Seeing his disappointment, Liu Yuan’s gaze fell on Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan. He still couldn’t resist inviting the two: “General Zhao, Young Master Fu, if you two are willing to come to my Han state, I will sweep the steps clean to welcome you.”
He offered a piece of news: “Young Master Fu may not yet know—Assistant Director Fu led troops to support Yuzhou but was blocked halfway by troops sent by the Prince of Donghai. The Prince of Donghai is brutal—who knows what he might do to Assistant Director Fu.”
Both Fu Tinghan and Zhao Hanzhang’s expressions changed.
Liu Yuan sighed loudly: “With such a court, how can it still be worth the loyalty of you righteous warriors?”
Zhao Hanzhang finally stopped watching the show. Sitting on her horse, she straightened her back, her eyes bright as she looked at Liu Yuan across the river, calling out loudly: “Chanyu Liu, you recruit us all because the Jin court has wronged us—naturally you can trust using us. But why are you also so confident in using Wang Mi?”
She continued: “You should know the Jin court never wronged Wang Mi. The relationship between him and the Wang family and the court as ruler and subject can be called perfect. Such a person doesn’t think of serving the country but instead focuses on causing chaos—aren’t you afraid, Chanyu Liu, that he might turn around and harm you in the future?”
Chanyu Liu’s expression darkened as he said sternly: “General Zhao, I sincerely invite you—why do you deliberately try to damage my relationship with my worthy minister?”
Zhao Hanzhang snorted coldly in her heart but appeared casual on the surface, calling back loudly: “How is this sowing discord? I’m clearly warning you out of goodwill. If you don’t believe it, then forget it.”
Liu Yuan felt stifled, having been angered by Zhao Hanzhang once again.
But Zhao Hanzhang had opened the floodgates and continued calling out to Liu Yuan: “Chanyu Liu, the Central Plains will never acknowledge that the Xiongnu Han state is the successor to Shu Han. Do you know why?”
Liu Yuan’s gaze grew heavy. He claimed to be a descendant of Shu Han precisely for “legitimacy.” Now Zhao Hanzhang directly denied him—how could he be happy?
But he really did want to know why, because he knew Zhao Hanzhang spoke the truth.
Zhao Hanzhang raised her chin high: “Because the Chanyu and the Chanyu’s followers have never truly considered themselves successors of Shu Han!”
Zhao Hanzhang wheeled her horse around, leaving behind one sentence: “When the day comes that Chanyu Liu can truly make yourself and your subordinates believe from the heart that you are successors of Shu Han, then your Han state will be the Central Plains’ Han state.”
Fu Tinghan silently turned his horse to follow. The Zhao family army followed with a whoosh.
Beigong Chun saw no reason to linger either. He had nothing to say to Liu Yuan. He had pursued them here to confirm they truly retreated and wouldn’t turn back.
Zhao Hanzhang reined in her horse, and when Beigong Chun caught up, she was about to invite him to search together for Fu Zhi when Beigong Chun spoke first: “General Zhao, let us part ways here.”
Zhao Hanzhang was startled and asked: “Where is General Beigong going?”
Beigong Chun looked at her strangely: “Naturally back to Xiliang. Now that the Xiongnu have retreated and both Luoyang and Yuzhou’s crises are resolved, our mission is accomplished—we should return to Xiliang.”
“Precisely because Luoyang and Yuzhou’s crises are resolved, the General should stay,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I still need to petition for merit on the General’s behalf. In defeating the Xiongnu this time, General Beigong deserves first merit.”
Beigong Chun still had self-awareness. He knew he was capable, but this time in defeating the Xiongnu he really wasn’t the greatest contributor. So he shook his head: “First merit goes to General Zhao, then to Gou Xi. My merit truly isn’t worth mentioning.”
He wanted to return to Xiliang, and the Xiliang soldiers behind him were anxious to return home, so they were unwilling to stay.
Zhao Hanzhang wanted to continue persuading when a scout came riding to report: “General, the Prince of Donghai has deployed his army in Yuzhou, confronting General Gou. The two sides are about to clash!”
