Jing Province had vast territory and strong military forces. Its soil and water were fertile, and it was rich in various mineral resources. It was currently one of the more stable and prosperous provinces among the nine provinces.
It was located below Yu Province, bordered by Yang Province to the east and Liang Province to the west.
How important was it? When Wang Yan sought three refuges for the cunning rabbit, one of the escape routes he found for the Wang clan was Jing Province. So the current Jing Province Inspector was Wang Yan’s younger brother, Wang Cheng.
However, the local wealthy and powerful forces in Jing Province were strong, and Wang Cheng was not a capable person, so he couldn’t completely control Jing Province.
Chu Kang also looked down on Wang Cheng. So when Zhao Hanzhang asked why he didn’t submit memorials through the Jing Province Inspector but instead traveled thousands of li to intercept her here, he said disdainfully, “How could Wang Pingzi be worthy of submitting memorials for me?”
Though he said this, Zhao Hanzhang could still detect resentment beneath his disdain. Clearly, his disdain for having Wang Cheng submit memorials was one thing, but Wang Cheng probably wouldn’t submit memorials for him either.
She cleverly didn’t ask further and changed the subject. “Master Chu, are there many people among the common folk who share your concerns about renewed warfare between Yan Province and Yu Province?”
Chu Kang answered without hesitation, “Very many!”
He paused, then sighed. “Inspector Zhao used only three years to pacify Yu Province and recover Si Province. Both times you collected taxes, you specifically reduced levies. Anyone with eyes in the world can see that Inspector Zhao cares about the people. Being so, you should know that the people are weary of war.”
“If it’s to recover lost territory, we naturally support it. But if it’s to imitate the Jin imperial family’s internal strife again, when will it ever end?” In Chu Kang’s opinion, Prince Donghai was dead, along with so many imperial clan members. Now Jin was governed by Gou Xi and Zhao Hanzhang. Everyone should cooperate well, first recover the lost territories, drive out all the barbarians, give the people a chance to catch their breath, and then they could fight it out like Cao Wei and Liu Shu—whoever won could sit on the throne.
But they shouldn’t fight now while external chaos remained unresolved.
Chu Kang had seen cities and villages ravaged by the Xiongnu during his travels. Truly, not one in ten survived.
Village after village had been burned empty, robbed clean, with corpses everywhere. He could imagine that if Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Xi fought, when both sides were severely weakened, Liu Yuan would certainly march south. Then Jing Province couldn’t remain secure either.
In the past two years, northern aristocratic families had migrated south by the tens of thousands. In the end, fewer than a thousand could reach Jing Province and Yang Province alive. If Jing Province was also breached by the Xiongnu, where could his family go?
So Chu Kang came to intercept Zhao Hanzhang. On the surface, it was for the nation’s greater good, but wasn’t it also for his own family?
If the Jin state fell while facing the powerful Xiongnu enemy, no one’s small family could be preserved.
Chu Kang earnestly persuaded Zhao Hanzhang, asking her to quickly find a way to persuade Wang Jun and Liu Kun to talk things over nicely and stop all this fighting. He didn’t believe they could withstand Gou Xi’s great army if they truly provoked him.
Zhao Hanzhang agreed repeatedly, promising that once she returned to Luoyang, she would write letters to both Ji Province and Yan Province. She would also invite Chu Kang to visit and consult on methods to stop the war.
The two shared a carriage back to Luoyang. Before they even reached the city gate, they saw a long queue ahead. Ox carts and horse carts were mixed together. Soldiers came out with gongs, beating them. “Make way, make way. The Inspector is returning to the city. Everyone move to the side.”
Soldiers ran over from the city gate to notify them that officials and advisors from Luoyang had come to welcome the Inspector.
Ji Yuan, Ming Yu, Zhao Kuan, Wang Siniang, and others stood not far from the city gate to greet her. Zhao Hanzhang lifted the curtain for a look and clicked her tongue. “I was only gone a few months, and Luoyang has become this prosperous?”
Chu Kang said dismissively, “They all came to pay their respects to Inspector Zhao.”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the queue crowded to the roadside wasn’t paying attention, and the sheep he was watching ran out. His face turned red with anxiety. He quickly wielded his whip to catch it, trying to drag it back into the queue.
But the sheep nimbly dodged. The soldier walking at the front saw this, reached out, and scooped up the sheep. The man stopped in his tracks, looking anxiously at the soldier. He wanted to ask for it back but didn’t dare, frozen in place.
The soldier stepped forward two paces and stuffed the sheep into his arms, unceremoniously pushing him backward. “Hurry along, hurry along. If you disturb the Inspector, we’ll stew this sheep!”
The man clutched the sheep and immediately nodded gratefully, holding the sheep as he returned to the roadside.
Zhao Hanzhang watched silently and asked, “Did this person also come to see me?”
Chu Kang glanced, cleared his throat, and said, “Since they came all this way, they can’t very well return empty-handed. If they can bring some goods, they bring some.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes brightened slightly, and she perked up a bit. “That’s a good idea. Master Chu, you’re welcome to visit Luoyang often in the future.”
Zhao Hanzhang tapped the carriage wall and ordered, “Pick up the pace. It’s just over a thousand people. Don’t delay the common people entering and exiting the city gate.”
The guards acknowledged and passed on the order. The army’s pace quickened, and the carriage clattered forward, moving more than twice as fast as before.
The common people queuing to enter the city became somewhat disorderly. Unable to dodge in time, the Zhao Family Army didn’t drive them away or collide with them. They moved to the roadside themselves. Three people walking abreast became two, and even Zhao Hanzhang’s carriage had one wheel leave the road surface, clattering over freshly sprouted wild grass and uneven earth.
Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan were experienced. At the first jolt, they immediately steadied themselves with their bottoms, firmed their legs, and secretly gripped the carriage.
Chu Kang was caught unprepared. His entire body bounced up and down with the carriage, his soul nearly jolted out.
When the carriage finally turned onto the proper road, Chu Kang’s hairstyle was disheveled. He somewhat awkwardly supported himself on the carriage wall to sit up, brushing his hair to both sides. Looking up at the other two people in the carriage, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan had turned their heads left and right in unison, gazing out the windows as if they hadn’t seen his dishevelment.
Chu Kang: …
Looking at the two people, steady as Mount Tai, he somewhat suspected this was Zhao Hanzhang colluding with the driver just to make fun of him.
But turning to look out the window at the common people crowded together to make way for them, Chu Kang dismissed his suspicion. He sighed, “I’ve often heard that the Zhao Family Army has strict military discipline. Seeing it today, it lives up to its reputation.”
If it were any other army entering the city, the common people would have run off long ago, especially those carrying money and goods—how would they dare let the soldiers see?
Actually, some at the scene did run. They turned and ran a dozen steps, then looked back to see many people queuing to enter the city not moving at all. Instead, as they ran, people behind immediately surged forward to occupy their original positions. So they hesitated and didn’t run far.
Though they didn’t run far, they still didn’t dare return to the main road. Instead, they hid in the woods, watching from afar.
Seeing the Zhao Family Army pass by those merchant caravans and livestock without even glancing sideways, they were momentarily stunned. “They’re not robbing?”
“They’re not demanding we donate military funds either?”
The merchants and travelers crowded together watching, all coming to Luoyang for the first time since the city fell, fell silent. They all looked toward the Zhao Family Army, focusing particularly on the carriage being guarded in the formation.
Zhao Hanzhang should be in that carriage.
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