Jinyang is in a basin with fertile land. Liu Kun not only allocated land to the incoming refugees but also had the soldiers engage in farming. Except for him and the leaders in the army, no one knew exactly how much grain and forage were in his treasury.
Liu Kun readily agreed with a hearty nod.
Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes slightly narrowed, curious about Jinyang’s finances.
Is he so generous because he has abundant reserves? Then how did he manage to lose so many people?
In this era, aren’t the people’s basic desires simply stability and enough food?
After the discussions were over, the atmosphere beca sowhat awkward again. Zhao Hanzhang remained seated, and Liu Kun didn’t want to stay any longer. With Zhao Hanzhang’s presence, he felt unable to say the many things he wanted to to Shi Le. The emotions he had carefully nurtured dissipated.
Liu Kun quickly found an excuse to slip away.
The room was instantly left with only Zhao Hanzhang, Ming Yu, and the Shi Le family.
Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze passed over Shi Hu again, and she said to Shi Le with a smile, "Congratulations to General Shi for being reunited with your family. Let’s have a al together today. I will have a tent set up next to yours for your aunt and nephew to reside."
Shi Hu was tall and burly, looking about the sa age as Zhao Hanzhang. This address as ’nephew’ made Shi Hu glance at her several tis.
Shi Le wanted to ask Zhao Hanzhang if Shi Hu had any connection to her past predictions, so he agreed.
Lady Shi had been sowhat apprehensive, ate quietly and restrainedly. When she returned to the camp, she imdiately pulled Shi Le aside, "Are you a subordinate of the female general we just t? Did I make a mistake by praising you before Governor Liu? I’ve heard that the female governor from Yu State ca to rescue Jinyang. Could that female general be the female governor?"
Shi Le nodded.
Lady Shi uttered a prayer and said anxiously, "I didn’t know you already found a good master, and I went recomnding you to Governor Liu. Did I ruin things for you?"
"No," Shi Le reassured her, "Mother, Lord Zhao is broad-minded. She understands my intentions and won’t overthink it. You can settle down with peace of mind."
Lady Shi was still uneasy. At this mont, Fan Ying brought over twenty maidens and said to Shi Le, "These are refugees who have just joined us. The Lord is having them stay in the army to help. You are to select two to take care of Lady Shi. Once we return to Luoyang, you can hire servants and send them back to the army."
The Zhao Family Army often took in won, training suitable ones to beco female soldiers, while others helped in the military hospital, logistics, and kitchen.
Thus, although won in the Zhao Family Army were few, they were not uncommon.
Shi Le knew that though these female soldiers were there to care for and serve, they were akin to guards in the army. They not only took care of the general’s daily life but also protected them.
They were part of the military, receiving monthly salaries, and could be promoted if they achieved rit.
There are now three female soldiers in Zhao Hanzhang’s personal guard, who can accompany her onto the battlefield and also take care of her daily needs.
The arrangent for Lady Shi showed the respect Zhao Hanzhang held for her, and since these won had just joined, it ant they had yet to be fully indoctrinated. Whoever selected them could potentially claim them later as his own, without fear that they were Zhao Hanzhang’s planted spies.
It was considerate to the extre.
Her attentiveness made Shi Le even more apprehensive. After choosing two people to entrust to his mother, he went to find Zhao Hanzhang. Taking advantage of a mont alone, he asked directly, "Lord, do you truly possess the ability to predict?"
Zhao Hanzhang looked up at him with steady eyes, not answering the question directly, but said, "Shi Long, do you know why among many Hu Generals I surrendered only you? Wang Mi and his brothers also surrendered to , yet I still killed them."
Shi Le wanted to say that it wasn’t because he commanded an army of over a hundred thousand and controlled a vast territory?
Had he been just a solitary soldier, would Zhao Hanzhang have spared him?
But facing Zhao Hanzhang’s serious gaze, Shi Le felt a mont of confusion, believing that even without those assets, she might have considered keeping him, so he paused and shook his head.
Zhao Hanzhang said solemnly, "You are different from them. You have killed many Han people, but you don’t do it out of cruelty or for entertainnt. You do it to survive, to pacify the army. Although I abhor it, I can understand."
"Wang Mi and others are different. Their killings stem from sadistic natures, done for fun and competition," Zhao Hanzhang said in a low voice, "Taking life for amusent is worse than an animal."
"As for Shi Hu, I see him in the sa manner," Zhao Hanzhang continued, "I t him for the first ti today. No one in the Zhao Family Army knows you have a surviving nephew and mother in the world, nor would I deceive you after investigating."
Shi Le’s heart sank, and he remained silent.
"I don’t ask you to deal with him right now," Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’m not overly concerned with judging appearances. I evaluate actions, not intent. Therefore, I won’t accuse him without cause, nor kill him without reason. But I need you to rember that under my governance, no matter who you are, you must abide by the law. Not just Shi Hu, even you, Shi Le, have to observe the law."
Shi Le: "Lord, do you an..."
"If he should commit murder in the future, I won’t show rcy, and I hope this won’t cause a rift between us."
After a mont of silence, Shi Le agreed. Before retreating, he stopped and asked, "Did the Lord take Xu Run away because you predicted he would be a threat to Jinyang and Liu Kun?"
Zhao Hanzhang smiled without answering.
Shi Le understood, his eyes brightening, and he asked again, "Has the Lord predicted that you could ascend to the highest position?"
Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes turned stern, and she said indifferently, "General Shi, you presu too much."
But Shi Le believed her expression told him he wasn’t presuming too much at all.
He was half skeptical.
Shi Le didn’t want to believe that soone in this world could predict future events, yet he was sowhat superstitious, feeling that there were always mysterious occurrences in this world, perhaps decreed by fate?
Otherwise, how could such a person as Zhao Hanzhang erge in this world?
When Shi Le couldn’t figure things out, he liked to discuss them with Zhang Bin.
Zhang Bin furrowed his brow, pondering before asking, "How is your nephew’s character?"
Shi Le frowned and said, "We separated when he was seven. It’s been eight years since, and I don’t know his temperant in recent years, but he was lively back in our hotown, though that was mostly childish mischief."
Zhang Bin asked about his mischief in detail and was speechless. Shi Le actually considered throwing rocks at people’s heads and kicking others into rivers as re childish antics.
He rubbed his forehead and said, "Master, perhaps you should observe a bit more. The young man may not be adept at concealing his nature, his behavior will reveal his character."
Zhang Bin lowered his voice and said, "If he truly is as Lord Zhao predicted, capable of murdering your entire family, he must have a violent nature. There’s no need to rush. But this matter must not be revealed to a fourth person; only we three should know. If word gets to his ears..."
Shi Le expressed his understanding.
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