Fu Tinghan had never seen millet flowers either, so he curiously went with her to look.

It wasn’t far. There were farmlands on both sides of the road in front of the military camp, while behind was a large expanse of wasteland and hills where they conducted drills.

The two walked out of the military camp, found a patch of grass by the field, and sat down together to watch the flowers.

Millet flowers only opened at night, so they could only be seen then. Both were seeing them for the first time, and truthfully, it was somewhat magical.

As Zhao Hanzhang watched, she discussed her future plans with Fu Tinghan. “We still need to farm the land. Right now is agricultural slack season, so let’s have the ward soldiers clear wasteland. This year, plant more wheat, and if possible, also plant some ramie.”

This way, not only would they buy less grain, but they could also purchase less cloth.

Fu Tinghan said, “Millet’s yield is still too low. I think Luoyang also needs an Agricultural Office to research how to improve millet’s per-acre production.”

“As for crossbreeding,” Zhao Hanzhang pondered, “I vaguely recall reading reports that besides crossbreeding among grain varieties, millet can also be crossbred with green foxtail and barnyard grass, but this isn’t something that can be accomplished overnight.”

Zhao Hanzhang plucked a foxtail grass and gently tapped the millet heads before her, saying softly, “Although it can’t be done overnight, we really should start now. Grain is the foundation of the nation and will be useful in the future.”

Fu Tinghan nodded. “The Agricultural Office in Yuzhou is working on increasing wheat production. Luoyang can completely focus on millet. Between these two grains, as long as one makes progress, it will greatly benefit the common people of the world.”

Zhao Hanzhang thought of some historical records, lowered her eyes, and said with a somewhat solemn expression, “In a few years, there will be a great drought across the land, and then there will be locust plagues. So the drought resistance of wheat and millet is very important. Tomorrow I’ll find someone—Luoyang’s Agricultural Office really needs to be established.”

But establishing an Agricultural Office wasn’t something that could be done just because one wished. They needed to find people who knew how to farm and conduct research.

It couldn’t just be any old farmer—the person had to have the desire to study and research. It would be even better if they were literate.

One had to admit that even when it came to farming, those who had studied had broader minds, thought more deeply, and were better at research.

Zhao Hanzhang mentally sorted through the people she knew and found not a single one suitable for this task. She could only say, “We’ll still have to post announcements to recruit people.”

Hearing her resentful tone, Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but laugh. “Short on money?”

Recruiting people meant spending money, especially for specialized talent, which required even more money.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “I don’t lack houses and such—I can arrange their accommodation easily. But to make people settle down and work honestly for me, just providing houses isn’t enough.”

Fu Tinghan thought for a moment, then said, “I still have a bit of money. You can use it first. Gao Hui should return before long. He took quite a lot of goods with him this time, so conservatively he should be able to bring back quite a bit.”

He reassured Zhao Hanzhang, “Once he returns, you’ll have money to use.”

Zhao Hanzhang brightened up and asked, “Can he make it back before the Dragon Boat Festival?”

Fu Tinghan calculated the time and nodded. “Should be about right.”

He said, “He won’t just bring money back either. He’ll also bring some goods from the north that need to be traded in Luoyang. The Dragon Boat Festival is a major holiday, so he should rush back before then.”

Gao Hui indeed wanted to return to Luoyang before the Dragon Boat Festival. He planned to purchase a batch of sheep and cloth from Bingzhou to take back.

He knew that right now, Luoyang lacked everything—grain, meat, cloth. Although Luoyang’s survivors had been robbed of much, even a starved camel was bigger than a horse. Once they returned to Luoyang, they quickly had money again.

As long as he could bring goods back, there would be no worry about selling them.

So Gao Hui took the money he’d just earned from Shangdang and used it to buy sheep and cloth. He was currently heading toward Luoyang when he unexpectedly encountered bandits on the road.

But the people Gao Hui brought weren’t ordinary either—his subordinates were all elite soldiers selected from Zhao’s Army.

