Free Web NovelChapter 1242: Chapter 1217: Appointment
"Mr. Wang, do you like Liu Bao’s paintings?" A sudden voice sounded behind the two, startling Wang Dao and Zhou Qi. They turned around abruptly, only to see Zhao Hanzhang standing behind them, hands behind her back, looking at them with a quizzical expression.
Zhao Hanzhang, realizing something, smiled and said, "I arrived this morning, my footsteps were heavy. I thought you would have heard, but it seems you were so engrossed, I startled both of you. It was my fault."
Zhao Hanzhang apologized, and they repeatedly said they didn’t dare blame her. Wang Dao looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated, then couldn’t hold back, "Great General, how did you acquire these paintings?"
"There are too many, I don’t remember when I got them, probably just spoils taken from the Xiongnu and Jiehu during wartime." Zhao Hanzhang led them to the back of the last shelf, where many large wooden boxes were still placed, filled with books, paintings, inkstones, brushes, and more, yet to be displayed.
"Whether for common folk or aristocratic families with lineage, war is a calamity that destroys homes. From the First Year of Yuan Kang to today, dozens of aristocratic families have been exterminated, with even more main branches being utterly destroyed." She turned to look at Wang Dao, "Luckily, I rescued Second Sister and Fourth Sister from Shi Le back then, otherwise your Mrs. Wang would have lost their main branch."
Wang Dao’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately knelt to express his thanks.
Zhao Hanzhang reached out to support him, laughing heartily, "No need to thank me, having the assistance of Second Sister and Fourth Sister has been Hanzhang’s fortune; they have already repaid me."
Seeing Wang Dao and Zhou Qi continually turning back to look at those two paintings, Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and then gifted the "North Wind Painting" to Wang Dao and the "Cloud and Han Painting" to Zhou Qi. "This ’North Wind Painting’ was seized during the capture of Liu Cong; back then, he had abducted the late Emperor, and many rare treasures from the court were taken by him."
After capturing Liu Cong, the loot naturally became spoils of war. Zhao Hanzhang allocated grain and textiles and most of the gold and silver to public accounts, while the rest was distributed to the soldiers.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t take gold or silver then; she mostly collected books and paintings, and people assumed she liked them. Therefore, during her birthday, Fu Tinghan’s birthday, their wedding, and various festivals, most gifts were books and paintings.
For someone like Zeng Yue, who didn’t place much value on books, this gift was truly convenient; just select a few items from his spoils without spending money or effort and still earn goodwill. What an excellent gift option.
Zhao Hanzhang wasn’t solely interested in ancient books and paintings; she initially chose them because they were indeed precious, and everyone was poor. Gold and silver were most useful, and other items could be easily sold. She couldn’t compete with her subordinates for these popular items, so she had no choice but to pick the less popular ones.
Unexpectedly, this became an indelible label on her.
However, she truly liked these two paintings; otherwise, she wouldn’t keep them hung up for frequent appreciation.
Yet, compared to the paintings, she valued Wang Dao and Zhou Qi more.
For those she valued, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t hesitate to cater to their interests.
Everyone said Diao Xie was a bad person, flattering the powerful while suppressing the weak, scheming for power, adapting to the intentions of those above, thus regarded as a scoundrel.
However, he could see the essence of things through all the distractions: the power of the Jiangnan aristocratic families was even greater than the Central Plains aristocratic clans.
Perhaps it was the twenty years of continuous war in Central Plains and the North that led to this. The aristocratic clans’ control over land wasn’t as strong as in Jiangnan.
After all, there is land everywhere, only lacking people due to the chaos of war.
Now, the territories under the governments of the Eight Princes, Gou Xi, Xiongnu Khanate, Shi Le, and Zhao Hanzhang have been repeatedly plowed. Apart from some remote areas and small Wu Castles, all Wu Castles have been destroyed north of the Yangtze River.
The aristocratic clans originally deeply rooted in the land have either been eradicated, fled south, or become exiles, truly fragmented.
When they return, the vast majority can’t reclaim their ancestral properties; all lands have become state-owned, redistributed.
But in Jiangnan, can she recover the land to become state-owned?
It’s easy to know with a little thought that it’s impossible.
One person can put the greater good above personal interest for the nation and the people, ten people, a hundred people, ten thousand people, a million people?
If some people are unwilling, it would cause a war.
War can break and rebuild order. From the current situation north of the Yangtze, rebuilding seems easier, allowing freer capacity to improve, but turning a perfectly good city into ruins and rebuilding it to the current scale is incredibly difficult.
