Rumor had it that Zhao Ming, the actual power holder of the Xiping Zhao clan, finally could no longer tolerate Zhao Hanzhang. He ran from Chenxian to Luoyang and got into an argument with her.
But supposedly Zhao Ming couldn’t win against Zhao Hanzhang, so he had no choice but to use softness to overcome hardness. He begged Zhao Hanzhang to give preferential treatment to the noble families and reduce taxes to appease the gentry of both Yuzhou and Luoyang.
It was said Zhao Hanzhang didn’t agree, so Zhao Ming knelt and refused to rise.
It was said that Fifth Great-Uncle of the Zhao clan, who had accompanied him, felt sorry for his son and also pleaded with Zhao Hanzhang.
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang relent. Supposedly she shed tears on the spot, expressing that she also very much wanted to give preferential treatment to the gentry of both regions, because when her late grandfather was alive, he had been very kind to Yuzhou’s gentry, helping the weak and aiding the poor, and recommending talented people to the court.
She expressed that she also didn’t want to have a reputation for being harsh and petty outside, but she had so many soldiers under her command that she had no choice. However, since Zhao Ming had made this request, she would still consider it more, so she would compromise.
Zhao Hanzhang’s new decree was quickly transmitted from Luoyang to various regions. Refugees who had lost their land and were displaced would pay taxes according to previous requirements after being redistributed land.
As for those who originally had land—wealthy farmers, gentry, and the rich—statistics would be made, and they would pay taxes based on the acreage of land actually cultivated. They enjoyed the same tax reduction policy as refugees, meaning they only needed to pay taxes on one-third of their cultivated land.
However, she required county offices everywhere to keep good records. As for land registered under their names, as long as it remained uncultivated for five consecutive years, it would be reclaimed as state property.
As soon as this announcement was made, the noble families of Yuzhou and Luoyang were deeply grateful to Zhao Ming and the Xiping Zhao clan. The Zhao clan instantly replaced the Wang clan to become the number one in the hearts of all noble families. Even noble families outside these two regions praised the Zhao clan and Zhao Ming, and began forming groups to go to Xiping and Chenxian.
This result was also unexpected for both Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Ming. They had laid all this groundwork just to dilute the consequences of Zhao Hanzhang’s changing orders, but unexpectedly there was an additional pleasant surprise.
When the feedback came back, Zhao Ming had already returned to Chenxian with his father. So the words that instantly surged up could only be held in his stomach, unable to be shared with Zhao Hanzhang.
But he still had Yu Shiming by his side.
Yu Shiming raised his eyes to look at him and asked, “Aren’t you afraid, Brother Zinian, that in the future the Zhao clan’s merit will overshadow the master, and you’ll be purged by the governor?”
Zhao Ming’s heartstrings were plucked. He pressed his lips tightly and said, “She’s not that kind of person.”
Meanwhile in Luoyang, Ji Yuan and Ming Yu were both somewhat worried: “Young lady, the outcome of this matter exceeded our expectations. If this continues, I fear the tail will wag the dog.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s face showed little change as she smiled confidently: “I trust Uncle Ming, and I trust my own abilities too.”
She continued, “If the tail is big, I’ll make the head and body even bigger.”
Ji Yuan and Ming Yu exchanged glances, exhaled, and respectfully acknowledged.
Setting this matter aside, Ji Yuan took out a letter: “This is a letter just arrived from Jinyang. The horses you asked Inspector Liu to buy have been purchased and should arrive in Luoyang before the winter solstice.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang immediately took it.
Since she occupied Luoyang, Zhao Hanzhang and Liu Kun’s correspondence had become frequent.
Especially since Liu Kun loved writing letters—Zhao Hanzhang could always receive one or two letters per month. Sometimes when there was nothing important at all, Liu Kun could still write a letter to chat with her.
Zhao Hanzhang felt this was too wasteful of manpower, but she couldn’t refuse Liu Kun’s enthusiasm. So she maintained this frequency of two letters per month. Her correspondence was even more frequent than with Fu Tinghan.
But the benefits of frequent correspondence were also obvious. When Zhao Hanzhang asked Liu Kun to help buy horses, he was wholehearted and dedicated. He had already sent one batch of horses before, but this batch was even more numerous.
And supposedly most of the horses in this batch were bought from the Tuoba Xianbei. The quality was excellent. Unfortunately, there was still no progress on breeding stallions.
