The soldiers below only slowly reacted. An old veteran with graying whiskers and tattered clothing stepped forward, his cloudy eyes staring intently at the military advisor. “Does the military advisor truly intend to release us, or is this a personnel purge?”

Personnel purges were a policy that had emerged in recent years in the military to eliminate old and wounded soldiers. Of course, there was no official document—it was merely an unspoken consensus.

There were always some old and disabled soldiers in the army. Their usefulness had diminished, yet they consumed rations daily. Some armies unwilling to support such people would use wars as an excuse to drive them to the front lines to die, or they would simply gather them together and abandon them to reduce consumption. This was commonly called “personnel purging.”

Zu Ti’s inspection of old and wounded soldiers was indeed because he didn’t want to support them—their value was minimal. However, he also didn’t want to send them to the front lines to die or directly abandon them. That’s why he had petitioned Zhao Hanzhang, informing her of the number of disabled and old soldiers he had identified, requesting she allocate funds to discharge them.

But Zhao Hanzhang truly had no money left.

The entire nation was at war, and with severe droughts and locust plagues, every region was asking her for money. How could she spare funds to discharge old and wounded soldiers?

Yet she couldn’t ignore them either.

Had she not known, that would be one thing, but now that she knew, naturally she wouldn’t allow the army to drive them to their deaths.

Therefore, after weighing the options, she made this arrangement.

To settle the old and wounded soldiers locally.

At the same time, she also ordered Fan Ying, Chen Siniang, and others to transfer some personnel from various places in Yuzhou to assist with construction in Qingzhou, mainly to establish workshops and shelter the widowed, orphaned, and old and wounded soldiers there.

The military advisor knew what they were thinking—they suspected the governor was like the generals of old, planning to abandon them. His face darkened as he said, “Governor Zhao cares for the people and has a kind heart. She is not like those old generals. This is not abandonment but proper discharge—she is arranging a future for you!”

Raising his chin, he continued, “Governor Zhao has already sent people. Soon Qingzhou will have brick and stone workshops, glass workshops, publishing houses, and paper mills. All these places need workers, and you have priority to enter the workshops.”

“Besides this, discharged old and wounded soldiers will each receive twenty mu of permanent farmland. During busy farming seasons, the military will try to help with cultivation,” the military advisor said. “I know you all face difficulties, but now the world is in chaos, natural disasters occur frequently, and the nation also faces great hardship. Governor Zhao faces great hardship too. In such difficult times, she still thinks of us, so we too should do our utmost to ease her worries.”

The old soldiers remained half-believing, half-doubting. The main issue was that they weren’t from Zhao’s army, nor even Zu Ti’s soldiers, but former Qingzhou and Youzhou troops. Would that Governor Zhao truly be so kindhearted?

As it turned out, Zhao Hanzhang was indeed that kindhearted.

The military advisor said he would distribute land, and distribute land he did. County magistrates from various counties dutifully came with registers—registers of farmland.

With the military advisor making decisions, he directly selected several plots of land from those registers to arrange for them. The land for these old and wounded soldiers was all arranged in one area, twenty mu per household, with both fields and land. It sounded like a balanced mix of fertile and barren land, with even more fertile fields than barren ones.

The county magistrates and chief clerks they brought immediately transferred their household registrations. From that moment forward, they would transition from soldiers to commoners.

Not only that, the military also negotiated with the county magistrates on their behalf, securing numerous settlement policies for them.

For example, the county offices had to provide them with some supplies. They needed to build houses and needed food and drink…

That newly arrived military advisor, though young-faced, was quite fierce, even demanding that some county offices provide workers to help them lay foundations and build houses.

While they negotiated, the old and wounded soldiers were queuing to register their households and receive land. Hearing everything, their hearts bounced up and down with nervous anticipation.

Those county magistrates seemed somewhat afraid of that new military advisor. Though their expressions weren’t great, they still agreed to most of his demands.

So they would have land, wood, and thatch to build houses?

Watching all this, Zuo Min couldn’t help but seek out Zu Ti. “General, that Zhao Shi has gone too far. In just two days, the military officers and soldiers have rallied to her. Especially those old and wounded soldiers—they only know Zhao Hanzhang. Where do they still acknowledge the general?”

Zu Ti looked up at him and said, “In a few more days, the talented people Governor Zhao has transferred from various counties in Yuzhou will arrive. These are the people supporting Qingzhou.”

“Zuo Min, you must remember that although the governor currently only holds the official position of Yuzhou Inspector, she is not just an inspector. And I, the newly appointed Qingzhou Inspector, am only an inspector.” Zu Ti said, “If you don’t regard her as an inspector, but change her identity, you’ll understand.”

Zu Ti said meaningfully, “The realm only needs one sovereign.”

If they viewed Zhao Hanzhang from the position of Yuzhou Inspector, they would naturally feel imbalanced. After all, both being inspectors, why should Zhao Hanzhang interfere with Qingzhou’s affairs?

And cause the military and civilians to only know her while not knowing Zu Ti, the Qingzhou Inspector?

But what if they changed perspective?

If Zhao Hanzhang was the sovereign and he was the subject, then it was perfectly normal for the people to know the sovereign but not the subject, wasn’t it?

Zuo Min was startled and began stuttering, “She, she, she wants to rebel?”

Zu Ti sternly swept his gaze over him and said solemnly, “Don’t speak nonsense. The young emperor is still the emperor. It’s just that I, Zu, do not recognize the Sima family. I only recognize Zhao Hanzhang as my lord.”

Zuo Min understood.

Zu Ti fundamentally looked down on the Sima family. He had originally intended to go to Yuzhou to pledge allegiance to Zhao Hanzhang. Now he had merely become more resolute in his decision.

Zuo Min stopped concerning himself with Zhao Shi.

Though Zhao Shi was young, he had been tempered by hardship and sensed the change in the military atmosphere. Zuo Min, who had never gotten along with him, had recently been very friendly—friendly to the point of giving him goosebumps.

So he wrote letters to his siblings Zhao Kuan, Zhao Xin, and others, pouring out his troubles. After writing, he felt that since he was sending letters anyway, sending just this much was too wasteful of manpower. Moreover, his siblings might not be clever enough to solve his problems.

So he pulled out more paper and wrote letters to Zhao Cheng and Zhao Ming, hoping the elders could also give him some advice.

Ah, since he was asking the elders, it seemed improper not to ask Third Sister about such matters. So Zhao Shi also wrote a letter to Zhao Hanzhang.

The next day, one of his servants left carrying a bundle along with one of his personal guards to deliver the letters.

Zuo Min watched, and despite having mentally prepared himself, couldn’t help feeling jealous. Having connections was wonderful—he could directly communicate with his superior’s superior.

It would be quite a while before Zhao Hanzhang received the letter. At this moment, she had just followed the army into Anping State.

Shi Lei was also with the army. His injuries were severe and he shouldn’t move too much for now, so Zhao Hanzhang took him wherever she went.

As for Shunyang Jun, Zhao Hanzhang had Fan Ying go accept the surrender. Zhao Kuan departed from Luoyang, bringing officials and troops to provide support.

At that time, Shi Lei’s advisor Zhang Bin would bring people to meet Zhao Hanzhang and Shi Lei.

Truthfully, Zhao Hanzhang had long coveted Zhang Bin’s talents.

Just as they were talking, Ting He entered and announced loudly, “My lady, Master Ming has returned.”