After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times
Chapter 162 - 156 Recruiting Soldiers 2

Chapter 162: Chapter 156 Recruiting Soldiers 2

Zhao Hanzhang pulled County Magistrate Chai aside and sighed, "County Lord, I asked them when they came to enlist. They said there is no grain left at home. Even if you take them back, you won’t get any food from them. Since I’ve already registered them, why not let me take them away?"

County Magistrate Chai looked at her in shock, not knowing where she got the nerve to say such things.

"Don’t worry, those who are already registered don’t count. I won’t take any more people from Shangcai County in the future."

County Magistrate Chai was speechless, and it took him a while to find his words, "Third Lady, how can you tell if they are from Shangcai County? What if they claim to be from Yingchuan or Yu Yang?"

"I can tell by their accent. As long as they have a Shangcai accent, I won’t take them, how about that?"

County Magistrate Chai got excited and pointed back at those people, "What about them..."

"Ah, I’m not good with the Shangcai accent, and Mr. Ji doesn’t understand it either. I’ll find a few officials from Shangcai to oversee the process, ensuring no one slips through."

After pondering for a moment, County Magistrate Chai said, "Your station cannot be set up here anymore; it’s too close to the city gate. Villagers are coming as soon as they hear the news."

"Then where do you suggest setting it up?"

County Magistrate Chai gritted his teeth and said, "Move it sixty miles out, farther away."

That’s too far; it would take half a day to return to the estate. Very inconvenient.

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and replied, "How about twenty miles? County Lord, after recruiting people, I have to take them back to the estate to settle them temporarily. We can’t let them sleep rough outside, can we? If they see I’m so weak, why would they want to work for me?"

She said, "The Inspector is still waiting for me to lead troops to the rescue; who will be responsible if the recruitment is delayed?"

County Magistrate Chai pursed his lips, having to take a step back, "Fine, twenty miles it is."

Zhao Hanzhang was satisfied. She then pulled County Magistrate Chai aside to discuss county affairs, "County Lord, didn’t the Governor ask you to send troops?"

County Magistrate Chai said helplessly, "I have no troops at hand; why would he ask me to send troops?"

"I don’t have troops either, but I can recruit them."

County Magistrate Chai shook his head and, looking at Zhao Hanzhang, said wistfully, "If it weren’t for the Zhao Family, the Governor probably wouldn’t have issued the military command to Xiping either. Third Lady, the Governor asked you to lead the troops to the rescue, not with these three thousand newly recruited men."

The intention is for the Zhao Family to send troops to the rescue. The recruitment order for the three thousand is essentially compensation for the Zhao Family.

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow and gave County Magistrate Chai a thumbs up, "County Lord, you’re impressive. I didn’t even think of this point."

While praising County Magistrate Chai, her gaze went past him and landed on Chang Ning.

Chang Ning, who had been standing quietly, nodded slightly when seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t consider this angle when accepting the recruitment order; it was after returning to Shangcai and discussing with Ji Yuan that he analyzed it for her.

However, since this was the Inspector’s intention, they didn’t have to follow his plan. In Ji Yuan’s words, "You and the Zhao Family worked hard to train your private troops. They are seasoned from battles and valuable as combat power; losing them in Yu Yang would not be worth it."

He continued, "Miss, being young, you may not realize this, but Zhao Ming surely would, yet he said nothing, indicating he doesn’t want to use the household’s private troops for the Yu Yang rescue. Recruiting troops and sending the new soldiers to Yu Yang is the best course."

"Even so, you shouldn’t exert yourself too much when you get to Yu Yang. This time the Inspector likely gathered troops not just from Xiping County; there must be more from other counties, and compared to them, Xiping County is special only because of the Zhao Family."

Ji Yuan said, "Yu Yang has iron mines; let them be at the forefront."

Although Zhao Hanzhang coveted the iron mines, she knew she wouldn’t get her hands on them anytime soon, so she agreed.

Thus, her recruitment proceeded leisurely, without the urgency of emergency military orders.

