CHAPTER 495: CHAPTER 489 REDEMPTION PART 1

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhang shifted his arrow to aim at Sima Fan, ready to release it, when a voice sounded from afar, "Report—"

Wang Zhang frowned and saw a scout galloping towards him. Before reaching, the scout leaped off the horse and, panting heavily, said, "General, five miles away, the Zhao Family Army and Xiliang Army are approaching us and will be here any moment!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhang immediately ordered, "Release the arrows, kill them all!"

Zhang Bin, who had been frowning all along, immediately stepped forward and said, "No!"

He blocked Wang Zhang, shouting, "These people cannot be killed for now!"

Seeing Shi Le emerging from behind, Zhang Bin hurried to him and said, "General, Zhao Hanzhang cherishes the people. If you battle her, you can use these people as the vanguard,"

He continued, "Killing them would only stir up anger among the Han people, inciting their fighting spirit. Yesterday, the general shouldn’t have burned Prince East Sea’s coffin in front of them..."

Wang Zhang interrupted with a cold smile, "The general’s actions were to announce to the world that Prince East Sea deserved to die, and this act aligns with the will of heaven, restoring order to the world. Even if the general replaces Emperor Jin, it is justifiable..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Bing and Shi Le simultaneously reprimanded him, with Shi Le drawing a large knife across his neck, "Are you trying to sow discord between me and Your Majesty?"

Wang Zhang turned slightly pale and quickly explained, "I wouldn’t dare, I absolutely did not mean that."

As they argued, distant dust clouds could already be seen. Zhao Hanzhang sensed the unease and urged her horse to gallop, leading a dozen riders at the forefront, while Beigong Chun held back and led the troops from behind.

Wang Zhang noticed Zhao Hanzhang growing larger and clearer in the distance, realizing he wouldn’t be able to kill anyone today. Although somewhat regretful, he quickly flashed a wicked smile and said to Shi Le, "Zhang Bin is right; the general might as well use these Jin people as the vanguard, as a shield. Zhao Hanzhang and her forces are attacking from afar and must be exhausted, an opportunity to capture her."

Shi Le glanced at him and replied, "If you can think of that, wouldn’t Zhao Hanzhang? Look at the gap between her and the army behind her. They’d catch up in no time. Who knows how many troops she brought along? To attack rashly is no different than courting death."

Shi Le even suspected Wang Zhang of trying to lead him to make a mistake to allow Wang Mi to claim credit.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Wang Zhang is Wang Mi’s younger brother, both sharing the same brutal nature.

Before the thought even settled, Zhao Hanzhang had already arrived with her men, stopping across the river without getting too close.

The army camps must find a water source; Shi Le’s was no exception, stationed by a river, though its waters were shallow at this time.

With the riverbed dry, only the middle of the river had some water, barely reaching below the knee.

Zhao Hanzhang had initially raised a smiling face at Shi Le, but upon seeing so little water in the river, her eyes flickered, and her smile faded slightly.

However, she quickly brushed aside these distractions and again raised a bright smile at Shi Le across the river, "General Shi, long time no see! Haven’t seen you overnight, and you look even braver and younger."

Shi Le squinted, suspecting she was mocking him.

But she wasn’t; Zhao Hanzhang sincerely complimented him, primarily to ease relations with Shi Le.

After all, yesterday, she had almost killed him, and he had almost killed her.

Shi Le asked, "Zhao Hanzhang, what brings you such a long way to pursue?"

Zhao Hanzhang pointed at the Jin people encircled between them from afar, "I’ve come to ransom people."

Shi Le squinted, "Ransom people?"

"Indeed," Zhao Hanzhang sighed deeply and said, "I am but a woman, with a soft heart. Among those General Shi has captured, many are the parents, wives, children, and husbands of others. I cannot bear to see them parted by life and death, so at their request, I have come to ransom them."

Shi Le’s gaze moved past her to the two armies gradually arriving.

Zhao Hanzhang saw this and turned to glance at Beigong Chun leading the army, smiled, turned back, and sat properly on her horse, the smile widening, "These soldiers have followed me through life and death, and I am reluctant to sacrifice them. If I can redeem with money, I won’t let them fight."

Meaning, if Shi Le wouldn’t exchange, she would fight with the two armies at her disposal.

Shi Le thought he had seen plenty of shameless Han people, but today he realized he had still seen too little.

Zhao Hanzhang appeared earnest and sincere, "General Shi, taking these people back is merely to make slaves or sell for profit. Since it’s a sale, why not sell to me and save on the travel expenses? Otherwise, that’s an option, or kill them here and now..."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, "Killing people is uninteresting; people like us, licking blood off the blade, have seen enough dead people, haven’t we? Could killing them reveal any new trick? If you won’t sell them to me, I’ll have no choice but to seize them. It won’t be easy to run with so many burdens."

Shi Le said, "I can use them as a shield against your spear."

Zhao Hanzhang, with a serious face, said, "In rescuing on the battlefield, sacrifices are inevitable, General Shi. If you use them as a shield, have you considered they can also be a spear turned against you? Anyway, it’s death. Dying at your hands is slightly more honorable than at the hands of comrades."

Shi Le: ...

He glanced at the surrounded refugees, seeing light in their eyes, beginning to look around, clearly moved by Zhao Hanzhang’s words.

Able to bend and adapt, especially as Zhao Hanzhang personally came with treasures, smiling to ransom people from him, he, the seller, couldn’t lack such magnanimity.

So he asked, "How do you intend to ransom them?"

Zhao Hanzhang clapped her hands, and soldiers behind her unloaded a box from the cart, brought it to the front, and opened it with a snap.

Zhao Hanzhang reached out, and a soldier immediately grabbed a handful of jewels and handed them to her.

Zhao Hanzhang held the jewels up to the sunlight, letting the people on the opposite bank see the jewels in her hand even from afar.

"These are the finest pearls and gems," Zhao Hanzhang said, "A pearl of this quality could buy ten people, ah no, on a battlefield, human life is cheaper, maybe twenty to thirty."

Zhao Hanzhang picked out a gemstone necklace, lifted it for them to see, "With such a radiant necklace, it could buy hundreds or thousands of people, couldn’t it?"

She directly handed the items to Ting He behind her, raising her chin to address those across the river, "No need to count them one by one, how about trading by the box?"

Zhao Hanzhang pointed to the box on the ground, "One box of jewels for ten thousand people."

Wang Zhang scoffed, "Zhao Hanzhang, your dreams are too beautiful. Aren’t these people officials’ families or noble clans? You think a box of jewels is enough to get back ten thousand people, and once you bring them back, who knows how much profit you’ll make turning them around?"

"What, do you want to make this deal?" Zhao Hanzhang said, "You might want to, but can you actually do it?"

Zhao Hanzhang sneered, "Even among the more than fifty thousand people you’ve encircled, there aren’t many officials or nobles, and even if there were, how are their lives more valuable to me than ordinary folks?"

"Some may have noble origins, yet they’re no different from beasts. For example, Wang Zhang, you and your brother Wang Mi!"

"You!" Wang Zhang was furious, "Zhao Hanzhang, how dare you insult me!"