Chapter 105
Lu Hanzhi clicked his tongue. Explain? As if!
By the time you return, who knows how long it’ll be?
All you need to know is that you have a son. People need something to hold onto in life.
This campaign was incredibly dangerous.
For the sake of his own son, Yuwen Min would surely fight to stay alive.
Yuwen Min was absolutely furious, but with the army departing, he had no choice but to suppress his rage. He couldn’t very well turn back just to grab Lu Hanzhi and interrogate him until he begged for forgiveness.
All those noble and scholarly airs, all those lofty aspirations—
To hell with them! Lu Hanzhi had been playing him all along!
Yet one thing puzzled him deeply—how had Lu Hanzhi even gotten pregnant?
No matter how hard he thought, he had no recollection of it at all.
Riding beside him on a red-brown horse, Lu Xuzhi had been sneaking glances at him the entire way. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he asked, “Ah Min, what’s with you? Are you about to laugh or explode? Why are you suddenly so mad?”
Before Yuwen Min could answer, a burst of hearty laughter rang out.
Lu Xuzhi: …
He’s lost his mind. My brother-in-law has completely lost his mind!
This wasn’t a good state to be in before going to war. If he went berserk and slaughtered the enemy without leaving anyone alive to interrogate, what then?
Lu Xuzhi hesitated and asked, “Should we… have a military doctor check on you first?”
Yuwen Min waved him off but then, while still on horseback, lifted his whip and gave Lu Xuzhi a deep bow. “Second Brother, my lord!”
Lu Xuzhi: …
Yep, he’s definitely gone mad.
In the end, Yuwen Min never told Lu Xuzhi what had driven him insane. Fortunately, his madness only lasted the first three days. After that, he gradually regained his composure—though occasionally, he still had his moments.
This western campaign was no joke. Even though they had prepared for it, it was a real war that needed to be fought in earnest.
After Yuwen Min and Lu Xuzhi left the capital, Prince Chu moved into Prince An’s residence to stay with Lu Hanzhi.
Lu Hanzhi followed Yuwen Min’s advice: as much as possible, he avoided leaving the estate and conducted all his affairs within its walls.
To accommodate this, the abandoned east courtyard of Prince An’s residence was cleaned up and turned into Lu Hanzhi’s new experimental base.
Prince Chu found himself intrigued by all the experiments. Before, he had only known that Lu Hanzhi had many strange ideas. Now, he finally saw how those ideas took shape.
He watched as Lu Hanzhi directed a group of workers to slice bamboo into thin strips and then smash it into pieces. Then, they set up a large pot and started boiling it.
Not for a short time either—the boiling lasted a full seven days.
Only when Lu Hanzhi determined that the time was right did they put out the fire.
After the fire was out, Lu Hanzhi had someone bring out a square-shaped object resembling a woven bamboo mat. Then, he began scooping out the pale yellow pulp.
Prince Chu, standing nearby with a belly swollen as if he were seven or eight months pregnant, watched curiously but refrained from asking what Lu Hanzhi was making.
He knew that once the final product took shape, the answer would reveal itself.
Yuwen Jue pulled up a small stool beside Lu Hanzhi and said, “Things have been quiet in the capital these days. I heard that Young Lady Lu Fu is hosting a grand flower banquet. Even the courtesan queen from Jiangnan has been invited.”
As Lu Hanzhi laid the freshly made sheets of paper out under the sun, he responded, “Oh? Sounds like some new intelligence has arrived in the capital.”
Yuwen Jue smirked. “A famous courtesan from the Western Regions has become the talk of the city. Scholars are competing to send her invitation cards, eager for a glimpse of her beauty.”
How convenient—just as war was breaking out in the Western Regions, a beauty from that very place showed up.
Yuwen Jue added, “Her name is Lou Shishi. She’s said to be an exceptional dancer, with a waist as supple as a snake. Tsk tsk, even I can’t help but be curious.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Glancing at Yuwen Jue’s swollen belly, Lu Hanzhi said dryly, “Second Sister-in-law, with that figure of yours, I’d advise against dancing. You wouldn’t want to risk disturbing the baby.”
