“Yes,” Ji Yuan agreed with this assessment. Such a valuable chess piece must be used where it matters most. He looked up at Fu Tinghan before saying in a low voice, “Apart from myself and the Commander, only Ting He knows about this matter. In the future, the information he sends out will come directly to my hands, or else to Ting He.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “Very good.”

Fu Tinghan poured tea for the two of them, then poured himself a cup, acting as if he hadn’t heard Ji Yuan’s words.

The carriage moved along slowly. Ji Yuan had many more things to discuss with Zhao Hanzhang. “This time when Emperor Jin hosts the banquet, he will certainly bestow rewards upon the Lady. Have you thought about what you want?”

“I want Yuzhou and Luoyang.”

“…” Ji Yuan said, “I meant titles.”

Zhao Hanzhang humbly sought his advice. “What does Master Ji think?”

Ji Yuan said, “Given the Lady’s achievements, you could be enfeoffed as a Duke of a Commandery.”

Zhao Hanzhang quietly looked at him. Ji Yuan also raised his eyelids to stare at their lord. The two looked at each other for a long while before Zhao Hanzhang finally clicked her tongue. “Master, your ambition is even greater than mine. You immediately ask for the highest rank of nobility. Do you think the Emperor will agree?”

In the Jin state, apart from the royal family surnamed Sima, for outsiders receiving noble titles, the highest was Duke of a Commandery, abbreviated as Duke.

Her great-grandfather had also distinguished himself, working hard his entire life to earn the title of Earl of Shangcai, and now she wanted the title of Duke of a Commandery right from the start?

She had originally thought the Emperor might grant her a marquisate, which would already be quite good. After all, the saying went “enfeoffed as marquis, appointed as prime minister”—a marquis could be mentioned in the same breath as a prime minister.

However, Ji Yuan stroked his beard and said, “Lady, the politics of the court run deep. You’re still young and have much to learn.”

He continued, “We propose the title of Duke of a Commandery, but our actual goal is Duke of a County. That’s also our bottom line.”

Ji Yuan’s expression grew serious as he spoke. “Without the rank of Duke, how can you legitimately control Yuzhou and Luoyang?”

Previously, she hadn’t even had an official appointment as governor, yet she still managed the entire Yuzhou, didn’t she?

However, what Ji Yuan said made sense too. When you could do things legitimately, you shouldn’t hesitate—you must seize the opportunity.

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “For this matter, we can’t ask Grandfather Fu. We need to ask Uncle Grandfather.”

Fu Zhi would definitely not conspire with her in this, and might even vote against it. Zhao Zhongyu was different—he practically wished Zhao Hanzhang could become regent, so he would naturally be happy to see her highly enfeoffed.

Ji Yuan said, “There’s also General Beigong, Xun Xiu, Mi Ce, and others. The General should also request rewards for them.”

Previously, when Zhao Hanzhang had given Xun Xiu and others their positions, those were all self-appointments that hadn’t gone through court confirmation. Although their actual power hadn’t changed, in terms of reputation, they were quite a bit worse off.

So if there was any opportunity to legitimize them, it would be a good chance to win hearts.

Zhao Hanzhang stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Without the Eastern Sea Prince blocking him, His Majesty can issue many orders now. Will General Beigong want to leave the capital and return to Xiliang?”

Ji Yuan said, “…Lady, please don’t speak carelessly. If you don’t mention it, no one else will think of this.”

Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Others might not think of it, but General Beigong himself has no such thoughts?”

Ji Yuan looked troubled. “But General Beigong is such a talent. Can you bear to let him leave?”

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her voice. “What if we send people to bring his family to Yuzhou?”

Ji Yuan was stunned. This would be no small undertaking and would cost quite a bit, as they would need to ensure safe passage in and out of the pass, which meant the troops they dispatched couldn’t be few.

“A thousand soldiers are easy to find, but one general is hard to come by. Beigong Chun is worth it,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I can’t bear to let him return, but I also can’t bear to see a beloved general melancholy and unhappy.”

Fu Tinghan asked, “You want to cooperate with Zhang Gui to resist the Xianbei?”

Zhao Hanzhang slapped her thigh. “You’re the only one who truly understands me!”

