Chapter 136 - Title

Chapter 136: Chapter 130 TitleHe closed his eyes for a moment before asking, "Are you planning to move your family from Shangcai to Xiping?"

Zhao Hanzhang was surprised by his sensitivity and paused before saying, "Mother is timid and easily frightened; she has finally adapted to Shangcai. I don’t want to trouble her for now."

Zhao Ming pursed his lips; he no longer minded her scheming for Shangcai County, instead saying, "Who do you want to appoint as the Xiping County Magistrate?"

He said, "I’ll gather your brothers from the clan, and you can choose one. I’ll request an official appointment from the court."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I don’t intend to appoint another County Magistrate."

Zhao Ming widened his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Hanzhang coughed lightly and said, "If the county sets up a magistrate, who will handle county affairs in the future, him or me?"

"Just as a nominal position..."

"I think such a title is unnecessary," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Treat the entire Xiping like Wu Castle, where each family handles their own affairs. For public matters, consult the clan elders. Here, consult the County Magistrate and Chief Clerk. If they can’t solve the issue, come to me."

Zhao Ming: ... Is this ambition already unhidden?

Is there a need to be so blatant? At least pretend a little.

Zhao Ming rubbed his forehead and said, "This won’t work; having no County Magistrate in the county won’t sit well with the court."

"The County Magistrate and Chief Clerk are sufficient," Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "Uncle and the court can appoint them, but regarding the County Magistrate, just say that no appropriate candidate has been found yet."

Zhao Ming: "You truly think Xiping County is ours, to do as I please?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "But who will truly care about a small county like Xiping? As long as no one mentions it, who will notice there’s only a County Magistrate and Chief Clerk, but no County Magistrate?"

"As for the appointment of County Magistrate and Chief Clerk, it depends on how Uncle plans to pitch it to the Clan Leader."

With Zhao Zhongyu’s current prestige, appointing Xiping County’s County Magistrate and Chief Clerk is as easy as a word—very simple.

Yet Zhao Ming still felt uneasy, looking toward Fu Tinghan not far away, "Why not appoint him as the County Magistrate? You’re engaged couples, and he listens to you. If he serves as the County Magistrate, it’s practically the same as you serving."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "He’s my County Magistrate."

Zhao Ming: "... What about the Chief Clerk?"

"Uncle, what do you think of Ji Yuan?"

Zhao Ming turned around and left; how is this any different from stuffing Xiping County into her pocket?

Though unhappy, Zhao Ming wandered around the county town. Finally, listening to cries from various houses, he returned to the county government under the cover of darkness and relented.

Zhao Hanzhang quickly poured him tea, "I ask Uncle to cover for me before the Clan Leader, lest he finds out I’m causing chaos in Xiping and becomes angry."

"So you know you’re causing chaos?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled ingratiatingly, arranging for the guest room for Zhao Ming to stay.

Hearing she set up a side room in the backyard of the county government as a guest room, Zhao Ming felt speechless, realizing that she had considered the county government as her own home all along and sought him merely for formality.

Zhao Ming pondered and said, "Tinghan cannot serve as your County Magistrate."

He said, "He can’t even be named in the county; otherwise, the Clan Leader would immediately know he’s backed by you. As for Ji Yuan, there’s justification since he’s an advisor to the Zhao Family; you must find someone else, preferably from our Zhao Family."

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze fell upon Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming shivered and immediately said, "Don’t even think about it."

"Uncle, it’s just a nominal role. The actual work is done by Tinghan and me; really, you wouldn’t have to visit the county government for a year or so, and it wouldn’t matter."

"How can you be so bold," Zhao Ming wondered, "How did Uncle teach you in the past, really thinking Xiping County is Zhao Family’s, where you dictate everything?"

"It was audacious enough to conceal a County Magistrate, now you even want a fake County Magistrate. You, you..."

Zhao Hanzhang earnestly said, "Uncle, trust me. Even if someone writes letters, even petitioning this to authorities, the court won’t mind."

Zhao Ming: "Why, when it’s such a major affair..."

"In the current national affairs, this doesn’t actually count as major," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Just this morning Shi Le mentioned killing Sima Teng, and Jizhou is bound to be in chaos now."

Zhao Ming: "The Chengdu King, Sima Ying, is in Yan State, he can take over Jizhou."

"But Gou Xi is heading to the Capital City."

Zhao Ming paused, "What do you mean?"

"The former emperor’s death has suspicions; Prince East Sea established the new emperor, but then withdrew the court from Luoyang, relinquishing the Capital City to Xiongnu soldiers and rebel troops. There’s a ready reason for a campaign here; if Sima Ying can persuade Gou Xi to come to the Capital City, do you think they will engage in battle?"

This maneuver is too familiar; several princes did exactly this before, then I kill you, he kills me, another comes to kill him, iterating repeatedly until the emperor was ultimately done in.

Yet again now...

"That’s the East; looking westward, the rebel troops from Chang’an have retreated. Their King Hejian genuinely died, leaderless like headless dragons, merely looting Luoyang out of rage, now that anger is vented, how much fighting spirit remains?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "If I were Prince East Sea, I would surely take the opportunity to subdue Chang’an, even pushing westward, bringing Jingzhao County into the fold."

"One by one, incident upon incident, coupled with ongoing rebellions all over, I don’t believe the court will have the energy to focus on a small county like Xiping." Zhao Hanzhang urged him on, "Uncle, be bold. Taking ten thousand steps back, even if discovered, isn’t the Clan Leader still there? Easily deflecting it by claiming busy national affairs, forgetting to appoint a County Magistrate would suffice; as for you, simply resign with a flourish, perhaps even earning the title of a carefree scholar."

Zhao Ming replied peevishly, "To hold a position without fulfilling its duties, what good repute is this?"

"How is it not?" Zhao Hanzhang said, "Wang Yan held his position without fulfilling duties for long, answering that national affairs are too mundane, you could do likewise."

Zhao Ming, like Zhao Changyu, equally disliked Wang Yan’s demeanor, pointing outside and saying, "Leave."

Zhao Hanzhang rose, bowing while retreating, "Uncle, for the matter of titles, I’ll leave it to you."

Once Zhao Hanzhang left, she ran to find Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan was still bent over writing, seeing her come he said, "Just in time, today I tallied casualties and estimated the surviving population in the city."

Zhao Hanzhang: "Is it accurate?"

"Around eighty to ninety percent; many homes haven’t reported casualties, but based on a brief understanding with the civilians here, combined with information from various village chiefs, it’s likely quite accurate," Fu Tinghan said, "I examined the grain in the warehouse; if everyone obtains grains here, it’d last only half a month."

Zhao Hanzhang: "So short? Didn’t the summer harvest just end?"

"Yes, I checked the summer tax payments and discovered many households owe unpaid taxes." He looked at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang leaned back, hesitantly asking, "Does mine belong?"

She recalled that there was an entry in the ledger; evidently, she had already settled it.

"Not yours, it’s your relatives, I made some rough calculations, likely not complete, quite substantial; the largest tax defaulter is Zhao Hu."

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, "Never imagined he’d become the ’chicken’ for my exemplary lesson."