After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 547 - 541 You Are Talking Nonsense

After Liu Cong escaped from Luoyang, he returned to Pingyang and reported the situation in Luoyang to Liu Yuan.

At the time, he didn’t know that Wang Mi had died, but Wang Mi’s betrayal was undeniable; they had to seize his former territory before he returned, or else the Han Kingdom would lose the southern part of Bingzhou.

And Bingzhou’s Jinyang was in the hands of Liu Kun. If they were allowed to unite, it would be a formidable enemy for the Han Kingdom.

Although Liu Yuan was angry at Liu Cong’s defeat, he hated Wang Mi’s betrayal even more and did not bother to hold him accountable, immediately dispatching a large army to recover Wang Mi’s territory.

Halfway through, he received the news of the Emperor Jin moving the capital, and was stunned into silence for a while, "Who did you say escorted the Emperor Jin in the move?"

"Gou Xi."

"It was Gou Xi, not Wang Mi, and not Zhao Hanzhang?"

"Yes, it was Gou Xi. Wang Mi was killed by Zhao Hanzhang, and Zhao Hanzhang was left in Luoyang. It’s said that she plans to send troops to rescue the Jin ministers trapped by Shi Le."

A wave of vexation coursed through Liu Cong, and after silently cursing several times, he couldn’t help but spit, "Wang Mi, that brat, still dreamed of wealth and honor after surrendering to the Jin State but ended up with a headless body, serves him right!"

Then he fell into contemplation again, "Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t outwit Gou Xi. She was the first to attack Luoyang, and even Wang Mi died at her hands. What strategy did Gou Xi use to capture the Emperor Jin?"

The scout couldn’t answer; he could only gather some peripheral information and didn’t know the deeper details.

Liu Cong pondered for a moment, then said, "Send orders to Shi Le, telling him to march to Bingzhou to join us immediately, and it would be best to lure Zhao Hanzhang there as well."

"Yes."

Shi Le had Xun Xiu trailing behind him, being harassed from time to time, so he couldn’t speed up, and information was even more delayed on the march. He didn’t know Zhao Hanzhang had gone to Shangdang, and Liu Cong didn’t know either.

But Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t foolish; she could guess.

Shangdang’s special geographical location, and being Shi Le’s hometown, he would certainly go there; Liu Cong wouldn’t allow Shangdang to follow Wang Mi back to the Jin State either; he would come with troops as well;

Moreover, where were Wang Mi’s thirty thousand troops who fled, with Wang Shou as the leader? Did he inform Wang Zhang?

Wang Zhang, he was the sole heir to Wang Mi’s estate.

Wang Zhang was obediently following Shi Le, fighting against Jin people fleeing Luoyang, when suddenly, a Jin person who had been captured as a slave appeared next to him one day, saying in a low voice, "General, the Great General died in Luoyang, Bingzhou is in crisis, you need to return to Shangdang for rescue."

Wang Zhang initially didn’t believe the person and even wanted to execute him, but then he presented a letter sealed by Zhang Tao.

Zhang Tao was a loyal general who followed Wang Mi, making it hard not to believe.

So, on a dark and windy night, Wang Zhang quietly led his troops away from the unit and then hurried towards Shangdang.

Upon learning this, Shi Le immediately sped up his march, leaving behind a unit to hold off Xun Xiu.

Xun Xiu was considering dividing his troops again—leaving one group to engage and another to bypass and pursue the main forces—but this time, it seemed Shi Le was taking things seriously.

Recalling Zhao Hanzhang’s advice, Xun Xiu promptly led a retreat, watching from afar without pursuing aggressively.

The assistant general left behind, seeing him retreat faster than a rabbit, spat in frustration, "Such a coward! If you have the guts, fight us fair and square. What’s with this sneaking around?"

He wanted to pursue, but Shi Le hadn’t left him with much supplies. After all, Shi Le had been on the campaign for a while and the road was lined with ruined villages and cities, making it hard to gather additional provisions.

Meanwhile, Xun Xiu had brought ample supplies and could chase after them for half a month. Could they do the same?

As they were thus entwined in this back-and-forth, Zhao Hanzhang arrived at Shangdang ahead of them.

Zhao Hanzhang and her companions, nurturing wicked intentions, swiftly donned the armor and helmets of Wang Mi’s army.

In fact, there were barely a thousand equipped; the rest of the soldiers were still in rags. This was typical, as only the elite troops had full armor.

Zhao Hanzhang instructed Zeng Yue to take two thousand men, while she and Zhao Erlang stayed behind with the rest, changing into Shi Le’s army’s gear.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much, only enough to equip four or five hundred people. She specifically placed the tall and strong at the forefront and let Yuan Li take the lead, as she and Zhao Erlang hid among the soldiers.

From now on, they were two separate units.

To be honest, it was the first time Yuan Li and Zeng Yue had used such a strategy.

Both were skeptical, "Lady, will this really work?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "We’ll know once we try, won’t we?"

If they hadn’t tried, how would they know if it would work?

Zeng Yue and Yuan Li exchanged glances and both agreed. Zeng Yue mounted, leading the disguised two thousand men forward. Two periods later, Zhao Hanzhang and her group set out, trailing behind them.

It was broad daylight, and Shangdang’s gates were originally open, but seeing the dust clouds and hearing the hooves, the soldiers closed the city gates immediately.

As Zeng Yue and his group galloped forward, the gates were not fully shut yet. From afar, he shouted in Qingzhou dialect, "Open the gate, open the gate, for the General’s return! Shi Le’s Left Army is pursuing, quick, defend——"

The soldiers on and below the city walls were startled, and those closing the gate hesitated. In that moment of hesitation, Zeng Yue’s group reached the gates. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

On the wall, looking into the distance, they indeed saw Shi Le’s banners and the pursuing force. Besides, Zhang Tao had indeed sent word for Wang Zhang to return, so the assistant general on the wall, recognizing the urgency, ordered, "Quick, open the gate, just one!"

He shouted to the soldiers below, wearing the same uniforms, "Hurry in, Shi Le’s forces aren’t far behind."

The flags became clearer and clearer.

One side of the gate opened, Zeng Yue rushed into Shangdang with his men, and soon after, screams echoed from below the wall...

The other gate was slowly opened, and Zhao Hanzhang led her army into the city.

The citizens in the city, panic-stricken, rushed back home, shivering in hiding, the streets littered with scattered goods. As Zhao Hanzhang galloped past, she saw a woman in an alley sharply cover a child’s mouth, preventing any sound.

Glancing over, Zhao Hanzhang flicked her whip, lightly grazing the back of the woman’s hand, making her release from the pain.

Without turning back, Zhao Hanzhang continued towards the Inspector Mansion of Shangdang, shouting, "Zhao Family Army, hear my command, do not disturb the people. Any violators shall be killed without mercy!"

The order was promptly relayed back by those following.

The Zhao Family Army stormed into Shangdang in an orderly fashion, and when she reached the main road leading to the Inspector Mansion, Zhang Tao gave a signal, and archers emerged simultaneously atop the walls, aiming at Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang reined in her horse, not veering an inch, exactly three hundred meters from the Inspector Mansion.

Zhang Tao pounded the wall angrily and had no choice but to come out to negotiate, "Zhao Hanzhang, what do you want at my Shangdang?"

Zhao Hanzhang replied, "General Wang and I have an agreement. He promised me ten boxes of silver, ten boxes of gold, and ten boxes of jewels. I’ve come today to collect."

Zhang Tao couldn’t help but curse, "Nonsense!"