, or is Governor He miserly?”
Ji Yuan: …
Of course he couldn’t speak ill of his former employer, nor of his current employer’s grandfather. So he said, “Naturally Governor He is miserly.”
He added, “Your grandfather wasn’t miserly—he was thrifty and prudent with money.”
Zhao Hanzhang looked unconvinced.
Ji Yuan thought for a moment, then said, “Fine, your grandfather was somewhat tight-fisted, but in major matters he never begrudged spending money.”
“For instance, the Zhao clan’s fortified estate and iron goods—when did your grandfather ever stint on such expenses?”
Zhao Hanzhang replied, “Actually, about that moat outside the estate wall—I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time. It’s dug too small. I won’t say it should be as wide as a city moat, but it shouldn’t be so narrow that someone with good leg strength could jump across.”
Ji Yuan touched his nose. “When we return to Xiping, why don’t you suggest to the clan that they renovate the estate?”
Zhao Hanzhang considered it. “We should bring it up. We’ll discuss this matter later. What did you all seize?”
Ji Yuan led Zhao Hanzhang to look. Everything was in the tents. Actually, there wasn’t much. “It’s all things they looted.”
Ji Yuan said, “They probably weren’t easy to carry personally, so they left them in the tents, which ended up benefiting us.”
He paused before continuing, “Shortly after we stormed the tents, the main army caught up with the fleeing Xiongnu soldiers and arrived. There was nearly a fight over the spoils. My lady, can we keep these things?”
He feared someone would prevent them from taking the items.
Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang sneered. “What we’ve seized naturally belongs to us. Who could take it from our hands?”
She looked through the items—lots of copper coins, some gold and silver, but mostly porcelain, cloth, timber, and various ornaments. She even found a chest of calligraphy and paintings.
Ji Yuan perked up immediately and came forward. “These are the most valuable items inside. Unfortunately, they didn’t recognize their worth and just carelessly left them in the tent.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Such things are inherently difficult to transport. Sort them properly and put them in my private treasury later. Master, maintain separate records for all spoils of war going forward.”
In the future, these items would be converted to cash and distributed as rewards to the troops.
Ji Yuan understood and nodded in agreement.
“Besides these, the soldiers probably still have some items hidden on them personally. My lady, should we make them turn those in?”
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head. “I originally lured them to attack the camp with promises of gold and silver. I can’t give them nothing in the end. Let them keep what they have.”
Ji Yuan was inwardly satisfied. Truly worthy of being the master he had chosen—even more generous than Zhao Changyu, truly winning his heart.
Only then did Master Ji ask about her meeting with Governor He.
Zhao Hanzhang recounted the entire process in detail, then said, “Magistrate Zhang and the others all seem to have stayed in the city. They all remained there?”
“Yes, so right now all the prefecture and county forces only have their deputies present. My lady is the only one who came out of the city.”