Beigong Chun turned back to look and only then realized that their own people had also suffered significant casualties. Moreover, they had been fighting since morning until now—if they continued pursuing, it would be an enormous test on both their bodies and minds.
Zhao Hanzhang also looked exhausted. “Right now, not only are the men weary, but the horses are also tired. We cannot pursue any further.”
She called out loudly, “Where are Fu Tinghan and Fan Ying? Summon them here to receive orders.”
Fu Tinghan and Fan Ying, who had remained in the rear, immediately came forward.
Zhao Hanzhang said, “I need money. Other valuables will do as well.”
Fu Tinghan replied, “I’ve already sent people to collect the baggage abandoned along the road.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “If that’s not enough, then requisition more.” Her face turned cold. “By force, if necessary.”
Fu Tinghan hesitated for a moment before agreeing. He and Fan Ying led soldiers to seize valuables—this was his first time doing such a thing, and his hands trembled slightly.
Zhao Hanzhang dismounted and found a clean spot to sit down.
Beigong Chun was puzzled. “Is the general planning to use these valuables for compensation to boost morale?”
He continued, “Distributing rewards now is not advisable. Merit should be rewarded only after the war has ended.” Bringing out large amounts of wealth for rewards at this time would inevitably cause restlessness among the troops.
“Who said this is for rewarding merit?” Zhao Hanzhang said. “This money is to be given to Shi Le.”
Beigong Chun: “What?”
When Prince Donghai claimed to be fleeing the capital, he had brought along most of the court—officials like Wang Yan the Grand Commandant, prominent literati, and other officials and aristocratic families all followed him.
It was essentially a tacit abandonment of the emperor, an attempt to rebuild a new court elsewhere.
Therefore, when he left, he not only emptied the state treasury, the internal treasury, and various other storehouses, but the officials and aristocratic families traveling with him also brought all their household baggage.
They intended to start anew following Prince Donghai.
So apart from fixed assets they couldn’t carry, they brought everything else—from the smallest copper coin to screens and wooden furniture—anything of good quality they could transport, they took with them.
This resulted in abandoned baggage scattered all along the road.
Of course, most of it was quite bulky.
The most valuable portion had largely been seized by Shi Le—after all, the officials and aristocratic family members from Luoyang were now basically all in his hands.
But due to the chaos, there were always some people and… valuables left behind.
Fu Tinghan and Fan Ying each led teams and directly confiscated this portion of wealth.
What he hadn’t expected was that those whose wealth was seized not only didn’t resist, but some even voluntarily surrendered their valuables.
A woman opened her personal cosmetics box and bowed slightly. “Young Master Fu, these are my personal belongings. Thank you to Miss Zhao for leading troops to our rescue, sparing us the suffering of war and displacement.”
She continued, “Most of our wealth has been plundered by that thief Shi Le. Little remains—only these items can contribute slightly toward Miss Zhao’s provisions. Please, Young Master Fu, do not disdain them.”
Fu Tinghan glanced at the jewelry and pearls in the cosmetics box, returned her courtesy, and said, “Thank you. Hanzhang is taking this wealth not for provisions. Although Yuzhou is poor and logistics are difficult, we haven’t fallen so low as to forcibly seize money to fund the army. This is to ransom people. Does your family have anyone who was captured by Shi Le?”
He continued, “I cannot guarantee they will definitely be ransomed, but tell me their names—as long as we can find them and Shi Le is willing to release them, we will prioritize ransoming them first.”
The woman’s eyes brightened immediately. “My husband is from the third branch of the Xu family of Fanyang. He and my two sons were all captured by Shi Le.”
She lifted her skirt and knelt down, kowtowing respectfully to Fu Tinghan. “The great kindness of Administrator Zhao and Young Master Fu—I will repay it even in death, without fail.”
Fu Tinghan helped her up and recorded the names of her missing family members.
