Chapter 403 - 397: Not That Kind of Person
Having broken into the bandit camp, Zhao Erlang led the charge, with Zhao Kuan and Fan Ying closely following. They wanted to tally the bandits, as this was one of the more formidable camps they had encountered. They’d thought there might be some treasure inside, but aside from some grain and random porcelain bowls and fabrics, it was as impoverished as the villages further down the mountain.
The soldiers were all very disappointed.
Zhao Hanzhang, who was commanding from behind, wasn’t in a hurry to inspect the spoils. She walked around the battlefield, frowning slightly.
Some soldiers came to drag away the corpses.
In battles like these, which weren’t particularly large and ended in victory, the soldiers would kindly dig a big pit to bury the enemies as well.
Seeing them about to carry the bodies away, Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly stopped them and thought for a moment before saying, "Set up a tent and place them inside. Call Military Doctor Cheng over."
Military Doctor Cheng came over with a look of confusion.
Zhao Hanzhang pointed to the bodies lined up in two rows on the ground and said, "These are for you."
Military Doctor Cheng’s eyes widened, unable to understand Zhao Hanzhang’s meaning for a moment.
Zhao Hanzhang said, "Last time, when you were extracting the arrowhead for Mr. Fu, your hands weren’t steady. You can practice on these."
Military Doctor Cheng’s eyes widened even further.
Seeing his astonishment, Zhao Hanzhang frowned slightly and said, "Besides arrow wounds, you can also study other injuries, including suturing."
She continued, "When you understand the human body well enough, you’ll know how to treat various injuries and illnesses."
"But, but this goes against the natural order," he protested.
Zhao Hanzhang glanced at the corpses on the ground and said to him, "That’s why we must respect these bodies. Once done, sew them back up and give them a proper burial."
"I will have someone look into their backgrounds. You can then erect separate graves for them."
In a place littered with corpses, being buried together in a pit was considered decent. Having a pit exclusively for oneself was an even higher honor. Even General Ma Jia’en only had a solitary pit to his name after death.
Military Doctor Cheng couldn’t accept it at first, but seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s stern expression, he dared not resist and thus agreed.
Zhao Hanzhang was satisfied and, after handing over the bodies, went up to the bandit camp.
This was a fairly rugged mountain, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. However, not far from here was a Wu Castle, whose master was surnamed Chen. They were rather unfortunate, having been raided first by the Xiongnu and then by the bandits. Yet, they still sheltered many passing refugees, trying to protect them within the castle.
Upon hearing that the bandits on the neighboring mountain had been eradicated, Chen Baoshu immediately ran out of his house in tears, hitched up an ox cart, and set off to pay respects to Zhao Hanzhang.
Hearing the cries, Zhao Cheng ran out from the side to see what was happening. He saw Chen Baoshu pulling an ox cart out and hurriedly stopped him, "Could it be that the bandits are coming again?"
"Not bandits," Chen Baoshu cried, "The Magistrate has arrived. The mountain bandits have been wiped out, and our Wu Castle is safe."
Zhao Cheng was momentarily stunned. Chen Baoshu took advantage of his distraction to leave with his ox cart and son. Two youths ran up behind Zhao Cheng, staring blankly. "Sir, is the Magistrate our family’s Third Lady? Didn’t everyone outside say that our family’s Third Lady became the Yu State Governor?"
Zhao Cheng said, "She just took over Yu State, and it’s quite a distance from here to Chen County. With so much to do, she likely won’t come personally. For something like bandit eradication, she would have dispatched her soldiers."
"It might be someone we know," a youth said excitedly, "Sir, let’s go have a look too. If it’s really someone we know, we could head to Chen County together!"
After a bit of consideration, Zhao Cheng agreed.
So they picked up their belongings and headed out.
Seeing this, the refugees who had followed them briefly considered and decided to follow with their families in tow.
