Chapter 278: 276 Homeward Bound (For Dual Alliance Leader

Zhao Han spoke with Zhang Jiayu about Chen Zizhuang, his words betraying an intent to recruit him.

Zhang Jiayu suddenly said, "Master Qiutao has a full younger brother named Chen Zisheng. Perhaps he could be recruited first to take up a post."

"And what of his younger brother's talent and learning?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhang Jiayu replied, "He excels at the qin and at poetry. His qin artistry is superb; in the Lingnan region, none surpass him. He has also composed many original qin melodies, all works that linger in the air long after the strings fall silent."

So he's a musician.

Zhang Jiayu added, "Chen Zisheng has a bosom friend named Kuang Lu. This man is a talent of the highest order — poetry, calligraphy, musical modes, epigraphy, military strategy, archery, mounted archery... there is nothing he has not mastered. He even traveled to Macao and learned the Western barbarians' firelock and swordsmanship techniques."

"How is it I have never heard of this man?" Zhao Han asked.

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Zhang Jiayu said, "This Kuang Lu is wild and unrestrained, scornful of ritual and law. At present he is taking refuge in Guangxi."

"What matter drove him to flee to Guangxi?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhang Jiayu said, "Four years ago, Kuang Lu rode drunk through the lantern-lit night market. Huang Xi, the County Magistrate of Nanhai, happened to be out admiring the lanterns as well. Kuang Lu did not yield to his procession and even composed a poem on the spot to mock him: 'Riding a donkey, I blundered into the Huayin magistrate; losing my horse, I am still the old man on the frontier.' Magistrate Huang Xi bore a grudge for this and harassed the Kuang family in every way. Kuang Lu has been away from home avoiding disaster ever since."

"Haha, truly a county magistrate who exterminates families," Zhao Han said with a laugh. "What other amusing stories are there about this man?"

Zhang Jiayu said, "Kuang Lu could compose poetry at five. At fifteen he sat for the circuit examination, and he wrote his answers in five scripts — standard, running, cursive, seal, and clerical. The Education Commissioner summoned him on the spot to be interrogated. The Guangdong Education Commissioner was furious and ranked his paper dead last. Kuang Lu laughed wildly, flicked his sleeves, and strode away."

Zhao Han shook his head and laughed despite himself. "What a mad scholar — daring to offend the Provincial Education Commissioner at fifteen."

In truth, Kuang Lu's exploits in Guangdong were only the beginning.

After being persecuted by the county magistrate, it would be more accurate to say he toured all of China than to say he fled home to avoid disaster. Northern Zhili, Southern Zhili, Shandong, Zhejiang, Huguang, Jiangxi, Guangxi... Kuang Lu traveled through half of China, recording along the way the mountains and rivers, the customs of the peoples, rare birds and strange beasts, amusing incidents and curious hearsay.

At this very moment, Kuang Lu was engaged in a love affair with a Yao chieftainess in Guangxi, and had even become her secretary.

A great talent so wild and unrestrained, yet after Beijing fell, he immediately went to Nanjing to offer plans to save the realm.

Later, he defended Guangzhou to the death for ten months. Because a traitor colluded with the enemy and surrendered the city, Guangzhou was breached.

Seeing the defeat was beyond retrieval, Kuang Lu shed his armor, returned home and changed into his Confucian scholar's robe, embraced his famed qin "Green Silk Terrace," and strode onto the street laughing wildly.

He ran straight into the Manchu Qing cavalry. The Qing soldiers were about to kill him, but he clutched his qin and laughed, "What thing is this? Can one jest with it?" The Qing soldiers laughed too, taking him for a madman.

Seeing the Qing soldiers would not kill him, Kuang Lu returned home once more and placed his life's collections around him. Playing his qin and singing at the top of his voice, he embraced his instrument, refused food, and died.

His eldest son, Kuang Hong, led over a thousand righteous troops and died fighting the Qing forces in the eastern outskirts of Guangzhou.

Zhang Jiayu said, "This man has ambitions in his heart. It is only because the age is corrupt that he has become wild and unrestrained. The Regional Commander governs with clarity and justice. If Kuang Lu returns home, he is very likely willing to offer his service."

"If this man returns home, have him report to the Regional Commander's headquarters for assignment. Summon Chen Zisheng to Ji'an for assignment as well," Zhao Han nodded.

At present, officials of Jiangxi origin account for over ninety percent of all officials across the three provinces.

