CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 259: DO YOUR BEST

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow and looked at Fu Tinghan in surprise, saying, "Actually, someone has brought up this matter before, and even the Emperor prefers to migrate the capital, but Prince East Sea disagrees."

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Prince East Sea’s influence is such that almost no one can oppose him. Even if his stance lacks reason, there will still be ministers on his side. Moreover, the pros and cons of moving the capital are not clear, so even more people side with him."

The court has fled south once before, and even Zhao Hanzhang feels pain over the wealth lost on the road and left in Luoyang, let alone other ministers. They may not be willing to leave again.

From a historical perspective, she knows relocating the capital is the right decision, but for those at this point in time, few have the insight and resolve to make such a decision.

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at Fu Tinghan and pondered, "There are still many people in Luoyang now. If we can move the capital, a lot of people could survive."

Many commoners would follow the court in migration. If the capital moved, at least half of Luoyang’s population could relocate. Although this would forfeit Luoyang’s geographical advantage, it would preserve the people and the fire of Great Jin. Even if Liu Yuan captured Luoyang, it wouldn’t mean much.

They want to attack Luoyang precisely because Luoyang is the capital of Great Jin. Capturing Luoyang and holding the Emperor Jin would essentially mean the downfall of the Jin State, paving the way for a new regime.

Zhao Hanzhang’s mind raced, and finally, she sighed deeply, "It’s a pity we have little say in the matter. Our words don’t carry weight, otherwise, we could submit a formal proposal to migrate the capital."

Despite saying this, the day after the ancestor worship, Zhao Hanzhang still made a point to approach Zhao Ming and bring up the issue, "If Uncle would submit a proposal to migrate the capital, the Emperor might be quite pleased, wouldn’t he?"

Zhao Ming was unmoved, "Does it matter whether the Emperor is pleased? The clan leader’s position in the capital is not good nowadays; fewer issues are better than more."

Zhao Hanzhang replied seriously, "Migrating the capital might be the only chance for Great Jin and the people of Luoyang. Once the Xiongnu Army invades Luoyang, no one across the land will be spared."

Only then did Zhao Ming glance at Zhao Hanzhang, "Why didn’t you say this earlier? Why start with sentiment before addressing the greater good?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "..."

However, Zhao Ming soon understood her and said, "It’s useless. The clan leader won’t offend Prince East Sea. If Prince East Sea doesn’t agree to migrate the capital, no one’s proposal will work."

Though that’s what he said, he still wrote a letter to Zhao Zhongyu, mentioning Luoyang’s current crisis, listing the benefits of migrating the capital, and hoping he and the court officials would consider the matter.

When Zhao Zhongyu received the letter, it was during fierce debates in the court about migrating the capital.

Gou Xi also submitted a proposal requesting the Emperor to move the capital, even selecting the location, which was in Cangyuan.

Cangyuan is within the territory of Yu State, a change in location but still circling back to Yu State, not far from Ru Nan County.

Why was Gou Xi so adamant about migrating the capital to Yu State?

Because Yu State is at the center of the Central Plains, having the capital here means aid from all directions is faster, not to mention Yu State has always been the cultural, economic, and political center of Great Jin.

Luoyang has always been next to Yu State, and at one point, it even belonged to Yu State.

The Emperor also found Cangyuan favorable, but Prince East Sea disagreed, believing this was an attempt to shake off his control, and a majority of court ministers also disapproved.

The last departure from Luoyang was a forced exodus. Upon return, homes and fortunes were lost, some houses even burned. Now that order has been restored with great difficulty, naturally, no one wants to face relocation again.

Zhao Zhongyu, seeing the situation, suppressed his thoughts and didn’t submit a proposal on this issue.

Zhao Ming dutifully played his part, doing what he could, leaving the rest to fate. He had made his suggestion; whether Zhao Zhongyu would act on it and whether the court officials would accept the recommendation was beyond his concern.

He was not a Jin Minister, so he could easily let it go, finishing the letter and setting it aside without worry.

Zhao Hanzhang was the same; she had done all she could with her current capacity. The rest was left to fate. She was also quite busy with her life, focusing on small daily matters first.

Though during the mourning period there was no need to pay New Year visits, Zhao Hanzhang remained busy. Liu Yuan’s Xiongnu Army was like a sharp sword hanging over her head. So, after the third day of the month, she rushed to the military camp, making a ruckus as she shouted at the soldiers to intensify their training, "Get up quickly. You don’t have to work in the fields, and you’re still not keen on training? If the Xiongnu Army comes south again, will you just lie down and let them cut you down?"

The camp was in an uproar, and the training left the soldiers exhausted. Zhao Hanzhang was also tired by the time she returned home.

She couldn’t rest yet; she still had to prepare lesson plans. Yes, after the seventh day, she was to teach children at the academy.

Standing in the classroom, looking down at the students seated in front of her, the oldest was a centurion from her military camp, twenty-three years old, sitting cross-legged at the back with a group of children aged seven to twelve, looking up at her.

Zhao Hanzhang tutted and simply put down the lesson plan in her hand, asking, "Why are you all sharing one classroom?"

"Those who come from the military to learn literacy can’t have a separate class. Older youths and adults can’t be a separate class outside. Can’t similarly aged students form a class?"

Listening on the side, Zhao Cheng lifted his eyes to look at her and said, "They’re separated. These people are here because of their good performance, earning them a reward for just this one day. Tomorrow, they’ll return to their respective classes. Just bear with it for today,"

Zhao Hanzhang: "... so am I the reward?"

Zhao Cheng nodded.

Zhao Hanzhang matched her gaze with the students and suddenly broke into a bright smile, happily saying, "So you’re the talents of my Xiping. Then I really should teach you well. This lesson plan is no longer suitable; I’ll go with the flow. If there’s anything you don’t understand, raise your hand and ask me."

The students looked at Zhao Hanzhang with starry eyes, feeling the lady was so nice, even as a teacher she was so considerate and gentle.

Zhao Cheng: ...

Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’ve come across two books by chance, one composed of three characters and the other of four characters."

"Both books are easy to understand and catchy, most suitable for beginners learning literacy. One is called the ’Three Character Classic,’ the other is the ’Thousand Character Classic.’"

Neither book has been printed yet. Hu Jin is still working hard, not knowing when the ’Three Character Classic’ will be fully engraved, so currently, the only copies in existence are the handwritten ones by Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan.

Zhao Hanzhang directly wrote the first sentence of the ’Three Character Classic’ on the blackboard, "At the inception of man, nature is inherently good..."

The blackboard and chalk were created by Fu Tinghan to facilitate teaching, and indeed, that’s not why it started.

It was because paper was scarce, and sometimes he needed to do a lot of computations, so he couldn’t be gentle, and the brush was very unsuitable.

So he made a super large blackboard for himself and a lot of chalk, and for certain calculations, he would do them on the blackboard.

When Zhao Hanzhang saw it, she immediately equipped the teachers and students in the school with them.

Zhao Cheng stayed even after Zhao Hanzhang proposed so many teaching requirements, largely because of the blackboard and chalk.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and asked, "These two lines, how many characters do you recognize?"