This mountain couldn’t be farmed, so everyone from the bandit camp was brought down the mountain. Because they resisted, they didn’t receive the same treatment as previous bandits.
They would be sentenced to labor, directly taken for hard labor. Now plowing fields, building roads, and constructing waterworks all required people, and even mines needed a good number of workers.
Zhao Hanzhang was watching as Zhao Kuan and Fan Ying tallied the numbers when she heard a burst of crying outside. She paused, "Crying at this time, isn’t it too late?"
They’d been at it for quite a while now.
Zhao Kuan went out to see and soon hurriedly came back in to report, "Magistrate, people have come from the Chen Family’s Castle. Many of them, and the first to arrive were the Chen father and son. They’re crying at the camp entrance."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang quickly got up and went out.
At the camp entrance, Chen Baoshu was holding onto Zhao Erlang’s hand, sobbing loudly. Zhao Erlang’s face was flushed red, but he was helpless. It wasn’t like the person had done anything wrong; he couldn’t just shake him off, right?
Feeling at a loss, he suddenly heard a familiar shout, "Second Son!"
Zhao Erlang immediately raised his head to look and saw his good friend—nine-year-old Zhao Zheng!
His eyes lit up immediately, and he shouted, "Brother Zheng!"
He no longer paid attention to the person crying on him, shaking him off and running straight towards Zhao Zheng, ignoring the observant Zhao Cheng, and bear-hugging Zhao Zheng from behind with a hearty laugh before seriously stating, "You have to call me Erlang Brother; I’m your elder brother!"
Zhao Zheng couldn’t help but remind him, "Erlang Brother, you should quickly pay respects to my father."
Only then did Zhao Erlang notice Zhao Cheng, and he immediately clasped his fists solemnly, "Uncle Cheng."
Zhao Cheng asked him, "Who is leading the troops?"
"It’s me!" Zhao Erlang puffed up his chest, waiting to be praised.
But Zhao Cheng frowned, "Your sister let you be the lead General?"
He thought it was nonsense.
Zhao Erlang, being sharp, sensed his doubt and became unhappy, "Why can’t I do it? I’ve gained a lot of military merits."
When Zhao Hanzhang hurried over with Zhao Kuan and the others, this was the scene she encountered—Zhao Erlang facing Zhao Cheng with an unhappy expression. Zhao Cheng?
Zhao Hanzhang immediately quickened her pace and called from afar, "Uncle!"
Zhao Cheng looked up, his face turning pleasant upon seeing Zhao Hanzhang, and nodded with dignified restraint.
Zhao Hanzhang approached with a smile, "Greetings, Uncle. I never expected to meet you here. Please, Uncle, come inside."
She gave Zhao Erlang a surreptitious glance and whispered, "What are you dawdling for? Hurry and invite Uncle inside."
Reluctantly, Zhao Erlang invited him inside.
Beside them, Chen Baoshu watched blankly, tears unconsciously streaming down his cheeks. He truly was foolish. Zhao Cheng had mentioned before that he came from Ru Nan County with his nephews and nieces to find his niece.
And wasn’t the biggest Zhao Family in Ru Nan County the Xiping Zhao Family?
The Magistrate was from the Xiping Zhao Family!
Chen Baoshu then turned to Zhao Cheng, crying, "Brother Zhao, why didn’t you tell me frankly that your niece was the Magistrate..."
Zhao Cheng, looking helpless, quickly comforted him, "Bandits run rampant, and Chen County isn’t close. There’s no guarantee we could find her, so how could I hang such a hope in the air?"
Otherwise, he might attract enemies instead of friends. After all, Zhao Hanzhang had made quite a few enemies after becoming the Yu State Governor.
Zhao Cheng had heard even in the countryside. Many speculated that Governor Zhang’s death was her doing. Some even said she directly killed Governor Zhang—there were all sorts of baseless speculations.
Zhao Cheng thought indignantly, how could Third Lady be such a person?