After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 532 - 526: Strategy I

The Zhao Mansion is currently occupied by Zhao Hanzhang’s people, including Ji Yuan, Xun Xiu, and Mi Ce, because Zhao Zhongyu and the others are still staying in the palace.

But that was a necessary measure during a crisis, and now they naturally couldn’t stay in the palace any longer, so early in the morning, the gates of the mansion were bustling with activity—the Zhao Zhongyu family had returned.

Zhao Hanzhang turned over in her quilt, half of it slipping to the floor. She struggled to open her eyes, finding them too heavy, so she contentedly kept them closed, drifting back into a hazy sleep...

Ting He pushed the door open and entered, "My lady, the Madame and the others have returned."

Zhao Hanzhang slowly opened her eyes, "Where is Uncle Grandfather?"

"The Second Elder Master seems to have been left in the palace."

Zhao Hanzhang finally got up, propping herself up in bed to ponder for a moment before smiling, "Tell Xun Xiu and the others to move out. The city has so many empty houses now; they can occupy any unowned ones they like, but they must not damage the properties."

Ting He agreed.

Upon receiving the order, Xun Xiu and the others immediately left Zhao Mansion with their people and started roaming the Capital City to occupy houses.

He had wanted to do this since yesterday, but Zhao Hanzhang had strictly forbidden them from seizing houses, so he held back. In the end, he secretly took Zhao Erlang around the Capital City to scavenge goods, daring only to take items but not occupy houses.

Now that Zhao Hanzhang had relaxed her stance, he knew where the best houses were and went directly to occupy them.

After Zhao Hanzhang finished washing up, she looked at the clothes Ting He had prepared and shook her head, saying, "Bring me the armor; I need to go to the palace later."

"Yes."

"Where are Ting Han and Erlang?"

"The elder young master is already up and has eaten breakfast; he is currently deliberating with Mr. Ji. The second young master has not yet woken up."

"Tell Ting Han and Mr. Ji that we’ll be going to the palace together later."

"Yes."

Zhao Hanzhang did not see Zhao Ji’s family; as long as she didn’t want to, given the many guards at Zhao Mansion, they really couldn’t meet her.

Without a word, she took Fu Tinghan and Ji Yuan to the palace, specially leaving Ting He behind, "Look after Erlang’s courtyard. Since he’s not awake yet, let him sleep; don’t let any idle people disturb him."

Ting He bowed and agreed, "Yes."

When she entered the palace, the ministers were loudly arguing over the emperor’s plan to relocate the capital, and compared to that, Zhao Hanzhang’s petition for credit was easily approved.

This was because the official positions she requested for the soldiers were all under Yu State’s jurisdiction. Honestly, even without the emperor’s awards, Zhao Hanzhang could appoint these positions herself. The petition was merely to make their legitimacy more recognized.

There were no additional rewards.

Even for Zhao Hanzhang, the greatest contributor, the emperor could not offer much besides a title and land—the national treasury was empty, and even the palace’s supplies were being supported by contributions from people like Fu Zhi.

Indeed, the emperor was that poor.

As Zhao Hanzhang entered with Ji Yuan and Fu Tinghan, the hall went silent.

Zhao Hanzhang politely said, "Please continue, I am just here to listen, and to ask about the progress of the petition I submitted yesterday."

The emperor immediate replied, "There is no issue with your petition, and I have already approved it."

Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang was delighted and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

After a moment of silence, everyone resumed discussing the relocation of the capital. Over the night, more ministers preferred to stay in Luoyang, which was something neither the emperor nor Gou Xi had anticipated.

Gou Xi realized they were reluctant to abandon their properties in Luoyang and didn’t want to start anew in Yun City, so in anger, he slammed the table and pointed at them as he scolded, "Luoyang and Your Majesty faced danger twice because of your profit-oriented indecision!"

He continued, "Luoyang lacks soldiers and authority—relying on just a few thousand men, can you defend Luoyang, can you protect Your Majesty?"

Fu Zhi suggested, "Your Majesty could appoint General Gou as Grand Commandant and Sima, allowing him to guard Luoyang."

Gou Xi knew well of Fu Zhi’s ulterior motives, his beard almost flying in anger, "In your dreams!"

Luoyang was now a deserted city!

Should his soldiers come here, they would find no food or drink and would need grain support from Yan State, yet his rear is Yu State, it’s Yu State!

Lack of supplies means Zhao Hanzhang could cut off his connections with Yan State anytime she wished, trapping him like a dog in a pen, placing his life completely in Zhao Hanzhang’s hands.

Unless... Yu State belonged to him.

Gou Xi’s gaze darkened, and at this moment, he finally realized the importance of Yu State. While Yan State is important for East-West communication, Yu State is equally crucial, connecting above to Luoyang and Bingzhou, below to Jingzhou, facilitating North-South communication.

If both Yu State and Yan State were in his hands...

Gou Xi looked towards Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang lifted her eyelids to look at Gou Xi, smiling slightly, then turned to the emperor above, saying, "Your Majesty, I have another presumptuous request."

The emperor, already weary from the arguments and eager to shift everyone’s attention, quickly asked, "General Zhao, please speak."

"I wish to recommend someone for Luoyang County Magistrate."

The emperor’s interest was piqued, as Fu Zhi had mentioned this, stating it was one of Zhao Hanzhang’s conditions for conceding to Gou Xi.

He paused only briefly before asking, "Who does General Zhao recommend?"

"Zhao Kuan from Runan Xiping," Zhao Hanzhang said with a light smile: "This person has governing talent and a gentle nature. Now that Luoyang is in need of rebuilding, we need a kind and gentle County Magistrate like him; I believe there is no one more suitable."

Fu Zhi sighed softly; it was something he had promised Zhao Hanzhang, so even if he regretted it now, he could not voice opposition.

At this moment, he couldn’t discern whether the emperor was better off relying on Zhao Hanzhang or Gou Xi.

Today’s court session ended in another quarrel, but many decisions did not need to be made in court—the larger game was played beneath the surface.

As soon as Zhao Hanzhang left, Fu Zhi went to see the emperor, advising earnestly, "Your Majesty, Gou Xi has changed. If you leave with him, I worry he will become the next Prince East Sea."

The emperor asked sorrowfully, "Do I have another choice? If we stay in Luoyang, and the Xiongnu invade, can we defend it?"

"With Yu State in Zhao Hanzhang’s hands, Gou Xi will not risk leaving his back exposed to her, so he won’t come to Luoyang. As for Zhao Hanzhang," the emperor remarked with a bitter smile, "in my view, she is the least loyal. Despite her respectfulness and humility in everything, since her rise to fame two years ago, which decision truly placed me as the emperor in her heart?"

Fu Zhi remained silent.

The emperor sighed, "I am aware, Gou Xi has changed from before, but choosing the lesser of two evils is my only option."

Fu Zhi suddenly appeared to have aged ten years.

The emperor also looked at him with melancholy, and the two sovereigns could not help but shed tears upon meeting each other’s gaze.

After a while, the emperor managed a faint smile and said, "In fact, I have one more task to entrust to the Secretariat."

Upon hearing this, Fu Zhi quickly said, "Your Majesty, please command."

The emperor replied, "Gou Xi was right about one thing: I am without soldiers or power, making it hard to act freely. Therefore, I wish for you to go to Chang’an."

"To recruit soldiers in Chang’an?"

The emperor nodded, instructing in a low voice, "No need to rush back; Chang’an is just as important as Luoyang. Prince Nanyang lacks governing ability and cannot make good use of such a wonderful place, so the Secretariat should take over."

In the future, that place would also be a retreat route for him and Great Jin.