Chapter 188

Chapter 188

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: The Two Provinces Stand Firm, The Silk Road Reopens Chapter 188: May and June

At this moment in the situation—

Yuan Shao heads north to confront Gongsun Zan, while Liu Yu moves east, aiming to reclaim Youzhou with the help of Shanggu and Daijun.

Cao Cao and Tao Qian have each secured their positions as provincial governors, stabilizing their territories.

Liu Bei, newly titled General Who Pacifies Bandits, is campaigning against Yuan Shu.

Sun Ce, with two counties of Yang Province, is attacking Wu Commandery.

After defeating Sun Jian, Liu Biao is expanding southward, intending to reclaim Changsha Commandery, still under Zhu Jun’s control.

Liu Yan of Yizhou and Zhang Jin of Jiaozhou are in a state beyond others’ reach, especially the latter, whose support for Taoism has reached the point of ignoring sages and abandoning laws.

Of course, Zhang Jin and Zhang Jiao are somewhat different; Zhang Jin wears a red headscarf, so perhaps his followers should be called the Red Turban Army.

But regardless, the imminent battles are all concentrated in the eastern part of the Central Plains.

However, if Dong Zhuo, who occupies the Guanzhong Plain in the west, clashes with Qiao Yan, who holds Liang and Bing Provinces, it would be like a massive boulder thrown into the waters of Chang’an, and the resulting impact should not be overlooked.

The ripples from this would first affect Yizhou, Jing Province, Yu Province, and Yanzhou.

But in the current month of May, after returning from the military settlement at Huo Shizhai, Qiao Yan is still focusing on her grand plan for tuntian (military-agricultural colonies) in Liang Province and the important task of gradually incorporating the Qiang people into the regular army.

As the Qiang people in the foreign language office improve their Chinese, Qiao Yan ordered another recruitment drive in mid-May.

Alongside this, she and Cheng Yu finalized a plan to bring Qiang children to study here.

Budugen from the grasslands also inquired whether the Xianbei could send people as well.

Budugen is unaware that Qiao Yan has connections with Qianman, who fled east and has not returned, and with Kebiner of the Xianbei branch.

He made this choice because, at the start of spring this year, he visited Liang Province again, following the route along the Lu River from Wuwei Commandery.

To his surprise, Qiao Yan’s progress in Liang Province has reached an astonishing level.

When Zhao Yun appeared before Budugen riding his Ferghana horse, leading the cavalry, Budugen finally realized that the sound of the Bingzhou cavalry’s horses was off—clearly, there was something special about the horseshoes.

This was likely a “surprise” prepared by Bingzhou for the nomadic tribes of the grasslands.

But realizing this was of little use.

Bingzhou remains under Qiao Yan’s control, unlike in history, where it became a base for the Xianbei to graze and plunder. This means the iron mines and iron officials in Bingzhou are under Qiao Yan’s strict supervision.

The Xianbei people who come to Bingzhou for winter iron mining only engage in manual labor and never touch the core technology related to horseshoes.

Thus, Budugen naturally lacks the means to equip his horses with horseshoes.

The more he sees Qiao Yan’s power expand and her unyielding dominance, the more Budugen dares not show any disrespect in her presence.

“Yufuluo of the Southern Xiongnu has joined Liu Youzhou in confronting Gongsun Zan. Now, Budugen of the Xianbei requests to send some of his people here to learn Chinese. What do you think, Zhongde?”

Qiao Yan strolls along the green fields of Jincheng Commandery.

The highland environment of Liang Province gives the sky a clear, transparent blue, transforming the river valley basin from the chaos of last year into a serene and pleasing sight.

But upon closer inspection, this serenity is not pure.

On this still wild land, energy accumulated over years of neglect fuels the rapid growth of vegetation, changing daily.

The wind from west of Huangzhong passes through the Riyue Mountain Pass, carrying the scent of glacial snow, diluted by the early summer heat, mingling with the distant shouts of military training—a scene distinct from Bingzhou.

Cheng Yu replies, “My lord, you already have the answer. Competition among the Qiang, Xiongnu, and Xianbei is beneficial as long as we maintain the upper hand.”

Qiao Yan’s civil and military officials must each demonstrate their abilities to secure their positions under her, and these Hu people must also compete for their roles.

However, using such forces requires extreme caution.

Any sign of weakness or negligence, and these not-yet-fully-civilized Hu people might stab her in the back.

