The housekeeper came to Liu Kun, tactfully saying: "...This year’s harvest was poor. As per your instructions, our family’s farm has waived the tenants’ rent, but now the grain in the warehouse will only last until winter. Master, what do we do after winter?"
"How can that be? I remember we have two grain storages at home..." Liu Kun recalled just then that Zhao Hanzhang had borrowed the grain.
Liu Kun sighed and said, "Go buy some more, buy a lot more. The drought is severe, and the grain prices will only rise as time goes on."
The housekeeper replied, "Yes, but the money..."
The housekeeper extended his hand towards Liu Kun, seeing Liu Kun in a daze, he kindly reminded, "There’s no cash on the accounts."
Liu Kun: "...The money in the warehouse?"
"You’ve lent out everything that’s on the books." Surely you have some private stash not on the books? Otherwise, how could you have dared to lend out all the money?
Liu Kun was generous and carefree, least concerned about money, so how could he have a private stash?
Thus, he had no money!
The first to notice the difference was Tuoba Yilu. After spending two days there, he noticed his treatment was much worse compared to before.
At first, he thought Liu Kun was upset because he had sworn brotherhood with Zhao Hanzhang and had been closer to her recently. He felt Liu Kun was being too petty and was a bit annoyed.
However, after watching for a while, Tuoba Yilu discovered something amiss.
Liu Kun had not held a banquet for two consecutive days.
This would only happen before when Jinyang was in a major crisis.
He understood his sworn brother well. When Liu Kun first arrived in Jinyang, the city was overgrown with weeds, and only a few people were left, as everyone else had fled;
So, he worked hard with the citizens, rejuvenated Jinyang in less than a year, and two years later, was living a life of wine in his right hand and chicken in his left, even organizing a band according to his tastes, living leisurely.
It was because of witnessing Liu Kun’s wonderful life that Tuoba Yilu changed his mind, stationed his army in Dai County, and even moved his family and clan over.
Oh, by the way, Dai County was particularly close to Jinyang, just north of Jinyang, and with a quick ride, one could arrive in a day and a half, so Tuoba Yilu often came to visit Liu Kun.
Each time he came, he received a warm welcome.
This time, the music was gone, the fine wine was gone, and even the types of meat were fewer.
After careful observation, Tuoba Yilu realized that Liu Kun’s own music was gone too, and his wine and meat were greatly reduced.
This...
Various thoughts quickly rolled through Tuoba Yilu’s mind, and finally, his face showed only heartache.
He looked at Liu Kun with pity and said to him, "If you have any difficulties, just tell me, Brother. I’ll help you if I can."
What difficulties could Liu Kun have?
His eyes brightened subtly but dimmed again, saying, "My only difficulty now is the trouble with Wang Jun."
He sighed, "The court entrusted Jizhou to me for governance, and Hanzhang has been running around for me, yet I still haven’t been able to hold Jizhou."
Liu Kun wanted to ask Tuoba Yilu to deploy troops to help him reclaim Jizhou, which had been occupied by Wang Jun.
Tuoba Yilu’s eyes flickered, and he said to him, "At the start of spring, I fought Wuhuan. Despite a small victory, we suffered significant losses. My unruly son was sent away, as was another group of people, so I can’t assemble enough troops right now."
He said, "I see that the crisis in Jinyang has been resolved, and little sister is here. Why not take this chance to regroup? Once both my army and little sister’s are reorganized, we’ll surely assist you."
Liu Kun: "Now that the Xiongnu have entered Youzhou, Wang Jun is distracted; this is the best time to deploy troops to reclaim lost land. If delayed, once he frees himself from the Xiongnu, it’ll be difficult for us to engage."
Despite not being very good at warfare, Liu Kun was strategic. His understanding of major directions was always correct, but he would lose once on the battlefield.
He believed that in ten years, there wouldn’t be a better opportunity than now.
Liu Kun felt Zhao Hanzhang would surely deploy troops, but her forces were largely held back by the Xiongnu, so the support she could lend him was limited. If Tuoba Yilu would help him, then the matter of Jizhou would be a certainty.
Tuoba Yilu kept making excuses and said, "You’ll have to ask little sister about this."
Would he ask, though?
Not only would he not ask, he would have to leave before Liu Kun could ask; otherwise, it would be awkward to answer Zhao Hanzhang if she brought it up.
So he immediately took his leave, claiming, "Brother, I’m going back to assemble forces, see how many troops I can dispatch. Wait for my good news."
Liu Kun was pleasantly surprised and nodded repeatedly.
Upon hearing that Tuoba Yilu was leaving to assemble troops to help Liu Kun, Zhao Hanzhang sneered and said, "Once he leaves, I fear he won’t return for up to a year. Alliances not formalized on paper are useless."
She said to Fan Ying, "Go tell Tuoba Yilu that I want him to stay a couple more days. In two days, a batch of fine weapons will arrive, and since I haven’t had a good gift for the two brothers at our ceremony, this batch will count as a gift for the brothers, and then we can share them."
Beside her, Ming Yu frowned slightly but then relaxed, asking, "Does the envoy want the Tuoba Tribe to use these weapons against Wang Jun?"
Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, "Wang Jun doesn’t need him; I want him to fight the Xiongnu."
She said, "Liu Cong and I are sworn enemies. He’s narrow-minded and surely wouldn’t dare surrender to me. With despair in his heart, he fights fiercely. In terms of cavalry camp strength, our Zhao Family Army is still lacking; General Beigong needs support, and the Tuoba Tribe is a good choice."
Ming Yu: "Then does the envoy plan to entrust the entire Wang Jun campaign to General Shi?"
"And Zu Ti," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Zhang Bin’s strategies are outstanding, and Shi Le is fierce. The two complement each other perfectly, and Zu Ti possesses the abilities of both. With the three cooperating, Wang Jun will be no match."
She said, "I’ve already had Mr. Ji deploy in advance, and Wang Jun must have rebellious intentions by now. The gentry in Youzhou won’t tolerate his antics."
Ming Yu said, "Since the envoy holds Shi Le in high regard, you should employ both reward and authority. You’ve already demonstrated your authority, now you should confer rewards."
"Though Tuoba is your sworn brother, he’s not necessarily yours, but you’re willing to give them fine weapons. How could Shi Le be left out?"
Zhao Hanzhang realized her oversight and quickly said, "Thank goodness for your reminder, or it could have led to disaster."
She turned to Zeng Yue, who was guarding beside her, saying, "You ride to meet Hu Zhi, have him discreetly deliver half of the weapons to General Shi’s camp early."
Zeng Yue accepted and personally went to handle the matter.
Although the southern parts of Jinyang had been recovered, with wide rivers, high mountains, and dense forests, many bandits and hostile forces still hid within. Thus, every logistical transport was crucial.

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