CHAPTER 302: CHAPTER 296 CHAOS

Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Ming were unaware that both Luoyang and Great Jin were in peril.

Prince East Sea and Gou Xi were engaged in a fierce battle. Gou Xi was considered a military genius, often victorious on the battlefield, but despite months of fighting, he was unable to overcome Prince East Sea due to the prince’s immense power.

Gou Xi was too formidable; Prince East Sea could neither weaken his forces nor diminish his prestige, ending up thoroughly exhausted instead.

Meanwhile, Prince East Sea had great power and held the emperor under his control; Gou Xi could defeat his army but couldn’t seize territory, let alone enter Luoyang to "rescue" the emperor.

Thus, after two months of warfare, all they accomplished was depleting a vast amount of grains and soldiers, leaving the affected civilians impoverished, without achieving any substantial outcome.

Liu Yuan observed coldly for two months, and seeing that they seemed tired and inclined to cease fighting, he immediately seized the opportunity to deploy his army southward, heading straight for Luoyang.

Already dispirited and demoralized by Gou Xi, Prince East Sea was caught off guard, furious and anxious, and fell ill.

With the commander ill, his control over the battlefield weakened, and the Jin Army retreated step by step under the assault of the Xiongnu cavalry.

Gou Xi took advantage of this to seize Prince East Sea’s territory and also advanced towards Luoyang. As Luoyang was on the brink of being breached by the Xiongnu Army, Wang Yan, who had been a mere bystander, finally couldn’t help but step in to advise, and the court ministers finally toughened up, mediating between the two.

The battle between Prince East Sea and Gou Xi temporarily ceased. In Bingzhou, Liu Kun, who had been shouting for two months, almost cried himself to death in the outhouse when they finally agreed to suspend fighting!

Liu Kun couldn’t wait for them to reconcile slowly, so he immediately wrote back to the court hoping that Prince East Sea and Gou Xi would form an alliance on the spot to encircle Liu Yuan, ideally pushing the fight back to Bingzhou...

However, that was impossible.

Once a glazed surface cracks, no matter how it’s glued, the traces remain. The rift between Prince East Sea and Gou Xi was irreparable, making cooperation untenable.

Though they temporarily faced outward, Gou Xi didn’t initiate an attack on the Xiongnu Army but instead had his forces stationed at the Yu State border, watching as Liu Yuan’s army made its way step by step towards Luoyang.

Prince East Sea felt stifled, and with the emperor continuously wanting him to make way for Gou Xi’s grand army to enter the capital, supposedly to defend Luoyang and repel the Xiongnu, who knew it wasn’t meant to deal with him instead?

Thus, Prince East Sea became dispirited and lethargic in his warfare, while the Jin Army kept losing ground.

The emperor had no choice but to issue a decree to the entire realm, commanding all armies to come to the king’s aid.

All the state governors received the imperial edict, but only a few were willing to lead their troops to Luoyang.

Even the governor of Yu State, the closest to Luoyang, hesitated to go. His reason was quite justifiable, "The Xiongnu Army is already pressing on the Yu State; I must protect Yu State."

Due to the ongoing warfare, communication was severed, and it took a long time for news from Luoyang to reach others. Thus, Zhao Hanzhang was initially unaware of Luoyang’s dire situation until Zhao Ming received a letter from Zhao Zhongyu, informing him of the chaos that had already unfolded outside Ru Nan County.

It was the eve of Zhao Hanzhang’s birthday, and the county magistrates had already arrived in Xiping, waiting to meet Zhao Hanzhang.

After reading the letter, Zhao Ming summoned Zhao Hanzhang and handed her the letter directly.

Zhao Hanzhang stared at it blankly, then looked up at Zhao Ming and cautiously asked, "Uncle, do you also think this is my opportunity?"

Zhao Ming responded, "...I didn’t say anything."

Zhao Hanzhang sat cross-legged across from him and earnestly stated, "Uncle, time waits for no one. I’ve decided to have the army stationed in each county and directly take over the county affairs."

Zhao Ming: ...He wanted her to put in some effort, but he didn’t expect her to be this determined.

Zhao Ming warned, "You’ve just taken control of three counties, and now you’re reaching for seven out of the blue. Do you realize how dangerous that is?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled confidently, "But Uncle, don’t forget, I am now the Ru Nan County Governor. Taking charge of a subordinate county is a legitimate matter for me."

Zhao Ming was at a loss for words, then asked, "Are you going to replace the county magistrates?"

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, "No, as long as they are not openly opposing or defying me, I have no plans to replace the magistrates in the short term."

Zhao Ming nodded contentedly, "Good, go ahead and do it then."

Zhao Hanzhang beamed and stood to salute him, "Thank you, Uncle, for your help."

Though she didn’t specify what help he had provided, Zhao Ming accepted her salute without dodging it.

Given the gravity of the situation, Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly went back to find Ji Yuan and Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan didn’t react much, but Ji Yuan was so excited he started spinning in place, saying, "With this, you’ll have more resources at your disposal, my lady."

He asked, "With the autumn harvest preparations due next month, about the autumn taxes..."

Zhao Hanzhang declared, "I will collect them and not submit them to Yu State."

Ji Yuan remarked with a slight lift of his lips, "Now that He Ci Shi is too preoccupied to manage, if you can really take control of the other seven counties, he indeed can’t do anything to you. As for the promised military provisions..."

Zhao Hanzhang sighed and said, "Continue accumulating them, and send him a batch in a few days. A promise made should not be revoked, especially one made by Uncle Ming. We cannot let him lose credibility."

Seeing her resoluteness, Ji Yuan could only nod in agreement.

Fu Tinghan asked, "Do you need me to help integrate the information?"

Zhao Hanzhang immediately nodded, "Yes, please. Besides integrating information about the county magistrates, I’d like you to accompany me around the counties and eventually digitize all the county information."

Fu Tinghan’s brain was exceptionally adept, able to digitize the information of Xiping, Shangcai, and Yu Yang, making lots of things clear at a glance.

Whatever she wanted to do, she could know how to proceed just by looking at that data.

Only recently did Ji Yuan encounter Fu Tinghan’s digitization of Yu Yang, and to be honest, it really startled him.

Once he understood those numbers, he could see from them the county’s population, acreage, and even the focus of taxation, all within a few tables, which was quite terrifying.

With those data, Zhao Hanzhang directly decided to support a thousand battalions in Yu Yang, and all subsequent decisions were based on referencing the data.

At that moment, Ji Yuan understood why Zhao Hanzhang insisted on teaching arithmetic at the school. Mastering arithmetic was indeed a powerful tool.

Ji Yuan smiled warmly at the two and said kindly, "Young master, the maiden’s coming-of-age ceremony is approaching, have you prepared a gift?"

Fu Tinghan looked at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang looked back at Fu Tinghan.

Coincidentally, young girl Zhao Hezhen’s birthday was also Zhao Hanzhang’s lunar birthday, which her family always celebrated.

Fu Tinghan was aware of this and nodded, "I have prepared." He wasn’t sure whether it counted as her twenty-ninth birthday or her fifteenth.

Zhao Hanzhang was curious, "What is it?"

Fu Tinghan was about to fetch her gift, but Ji Yuan quickly intervened, "The day hasn’t arrived yet, my lady, why rush to see it?"

He gestured to Fu Tinghan to find another opportunity to give it to Zhao Hanzhang in private.

Fu Tinghan stopped, glanced back at Zhao Hanzhang, and nodded, deciding to give it to her later.