She responds, “Without worries, one becomes too complacent, don’t you think?”

She needs these dangers to remind herself that, despite her current smooth development and greater early capital than her opponents, she is far from being able to relax.

Qiao Yan says, “Let Budugen send his people. Just trouble Zhongde to keep an eye on them.”

If conflicts arise between the Xianbei and Qiang here, with neither side fully fluent in Chinese, mediation could be troublesome. Who knows what kind of miscommunication might occur.

It wouldn’t do to have to set up a mediation office!

How improper!

Liu Xie in Chang’an likely wouldn’t guess that Liang Province is in such a state.

As he gazes northward through the window, he only hopes that the Marquis of Leping, carrying the late emperor’s edict, will soon march into Chang’an and rescue him.

Dong Zhuo’s aura of a fading hero is stark to those like Li Jue, who have followed him since early days, and to astute observers like Jia Xu. But to the inexperienced Liu Xie, it’s not so obvious.

In his mind, Dong Zhuo is still the Prime Minister who, after seizing control of the capital, wiped out He Jin’s remnants and held life-and-death power in the court.

A mountain pressing down on him.

The only one who can trouble Dong Zhuo is Qiao Yan.

So when will the Governor of Bingzhou arrive?

Liu Xie, young and intelligent, knows that lamenting his fate is pointless.

He also feels fortunate.

If not for his father’s love, entrusting him to Empress Dowager Dong, he might not have lived to this age, poisoned like his mother by Empress He.

If not chosen as the Son of Heaven, he might have been a casualty under Grand General He Jin’s authority.

Now, he at least temporarily holds the title of Son of Heaven as a talisman, with these loyal old ministers risking their lives to travel from Luoyang to Chang’an, giving him a sense of security.

Not all the warlords have sided with Liu Bian; there’s still the Marquis of Leping leading troops outside, intent on denouncing the traitors.

In this comparative happiness, he doesn’t see the furniture and utensils sent by Qiao Yan, or the medicinal gifts taken by Dong Zhuo this year, as 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And it was precisely his concern.

He occasionally thought that he was much younger than Dong Zhuo, and sooner or later, he would outlive this old traitor.

Although Liu Xie did not know it at this time, the glory of the Han Dynasty had already taken a sharp decline when there were two Sons of Heaven in the world.

Many of the heroes of the late Han Dynasty harbored not the intention to restore the Han, but to replace it.

Including the Marquis of Leping, whom he had placed great hopes on.

He just looked out the window, catching a glimpse of birds flying by, his eyes showing a hint of envy.

Unfortunately, he was still trapped in a cage…

He slowly withdrew his gaze and saw Li Jue, a general under Dong Zhuo, walking towards the main hall of Weiyang Palace in the distance.

Seeing this, Liu Xie quickly closed the window and sat back down at his desk.

These reckless men from Xiliang often treated him, the young emperor, as some kind of novelty, especially after meeting Dong Zhuo in the main hall, they would often come to the side hall to take a look.

It was as if they wanted to see how such a cowardly emperor could rule.

They no longer had any reverence for imperial authority!

Liu Xie’s mentality was indeed good, but it didn’t mean he wanted to face this situation of being treated like a monkey.

But even after closing the window, he still heard the sound of someone breaking into the hall a quarter of an hour later.

Li Jue entered with a sword, walking straight in, no less arrogant than Dong Zhuo’s act of wearing shoes in the hall.

Liu Xie thought he was just showing off the demeanor of a petty man who had gained power, and letting him take a few more looks wouldn’t make him lose any flesh, so let him look!

However, what he didn’t expect was that when Li Jue approached him, instead of saying a sarcastic greeting like before, he whispered, “Your Majesty, don’t you want to escape this situation?”

Liu Xie looked at Li Jue suspiciously.

This didn’t sound like something Li Jue would say.

“What do you mean?”

Li Jue pointed in the direction of the main hall of Weiyang Palace and said, “Does Your Majesty really want to keep following Dong Zhuo’s arrangements? Your Majesty might not know, but the Prime Minister is considering marrying his granddaughter to you as the Empress, to become a legitimate relative. In a few years, if there is an heir, Your Majesty can peacefully pass the throne.”

Hearing this, Liu Xie’s expression didn’t change.

He had, of course, guessed this possibility.

But he had heard about the situation in Liangzhou and thought that with Qiao Yan’s speed of advance, as long as she could stabilize the rear of Liangzhou, she would surely be able to attack Chang’an before Dong Zhuo could execute this plan and rescue him.

