Zhao Hanzhang raised her eyebrows and looked at Fu Tinghan with surprise, saying, “Actually, someone has raised this matter. Even the Emperor is more inclined toward capital relocation, but the Prince of Donghai doesn’t agree.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “The Prince of Donghai’s authority is such that basically no one can oppose him. Even if what he opposes is unreasonable, there will still be officials standing on his side. Moreover, the pros and cons of capital relocation are unclear. Even more people stand on his side.”
The court had fled south once. Even Zhao Hanzhang felt heartache over the property lost on the road and left in Luoyang, let alone other officials. They might not be willing to leave again.
She was standing behind history looking back, so she clearly knew that capital relocation was correct. But people standing at this point in time—not many had such insight and courage.
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at Fu Tinghan and pondered, “If we could relocate the capital, quite a few people in Luoyang could survive.”
Many common people would follow the court in migration. If they relocated the capital, at least half of Luoyang’s common people could move away. Although this would lose Luoyang’s geographical advantage, they would preserve the people and also preserve Dajin’s vital spark. Even if Liu Yuan attacked into Luoyang, the significance wouldn’t be great.
They wanted to attack Luoyang precisely because Luoyang was Dajin’s capital. Attacking and taking Luoyang, capturing the Jin Emperor, would be equivalent to destroying the Jin state. They could then naturally take Jin’s place.
Zhao Hanzhang’s thoughts raced, and finally she sighed deeply. “Too bad we don’t have much say. Our words don’t carry weight. Otherwise, we could submit a memorial requesting the court to relocate the capital.”
Though she said this, the next day after paying respects to the ancestors, Zhao Hanzhang still specially walked to Zhao Ming’s side and brought up this matter. “If Grand-Uncle could submit a memorial suggesting capital relocation, perhaps the Emperor would be very gratified?”
Zhao Ming remained unmoved. “Whether the Emperor is gratified or not—is that important? The clan head’s position in the capital isn’t very good right now. Better to do less than more.”
Zhao Hanzhang then said seriously, “Capital relocation might be the only chance for Dajin and Luoyang’s common people. Once the Xiongnu army attacks into Luoyang, common people throughout the realm will not be spared.”
Only then did Zhao Ming glance at Zhao Hanzhang. “You should have said that earlier. Why must you first appeal to small sentiment before speaking of great righteousness?”
Zhao Hanzhang: “…”
However, Zhao Ming then understood her and said, “This matter is useless. The clan head won’t offend the Prince of Donghai. If the Prince of Donghai doesn’t agree to capital relocation, whoever proposes it is useless.”
Though he said this, he still wrote a letter to Zhao Zhongyu, mentioning Luoyang’s current crisis and listing the benefits of capital relocation, hoping he and the court’s officials would consider this matter.
When Zhao Zhongyu received the letter, it was precisely when the court was debating capital relocation most fiercely.
Gou Xi had also submitted a memorial requesting the Emperor to relocate the capital, and even chose the location for him—Cang Yuan.
And Cang Yuan was within Yuzhou territory. Changing locations, but going round and round still within Yuzhou, it was still very close to Runan Jun.
Why did Gou Xi insist so much on relocating the capital to Yuzhou?
Because Yuzhou was the center of the Central Plains. With the capital here, support from all four directions would come more swiftly. Moreover, Yuzhou had always been Dajin’s cultural, economic, and political center.
Luoyang had always been at Yuzhou’s edge, and it had even once belonged to Yuzhou.
The Emperor also felt Cang Yuan was good, but the Prince of Donghai disagreed, believing this was to break free from his control. More than half the court officials also disagreed.
Last time they left Luoyang, they were swept along and forced out of the city. When they returned, their family wealth was completely lost. Some even had their residences burned down. Now they had finally returned to normal—naturally they were unwilling to make the journey again.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhongyu suppressed his thoughts and didn’t submit a memorial mentioning this matter.
Zhao Ming did what he could and left the rest to fate. He had already raised it. Whether Zhao Zhongyu submitted a memorial, whether the court officials accepted this suggestion—that had nothing to do with him.
He wasn’t a Jin official. He saw things quite clearly, so after writing the letter, he cast it aside and didn’t worry about it.
Zhao Hanzhang was the same. She had already exerted all the effort she currently could. The rest depended on fate. She was also very busy every day, after all. She’d better live her own small life first.
Although the mourning period meant she didn’t need to make New Year calls everywhere, Zhao Hanzhang was still very busy. After the third day of the new year, Liu Yuan’s Xiongnu army hung over her head like a sharp sword. So after passing the third day, she ran to the military camp, clanging and banging as she called all the officers and soldiers to intensify training. “Get up quickly! No one needs you to work the fields, yet you’re still not enthusiastic about training. If the Xiongnu army comes south again, will you just lie there and let them chop you?”
She turned the military camp into chaos, training all the officers and soldiers until they saw stars. Zhao Hanzhang also tired herself considerably before returning home.
She still couldn’t rest—she still had to make lesson plans. That’s right—after the seventh day of the new year, she had to go to the school to teach the children.
Standing in the classroom, she looked down at the large and small students sitting in the schoolhouse. The oldest was a squad leader from her military camp, twenty-three years old. At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged in the very back, along with a group of children ranging from seven to twelve years old, all looking up at her.
Zhao Hanzhang clicked her tongue and simply tossed aside the lesson plan in her hands, asking, “Why are you all mixed together in one classroom?”
“Can’t those from the military learning to read form a separate class? Can’t older youths and young adults from outside form their own class? Can’t those of similar ages form their own class?”
Zhao Cheng, sitting to the side observing, lifted his eyelids to glance at her, then said, “They’ve been divided. These students have good grades, so they received a reward. It’s only for today. Tomorrow they’ll each return to their own classes. Just endure it for today.”
Zhao Hanzhang: “…So I’m the reward?”
Zhao Cheng nodded.
Zhao Hanzhang met the students’ gazes, suddenly smiled broadly, and said very happily, “So you’re the talented elites of my Xiping. Then I should teach you even more carefully. This lesson plan is no longer suitable. I’ll improvise. If there’s anything you don’t understand, raise your hands and ask me.”
The students immediately looked at Zhao Hanzhang with starry eyes, feeling the Young Lady was so wonderful—even as a teacher she was so considerate and gentle.
Zhao Cheng: …
Zhao Hanzhang said, “I once happened to read two books. One was composed of three characters, one of four characters.”
“Both books are simple and easy to understand, with smooth rhythm. They’re most suitable for beginners learning characters. One is called the ‘Three Character Classic,’ the other ‘Thousand Character Text.'”
Neither book had been printed yet. Hu Jin was still working hard—who knew when he’d finish carving the ‘Three Character Classic.’ So currently, the only copies in existence were the handwritten manuscripts that she and Fu Tinghan had transcribed from memory.
Zhao Hanzhang directly wrote on the blackboard the first sentence from the ‘Three Character Classic’: “At birth, humans are naturally good…”
The blackboard and chalk were both made by Fu Tinghan. This made teaching more convenient. Of course, initially it wasn’t for this purpose.
It was just that paper was precious. Sometimes when he needed to do extensive calculations, he had trouble controlling his strength with brushes.
So he made himself a super-large blackboard and made lots of chalk. Some calculations he just did on the blackboard.
Zhao Hanzhang saw this and immediately equipped the school’s teachers and students with them.
Why did Zhao Cheng remain here after Zhao Hanzhang proposed so many teaching requirements? The blackboard and chalk deserved major credit.
Zhao Hanzhang asked with a smile, “Of these two lines of characters, how many do you recognize?”