Chapter 120 - Encounter

Chapter 120: Chapter 114: EncounterThe horse farm in Shangcai is not large, as this is the Central Plains, and the horses raised only supply Ru Nan County. However, Zhao Hanzhang was lucky, as it was autumn.

Horses are generally exchanged among counties in late autumn, and they haven’t been exchanged yet, so there are the most horses in the horse farm now.

Zhao Hanzhang entered the horse farm with a hand-written note from County Magistrate Chai to requisition horses. The head horse keeper glanced at the note and said, "Shangcai County can take ten horses. Wait here, I will bring them to you."

"Wait a moment," Zhao Hanzhang blocked him with her spear and asked, "How many mature horses are currently in the horse farm?"

The head horse keeper said cautiously, "No matter how many there are, Shangcai County can only take ten. The rest are for the Prefectural Governor and the other counties."

Zhao Hanzhang said seriously, "In urgent situations, we must act pragmatically. Now that both Yu Yang and Xiping have lit wolf smoke signals, we are requisitioning these horses to save the Prefectural Governor."

The head horse keeper’s eyes widened in disbelief, "Which family are you from? No woman leads troops. I don’t know what Shangcai County is planning, but it’s generous to give you ten horses, and you even want to take them all."

Zhao Hanzhang declared, "I am the Third Lady of the Xiping Zhao Family, and I am requisitioning these horses now. If we are fortunate enough to survive this battle, we will return the horses."

Hearing she was from the Zhao Family, the head horse keeper was stunned, but he still stood in their way, "No, there’s still over a month until the horses are supposed to be handed over. If you take them, how will I account for it?"

"If the city falls, who will you hand the horses over to?" Zhao Hanzhang gestured to the people behind her, "Zhao Ju, take the people to get the horses. Bring out all the mature horses."

"Yes!"

Zhao Ju led around a hundred people rushing into the horse farm.

The head horse keeper and his clerks tried to block them, but there were only about ten people in the whole horse farm, including the head horse keeper, while Zhao Hanzhang had nearly a thousand people. They couldn’t stop them at all.

In no time, Zhao Ju had found 108 mature horses in the horse farm and even found a dozen saddles and immediately put them on.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t mind that the remaining horses didn’t have saddles and distributed them to the troops according to their previous training results, even allocating twenty horses to the stationed soldiers.

Captain Chen, who was watching quietly from behind with his soldiers, was taken aback and asked, "We get some too?"

Zhao Hanzhang replied, "There’s no saddle. Riding without one isn’t a problem, is it?"

Captain Chen immediately responded, "No problem."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded slightly, "Good, if there’s no problem, let’s switch to horses and move. Once we get there, follow the orders. Our goal is to push back the enemy and not let them cross Xiping to reach Shangcai."

Upon hearing that her goal was not just to save the Zhao Family, Captain Chen’s expression softened, and he nodded solemnly, "We will do our utmost."

Seeing that there was no turning back, Wei Matou sat on the ground, slapping his thigh and weeping bitterly.

Seeing his pitiful crying, Zhao Hanzhang casually took the jade pendant from her waist and tossed it to him, "Why are you crying? Later, take this jade pendant to the Zhao Family Manor and look for me or Mr. Ji. Explain the situation. If we can’t repay you with horses, we can give you a few sets of glassware. You can use the glassware for bribes, which might be useful."

Wei Matou’s cries suddenly paused.

Zhao Hanzhang turned back and waved to everyone, "Let’s go!"

With all these additional horses, the marching speed increased significantly. Zhao Hanzhang decided to take fifty riders and Fu Tinghan ahead, while Zhao Ju led the remaining people on a rapid march.

She chose as many bows and arrows as possible and, after nodding at Zhao Ju, mounted her horse to lead the way.

Ji Ping and the troops escorted Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan towards Xiping as the sky darkened. They hadn’t had any water and wanted to reach Xiping as soon as possible.

