Liu Yi pursed his lips and said, “Has my Crown Prince elder brother ascended the throne?”
Zhao Hanzhang did not deceive him and nodded. “According to the latest news, the Han state Crown Prince ascended to the throne as emperor in Zhongyang County of Xihe State. Liu Cong’s central tent is now in Boping County of Anping State. The two places are not far from each other, but not exactly close either.”
Liu Yi raised his neck slightly and said, “Just you wait. Even if there are twists and turns in between, my Fourth Brother will definitely be able to meet the new emperor. Then they will join forces and march south to retake Pingyang City.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, “Then let me make a bet with you. I bet that before they march south, they will first kill each other. Either your Han state will change emperors again, or Liu Cong will die an unnatural death.”
Liu Yi was stunned, his heart turned cold. His lips trembled as he refuted Zhao Hanzhang, “You’re talking nonsense!”
But his confidence was not very strong.
Fourth Brother was talented and capable. Now all the foundations of the Xiongnu were in his hands. If Crown Prince Brother had the capacity to tolerate others, perhaps they could coexist peacefully for a time, but Liu He’s temperament…
Liu Yi had always been detached from worldly struggles and was young, with almost no military power. Yet just because his mother was the empress and he was quite favored by the emperor, Liu He regarded him as an enemy at every turn.
Liu Yi swallowed hard. He did not want to talk to Zhao Hanzhang anymore and walked forward with his head down.
Zhao Hanzhang leisurely followed behind him, unwilling to give up. “Liu Yi, I sincerely want to be friends with you. Your Xiongnu have migrated to Bingzhou for nearly a hundred years now. From subjects of Wei to subjects of Jin, what difference is there from us people of the Central Plains?”
Hearing her say this, Liu Yi was almost moved. His instinct told him this was dangerous, so he quickened his pace, walked to the grain cart, grabbed a sack of grain, and tried to hoist it onto his shoulder.
But he could not lift it in one go.
Zhao Hanzhang reached out to help him lift it and placed it on his shoulder. She glanced at the soldier guarding the grain cart. Meeting her gaze, the soldier immediately ran over eagerly. After Zhao Hanzhang grabbed a sack of grain, he quickly lifted it and placed it on her shoulder.
Liu Yi had already walked away carrying his sack.
Zhao Hanzhang hurried to catch up with him, continuing to murmur in his ear. “You and your father both advocated Han governance and wanted to treat all the people under heaven equally, but your several elder brothers are not like that. Especially that Crown Prince—I heard he listens closely to his uncle Huyan You. That Huyan You is short-sighted and loves to dominate. When your father was alive, he dared to exclude dissidents and compete for power and profit. What about now that your father is gone?”
Liu Yi did not know where she got so much energy. He carried the sack and even his breathing became more labored, yet she could still chase after him while babbling nonstop.
“To speak from the heart, we common people do not really care who sits on the dragon throne. Although the Xiongnu are a small tribe compared to us Huaxia people, there are countless ethnicities in the world, and those ruled by us Huaxia are not only Huaxia people—among them are Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie Hu, and Baiyue… Otherwise, why would so many Huaxia people willingly serve you as subjects since you established your state?”
Liu Yi reached his destination, set down the grain sack, and pressed his aching shoulder before saying, “Some people do serve us as subjects, but even more oppose us, like you.”
Zhao Hanzhang also set down her grain sack and said helplessly, “That’s because Jin still exists! We are subjects of Jin, so how can we casually change allegiance? Moreover, since your Xiongnu established your state, you have targeted the Huaxia people. Within the state, you divide the people into different ranks, and we Huaxia people, regardless of status, must be beneath the Xiongnu people. Who can accept this?”
Liu Yi opened his mouth, pressed down his wavering heart, shook his head and said, “You’re just deceiving me. I don’t believe you would truly be willing to recognize a foreign tribe as your sovereign.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “If we Huaxia people would never recognize a foreign tribe as sovereign, what meaning would there be in your father and the Han state painstakingly competing for the realm? Would it be to kill all the Huaxia people so your Xiongnu tribe alone occupies the Central Plains?”
Liu Yi opened his mouth, struck speechless by her rebuttal.
Zhao Hanzhang said, “You’ve been at the bottom level during this time. I thought you could see things clearly, but I didn’t expect you to still be so confused.”
Liu Yi lowered his head in silent thought.
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head and turned to leave. “Forget it. You can observe more. Do your fellow soldiers care whether you are Xiongnu, Xianbei, or Jie Hu?”
“But before, you Han people also constantly bullied us Xiongnu.” Liu Yi could not help but speak. “How can I believe that you can treat everyone equally?”
Zhao Hanzhang immediately turned back. “You’re wrong. What you call bullying is some people in positions of power bullying those beneath them, and it’s not just targeted at Xiongnu people. Han commoners and slaves have suffered plenty of bullying too. Huaxia has always prioritized pacification for minority ethnicities. There are few enfeoffments among the prefectures and counties of the realm, but the four barbarian regions all have enfeoffments, basically practicing ethnic self-governance.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “I know that different ethnicities have different customs and habits, so I never thought of forcing you to follow Han customs.”
“If you are willing to submit, I will certainly enfeoff a territory for you to self-govern, while doing my utmost to help you learn farming, animal husbandry, and other techniques, so that the Xiongnu and Han people can prosper together.”
Although he kept reminding himself in his heart that this might be false, perhaps just to deceive him into serving her, looking at Zhao Hanzhang’s firm and confident face, Liu Yi still could not help but believe her. Thus his already wavering resolve became even more unsteady.
Zhao Hanzhang raised her hand and patted his shoulder. “You can think it over slowly. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you.”
“However,” Zhao Hanzhang’s tone shifted, “I can wait, but your Xiongnu people are in the midst of wind and rain. You must not make them wait too long.”
Liu Yi pressed his lips together.
Zhao Hanzhang turned and left. Ting He hurried after her in a small trot. When they had walked some distance, she could not help but show concern. “Miss, when did you become so capable? You can even carry such a large sack of wheat.”
Zhao Hanzhang: “Did I train my strength and lower body foundation for nothing these four years? This is small stuff!”
Though she said this, when she returned to the main tent, she could not help but rub her lower back. Being able to lift the sack relied entirely on her waist strength.
In the evening, they ate gray mixed-grain steamed buns, while the soldiers below ate wheat rice.
There was no help for it. When away from home, grinding wheat required time and manpower. When wheat flour and wheat bran could not be adequately supplied, they could only eat wheat rice or wheat porridge directly.
After eating, Zhao Hanzhang strolled over to find Ji Yuan, and the two hid away to have a private conversation.
Ming Yu and Fu Tinghan sat in the tent waiting for them to come discuss matters. Seeing the two always had endless things to say, Ming Yu frowned slightly and could not help but look at Fu Tinghan. “Has the governor encountered some difficulty?”
Fu Tinghan had been inspecting weapons and equipment during this time and also had to make gunpowder, so his attention to other matters was insufficient. Thus he directly shook his head.
Seeing him so straightforward, Ming Yu suddenly remembered something. He moved closer and asked in a low voice, “Chancellor Fu, has that thunder bomb been made?”
Fu Tinghan said, “All the materials are prepared, but it’s not finished yet.”
Ming Yu wanted to ask more, but then he saw Zhao Hanzhang and Ji Yuan walking over, so he stopped and instead asked, “Has the governor encountered a difficulty?”
Zhao Hanzhang immediately nodded. “I want to do something, but I’m troubled by not having anyone I can entrust it to.”
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