After breaking through the bandit stronghold, Zhao Erlang led troops charging in. Zhao Kuan and Fan Ying followed closely behind. They needed to count the bandits. This was the most substantial bandit stronghold they’d dealt with so far, and they thought there might at least be some valuables inside. Who knew that besides some grain and miscellaneous porcelain bowls and cloth, it was just as poor as the villages below the mountain.

The soldiers were all very disappointed.

Zhao Hanzhang, who was commanding from behind, wasn’t in a hurry to go in and see the results. She walked around the battlefield, frowning slightly.

Some soldiers came to drag away corpses.

In battles like this that weren’t very large and ended in victory, soldiers would be kind enough to dig a big pit and bury the enemy as well.

When Zhao Hanzhang saw them carrying corpses away, she quickly stopped them. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Set up a tent and put them there. Invite Military Physician Cheng over.”

Military Physician Cheng came over looking puzzled.

Zhao Hanzhang pointed at the corpses arranged in two rows on the ground and said, “These are for you.”

Military Physician Cheng’s eyes widened, unable to understand Zhao Hanzhang’s meaning for a moment.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Last time when you removed the arrowhead from Young Master Fu, your hands weren’t skilled. These are for you to practice on.”

Military Physician Cheng’s eyes grew round as saucers.

Seeing his surprise, Zhao Hanzhang frowned slightly. “Besides arrow wounds, you can also study other injuries, and suturing.”

She said, “When you understand the human body well enough, you’ll also know how to treat various injuries and illnesses.”

“But, but this violates the harmony of heaven!”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at the corpses on the ground and said to him, “So we must respect these bodies. After you’re done, suture the corpses back together and bury them properly.”

“I’ll have people investigate their backgrounds. You can give them individual graves when the time comes.”

In this place where corpses littered the ground, being able to have a pit to be buried in together was already quite good. If that pit belonged to you alone, it was an even higher honor. Even General Ma Jia’en, when he died, only got an individual pit.

Military Physician Cheng couldn’t accept this for a moment, but seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s stern expression, this military physician didn’t dare resist, so he agreed.

Zhao Hanzhang was satisfied. After handing the corpses over to him, she headed up to the bandit stronghold.

This was a somewhat steep mountain, which made it easy to defend and hard to attack. But not far from here was a fortress. The fortress lord was surnamed Chen. They’d been quite unlucky—first plundered by the Xiongnu, then visited by bandits. However, they still took in many passing refugees, trying their best to shelter people within the fortress.

As soon as he heard that the bandits on the neighboring mountain had been suppressed, Fortress Lord Chen immediately burst out of his home crying, hitched up his ox cart, and rushed to pay respects to Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Cheng heard the crying and ran out from the side to look. Seeing Fortress Lord Chen pulling his ox cart outward, he quickly went forward to stop him. “Could it be bandits coming again?”

“Not bandits,” Fortress Lord Chen cried. “The Administrator has come. The bandits on the mountain have been eliminated. Our fortress is safe now.”

Zhao Cheng was stunned for a moment. Taking advantage of his distraction, Fortress Lord Chen had already pulled his ox cart out with his son. Two youths ran up behind Zhao Cheng, asking in confusion, “Teacher, is the Administrator our family’s Sanniang? Don’t people outside all say our Sanniang became the Inspector of Yuzhou?”

Zhao Cheng said, “She just took over Yuzhou. This place isn’t close to Chen County. She’s busy with affairs and probably wouldn’t come personally. Suppressing bandits like this should be something she assigned to her subordinate soldiers.”

“Maybe it’s someone we know,” the youth’s eyes lit up. “Teacher, let’s go look too. If it really is someone we know, we can travel together to Chen County!”

Zhao Cheng thought briefly and agreed.

So they picked up their luggage and headed out.

The refugees who’d come with them saw this and, after thinking briefly, also brought their families along.