This scout was Zhao Hanzhang’s. The smile at the corner of her mouth slightly froze, the words of persuasion caught in her throat.
The smile on Beigong Chun’s face also disappeared as he asked: “Have they started fighting?”
Scout: “Not yet, but judging by the situation, it won’t be long.”
Though she had anticipated it, Zhao Hanzhang still couldn’t help clicking her tongue. “The Prince of Donghai’s speed is quite fast this time.”
And he had also blocked Fu Zhi.
Beigong Chun pressed his lips together, even less willing to stay. He directly took his leave from Zhao Hanzhang: “General Zhao, my Xiliang officers and men have been away from home for a long time and all miss their families. Let’s forget the merit celebration—when the time comes, General Zhao and Young Master Fu can drink an extra cup for my Xiliang army.”
Zhao Hanzhang thought that Yuzhou was indeed currently in turmoil and truly couldn’t properly host Beigong Chun. Feeling regretful inside, she nodded without insisting further: “Alright, I’ll see General Beigong off for part of the way.”
She led her troops to escort Beigong Chun to the intersection ahead where the road forked. From here he would head west back to Xiliang, while Zhao Hanzhang would head south back to Yuzhou, and she would need to search for Fu Zhi along the way—who knew where the Prince of Donghai had blocked him…
Zhao Hanzhang greatly admired Beigong Chun. He was one of the rare pure people she had encountered in this era. Precisely because she admired him, Zhao Hanzhang was unwilling to make things difficult for him.
She said: “General Beigong, if you need anything in the future, just come to Yuzhou to find me. Whatever you need, Hanzhang will do her utmost to help.”
Hearing Zhao Hanzhang say this, Beigong Chun couldn’t help but break into a broad smile, nodding: “Please give me a letter in your hand, General Zhao, to facilitate my passage through the various checkpoints.”
Actually he could pass without it, but with a letter from the Yuzhou Governor, the journey would be much smoother.
Zhao Hanzhang agreed. Although she didn’t yet have the court’s appointment, she had the Governor’s seal that Governor He had given her.
This was something Governor He had specially given her when she decided to leave Chen County, to reassure her.
Though she didn’t need it for reassurance, her heart had indeed felt very warm when she received it.
Beigong Chun had seen her use the official seal to issue military orders, so he knew the Yuzhou Governor’s seal was in her hands.
Zhao Hanzhang wrote him a travel permit on the spot and handed it to him, still unable to resist reminding him once more: “General Beigong, you are brave in battle and possess both wisdom and strategy—a rare excellent general. I can say that of all the officers and men I’ve encountered, the General ranks first. If in the future the General is confused and doesn’t know where to go, you can come to Yuzhou.”
She said with complete sincerity: “I don’t seek to gain the General’s assistance—I only wish to help the General in some small way. That would make me very satisfied.”
Beigong Chun looked at her in surprise. After a long while, he couldn’t help but turn to look at Fu Tinghan standing behind her.
She…these words were quite ambiguous. Most importantly, her expression was full of admiration. Didn’t Fu Tinghan mind?
Beigong Chun couldn’t help but shudder, hastily saying: “Thank you, General Zhao. I’ve noted it. It’s getting late, and you also need to prevent the Prince of Donghai and Gou Xi from fighting, and you need to find Assistant Director Fu. I’ll take my leave first.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, watching him depart.
Fu Tinghan saw her put away the rich expression on her face and asked: “He can’t get back?”
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head: “I don’t know, but I know it won’t be easy for him to return to Xiliang, so I’m leaving him a backup plan, hoping that if he can’t get back, he’ll come find me.”
“Where did he go in history, who did he find?”
Zhao Hanzhang said with great frustration: “He was detained in Chang’an and followed Sima Mo.”
“He and Sima Mo surrendered together to Liu Cong.”
Fu Tinghan said: “Right now Chang’an is managed by my grandfather.”
Zhao Hanzhang blinked. That’s right—Fu Zhi had just recruited troops from Chang’an. In a certain sense, he had great influence in Chang’an.