Under the influence of this thought, he didn’t need to feel any fear because of Li Jue’s words.

Besides—why would Li Jue tell him this?

Rather than believing that Li Jue suddenly felt sympathy for him, a young emperor with no autonomy, Liu Xie believed that Li Jue had received orders from Dong Zhuo to use his desire for freedom to make him do something wrong.

Like dragging the court officials into trouble, giving Dong Zhuo another excuse to kill.

In Luoyang, Dong Zhuo had already killed Wu Qiong and Zhou Bi, who knows if he would want to attack Lord Lu and Lord Xun next.

These old ministers who came to Chang’an had never made any moves to contact forces outside Chang’an, maintaining a superficial peace with Dong Zhuo. If they were to be slaughtered by Dong Zhuo because of Liu Xie’s inappropriate actions, Liu Xie could never forgive himself.

Thinking of this, Liu Xie looked at Li Jue with even more caution.

He replied, “I understand, thank you for telling me. If there’s nothing else, you may leave.”

Liu Xie’s reaction made Li Jue pause.

He had to admit that what Jia Xu had told him was right.

Liu Xie wouldn’t believe mere words and hand over what he wanted.

This Son of Heaven, thrust onto the throne by circumstances, had far more maturity and rationality than ordinary people.

This rationality had already shown signs when he and Liu Bian were taken to Mount Mang by the Palace Attendant Zhang Rang and intercepted by Dong Zhuo and others, and it was even more so now.

Li Jue carefully looked around, confirming that his earlier habits had not drawn the attention of those guarding outside the hall, and then continued, “Never mind, Your Majesty will know in a few days.”

If he were to tell Liu Xie now that he could help him get rid of Dong Zhuo, as long as Liu Xie was willing to entrust him with military power and let him replace Dong Zhuo, Liu Xie probably wouldn’t believe it.

Instead, he would think that Li Jue was trying to fish for information through him.

In that case, it would be better to first contact other officials in the capital, such as Wang Yun and Huang Wan, who had no connection with Qiao Yan and might even have conflicting interests, and let them pass on the message.

According to Jia Xu, if he wanted to gain the opportunity for independent military action, the first step was to obtain the Emperor’s edict, thereby legitimately restricting Dong Zhuo’s actions and replacing him in commanding the military defense lines of Liangzhou and Bingzhou.

However, Jia Xu said that after they defeated Qiao Yan, they would explain this fait accompli to the Prime Minister.

But in Li Jue’s view, if it came to that, why care about Dong Zhuo!

When the other party’s drive was lacking, Li Jue’s admiration for Dong Zhuo had already diminished greatly, leaving more of a desire to replace him.

He even thought that he was obviously more suitable for Liu Xie than Dong Zhuo.

After all, he had no intention or ability to handle political affairs single-handedly, he only wanted military power and wealth.

At that time, he could even return the main hall of Weiyang Palace to Liu Xie.

Wouldn’t that be much more comfortable than when Dong Zhuo was around?

After leaving Liu Xie, Li Jue also approached Wang Yun, who had been appointed as the Minister over the Masses by Dong Zhuo.

Wang Yun looked at Li Jue in front of him, and it was not difficult to see from his demeanor how much of his words were credible.

When Li Jue mentioned the conflict between the Wang family of Jinyang and the Wang family of Qixian, inciting him not to place his hopes on Qiao Yan, he pondered—

When it was temporarily impossible to advance in Liangzhou, perhaps disintegrating Dong Zhuo from within was not a bad idea.

What a piece of good news from heaven!

And Qiao Yan, who was in Liangzhou, also received good news for her in early June.

Yang Xiu came from Bingzhou to Liangzhou to report various matters, and mentioned something that Qiao Yan was most concerned about.

“The tool to separate cotton from cotton seeds has roughly been determined. The Marquis’s use of students from Leping Academy to assist in this work has indeed been effective. Huang Yueying and Zhuge Liang, who just joined the academy this year, proposed a crank-link cotton gin model. Deheng thinks it is quite feasible and is already testing the scaled-up version.”

Qiao Yan quickly raised her hand to stop Yang Xiu, “Wait! What did you just say?”

Yang Xiu: “I said Deheng is already testing it.”

“No, I mean the previous sentence.”

Yang Xiu, puzzled, replied, “I said Huang Yueying and Zhuge Liang came up with a cotton gin model?”