Although Zhao Hanzhang hadn’t said anything, the relationship between her and Liu Kun rapidly cooled. Their honeymoon period had barely begun before it ended.
Though Zhao Hanzhang still smiled when facing Liu Kun, her actions became much more forceful. After Liu Kun sent out a letter arranging a meeting with Tuoba Yilu, she immediately set about recruiting soldiers.
What neither Zhao Hanzhang nor Liu Kun expected was that the recruitment announcement had barely been posted—they hadn’t even had time to beat drums and spread the word throughout the land—when Jinyang’s able-bodied young men came rushing to the military camp to enlist.
Not only men, but quite a few women between sixteen and thirty also came running, all wanting to become soldiers.
Zhao Hanzhang pulled two children out of the queue and placed them before a cart wheel to measure them. One was just taller than the wheel, while the other was still a finger’s width shorter.
She reached out and wiped the dirty face of the shortest child, speechless for a long moment. “You’re still too young. You need to be at least as tall as my ear to enlist.”
With that, she turned to leave.
The two children immediately reached out and grabbed her sleeve, looking at her pleadingly. “Please accept us, Envoy. Though we’re young, we’re very good at fighting and can already lift a blade.”
The older child, afraid Zhao Hanzhang wouldn’t believe him, tried to reach for a guard’s sword.
The guard’s eyes flashed coldly. His hand rested on his sword hilt without moving.
Zhao Hanzhang waved him off and smiled at the child. “This isn’t about strength. You’re simply too young. If you want to serve the country, wait a few more years until you’re bigger.”
The child responded without thinking, “I don’t want to serve the country. I just want to follow the Envoy. If I’m going to repay anyone, I’ll repay the Envoy.”
He looked up at Zhao Hanzhang with pleading eyes. “Envoy, please take us in. I want to live. My younger brother wants to live too.”
Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang looked down again at the smaller child. He too stared at her with round eyes full of hope for survival.
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Didn’t Magistrate Liu establish a relief home to shelter you?”
Both children simultaneously lowered their eyes without speaking. The older child even stepped back, pulling the smaller one, wanting to leave but reluctant to give up.
Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang’s heart softened. She turned and said, “Follow me.”
The two children’s eyes lit up. They immediately followed.
The guards didn’t stop them but also wouldn’t let them get too close to Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang led them into the military camp and said to the female soldier Zhao Jiaya who had followed, “Take them to wash up and find them two sets of clothes.”
Zhao Hanzhang pointed to the shorter child. “Find female clothes for her.”
Hearing this, the two children knew their disguise had been discovered. They lowered their heads in embarrassment and obediently followed the female soldier to wash and change clothes.
Zhao Jiaya was a sixteen-year-old girl who had been rescued by Zhao Hanzhang four years ago. She had entered the Charity Hall and school, studying while practicing martial arts, and was eventually selected for special training.
Having just turned sixteen this year, she came to the army to serve as Zhao Hanzhang’s personal guard. Both her surname and given name were chosen after being rescued.
She was very familiar with the two children’s situation. Hadn’t she been the same four years ago?
She turned to ask them, “How old are you two?”
The boy said, “I’m eleven. My younger… my sister is nine.”
Zhao Jiaya found each of them a set of clothes. “When we return to Luoyang, you can go to school.”
The young boy felt uneasy and asked, “Will we have to leave the Envoy and fend for ourselves?”
“Don’t worry. The children in the Charity Hall—unless people in the army are starving to death—will never go without food. You’re still young and can’t do much following the Envoy around. You need to learn skills first, then repay the Envoy later after you’ve learned them.”
Zhao Jiaya said, “I came out of the Charity Hall too. When I first entered, I was about your age. In four years, I was able to serve by the Envoy’s side.”
The young boy’s eyes brightened. “Do we get paid?”
“Of course. This is called military pay! One string of cash per month.”
The two children exclaimed in amazement. Even the little girl who had remained silent couldn’t help but ask, “Will my brother and I be separated?”
“You won’t be separated if you don’t want to be,” Zhao Jiaya said. “However, at the Charity Hall, your sleeping quarters will be separate. Boys sleep with boys, and girls sleep with girls. You can’t cross that boundary.”
“During the day you’ll mostly attend classes together, eat together, and work together too.”
The young boy asked anxiously, “What work? Farming? Or digging irrigation channels, building city walls?”
“Farming, I suppose,” Zhao Jiaya said, exasperated. “How old are you? How could they use you to dig channels or build walls?”
“With your small frames, you’d do light work like transplanting rice seedlings, sowing seeds, weeding, or harvesting. Adults will do the heavy work. If you have talent, you can also learn carpentry, weaving, and such. If you can learn those skills, your work assignments will be lighter. I have no talent for those things. I was best with the sword, so I was selected for training and entered the army as a soldier.”
The two children both exclaimed in wonder, looking at her admiringly.
Zhao Jiaya proudly lifted her chin. Seeing them relax their guard somewhat, she casually asked, “What can you two do? Maybe I can discover your talents and introduce you to a few teachers early on. I know everyone at the Charity Hall and school. Several of my classmates are currently at the school, working while continuing their studies, teaching newcomers like you who don’t know anything yet how to read and write.”
The boy immediately said, “I’m strong and good at fighting. I think I could be a guard too.”
A guard—that meant being the Inspector’s trusted aide. In the future, he might even become a general.
The little girl also looked at Zhao Jiaya with bright, shining eyes, very much wanting to become like her.
Zhao Jiaya smiled and asked, “Did you fight a lot before?”
Half an hour later, Zhao Jiaya went to see Zhao Hanzhang and reported, “They came as a family of eight. They heard of Magistrate Liu’s good reputation, and after the Xiongnu turned their family’s land into pasture, they all came seeking refuge.”
“But in just three years, their grandfather, father, and three brothers all died in the city defense battles. During this recent siege by the Xiongnu, one of their mothers starved to death, while the other died while out begging for food in a fight over scraps.” Zhao Jiaya paused before continuing, “They’re cousins. In the city, human traffickers specifically target girls under fourteen, selecting those with beautiful features to take away and sell elsewhere.”
“The highest price is no more than five measures of rice; the lowest—two steamed buns will trade for a person. Because of this, incidents of kidnapping young girls occur frequently in the city, but the yamen has no effective measures to stop it.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s face grew taut. “Is the Jinyang Magistrate just eating for free?”
Zhao Jiaya said nothing. Only then did Zhao Hanzhang remember that the Jinyang Magistrate really was eating for free—he was still confined in her military camp.
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “Has Xu Run’s illness improved?”
“The high fever has subsided.”
“Then send him away first thing tomorrow morning. Send him directly back to Luoyang and have people watch him closely. As long as he doesn’t leave Luoyang and follows the law in everything, so be it. If he dares to flee privately, kill him without mercy. If he commits a crime, punish him according to law!”
“Yes.”
—