Learning that the money would be used to ransom people, the woman immediately removed the hairpins from her head, the bracelets from her wrists, and the gemstone necklace from her neck, handing them all to Fu Tinghan.
Fu Tinghan didn’t refuse—if she gave, he accepted. If she didn’t give, he wouldn’t forcibly take things from their persons. However, from the baggage people carried—whether gold, silver, jewels, or silk fabrics—he confiscated everything, leaving nothing behind.
Thanks to Lady Xu’s spreading the word, the clustered aristocratic families and officials all learned that Zhao Hanzhang intended to use the money to ransom people.
After brief consideration, they too voluntarily surrendered their valuables.
They would be robbed anyway—how could they possibly resist Zhao Hanzhang’s army?
Better to be proactive about it. At least this way, they could gain some goodwill on both sides. What if Zhao Hanzhang really did manage to ransom their family members?
However… “Will Zhao Hanzhang really ransom people? Just moments ago she was fighting Shi Le to the death.”
An official who had fortunately escaped lay sprawled on the ground, saying listlessly, “Where there’s profit, anything goes. Forget just ransoming people—as long as the benefits are great enough, even acknowledging him as her father on the spot wouldn’t be impossible.”
Someone nearby sneered mockingly, “Do you think everyone is like you people—whoever gives milk is mother? Zhao Hanzhang has always carried her ancestor’s style, a gentleman’s bearing. Don’t slander her.”
The official: …What did he even say?
“Alright, alright, you two stop arguing. If you draw the Zhao family army over, that won’t be good.” Someone quickly played peacemaker. “Hurry and pack up your baggage—they’ll be collecting from us soon.”
One person quietly grabbed a handful of jewels from his baggage chest and tucked them into his sleeve to hide them. “Why bother packing? When they come, they can just haul it all away themselves.”
“Well said.” The speaker also extracted a gold ingot from his baggage and stuffed it into his robe.
Those who witnessed the whole scene: …
Forget it, forget it. They still had to live afterward. If they wanted to hide things, so be it.
Fu Tinghan naturally knew some people were hiding valuables, but after all, they were robbing people’s possessions. To avoid inciting public anger, he turned a blind eye—as long as they didn’t hide too much, he pretended not to see.
Fan Ying was much more forceful. Her sharp gaze swept over them, and whatever she could see, she had soldiers confiscate.
Before long, chest after chest of gold, silver, jewels, silks, and jade objects were carried before Zhao Hanzhang.
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang stand up. She lowered her head to sift through the contents of the chests, frowning. “This is far too little. Search back along this road. Prince Donghai brought out so much—surely Shi Le didn’t seize it all?”
Fan Ying received the order and immediately turned to lead people away.
Fu Tinghan also had several chests brought over and asked, “Are you certain you can ransom people from Shi Le?”
Zhao Hanzhang: “How did you know I wanted to ransom people?”
Fu Tinghan: “You didn’t pursue them. Surely you can’t just watch those fifty thousand plus people become Shi Le’s slaves? If Shi Le can’t support them, he might very well kill them all. You’re seizing money at this moment—what else could it be for besides ransoming them?”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Although Shi Le is fierce, he’s not cruel. They’ve already surrendered, and their numbers aren’t that great—Shi Le should be able to support them. So I don’t think Shi Le will kill the commoners, but others are a different story.”
Although Zhao Hanzhang was well-versed in history, she couldn’t remember every detail. However, she had one deeply etched memory: of the three hundred thousand soldiers and civilians Prince Donghai took when he fled, all perished in the end. About one hundred thousand died in battle against Shi Le.
The remaining two hundred thousand—after surrendering, they were burned to death by Wang Zhang. No, burned until cooked.
He deliberately controlled the fire, roasting people until cooked, then distributed them to be eaten.
His Xiongnu army and Shi Le’s Jie barbarian army together consumed two hundred thousand people.
Whenever she encountered this passage of history, even across a thousand years, she still felt chills run down her spine.
—