She recruited in Shangcai County for three days. Besides her own people, no one knew how many were recruited in total, but in the end, she took two thousand back to Xiping, leaving the rest at the estate for Ji Yuan to handle.

Even County Magistrate Chai couldn’t help but worry, "Chang Ning, do you think the Zhao Family truly won’t rebel?"

This time, Chang Ning did not answer him.

County Magistrate Chai grew even more anxious.

When Zhao Hanzhang returned to Xiping, Zhao Ju had also returned from Pingyu, bringing over two thousand people with him. Zhao Ming, perhaps guessing they weren’t lacking manpower, only recruited a thousand people.

And none of these thousand were from Xiping’s city; instead, they were from the various villages and towns beneath Xiping County or were refugees from afar.

With this surge in people, Zhao Hanzhang then shuffled them and chose the most suitable three thousand to serve as soldiers, leaving the rest to Fu Tinghan to arrange for farming and house-building.

Now, given Xiping County’s manpower shortage, the vacant land can be cultivated to plant winter wheat, and facilities like paper mills can also be established.

The envoy, who had been restricted in freedom, finally got to see Zhao Hanzhang again and immediately rushed up to ask, "Miss Zhao, when are we departing for Yu Yang? Yu Yang has been besieged for a long time, waiting for your rescue."

Zhao Hanzhang replied, "We leave tomorrow."

The envoy did not expect such straightforwardness from Zhao Hanzhang, and he sighed in relief, a smile appearing on his face, "Then I shall travel with you tomorrow, Third Lady."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded perfunctorily, and after sending them off, she turned to see Fu Tinghan and Zhao Ming.

For the past three days, Zhao Ming had stayed in the county government, making it more lively than usual.

In Fu Tinghan’s words, "Everyone came to see if Uncle Ming would surpass you and successfully take control of Xiping County."

Zhao Hanzhang: "Weren’t they disappointed then?"

Fu Tinghan nodded, "Quite disappointed. Uncle Ming told them directly that he was entrusted by you to temporarily manage county affairs, so they turned to persuading Uncle Ming, proposing he should host Xiping County because that would be proper."

Fu Tinghan: "It seems you’re not very popular."

Zhao Hanzhang said indifferently, "I’m quite heartbroken. When I return from Yu Yang, I’ll have a chat with them."

Compared to these insignificant matters, she cared more about, "I gave you the register. The vast majority in it are of my slave status, with only a few of good status. Arrange for them to farm government land, plant more winter wheat this year, for next year we will have many to support."

"Why did you suddenly take so many servants?" Fu Tinghan was puzzled, "Isn’t good status better?"

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "Taxes get heavier every year, coupled with natural disasters and man-made calamities. Even with land, it’s hard to survive, so they prefer not to retain their good status."

"How will the taxes on the government land they farm be calculated in the future?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "No need to calculate; it’s all mine and recorded separately, considered hidden households."

"... What about the government land?"

Zhao Hanzhang said, "First arrange for the county’s common folk, and the rest will be my hidden households."

Fu Tinghan didn’t quite understand, "Previously, you leaned towards providing a safe environment and letting them develop freely. Why are you thinking of creating so many hidden households now? Are you planning to control all resources and redistribute them?"

Zhao Hanzhang candidly nodded. She didn’t expect Fu Tinghan to notice so quickly, "I overlooked environmental factors. In the coming years, the North will be chaotic not only from wars and other man-made disasters but also natural calamities. Heavy-handed tactics are needed in turbulent times; I plan to control as many resources upfront, making it easier to stabilize later."

"But this approach can easily provoke backlash. If someone opposes you, it could spark a wildfire."

Zhao Hanzhang: "That’s why I mentioned privately registering these people as my hidden households. They are both my hidden households and my private troops. As long as my armed force is large enough, who dares challenge me?"

"Oh, let’s not provoke big powers like the Jin Dynasty. I’m talking about the region around Ru Nan County." So, with the court, respect should be shown when due. Zhao Hanzhang decided to show due respect during this trip to Yu Yang.