Before Liu Kun could figure it out, Shi Lei took advantage of the commotion in Jinyang over the mass graves, when everyone’s attention was on the human trafficking case, and quietly fled with his men.
When Liu Kun heard this news, his eyes went wide. He felt thunder rumbling above his head. He quickly reacted, shouting loudly, “Quick, muster troops to pursue! We must intercept Shi Lei’s army. If we cannot persuade them to return, kill them without mercy!”
Zhao Hanzhang was striding in when she heard this. She paused, pushed the door open, and asked, “Yueshi, how many troops do you plan to send in pursuit? What if you encounter an ambush?”
Liu Kun saw her and anxiously asked, “Should we just let him defect? Hanzhang, Shi Lei is a warlord commanding over a hundred thousand troops!”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “A hundred thousand of his troops are in my hands.”
Her expression darkened, “But you’re right. We indeed cannot let him leave like this. Send people to pursue and persuade him to return. If there are issues, we can sit down and discuss them slowly.”
Liu Kun asked, “What if he won’t listen?”
Zhao Hanzhang said coldly, “His mother and wife and children are still in my hands.”
But Liu Kun felt Shi Lei was not the type to compromise for family. As for his mother, they had been separated for several years. Though Shi Lei had found her and sent her back, he had only sent a gift in return. Later, when the two quarreled, Shi Lei never showed any accommodation because of this favor.
As for wife and children, he was still young. Since he could disregard even his mother, how would he care about wife and children? He could remarry and have more children.
Liu Kun wanted to speak but hesitated.
Zhao Hanzhang looked at him sincerely, “Elder brother, if you have something to say, speak freely.”
Liu Kun said, “Hanzhang should treat Shi Lei generously!”
Zhao Hanzhang heard this, her face full of regret, “It’s too late for regrets.”
Liu Kun gritted his teeth and said to her, “You must still act decisively. If you cannot persuade him back, you should still kill him.”
He said, “He defected from the Xiongnu. Liu Cong is narrow-minded, so he certainly wouldn’t dare return to the Xiongnu. In all the world now, unless he establishes himself independently, he can only rely on Wang Jun.”
Liu Kun said painfully, “If we let Wang Jun obtain Shi Lei, it will be like adding wings to a tiger. Today’s difficult situation will surely be resolved.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded and immediately dispatched Zeng Yue to pursue, also taking Ming Yu to persuade Shi Lei to return.
Liu Kun still wanted to send additional forces but was politely refused by Zhao Hanzhang. She believed it wasn’t time yet. “If Shi Lei is just quarreling with me, sending so many people to chase him might cause a misunderstanding and make him truly flee. What then?”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Also, I fear an ambush on the road would result in heavy losses.”
Liu Kun’s objections were blocked by this statement. His intuition told him something was wrong. Given Shi Lei’s ferocity, shouldn’t they strike now while he was fleeing in haste?
Otherwise, once he grew stronger, he would become a great menace.
Hmph, and she said he didn’t understand warfare. Clearly, she was being overly cautious and couldn’t fight.
Liu Kun, once she left, immediately summoned Linghu Sheng and had him muster twenty thousand men to pursue Shi Lei. “Take shortcuts and intercept him before Zhao’s army. If Shi Lei won’t surrender and return, kill him immediately.”
He decided to show Zhao Hanzhang whether he was truly incapable.
Linghu Sheng, upon hearing this, quickly advised, “Since Shi Lei dares to flee, he must have made thorough preparations. He took not only elite troops from Shi’s army but also Zhang Bin. Zhang Bin excels at strategy. If they set ambushes along the way, we’ll fall right into their trap.”
He also said, “Their troops are few but elite. If we rashly pursue them and they’re driven to desperation, desperate soldiers will fight fiercely in resistance. I fear a great defeat.”
Liu Kun was very displeased. “Speaking of defeat before battle—this destroys morale. If you don’t lose with such an attitude, who will?”
He said, “In my view, they’re fleeing in panic. We should pursue now, and pursuit will bring victory! When generals have confidence, soldiers have morale, and we can achieve twice the result with half the effort!”
Linghu Sheng couldn’t help but know this. But they weren’t in front of the troops now—this was their private conference. Shouldn’t they consider all possibilities?
Really going to fight, in front of the soldiers, he would certainly confidently say they would win.
Moreover, there was something strange about Shi Lei’s escape this time. He had taken fifty thousand troops. Although they were stationed outside the city, so many people couldn’t leave without a sound.
Given Zhao Hanzhang’s abilities, how incompetent would she have to be to know nothing?
Also, Shi Lei’s defection—pursuing from behind made no sense. The key was to intercept from ahead.
Although he didn’t know the exact positions of Beigong Chun, Zu Ti, and the remaining Zhao Family Army at this time, they must certainly be east and north of Jinyang. With slight redeployment, they could block Shi Lei’s path. Why would they need to worry?
But he hadn’t seen any Zhao Family Army ordered out of the city today. The pursuit troops Zhao Hanzhang dispatched looked impressive but were mostly new recruits recruited from Jinyang this time. Forget fighting Shi Lei’s elite troops—they had little chance even facing his Jinyang army head-on.
To Linghu Sheng, this looked more like child’s play, or acting.
But he had no proof, so he dared not say.
Linghu Sheng quietly glanced at Liu Kun. He felt that even someone of his intelligence could see through this, so these intelligent, well-read scions of noble families should certainly see through it too.
But reality always defies expectations. Who knew if this was someone’s moment of folly?
Most importantly, Zhao Hanzhang was not his lord.
In Linghu Sheng’s eyes, Liu Kun was his lord. They and Zhao Hanzhang were merely allies. The matter between her and Shi Lei was their family affair. They could watch from the sidelines and offer subtle advice when appropriate, but shouldn’t interfere too much.
But Liu Kun didn’t think this way.
He was a minister of Jin, and Zhao Hanzhang was also a minister of Jin. Shi Lei’s fate involved Dajin’s security, so he must intervene.
Seeing Linghu Sheng unwilling to mobilize troops and making endless excuses, Liu Kun flew into a rage. He simply went to take the sword hanging on the wall and muster troops himself to give chase.
Unable to stop him, Linghu Sheng grew anxious and quickly ran to find Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang had just finished secretly instructing Zeng Yue on how to pursue while appearing urgent yet not actually catching up, and how to engage in intense combat during close encounters while not actually harming each other’s lives…
She was now drinking water with a dry mouth when she heard that Liu Kun was enthusiastically going to chase Shi Lei himself. Unable to sit still, she immediately rose and led people to pursue.
Wasn’t he just adding to her troubles?
She really wanted to pack him up and send him south to plague the Langya Prince.
Zhao Hanzhang rode swiftly in pursuit, catching up with Liu Kun twenty li outside the city. After a fierce argument, she brought him back.
Zhao Kuan silently stood guard at the Governor’s Mansion entrance. Seeing both of them dismount with angry expressions, he stepped forward and asked, “Magistrate, how should we handle the prisoners in the human trafficking case?”
Zhao Hanzhang said irritably, “Deal with them according to law! Do I need to teach you this?”
Zhao Kuan lowered his head, saying, “Twenty-three families are willing to pay for redemption.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang became furious, “Their households have been raided and all property confiscated. Where would they get money?”
Zhao Kuan said, “Gathered by relatives and friends. Magistrate, this is the redemption list.”