Chapter 77

"Wow, it's so beautiful. Xiaoyun, come and take a look." Su Linlang walked onto the rooftop, gazing into the distance, her eyes instantly brightening.

In the distance, a river resembling a jade belt wound around, already frozen in the twelfth lunar month. A heavy snowfall had occurred a few days ago, and although the surroundings had been cleared, the snow on the river still remained, sparkling in the sunlight.

The evergreen trees along the shore were draped in snow, and as the wind blew, countless snowflakes drifted down. The scenery was truly delightful.

Su Linlang couldn't help but stretch out her arms, her long hair dancing in the wind. Even in winter clothing, her figure was still very noticeable, and this gesture made her look even more graceful. She took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air and turned to call out,

"Xiaoyun, come and take a photo for me. Alright, you don't have to be so considerate and help him all the time. Brother Dapeng is as strong as an ox; this stuff is nothing to him."

Zhang Hao, who was carrying a barbecue grill and some other items, couldn't help but roll his eyes at Su Linlang's words. This girl really had no sense of propriety. Sigh, in the Three Kingdoms world, Zhang Hao was always served by a group of beautiful women. He never had to deal with this kind of situation.

You're quite lucky, you little brat. Zhang Hao muttered to himself, but he didn't feel uncomfortable. He knew how to adapt to his environment and maintain a good state of mind. At least, that's how it was now.

"Xiaoyun, let me help. You go and take a photo for Linlang, or this girl will keep nagging and delay our plans." Zhang Hao smiled at Shuyun, who was helping him carry the ingredients.

The sunlight from the horizon cast a soft glow around Shuyun. Her already fair and delicate face, illuminated by the sun, was flawless, even more smooth and lustrous. Her gentle and serene expression made anyone who looked at her feel at ease.

Shuyun insisted on helping Zhang Hao carry the items to the rooftop before being pulled away by the impatient Su Linlang.

"Xiaoyun, don't always indulge Brother Dapeng. Be careful, you might spoil him. This guy keeps disappearing and isn't considerate at all. Luckily, he's made some progress and knows to send flowers. Otherwise, I would have told you to kick him out long ago."

Su Linlang wrinkled her nose at Zhang Hao in a show of defiance.

Zhang Hao shrugged, ignoring Su Linlang's verbal attack. Although he did feel a bit guilty, he had already come to terms with his situation. It was impossible for him to have a normal relationship like an ordinary person, so he could only do his best.

Love isn't about who owes who. Whether a relationship is good or not depends on how one feels. If Shuyun couldn't accept his situation, Zhang Hao would let go. If she could still accept it, he wouldn't let her down.

As for Su Linlang, well, Zhang Hao couldn't figure out what she was thinking. She was very close to him, sometimes treating him like a boyfriend, but always emphasizing that he belonged to Shuyun. They weren't that many years apart, so there shouldn't be a generation gap, right?

Zhang Hao didn't want to think too much about it. His current attitude towards life was to move forward through the time portal to an unknown future and to try his best to make his family and friends happy every day.

Moreover, Zhang Hao wasn't even sure if he and Shuyun were in a relationship. They had some ambiguous feelings, but nothing had been clearly defined.

Love is a very mysterious thing. Two people who initially had no feelings for each other, as long as they didn't dislike each other, might develop some subtle feelings if someone kept pushing them together, and even fall in love.

Zhang Hao and Shuyun's situation was somewhat similar. At first, Zhang Hao didn't intend to pursue Shuyun, even though he knew she was a good girl. But because Su Linlang kept bringing them together, he started to have more thoughts.

At first, Su Linlang might have found it interesting, but later on, did Shuyun have a good impression of Zhang Hao from the beginning, or did she develop feelings later, like Zhang Hao? Zhang Hao didn't know, and it didn't really matter.

After establishing himself in the Three Kingdoms world, Zhang Hao didn't lack for women, especially now.

Compared to the women in the Three Kingdoms world, Shuyun didn't have any particular advantages. Perhaps it was because she was someone Zhang Hao had known since childhood and was from the main world, which gave her some points.

