Ban Lun had also infiltrated the Zhao Family Army, but he died in battle fighting Wang Jun, so being an agent wasn’t so easy after all—one might not die from exposure, but could also die serving the enemy (Zhao Hanzhang) with utmost devotion while undercover.
Shi Lei: ……
He rubbed his forehead. So the question was, if Zhao Hanzhang could uncover Wu Yu, how could she not uncover Lu Ming?
After hesitating for a moment, Shi Lei still went to Zhao Hanzhang with a red face to plead for him. After all, he was a general who had followed him for many years—he couldn’t just let him disappear like this.
Zhao Hanzhang immediately agreed that Shi Lei would have someone send Lu Ming back. After he left, she said to Wei Jie, “How about that? I didn’t misjudge him, did I?”
Wei Jie nodded. “Yes, Your Excellency can rest assured. This subordinate will do his utmost to regulate Governor Shi.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and nodded.
The next day, the Duan tribe Xianbei sent over Duan Pidi. Duan Wumu Chen ultimately felt uneasy, so he prepared one hundred attendants for his second son.
Zhao Hanzhang’s expression didn’t change as she accepted them all, then turned around and threw them all to Zeng Yue, telling him to take everyone back together.
This was Duan Pidi’s first time as a hostage, and his face was very red. Yesterday, Zhao Hanzhang had praised him so much in front of everyone that he thought once he arrived he would be put to important use and could be given a high official position. After all, Zhao Hanzhang was famous for appointing people based on merit, not caring about their background.
But unexpectedly, when he arrived, he only saw Zhao Hanzhang once before being taken away by Zeng Yue. He was just a guard.
Even he was like this, not to mention the attendants he brought. The Zhao Family Army didn’t make things difficult for them—they just let these attendants continue following him, all as common soldiers.
The gap was too large. Duan Pidi’s breathing became rapid, but he quickly recovered on his own, thinking that Zhao Hanzhang was busy at the moment and definitely didn’t have time. When she had time, she would certainly put him to important use.
Zhao Hanzhang dealt with quite a few matters, watching the Duan clan retreat from Beiping Jun and return to Liaoxi Jun, before she finally began to depart.
Halfway through, seeing Tuoba Yilu riding past her carriage, Zhao Hanzhang suddenly remembered Duan Pidi.
She quickly closed the official document she was reading halfway through and asked Fu Tinghan, who was sitting across from her, “Where is Duan Pidi?”
Fu Tinghan was startled and shook his head. “I don’t know. Didn’t you hand him over to Zeng Yue?”
Zhao Hanzhang stuck her head out and beckoned to Zeng Yue, who was guarding at the side.
Zeng Yue immediately came forward.
“Where is Duan Pidi?”
Zeng Yue said, “He’s serving as a guard in the close guard army, leading one squad alone. The attendants he brought are all assigned under his squad.”
Zhao Hanzhang pondered for a moment, then said, “Let it be like this for now. When we return to Luoyang, remember to remind me to give him an official position.”
Zeng Yue acknowledged the order.
Fu Tinghan happened to also be tired from work, so he casually asked, “What official position do you want to give him?”
“A military position,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I’ll have him suppress bandits.”
Fu Tinghan: “Is he very capable?” He was asking about the historical evaluation.
Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand. “He’s alright. He fought Shi Lei several times and lost each time. Later he fought Shi Hu and lost again. In the end, his men were gradually all but wiped out.”
Fu Tinghan: “……Then why did you designate him as the hostage?”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled at him and said, “I just thought he looked like Duan Wumu Chen, so I guessed he should be Duan Wumu Chen’s son. No matter who he is, as long as he’s Duan Wumu Chen’s son, he can serve as a hostage.”
So at the time, no matter who stood up, she would have found a way to praise them, then demand to take them as a hostage.
Zhao Hanzhang sighed. “I really don’t like this hostage business, but Duan Wumu Chen insisted on forcing me to do it.”
Since he liked using marriage alliances to bind people, she had no choice but to take his son as a hostage.
Fu Tinghan: “With his level of ability, are you confident letting him suppress bandits?”
Zhao Hanzhang just smiled and said, “Not everyone is as capable as Shi Lei. He can’t defeat Shi Lei, but that doesn’t mean he can’t defeat others. Moreover, the bandits in Sizhou are mostly composed of refugees. They can’t even scrape together enough armor, and some directly use wooden sticks as weapons. If he can’t even defeat them… well then, I’ll keep him like a delicate flower in Luoyang.”
Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but laugh, and he also turned to look out the carriage window. Tuoba Yilu seemed to be competing with Zu Ti in a horse race.
After going forward for a while longer, Tuoba Yilu would part ways with them. He would lead the army back to Dai Jun, while Zhao Hanzhang would go back to request an edict appointing his heir apparent and an additional enfeoffment for his territory.
Although Zhao Hanzhang could issue such an edict immediately, this time she specifically emphasized legitimacy and insisted on returning to see the Emperor before issuing it.
Of course, Tuoba Yilu outwardly didn’t press her about it.
Fu Tinghan didn’t think Zhao Hanzhang’s many actions were just to delay time. Just as the carriage was shaking and making his head dizzy, preventing him from handling official documents, he simply asked when he didn’t understand, supplementing his political knowledge. “Why delay Tuoba Yilu?”
Zhao Hanzhang gave him a slight smile and spoke candidly about her scheming. “First, it’s to buy some time for General Beigong. He just arrived in Jinyang, and most of Bingzhou was once Xiongnu territory. Among the surrendered Xiongnu people, I plan to temporarily divide them into two parts—one part will be relocated back to Bingzhou, and the other part will settle in Jizhou.”
“Tuoba Yilu isn’t that simple. Even if it’s for the benefit of his tribe, he’ll want to expand his territory in all directions, so he’ll look for trouble with General Beigong. Using this matter to delay him prevents him from immediately causing problems for General Beigong.”
“As for the second reason,” Zhao Hanzhang turned to look out the window, her gaze precisely landing on a young man. “It’s naturally for future plans. I did promise him I would request the appointment of an heir apparent, but I never said which son I would request to be appointed as heir apparent.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Whether according to the customs of the grasslands or the legal regulations of Dajin, the heir apparent of Dai should be his eldest son, Tuoba Liuxiu. But this heir apparent doesn’t suit Tuoba Yilu’s wishes. Do you think he’ll accept it?”
“No.”
Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curved slightly with some derision. “I’m just putting history, which had gone astray, back on track a bit and making it move faster. As for how it will develop in the future, I can’t predict.”
“However, as Tuoba Liuxiu’s aunt, it’s not wrong for me to show some care for this nephew.”
Fu Tinghan: “……As long as you’re happy.”
Zhao Hanzhang was naturally happy.
She personally quite admired Tuoba Liuxiu’s abilities. As for his character, from what she could see so far, he didn’t have any major flaws. As for the fact that he would commit patricide in the future—honestly, not to mention in this twisted era, even in modern society, with Tuoba Yilu being so suicidal, the final outcome could very well be getting killed by his son.
So it wasn’t this era’s fault that was twisted. In the matter of Tuoba Liuxiu’s patricide, Tuoba Yilu bore at least ninety percent of the responsibility.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hanzhang lifted the curtain and said to Fu Tinghan, “Come on, let’s go talk to our dear nephew.”
The two of them switched to horses and rode out, finding Tuoba Liuxiu to express the aunt and future uncle-in-law’s compassion for him. Ahem, actually it was just: good child, if you have difficulties in the future, just come find me. Don’t be too impulsive when doing things……
Tuoba Liuxiu listened seriously and respectfully agreed to it all.
—