The people from the mountain couldn’t farm here, so all the people from the bandit stronghold were brought down the mountain. Because they’d resisted stubbornly, their treatment was different from the previous bandits.

They would be sentenced and directly taken to do hard labor. Right now plowing fields, building roads, building water works all needed people, and even the mines needed quite a few people.

Zhao Hanzhang was looking at the headcount that Zhao Kuan and Fan Ying had tallied when she heard crying outside. She couldn’t help but pause. “Isn’t it a bit late to be crying now?”

It had been quite a while since they’d taken the place.

Zhao Kuan went out to look, and soon hurried back in. “Administrator, people from the Chen family fortress have come. Many of them came. The first to arrive are a Chen father and son—they’re crying right at the camp entrance.”

Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang quickly got up and went out.

Fortress Lord Chen was pulling Zhao Erlang’s hand and crying loudly right at the camp entrance. Zhao Erlang’s face was flushed red, but he had no solution. The other party wasn’t doing anything bad—he couldn’t just throw him off, could he?

Just as he was at a loss, a familiar loud shout came: “Erlang!”

Erlang immediately looked up at the sound and saw his good friend—nine-year-old Zhao Zheng!

His eyes immediately brightened as he shouted, “Brother Zheng!”

No longer caring about the person crying while holding him, he shook off his hand and ran straight toward Zhao Zheng. Ignoring Zhao Cheng who was silently watching him, he grabbed Zhao Zheng from behind and laughed loudly before saying with a serious face, “You have to call me Brother Erlang. I’m the older brother!”

Zhao Zheng couldn’t help but remind him, “Brother Erlang, you should greet my father first.”

Only then did Zhao Erlang see Zhao Cheng. He raised his hand in salute with a serious face. “Uncle Cheng.”

Zhao Cheng asked him, “Who is leading the troops?”

“It’s me!” Zhao Erlang puffed out his chest, waiting for praise.

Zhao Cheng frowned. “Your sister let you be the commanding general?”

Wasn’t that absurd?

Zhao Erlang was perceptive and heard his doubt. Unhappy now, he said, “Why can’t I be one? I’ve earned many military merits.”

When Zhao Hanzhang hurried over with Zhao Kuan and the others, what she saw was Zhao Erlang looking unhappy facing Zhao Cheng. Wait—Zhao Cheng?

Zhao Hanzhang immediately quickened her pace and called from afar, “Uncle!”

Zhao Cheng looked up and saw Zhao Hanzhang. His expression immediately improved as he nodded with dignity and reserve.

Zhao Hanzhang immediately approached with a smile. “Greetings, Uncle. I truly didn’t expect to meet you here. Uncle, please come inside.”

She glanced secretly at Zhao Erlang and whispered, “What are you standing there for? Invite Uncle into the tent.”

Zhao Erlang reluctantly invited him in.

Fortress Lord Chen stood to the side watching in a daze, tears unconsciously sliding down his cheeks. He was truly foolish, really. Zhao Cheng had said he came from Runan Commandery, bringing nephews to join a niece.

And the largest Zhao surname in Runan Commandery was none other than the Xiping Zhao clan!

The Administrator came from the Xiping Zhao clan!

Fortress Lord Chen turned and grabbed Zhao Cheng crying, “Brother Zhao, why didn’t you say clearly that the niece you were going to join was the Administrator…”

Zhao Cheng looked helpless and quickly comforted him. “Thieves run rampant, and this place isn’t close to Chen County. I wasn’t certain I could reach her. How could I go around mentioning it?”

If instead of recruiting friends he attracted enemies—you should know that Zhao Hanzhang becoming Inspector of Yuzhou had made quite a few enemies too.

Even in the countryside, Zhao Cheng had heard that many people speculated that Administrator Zhang’s illness and death was her doing. Some even said she’d directly killed Administrator Zhang. There were all kinds of speculations, all completely baseless.

Zhao Cheng thought with some anger: How could Sanniang be that kind of person?

—