Chapter 150 - Wanting a Recruitment Order

Chapter 150: Chapter 144: Wanting a Recruitment OrderZhao Hanzhang completed her grooming at the fastest speed and sat opposite Zhao Ming.

Ting He lowered her head and brought in a plate of buns, a plate of pancakes, a plate of eggs, and a pot of milk.

Zhao Ming looked blankly, "You eat so much for breakfast?"

Zhao Hanzhang picked up the pot and poured a bowl of milk for Zhao Ming and Fu Tinghan, saying, "Aren’t there uncle and Ting Han as well?"

Zhao Ming: "I won’t eat."

Zhao Hanzhang poured herself some, "Eat some then, treat it as a snack."

"Neither early nor lunchtime; eating like this will harm your appetite," Zhao Ming said. "Every meal should leave you a bit hungry, you know? That way, your stomach has room, and you have the strength to process food. Unlike you, binge eating..."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’m not binge eating, uncle. I’m still growing."

She said, "I practice martial arts, so I need to maintain my strength, hence my appetite is larger. But today’s portions include both yours and Ting Han’s, if you don’t believe, ask him."

Fu Tinghan picked up an egg, cracked it open, and nodded to Zhao Ming.

He peeled the egg and handed it to Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled sheepishly at him and took it, "I can do it myself."

Zhao Ming then paused for a moment, and skipped over the topic, "Liu Yuan has declared himself emperor."

Zhao Hanzhang was not too surprised; he could invade Luoyang in the First Year of Yongjia, so what’s impossible about declaring himself emperor now?

"Will he deploy troops to Luoyang again?"

Zhao Ming pondered, "The news says he has assembled two hundred thousand troops to attack Luoyang. This time, it’s not just for plundering; he’ll not only deploy to Luoyang but also to our Yu State."

Zhao Hanzhang started contemplating, "Last time they weren’t prepared, knowing they couldn’t hold Luoyang even if they captured it, so they retreated. This time, he comes prepared, obviously intending to take Luoyang completely."

"Prince East Sea isn’t a pushover either," Zhao Ming said. "At that time, the incident was sudden; his troops were all outside, plus with the internal conflict with the emperor, wanting to curb his momentum, they withdrew from Luoyang. This time, whether for himself or Great Jin, he won’t retreat again. Liu Yuan may not be able to break through."

"But this means, we have no reinforcements for Yu State either, and Yu Yang is still besieged at the moment."

Zhao Hanzhang curiously asked, "Being besieged in Yu Yang, aren’t other counties coming to aid?"

Zhao Ming thought for a while and said, "Perhaps his prestige isn’t enough. A month ago, Governor Zhang was recalled to Luoyang, took command and went to Jingzhao County, and Governor He was promoted as Yu State Governor."

That is to say, the new governor has been in position for less than a month, and directly promoted from Ru Nan County Governor, other counties may be dissatisfied in their hearts, hence they stand by as he faces danger alone.

Zhao Hanzhang clicked her tongue twice, "Still fighting internally at such a time, when the Xiongnu come south to Yu State, no one will be spared."

Zhao Ming looked at her and asked, "If the governor’s order to deploy troops comes, will you deploy or not?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Deploy, of course, as long as he gives me the authority to recruit soldiers, I will go to rescue him without hesitation."

Zhao Ming was stunned, "You really would rescue him?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Certainly rescue, uncle. Under the nest, no egg is unbroken. Before the Xiongnu soldiers move south, we must beat out the infiltrated Xiongnu army in our land, otherwise, if they rampage here, it will be us who suffer."

Zhao Ming agreed internally but still felt a bit heartache, "It’s not easy raising our troops."

Zhao Hanzhang took a sip of goat milk and said: "So I need the recruitment order."

Although Xiping County is now in her hands, and no one jumps out to say "no" when she recruits soldiers and buys horses, it doesn’t conform to principles and laws, which isn’t suitable for her good citizen image, so she needs procedural justice.

Zhao Ming quietly looked at her, "You’ve privately raised so many troops and soldiers, and still demand what recruitment order?"

"Uncle please don’t wrongly accuse me, I only have over a hundred troops, and they’re all given by grandfather, conforming to the ceremonial system. The rest are laborers and tenants from the estate, who came to Xiping to protect clansmen and estates. They’re not even Xiping people; they are Shangcai people."

Zhao Ming was shocked by her shamelessness.

But he felt relieved, waved his hand saying, "As long as you know in your heart. If I were the governor, I would definitely order all counties to deploy to Yu Yang, but not many would obey. Don’t charge forward on impulse; the Xiongnu army must be expelled, but you can’t sacrifice the lives of Zhao Family people."

Zhao Hanzhang expressed her understanding, "Don’t worry, I will sure be cautious."

Zhao Ming: "What?"

"Ahem, I mean, I’ll be very careful and not reckless." Zhao Hanzhang immediately pinched a piece of pancake for him, "Uncle, taste our pancake. The cook prepared it according to my instructions; it has minced meat inside, very tasty."

Zhao Ming looked down, the pancake was golden on both sides, cut into triangular shapes, and the meat inside could be vaguely seen through the cut, it smelled indeed fragrant.

Zhao Ming took a piece, tasted it slightly, crisp upon entering the mouth, then the salty aroma of meat and scallion, he raised an eyebrow slightly, saying, "Sprinkling some sesame seeds on it would be even better."

Zhao Hanzhang thought a moment, then raised her thumb saying, "Uncle, you’re great. Why didn’t I think of this? Ting He, go ask the cook to fry another one, this time sprinkle some white sesame seeds."

Hearing this, Zhao Ming felt thoroughly comfortable. At this moment, he finally understood why his father loved to talk to Zhao Hanzhang so much, even though he knew she was deliberately flattering him.

"Uncle, with the Xiongnu army coming south, can our letters still be delivered successfully?"

Zhao Ming: "The problem shouldn’t be big. Even if they come south, they can’t cut off all routes. I have already sent a letter to Luoyang, at most in four days, the Clan Leader should receive it."

Zhao Ming has no friendship with Liu Yueshi and can only go through Zhao Zhongyu.

Liu Yueshi, whose name was Liu Kun, his courtesy name was Yueshi, he also had a very capable brother Liu Yu, courtesy name Qingsun, the two brothers, like Zhao Zhongyu, were among the twenty-four friends, famous for being extravagant youth.

But they are truly smart, especially Liu Yu. It is said he has browsed through the world’s military books, warehouses, cattle and horses, equipment, and the forms of water and land, knowing everything documented in records.

He is the talent Zhao Hanzhang dreams of honing.

However, she merely thought about it; this person is now Prince East Sea’s Left Chief Historian, regarded as a close confidant.

Moreover, Zhao Hanzhang turned to glance at Fu Tinghan, humming internally, she now has Professor Fu; what Liu Yu can do, Professor Fu will be even more capable in the future.

Liu Kun could take office as Bingzhou Governor, all thanks to his brother Liu Yu’s recommendation, although Bingzhou would soon become a lone city, it’s undeniable, Liu Kun also became a great minister by guarding Bingzhou.

Zhao Hanzhang is envious of the Xianbei power behind Liu Kun; good quality, large numbers of battle horses are rare in the Central Plains, but nomadic tribes like the Xianbei are different, they have many horses, cattle, and sheep.