Liu Kun said the Xianbei feared they would breed fine horses themselves after getting breeding stallions, so they refused to sell them. Never mind her—even Liu Kun couldn’t buy them despite trying.
However, he told Zhao Hanzhang not to lose heart. He could think of other methods. As long as they paid enough, he believed that one day they could move people’s hearts.
Ji Yuan waited for her to finish reading the letter before saying, “Inspector Liu is asking Lady Zhao for benefits.”
He continued, “Dealing with the Xianbei, and the checkpoints and bandit lairs along the way for escorting the horses all need to be handled. The money Wuren took wasn’t enough. From the letter, it seems Inspector Liu helped advance quite a bit.”
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Is there an invoice?”
Ji Yuan shook his head: “Inspector Liu is a refined scholar. How could he do something as vulgar as sending an invoice?”
Zhao Hanzhang’s tooth ached. She ground her teeth and said, “I most hate these unclear, murky accounts where I can’t even ask for clarity. Wouldn’t it be better to list items clearly and make an invoice?”
She could simply pay the invoice and add a thank-you fee. Otherwise, in this muddle, she didn’t even know if she was giving too much or too little.
Giving too little made her seem stingy and petty; giving too much… she would feel the pain.
Most importantly, whether giving more or less, she herself didn’t know, which inevitably made her worry.
Zhao Hanzhang exhaled and thought before asking, “Did Wuren send a letter back?”
Ji Yuan smiled and said, “Yes.”
He found a letter for Zhao Hanzhang: “The letter contains an invoice, but it’s all estimated by him. The return trip invoice isn’t included.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded: “After he returns and we’ve asked him about it, we’ll prepare thank-you gifts for the Jinyang army to take back. I’ll entrust this matter to you, sir.”
Ji Yuan agreed: “I know the young lady is short on money now and doesn’t have overly precious things. But Liu Kun is a famous scholar. Gifts should be given according to his preferences. What touches the heart is worth more than a thousand gold.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s heart stirred: “Musical instruments, musical scores?”
Ji Yuan laughed heartily with great joy: “The young lady is worthy of being Liu Yueshi’s confidant. Correct—I also think a musical score would move Inspector Liu’s heart more than a thousand gold pieces.”
Zhao Hanzhang thought about it: “We secretly transported Grandfather’s collection of books back to Xiping before. Uncle Zhao still left many books in Luoyang, but there doesn’t seem to be any musical scores among them.”
Before Zhao Zhongyu went with the emperor to Yuncheng, he had already prepared for the possibility of not returning. So he didn’t take any of his family’s collection of books, only bringing some books he would frequently use. The rest he left in Luoyang.
When Zhao Yi brought his sisters back to Xiping, he took some of them. The rest were still at the Zhao residence.
Zhao Hanzhang rarely looked at those books. It was Fu Tinghan who read them more often.
Ji Yuan said, “Look for them. If there aren’t any, we can ask others for them.”
With so many remnants of noble families in Luoyang, someone surely had good musical scores in their possession.
Zhao Hanzhang had Ting He go search.
When Fu Tinghan got off work and came back in the evening, hearing about this, he said directly, “There are no musical scores among the books on the shelves.”
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “You’ve looked through all of them?”
Fu Tinghan nodded.
Zhao Hanzhang pondered: “Actually there’s another method.”
Fu Tinghan looked at her: “You’ll write a piece yourself?”
Zhao Hanzhang laughed heartily and nodded: “Did you forget what I was doing before going to the library?”
She was a music teacher.
Zhao Hanzhang turned to Ting He, whose eyes were glazing over from searching for scores: “Go get Uncle Zhao’s zither.”
Ting He immediately agreed happily and ran to fetch the zither.
Zhao Hanzhang sat at the desk and plucked the strings: “When I was studying, I really liked a piece of music from ‘Swordsman’—from the mainland version.”
Fu Tinghan said, “‘The Sea Laughs’? That piece doesn’t really suit Liu Kun, does it?”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and shook her head: “It’s from the mainland version of ‘Swordsman’, called ‘Heaven and Earth as Witness’. This piece is very suitable for Liu Kun and Zu Ti.”
She knew how to sing it, she remembered the lyrics, and naturally she also remembered the score. She decided to convert it into zither notation. This wasn’t difficult for her.
Zhao Hanzhang plucked the strings and began to play. Fu Tinghan leaned against the doorframe watching her play.