Everyone is waiting, waiting to see if Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Xi will turn against each other and enter into the familiar cycle once again.
Even the emperor is anxiously waiting.
Of course, so people refuse to accept fate passively, so so went to Yun City to persuade Gou Xi, while others went to Luoyang to find Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang hasn’t returned to Luoyang yet. So chose to wait for her there, while others were impatient and turned north to look for her around Pingyang City.
As soon as they left the vicinity of Luoyang, they saw flags fluttering in the wind ahead, and upon closer inspection, they saw a large "Zhao" character on them.
The person’s eyes on the ox-drawn cart brightened and imdiately instructed their servant to drive the cart forward.
Zhao Hanzhang had just received a batch of official docunts, so at that mont, she was sitting in the carriage reading them while swaying left and right.
Fu Tinghan was beside her, lost in thought, his fingers tapping lightly, unclear about what he was contemplating.
The carriage wheels suddenly plunged into a pit, and Zhao Hanzhang held on tightly to stay seated, while Fu Tinghan, unprepared, lurched forward. Zhao Hanzhang reached out to press his shoulder, pushing him back into his seat.
Zhao Hanzhang frowned, swiftly pulled the curtain aside, intending to reprimand the driver, but then saw the road outside was all uneven, pit after pit, with at least ten ters of rough terrain without a single smooth patch.
The trusted aides riding horseback beside her also slowed their pace, cautiously guiding their horses through.
She withheld the words ant for scolding the driver and instead instructed her trusted aides, "Hold the rear line, have people dig so earth from nearby and fill all these pits!"
She said, "How did the scouts survey this road? Such obvious pits — what if we were marching in haste?"
The trusted aide imdiately went to carry out her orders and at the sa ti, went to educate the scouts.
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang let down the curtain again, frowning, "The road is too difficult to travel. Must we build a cent road?"
Fu Tinghan shook his head and said, "In the city, it might be fine. Now that the water-driven compression machine has improved, we can make cent using water power, but just barely enough for the city. Building official roads with cent is impossible. I still propose using earth, compacting it, and adding matured soil and burning — it’s not inferior to cent roads actually."
"In the city, the easiest way is to lay cent. If we want it to look nicer, harder, and more durable, use stone and bricks," said Fu Tinghan, now Minister of the Ministry of Industry, responsible for road construction, naturally having considered this. He said, "In fact, considering maintenance and longevity, bluestone slabs are still the best; the rate of damage to cent roads is also quite high."
"However, using cent for road building can be much more efficient. We are short on manpower now, and labor is valuable, so we can temporarily use cent and consider replacing it if it’s damaged when the national strength rises in the future."
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "You can make cent now?"
Fu Tinghan smiled and said, "It’s not difficult. The formula for cent is not a secret; it’s just that the power was lacking and costs were too high before — it wasn’t worth it. Now with water power, crushing listone and iron ore is no longer difficult."
Moreover, they have iron ore.
Like the low-use iron ore and waste slag, it’s most suitable for making cent.
"We still need to find listone mines." Before leaving Luoyang, he sent people out to search, but there’s still no news.
Once they find listone mines and calculate the distance from the iron mine, choose the most suitable location between them and Luoshui to build a cent workshop, then they can use water power to produce cent.
Zhao Hanzhang: "Is there listone in Luoyang?"
Fu Tinghan affird, "There must be, we just haven’t found it."
Unfortunately, he hadn’t paid much attention before, so now he doesn’t know where to look.
The carriage suddenly stopped, making Zhao Hanzhang sway a bit. She was no longer angry, calmly pulled aside the curtain, and asked, "What’s the matter now?"
Trusted aides were about to go forward to inquire, but a soldier quickly reported with a run, "Master, there’s an ox-cart blocking the road ahead, refusing to move, the owner sitting on the ground insisting on seeing the inspector."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang bent over and stepped out of the carriage, standing on the shaft to look ahead, and saw a scholar sitting on the ground not far away.
The mont he saw Zhao Hanzhang standing on the shaft, he puckered his lips and started crying loudly, tears streaming out from his eyes, "Oh, Mr. Zhao—"
Zhao Hanzhang stared wide-eyed.
Although he cried, tears flowing, his speech was clear and loud. Even across hundreds of people, Zhao Hanzhang could clearly hear his lant, "Cherish yourself, talents like pine trees, cornerstone of Jin, even when gravely ill, you still strategized for the court, and now your granddaughter wants to divide the territory, doing what a fawning minister would do—"
Zhao Hanzhang: ...
Fu Tinghan leaned out from behind her, furrowing his brows and asked, "Who is he?"
Zhao Hanzhang exasperatedly replied, "I don’t know him."
Her guards angrily, gripping their sword handles, said, "Inspector, let go cut him down."
Zhao Hanzhang glared at him, "What cut, he just cursed ? It’s all a misunderstanding, clear it up and it’s fine, he hasn’t violated the law."
She got off the carriage and personally went to help the man up.
Upon reaching him, he opened his eyes and looked at her for a mont, then continued crying — now he was crying for Zhao Changyu, starting to mourn her great-grandfather.
Zhao Hanzhang sighed, raised her robe, sat cross-legged opposite him, and propped her face, "Sir, please stop crying, everything you said I’ve taken to heart. This is all a misunderstanding."
The scholar saw her extraordinary response, neither cutting him down nor courteously helping him up to console, gradually reduced his tears, wiped clean with his sleeve, and stared at her, asking, "Inspector Zhao said it’s a misunderstanding, then how do you explain Qingzhou’s incident?"
Zhao Hanzhang replied, "I rushed back from Pingyang to explain, I sent emissaries to Jizhou to prevent Commander Wang and Governor Liu from continued mutual attacks. I don’t know why they suddenly joined forces to attack Qingzhou."
The scholar saw Zhao Hanzhang’s sincere expression, even sowhat angry, seeming truly innocent, yet dared not wholly trust her.
These officials’ minds are quite dirty and theatrical, who knows what’s true?
The scholar, staring with big eyes, asked, "Will Inspector Zhao send troops to Yan State?"
Zhao Hanzhang answered resolutely, "No!"
"Will Inspector Zhao welco Your Majesty back to Luoyang?"
Zhao Hanzhang replied, "As long as Your Majesty wishes and General Gou is willing to escort him back!"
The scholar felt she was truthful, slightly relaxing his tense mind, yet still questioning, "What’s Inspector Zhao’s plan to resolve Qingzhou’s rebellion?"
Zhao Hanzhang stated, "I want to request Your Majesty to ask Commander Wang and Governor Liu to sit down and talk; everyone is a Jin Minister, there are conflicts they can discuss first. If discussions fail, there’s still Your Majesty and the court, one can request Your Majesty’s sacred judgnt, right?"
Truly surprising, a powerful official saying they want to request Your Majesty’s sacred judgnt, the scholar carefully observed her, unsure whether she was genuine or feigning, but still nodded, "Exactly, it’s appropriate to request Your Majesty’s sacred judgnt."
Seeing him soften, Zhao Hanzhang finally stood, reached out and helped him up, considerate enough to dust off his clothes, smilingly said, "Details can be discussed later. Don’t know what sir’s na is."
The scholar finally said, "I am Chu Kang from Jiangxia."
"So you’re from Jingzhou," Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes lit up, warmly held his hand, "Sir, please co inside quickly, oh, we’re still on the move, why not ride together? Please don’t mind the carriage’s simplicity."
The Chu Family from Jiangxia County is a large clan in Jingzhou, if she isn’t mistaken, they have copper mines.
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