Zhao Song and Zhao Hu hadn’t come alone. They’d also brought many cousins, clan members, and relatives.
Zhao Ming encountered cousins he hadn’t seen in years.
Because there were so many people, they blocked the entire street where his residence was located.
Zhao Ming rubbed his forehead. He could only have people select empty courtyards in the city, rent them from the county office, and settle everyone there temporarily.
Even though he was Regional Commander, when relatives came seeking refuge, he couldn’t simply commandeer land for them to occupy. He still needed to rent from the county office or regional headquarters first.
By the time everything was arranged, a full day had passed.
Zhao Ming returned home physically and mentally exhausted. Truly, this was more tiring than deploying troops when the Xiongnu invaded the south.
Zhao Ming sat dazedly on his mat, drank a cup of tea to catch his breath, then propped himself up to go pay respects to his father.
Zhao Song was in excellent spirits, not at all like an elderly person who’d rushed along for five days.
After completing his greetings, Zhao Ming stood aside indifferently. “Why did Father bring so many people?”
Zhao Song said, “You and Sanniang constantly complained about being short-handed, to the point of even using your Seventh Uncle. So I selected some capable people from the clan and relatives to bring along.”
He continued, “That Xiahou Jun originally said he’d conduct evaluations and recruit talent this year, but after His Majesty went to Yuncheng, he went completely silent and stopped managing Yuzhou. The young relatives waiting for evaluations have been delayed.”
Zhao Ming snorted lightly. “Since they aspire to official careers, why didn’t they participate in this year’s recruitment examination?”
Zhao Song waved dismissively. “I don’t care why they didn’t participate. The point is, they’re now willing to serve Sanniang. So do you want them or not?”
Zhao Ming didn’t even need to think. “Yes!”
Why refuse?
Neither he nor Zhao Hanzhang were rigid about formalities. Although they currently recruited most people through examinations, they hadn’t abandoned other channels for attracting talent. After all, as Zhao Hanzhang said, their attitude was simple: they welcomed talented people from throughout the realm.
But they didn’t want just anyone.
Zhao Ming’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Father must make clear to them: though Sanniang isn’t harsh, she’s no weak pushover either. She’s always been fair. If they commit offenses, she won’t show leniency even to relatives.”
Zhao Song waved his hand. “No need for you to mention it—I already told them. She showed no mercy even to your Seventh Uncle, let alone others.”
Zhao Song paused here, frowning slightly. “Sanniang said Luoyang needs your Seventh Uncle. I’ve never understood—what does Luoyang need him for?”
He continued, “These past two years, Changning has discovered quite a few fields your Seventh Uncle had hidden. The taxes he must pay increase year by year. He’s cursed Sanniang at home plenty, even wrote to quarrel with her several times. Isn’t she afraid he’ll go to Luoyang and cause trouble?”
Zhao Ming said, “She’s not afraid of trouble.” Just afraid Zhao Hu wouldn’t go.
Zhao Song glared at him, wanting specific information from him. But Zhao Ming simply wouldn’t say. Zhao Song could only state, “I’m going to Luoyang with him this time.”
Zhao Ming replied, “Father, what would you do in Luoyang? Seventh Uncle is going primarily because Zizheng and his son are there. Going means family reunion. If you go, our family is separated.”
“That’s family reunion? That’s family quarrels,” he said. “If I don’t go keep watch, can Sanniang really pacify them father and son?”
Zhao Song continued, “Your Seventh Uncle and Sanniang are already like needlepoint against wheat—without someone to mediate, they’ll probably turn Luoyang upside down.”
Zhao Ming remained very calm. “Rest assured, Seventh Uncle can’t stir up trouble.”
Years ago when Zhao Hanzhang escorted the coffin home, Zhao Hu couldn’t control her. Let alone now.
Never mind how Zhao Hu bounced around now—once he faced Zhao Hanzhang, he’d have to quiet down.
But Zhao Song very much wanted to see Luoyang, not for anything else, just for peace of mind.
The situation had changed too rapidly. He never imagined that after two years away, Zhao Hanzhang would become Duke of Runan, her rank even higher than Zhao Zhongyu’s.
She’d also occupied Luoyang. Luoyang! That was Luoyang.
Although Luoyang wasn’t very far from Chen County—even closer than Xiping to Chen County—Zhao Ming didn’t want him traveling so far in exhaustion.
Moreover, the area between Chen County and Luoyang still had many wandering refugees and bandits, including those who’d turned to banditry, specifically robbing passing merchants. He didn’t want Zhao Song taking such risks.
So after thinking, he removed the pouch from his waist and handed Zhao Song the copper coin he’d been keeping inside.
Zhao Song accepted it with a confused expression. “Why give me money?”
Zhao Song flipped it over, only then noticing something wrong. His eyes widened as he held up the copper coin to examine the character “Zhao” on it.
His expression changed. “Someone is trying to frame our Zhao family and Sanniang!”
This conclusion—Father truly didn’t know whether to praise or criticize.
He showed no change in expression. “This is the new currency Sanniang minted.”
Zhao Song froze.
After a long while he found his words. “This… this… this is simply outrageous! How can she do this? What will His Majesty think of us? What will the court think? What will regional inspectors everywhere think?”
Zhao Ming consoled him. “Father, Xiliang is also minting new currency.”
He continued, “Luoyang and Yuzhou both lack money. Now Yuzhou is stable, but this past year the merchants coming and going in Yu are just these same ones, all attracted by Sanniang’s tax reductions and the rare goods from our workshops. Even so, our money still isn’t enough.”
“When the Prince of Donghai left the capital, more than half the court officials and aristocratic families followed him, taking how much wealth? That included an entire national treasury.” Zhao Ming said, “All that money completely disappeared. Now with the court moved to Yuncheng, the coins they mint can’t possibly fill this deficit. We can only find our own solutions.”
“Even so, you should have memorialized the court and received His Majesty’s permission before minting coins. The coins minted should also follow the court’s five-zhu standard. How can you decide on your own to mint new currency? And stamp it with the character ‘Zhao’? Do you also harbor ambitions to act as Emperor Wen did?”
Emperor Wen—that was Sima Zhao.
There’s a phrase echoing through the next thousand-plus years describing him: Sima Zhao’s intentions are obvious to all passersby.
Cao Mao had said it. Zhao Song didn’t want a similar phrase circulating in a few years or decades: Zhao Hanzhang’s intentions are obvious to all passersby.
That would be too disgraceful.
Did the Sima clan benefit from becoming emperors?
If this were twenty years ago, Zhao Song couldn’t distinguish good from bad. But today, he could definitively say: for both the Sima clan and the entire realm, it was a disaster.
He didn’t want the Zhao clan to repeat this mistake.
Zhao Ming said calmly, “Rest assured, Father. Sanniang isn’t Emperor Wen, and I’m not among Sima’s ilk. We’re doing this for the stability of Yuzhou and Luoyang.”
“It truly is for stability. After the spring battle, the Xiongnu retreated, but who knows when they’ll invade again.” Zhao Ming continued, “Now we finally have peace, so we must accelerate our construction efforts. All of this requires money.”
“Because we lack money, many things we want to accomplish are shelved or require much trouble to achieve. I believe Hanzhang is right: during wartime, we must crawl forward. But now that we have peace, we should at least walk upright and move forward. Otherwise, when war breaks out again, without a foundation, we won’t even be able to crawl.”