After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 950 - 935: The General Trend III

Zhao Hanzhang also looked up at that side and said to Fu Tinghan, "Tuoba Yilu is not as forthright as he appears; his thoughts are deep. As long as the Xiongnu are not defeated, we need him, and he can get what he wants from our battles. That’s why Liu Kun has relied on him for many years, keeping Jinyang at a standstill."

Historically, Jinyang City was completely lost after Tuoba Yilu’s death. Without the military support of the Tuoba Xianbei, Liu Kun and the Duan Xianbei’s cooperation was filled with suspicion, leading to Liu Kun being unjustly killed by Wang Dun and the Duan Xianbei.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hanzhang looked sympathetically at Liu Kun, who was speaking confidently with Tuoba Yilu.

She sealed the letter she had written and gave it to her personal guards, and then pulled Fu Tinghan along to join the lively group, "What are the two brothers discussing?"

Tuoba Yilu, ahead of Liu Kun, laughed and said, "We are discussing military tactics. Yue Shi was talking about how we should fight if we encounter the Xiongnu on this mission."

Upon hearing this, Liu Kun became alert and quickly turned his eyes to Zhao Hanzhang, wanting to remind her, but Zhao Hanzhang had already lifted her robe and sat down beside them, saying, "The two brothers worry too much. The first we encounter will not be the Youzhou Army; it will certainly be the refugee army."

She sighed and said, "The people’s livelihood is difficult, and two more refugee armies have raised their flags ahead."

Tuoba Yilu, with a fierce look, said, "Third Sister is too soft. If it were up to me, we should kill these rebels, slaughtering a few to set an example, so that no one would dare rebel again."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "No matter the rebel armies in other provinces, the refugee army in Youzhou is not a rebel army."

She said, "They were forced to rebel by Wang Jun, and have no means to live, so they had no choice. If you encounter the refugee army on the road, do not kill indiscriminately; focus on granting them amnesty."

She smiled at Tuoba Yilu and said, "I know my elder brother doesn’t like these trivial matters, so I sent Zhao Kuan to accompany you. If you encounter such matters on the road, leave them to him, as he has experience."

Tuoba Yilu lowered his gaze and agreed.

Liu Kun looked around and then relaxed, continuing to stare into the fire, lost in thought.

The Youzhou Army had no combat power and didn’t need him; the refugee army was even less of a concern. Often, they would see the "Zhao" flag of the Zhao Family Army and come rushing to surrender.

Liu Kun felt distressed; was he destined to be Zhao Hanzhang’s errand boy, never seeing the battlefield?

Sitting by the fire, Zhao Hanzhang and Tuoba Yilu engaged in strategic banter, while Fu Tinghan listened intently. No one paid attention to Liu Kun’s melancholy.

He was right. The next day, as soon as Tuoba Yilu’s vanguard army left, Zhao Hanzhang and the others, falling behind, practically saw no trace of the Youzhou Army, merely occupying the lands they had conquered.

Occasionally encountering the refugee army, Zhao Hanzhang preferred to call them the uprising army. However, for political correctness, she never publicly referred to them as such, otherwise, who knows how many rebellions would start across the land.

Therefore, she called them the refugee army, the disaster victims’ army, and the peasant army.

Generally, these small groups of peasant armies would stay far away when they saw the court’s main forces, knowing they couldn’t win.

But not so in this case; they specifically sought out the Zhao Family Army. As soon as they spotted them, they would block the road ahead and surrender with white cloths even before the main army approached.

After granting amnesty to two of these groups, Zhao Hanzhang stopped accepting more. Still, she neither annihilated nor chased them away, instead bringing them along, leading them into the city to find the County Magistrate, although, in many cases, the city had no County Magistrate.

At such times, Zhao Hanzhang would select a virtuous and reputable person among the local officials and gentry, bestowing upon them great responsibilities, instructing them in the techniques of appeasing the populace and ordering them to provide disaster relief.

