After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 761 - 751: Defeating the Monarch

Zhao Ming snorted coldly at the words and mentioned the intelligence from Yun City, "Gou Xi and other court officials seem to believe your explanation about Qingzhou, but they still have suspicions. Spies in Yun City report that Gou Xi has spent five consecutive days in the barracks, eating, living, and training with the soldiers as if to recover his erstwhile prowess."

Zhao Ming said, "Even though Gou Xi’s nature has been exposed, if he decides to mend his ways and govern diligently, there will still be many in the world who would choose to follow him. So, you should stop fooling around and spend more time at places like You Ran Residence, where there are scholars, warriors, and other talents."

He leaned slightly to point at the rabbit in Ting He’s hands and said, "If you crave meat, be open about it and use money to buy some. Why go through all this trouble for just three rabbits?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "Uncle Ming, this is a matter of leisure."

Zhao Ming snorted again.

Zhao Hanzhang thought his constant anger wasn’t good, so she explained further, "For example, you like wine, but you always sober up after being drunk. You drink not to get drunk or sober, but because you enjoy the process of drinking. I’m the same; catching rabbits is not for eating meat, but to enjoy the process."

Zhao Ming: "Since you have already caught the rabbits, then you have enjoyed the process. Now release them."

"..." Why does he always bring this up?

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Of course one must also enjoy the outcome for the process to have meaning."

Zhao Ming stopped in his tracks, "So you have ambitions, to enjoy what you conquer...the world?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

His last two words were spoken so softly that even Fu Tinghan standing beside Zhao Hanzhang could barely hear them.

Zhao Hanzhang heard them clearly since her superior hearing was known to a few close to her.

She did not deny it, instead meeting Zhao Ming’s gaze with a soft smile.

Zhao Ming: ...

This was tantamount to direct admission, and Zhao Ming remained silent for a while.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I thought, Uncle Ming, that we already had a tacit understanding."

The silent Zhao Ming suddenly erupted, "I have no tacit understanding with you; I am loyal!"

Zhao Hanzhang was not concerned, she turned around and waved her hand at the people behind her. The accompanying officials and followers immediately stopped and moved back, giving some distance.

When they were far enough away, Zhao Hanzhang spoke to Zhao Ming, "But you never served the Jin Dynasty before. Uncle Ming, it was only after I became the master of Xiping County that you agreed to come out and serve as County Magistrate of Xiping County. I’ve always been the one who paid your salary, and your years of toil and trouble have all been for me."

Zhao Ming: "I did not do it for you."

"Not just for me," Zhao Hanzhang corrected him and said, "I know, it is mainly for the Zhao Family, and since it is for the Zhao Family, then you must support me. Only by me advancing can the Zhao Family advance further."

Zhao Ming snorted and said, "You are certainly confident, but I fear you may lead the Zhao Family into the abyss."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Rest assured, unless one truly reaches the highest position in the present world, there is no reason for one person to bring about the extinction of a family. And if I truly reach that position, I am confident I can manage the world without bringing the Zhao Family to such a fate."

Zhao Ming remained silent, and after a long while, he said, "People’s hearts can easily change..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang became delighted, as this indicated a change of heart, "Don’t worry, I will definitely not change. If I do, you can whip me."

Zhao Ming snorted coldly.

"Really, I’m not lying to you." Zhao Hanzhang told Ting He to bring her riding whip, and then she handed it to Zhao Ming, but Zhao Ming frowned and didn’t want it, scolding, "What are you doing making a scene in broad daylight? Are you really asking me to whip you in public? You’re a State Governor of two provinces, do you still care for your reputation?"

"It’s not that you should whip me now. It would be after I make a mistake that you can punish me." Zhao Hanzhang said, "If you whip me for personal gain or wrongdoing, then I certainly won’t accept it."

"This riding whip is what I usually use. I’ll engrave my name onto it later. In the future, if I truly become unfaithful, you can use this whip to punish me, fulfilling a father’s duty. How about it?"

Zhao Ming was taken aback, his face turning red, his eyes filled with tears, "If I had a daughter like you, I’d have died from anger already."

Despite his words, he still grabbed the whip from her hand, snorted once more, and said while raising his head, "Let’s go, aren’t you going to inspect the ditches?"

Zhao Hanzhang walked forward joyfully.

Fu Tinghan: ...So the matter of rebellion was settled just like that?

The state of the ditches was indeed not good; the silt was severe and the fields had been neglected for a long time. It was only last year that farming had begun, and it was rough plowing: one plow of the land, one scattering of seeds, and whatever grew, grew. Perhaps this year, with more refugees being taken in, the land divisions had been allocated with precision to individuals.

The group inspected the area, and roughly grasped the situation, "This is precisely the time for spring plowing, and it should rain in a few days. If we want to clear the ditches, we need to hurry. But every household is spring plowing, so where will we get people to clear the ditches?"

Zhao Ming pondered for a moment and then asked, "Can we deploy people from the army?"

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and shook her head, "The army also has heavy farming tasks, and the elite soldiers train daily; I won’t make them partake in civil affairs."

Zhao Ming slightly frowned.

Zhao Hanzhang asked, "Are there many people imprisoned in jail?"

Zhao Ming slightly raised an eyebrow and looked toward an official behind him.

That person was the Prefectural Governor’s Sima, surnamed Yu. His predecessor had been transferred to Fengyi County in Si Province. He had just taken office less than ten days ago and wasn’t familiar with Zhao Hanzhang but knew Zhao Ming well.

When meeting Zhao Ming’s gaze, he immediately stepped forward and replied, "In Chen County, there are currently eighteen imprisoned, with forty-five temporarily detained. In the entire county, there are fifty-two imprisoned and an unknown number temporarily detained."

Zhao Hanzhang: "So how many are imprisoned in the entire Yu State?"

Yu Sima didn’t manage Yu State affairs, and Ji Yuan served as Sima of Yu State, but he paused only briefly before saying, "There are three hundred and twenty-nine people."

Zhao Hanzhang was quite surprised: "Uncle Ming, there are so few imprisoned in Yu State?"

Zhao Ming glanced at those subordinate officials and then said, "The Governor is joking. Under your governance, Yu State is peaceful and stable; isn’t this a good thing?"

Zhao Hanzhang swore she heard a sound of gritting teeth, and she immediately nodded, "Yes, yes, this is all due to Governor Zhao’s management efforts. This year has been hard on Governor Zhao."

Zhao Ming struggled to change a "hmph" to a "hmm."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Let’s have the incarcerated come out to work, clear the channels, and repair the waterworks. All these can be done. Sitting in damp, dark cells all the time is more likely to cause illness."

"And those who are temporarily detained," Zhao Hanzhang said, "especially those detained for fighting and violence, as long as the evidence is solid, they should all come out and clear the channels. Why do fights happen? Because of excess energy. More laboring will help."

"Especially for domestic violence and beating of neighbors. All those should come to clear the channels. For every fight, they can labor for seven days, and after several times, they would develop a good, calm temper."

Zhao Ming thought about it and found her proposal indeed quite reasonable, so he nodded.

Yu Sima: ...

He paused for a moment, and still reminded, "Governor, there are some scholars in jail too..."