After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 554 - 548: Trust

Chen Wu really knows Chen Wan. The other party is not only his brother but also his subordinate.

He sighed and said, "Back when we were in Jizhou and fought with Shi Le, our entire troop was scattered. I thought he was dead, but it turns out he ended up under the General’s command. He’s quite lucky."

Chen Wu cupped his hands with a smile and said, "In the future, I hope General Zhao will take care of him."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded in agreement, feeling more confident about retaining the Qihu Army.

Zhao Hanzhang introduced Fu Tinghan to him, "This is Fu Tinghan, my fiancé. If I’m not here and the General needs to consult about anything, seeing him is like seeing me."

Chen Wu was puzzled, "Is there anything else between us?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "...Shouldn’t we discuss and plan the defense construction of Guy City?"

Chen Wu couldn’t help but look at Li and the others.

Li, quick to speak, said, "Aren’t we just guarding the gate, keeping an eye on the outside? If enemies attack, we fight them."

Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan: ...

Zhao Hanzhang quickly said, "No, no, no, we still need to build up the defense, with outposts and pass defenses. I’ve seen that your arrows are very few, and defending the city consumes a huge number of arrows. How can there be none?"

Chen Wu thought she was quite daring and said, "General Zhao, it’s not that we aren’t willing, but we simply don’t have them."

He said, "From my perspective, when troops are stationed, food is most urgent. As long as you provide enough grain and supplies, the Qihu Army will definitely defend Guy City."

"But it also needs to be defended at a smaller cost," Zhao Hanzhang said, "If the entire army is wiped out with heavy casualties, what’s the point of defending this city?"

Chen Wu frowned, "Isn’t Guy City meant to protect Luoyang?"

Zhao Hanzhang said seriously, "Luoyang has natural barriers; it’s important, but Guy City is also important, as are the people in Guy City."

She said, "If you don’t have arrows, then we’ll make arrows. With so many people, certainly there’s someone who knows how to make them. Everyone can learn, and we hold an arrow-making workshop."

Chen Wu couldn’t help but become frustrated, "General Zhao, we don’t have arrowheads!"

"That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to the General about. I have arrowheads." Zhao Hanzhang looked at Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan said, "This time I brought a few craftsmen with me, and they can make arrowheads."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wu seemed to realize something, "General Zhao, are you going to buy iron for us?"

"No, it’s iron smelting," Zhao Hanzhang grinned at him, "Guy City has an iron mine."

Chen Wu slowly widened his eyes.

This is something Fu Tinghan found in the Luoyang Prefecture records. Each year, a portion of tax was handed in, indicating the iron mine was privately mined.

But starting two years ago, no tax was submitted for the iron mine, and Guy City fell three times, so it’s clear the situation at the mine wouldn’t be good.

Fu Tinghan also found a map, and by following it, they located the iron mine.

Zhao Hanzhang led the horse around for a while and found that this iron mine was not small. There must have been a lot of workers at the time; there were many rotten corpses inside the mine, and based on the relatively intact clothes, they deduced that the dead included mining workers, guards, and Xiongnu people.

Chen Wu came to observe and, seeing the scale of this iron mine, felt tempted, "General Zhao, why don’t I send troops to guard this iron mine?"

With this iron mine, Zhao Hanzhang should hire them for a long term, right?

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow and smiled as she refused, "Leave this small matter to the people below to handle. However, the iron mine is within Guy City’s range, so if there are external attacks, General Chen’s assistance is indeed needed."

Zhao Hanzhang decided to make arrowheads here but establish an arrow workshop near the military camp. The workshop would be managed by Chen Wu and the Guy City County Government together to assemble arrows there.

These arrows will not only supply Guy City, but also Luoyang.

Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curled up slightly as she breathed out a sigh. She chose one person from her group to manage the iron mine and asked Zeng Yue to select a team to protect the mine.

Fu Tinghan wandered around and measured a lot of data. After having a clear idea of the layout of the iron mine, he said to Zhao Hanzhang, "Let’s head back."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded.

Taking Chen Wu and others back, she smiled, "General Chen, from now on, Guy City and the iron mine will be in your hands."

The deep-thinking Chen Wu returned to his senses and nodded quickly, saying, "Not a problem, not a problem."

Upon returning to Guy City, Zhao Hanzhang continued to worry about the selection of Guy City County Magistrate.

On the table was this year’s list of talent selections.

After taking a glance, Fu Tinghan asked, "Still haven’t decided on anyone?"

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, closed the list, and said, "The suitable ones have already been dispatched. It’s hard to draw from them again. The unsuitable ones, put in this position, have too many dangers."

"You’ve got quite the courage, exposing the iron mine to Chen Wu directly."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "It can’t be hidden. He might not know at first, but once external enemies attack Guy City and the iron mine seeks help, he’ll know."

"Since he’ll inevitably know, might as well maximize the benefits," she said, "Give him half of the operating rights to the arrow workshop, not only to win his loyalty but also to bind him even closer to me. Overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks."

Fu Tinghan said, "So, the Guy City County Magistrate must be chosen very carefully. They need to be meticulous yet bold."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Indeed."

She now trusts the Qihu Army but not completely, so she must leave someone to restrain Chen Wu.

But she currently has no suitable candidate.

Fu Tinghan also understood her predicament. After pondering for a moment, he said, "There’s quite a bit to do in Guy City. I brought five hundred households from Luoyang that need to be settled. Why not assign it to Fan Ying?"

Zhao Hanzhang found Fan Ying very effective and was reluctant to let her leave.

Fu Tinghan said, "Let her manage temporarily. Once you find a suitable person to take over, you can summon her back."

Finally, Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Alright."

Fu Tinghan said, "Let’s go. There are still many things waiting for you in Luoyang. Zhao Kuan just arrived in Luoyang. Only due to the strong stance of General Beigong and General Mi were the refugees who were relocated to Luoyang discontent. Lots of them are sneaking away these days."

Those people were decent citizens, neither prisoners nor slaves, nor part of the military. They couldn’t just kill people because they relocated, right?

Right now, the country is filled with refugees everywhere.

Zhao Hanzhang knew the situation in Luoyang was more urgent, so she left Yuan Li and a company of personal soldiers to assist Fan Ying and prepared to return to Luoyang the next day.

Chen Wu escorted them out of the city, watching them go far before turning to look at Fan Ying, "County Magistrate Fan, I’ll count on you in the future."

Fan Ying slightly bowed, "All of us are here for the sake of the ruler, and serve the ruler faithfully. General Chen, feel free to reach out if you need anything."

She would also be responsible for the grain supply for the Qihu Army in the future.

Chen Wu smiled and nodded, and the two parted at the city gate. Fan Ying returned to the county government, while Chen Wu went to check on the military camp under construction.

Watching her back disappear, Chen Chuan couldn’t help but say, "Zhao Hanzhang is really confident to leave like this. She only left Yuan Li with a hundred soldiers, mostly clerks and military supply officers." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Chen Wu asked, "Do you want to take over Guy City?"