After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 833 - 823: Temptation

Liu Yi pursed his lips and then said, "Has my Crown Prince brother ascended the throne?"

Zhao Hanzhang did not deceive, she nodded and said, "The latest news is that the Han Kingdom’s Crown Prince ascended the throne as emperor in Zhongyang County of West River Country. Liu Cong’s central camp is now in Boping County of Anping Country. The two places are not far if you say far, but not near if you say near."

Liu Yi raised his neck slightly and said, "Just wait, there will be twists in the middle, but my fourth brother can certainly meet the new emperor. By then, they will join forces to the south and retake Pingyang City."

Zhao Hanzhang, however, smiled and said, "Then I’ll make a bet with you. I bet that before they move south, they will first kill each other; either your Han Kingdom will have another new emperor, or Liu Cong will die unexpectedly."

Liu Yi was stunned, his heart chilled. He trembled and retorted to Zhao Hanzhang, "You speak nonsense!"

But his confidence was not very strong.

Fourth brother is ambitious and talented; now the foundation of the Xiongnu is all in his hands. If the Crown Prince brother is magnanimous, there might be temporary peace, but Liu He’s temperament...

Liu Yi has always stayed away from conflicts, being young and almost without military power, but because his mother was the Empress and favored by the Emperor, Liu He always saw him as an enemy.

Liu Yi swallowed and did not want to talk to Zhao Hanzhang anymore, he walked ahead silently.

Zhao Hanzhang followed him leisurely, unwilling to give up, "Liu Yi, I sincerely want to be friends with you. Your Xiongnu have migrated to Bingzhou for nearly a hundred years, from Wei ministers to Jin ministers, what’s the difference with our people of the Central Plains?"

When Liu Yi heard her say this, he was almost moved; sensing something was wrong, he quickened his pace and moved to the grain cart, picking up a sack of grain to shoulder.

But he couldn’t lift it up at once.

Zhao Hanzhang helped him lift it up and placed it on his shoulder. She glanced at the soldier guarding the grain cart. The soldier met her gaze and immediately ran over. After Zhao Hanzhang held onto a sack of grain, the soldier quickly lifted it onto her shoulder.

Liu Yi was already carrying the sack away.

Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly walked two steps faster to catch up with him, continuing to whisper in his ear, "You and your father advocate for Han governance, aiming to treat all the people of the world equally. But your several brothers aren’t like that, especially the Crown Prince. I heard he listens a lot to his uncle, Huyan You. That Huyan You is short-sighted and loves hegemony. Even when your father was there, he dared to eliminate dissidents and fight for power, let alone when your father is no longer around?"

Liu Yi didn’t know where she got so much energy. He was breathing heavily with the sack on his shoulder, yet she could still keep up, talking incessantly.

"To speak from the heart, we commoners actually don’t care much about who sits on the dragon throne. Although the Xiongnu are a small tribe to us Huaxia Clan, there are countless ethnic groups in the world, and it’s not just the Huaxia Clan being ruled by Huaxia. Among them are the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jiehu, and Baiyue... Otherwise, since you established your country, why are there so many Huaxia people willing to submit to you as subjects?"

When Liu Yi reached the place, he put the grain sack down, massaged his aching shoulder, and said, "There are some who submit to us, but more oppose us, such as you."

Zhao Hanzhang also put down the grain sack, saying helplessly, "That’s because Jin is still around, we are Jin ministers, how can we easily change loyalties? Moreover, since you Xiongnu established your country, you have targeted the Huaxia Clan, dividing the people into three, five, or nine classes domestically. We Huaxia Clan, regardless of status, must rank below the Xiongnu Clan, who can accept that?"

Liu Yi opened his mouth, suppressing his wavering heart, and shook his head, "Go on, deceive me. I don’t believe you are truly willing to recognize a foreigner as king."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "If we Huaxia people aren’t willing to recognize a foreigner as king, then what’s the point of your father and the Han Kingdom striving so hard for dominance? Is it to kill all the Huaxia people so your Xiongnu tribe can monopolize the Central Plains?"

Liu Yi opened his mouth, unable to retort.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "You’ve been at the bottom for some time, I thought you’d understand more, didn’t expect you’d still be so confused."

Liu Yi bowed his head in silence.

Zhao Hanzhang shook her head, turned to leave, "Forget it, you can observe more, see if your comrades care if you’re Xiongnu, Xianbei, or Jiehu?"

"But before, you Han people also often bullied us Xiongnu." Liu Yi couldn’t help but speak, "How can I believe you can treat everyone equally?"

Zhao Hanzhang immediately turned back, "You’re wrong, the bullying you mentioned is from some in power against the lower classes, not just targeting Xiongnu. Han commoners and slaves also get bullied a lot. Huaxia has always focused on appeasement for minorities, few counties across the nation have been enfeoffed, only among the four barbarians, all dependencies have been enfeoffed, basically ethnic autonomy."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I know, customs differ among different groups, habits vary, so I’ve never thought of forcing you to follow Han customs."

"If you are willing to submit, I will definitely grant you a piece of land for self-governance and help you learn farming, breeding, and other techniques to foster prosperity between the Xiongnu and Han."

Despite constantly reminding himself that this might be false, possibly a ploy to get him to defect, seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s determined and confident face, Liu Yi couldn’t help but believe her, making his already wavering mind even more unsteady.

Zhao Hanzhang patted him on the shoulder, "You can take your time to think. No matter how long, I will wait for you."

"However," Zhao Hanzhang suddenly changed the subject, "I can wait, but your Xiongnu tribe is in the storm, don’t let them wait too long."

Liu Yi pursed his lips.

Zhao Hanzhang turned to leave, with Ting He quickly catching up. After walking away, she couldn’t help but express concern, "Miss, when did you become so strong, even able to lift such a large sack of wheat?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "My four years of strength training and lower body work wasn’t for nothing? This is a piece of cake!"

Despite saying so, back in the main tent, she couldn’t resist rubbing her waist. Lifting that sack relied entirely on her waist strength.

At night, they ate gray mixed grain buns, and the soldiers below ate wheat rice.

No choice, being outside, grinding wheat takes time and manpower, and with limited wheat flour and bran, they could only eat wheat rice or porridge directly.

After eating, Zhao Hanzhang wandered over to find Ji Yuan, and the two hid away to talk secretly.

Ming Yu and Fu Tinghan sat in the tent waiting for them to come for discussion. Seeing the two always engrossed, Ming Yu slightly frowned, involuntarily looking towards Fu Tinghan, "Did the Inspector encounter any difficult issues?"

Fu Tinghan had been busy inspecting and repairing arms and making gunpowder, so he wasn’t keeping up with other matters and directly shook his head.

Ming Yu, seeing his straightforward response, suddenly remembered, leaning closer to ask in a low voice, "Minister Fu, has the Thunder Shocking Son been made?"

Fu Tinghan responded, "All materials are ready, but it’s not done yet."

Ming Yu wanted to ask more but saw Zhao Hanzhang and Ji Yuan approaching, stopped, and changed his question, "Did the Inspector encounter a difficult issue?"

Zhao Hanzhang immediately nodded, "I want to do something, but I’m struggling to find a trustworthy person."