Zhang Hao was a bit confused about his own thoughts. Should he tell his parents about the time portal and let them see his achievements and the women in the Three Kingdoms world? If they were to settle there, could they adapt to life in the Three Kingdoms?

After all, they had lived in the modern world for decades, and their relatives and friends were all here. More importantly, even if they settled in the Three Kingdoms world, they couldn't ignore the modern world and might want to visit their relatives and friends. The time rate difference would be a big problem.

The reason he was so ambiguous with Shuyun was probably because, besides the unique flavor of a relationship in this world, she was a woman from this world, and he could make his parents feel at ease and take care of them when needed.

This kind of thinking might seem to desecrate love, but Zhang Hao was no longer someone who placed love above everything or believed in purity.

After setting up the barbecue grill, Zhang Hao listened to the pleasant and clear laughter of the two girls and started the barbecue.

"Hey, Brother Dapeng, the view here is really nice, but it's a bit cold right now."

Su Linlang pulled Shuyun over and started eating the food Zhang Hao had grilled, muttering.

"You're beautiful but freezing." Zhang Hao glanced at Su Linlang. This girl was very vain, with a good sense of style. Although her clothes weren't particularly expensive, they were the most flattering to her figure, and such clothes were inevitably a bit thin. Besides, the wind on the rooftop was strong.

He gestured for them to grill some food themselves and went downstairs to find two thicker coats for the girls to wear.

"Brother Dapeng, have you been very busy lately? You look a bit tired. Take care of yourself. Business is never done. Money is important, but it can't compare to your health."

Shuyun handed Zhang Hao a scallop and said.

"Don't worry, I know." Zhang Hao felt a warm feeling in his heart and squeezed Shuyun's small hand.

Given Zhang Hao's constitution, for Shuyun to notice his fatigue, he must have been extremely busy.

There was no way around it. After capturing Luoyang, the Great Qian Dynasty had taken a significant step forward. If it was previously considered a potential contender for the throne, it was now recognized as a legitimate regime.

This was a good thing, but as a result, Zhang Hao had to consider and handle matters from a national perspective.

After occupying Luoyang, there were many things that needed to be addressed quickly. First, how to establish rule in the unoccupied provinces and commanderies. This required selecting capable and loyal officials to quickly establish the Great Qian's rule.

Additionally, the restriction and purging of the aristocratic families and powerful clans in Luoyang and other provinces and commanderies were also very labor-intensive. The officials and students in Luoyang needed to be screened, with those who met the criteria being promoted and those who didn't being removed, while also preventing them from causing trouble.

Finally, the most energy-consuming task for Zhang Hao was the establishment of various systems in the Great Qian. The system was fundamental to the state and could not be taken lightly. From the beginning, Zhang Hao had discussed and formulated the Qian Law with Tian Feng, Man Chong, and others, which provided a certain foundation. However, when it came to controlling the entire country, the Qian Law alone was insufficient.

For example, the reform of the official system was a major issue in every dynasty.

Zhang Hao gathered many talented individuals, including Xun Yu, Jia Xu, Xun You, Zhong Yao, and Chen Qun, who had mostly joined the Great Qian, along with the strategists he had previously commanded.

Together, they formulated various systems for the Great Qian, and Zhang Hao needed to refer to the systems of previous dynasties.

He needed a system that didn't require too much of his energy but allowed him to control power when needed. This system had to be stable and replicable, as Zhang Hao planned to dispatch armies to colonize other worlds in the future.

Additionally, he arranged for new education systems, expanded various factories, such as printing plants, to distribute the textbooks he and Cai Yong had selected and modified, and selected qualified teachers. He also addressed various tax and welfare issues.

And, of course, the most important issue in any era—food production—could not be overlooked.

In short, just these internal affairs were complex and multifaceted. At the same time, there were also many military matters. Not to mention Huangfu Song's suppression of the Liangzhou rebellion, the other unoccupied provinces and commanderies were not stable. Due to the Great Qian's policies and Zhang Hao's ruthless elimination of the Yuan family and other aristocratic families, some local officials and clans were unstable, and some had even raised the banner of loyalty to the emperor.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Hao's decision was to crush it directly, executing the rebels and their families. This was to set an example.