Chapter 190: Zhao Yun’s Marriage Alliance
Early in the morning, Lu Su brought Gan Ning good news, “General, Zhao Fan of Guiyang Commandery and Liu Du of Lingling Commandery, father and son, have both surrendered. We overthought it; they actually surrendered without a fight. Zi Long General took Guiyang Commandery, and Old General Huang took Lingling Commandery.”
Gan Ning said happily: “This is great! It must be that our capture of Wuling Commandery intimidated them greatly, so they chose to surrender.”
Lu Su pondered for a moment and said: “Liu Du and his son of Lingling Commandery are indeed like that. They had few soldiers and generals, plus they have a good personal relationship with Huang Zhong, so Huang Zhong wrote them a letter, and Liu Du and his son surrendered. But Zhao Fan’s situation is a bit more complicated.”
“What’s Zhao Fan’s situation?”
“Zhao Fan has a grudge against the General!”
“A grudge?”
Gan Ning was stunned for a moment, “What do you mean?”
“Zhao Fan is the younger brother of Zhao Wei, the great general of the Bashu Dongzhou faction. Wasn’t the General driven out of Bashu by Zhao Wei back then?”
Gan Ning chuckled speechlessly; that was his predecessor’s matter, which he had long forgotten.
“Is this the more complicated matter you mentioned?”
“Not only that, the Zhao family is a powerful family in Jingzhou, controlling the copper ore mining on both banks of the Xiang River. He wants to form a marriage alliance with Zi Long General; that’s his condition for surrender.”
Gan Ning was speechless for a long time. A marriage alliance with Zhao Yun—wasn’t it that Zhao Fan’s widowed sister-in-law Fan Shi fancied Zhao Yun? That wasn’t from the novel; it was a real historical event, and historically, Zhao Yun did not refuse but agreed to the marriage.
“So Zhao Fan surrendered to us, which means General Zhao agreed to this marriage?”
Lu Su nodded, “It’s Fan Shi, the wife of Zhao Wei. Zhao Wei was killed the year before last, and Fan Shi has been widowed for three years. She fancies Zi Long and wants to remarry him.”
“How old is Fan Shi?”
“At most twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She has a ten-year-old son; if she remarries Zi Long, the child won’t need to change his surname.”
Originally, Gan Ning was a bit interested in this beauty Fan Shi and wanted to see her, but upon hearing she had a ten-year-old son, that idea vanished immediately.
Gan Ning nodded slowly, “Zi Long General is over thirty, and his first wife died long ago in the warfare. Zhao Yun marrying Fan Shi is a suitable match in age.”
“General, the Fan Shi family is also a major clan in Jingzhou, similarly controlling copper ore mining, so the Zhao and Fan families formed a marriage alliance.”
Gan Ning thought for a moment and said: “Do the Zhao and Fan families only handle copper ore mining, or is it mining and smelting integrated?”
“Only mining; they don’t do smelting!”
Gan Ning continued to ask: “But why haven’t we received copper ore from their two families?”
“Reporting to the General, I just investigated this. After the battle of Changsha Commandery, their two families stopped copper ore mining and only resumed work last year, but all the mined copper ore is piled up in the warehouse and not sold outside. Since Zhao Fan has surrendered and Zi Long is forming a marriage alliance with Fan Shi, these ores can now be supplied to us.”
“Have the Strategist handle this matter. By the way, how is the expansion of tung oil and pine resin oil production going?”
Since the battle with Sun Ben, Gan Ning had realized the problem of insufficient fire oil supply. Upon returning, he had demanded to quickly expand the refining of tung oil and pine resin oil.
Lu Su nodded and said: “Rest assured, General. We have doubled the workforce, and production will soon double, enough to meet our military needs.”
Gan Ning said happily: “Then I’m not worried anymore.”
In the afternoon, Gan Ning returned to the mansion half an hour early. He first went to visit Da Qiao.
“How are you? Did you have morning sickness today?” Gan Ning asked with concern.
Da Qiao smiled charmingly: “After taking Doctor Liu’s medicine, I feel much better; I didn’t vomit at all today.”
“What medicine? Will it affect the fetus?”
“No, the medicine is very mild. Husband, go to the study first! When dinner is ready, Yun Qing will notify you.”
“Did you put Xu Wei in charge?”
“I’m teaching her bit by bit. When I can’t move, she can take over completely.”
After chatting a few more words, Gan Ning went to the study. As he was about to remove his outer robe, he suddenly felt someone behind him helping; turning around, Xu Wei was there.
Xu Wei helped Gan Ning remove his outer robe and said somewhat embarrassedly: “Older Sister asked me to take care of the study.”
“Good! You all need to share more of her burden. What is Xiao Qiao doing?”
“A Yu is responsible for caring for Older Sister; I’m responsible for serving Gan Lang.”
“Xiao Qiao is willing?” Gan Ning laughed.
“This is Older Sister’s arrangement. I don’t know how Older Sister convinced A Yu.”
Gan Ning pulled her into his arms, kissed her lips, and laughed: “Go, bring me some tea.”
“Coming right away!”
Xu Wei twisted her waist and ran out joyfully.
In another room, Xiao Qiao was sullenly brewing medicine for her older sister.
Da Qiao looked at her dejected younger sister and smiled, pursing her lips: “Look at your pitiful state. Are you so unhappy brewing medicine for me?”
Xiao Qiao pouted: “I just think it’s unfair. Why does Yun Qing brew tea for Gan Lang, while I can only brew medicine for the pregnant woman.”
“You little brat, who’s the pregnant woman?”
“Your arrangement is unfair! Can’t I complain?”
Da Qiao sighed and said: “Yun Qing is fully prepared in every way. I’m planning to let Yun Qing consummate with Husband. Do you understand?”
“Then I can too! I’m only a month younger than Yun Qing. If she can, why can’t I?”
“Doctor Liu says your body isn’t ready yet; you’re still developing and can’t share a room. Consummating too early would harm you greatly.”
Xiao Qiao slowly lowered her head. Though stubborn-mouthed, she knew herself that she wasn’t ready yet.
“I understand!”
“So don’t resent Yun Qing. Everyone has their own fate. Yun Qing has hers; you have yours. Yours just hasn’t come yet.”
“I won’t be angry with Yun Qing.”
Seeing her younger sister understand, Da Qiao said softly again: “I’m just not letting you consummate with Gan Lang yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t interact with him. He is your future husband; normal contact is fine, like brewing tea for him or preparing dinner.”
Xiao Qiao’s heart immediately filled with joy. She hurriedly poured a bowl of medicine for her older sister and laughed: “Then I’ll go prepare dinner!”
“Go ahead!”
Xiao Qiao also ran off joyfully.
After dinner, Gan Ning accompanied his wife on a walk in the courtyard, with Xu Wei and Xiao Qiao following behind.
“There are over a dozen hot springs on Mount Lu. The largest one is called Qinglu Spring. I’ve bought that hot spring, along with over a hundred mu of land around it. I plan to build a villa there.”
Da Qiao said happily: “With a hot spring, bathing will be very convenient.”
“Exactly. We can live there in winter.”
“Will it affect Husband handling official business?”
“No, it’s half an hour by fast horse. Personal guards will be assigned to deliver messages back and forth.”
Xiao Qiao behind couldn’t help asking: “Gan Lang, when will it be built?”
Gan Ning laughed: “You have sharp ears. The house can be built in three months; with furnishings and decorations, at most half a year!”
“Half a year, that would be autumn.”
Gan Ning nodded, “Once it’s built, you can go stay for a couple of days first and enjoy soaking in the hot spring.”
The three women all looked forward to it.
