After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 906 - 892: So Pitiful

Zhao Hanzhang suddenly stood up, dropped her pen, and hurriedly walked out.

Ming Yu’s journey was far from peaceful. To evade the pursuit of the Xiongnu, he and Wu Sheng first headed north, then circled back south, intending to meet with Beigong Chun. But they encountered refugees along the way.

All the goods from the convoy were looted, and Wu Sheng and others could only protect Ming Yu by fleeing with the refugees. During this time, they were almost taken by bandits, and amidst the calamity of war, drought, locusts, and famine, the pursuing Xiongnu became not the most dangerous threat. Every person they met on the road posed a danger.

Ming Yu simply turned himself into the most dangerous person, leading Wu Sheng directly to become bandits, ferociously robbing goods and people along the way. When there was no food left for others to rob and the crowds had gathered, making it safe to do so, Ming Yu then led the bandit nest, no, the refugees, in a circle back to Anping Country.

At this time, Ming Yu was full of facial hair, with dust covering his face. His body was gaunt, and his outerwear was nearly in shreds. But upon seeing Zhao Hanzhang, his gaze remained calm. He elegantly raised his arm, ready to smoothly bow, only to be held by the shocked and heartbroken Zhao Hanzhang, "Sir, you have suffered."

Zhao Hanzhang was tearful.

Ming Yu was moved, his eyes filled with tears as he insisted on bowing, "Making the governor worry."

Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly helped him up, then led everyone into the hall.

She genuinely felt heartache. She had thought she had suffered enough during her own displacement, but Ming Yu’s situation turned out to be even worse than hers, and he was already of considerable age...

Zhao Hanzhang was very interested in his journey, "Were there many refugees on the road?"

Ming Yu sighed and said, "Currently, only one out of ten people remain in their original places. Those who can move their feet have mostly left. Most have migrated south, and many of them, upon hearing of the governor’s benevolence, have gone to Luoyang and Yu State. A few have decided to migrate to Jiangdong, while others have headed to Jinyang and Youzhou."

Just thinking about the migratory army made Zhao Hanzhang’s heart clutch involuntarily. She asked, "Do they have food supplies?"

Ming Yu shook his head heavily, "Corpses line hundreds of miles, with people starving to death almost daily, their remains hardly preserved... Refugees are still restrained for now, based on what I’ve seen, there hasn’t been cannibalism or live killings happening, but if this continues without control, a man-made disaster against ethics might emerge."

Zhao Hanzhang had spent time amidst the refugees, albeit only for one night, and had noticed some were storing people as food reserves.

She paled as she stood, pacing back and forth twice before gritting her teeth and saying, "We must end the war quickly. Not only have the Northern Land people reached their limit, but Yu State is also being dragged by the war, causing unrest among the people, which could lead to disaster."

Currently, most of the army’s supplies and military equipment come from Yu State.

To prepare resources for the army outside, Yu State has levied taxes twice, urging the people to join the military. If the situation doesn’t end soon, Yu State’s populace will also reach its limit.

Ming Yu quickly said, "Governor, Liu Cong has completely lost the people’s favor and is currently driven to desperation. Why not attempt to negotiate his surrender?"

Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes flickered, and she thought of Liu Yi, who was imprisoned in Luoyang.

She clenched her fist and asked, "Who does Mr. Ming think should be the emissary?"

Ming Yu pondered over Ji Yuan, Wei Jie, and Zhao Xin, but before he could decide, Zhao Hanzhang said, "How about sending Liu Yi as the emissary?"

Ming Yu: "..."

He looked up earnestly at Zhao Hanzhang and asked, "Are you serious, Governor?"

Zhao Hanzhang nodded.

Ming Yu: "Will Liu Yi agree to be an envoy? After all, he is a prince of the Han Kingdom."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "We can give it a try."

Zhao Hanzhang immediately ordered Luoyang to bring Liu Yi to the frontline.

It would take some time for Liu Yi to arrive, and Zhao Hanzhang did not stop her offensive during this period, continuously compressing Liu Cong’s living space step by step.

Liu Cong temporarily lost to the Zhao Family Army and could only retreat to Youzhou. At the same time, he ordered the Xiongnu army still outside to withdraw to support the king.

Indeed, there were still Xiongnu troops outside. Some had been cut off by the Zhao Family Army and couldn’t return, while others had been ordered to continue attacking certain places.

Such as Jinyang.

Initially, attacking Jinyang was Liu Yuan’s intention, as he wanted Bingzhou entirely under his control without flaws. Later, the attack on Jinyang was Liu Cong’s idea; he kept pondering while in Anping Country and still thought Bingzhou was best.

And in Bingzhou, apart from Pingyang City, Jinyang was most suitable as the capital.

Liu Kun’s military talents were rather average, and Liu Cong had confidence in capturing Jinyang, allowing him to establish the capital there.

Thus, Liu Kun remained surrounded in Jinyang, unable to move.

At this critical moment of life and death, Liu Cong couldn’t bother with capturing Jinyang anymore, hurriedly ordering the troops to withdraw and attack Zhao Hanzhang from the rear, aiming to alleviate some pressure first.

Zhao Hanzhang was hesitant about visiting Jinyang first, hoping to reclaim the entirety of Bingzhou, meet Liu Kun, and due to Mr. Ji’s intelligence network reports, noticing recent frequent moves by Tuoba Xianbei who appeared to be taking advantage of the situation. If possible, she wanted to meet Tuoba Xianbei.

She needed to ensure that Yu State and the Zhao Family Army weren’t overburdened by the war.

Having just received word of the Xiongnu forces’ partial withdrawal, Zhao Hanzhang immediately said, "I shall take a trip to Jinyang."

Ming Yu promptly said, "I shall accompany you."

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment before nodding, "Please invite General Shi to join. This time, we’ll send troops to support Jinyang, and it’ll be the Shi Army’s turn."

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t plan to deploy forces from elsewhere but decided to use Shi Le’s troops directly.

The Shi Army from Shunyang County would also arrive soon.

Zhang Bin and Diao Ying hurriedly brought their army over, while their families and many logistical personnel remained in Shunyang County.

Seeing Shi Le standing safely, albeit much thinner but looking fine, they felt relieved.

While Diao Ying managed, Zhang Bin couldn’t help himself and pulled Shi Le, crying and choking, "I have failed the General’s trust, losing Shangdang, leading to you..." having to humble yourself.

The last half of the sentence he dared not speak in public.

Shi Le quickly said, "It’s not related to you, sir. It’s simply that my skills were inferior."

He sighed as he recounted how Zhao Hanzhang stabbed him and captured him, his words filled with gratitude. If he hadn’t surrendered quickly, he might have been a dead corpse by now.

Listening to this, Zhang Bin felt relieved too. Coming from refugee bandit backgrounds, they were not particularly loyal to the court. They valued personal and small group interests more, so Zhang Bin quietly asked, "General, what do you think of Zhao Hanzhang? Can she work together? If she is narrow-minded, past grievances can’t be discarded, then..."

Shi Le pondered, "From my observation, she is indeed better than Liu Cong. Currently, we have over a hundred thousand troops, and she promised to give me Youzhou after killing Wang Jun, so I don’t fear her."

If they can’t work together, they can part ways, and he can just take his people and leave.

The world is vast; as long as there are people, isn’t land easy to seize?