In the darkness, Zhao Hanzhang heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from the other side. She reined in her horse and softly stopped her troops behind her.

Ji Ping listened intently but heard nothing, "Third Lady, did you mishear?"

Zhao Hanzhang dismounted, lay down to listen, and got up after a moment, "Someone is coming."

Ji Ping also lay down to listen and picked it up, "About a dozen horses are coming quickly, they should be arriving soon."

Zhao Hanzhang waved, signaling everyone to hide on both sides of the road.

Fu Tinghan said, "It’s possible they’re people who escaped to report news."

Zhao Hanzhang also hoped that’s the case. After waiting a while, the sound of horse hooves came closer. Although the night was dark, under the moonlight, they could still vaguely see a dozen or so horses galloping over.

Since they didn’t know if they were friend or foe, Ji Ping first blew a whistle to signal them to stop. Only after they stopped cautiously did he jump out to ask, "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

Zhao Family’s troops were initially terrified, fearing an ambush, but hearing the questioning tone, they knew it was not a robbery. If it were the enemy, they wouldn’t bother with a warning, they would attack and cut them down directly.

Thus, the leader immediately shouted, "We are from the Xiping Zhao Family. Who are you?"

Ji Ping said, "From Zhao’s Fortress?"

"Correct."

Ji Ping lit a torch and cautiously advanced with his men. The riders on horseback were also tense, hands tightly gripping their swords, but when the torch lit up and they saw Ji Ping’s face, a sense of relief washed over him, "Ji Ping!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ping quickly moved forward and recognized the familiar face, but couldn’t recall who it was. But he immediately noticed the young boy being protected in his arms, "This is the young master from the fourth house."

Ji Ping had seen him around Zhao Hanzhang and immediately turned back, "Lady!"

Zhao Hanzhang emerged from the darkness, and upon seeing her, the Zhao troops’ eyes reddened with emotion, they immediately dismounted, bowing with the child in their arms, "Third Lady, the fortress is in trouble, Fifth Grandfather sent us to escort the young masters and ladies here."

The children, upon seeing Third Sister Zhao, broke into loud sobs.

The oldest among them was twelve and could already ride by themselves, while the youngest was just five or six.

The half-day’s escape had filled them with terror. Though not very familiar with Zhao Hanzhang, they knew she was their future reliance, so upon seeing her, they couldn’t help but cry.

Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward, patting their heads, and turned to ask the soldiers, "Who is attacking the fortress, and how many are there?"

"They bear the flag of Liu Yuan, but their clothes are ragged, not like the Xiongnu," the soldier paused, then added, "When we escaped, we also saw another banner, it seemed to have the character for ’Shi’ on it. There were about four thousand people, but there are also enemies in the direction of the county town. Mr. Ming said that if the county town falls, the fortress cannot stand alone, so he sent us to bring the young masters out, asking the Third Lady to preserve the Zhao Family’s lineage."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I brought reinforcements out. You all head to the manor first, and let Zhao Tong take you to Shi County to find Mr. Ji."

The soldier glanced at the few dozen people behind them and knelt down, "Third Lady, the rebels are starving and have lost humanity. Please prioritize the family and do not contend with them needlessly."

He was almost saying that Zhao Hanzhang was courting disaster.

"This fifty riders is just the advance party, there are still a thousand people coming behind," Zhao Hanzhang said, "You all should leave first, and warn Zhao Ju if you encounter him on the way, so you don’t end up fighting each other."

Upon hearing there were a thousand more coming, the soldiers immediately stopped persuading her, stood up, and saluted.

Zhao Hanzhang patted the heads of the children, especially the little girl. She bent down to meet her large, round eyes, "Don’t be afraid, let your uncle soldiers take you to the manor, alright?"

The little girl’s eyes were still filled with tears, but she didn’t let them fall. She suppressed her tears and said in a small voice, "I am the eldest daughter of the sixth house. My father said I am the root of our house, so I must not cry, I must be strong."

Zhao Hanzhang patted her head, "Good girl."