After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Chapter 1115 - 1097: Hard-Earned Replies

During the renovation of the General’s Mansion, Zhao Hanzhang specifically had three rooms combined into a study, making their study very spacious!

Upon entering, there is a small hall for receiving guests, with a writing desk and seating on the upper side. Behind it is a wooden screen with a portion of a topographic map painted by Fu Tinghan mounted on it.

On the left and right below, there are three seats and small desks each, where some future governmental affairs will be discussed with trusted aides.

Behind the three seats, near the window, there is a wooden couch with one on each side where they can take short rests during the day.

Beyond the large screen, there is a more expansive area, with two large desks on opposite sides, one at the top center and the other under the right window, both positioned to take advantage of excellent lighting.

The desk at the central position belongs to Zhao Hanzhang, while the one under the window is Fu Tinghan’s.

The entire left half of the room is filled with bookshelves, but currently, they are empty, with only about twenty books scattered on two shelves.

Zhao Hanzhang’s goal is to one day fill these bookshelves; otherwise, she wouldn’t have built so many during renovation.

Zhao Hanzhang took out the documents from the basket. Zhao Yunxin had already done the basic classification, and there were over twenty letters beneath, all unopened.

Zhao Hanzhang sat in her chair, feeling it’s unwise to think too hard right after a full meal, so she casually opened a letter to read.

Beigong Chun’s letter came with New Year and wedding felicitations, "Following the Great General’s wishes, I’ve assisted Tuoba Liuxiu. He is very grateful, sending back a hundred sheep and a hundred cattle..."

Asking Zhao Hanzhang whether she would like them sent to Luoyang.

In the snowy weather, how much additional grain and manpower would be required just to rush these cattle and sheep to Luoyang?

Zhao Hanzhang politely declined, telling Beigong Chun, "The soldiers defending the borders work hard, so let the soldiers have these things Tuoba Liuxiu sent to enhance their meals. After years of fighting, let everyone have a good year this year."

She then said to Beigong Chun, "Dai country has many herders. Since Tuoba Liuxiu can afford to send cattle and sheep, why not have Bingzhou collaborate with him to purchase more cattle and sheep and send them to the Central Plains?"

"The Central Plains are short on meat. Although the ground is covered in ice and snow, and the road is hard to travel, as long as it arrives safely, it can still make a good profit," she added, "When coming, you can bring more cowhides, sheepskins, and various animal furs. In this cold weather, such items are very easy to sell."

She advised Beigong Chun, "While training soldiers is important, ensuring military supplies and governing the people is also crucial. Only by making life easier for the people and providing them with earnings can there be money to strengthen the military and protect the country."

She wrote a long letter to Beigong Chun, and then looked at other letters, all of which were from officials across the region, starting with New Year and wedding greetings, followed by various matters.

One official informed her that last month, a white deer was found in a forest in their county. He considered it an auspicious sign, sent by heaven to congratulate Zhao Hanzhang on her wedding, and asked if he could personally bring this auspicious gift to Luoyang.

Zhao Hanzhang thought about it. There were currently not enough personnel at the court. There really wasn’t an official available to fill the local position, and the person concerned handled administrative duties fairly well, although he was too eager to please his superiors. So, she told him, "No need. This auspicious gift was not sent by heaven to congratulate me, but to aid the people at a time of hardship."

Zhao Hanzhang entrusted him to sell this auspicious deer, not less than two hundred thousand coins, and the proceeds were to be handed to the treasury to relieve the people.

Zhao Hanzhang also urged him to do his best, and if he performed well, perhaps heaven would bestow another auspicious gift in the future. This time, heaven saw his kindness and capability and specifically bestowed this gift on his jurisdiction to aid the world through his hands.

After finishing the letter, Zhao Hanzhang scanned it quickly, blew on it, and slipped it into an envelope, tossing it aside.

She then picked up another letter from Shi Le, who, after offering wedding congratulations, stated, "Youzhou is too harsh and cold. When I got up to wash my face this morning, I touched the water, and it was ice cold. As I tossed the water from washing outside, it froze before it even hit the ground."

Because it was so cold, he couldn’t sleep at night, and begged Zhao Hanzhang to spare some money for purchasing coal for him and the soldiers, officials, and people of Youzhou...

Zhao Hanzhang rubbed her forehead, tossed the letter aside, and rummaged through a pile of letters, pulling out Wei Jie’s letter to read.

Wei Jie informed Zhao Hanzhang, "This year, Youzhou seems colder than previous years. I inquired with old farmers; during the same period, Youzhou had three more snowfalls than last year, only one more than the year before. The old farmers say this is an auspicious snow, not seen as dispiriting but rather cheerful."

"It’s just too cold, and there’s a shortage of food. In hunger and cold, people die every day. The Inspector frequently dispatched soldiers to handle the corpses, relieving many from forced labor, and allowed the people to freely enter and exit the mountains and fields, with some effect."

Zhao Hanzhang frowned, thought about it, and wrote to Shi Le, "Understood, I will send money to you. Food and clothing are things you should purchase yourselves. Remember to encourage farming in the spring and not delay agricultural timings. This year has been difficult. I had to thicken my face and borrow a lot of money, grain, and food from others just so you can get by more comfortably. But relying on others doesn’t compare to relying on oneself. If next year there is more farming, more raising of chickens, ducks, and pigs, more planting of mulberries and hemp, then you won’t need to ask others anymore."

Zhao Ming also wrote to Zhao Hanzhang, stating, "Clan affairs are busy, and since you are married, after the New Year, when the weather gets warmer, please send my father back to Xiping."

Zhao Ming expressed, "If you do not send him back, as an acting Clan Leader and Yu State Governor, you can only choose one of the two."

Whenever Zhao Ming thought of Zhao Hanzhang’s name, he couldn’t help but get angry due to being busy.

Zhao Hanzhang temporarily didn’t want to reply to him, so she tossed his letter into the farthest small wooden tray from her, and casually picked up another letter.

The official inside the letter laughed heartily, gladly telling Zhao Hanzhang he had managed to bring his brother’s entire family and his parents, who had escaped to the south, back, and was so delighted he wrote to inform Zhao Hanzhang and ask if there was a suitable position for his brother.

He claimed his brother was very capable, though a bit old, and his thinking somewhat rigid, adamantly refusing to participate in recruitment exams. He hoped Zhao Hanzhang could give his brother a chance.

Zhao Hanzhang thought about it. She remembered the official was a County Magistrate in Nanyang County, a very pragmatic person who could eat and live with the refugees to gain their trust. Thinking that his brother couldn’t be too bad, she replied agreeing and asked his brother to come to Luoyang. After assessing him, she would choose a suitable position for him.

Reading letters is addictive, especially with so much variety. A female County Magistrate wrote to Zhao Hanzhang saying she had gotten married last month. She went with Government Officials and stationed soldiers to recruit bandits in the mountains and suddenly realized that not only could the bandit leader read and write, "he came from a humble family, was handsome, and captured my heart."

Thus, the female County Magistrate married the bandit leader, and along the way, recruited the band of bandits, keeping some to reinforce the stationed troops, while distributing land to the rest to become farmers.

The female County Magistrate shared this joyful event with Zhao Hanzhang, hoping to receive her blessing.

Zhao Hanzhang gladly offered her blessings and praised her, "Well done, but do not be lost in beauty and delay state affairs."