After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 900 - 886: Giving You a Chance

Shi Jian’s face looked grim as soon as Zhao Ju appeared with the army, and now it was even uglier. Under Shi Le’s cold gaze, Shi Jian knelt on one knee and bowed his head, saying: "Great General, we are the Jie Clan, you said Han people wouldn’t treat us as equals. We have struggled for years to attain our current status; how can we give it up so easily?"

He continued, "If you don’t want King of Chu to be the emperor, then let’s go rescue King of Beihai, support him to become emperor, or choose someone from the Liu Royal Family to be emperor; in short, we absolutely cannot side with the Han people."

Zhao Ju and others frowned, but Zhao Hanzhang seemed completely unbothered, sitting at the head of the table, watching Shi Le with interest, waiting for his response.

Shi Le did not feel touched by Shi Jian’s earnest intentions, only felt offended.

Yet there were many former subordinates watching him, including Jie people, making Shi Le suppress his dissatisfaction, suppressing it until his ribs hurt.

He coldly retorted, "The Han people are unreliable, so are Xiongnu reliable then?"

Shi Jian froze, speechless.

Shi Le asked again, "Can I appoint whoever I want as emperor? Are all the other Xiongnu ministers and generals within the court wearing sheep’s skin over wolf’s bodies? Is Liu Cong a weakling, obeying my orders?"

Shi Jian remained silent.

Shi Le sneered, "All these years, have the Xiongnu ever treated us Jie people as equals?"

Shi Jian’s face turned pale instantly.

Shi Le said with a stern face, "The late emperor was generous to me, he had a broad mind. I willingly followed him and also his chosen successor. But now the new emperor is harmed, the court has placed our entire military in peril without care, and Liu Cong is narrow-minded, often looking down on us. Why should I serve him loyally?"

Initially, Shi Le was contending with Liu Cong for the Shangdang Region, but he still obeyed Liu Yuan and followed the orders of the Han Kingdom Court.

They were the ones sending troops to attack the Jin State. Shi Le dispatched his elite forces, utilizing all his strength to attack Yu State and Yan State, aiming to achieve unparalleled merit.

Instead, the Liu Family tied an alliance with Emperor Jin and fled, competing for power and profit in the rear, but leaving the Shi Army isolated at the front, cutting off their food supplies and path for reinforcements.

Previously, Shi Le had seized a large part of Yan State and five cities in Yu State. Had he been greedy and indecisive in the slightest, the entire force would have been annihilated by the Zhao Family Army in Yan State.

Now, Shi Army still holds some strength, allowing Shi Le to negotiate with Zhao Hanzhang, bringing capital for allegiance — not because Zhao Hanzhang is kind-hearted, but because of the capital in his hands.

If the influence in his hands was any smaller, Zhao Hanzhang wouldn’t have hesitated back then, she would have decisively struck the second blow and sent him off to hell.

He was fighting for the Liu Family empire, and what was the Liu Family doing?

Zhao Hanzhang was his opponent. In his current plight, he didn’t hate her, so he hated Liu Cong.

Moreover, comparing Liu Cong to Zhao Hanzhang, Liu Cong’s mind is much narrower. If truly choosing between these two to pledge allegiance, Shi Le could easily pick Zhao Hanzhang blindfolded.

Before, he never had this thought. Now, the precedent is set; what can’t be considered?

Shi Jian’s mental construction collapsed overwhelmingly, his face turned ghastly, struggling to salvage his dignity, "But we’ve killed so many Han people; how could they sincerely embrace us? General, don’t be deceived by them. Now they treat us courteously because they need us, but once our army retreats, and with the land under their control, the knife hanging over our necks won’t stop for a moment before slashing down."

Shi Le immediately turned to Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang promised with a slight smile, "Whether it’s Han people, Jie people, Xiongnu, or other ethnic groups like Xianbei, I promise they are all good people in my heart. Respect is not determined by race; Shi Army and Zhao Family Army are similarly bound by law and military discipline."

She spoke with a chilling gaze, fixing upon Shi Le, "So, General Shi must watch over his men. I treat them equally; they must consider themselves good individuals and not behave like beasts."

Shi Le instantly responded, "Lord Zhao, rest assured. I will surely keep them under control."

With that, he turned and scolded Shi Jian, "Quickly apologize to Lord Zhao. I have always said you measure the heart of a gentleman with the narrow mind of a petty person."

Shi Jian didn’t truly believe Zhao Hanzhang’s words, but when he met Shi Le’s icy gaze, seeing mostly Zhao Family Army surrounding him, he realized resistance was futile, thus he turned his knees and faced Zhao Hanzhang begging for forgiveness.

Zhao Hanzhang remained seated, lowering her gaze to watch him, "If it’s just harboring resentment, no need to apologize. I’m not money, how could everyone genuinely like me from the bottom of their heart?"

"I judge by actions, not thoughts," Zhao Hanzhang leaned forward, watching him, "So, have you done anything to wrong me or General Shi?"

Shi Jian’s heart tightened, cold sweat slowly spread across his forehead and dripped down. He braced himself to answer, "No, none."

Zhao Hanzhang then smiled lightly, leaned back in her chair, and said, "At this hour, General Zu should have already met someone in Baiqiu Village, right? Wait a little longer, maybe he’ll bring back the person you want to see."

Shi Jian’s body went limp, almost lying flat on the ground.

On Shi Le’s retreat path, north of Guangping County, Han Kingdom’s General Ma Jing had a stationed army there. The two armies had agreed, when Shi Le retreated from there, Ma Jun would block the Zhao Family Army for them.

Oh, Ma Jing was urgently recalled by Liu He to assist in plotting the assassination of Liu Cong. But Liu He was killed, Ma Jing’s life is uncertain at this moment.

Shi Le wanted to purge the court, targeting Liu Cong, so the remaining Ma Jun considered themselves allies, willing to clear the path for Shi Le and lend him a helping hand.

But now Liu Cong has ascended the throne, the soldiers there, are they Ma Jing’s men or Liu Cong’s men, it’s hard to say.

No matter to whom they belong, they are all soldiers of the Han Kingdom. Shi Jian secretly sent a message to them yesterday.

Currently, those receiving his message to dispatch reinforcements to rescue Shi Le were intercepted by Zu Ti outside Baiqiu Village in the morning.

Zu Ti saw a Xiongnu leading the troops in the team, and immediately left none alive, killing them all, then returned with the head to report to Zhao Hanzhang, "Ma Jun has been controlled by Liu Cong."

Ma Jing is a Han person, both his deputies are Han as well, now leading the troops is a Xiongnu; clearly, this army has switched masters.

After hearing, Zhao Hanzhang instructed to send the head to Shi Jian, then stood up saying, "Let’s go, return to Wu’an County. I want to announce to the world, Shi Le has submitted to the court, and the scattered forces outside should be retracted."

She said, "Zu Ti."

Zu Ti: "Your subordinate is here."

"There’s a place requiring your visit," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Go make Wang Jun in Youzhou suffer a bit, control his actions, and don’t touch places he shouldn’t be touching."

Zu Ti’s eyes lit slightly, asking, "Lord Zhao, how about we reclaim Qingzhou?"

Upon hearing, the corners of Zhao Hanzhang’s lips slightly curved, nodding, "Indeed, outstanding talent should serve as Qingzhou Governor."