After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 788 - 778: Probing

"Wang Jun may be insidious and cunning, but he is more suited for the role of State Governor than Gou Chun, so for the sake of Great Jin, for the sake of our future development and stability, Gou Chun cannot be this governor."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "The Great General, mindful of brotherly bonds, is lenient towards him. I know you won’t let him give up the position of Qingzhou Governor, so I can only persuade Wang Jun to claim it himself."

Gou Xi sneered, "Such grandiloquent talk, isn’t it just to weaken my power? What, do you want to be the next Regent King?"

The current Zhao Hanzhang is akin to him two years ago; two years ago, he was determined to eliminate threats beside the emperor and kill Prince East Sea to rescue the emperor. Now, does Zhao Hanzhang also intend to kill him to replace him?

Zhao Hanzhang met his probing gaze and couldn’t help but smile, "I can promise the Great General unless you harm Your Majesty, I will absolutely not be the first person beside Your Majesty."

Gou Xi stared into her eyes intently, verifying she wasn’t lying before leisurely asking, "Then why does Your Majesty consider relocating the capital back to Luoyang? Governor Zhao, you want to be a regional governor, but your granduncle may not want to always be a hostage, using the emperor to command the dukes, your granduncle’s ambition might be much greater."

Zhao Hanzhang squinted slightly and said, "The Great General misunderstood; my granduncle is a good man."

Their gazes collided, both secretly snorted in their hearts.

Gou Xi raised his chin towards the Buddha statue and asked, "Is this the compensation?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "It is indeed the compensation."

Gou Xi didn’t believe at all, "If you feel guilty towards Gou Chun, why did you confront him head-on upon entering the city?"

He felt this gift was a bribe.

Zhao Hanzhang blinked and said, "Who said I feel guilty towards Gou Chun? I never felt guilty towards him; I just don’t want him to ruin the friendship with the Great General. If there’s anyone I should feel guilty towards, it’s the Great General."

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t conceal her disgust for Gou Chun, even turning to sow discord between the brothers. "Great General, it’s not me trying to drive a wedge, but Little General Gou Chun is indeed too foolish and domineering. If he doesn’t change his ways, he might cause you great trouble in the future."

This time, Gou Xi remained silent.

Gou Xi’s strategists and subordinates had long been dissatisfied with Gou Chun; they sat behind the wooden screen behind Gou Xi, nodding along with Zhao Hanzhang’s advice.

Of course, with Zhao Hanzhang present, they couldn’t come out and reprimand Gou Chun in the presence of outsiders, so they had to find other issues.

Zhao Hanzhang casually picked up the teacup and took a sip of water, almost spurting it out because of the spiciness. She tried to calmly swallow, but unprepared and with such spicy wine, her eyes turned slightly red.

Gou Xi noticed this and smiled, eagerly drinking half a bowl and then looked at her triumphantly.

Zhao Hanzhang picked up the teacup to smell it closely, raising her brows in surprise, "How is this wine brewed, that it has no aroma?"

Gou Xi boasted, "The best thing about this wine is just that, faint aroma but strong alcohol; leave it a little longer and there’ll be no smell at all."

He wanted to further introduce this wine, but a servant came forward to pour wine for Gou Xi. Zhao Hanzhang’s sharp eyes saw him take a note from his sleeve and give it to Gou Xi.

Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze subtly landed on the large screen behind him.

Her ears were sharp, though not capable of hearing breaths, she could hear the sound of ink being ground, manipulating inkstones, pulling and placing paper, the tip of a brush moving on paper, even if their movements were very light.

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes and took a sip of wine, much more cautious this time, sipping slowly without being choked.

Gou Xi glanced at the words on the note, quickly crumpled it into a ball and held it in his hand, and looked up at Zhao Hanzhang, "Two months ago, a force appeared in Jizhou, capturing more than ten cities; Youzhou and Jizhou suffered severe droughts, and there were rebellions everywhere, but within his jurisdiction, there was not a single rebellion, and even Lin County pledged allegiance. Does Governor Zhao know who the leader is?"

Zhao Hanzhang’s heart skipped a beat, but she nodded calmly, "I know, speaking of which, the Great General should also know him. The leader is called Zu Ti, I heard he was once the Crown Prince’s Attendant, and during Prince East Sea’s time, he was summoned as a military advisor, but he did not respond because he was mourning his mother."

Gou Xi said, "Zu Ti is also a renowned scholar; he and Liu Kun are friends. I thought he would surely be a loyal and righteous person, yet he doesn’t accept the court’s summons and privately gathers refugees in Jizhou. Governor Zhao, what do you think he’s up to?"

Zhao Hanzhang put down her bowl and sat upright, "Great General, Zu Ti is currently seizing land from Shi Le and Liu Yuan; it’s about reclaiming lost territories."

Gou Xi said, "But his ambition may grow uncontrollably, eventually unable to be restrained."

Zhao Hanzhang, thinking to curse but sighed instead, "Who doesn’t say so? The world’s fate, today favors your family, tomorrow mine, and the day after his; it’s unpredictable."

Gou Xi was taken aback by her words, squinting and asked, "If you know the fate will favor him eventually, why not take him down before he rises, making the fate unable to favor him?"

This is not about taking down Zu Ti, it’s clearly about her.

After all, the current situation is very likely that his today is her tomorrow.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Even if you kill one Zu Ti, there will be Zhang Ti, Wang Ti, Zhou Ti. When we focus on removing dissent, dissent might be right beside us, so I think there’s no need to be overly invested."

"I became an Inspector to protect my family and friends, for the people under my governance to live peacefully. If I’m solely focused on the power I possess, then how am I different from the people I’ve always disliked?" Zhao Hanzhang paused, unable to resist advising again, "Great General, you have been just and clean, early years the people praised you as ’Lion’s Gaze,’ then your discerning sense of justice was praised even by my granduncle. I believe you can discern priorities."

"For us, the greatest enemies are Liu Yuan and Shi Le. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. From my perspective, for Great Jin to regain all lost territories, we must unite all forces we can. Not only is Zu Ti a noble family member with a scholar’s demeanor, even if he’s a mere bandit or thief, as long as he can resist Liu Yuan and Shi Le, I am willing to have friendly exchanges with him." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Gou Xi disapprovingly frowned, "Bandits and thieves, ignoring the law with low character, how can one cooperate with them?"

"As long as it’s beneficial to the overall situation, and beneficial to the people of Great Jin, a few mistakes can be corrected, and can be set aside temporarily, as long as there’s shared goals and interests."

Gou Xi: "No, I don’t agree!"

He looked at Zhao Hanzhang unpleasantly, "Governor Zhao, is it for this reason that you sold weapons to Zu Ti?"

Now even this was known; Zhao Hanzhang suppressed her heart’s sudden rapid beats but responded with a smile and silence.

She didn’t know how much he had grasped, but if she was anxious, she’d better smile and not speak.