Yuwen Jue couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “I was just saying it casually. Your brother and the others should have already passed Xiling Pass by now. In just a few more days, they’ll reach the Western Frontier battlefield. General Rong Zhengwei will hand over military command to Ah Min, and when that time comes, a fierce battle will break out.”
Lu Hanzhi also knew this. That night when Yuwen Min left, he had already told him everything that needed to be said.
This battle had to be fought because the Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions were determined to plunge Great Zhao into chaos.
If they weren’t beaten so badly that they couldn’t get back up, Great Zhao would inevitably fall into the same turmoil that Lu Hanzhi had read about in the original novel.
Countless commoners would perish or be displaced, and for the next hundred years, Great Zhao might never return to its former prosperity.
Yuwen Min did not want to witness such a tragedy again, recalling the rivers of blood from the previous life.
If he wanted his loved ones to live in an era of peace and stability, he had to give everything he had.
From the courtyard gate came the playful sounds of Ah Chan and Ah Shu. Yuwen Jue continued chatting idly with Lu Hanzhi, “I wonder if they’ll be able to adapt over there. The desert is dry, and they say there’s not even water for bathing.”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “If the soldiers can endure it, then so can they. If it comes to that, we would endure it too.”
Yuwen Jue nodded and said, “I really hope these times pass quickly.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “They will pass. One day, the world will enter an era where everyone is equal, there are no taxes or forced labor, and each person works only for themselves and the nation.”
He believed that in this lifetime, he could play a role in accelerating that change.
Great Zhao was still a society caught between feudalism and slavery. Social development had to progress step by step, or it would face the backlash of the times.
So why not take the first small step?
Yuwen Min, however, was intrigued by the era Lu Hanzhi spoke of and asked, “Han’er, what kind of era are you talking about?”
Lu Hanzhi explained, “It’s an era where people work solely for themselves and the nation. There are no high-ranking nobles, only employers and employees.”
Yuwen Jue found it interesting and said, “Wouldn’t that make the state the greatest beneficiary?”
Lu Hanzhi replied excitedly, “Exactly! Income tax is collected from high earners based on a set benchmark. Of course, taxation is limited, so it wouldn’t stifle people’s motivation to generate wealth.”
Yuwen Jue’s eyes lit up as he said, “If that’s the case, wouldn’t the national treasury never have to worry about deficits?”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Of course! In that world, everyone is born equal and doesn’t have to fear being exploited by the powerful. The ruling class is called civil servants—they serve the citizens.”
Yuwen Jue asked, “What does ‘citizen’ mean?”
Lu Hanzhi explained, “It refers to a legal resident of the country. Everyone, as long as they are born, automatically becomes a citizen of that nation.”
Yuwen Jue continued, “Even servants?”
Lu Hanzhi answered, “Since everyone is born equal, there would naturally be no such thing as servants.”
Yuwen Jue said wistfully, “If that were true, wouldn’t there be no injustice in the world?”
Lu Hanzhi shook his head and said, “Injustice exists in every era. What we can do is work to reduce it as much as possible.”
Yuwen Jue gazed at Lu Hanzhi with a complex expression. Suddenly, he realized that this younger brother, whom he had watched grow up, was someone he had never truly understood.
But he had to admit, what Lu Hanzhi spoke of was indeed the idea of universal harmony.
Yet, he also had to acknowledge how difficult it would be to achieve.
As Yuwen Jue sat in thought, Lu Hanzhi had already finished skimming the pulp for his paper-making.
Looking up at the glaring sunlight, he remarked, “The weather has warmed up just as expected. With this sun, the paper should be fully dried by night.”
Yuwen Jue finally stood up and took a look. Surprised, he said, “Oh, so you’re making paper?” As he spoke, he reached out to touch it.
Lu Hanzhi immediately stopped him. “Second Sister-in-law, don’t touch it! If you leave fingerprints, it won’t look good.”
