Chapter 404 - 398: All are Talented
Zhao Hanzhang was also very cordial to Chen Baoshu, smiling as she invited him and Zhao Cheng into the tent together.
Chen Baoshu was overwhelmed by the favor.
Once back in the tent, Ting He carried a teapot to pour them hot water; there was no tea. Zhao Hanzhang was very poor now, so poor that she didn’t drink tea anymore and exchanged it all for food.
Zhao Hanzhang was very interested in why Zhao Cheng was here, so after sitting down, she curiously looked at him and the young men behind him, "Uncle, Uncle Ming said you had already left Xiping. How did you end up here?"
This place was in the eastern part of Yu State, southeast of Chen County, previously occupied by Shi Le.
Zhao Cheng sighed, and seeing him sigh, the young man behind him spoke on his behalf. He had been unable to hold back for a while, but with his teacher in front, he dared not act rashly.
"Third Sister, we were originally going to Chen County to help you, but we ran into the Xiongnu after leaving Ru Nan County..."
Actually, they didn’t run into them; they encountered ordinary people fleeing together after being plundered by the Xiongnu.
This group had carriages, ox carts, and quite a bit of luggage. Suddenly encountering such a group, they could only flee along with them.
Then they were driven back to Ru Nan County by the unseen Xiongnu army.
Zhao Cheng was very experienced; calmly choosing another path out of Ru Nan County, he led them safely into Ruyin County, planning to go from Ruyin to Chen County.
But within a few days of entering Ruyin, they saw a living hell.
Because Shi Le attacked cities and broke fortresses, bodies lay strewn across the main roads, and many people had to flee. Meanwhile, the Xiongnu forces advanced southward, pressing their borders. They had just escaped to a place, and before they could settle, they were besieged by the Xiongnu again and could only continue to flee...
They were like flies without direction, fleeing everywhere, yet seemed to always encounter the Xiongnu army.
At this moment, there was no distinction between commoners and aristocrats. They were all chased around like stray dogs.
Even Zhao Cheng, who had traveled extensively and seen much of the world, fell silent seeing the plight of the people.
He also knew that with their current capabilities and resources, they couldn’t really help—like a cup of water for a burning cart.
But to truly ignore the cries of children dying of hunger and women taking their own lives, he couldn’t do it. So Zhao Cheng steeled his heart a little, sharing some of his food with them, and eventually sold the carriages and ox carts for more grain.
Though he knew that the refugees who received the food might not survive the military disaster, living one more day would be something.
Thus, they went along rescuing people, and many refugees simply followed them, everyone supporting each other to escape for their lives.
The young man said, "We arrived here the day before yesterday. Hearing Chen Baoshu say there is a bandit den on the mountain, our teacher said he would lead people to eliminate it. Not only could the fortress then be free from worries, but we might also get some life-saving food."
Zhao Hanzhang listened in shock, asking, "You fought against bandits?"
The young man nodded, "Of course we did. We only had a little money, which was spent. So many people needed to survive. We went along the way, robbing bandits—or rather, eradicating them—to get food. We barely managed to survive."
"Third Sister, do you think I’ve lost weight?"
The young man was a junior teacher in the school, studying with Zhao Cheng while taking on tasks to enlighten students. Zhao Hanzhang knew him; his name was Zhao Ze, and he seemed to be only thirteen?
He should be about a year younger than her. Zhao Hanzhang knew him; he previously had chubby cheeks, and now there was no flesh on his face.
She immediately looked at him heartbrokenly and said, "You’ve gotten thinner."
The young man sighed heavily, "It’s all because of hunger."
Zhao Hanzhang immediately turned to Ting He and said, "Quick, have the kitchen prepare a meal. How can I let my younger cousin go hungry?"
The young man looked at Zhao Hanzhang with teary eyes, "Thank you, Third Sister!"
The young men around him and Zhao Cheng also seemed slightly excited. Along the way, this group of young masters, who had never been hungry before, was famished.
The always silent Zhao Cheng: ...
He glanced at his overly lively disciple, unable to help but speak to him, "Zhao Ze!"
Zhao Ze immediately put away the smile from his face and the tears from his eyes, standing solemnly.
Zhao Hanzhang still showed a face full of pity and emotion, speaking to Zhao Cheng, "Uncle and brothers have suffered along the way. I will immediately arrange tents for you to rest."
She turned to Zhao Kuan, "Brother Kuan, you arrange this matter."
Zhao Kuan agreed without hesitation.
Since they were here, they would all stay together, nobody leaving.
At this moment, Zhao Kuan and Zhao Hanzhang’s thoughts were unprecedentedly aligned.
The thought flashed across Zhao Kuan’s mind, and he felt he had changed.
These were his teacher and brothers; how could he stand against them?
But...
His gaze fell on Zhao Hanzhang’s smiling face, and he thought, "Forget it, better them than me."
After coaxing Zhao Cheng and others away, Zhao Hanzhang turned to look at Chen Baoshu.
She exhaled and spoke more warmly with Chen Baoshu.
Her power was only so great, and she still had to rely on gentry like Chen Baoshu to help govern the area.
The fact that he was willing to take in refugees showed he was kindhearted. As long as he had a sincere heart for the people, he could be relied upon.
Chen Baoshu was named Chen Yin, and the Chen Family had lived here for generations. Previously, there was no fortress here.
However, in recent years, the world was unstable. Last year, Shi Le was chased by Gou Xi into Yu State. At that time, this area was plundered.
After that incident, Chen Yin organized people to build a fortress around their village.
That’s right; unlike Zhao’s Fortress which was built by the clan and then accommodated other people becoming fort residents, Chen Family’s Castle was initially built by the villagers together.
Their force was very small, with only about a hundred households in the fortress and not many people. However, during this time, they received quite a few refugees, so now there were nearly a thousand people in the fortress, excluding the people Zhao Cheng brought.
They were having a hard time too.
Chen Yin took in so many refugees, not just out of kindness. The fundamental reason was they didn’t want to leave their homeland, and there was a mountain bandit den nearby. They had already been robbed once, and to avoid being robbed, they needed to absorb manpower to grow stronger.
Had Zhao Hanzhang not come to eliminate the bandits, over time, this area would inevitably form a situation where the mountain bandits and the Chen Family’s Castle would rule independently.
But now that Zhao Hanzhang had come, Chen Yin welcomed her, mainly because life was too difficult now, and he felt he was about to be overwhelmed.
When the sky falls, the taller hold it up. Previously, he was the tallest in this region, but now Zhao Hanzhang was taller. He told his difficulties with trepidation, hoping Zhao Hanzhang would point him to a way out and help him.
Zhao Hanzhang listened earnestly, expressing she would definitely assist them. Every citizen under Yu State’s governance was her people, and she would not give up on anyone.
"Since the fortress is built, there’s no need to dismantle it. If we encounter an enemy invasion in the future, villagers nearby can take shelter inside," Zhao Hanzhang said. "But there’s also no need to expand further; it would be excessively burdensome."
Chen Yin nodded in agreement, acknowledging the immense cost of building the fortress.