Chapter 368 - 362 Mutual Admiration
Unlike Zhao Hanzhang, she worries about the risk of mutiny due to the high number of barbarians in the troop, but Beigong Chun does not share this concern. In his view, those willing to surrender, whether they are generals or soldiers, can be of use.
He addressed Zhao Hanzhang: "I am not afraid of a large number of barbarians. In Xiliang, we frequently battled with the Xiongnu, and when we lost, some of our officers and soldiers surrendered to them; when we won, Xiongnu officers surrendered to us. We can’t just kill all those who surrender, so we use those who surrender to us."
Zhao Hanzhang: "Doesn’t General Beigong worry about spies among them?"
Beigong Chun replied indifferently: "That depends on how we use them. To me, the effort spent on discerning their loyalty is far greater than how we use them, and the cost is higher."
Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help but lament in her heart that even as a descendant of a modern unified nation, she couldn’t match Beigong Chun’s magnanimity.
She pondered deeply and, upon meeting Cheng Da and other Jiehu again, made up her mind not to let them leave.
Zhao Hanzhang asked Captain Song, "Has everything been smooth along the way?"
With numerous injured civilians and so many prisoners in tow, Captain Song remained tense throughout the journey. Yet upon hearing Zhao Hanzhang’s question, he nodded and replied, "Smooth."
Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly and allowed him to rest, then called Cheng Da and Wei You, along with several Jiehu centurions, to speak.
"Have you asked the other Jiehu soldiers their intentions? Do they wish to stay or leave?"
Cheng Da tentatively asked, "Does General Zhao truly wish to let us leave?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "However, to prevent them from becoming disorganized troops that would plunder my Central Plains people, and to stop them from returning to serve in the Xiongnu Khanate’s army, we must wait some time before releasing them."
This is standard practice, but...
Cheng Da asked, "What about their food supplies?"
Zhao Hanzhang replied, "According to usual practice, I recall Guan City has mines."
She regretfully said, "It’s a pity there’s a lack of grain in the city now; I wonder if the mines are still operational. I will inquire with General Beigong."
If the mines are not operational, will these prisoners be purged? Or even directly used as food?
Cheng Da and his companions felt their hearts pounding, not entirely trusting the characters of these higher-ups.
So, after Zhao Hanzhang left, they immediately turned back to their comrades and said, "We have decided to follow Zhao Hanzhang. Do you want to stay too?"
"Captain, are we not going home?"
"Our families, we don’t even know if they are alive or dead. If we leave, we might be re-enlisted in the army to fight against Jin people; or we might starve to death on the way," Cheng Da whispered. "I’ve asked around; Guan City was besieged by us for over twenty days, and there’s not much grain left in the city. Now outside, there are still Xiongnu. If they can’t break through, they won’t let us leave, and then we’ll just be consuming resources."
"Didn’t General Zhao say she would let us go?"
Cheng Da slapped him, "Can you trust the words of those above? When Your Majesty recruited us, he said we’d share fortune and hardship in the future. Now that he’s the emperor, aren’t we still enslaved by the Xiongnu?"
Everyone thought Cheng Da’s words made sense. After some brief contemplation, they all agreed to directly pledge allegiance to Zhao Hanzhang to preserve their lives first.
After all, being a slave to anyone is still being a slave, isn’t it?
Charging into battle for anyone is still fighting, isn’t it?
At this stage, staying alive is most important.
Thus, a group approached Zhao Hanzhang, displaying a sincere appearance of loyalty, expressing their willingness to stay and follow Zhao Hanzhang, wishing to fight for her to the end.
Fu Tinghan, who had just witnessed Zhao Hanzhang threatening Cheng Da and Wei You: ...
Zhao Hanzhang accepted them with a moved expression, immediately instructing Qiu Wu to arrange for them to be equipped with armor, weapons, and conducting the necessary background checks.
Especially the family background checks, which were thorough, so Zhao Hanzhang asked Fu Tinghan to assist.
Fu Tinghan didn’t mind, as he was accustomed to handling information collection, but... "Aren’t you afraid they’ll turn against you in your army now?"
Zhao Hanzhang confidently replied, "Beigong Chun is right, I find my courage was too small; they are very important forces. Why only use a small portion instead of gathering all the strength we can reach?"
Fu Tinghan: "Aren’t you worried about them becoming too unwieldy?"
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, "Jiehu has always been subservient to the Xiongnu; earlier I was too cautious. I believe that if I’m sincere to them, they’ll sincerely repay me."
Fu Tinghan nodded, feeling she made sense, then asked, "How do you plan to express sincerity?"
Zhao Hanzhang’s method of expressing sincerity was to treat them equally, providing them the same treatment as the Jin army, training together, maintaining weapons together, and fighting on the battlefield together.
Of course, before that, she approached each centurion to discuss the current benefits of serving in the Zhao Family Army, which differed from the those provided by the court.
However, there currently isn’t a uniform court treatment to begin with.
After Zhao Hanzhang left, a group of Jiehu gathered together, "Can military status grant land?"
"She said land would be distributed; it should be true, right?"
"Isn’t that for cultivating her land? From her words, it seems those lands belong to our families, and we don’t even pay taxes."
"That’s false, right? I’ve never heard of military status not paying taxes."
"Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not; we’re not leaving anyway, as long as we don’t starve."
"Indeed, now outside, we can’t even be sure if we can make it to Xiping alive with her."
That’s what they said, but deep down hope began to rise, and they felt a slight sense of belonging to the Zhao Family Army.
Beigong Chun observed how these prisoners changed in vigor and spirit in just one night and said to Huang An, "Though she’s a woman, she truly is an excellent commander. Yu State under her command is stronger than under Inspector He."
Thinking about this, Beigong Chun sneered: "Xi Gou wants to control her, but I’m afraid it’s not easy."
He already knew Zhao Hanzhang planned to cooperate with Gou Xi in a major counterattack. Though she hadn’t disclosed the cost, it was clear Gou Xi would not readily agree to mobilize troops, indicating Zhao Hanzhang paid a hefty price.
Beigong Chun would also participate in this counterattack.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t have to exert effort to persuade him; he agreed as soon as she mentioned it.
He also didn’t wish to linger in Yu State; he was ordered to support Yu State with one sole objective—to solve its crisis swiftly and return to Xiliang.
Zhao Hanzhang sighed repeatedly, "General Beigong is truly wonderful; he’s the only one who didn’t set conditions with me."
Fu Tinghan: "He is pure-hearted; isn’t it good that he didn’t set conditions with you?"
"It’s good, but I feel a little guilty. It’s fortunate he didn’t ask; if he had asked to return to Xiliang after the battle, should I agree or not?"
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Agreeing makes my heart ache, not agreeing makes it hard to get over this hurdle of conscience."
If such a minor request isn’t granted, it makes her seem stingy.