Yuwen Jue was amazed. “Han’er, is this really made from bamboo? Why is it so fine and smooth?”
Lu Hanzhi answered, “Exactly. However, bamboo paper has a slight yellowish tint. I think wood-based paper would be even more refined.”
That said, bamboo paper had an excellent texture, making it suitable for writing and painting.
Yuwen Jue said, “Then let’s try using wood. If we can sell this kind of paper, it would surely be profitable, right?”
Lu Hanzhi looked at his sister-in-law in surprise and asked, “Second Sister-in-law, are you interested in making money too?”
Yuwen Jue replied, “How could a gentleman not love wealth? Money is a great thing. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, so you don’t know what it’s like to be brought down by lack of money. When Ah Min and I were training our private army, the biggest issue was funding. It was only because Mother took out her old dowry that we finally managed to equip the troops.”
So that was why, Lu Hanzhi thought. No wonder Su Wan’ning had to rely on the Lu family back then to recruit private soldiers for the Crown Prince.
But Yuwen Jue was truly interested in his paper-making technique and asked, “Han’er, can I try making paper from wood? Can wood really be turned into paper?”
Lu Hanzhi answered, “Of course! Not just wood—straw can be used too. The paper we use now is made from jute fibers, after all. Jute paper takes advantage of jute’s fibers, but it’s coarse and lacks the smoothness of bamboo or wood. That’s why jute paper looks rough and unattractive compared to our bamboo paper. Look, Second Sister-in-law, this sheet has already dried.”
With that, Lu Hanzhi lifted the dried bamboo paper from the woven mat. It was perfectly flat, of moderate thickness, and looked exceptionally elegant.
Yuwen Jue held the paper in her hands. The thin sheet had a faint yellowish tint, giving it an inexplicably refined appearance.
Lu Hanzhi asked, “What do you think, Second Sister-in-law? This paper is quite nice, isn’t it? How much do you think we should sell it for per sheet?”
Yuwen Jue answered, “Ten wen per sheet wouldn’t be too much.”
Lu Hanzhi laughed and said, “Then let’s sell ten sheets for one wen!”
Yuwen Min looked at Lu Hanzhi in surprise and asked, “You’re…. selling ten sheets for just one wen? That’s way too cheap!”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “It’s not cheap at all. Bamboo grows all over the mountains, so it’s not worth much. Besides, paper isn’t sold by individual sheets; it’s sold in bulk. After mass production, it’s bundled—one hundred sheets per bundle, ten wen per bundle. Schools, bookstores, and ink shops buy in bulk and can negotiate lower prices.”
Yuwen Min was left dumbfounded. Lu Hanzhi patted him on the shoulder and said, “This is called making a profit through high volume sales! Second Sister-in-law, we’re not targeting individual retail customers anyway. We can always set a separate retail price later—wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”
As he rambled on, Lu Hanzhi turned back to his room to draft his business plan.
It was then that Yuwen Jue realized—the little brother he had always seen as spoiled and pampered had truly grown up without him even noticing.
Meanwhile, far away in the Western Frontier, Yuwen Min had won his first battle and earned the fearsome title of “Hell’s Asura.”
As the victory report spread, the other generals finally understood just how formidable he was.
The terror of the Fourth Prince was no exaggeration.
Slaughtering enemies like slicing through vegetables was one thing, but personally beheading over a hundred enemy commanders? That was enough to make anyone tremble in fear.
What the soldiers didn’t know was that Yuwen Min had simply been too excited—far too excited!
The thought that Lu Hanzhi had only ever belonged to him filled his heart with wild joy.
And when he realized that Ah Chan was his own flesh and blood, that joy became utterly uncontrollable.
How was he supposed to contain such overwhelming happiness? The only answer was to kill more enemies…
Author’s Note:
Yuwen-autumn: “I’m so happy! Let’s go take down a few more enemy commanders just for fun.”
Enemy commanders: Shaking in fear.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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