After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times Chapter 761 - 751: Defeating the Monarch

Zhao Ming snorted coldly at the words and ntioned the intelligence from Yun City, "Gou Xi and other court officials seem to believe your explanation about Qingzhou, but they still have suspicions. Spies in Yun City report that Gou Xi has spent five consecutive days in the barracks, eating, living, and training with the soldiers as if to recover his erstwhile prowess."

Zhao Ming said, "Even though Gou Xi’s nature has been exposed, if he decides to nd his ways and govern diligently, there will still be many in the world who would choose to follow him. So, you should stop fooling around and spend more ti at places like You Ran Residence, where there are scholars, warriors, and other talents."

He leaned slightly to point at the rabbit in Ting He’s hands and said, "If you crave at, be open about it and use money to buy so. Why go through all this trouble for just three rabbits?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "Uncle Ming, this is a matter of leisure."

Zhao Ming snorted again.

Zhao Hanzhang thought his constant anger wasn’t good, so she explained further, "For example, you like wine, but you always sober up after being drunk. You drink not to get drunk or sober, but because you enjoy the process of drinking. I’m the sa; catching rabbits is not for eating at, but to enjoy the process."

Zhao Ming: "Since you have already caught the rabbits, then you have enjoyed the process. Now release them."

"..." Why does he always bring this up?

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Of course one must also enjoy the outco for the process to have aning."

Zhao Ming stopped in his tracks, "So you have ambitions, to enjoy what you conquer...the world?"

His last two words were spoken so softly that even Fu Tinghan standing beside Zhao Hanzhang could barely hear them.

Zhao Hanzhang heard them clearly since her superior hearing was known to a few close to her.

She did not deny it, instead eting Zhao Ming’s gaze with a soft smile.

Zhao Ming: ...

This was tantamount to direct admission, and Zhao Ming remained silent for a while.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I thought, Uncle Ming, that we already had a tacit understanding."

The silent Zhao Ming suddenly erupted, "I have no tacit understanding with you; I am loyal!"

Zhao Hanzhang was not concerned, she turned around and waved her hand at the people behind her. The accompanying officials and followers imdiately stopped and moved back, giving so distance.

When they were far enough away, Zhao Hanzhang spoke to Zhao Ming, "But you never served the Jin Dynasty before. Uncle Ming, it was only after I beca the master of Xiping County that you agreed to co out and serve as County Magistrate of Xiping County. I’ve always been the one who paid your salary, and your years of toil and trouble have all been for ."

Zhao Ming: "I did not do it for you."

"Not just for ," Zhao Hanzhang corrected him and said, "I know, it is mainly for the Zhao Family, and since it is for the Zhao Family, then you must support . Only by advancing can the Zhao Family advance further."

Zhao Ming snorted and said, "You are certainly confident, but I fear you may lead the Zhao Family into the abyss."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Rest assured, unless one truly reaches the highest position in the present world, there is no reason for one person to bring about the extinction of a family. And if I truly reach that position, I am confident I can manage the world without bringing the Zhao Family to such a fate."

Zhao Ming remained silent, and after a long while, he said, "People’s hearts can easily change..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang beca delighted, as this indicated a change of heart, "Don’t worry, I will definitely not change. If I do, you can whip ."

Zhao Ming snorted coldly.

"Really, I’m not lying to you." Zhao Hanzhang told Ting He to bring her riding whip, and then she handed it to Zhao Ming, but Zhao Ming frowned and didn’t want it, scolding, "What are you doing making a scene in broad daylight? Are you really asking to whip you in public? You’re a State Governor of two provinces, do you still care for your reputation?"

"It’s not that you should whip now. It would be after I make a mistake that you can punish ." Zhao Hanzhang said, "If you whip for personal gain or wrongdoing, then I certainly won’t accept it."

"This riding whip is what I usually use. I’ll engrave my na onto it later. In the future, if I truly beco unfaithful, you can use this whip to punish , fulfilling a father’s duty. How about it?"

Zhao Ming was taken aback, his face turning red, his eyes filled with tears, "If I had a daughter like you, I’d have died from anger already."

Despite his words, he still grabbed the whip from her hand, snorted once more, and said while raising his head, "Let’s go, aren’t you going to inspect the ditches?"

Zhao Hanzhang walked forward joyfully.

Fu Tinghan: ...So the matter of rebellion was settled just like that?

The state of the ditches was indeed not good; the silt was severe and the fields had been neglected for a long ti. It was only last year that farming had begun, and it was rough plowing: one plow of the land, one scattering of seeds, and whatever grew, grew. Perhaps this year, with more refugees being taken in, the land divisions had been allocated with precision to individuals.

The group inspected the area, and roughly grasped the situation, "This is precisely the ti for spring plowing, and it should rain in a few days. If we want to clear the ditches, we need to hurry. But every household is spring plowing, so where will we get people to clear the ditches?"

Zhao Ming pondered for a mont and then asked, "Can we deploy people from the army?"

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a mont and shook her head, "The army also has heavy farming tasks, and the elite soldiers train daily; I won’t make them partake in civil affairs."

Zhao Ming slightly frowned.

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Are there many people imprisoned in jail?"

Zhao Ming slightly raised an eyebrow and looked toward an official behind him.

That person was the Prefectural Governor’s Sima, surnad Yu. His predecessor had been transferred to Fengyi County in Si Province. He had just taken office less than ten days ago and wasn’t familiar with Zhao Hanzhang but knew Zhao Ming well.

When eting Zhao Ming’s gaze, he imdiately stepped forward and replied, "In Chen County, there are currently eighteen imprisoned, with forty-five temporarily detained. In the entire county, there are fifty-two imprisoned and an unknown number temporarily detained."

Zhao Hanzhang: "So how many are imprisoned in the entire Yu State?"

Yu Sima didn’t manage Yu State affairs, and Ji Yuan served as Sima of Yu State, but he paused only briefly before saying, "There are three hundred and twenty-nine people."

Zhao Hanzhang was quite surprised: "Uncle Ming, there are so few imprisoned in Yu State?"

Zhao Ming glanced at those subordinate officials and then said, "The Governor is joking. Under your governance, Yu State is peaceful and stable; isn’t this a good thing?"

Zhao Hanzhang swore she heard a sound of gritting teeth, and she imdiately nodded, "Yes, yes, this is all due to Governor Zhao’s managent efforts. This year has been hard on Governor Zhao."

Zhao Ming struggled to change a "hmph" to a "hmm."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Let’s have the incarcerated co out to work, clear the channels, and repair the waterworks. All these can be done. Sitting in damp, dark cells all the ti is more likely to cause illness."

"And those who are temporarily detained," Zhao Hanzhang said, "especially those detained for fighting and violence, as long as the evidence is solid, they should all co out and clear the channels. Why do fights happen? Because of excess energy. More laboring will help."

"Especially for dostic violence and beating of neighbors. All those should co to clear the channels. For every fight, they can labor for seven days, and after several tis, they would develop a good, calm temper."

Zhao Ming thought about it and found her proposal indeed quite reasonable, so he nodded.

Yu Sima: ...

He paused for a mont, and still reminded, "Governor, there are so scholars in jail too..."