This was not a good sign. They must accelerate the promotion of officials from Hunan and Guangdong. But Zhao Han could not simply wreck the promotion system, so on this trip to Guangzhou he had gathered Guangdong scholars like Zhang Jiayu and brought them back to the Regional Commander's headquarters to serve as secretaries.

From Hunan as well, several scholars who had performed outstandingly had been recruited by Zhao Han as secretaries.

On one hand, through these secretaries they could handle Hunan and Guangdong affairs more accurately. On the other, they could later be sent out to field posts, increasing the number of mid- and high-ranking officials from the two provinces.

This Kuang Lu — Zhao Han had already reserved him.

In fact, Kuang Lu was already on his way home at this moment. After four years away, he missed his wife and children. It was just that the Yao chieftainess clung to him, unable to bear his leaving, and so he had stayed an extra month.

Pan Qimei finished washing up and was led to the bedroom by a maidservant, but Zhao Han did not return to the room for a long time.

She waited and waited, and on top of her travel fatigue, before she knew it she had collapsed onto the bed and fallen asleep.

Creak—

She did not know how much time had passed when the sound of the door opening startled Pan Qimei from her slumber.

She hurriedly sat up and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth.

Zhao Han shed his outer clothes and tossed them aside, laughing, "You didn't even change after bathing."

Pan Qimei had changed into a set of close-fitting underclothes, but her grand wedding attire was still on. That sort of thing had to be removed together by the newlywed couple.

Zhao Han walked over, quite intrigued by her hair ornaments, and removed them one by one. The little bells especially, so crisp and pleasant when she walked, carried a distinct ethnic flavor.

After taking off her headwrap and jewelry, Zhao Han helped her undo her leggings and knee guards.

This was even more interesting — clearly practical gear, yet it had become part of the grand wedding attire.

Pan Qimei grew more and more nervous. When Zhao Han began to undo her upper garment, she was so shy she quickly shut her eyes, her breathing growing rapid.

So big!

Once the outer garment was undone, it was even more obvious.

Pan Qimei opened her eyes to steal a glance, only to find Zhao Han staring at her too. Flushing red, she hurriedly burrowed into the bedcovers, turning her back to the man and pretending to sleep.

She felt Zhao Han burrow in as well and reach an arm around her waist. Pan Qimei's whole body burned, half of her going limp.

Zhao Han could not shake a sense of wickedness. He was very tall, but Pan Qimei was barely one meter fifty, and with that childlike round face, at this moment it felt just like holding a little girl.

More than two months had passed since he left Ji'an heading south. Zhao Han had truly been pent up; he was a man in the prime of his vigor, after all.

The next morning.

Zhao Han woke up yawning; his biological clock was always punctual.

He tried to move, but his body was entangled. Pan Qimei was hugging him like a stuffed doll.

Zhao Han moved the girl's arm aside, and Pan Qimei woke at once, smiling as she said something in Yao language he could not understand.

"Sleep a while longer. We won't leave the city to board the boats for some time yet," Zhao Han said.

Pan Qimei, however, pounced on him, wanting to kiss. In the latter half of last night, this lass had been utterly wild.

As expected of someone who often did farm work — full of stamina, excellent endurance.

For the first time in ages, Zhao Han rose late, all the way until a personal guard came knocking at the door.

Pan Qimei hurriedly attended to dressing him. The two walked out hand in hand, the girl's face rosy and glowing, only her gait a little inconvenient.

They took boats up the Zhen River, disembarking after passing Nanxiong Prefecture, and had to cross the Dayu Range along the Meiling Ancient Road.

Pan Qimei's body had long since recovered. Finding it too troublesome to ride a donkey over the mountains, she simply got down and walked the mountain paths herself. Good heavens — on all manner of steep mountain trails, with her leggings bound she strode as if on wings.

Seeing this, Zhao Han made up his mind: the next time he expanded the army, he would definitely recruit mountain folk as soldiers and form a specialized mountain warfare unit.

They entered Jiangxi territory and traveled all the way back to Ji'an by boat. By the time they reached the Regional Commander's residence, it was already early winter.

Pan Qimei had not even disembarked before she was stunned by the bustle of the Ji'an docks — she had already been stunned twice before, in Ganzhou and Nanxiong.

"The Regional Commander is back!"

"Regional Commander, come try my roast chicken!"

"..."

As they passed through the docks, the common folk moved aside of their own accord, stepping back to the street's edge to greet Zhao Han.

Zhao Han kept smiling and waving. The people laughed all the more brightly, as if greeting an old friend after a long parting.

