Zhao Ming did not mention in his letter to Zhao Zhongyu that Zhao Hanzhang was planning to buy a colt; he only stated that Zhao’s Fortress needed the strength to protect itself, hence the need to purchase horses.
Zhao Zhongyu did not hesitate. Although rearing private soldiers was akin to treason, and the Zhao Family’s troops had long exceeded the limits prescribed by ritual laws, in such a chaotic situation, without sufficient military strength, a family could not be preserved.
So he immediately wrote two letters, one of which was an introduction letter to Liu Kun, which members of the Zhao Family could use to find Liu Kun in Bingzhou.
Furthermore, Zhao Zhongyu exchanged information with Zhao Ming. Now, with the Xiongnu advancing south and people’s lives difficult, even noble families like theirs could hardly remain unaffected. Zhao Zhongyu hoped they would hoard grains, gold, silver, and cloth, so they could easily leave if something happened.
Because Liu Yuan was attacking Luoyang, there were suggestions in the court to relocate the capital to Chang’an.
Oh, Prince East Sea had successfully taken Jingzhao County, and now Chang’an was under his control. However, most of the people from Jingzhao County had fled, and its desolation was comparable to Bingzhou.
Thus, other ministers suggested relocating the capital to Nanyang: one, because Jingzhao County had suffered war devastation in recent years, leading the populace to flee; and two, because it’s too close to the Jiehu, which made ministers anxious and feeling insecure.
The Emperor wished to relocate as well, but Prince East Sea did not consent, leading to a stalemate.
However, Zhao Zhongyu contemplated internally, given Liu Yuan’s offensive, if they could not hold Luoyang, there was a significant chance they’d relocate the capital, with a higher likelihood of choosing Nanyang over Chang’an.
If the capital were moved to Nanyang, it would be much closer to Ru Nan County, benefiting the Zhao Family.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t think this was a benefit. Of course, she wasn’t aware of this matter at the moment because Zhao Ming hadn’t received the letter yet.
At this moment, she sat in a restaurant not far from the city gate, watching from above as Du Zhang and the three others in prison clothes moved stones.
"With all the comings and goings, they haven’t run away?"
Qiu Wu reported, "No sign of intent to run at all; they’re very honest. Ask them to move bricks and they’ll not fetch water."
Zhao Hanzhang breathed a sigh of relief, "If they don’t run, leave it be. In the coming days, give them more work, ensure they truly don’t want to run, then arrange for them to do clerical work at the county government."
She sighed, "We lack literate clerks."
"By the way, have you found the place I asked you to find?"
"It’s been found. As per your instructions, it shouldn’t be too far from the county town, shouldn’t occupy good farmland, and needs to be a place with abundant water and grass," Qiu Wu pointed towards a direction saying, "it’s right over there; do you see that low hill?"
"I see it. Xiping Mountain is sparse, outside are just a few scattered mounds. How could I not see it?"
Qiu Wu said, "A river passes through there, but mostly untreated soil, little cultivated soil, combined with some wasteland, so the grass grows tall there. That patch is quite suitable."
Zhao Hanzhang: "Isn’t there any farmland under cultivation?"
"There is, but encircling the area, this spot has the least encroachment; other places would require massive farmland occupation."
Zhao Hanzhang then asked, "Are those farmlands owned by large families or small households?"
Qiu Wu lowered his voice to say, "They belong to Seventh Grandfather’s family, including several abandoned wastelands at the borders, all under Seventh Grandfather’s name. Mr. Fu has laid out the land deeds, with nearly a third of the area belonging to Seventh Grandfather’s family."
Zhao Hanzhang needed to raise horses, and the encircled pasture wasn’t small. Initially, she thought with so few people in Xiping County, circling such a plot wouldn’t be difficult. Unexpectedly, circling casually encroached so much owned land, and it turned out to belong to her relatives.
Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment, stood up and said, "Where’s Erlang? Bring him here; I’ll take him to pay respects to the elders."
Zhao Erlang returned to Xiping and hadn’t yet kowtowed to Fifth Uncle and the others.
With nothing to do today, Zhao Hanzhang decided to take Zhao Erlang back for kowtowing.
Zhao Erlang was training troops, got stopped, and simply waved his hand, taking his subordinates back to the fortress.
Zhao Hanzhang sat on her horse, glanced at the troops behind him but didn’t stop, instead asked Zhao Erlang outside the city, "Each group and each centurion has tasks. You’ve brought all your men out; if you don’t complete today’s task, will you make up for it tomorrow or face punishment?"
Zhao Erlang was stunned and asked, "What tasks?"
"Tasks for rebuilding Xiping. There are plenty of matters now in Xiping: treating the injured, building barracks, constructing houses for residents, autumn harvest, bridge repair, road repair to aid disaster victims, all sorts of things," Zhao Hanzhang asked, "So, did Uncle Qianli not assign you a task when you led your troops out this morning?"
"No, Uncle Qianli just told me to take them out to play, just like practicing in the manor."
"Oh, then it must be Uncle Qianli who forgot about your group."
Zhao Erlang hurriedly said, "No way, how could he forget us? I’ll go find Uncle Qianli to get tasks once we get back."
Zhao Hanzhang approvingly nodded, "Go get tasks, then you must complete them."
Zhao Erlang patted his chest, indicating he would surely complete them.
Those following in the troop: ...Actually, they didn’t need to seek this esteem, Centurion, this isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Zhao Ming selected young men aged 14 to 17 as the troops for Zhao Erlang, entirely with the intent of having them accompany him. Not to mention working, even training rarely had demands.
Zhao Hanzhang cast a sidelong glance at the young vigorous lads and nodded in satisfaction, lightly kicked the horse’s belly, and signaled Zhao Erlang to follow.
Zhao Erlang accelerated his pace, and his men had to grab their weapons and sprint to catch up.
Once reaching the fortress, everyone in the centurion except Zhao Erlang was panting heavily.
Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang remarked, "Your stamina isn’t up to par; this was just a hurried march for two quarters and you can’t take it. How will you manage long-distance raids in the future?"
She said, "From tomorrow, you will follow Erlang to pay morning and evening respects to the elders every day."
The youngsters were momentarily dazed, and someone quietly asked, "Lady, does morning and evening respect mean we run here in the morning and then run back in the evening?"
Zhao Hanzhang shot them a glance, "No, your centurion got tasks for you. After morning respect, you must return to the county town to work, and come back for evening respect."
The youngsters looked at Zhao Erlang in despair.
Zhao Erlang was unaware of what had occurred; seeing them look at him, he returned their gaze with a silly grin.
Zhao Hanzhang smiled, patted his head, and took him into the fortress, "Come on, let’s go pay respects to Fifth Uncle."
Zhao Hanzhang led Zhao Erlang see head-hitting person, found Zhao Hu.
Zhao Hu was half-reclining on a mat, with maidservants on either side fanning, while two maidservants knelt before him feeding him snacks and drinks.
The cups used were transparent glass cups.
Zhao Hanzhang clicked her tongue twice, led Zhao Erlang forward, "Third Lady pays respects to Seventh Ancestor, Seventh Ancestor is truly so leisurely."

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