Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Mi Zhu Sends Gifts

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 5: The Han Divided, Battles Settle West of the River – Chapter 144: Mi Zhu Sends Gifts

In the eighth month of the Guangxi era, the world temporarily sheathed its swords, busy with the atmosphere of harvest.

At the beginning of the ninth month, Mi Zhu made another trip to Bingzhou.

Perhaps it should be said that he arrived in Bingzhou at the beginning of the ninth month, but he actually set off in late August.

This was also the time when Qiao Yan was honored by both the Eastern and Western Han courts as the General of Agile Cavalry.

If we say that during the campaign against Dong Zhuo, the various regional powers no longer dared to see her as a sharp blade of Emperor Ling of Han, after she successfully prevented Liu Bian from ascending the throne and vehemently denounced Dong Zhuo, yet still managed to gain substantial benefits from both sides, they could only acknowledge that this was indeed personal prowess.

Bingzhou, plagued by frequent internal strife among the barbarians, welcomed a master who could make Bingzhou renowned throughout the world.

The reason she is called a master rather than a governor is that Qiao Yan has not yet clearly aligned herself with either Liu Xie or Liu Bian.

This particularly unique state of independence inevitably caused unease.

Fortunately, perhaps because her previous actions had not yet transcended the status of a Han minister, no one used this as an excuse to attack her.

Instead, in the past few years, when the name Qiao Yan was mentioned, some still referred to her as “the granddaughter of Lord Qiao” to define her position. But in the past two years, especially this year, only the title of Governor of Bingzhou, General of Agile Cavalry, Marquis of Leping, Qiao Yan, remains.

For this, Mi Zhu was quite relieved, thankful that he had chosen to personally visit Leping due to his earlier interest in fishing rod carts.

The pulley system of the fishing cart was at best an application of mechanical development, and the subsequent agreement with Leping to trade soap agency rights for white crystal could only be said to maintain the relationship between the two sides for a period of time. But after Qiao Yan’s further rise, the Donghai Mi Clan, as a sufficiently successful merchant family, had no choice but to show more sincerity in their bet.

Even though the Eastern and Western Han were divided by the central regions of Bing, Yan, Yu, and Jing Provinces, with the Han divided and authority weakened, chaos was inevitable. Xuzhou, regarded by the Mi Clan as their ancestral base, was a flat and war-torn land, forcing them to seek a retreat in case of necessity.

Just look at the current state of Xuzhou to understand why Mi Zhu was so urgent.

The resurgence of the Yellow Turbans in Qing and Xu Provinces had signs even before the death of Emperor Ling of Han. Now that Liu Bian had established his capital in Ye, with Yuan Shao as the Governor of Qingzhou, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, intimidated by Yuan Shao’s rapid recruitment in Ji and Qing Provinces, spread towards Xuzhou.

Tao Qian, the Governor of Xuzhou, was indeed a figure to be reckoned with. He had previously participated in the campaign against Liangzhou, which endowed him with a bold and decisive character.

Just as Liu Biao, the Governor of Jingzhou, dared to enter Jingzhou alone, Tao Qian also dared to employ the fugitives Zang Ba and Sun Guan from Donghai, crushing the Xuzhou Yellow Turbans in one battle and forcing their remnants to flee towards Yanzhou.

But his boldness in employing people also caused Mi Zhu some panic.

Similarly, Ze Rong, employed by Tao Qian, was a Buddhist believer. Due to the recent pacification of chaos, he was still responsible for transporting military provisions from Guangling, Xia Pi, and Pengcheng. However, a large portion of the offerings from Guangling were directly pocketed by Ze Rong, giving him the opportunity to build Buddhist temples in Xia Pi and recruit Buddhist followers.

This seemed like another branch of Tao Qian’s forces, but it only felt like a potential disaster.

As for Yuan Shao, the Governor of Qingzhou to the north, he seemed like the optimal solution in proximity, but during the campaign against Dong Zhuo, he failed to demonstrate the qualities of a true leader that could convince Mi Zhu.

It was better to continue betting on Qiao Yan!

But to please someone, one must start with their needs.

Was Bingzhou short of grain? In Mi Zhu’s view, it probably wasn’t.

In a time when the saying “a peck of rice costs a thousand gold” was not uncommon across the thirteen provinces of the Han, those with grain had money.

If they directly offered money, it wouldn’t show their sincerity.

A place like Bingzhou naturally wouldn’t lack horses either.

After excluding money, grain, and horses, the options available to them were few.

After discussing with his father, Mi Zhu decided to send people.

Of course, sending people didn’t mean offering someone from the Mi Clan as Qiao Yan’s possession. It meant special talents.

The Donghai Mi Clan had abundant assets, and according to the usual practices of powerful families in the late Han, the retainers they supported were also considerable.

Among these retainers under the Mi Clan’s protection, some had special skills and were willing to move to a more stable place to make a living, serving as a bridge for the Mi Clan’s allegiance to Qiao Yan.

This method of gift-giving was indeed more appropriate than loading carts with goods.

The traveling party looked like a small-scale business trip rather than a long-distance gesture of goodwill towards Bingzhou while Tao Qian was the Governor of Xuzhou.

Moreover, due to the image Qiao Yan had shown Mi Zhu of valuing skills, and her relocation of the Grand Historian from Luoyang to Leping, Mi Zhu had a certain tendency in selecting people.

He needed to choose more technical talents.

When Mi Zhu arrived, Qiao Yan was reading another report.

The position of General of Agile Cavalry had not yet demonstrated much legitimacy in the campaign against Liangzhou, but the ripple effects it brought were not limited to the Mi Clan’s sincerity.