Just as they were surrounded by bandits, they swiftly drew their swords from the carts and formed a military formation to face the bandits.

Gao Hui had traveled the jianghu for many years and was quite experienced. Seeing the bandits intimidated into stepping back, he stepped forward with his sword and clasped his fists. “Gentlemen, I am Gao Hui from Shu. I’ve passed through Hai’er Ridge before and know there are brave men on the mountain. I wanted to visit and pay my respects, but couldn’t find the entrance and thus missed the opportunity.”

“Since I’m fortunate enough to meet you gentlemen tonight, why don’t I bring out a few jars of wine, and we can speak frankly? I’ll be passing through Hai’er Ridge many more times in the future.”

This was an offer to buy passage.

Qiao Sheng, the chief of Hai’er Ridge, stepped forward. His gaze swept over the dozen or so carts surrounded in the middle and the sheep penned to the side, his eyes flashing with greed.

He sized up Gao Hui for a moment, then said, “I can let you pass through the ridge, but you must leave half the sheep and carts.”

Gao Hui’s face darkened. “Chief Qiao’s mouth opens quite wide. But if passing through Hai’er Ridge once requires giving up half my goods, then I truly dare not pass through Hai’er Ridge.”

Qiao Sheng bared his teeth. “At minimum half. Brothers worked hard in the middle of the night coming down the mountain—surely they can’t return empty-handed.”

Gao Hui haggled with him. “I’m willing to give up ten sheep, plus ten bolts of cloth and fifty thousand cash. How’s that?”

This was already quite a high toll.

But Qiao Sheng just shook his head and held firm. “No good. At minimum half.”

Hearing this, Gao Hui glanced imperceptibly at Zhao Chang standing to the side. Zhao Chang was the leader of this military escort. Reportedly his martial skills were good, and he was a clan member of Zhao Hanzhang, though from a very distant collateral branch.

His family was extremely poor, so he joined the military. Unfortunately, he only had brute strength and wasn’t particularly valued by Zhao Hanzhang.

When Fu Tinghan made the offer, he immediately complied, because Fu Tinghan would be his clan’s son-in-law in the future. Like Gao Hui, if he couldn’t gain importance under Zhao Hanzhang, then he’d make his way under Fu Tinghan.

Seeing Gao Hui look over, Zhao Chang swept his gaze over those bandits. His heart hardened, and he nodded directly.

Gao Hui didn’t know, but Zhao Chang did—these goods would ultimately go into the Young Lady’s hands, and what was in the Young Lady’s hands would all be used for Zhao’s Army.

These were all supplies for his brothers. If they wanted to snatch things from their hands, they’d have to see if the sword in his hand agreed.

Once Zhao Chang nodded, Gao Hui’s expression darkened. “Since Chief Qiao won’t agree, there’s no need to negotiate further.”

With that, he drew his sword and attacked.

Qiao Sheng hadn’t expected him to attack directly. He hastily swung his blade to block. His companions behind him saw this and drew their swords, shouting as they charged forward.

Zhao Chang also led his men forward to kill.

These bandits had all seen blood and killed people. Their skills weren’t bad, and they had some coordination among themselves, but they were still somewhat inferior to the specially trained Zhao’s Army.

Moreover, who among these men hadn’t been on the battlefield and killed people?

You should know they were going to trade with the Xiongnu and Jie barbarians in the north—would they dare not train hard?

After a fierce battle, three or four-tenths of the bandits were killed, while the rest turned and fled. On their side, several had also died, with even more injured.

Gao Hui’s martial skills were decent. He spat, expelling blood-tinged saliva, and said viciously, “We can’t stay here long. Everyone quickly treat your wounds, take our people’s bodies, and we’ll cross Hai’er Ridge tonight.”

When they’d arrived here at dusk, to avoid being targeted by bandits, he’d deliberately not entered Hai’er Ridge but camped outside, planning to wait until tomorrow when it was light to cross the mountain. Who knew the bandits on the ridge would specifically come to surround them.

—