Beyond managing the local area in the rear, appointing new officials, Zhao Hanzhang also dispatched scouts in large numbers to find the granaries left by Wang Jun.

Remarkably, they did find two large granaries and countless smaller ones.

By opening these granaries, Zhao Hanzhang could not only replenish some of the provisions but also comfort and provide relief to the people of Youzhou.

Although every County Magistrate was appointed anew by her, she still was not assured. Thus, she left Fan Ying, appointing her as an Inspector, leading five hundred personal soldiers back, handing her a Recruitment Order, allowing her to act expediently.

"If anyone dares to embezzle relief grain at this time, you can kill a chicken to scare the monkeys!"

Fan Ying acknowledged and immediately took her men to leave.

Zhao Hanzhang commanded the County Magistrates everywhere to provide disaster relief, and this news spread like the wind across Youzhou. Upon hearing it, the people of Youzhou hoped that their County Magistrate could bring the city to surrender.

Some people’s wishes came true. As the Tuoba Xianbei and the Zhao Family Army bearing the "Zhao" flag approached, the city gates opened in surrender.

Acting on orders, Zhao Kuan would assess the situation in the county while the main army rested, keeping competent County Magistrates and replacing those who were not. Then he ordered the County Magistrates to provide disaster relief and established communication channels for him and Zhao Hanzhang, allowing Zhao Hanzhang to command him directly.

In cities unwilling to surrender, the people would temporarily revolt, either storming the county government to kill the County Magistrate or breaking through the city gates, turning the flag upside down upon opening the gates, and surrendering.

Zhao Kuan smoothly accepted their surrender, appointing the rebel leaders to assist in governing the county after pacifying them, dispersing the rest to return to farming.

As a result, Tuoba’s army advanced rapidly, encountering very few resistant cities along the way.

Without resistance, naturally, there was no need to assault the city, pillage, or... massacre.

Tuoba Yilu looked displeased, and other Xianbei people felt downcast.

Zhao Kuan feigned ignorance of their thoughts, cheerfully saying to them, "With fewer rebels, let’s hope we can all return home safely, directly receiving the military pay by then."

Ordinary Xianbei soldiers, hearing this, became happy. Though there would be less extra loot, their lives were less in danger, and they heard that Lord Zhao promised them much wealth. Upon returning, if their leader withheld just a little less, it would be enough for them to live on.

Zhao Kuan, seeing them appeased, liked talking to them more about such matters, gradually steadying the army’s morale.

Tuoba Yilu, watching from afar, said to those around him, "So after all this time, Zhao Hanzhang has given me a supervisor."

Someone beside him softly asked, "Should we find an opportunity..." making a throat-slitting gesture.

Tuoba Yilu frowned and shook his head, "This is Zhao Hanzhang’s family brother, not an ordinary person. If he dies, it will be hard to explain."

Those around him were also unhappy, saying, "This is such a poor fight."

Tuoba Yilu said, "No rush, I don’t believe the entire Youzhou Army lacks backbone. Heading northward, we’ll surely encounter one or two resistant cities. Then, you can loot freely, just avoid excessive killing."

Only then did the people around him ease their expressions and agree.

But Youzhou was indeed so easy to conquer. Their Inspector was captured, and Zhao Hanzhang was dispatched by the court, aligning with Emperor Jin’s faction. Nominally, they still belonged to Jin State, so why resist?

Upon seeing the "Zhao" flag, just open the city gates and welcome the superior? Isn’t that better?

Tuoba Yilu smoothly reached Shanggu County, which had sent a letter half a month earlier to Zhao Hanzhang, offering to surrender the entire county, oh no, to express their loyalty to the court, while criticizing Wang Jun harshly.

They would absolutely not follow this traitor Wang Jun in doing anything detrimental to Jin State, so they requested the court to send someone to inspect and correct them.

Tuoba Yilu: ... After years of battlefield experience, this was the first time he found a war so smooth yet frustrating.