After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 896 - 882: Shi Jian

Zhao Hanzhang put down the knife, walked to the side of the cart, placed one hand on Shi Le’s shoulder, and said with a smile that didn’t reach the eyes, "So you’re one of our own."

Shi Le felt the pressure on his shoulder and forced a smile, "Yes, that’s right, one of our own."

He said to the person blocking the road, "Shi Jian, come quickly and pay your respects to General Zhao."

Shi Jian, originally named Niu Jian, was strong and fierce. He used to be Shi Le’s guard and was awarded the surname Shi for his repeated meritorious contributions in battle. If it weren’t for his stubborn temperament, Shi Le would have wanted to adopt him as a foster son, even though he was only two years younger than Shi Le.

The barbarians and military officers in the army loved to adopt foster sons most of all. Xun Xiu, Mi Ce, and others had adopted foster sons. Ji Yuan once envied their foster sons, thinking it was a good way to win people’s hearts, and also considered Zhao Hanzhang adopting foster sons. But considering Zhao Hanzhang was not yet married, adopting a foster son at this time wouldn’t have a good reputation, so the matter was temporarily set aside.

However, he had mentioned more than once that Zhao Hanzhang could consider adopting a foster son after marrying Fu Tinghan; people like Qiu Wu, Zeng Yue, and others could all be adopted as foster sons.

Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan, who were younger than them: ...

Forgive them for their shallow knowledge and inability to empathetically embrace such a culture.

Nevertheless, they understood that those considered for adoption as foster sons not only had to be capable and unique but also had to demonstrate a high degree of loyalty to their master.

Therefore, Shi Jian had a high degree of loyalty to Shi Le.

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s hand on Shi Le’s shoulder and Shi Le’s face pale and tinged with blue, surrounded by Zhao’s men all around the cart, Shi Jian’s eyes widened in anger, and his fists crackled as he clenched them.

Shi Le heard this and his eyebrows twitched, fearing that Shi Jian would attack Zhao Hanzhang the next moment.

He wasn’t worried about Zhao Hanzhang getting hurt; he was worried that Zhao Hanzhang might seize the opportunity to stab him in the heart, making it impossible to save him.

He hurriedly straightened his expression and said solemnly before Shi Jian exploded, "Liu Cong is ruthless, killing the new monarch, and is no longer worthy of our allegiance. A wise bird chooses a branch to perch on, and we too must seek a better master. This time we encountered locust plagues and were suddenly hit by refugees; thankfully, Lord Zhao saved us. We got along wonderfully and admired each other deeply, so I’ve decided to abandon the dark and join the light."

Seeing Shi Jian’s face as if he were coerced, Shi Le felt a pang in his heart, further convinced of the rightness in not adopting him as a foster son.

Actually, he wasn’t afraid of a stupid foster son, as long as they were obedient and trusted him.

And although Shi Jian was capable, he always liked to overthink and didn’t quite trust him as his master. He wasn’t as smart as Zhang Bin but rather somewhat foolish, which always made Shi Le uncomfortable.

As a soldier, if you don’t have the intellect of a strategist, you must absolutely obey your superior.

Shi Le had to work hard to make Shi Jian believe that he genuinely wished to submit to Zhao Hanzhang—though, in truth, Shi Le wasn’t all that sincere about it in his heart. At least until then, he had set the principle for himself to run if he could and to revolt if possible.

If it wasn’t for the fact that staying with Zhao Hanzhang was the only way to survive, if it wasn’t for the fact that she had the medicine...

But after this ordeal, while convincing Shi Jian, Shi Le almost convinced himself.

At this moment, Shi Le had not yet developed the thought of making himself king or emperor. He still wanted to find a master to serve, then manage his subordinates well, and secure a territory where he could settle down and wield power.

If he was going to find a master, why couldn’t it be Zhao Hanzhang?

Liu He was already dead, Liu Yi had been captured by Zhao Hanzhang, and among Liu Yuan’s sons, only Liu Cong remained, with whom he didn’t get along well.

In terms of capability, character, and public support, Zhao Hanzhang surpassed Liu Cong. The more he thought about it, the more determined Shi Le became. Therefore, after climbing the mountain, when Shi Jian tried to secretly sneak away with Shi Le while Zhao Hanzhang and others were not paying attention, Shi Le refused him.

Shi Le had a serious expression, "What escape? I already said, I voluntarily pledged allegiance to Zhao Hanzhang, don’t mess around."

Escape?

If you leave, do you have the golden sore medicine? He has two large wounds, and if his condition worsens, needing the Zhao Family’s miraculous medicine, will they have it?

Moreover, is fleeing with Shi Jian the right thing to do?

He was now seriously injured, so how could he know that Shi Jian wasn’t trying to use his name to command the Shi Army or repay him one day?

Shi Jian was refused, and his face looked a bit unpleasant, but people on the mountain had already seen Shi Le, and the bandits who rushed out knelt down in a flurry, shouting for the general.

Zhao Hanzhang glanced around and found that those kneeling numbered about 150, with only forty to fifty people standing dumbfounded.

Zhao Hanzhang gave Shi Le a meaningful look and signaled with her eyes to Shi Hongtu and Yu Fang.

Shi Hongtu and Yu Fang understood. One pushed Shi Le, while the other stood by the cart. If the other side made any moves, they could kill Shi Le first.

This was a very rudimentary bandit hideout. There were originally about fifty bandits in the hideout, and when Zhao Hanzhang and Shi Le suddenly appeared at the foot of the mountain fighting, the bandits didn’t even dare to get close, nor did they have the guts to watch the commotion from the mountain.

Thus, Shi Jian and his men were not actively provoked by them but entered after locusts and refugees flooded in, and Shi Jian and his men ran out of the battlefield, separating from the main force.

At that time, as dusk approached, he could only retreat into the mountain with his men and even captured many fleeing Shi Army members and captured quite a few Zhao Family Army members along the way. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Shi Jian acted because they had no grain or provisions, planning to capture people and take them along. In case they couldn’t find food, having slaves meant they wouldn’t starve to death.

In the end, when he brought a group of people into the mountain to avoid locusts and refugees, he accidentally discovered a place on the mountain where a fire was burning.

Following the firelight, he found the bandit hideout.

So Shi Jian led his men to behead the bandit leader and became the leader himself.

He brought a lot of people, and the bandits, being rather opportunistic, were particularly compliant after their leader died, readily accepting Shi Jian as their master.

The bandits were relatively poor, but they had some food, so it hadn’t gotten to the point where they had to eat human flesh. Therefore, the Zhao Family Army members captured yesterday were still locked up.

Zhao Hanzhang had someone bring those people over because she wanted to see them with her own eyes.

The bandits were bewildered, but it didn’t prevent them from acknowledging a new master.

In less than an hour, they had already sorted out their relationships.

Their new boss was the slave, subordinate to General Shi on the cart, and General Shi had now pledged allegiance to Miss Zhao sitting at the head of the table.

So Miss Zhao = the superior of their leader’s boss = their superior.

Therefore, even before Shi Jian could find a reason to refuse, someone had already eagerly gone to bring back the people locked in the woodshed.

There weren’t many, only eighteen.

But when they saw Zhao Hanzhang, they were all tearful, kneeling and crying. If Zhao Hanzhang hadn’t looked so serious sitting there, they would have crawled up to hug her legs.

They almost thought they were doomed, but then the lord appeared. As everyone privately circulated, the lord was indeed a reincarnation of the living Bodhisattva, saving people in distress.