Only Lady Guo asked him, “Are the rumors outside true? Have mass graves truly appeared in Jinyang?”

Liu Kun, upon hearing this, quickly said, “There aren’t ten thousand people, only several thousand.”

Upon hearing this, Lady Guo couldn’t help but slap him across the face, saying angrily, “Aren’t several thousand enough? These are all human lives! Jinyang is under your jurisdiction, yet such evil occurred and you knew nothing of it! How have you been serving as an official?”

Liu Kun was too ashamed to speak.

Liu Fan quickly asked, “This matter is grave. Has the Grand Commander said how she will deal with you?”

Liu Kun said, “She wants me to transfer away from Jinyang and go to Xuzhou.”

Before his father could speak, Liu Kun expressed his own thoughts, “I won’t go. This is a critical moment. How can I easily leave Jinyang? Besides, where one falls, one must get back up.”

Lady Guo said, “Listen to the Grand Commander.”

Liu Kun’s face darkened as he asked, “Does Mother also think I’m no good at warfare?”

“Yes!” Lady Guo said angrily. “You can barely manage defending the city. In offensive battles, which one have you won?”

Liu Kun pressed his lips tightly together, saying, “That was because the timing wasn’t right…”

Lady Guo, seeing his stubborn refusal to understand, became so angry she punched him again, scolding, “Look at the Jinyang you’ve governed! Such evil has occurred, yet you knew nothing about it. Calculate the timing—this was precisely when you began living extravagantly and trusting Xu Run. Linghu Sheng and others advised you several times, but you never listened. This shows how stubborn you are.”

Lady Guo said with tears, “You can neither implement grand strategies nor control heroes. You trust petty people easily, cannot listen to all sides, and only want to eliminate those better than you to feel secure. Forget Jinyang—even going to Xuzhou, you’ll be a disaster. If so, you’ll eventually bring calamity upon me and your father.”

Liu Kun heard this with tears in his eyes, “Mother, these words wound me deeply.”

Lady Guo looked at him steadily, “In that case, will you reform or not?”

Liu Kun believed that if he had these faults, he would naturally correct them. But he felt he didn’t have them.

Lady Guo, seeing this, was disappointed and no longer tried to persuade him. She turned and left, supporting her husband.

Liu Fan wanted to speak but hesitated, saying to his wife, “Persuade him gradually. Perhaps it will work.”

Lady Guo shook her head, “First there was Linghu Sheng, then Zhao Hanzhang. One is a general Jinyang must rely on, the other is a Grand Commander all of Dajin must rely on. Their abilities and virtues both surpass his, yet he won’t listen to their advice. What about us two old folks?”

“Persuasion is useless now. We must either leave alone, distancing ourselves from this disaster, or stay here and await death.”

Liu Fan: … Based on his forty years of experience, she was speaking in anger.

Lady Guo was indeed speaking in anger. How could she truly abandon her son?

But she had truly prepared herself for death.

However, all people have a survival instinct, and she was no exception. So after calming down, she went to request an audience with Zhao Hanzhang.

This was the first time the old lady had requested to see her since Zhao Hanzhang arrived in Jinyang.

Zhao Hanzhang had just returned from the mine, with no time to clean up, and immediately came to see her.

As soon as they met, Lady Guo knelt down, “I beg the Grand Commander to save my son.”

Zhao Hanzhang was startled and quickly walked forward to help her up, “Old lady, what are you doing? Please rise quickly.”

Lady Guo said, “Yueshi has told me everything, but he is stubborn and cannot reflect on himself. If this continues, I fear great disaster will come.”

Zhao Hanzhang had to admire this old lady’s foresight. She was looking at history from the future backward, so she could deeply analyze these people’s character traits. But this lady was truly someone living in the midst of it all, yet could still so clearly judge the future situation.

This was truly a woman no less capable than any man.

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, “I intended to have elder brother go south. The south has little warfare and is prosperous, perfectly suited for an elegant literary man like elder brother. Unfortunately, elder brother insists on Jinyang.”

Lady Guo naturally knew Zhao Hanzhang was using Liu Kun. After all, Jinyang was territory Liu Kun had built with his own hands. Although such a heinous incident had occurred, once the people calmed down, they would still submit to Liu Kun’s governance. His prestige remained intact.

As for Jiangnan, more than half of it was the Langya Prince’s territory, especially Xuzhou—that was the Langya Prince’s old base. Liu Kun going there would mean fighting heaven, earth, and people. Political struggles could be just as dangerous as battlefield swords and arrows, if not more so.

But this also meant Liu Kun was useful.

Only useful people could be used. If a person had no value even for being used, only their life remained, which could be taken at any time.

Lady Guo also wanted Liu Kun to go out and see more. These past few years, he had defended Jinyang alone, receiving excessive praise. Due to poor transportation and limited contact with talented individuals, he had become arrogant, not realizing there were heavens beyond heaven and people beyond people.

If he couldn’t be humble and receptive, one day he would be destroyed by his own arrogance, bringing disaster upon his family as well.

So she was willing to let Liu Kun go south and experience more trials.

“In all the world, you are the only one who can make him follow orders,” Lady Guo said. “A mother knows her son best. This child has many faults, but one good point—loyalty to the sovereign and love for the country.”

She said, “As long as the Grand Commander commands him in the sovereign’s name, even if unwilling, he will obey.”

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow. She had indeed planned this, but the timing wasn’t right yet. After all, if things became too contentious, it would create another enemy, so she had wanted to move him with emotion first, using this method only as a last resort.

Lady Guo was right. Liu Kun considered the blood of the Han imperial house his greatest honor, but what others mentioned most was also this bloodline, fearing people would question his loyalty because of it.

So as long as she gave him orders in the emperor’s name to go south, he would obey even if unhappy.

Zhao Hanzhang’s mind raced through various thoughts before finally nodding, “Very well. Since this is the old lady’s wish, I will certainly accomplish it.”

Lady Guo breathed a sigh of relief. She knew finding Zhao Hanzhang was the right choice. She certainly also wanted Yueshi to leave Jinyang. After all, his influence in Jinyang and the Bingzhou-Jizhou area was too great.

Lady Guo took her leave.

Zhao Hanzhang personally escorted her to the mansion.

Liu Kun had no idea his mother had gone to find Zhao Hanzhang. He was feeling wronged and writing a letter to Zu Ti.

He felt he had suffered tremendous slander today. Combined with grievances and setbacks from various quarters, he was deeply confused and could only seek out his other close friend Zu Ti to vent.

In his letter, he asked Zu Ti, “You tell me, am I not good at warfare? I’ve studied both civil and martial arts since childhood. I don’t consider myself inferior to anyone. In Jinyang, not a day has passed when I haven’t thought about going on campaign to recover lost territory and restore prosperity to all under heaven…”

The subtext was: how am I not skilled in military affairs?

Zu Ti received this letter much later, so at this moment Liu Kun got no answer. But he had just put down his brush and sealed the letter when he heard that Zhao Hanzhang had escorted his mother back.

Liu Kun: … Suddenly had a very ominous premonition. What was that about?