Of course, quite a few passersby fixed their eyes on Pan Qimei.

Pan Qimei found everything wonderfully novel. Looking at the various clothes and goods, this place seemed like another world entirely.

The prefectural city of Ji'an was now incomparably prosperous.

The root cause was that Zhao Han had ruled here the longest. Not only had it been stable for several years, but the common people were growing wealthier by the day. Even the city's hired laborers could now enjoy a small drink every few days.

With more disposable income, consumption naturally rose as well. Moreover, the prefectural city of Ji'an sat at a strategic commercial waterway junction, so its streets and markets were even more flourishing than those of Nanchang, Jiujiang, and other cities.

The most obvious sign was the clothing!

The styles had not changed much, but the colors had grown far more varied.

Before, most urban commoners wore indigo-dyed cloth, the very same color as the Great Unity Army's banner. Now, tie-dyed and wax-resist dyed fabrics had appeared in abundance, with all sorts of patterns adorning the indigo garments.

Furthermore, colors like red, kingfisher blue, sapphire blue, and dark green had begun to appear sporadically on commoners — colors that had once been the exclusive preserve of the wealthy.

Judging by the commoners' clothing alone, the old Ji'an prefectural city had seemed somewhat lifeless and dull, but now it grew more vivid and lively by the day.

Zhao Han liked this liveliness and vitality.

If this continued to develop, the next step would probably be improvements in clothing styles, gradually becoming more fashionable and pleasing to the eye.

Zheng Sen, Zhang Jiayu, and the others who had returned with Zhao Han found the scene before them even more staggering than Pan Qimei did.

First, the relationship between the common people of Ji'an and Zhao Han was simply too good. There was no fear, only affection — the sort of wholehearted devotion that came from the heart.

Second, there were no beggars to be seen here, nor anyone in extreme destitution.

"This is the state of a great and well-ordered realm!" Zheng Sen exclaimed with emotion.

Zhang Jiayu pressed a hand to his sword and nodded. "It truly is so."

Hu Mengtai smiled. "All of Jiangxi will gradually become like this. In a few more years, Guangdong will too."

The retinue members each dispersed.

Zhao Han took Pan Qimei and headed straight for the inner residence of the Regional Commander's mansion.

Fei Rulan spent half the day teaching at the girls' school and the other half at home managing various affairs. She had already received word of Zhao Han's return and stood waiting at the courtyard gate with the children and servants.

"Husband!"

Fei Rulan's face was full of joy, but then she caught sight of Pan Qimei at Zhao Han's side.

Zhao Han drew a silver hairpin from inside his robe. "I saw these in Guangzhou. The designs were all quite fine, so I bought a few to bring back. There are some for my little sister and Rumei too."

"It's beautiful." Fei Rulan clasped the silver hairpin and said with a smile, "This must be our little sister."

Zhao Han made the introduction. "Pan Yao, Pan Qimei. She doesn't speak much Chinese."

Along the way, Pan Qimei had learned a bit more, and she still remembered the etiquette the teacher had taught her. She dipped in a curtsey and said, "Ten thousand blessings, Elder Sister!"

Fei Rulan showed not the slightest trace of jealousy. She took Pan Qimei by the hand and said, "Come inside quickly and let's talk."

Young men and women both have fast metabolisms.

Ever since she had stood out in the beauty selection, Pan Qimei had not done any rough work for a long time, and the calluses on her palms were gradually fading. Fei Rulan felt nothing out of the ordinary as she held her hand.

Zhao Han lifted up Chong'er and strolled into the courtyard. "Is my little sister at her studies today?"

"It's a holiday. She's gone over to the mathematics society. There seems to be some sort of mathematics gathering today," Fei Rulan said.

Zhao Han smiled. "It's good that she has something worthwhile to do."

Fei Rulan asked, "Will little sister be staying here, or should we tidy up a separate courtyard for her?"

"Let her stay here for now. She can't communicate yet — she needs to learn Chinese first." Zhao Han set Chong'er down, wrapped his arms around Fei Rulan from behind, and said, "Did my wife miss me?"

A sweetness rose in Fei Rulan's heart. Blushing, she said, "Let go, quick. Little sister and the servants are all watching."

"I'm not afraid. Let them look." Zhao Han clung to her for a while, though in truth he was worried Fei Rulan might be jealous.

Pan Qimei smiled, then looked around the courtyard in every direction. She thought the corner of the yard could fit a row of chicken coops — otherwise, it would really be a waste of space.

(End of chapter)