Ji Yuan felt a surge of frustration in his chest. He frowned in confusion. “Xianbei?”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded cheerfully.

Fu Tinghan explained, “Since we want to claim Luoyang as our own territory, we must be careful of attacks from the Xianbei and Xiongnu.”

He continued, “The Xiongnu are to the north, the Xianbei to the northwest. The eastern part is our Yuzhou, which is safe. The west is Chang’an, which counts as Jin territory.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded repeatedly. “Between Jin officials, they rarely attack each other without legitimate cause. The Prince of Nanyang guarding Chang’an has a reputation but no real strategy. He wouldn’t dare and wouldn’t attack Luoyang, so we only need to be careful of the Xianbei and Xiongnu.”

“There’s no need to mention the Xiongnu. As for the Xianbei, in recent years our Jin state’s relationship with them has been neither here nor there. They can raid Chang’an and Luoyang on one hand, while sending troops to help Liu Kun restrain the Xiongnu on the other.”

“And in this, at least half the credit belongs to Zhang Gui. Without him restraining the Xianbei in Xiliang, they would have already moved south to occupy the Chang’an and Luoyang regions.”

In fact, after the successive deaths of Zhang Gui and his son, the Xianbei did indeed begin to develop rapidly, eventually dividing up the entire northern territory with Liu Cong’s Xiongnu and Shi Lei’s Jie people.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “Unfortunately, Xiliang is too far from Yuzhou for me to personally visit Zhang Gui. If we could use this opportunity to establish contact with him and help each other mutually, we could not only retain the fierce general Beigong Chun but also form an alliance with Xiliang.”

Fu Tinghan nodded.

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but look at Fu Tinghan and smiled. “Young Master Fu is indeed a good strategist. No wonder General Beigong has never forgotten you.”

At least he himself hadn’t thought of this point.

Perhaps he would have thought of it eventually, but definitely not this quickly.

And the moment Zhao Hanzhang mentioned it, Fu Tinghan could grasp her meaning. His strategic vision was indeed superior.

Fu Tinghan, accustomed to praise since childhood, habitually gave Ji Yuan a slight smile, then said to Zhao Hanzhang, “If you want Beigong Chun to stay willingly, I suggest you appoint Huang An as the envoy.”

Zhao Hanzhang had been hesitating, but with Fu Tinghan’s suggestion, she made up her mind. “Good, we’ll use Huang An as envoy. By the way, where is Second Young Master Wu now?”

Ji Yuan said, “He seems to be in Xiangcheng. He’s leading a merchant caravan wandering all over the place. Who knows where he’s ended up now.”

“Have him prepare to accompany Huang An. Since we want to cooperate with Xiliang, there will be many occasions for mutual exchange in the future. Have him establish trade routes between the two regions. If he needs troops, he can request them from Beigong Chun,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I imagine General Beigong would also want unrestricted travel between the Central Plains and Xiliang.”

“Yes.” Ji Yuan bowed his head in acknowledgment.

The carriage arrived at the palace gate. At this time, the guards at the gate were all from the Zhao family army, so when they saw Zeng Yue bringing up the rear and Ting He sitting on the driver’s seat, they didn’t ask any questions and simply let them through.

The carriage entered the palace grounds, rolling along toward the great hall. There were also officials and young masters from aristocratic families walking together toward the great hall. Seeing the carriage, they all stopped and stepped aside, inwardly sighing. The palace had never permitted carriages and horses of outside officials to enter, but in the past, whenever a different prince came to power, that prince’s carriages and horses could reach the front of the great hall.

Now things had changed—it was two different people.

Besides Zhao Hanzhang, Gou Xi had also ridden his horse into the palace, arriving half a quarter-hour before Zhao Hanzhang.

The carriage stopped in front of the great hall. Ting He, who had already dismounted and was walking, set down the carriage step and respectfully lifted the curtain.

Fu Tinghan rose to disembark. Ji Yuan reached out to stop him, smiling. “In the past in Yuzhou, Young Master yielded to me, but here we cannot be so casual.”

Having said this, he bent down to exit the carriage first, then stood respectfully by the carriage waiting for Fu Tinghan to descend.

—