Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: Two Provinces Held Firm, the Silk Road Reopens Chapter 193: Eyes and Ears of the Heart

But the premise of all this is that Sun Ce will not die shortly after raising the butcher’s knife.

At this time, he hasn’t even experienced the life of living under someone else’s roof under Yuan Shu’s command, yet he has already become a warlord in the Yang Province region, holding three commanderies and tens of thousands of soldiers. Being in his reckless youth, he is prone to making mistakes.

As Guo Jia later commented, “Sun Bofu is reckless and unprepared. Even with a hundred thousand troops, if he doesn’t change his ways, he will surely die at the hands of a commoner.”

Qiao Yan replied, “So I need to give him a warning.”

However, this warning doesn’t need to be delivered by Qiao Yan personally sending an envoy to Yang Province.

Too much eagerness in communication would be overkill, not showing her nostalgia for Sun Jian but rather revealing ulterior motives.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Qiao Yan sent a letter to Changsha Commandery, addressed to Zhu Jun, who was currently stationed there.

In the letter, Qiao Yan mentioned that Sun Jian had previously agreed with her after the campaign against Dong Zhuo in Luoyang that she would take the Liangzhou route while he would attack Chang’an through Wuguan. Now that Sun Jian has unfortunately died, she urged Zhu Jun not to force himself to complete this mission.

In April, Huangfu Song in Liangzhou fell ill, and his health deteriorated. Lu Zhi’s safety in Chang’an was unknown, and no news was the best news.

Therefore, Qiao Yan urged Zhu Jun to take care of his health, hoping that old acquaintances could reunite someday.

Along with the letter, she sent Hua Tuo’s Five Animals Play diagrams and warm tonic prescriptions for the humid southern regions.

At the end of these caring words, she casually mentioned that Sun Ce was still young and might not last long if he offended someone unknowingly. She asked Zhu Jun to look after him.

She heard that Sun Ce’s mother, Madam Wu, was as resolute and decisive as her husband, yet also warm and tolerant. Perhaps the situation should be informed to her.

To reclaim Wu Commandery, both military might and moral influence were needed.

Be cautious, be cautious.

Qiao Yan had the confidence to offer advice as someone who had been through similar experiences, having conquered Bingzhou and Liangzhou, which were also not fully civilized regions, though not as severe as the southern bandits.

She didn’t need to worry that this advice would make Sun Ce lay down his arms and work hand in hand with the Jiangdong gentry.

The death of Wang Sheng’s entire clan and Sun Ce’s subsequent killing of Xu Gong would inevitably sow discord between him and the noble families.

Sun Ce’s temperament was already set. If Qiao Yan were to evaluate him, she would use the words “decisive and independent.”

This could be good at times, but not always.

When Zhu Jun received this letter from Bingzhou, neither he nor the warned Madam Wu realized that Qiao Yan had other intentions in her advice to Sun Ce.

At this time, the battle report from Wu Commandery arrived in Changsha.

The report claimed that Sun Ce had successfully attacked Xu Gong using confiscated military provisions, captured Wu County, and forced Yan Baihu to flee towards Qu’a and Dantu. Xu Gong was killed by him, and it was expected that Wu County would soon be pacified, giving Sun Ce complete control of Wu Commandery.

Madam Wu’s face changed repeatedly, and she immediately asked the messenger about Wang Sheng’s situation.

Upon hearing that Wang Sheng and his entire clan had been killed, she couldn’t sit still and immediately ordered a boat to be prepared to head east.

“Casualties are inevitable in battle. Even if Bofu shot Wang Gong with an arrow, it wouldn’t matter. But now that he has won and exterminated his clan, everyone in Wu Commandery will be on edge, which is not beneficial for Bofu.”

She had to go to Wu Commandery to help Sun Ce play the emotional card.

Madam Wu was particularly fortunate to arrive in Wu Commandery at just the right time.

In the process of Sun Ce killing Gao Dai, Wang Sheng, and then Xu Gong, his earlier intense emotions had mostly subsided. Yan Baihu fled north in panic instead of south towards Kuaiji Commandery, which was equivalent to seeking death.

Therefore, Sun Ce chose to first clear out Xu Gong’s remaining followers rather than pursue Yan Baihu north.

This search led to the discovery of Xu Jing, who had sought refuge with Xu Gong.

Sun Ce had no good impression of these literati who liked to talk and create the Monthly Appraisal. But thinking that Cao Cao, who held the title of Governor, had received a comment from Xu Shao, “A treacherous villain in peaceful times, a hero in chaotic times,” and Qiao Yan had also received a comment, “A young phoenix with a clear voice,” he felt he shouldn’t lag too far behind.

He threatened Xu Jing with a knife to give him a comment.

But considering the relationship between Xu Jing and Xu Gong, the likelihood of Sun Ce hearing a good word from him was about as low as him conquering Kuaiji Commandery the next day.

Sure enough, even while being detained by Sun Ce’s soldiers, Xu Jing stubbornly gave Sun Ce the comment, “Brave but without strategy, similar to Xiang Yu.”

This comment… angered Sun Ce so much that he immediately wanted to execute Xu Jing.

Madam Wu arrived at this moment.

After understanding the situation, she said to Sun Ce, “If you really kill this person, wouldn’t you be fulfilling his wish? I think you should let him go and send him south. I heard that Zhou Xin of Kuaiji and Xu Zhao of Yuyao are his friends. Let’s see if he dares to seek refuge with them!”

“If he doesn’t dare, it means he acknowledges that our Bofu can take Xu Gong today and conquer Xu Zhao and Zhou Xin tomorrow with a snap of his fingers. The so-called ‘brave but without strategy’ is just the words of the weak. Without strategy is not necessarily true, but brave is indeed true.”

