After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

The official road from Chen County to Luoyang is bumpy due to years of neglect, having been trampled by the army before, even with pits dug for ambushes.

The advance troops filled some big pits, but ignored the smaller ones, so carriages still bounced as if trying to shake a person’s head off.

Zhao Hanzhang had long abandoned the carriage for a horse. As the horse trotted forward, the autumn breeze made her eyes droop with drowsiness.

Zeng Yue and Ting He followed behind her, afraid she’d fall asleep and tumble off the horse, potentially becoming the first regent minister in history to die from falling off a horse in their sleep.

Fortunately, she traveled safely, albeit with her head nodding, but since the horse was ambling along, she managed to remain stable on it.

Her horse was already slow, let alone the carriage which was only slightly faster than walking. Finally, Zhao Hu couldn’t bear it anymore, irritably yanking open the curtain and seeing Zhao Hanzhang horseback riding ahead, he couldn’t help but call out loudly, "Third Lady, Third Lady—"

The voice seeped into Zhao Hanzhang’s drowsy mind. She slowly opened her eyes, turning her head to follow the sound, and upon seeing Zhao Hu sticking half his head out the window, she pulled her horse to let the carriage catch up.

Before the carriage even approached Zhao Hanzhang, Zhao Hu’s complaints fired off like a cannonball, "This road is terrible, worse than before. You ought to oversee the county magistrates of the nearby counties. They only take their salaries without doing their jobs. If the road isn’t repaired soon, will trade caravans still venture to Luoyang?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Seventh Ancestor is right. I’ll write letters to organize the people to repair the road shortly. But the road doesn’t only require labor—it also needs funds for materials. I’m currently short on money and intend to borrow a sum from you."

With a swoosh, Zhao Hu withdrew his head and dropped the curtain with a huff, muttering from inside, "If you don’t want to repair it, then don’t. It’s not my loss if Luoyang sees fewer people."

Zhao Hanzhang rode alongside the carriage with a sigh, speaking to him through the vehicle, "Seventh Ancestor, I won’t borrow your money for nothing; I’ll pay you interest."

She chuckled and said, "Actually, it’s not me borrowing, but the court borrowing from you. I’ll pay annual interest at two percent."

Zhao Hu snorted coldly inside the carriage, lifting the curtain to retort, "Do you know what interest rate I charge when lending?"

Zhao Hanzhang raised her eyebrows, indicating for him to speak.

Zhao Hu raised his chin, declaring, "When I lend money, I charge at least three percent interest, monthly!"

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes, matching his gaze, and smiled gently, "Seventh Ancestor, have you forgotten? When I was the Xiping County Magistrate, I enacted laws strictly prohibiting usury. Any interest exceeding two percent a month constitutes usury, allowing the authorities to confiscate illegal gains and impose fines."

"Calculation money: the amount payable due to lending compared to other property taxes is different," Zhao Hanzhang smiled lightly, "Hence, Seventh Ancestor, it appears you owe quite a significant amount of calculation money."

Zhao Hu’s eyes widened as he stared at her, stunned, taking a moment to find his voice, "You, you..."

Zhao Hanzhang’s expression turned stern, and she addressed him, "I can let bygones be bygones regarding past mistakes, but should you engage in usury again, I will not show mercy."

She added, "I’ll have Chang Ning pay special attention to you."

Zhao Hu grew furious, nearly blowing his beard away, for he detested Chang Ning even more than Ming Yu.

While Ming Yu merely talked about seizing his assets, Chang Ning would genuinely snatch money from his hands. Indeed, they were all intentionally opposing him on Zhao Hanzhang’s orders.

Zhao Hu angrily dropped the curtain, his chest heaving dramatically.

However, Zhao Hanzhang’s progress, the transformation of the Zhao Family, even fostered Zhao Hu’s growth; he was no longer the old patriarch who only saw immediate benefits.

Now his business spanned across Great Jin, no matter how he resented Zhao Hanzhang, he wouldn’t clamor to cut ties with her like before. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He inhaled deeply, calming himself slightly before sweeping aside the curtain again. He intended to have a guard invite Zhao Hanzhang over, but lo and behold, she turned her head as soon as the curtain went up, smiling gently at him.

Zhao Hu: ...

Zhao Hanzhang still lingered here, welcoming him with a smile. Didn’t she ever get angry?

Zhao Hu felt powerless and somewhat apprehensive.

Those who could endure what others couldn’t either had great magnanimity or grand schemes, and Zhao Hanzhang perhaps possessed both. Yet regarding her grand schemes...

Zhao Hu felt helpless and sensed a pang in his heart, thinking his treasury would once again suffer.

Though he clearly understood it, he couldn’t reject her.

Gripping the curtain tightly, he restrained himself, begrudgingly asking, "How much do you need to borrow?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled slightly, "Ten million money."

Zhao Hu felt like flinging the curtain down but restrained himself, "Do you know how much tax revenue the court collected annually a few years back?"

"I know, those tax revenues couldn’t even sustain Your Majesty, barely reaching a million." During the previous emperor’s reign, they truly couldn’t sustain themselves, relying primarily on support from Dukes and local elites due to tax collection failures.

But, things are different now, from Yu State northward, each state conquered personally by her, tax collection would not fail; thus, she reassured Zhao Hu, "Rest assured, Uncle Master, I’ll certainly repay it."

"Is that what I mean?" Zhao Hu couldn’t suppress his rage, "I’m asking why you need such a large sum! Didn’t you just levy calculation money? Isn’t all that money sufficient?"

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "Calculation money is just a drop in the bucket, far from enough. Look, road repairs, waterways, channels—each requires funds. Winter is near, I suspect it’ll be especially cold this year, prompting preparations for the frosty calamity and vigilance against potential famine nationwide till March or April."

Zhao Hu remained silent.

Zhao Hanzhang edged closer to the carriage, leaning towards him, lowering her voice, "Seventh Ancestor, don’t worry about me repaying. I can guarantee with salt."

Zhao Hu’s eyes twitched, his body straightening, head sticking out the window, eyes gleaming at her, "Salt?"

With a slight nod, Zhao Hanzhang smiled, "Noticed Ting Han’s absence lately? He’s at the Qingzhou saltworks."

Breathing quicker by two notches, Zhao Hu realized salt was truly profitable.

In a hushed tone, Zhao Hanzhang said, "Now that salt and iron are nationalized, nobody can bypass the court in selling salt. Thus, let’s agree: if I fail to repay by next year’s expiry, how about using salt permits as debt settlement?"

Zhao Hu: "Salt permits?"

"Meaning you can buy salt, the permit for selling salt."

With eyes shining brightly, Zhao Hu met Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze momentarily before nodding slightly, "Fine."

Zhao Hanzhang’s lips curled upward, sitting straight on her horse, nudging it to quicken its pace, happily saying, "Uncle Master knows wealthy folks galore, so could you inform others that the court lacks funds, planning a batch of national debt issuance before year-end, available for public claim and purchase, with two percent annual interest."

Zhao Hu queried, "And if unable to repay..."

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her voice, "I’d like Uncle Master to vouch for me and ask them to trust me; with me present, the court will definitely repay. Yet, I distrust them, hence salt permits can’t be given. Kindly refrain from mentioning the salt permits to them."