Chapter 223

Chapter 223

The Haizhou court's move to collaborate with the Qi State was hardly low-key—no matter how careful they were, word was bound to get out.

Combined with Han Zhang's unconventional surveillance methods using plants and flowers, he received word quickly, and the news came as no surprise to him.

Because in this feudal era, the throne's authority trumped the welfare of the people.

Emperors who genuinely loved their subjects as their own children were few and far between, and the current New Emperor of Haizhou—formerly the Crown Prince—was clearly not about to give up his throne for the sake of the common folk.

As for those great aristocratic clans...

Han Zhang had no intention of dealing with them after his victory.

Rather than deal with endless headaches after taking the throne, tarnishing his reputation with excessive bloodshed from purging the clans, it was better to seize this moment of chaos and war to wipe them all out under the banner of "suppressing rebels and purging traitors"!

So Han Zhang didn't block the Haizhou court's contact with Qi at all—he simply sat back and watched.

And on the Qi side...

The Qi ruler and his entire court were ecstatic at the news!

Although Han Zhang's combat prowess and weapons had genuinely spooked them, since the only firearm he'd shown so far was the musket—they hadn't yet seen what his cannons could do—Qi's fear was naturally limited.

Thus, upon receiving the secret letter from the New Emperor of Haizhou, the Qi court achieved a rare moment of unity between ruler and ministers.

"Your Majesty, this is a godsend! We can expand our territory and restore our national might!"

"No matter how cunning Han Zhang's tactics or how fearsome his firearms, he can't withstand a pincer attack. Even if we can't reclaim all lost ground, we can surely gobble up a third of Zhao State's territory!"

It was a textbook case of the two sides fighting while a third reaps the benefits.

After mulling it over briefly, the Qi Emperor also felt this was highly promising, and immediately waved his sleeve in decision: "Approved. Mobilize the army and march!"

So the Qi forces rallied once more, their spearheads aimed straight at Zhao State's borders.

Unfortunately... no one could have imagined that Han Zhang had not only muskets but far more devastating cannons.

Against such overwhelming firepower, cold weapons were virtually useless, and fighting on two fronts was a piece of cake for Han Zhang's current forces.

When he caught wind of both sides' movements, Han Zhang acted immediately.

First, he spread word of the Haizhou New Emperor's reckless pact with Qi, drumming up public support for his cause and creating a justification for military action.

Then he sent Han Qinnian and Shao Langzhou to attack the Haizhou court, while he himself went to teach Qi a lesson.

When fighting within Zhao State's borders, Han Zhang had to worry about his reputation and public sentiment, which tied his hands somewhat.

But fighting Qi? He had way fewer worries!

Han Zhang didn't bother with tactics against Qi—he just went with overwhelming firepower.

After picking one of Qi's border cities and subjecting it to a furious display of "submit and thrive, resist and perish," the Qi armies behind it were scared out of their wits.

Then, with even greater momentum than Qi had shown when invading Zhao, Han Zhang swept through over a dozen cities in eastern Qi within just two months, driving deep into their heartland and forcing Qi to hastily send envoys begging for peace.

"Ceasefire? Fine. Go back and tell your ruler: pay three million taels of silver in war reparations, and hand over the heads of the ministers who pushed for war as an apology. Do that, and I'll stand down."

Han Zhang set down his vermilion brush and looked up at the trembling envoy with a faint smile.

"Wh—what?!" The envoy's head shot up, his face white as a sheet. "Your Highness, three million taels... the treasury simply can't raise that kind of money! And the ministers are pillars of the state, how could we—"

"I don't do haggling," Han Zhang waved his hand dismissively. "That's the deal. Accept it, and this matter is settled. Refuse—then we'll settle it on the battlefield."

He waved again: "Guards, show our guest out."

And so the Qi envoy, still wanting to protest, was unceremoniously tossed out of the military camp.

When the Qi Emperor received the reply, he nearly spat blood in rage, overturning his desk:

"Unbelievable! Three million taels! And demanding our senior ministers' heads! That villain Han Zhang has truly gone too far!"

"Your Majesty, Han Zhang is clearly making outrageous demands to force us to submit!" an old minister said, his voice full of anguish. "We absolutely can't agree! Better to fight to the death!"

"Fight?" Another minister shook his head with a bitter smile. "Fight with what? When that cannon of Han Zhang's roars, our city walls fall apart like paper! Our soldiers get blown to bits before they even lay eyes on Zhao troops!"

The rest of the Qi court fell silent, their faces etched with defeat.

Han Zhang's firepower was simply something they couldn't handle.

In the end, Qi had no choice but to grit its teeth and accept the humiliating terms.

When word reached the Zhao military camp, Shen Huaizhi counted the reparations while clicking his tongue and shaking his head in regret:

"Too harsh? Every cannon shot costs a fortune in silver. Think of how much we burned through to take these cities! With manpower shortages and governance issues, we marched straight to their treasury's doorstep—we could've asked for way more!"

His brother was truly something else—others struggled to expand territory, but his brother expanded it and then had no one to govern it!

Han Zhang nodded in agreement: "Unfortunately, time was too short, and I haven't trained enough civil administrators. If we'd taken all of Qi outright, our foundation would be shaky. Otherwise, this really was a golden opportunity to seize the entire state."

