After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 971 - 956: The Answer

Ban Lun also infiltrated the Zhao Family Army, but died in battle against Wang Jun. So, you see, being a spy isn’t easy; you can die from exposure or exhaust yourself serving the enemy (Zhao Hanzhang).

Shi Le: ...

He rubbed his forehead. So, the question arises: if Zhao Hanzhang can uncover Wu Yu, can she fail to detect Lu Ming?

After hesitating for a moment, Shi Le blushed and went to beg Zhao Hanzhang. After all, Lu Ming was a subordinate general who had followed him for years; he couldn’t just disappear like that.

Zhao Hanzhang readily agreed to have Lu Ming sent back. As soon as Shi Le left, she said to Wei Jie, "Well, didn’t I pick the right person?"

Wei Jie nodded, "Yes, Lord Governor, rest assured, I will diligently oversee Governor Shi."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and nodded.

The next day, the Duanbu Xianbei sent over Duan Pidi. Duan Wumuchen was ultimately uneasy, so he prepared a hundred attendants for his younger son.

Zhao Hanzhang accepted them all without batting an eye and then handed them over to Zeng Yue to take them all back.

This was Duan Pidi’s first time as a hostage. His face was flushed; yesterday Zhao Hanzhang praised him highly in front of everyone, and he thought he would be immediately put to important use and appointed a high official. After all, Zhao Hanzhang was famous for appointing capable people without regard to their background.

But unexpectedly, upon his arrival, he only met Zhao Hanzhang once before being taken away by Zeng Yue. He was just a guard.

Even more so for the attendants he brought; the Zhao Family Army didn’t give them a hard time, simply allowed these attendants to continue following him as mere soldiers.

The disparity was too great; Duan Pidi was breathing heavily, but he quickly healed himself, thinking that Zhao Hanzhang must be busy at the moment and once she had time, she would definitely make good use of him.

After handling many affairs, Zhao Hanzhang watched as the Duan Family retreated, withdrew from Beiping County, and returned to Liaoxi County. Only then did she begin her journey to leave.

Halfway, she saw Tuoba Yilu ride past her carriage on horseback, which reminded her of Duan Pidi.

She hurriedly closed the half-read document and asked Fu Tinghan, sitting opposite, "Where is Duan Pidi?"

Fu Tinghan was taken aback and shook his head, "I don’t know. Didn’t you hand him over to Zeng Yue?"

Zhao Hanzhang then poked her head out and beckoned to Zeng Yue who was guarding by the side.

Zeng Yue immediately stepped forward.

"Where is Duan Pidi?"

Zeng Yue said, "He is serving as a guard in the Guard Army, leading a squad by himself, and the attendants he brought are organized under his squad."

Zhao Hanzhang then pondered, and after a moment said, "Keep it this way for now. Remember to remind me to grant him a position once we return to Luoyang."

Zeng Yue agreed.

Fu Tinghan was also tired of working and casually asked, "What position will you appoint him to?"

"Military officer," Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’ll send him to suppress bandits."

Fu Tinghan: "Is he very capable?" He was asking about historical evaluations.

Zhao Hanzhang waved her hand, "He’s alright; he lost several times against Shi Le and later lost against Shi Hu too, until eventually, his men were almost all wiped out."

Fu Tinghan: "...Then why did you choose him as a hostage?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at him and said, "I just saw that he looked like Duan Wumuchen and guessed he must be Duan Wumuchen’s son. No matter who he is, as long as he’s Duan Wumuchen’s son, he can be a hostage."

So, at that time, whoever stood out, she would find a way to praise briefly and then take the person as a hostage.

Zhao Hanzhang sighed and said, "I’m not fond of this hostage system, but Duan Wumuchen insists on forcing me."

Since he likes using marriage to bind people, she had no choice but to take his son as a hostage.

Fu Tinghan: "Given his capabilities, aren’t you worried about him dealing with bandits?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "Not everyone is as formidable as Shi Le. Just because he can’t beat Shi Le doesn’t mean he can’t beat others. Besides, the bandits in the Si Province area are mostly composed of refugees who can’t even gather armor, some of them even use wooden sticks as weapons. If he can’t even beat them... Alright, I’ll treat him like a delicate flower and keep him in Luoyang."

Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but laugh and turned to look out the window, where Tuoba Yilu seemed to be racing horses with Zu Ti.

A little further ahead, Tuoba Yilu would part ways with them and lead his army back to Dai County, while Zhao Hanzhang would return to request the title of Princely Heir for him and the Imperial decree to grant Duke status.

Though Zhao Hanzhang could issue such decrees immediately, she was particularly focused on legality and intended to meet the Emperor first before issuing them.

Of course, Tuoba Yilu didn’t openly push for this either.

Fu Tinghan didn’t think Zhao Hanzhang’s numerous actions were just a delay tactic; it just so happened that the carriage shook too much for him to handle documents, so he casually asked to enrich his political knowledge, "Why are you delaying Tuoba Yilu?"

Zhao Hanzhang lightly smiled at him, unhesitant to reveal her scheme, "Firstly, to buy some time for General Beigong. He has just arrived in Jinyang, and much of Bingzhou used to be Xiongnu territory. Of the Xiongnu who surrendered, I plan to temporarily split them into two parts: one part will be relocated back to Bingzhou, and the other will be settled in Jizhou."

"Tuoba Yilu isn’t that simple. For the sake of his tribe’s interests, he’ll want to expand his territory outward. Using this matter to stall him will keep him from troubling General Beigong for now."

"Secondly," Zhao Hanzhang turned her head to look out the window, precisely focusing her gaze on a young man, "of course, it’s for future plans. I promised him I would request the title of Princely Heir, but I haven’t specified which son of his I would request it for."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Whether it’s the customs of the grasslands or the laws of Great Jin, the Princely Heir of Dai Country should be his eldest son Tuoba Liuxiu. But this Princely Heir doesn’t please Tuoba Yilu; do you think he would accept it?"

"No."

Zhao Hanzhang’s lips slightly lifted in a sarcastic tone, "I’m just pushing the misaligned history back on track a bit, making it move a bit faster. As for how it will develop in the future, I can’t predict."

"However, as Tuoba Liuxiu’s aunt, it is never wrong to care a bit for this nephew."

Fu Tinghan: "...as long as you’re happy."

Zhao Hanzhang was indeed happy.

She personally quite admired Tuoba Liuxiu’s talents. As for his character, for now, he seemed free of major flaws. As for whether he would kill his father in the future, to be honest, in this twisted era, even in modern times, Tuoba Yilu’s reckless actions might easily lead to being taken down by his son.

So it’s not this era that’s twisted; in the matter of Tuoba Liuxiu killing his father, Tuoba Yilu at least bears ninety percent responsibility.

With this thought, Zhao Hanzhang lifted the curtain and said to Fu Tinghan, "Come, let’s go have a word with my nephew."

The two switched to horseback and rode out, finding Tuoba Liuxiu to express the care and future concerns of his aunt and uncle. Ahem, essentially saying, "Good kid, if you have any trouble in the future, just come to me; don’t act impulsively..."

Tuoba Liuxiu listened attentively and responded with great respect.