Zhao Hanzhang slept in her clothes. In the darkness, clusters of flame flared up — someone was holding torches, watching her.
Seeing her look over, the ones holding the torches wore expressions full of excitement and cruelty, and then hurled the torches at her. The torch struck her body and the flame roared up at once, swallowing her whole in an instant…
Screams rang out one after another beside her. She turned to look and saw Fu Tinghan, Zhao Erlang, Ji Yuan, and the others, their bodies wreathed in raging fire…
Zhao Hanzhang’s limbs jerked violently, and her eyes snapped open.
She realized her hands were restrained, and in a panic, not yet fully awake, she looked to the side — Fu Tinghan sat there, gripping her hands tightly.
He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead, then leaned in and asked quietly, “A nightmare? Are you all right anywhere?”
“I had a nightmare?” Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes were momentarily dazed, then hardened. “Yes. That was a nightmare.”
Fu Tinghan finished wiping her forehead, pulled her up into a sitting position, then uncapped a water pouch and handed it to her.
Zhao Hanzhang reached out, took it, and gulped down half the pouch’s worth of water. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and out of the corner of her eye caught sight of a patch of red on the back of Fu Tinghan’s hand — what looked like blood as well. She quickly pulled his hand over and saw the marks were nail scratches. A wave of guilt hit her at once. “Did I do that?”
Fu Tinghan gave her a slight smile and tried to pull his hand back. “It’s nothing.”
Zhao Hanzhang grabbed his hand back again. “It’s bleeding — how is that nothing?”
She rummaged through her small bundle and pulled out a bottle of medicine. “Let me put some on it.”
Fu Tinghan had let her hold his hand until then, but seeing her actually produce the medicine, he refused firmly. “It’s really nothing, just a mark, that’s all. Medicine is precious — save it for when it’s truly needed.”
Zhao Hanzhang, undeterred, applied the medicine powder anyway, then bandaged it with a handkerchief. “It’s starting to get hot out now, and with so many dead outside, we need to be careful.”
Lying off to the side, Beigong Chun couldn’t help lifting his head to glance over at the two of them, then let his head fall back against the ground, exhaling a long breath, sinking into boundless melancholy.
Fu Tinghan looked down at the handkerchief tied around his hand in a barely-managed knot, then drew his hand back and set it behind him. “Let me go with you tomorrow.”
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, refusing. “It’s too dangerous. If Shi Le proves stubborn, we might end up fighting another battle. With Master Ji leading the main force here, a rapid strike-and-withdraw could easily get you hurt.”
Fu Tinghan said, “You underestimate me too much. I might not be as skilled as you in battle, but running for my life is well within my ability.”
Seeing Zhao Hanzhang about to object again, he added, “You’ll still need a strategist to manage the rear for you. Whether you ransom people or seize them, once you have them in hand, you’ll need someone to direct their departure. Otherwise you’ll have grabbed a scattered mess you can’t move, and in the end they’ll just die out in the wilderness.”
Zhao Hanzhang fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “All right!”
Fu Tinghan’s lips curved up.
The next day, before dawn, Zhao Hanzhang had everyone wake all the cavalry, prepared carts, and loaded all the plundered valuables onto them.
Oh — the carts, too, had been scraped together from the abandoned baggage.
Ji Yuan was in high spirits. He reported to Zhao Hanzhang, “From yesterday’s battle alone, we seized over ten thousand horses, and over ten thousand cattle and mules as well.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Could you give me an actual number? Ten thousand is ‘over ten thousand,’ and ninety thousand is also ‘over ten thousand.'”
Ji Yuan’s expression darkened, and he fixed her with bloodshot eyes. “This unworthy one lacks the ability — it’s been but a single night, not enough time to fully tally the spoils.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang immediately said, “That’s my fault, I was too impatient. Master, please forgive me — when I get back from Shi Le’s camp, I’ll go to the Dashunzhai and buy you a jar of Hundred-Day Brew.”
Ji Yuan’s expression improved, and he even broke into a smile. “As long as my lord returns safely, that’s all that matters. Hundred-day brew, thousand-day brew — this one doesn’t mind either way.”
Fu’an, tidying things up nearby, muttered inwardly — if you don’t mind, then don’t look so obviously pleased. That wine money was clearly coming out of his own young master’s pocket.
Beigong Chun had also assembled his troops. He clasped his fists. “General, the Xiliang army is ready.”
“Good,” Zhao Hanzhang said, turning at once, pulling the spear planted in the ground free. “Let’s move out!”
Ting He hurried to bow to Ji Yuan before rushing after Zhao Hanzhang.
Fu’an, too, hastily grabbed his bundle and followed along. Ji Yuan sighed and could only stand where he was, watching them go.
Fu Tinghan was already waiting on horseback — perhaps out of worry that Zhao Hanzhang might leave without him.
Zhao Hanzhang leapt onto her horse, glanced back at the personal guards accompanying Fu Tinghan, and gave a slight nod. Once they returned, she really ought to station some more men near Fu Tinghan — it would be safer that way.
“Move out!”
Zhao Hanzhang took the lead, with Fu Tinghan and Beigong Chun a step behind her; the Xiliang army and the Zhao family army followed respectively behind them, their banners flying.
The nearby gathered stragglers and civilians all raised their heads to gaze upon those two banners, and a sense of security they hadn’t even consciously noticed rose up in their hearts.
Marching at night was difficult, especially now that they had so many Jin subjects in tow, so there was no question of marching through the dark.
That meant they weren’t very far from Shi Le’s position.
But as day broke on this side, it broke as well over the place where Shi Le’s forces were temporarily encamped.
They needed to decide quickly — leave, or turn back and continue pressing the attack on Zhao Hanzhang.
Liu Yuan had dispatched two armies to support Shi Le, but this offensive would still be led primarily by Shi Le.
So all eyes turned to him.
Wang Zhang, having suffered defeat and fled the day before, had lost great face and was unwilling to simply leave it at that. He proposed pressing the attack southward. “That Zhao Hanzhang is nothing but a woman — how could she compare to the general? And Luoyang is undefended right now. If we can just take down Zhao Hanzhang, we can march straight on to Luoyang, and the achievement of taking the city and capturing the emperor will belong to you, General.”
It was impossible to say he wasn’t tempted, but having crossed swords with Zhao Hanzhang twice now without gaining any advantage, Shi Le found himself hesitating.
Zhang Bin, the advisor at Shi Le’s side, said, “General, though Zhao Hanzhang is a woman, she possesses courage and wisdom that rival any man’s — she is not to be underestimated.”
“Yesterday she saved nearly a hundred thousand routed soldiers. Given a little time to regroup, those hundred thousand could well be put to her use. In this empty wilderness and abandoned city, what benefit is there in contending with her, General?” Zhang Bin continued. “Better to go around and strike straight for Luoyang. If you can break Luoyang and capture the Jin emperor, you will be first in His Majesty’s heart.”
Zhang Bin lowered his voice further. “That Wang Mi has always been cunning — with such a golden opportunity, he’s unlikely to let it pass by either. Every day you delay here is another chance for him to steal the credit.”
Shi Le’s strategic sense was far from lacking; the moment Zhang Bin raised the point, he saw it clearly. He glanced at Wang Zhang sitting below, sneered inwardly, and said directly, “Zhao Hanzhang’s territory is in Yuzhou — let her fight it out with Gou Xi. We have no need to clash head-on with her. Sound the muster at once. We’re leaving.”