Closer to home, it was Hedong.

After Dong Zhuo fled to Chang’an with Liu Xie, control over Hedong County weakened significantly. Wang Yi, the newly appointed Prefect of Hedong, had been in office for less than half a year and was unable to prevent the noble families of Hedong from ceding the salt lakes within Hedong to Qiao Yan.








Under the control, the salt was transported along the Fen River Valley into the territory of Bingzhou.

Led by Wei Ji, the salt was ostensibly prepared for making military rations and dried meat, in preparation for the subsequent attack on Liangzhou.

At least there was a superficially plausible reason.

With both courts currently vying for Qiao Yan’s support, they obviously wouldn’t criticize this move.

This non-committal yet non-rejecting approach had its limits, but for now, she could still benefit from it.

This operation also slightly expanded the scope of Bingzhou.

When Mi Zhu entered the state government’s reception hall, he noticed that Qiao Yan seemed to be in a good mood, which made him feel that he might have chosen a good time to visit.

A smart merchant wouldn’t immediately reveal his purpose for seeking protection, so he simply said, “The Donghai Mi Clan congratulates the Lord.”

“The Han Dynasty is unsettled, and the barbarians are in constant turmoil. What is there to congratulate?” Qiao Yan looked up at him and asked.

After sitting down, Mi Zhu replied, “The Lord possesses the might of Duan Jieming and the legacy of Huo Qubing. With two years of accumulated grain, the troops will march from Longxi straight to Jincheng, surely sweeping away the rebels. This first congratulation is for the Lord earning the title of Qubing, the second for Bingzhou’s bountiful autumn harvest, and the third is a preemptive wish for the Lord’s victorious campaign.”

Seeing that Qiao Yan’s expression remained unchanged, still composed, Mi Zhu couldn’t help but gain more insight into the Governor’s inscrutable demeanor, further solidifying his decision to choose Bingzhou as the Mi Clan’s retreat.

“Although I am a merchant, I also have a heart to serve the country and aid in times of trouble. This time, I have selected some personnel from my retainers, wondering if they could be of use to the Lord.”

Mi Zhu handed a stack of lists to an attendant, who then presented them to Qiao Yan.

As Qiao Yan casually flipped through them, Mi Zhu explained from the side, “The first few are skilled in making chain mail. Their ancestors were involved in crafting armor for Emperor Guangwu’s guards, and their products are sturdier and more protective than ordinary chain mail.”

“The middle few are retainers of the Mi Clan skilled in ingenious carpentry. One of them is particularly adept at making mountain carts, though he often comes up with strange ideas, recently wanting to add sails to deer carts. I hope the Lord can tolerate him.”

“The last group are Dingling people brought back by the Mi Clan during trading in Zhangye. After several generations of intermarriage with the Han, they no longer exhibit much of the Dingling tribal behavior, but they have retained some skills, one of which is horse hoof care. Since the Lord raises cavalry, the importance of horse hooves need not be emphasized. These Zhangye Dingling people are indeed skilled in hoof care and oiling.”

The three groups brought by Mi Zhu were indeed increasingly useful.

He had truly excelled in catering to others’ preferences!

Chain mail needs no further explanation.

The armor-making craftsmanship in Bingzhou, a key border region, is generally up to standard, but no one would think that enhancing one’s own security is unnecessary, especially for the safety of generals.

The true craftsmanship of chain mail is extremely complex and requires custom fitting, so what Qiao Yan previously called chain mail was at best a byproduct of this armor-making technique introduced to the Central Plains.

But now they were facing the fierce soldiers of Liangzhou.

Liangzhou soldiers, especially the Qiang, fought fiercely in battles. She didn’t want Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and others to be consumed in border conflicts before they could play their roles in the Central Plains’ wars.

The armor masters sent by Mi Zhu could produce more fitting and mobile chain mail in winter.

The significance of the second item, mountain carts, goes without saying.

Even Duan Jiong, who was skilled in annihilating the Qiang in Liangzhou, couldn’t avoid frequent small-scale mountain battles with the Qie Dong Qiang and Ling Ling Qiang.

The deer carts that appeared in the late Western Han Dynasty were indeed good for mountain transportation.

As for the idea of adding sails to push the carts, it now seems like a baseless notion, as if casually applying coastal sailing techniques to carts. However, in the 5th century, over two hundred years later, such sail-equipped carts did appear, recorded in European epic poems a millennium later.

This might really be tested for feasibility before the Liangzhou campaign.

As for the Dingling people skilled in hoof care and oiling, they could be considered the later Tiele people or one of the Uighur tribes.

Their role wasn’t just limited to hoof care.

If Qiao Yan remembered correctly, horseshoes were invented in the West over two hundred years ago and spread to Dunhuang and Zhangye through the movements of nomadic tribes. According to later accounts from the area known as Ganzhou, the vast Gobi desert had too many gravels, which severely damaged horse hooves, so wooden horseshoes with four holes were attached to protect them.

Could these people have seen such ancient versions of horseshoes and serve as professional talent for her to try horseshoeing?

Earlier, when Qiao Yan hadn’t fully brought Bingzhou under her control and hadn’t yet formed a formidable cavalry, proposing horseshoes would only aid the enemy. But now, with a more complete talent pool and easier ironwork manufacturing, it was entirely feasible!

Even if these people hadn’t engaged in such work before, transitioning from hoof trimming would still be easy.

Qiao Yan’s eyes lit up.

If Mi Zhu weren’t sitting in front of her, she might have slammed the table in excitement over the gifts he presented.

Who knew she had been considering having Hua Tuo’s disciple Wu Pu shift from studying humans to studying horses!