As the saying goes: conquering a kingdom is easy; governing it is the hard part.

He didn't want his hard-won territory to be exploited by opportunists. Rather than spreading the front too thin and having logistics fall apart, it was better to play it steady.

You can't eat an elephant in one bite—securing Zhao State was the priority for now.

Things were looking great for Han Zhang.

On the other side, Han Qinnian and Shao Langzhou—true to their training under Old General Shao—proved themselves as commanders.

With their exceptional leadership, the firepower Han Zhang provided, and Kang Zhanxun's Xiang Yu-level combat prowess, the Haizhou court simply couldn't hold out.

Beyond the gap in firepower, the Haizhou court also suffered from a shortage of capable generals.

Because Emperor Taixuan had centralized military power and the princes had fought bitterly over succession, Zhao State had lost a lot of outstanding commanders in recent years.

Most of the remaining talented generals were stationed at border defenses, and the frontier troops in particular—under Old General Shao's influence—while not openly declaring for Han Zhang, had stopped obeying the Haizhou court's orders altogether.

With all these factors combined, the Haizhou court couldn't hold out against the assault.

Eventually, Han Qinnian, Shao Langzhou, and Kang Zhanxun drove straight to their doorstep, leaving only the clans' private armies putting up a stubborn defense.

But just when things were looking so good, something unexpected happened.

That was...

The death squad the New Emperor of Haizhou had sent to the northern frontier to capture Shen Qinglan failed—thanks to the mutated plant bracelet Han Zhang had left with him—but they managed to grab Han Zhang's parents instead!

Because Han Zhang's Power was limited—this wasn't the apocalypse, with hordes of zombie cores to replenish him—he could only grow that one powerful mutated plant for Shen Qinglan.

"As for the Han family, he could only fall back on standard protective measures."

It wasn't favoritism—it was just human nature. No one's heart can be perfectly fair. After all, he had transmigrated into this world halfway through his life. Compared to the Han family, he cared far more about his devoted husband—the one who loved him with all his heart, bore his children, and would stand by his side for life.

However, he couldn't abandon his parents either.

Whether for the sake of reputation or his familial bond with the Hans, he had to take the new emperor of Haizhou's move seriously.

"How are my parents now? What exactly does the new emperor of Haizhou intend to do?"

Upon receiving the news, Han Zhang rushed over as fast as his horse could carry him, without even stopping for a sip of water, he immediately demanded to know what was going on.

Han Qinnian, eyes bloodshot, slammed his fist on the table furiously:

"That shameless tyrant declares that you, eldest brother, must ride alone into the city and trade yourself for our parents' lives! If our army forces an attack, he'll make the city's people and our parents... die with him!"

Since when was that an exchange of terms?

It was clearly a demand for his eldest brother's life!

No matter how formidable his eldest brother was, he was still human—how could one man stand against an army of ten thousand?

Yet if they refused, watching helplessly as his parents, along with the people of Haizhou, met their deaths, all the reputation Han Zhang had carefully built would be utterly ruined.

So after only a few minutes of silence,

Han Zhang made his decision: "I'll go!"

"No, eldest brother, you can't go! This is a poisonous trap set by that false emperor—once you go, you'll ride straight into it, with no chance of survival!"

Han Qinnian immediately stopped him, eyes red with panic.

Kang Zhanxun and the others also spoke up urgently: "Brother Han, Qinnian speaks the truth! The false emperor's move is clearly targeting your life. If anything happens to you, what will become of the army?"

"Please, my lord, reconsider!"

"Do not risk yourself under any circumstances!"

The generals and personal guards in the tent all knelt and pleaded, their faces full of worry and urgency.

Han Zhang was their pillar; if he died, this rebel force, now leaderless, would surely crumble in an instant, never to succeed again.

Of course, among them were some more ambitious ones, but they all knew their own limits—none of them had Han Zhang's ability to command loyalty and inspire followers.

Don't bite off more than you can chew.

If Han Zhang were gone, they would fall apart like scattered grains of sand, with no one confident enough to take over his position.

But once Han Zhang made up his mind, nothing could change it.

He dared to step forward because he was confident—after all, he valued his own life too.

So,

after everyone had pleaded with him in a flurry of words, Han Zhang put on a solemn face and declared:

"Enough, everyone. I have made up my mind!"

"That tyrant captured my parents and held the city's populace hostage, resorting to such despicable tactics. If I, Han Zhang, were to cling to my own life today, turning a deaf ear to my parents' cries and turning a blind eye to the people's terror, then how would I differ from that tyrant, from the very villains I have sworn to overthrow?"

"The debt I owe my parents for raising me is heavier than Mount Tai! The people are the very foundation of the state. How can one who is neither benevolent nor filial rule the realm?"

"Brother Kang, second brother... I entrust the command of the army to you. If I do not return, do not insist on supporting a young heir. The responsibility of the realm should fall to the capable—don't force it!"

With that, Han Zhang spoke no more, seized the heavy halberd at his side, and strode out of the tent without looking back, like a man walking to his death.

The new emperor of Haizhou wanted his life—then he would show him what it meant to go for wool and come home shorn!