This advice was much wiser than directly asking Sun Ce to spare Xu Jing.

A mother knows her son’s temperament, and the son realized that he shouldn’t have fallen for someone else’s provocation. He immediately ordered Xu Jing to be released and sent south, even “thoughtfully” providing him with travel expenses to seek refuge with his friends.

Xu Jing’s earlier comment comparing Sun Ce to Xiang Yu was somewhat out of anger. Now, as Madam Wu said, he didn’t dare to stay in Kuaiji Commandery but fled straight to Jiaozhou.

Whether his provocative and fleeing actions would damage his reputation was not important to Xu Jing at this time.

After all, no matter how fierce Sun Ce was, he wouldn’t attack Jiaozhou, would he?

Little did he know that Sun Ce couldn’t be bothered to remember such a person and quickly forgot about him after he left.

For Sun Ce, something else was more worthy of attention.

Zhou Yu sent him a letter mentioning that during his tenure in Jiujiang Commandery, two young heroes had heard of Sun Ce’s military exploits in lifting the siege of Lujiang and controlling three commanderies in Yang Province, and wanted to join his ranks.

These two were named Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai.

As for Sun Ce gaining two more talented generals, Qiao Yan didn’t pay much attention.

After reminding Madam Wu to restrain Sun Ce’s actions and delay the outbreak of conflicts, she decided not to inquire further about the situation in Jiangdong.

She couldn’t possibly have her spies in Yang Province report every detail of what Sun Ce ate each day.

So now, she was looking at a set of chain mail.

Since Mi Zhu sent a craftsman to make chain mail two years ago, by the time of the Liangzhou campaign last year, all the generals had new chain mail.

With the efficiency of the Bingzhou iron workshops in producing armor pieces, from April last year to June this year, a total of 160 sets of chain mail had been completed.

What improved wasn’t just the efficiency of armor production but also the smoothness of the armor pieces’ connections, thereby enhancing their defensive capabilities.

This improvement in defense was evidenced by actual cases.

When Liu Yu returned from Liangzhou to Youzhou, Qiao Yan not only had Zhang Liao and Qu Yan accompany him but also sent him a set of chain mail for protection.

A few days ago, a battle report arrived from Youzhou.

Liu Yu governed Youzhou with a gentle approach, but he was firm when facing Gongsun Zan, who had brazenly seized power.

Despite the objections of his eldest son Liu He and Zhang Liao, he personally took to the field, declaring he would confront Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan, who had seized power while Liu Yu was away, showed no guilt when facing Liu Yu’s questioning.

In a sense, Gongsun Zan’s temperament was what a great achiever should have.

He even openly stated to Liu Yu—

With Liu Yu’s way of governing Youzhou, it would inevitably lead to greater backlash. It was better for Gongsun Zan to take over as the Governor of Youzhou.

As for Liu Yu being a loyal minister of the Han dynasty and the rightful Governor of Youzhou, that was not something Gongsun Zan would consider.

Now that there were two emperors in the world, which one did Liu Yu serve?

Whichever one Liu Yu served, Gongsun Zan would serve the other.

Wasn’t this loyalty to the Han dynasty?

His twisted logic almost infuriated Liu Yu.

But this wasn’t the full extent of Gongsun Zan’s determination to fight. After this bold statement, Gongsun Zan drew his bow and shot an arrow at Liu Yu, knocking him off his horse, then left.

Unfortunately for Gongsun Zan, Liu Yu, who appeared to be dressed in scholar’s robes and came alone, was actually wearing a lightweight chain mail underneath. The arrow got stuck in the gaps of this specially made chain mail.

Gongsun Zan was convinced that Liu Yu would surely die after being carried back by his attendants, and launched a sneak attack that night.

However, he encountered not a disorganized and leaderless force but Zhang Liao’s well-organized cavalry charge.

Gongsun Zan was forced to flee east, and the Youzhou confrontation line was pushed to the Ji County area due to this battle.

This was the chain mail’s contribution.

However, the increasing number of chain mail sets posed a problem.

No matter how many generals Qiao Yan had, it was impossible for them to wear all 160 sets of chain mail.

They couldn’t wear five sets each…

This wasn’t how laundry worked.

“Even with these extra chain mail sets, heavy armor troops wouldn’t see a qualitative improvement…”

Because chain mail isn’t very effective against close-range hacking.

“Arming the cavalry with them is far from enough, and dispersing them across multiple battlefields would further diminish their effectiveness.”

Qiao Yan thought for a moment and said to Guo Jia, “I’m hesitating whether to include them as rewards in the military merit system or to form a separate vanguard unit.”

Although Qu Yi’s heavy armor troops were historically known as the Vanguard Camp, this vanguard wasn’t about being the first to scale city walls but about being the front line in charging enemy camps.

The use of heavy armor troops wasn’t in sieging cities but in stabilizing formations in infantry clashes or even infantry facing cavalry.

On the other hand, the vanguard for sieging cities needed this lightweight armor with better arrow defense.

The former could be like collecting points to exchange for rewards, mixing cotton clothes, armor, and fine horses to motivate soldiers in combat and farming.

Guo Jia replied, “Your Highness has many ideas, which is good. But the system of exchanging military merits for rice, promoting based on beheading achievements, and higher treatment after promotion is a complete and easily communicated set of rules. Simplifying these rules has its logic, and complicating them could lead to chaos. It’s better to form a Vanguard Camp.”

His words made sense.

Qiao Yan then asked, “Who should lead the Vanguard Camp?”

This position definitely wouldn’t go to Dian Wei.

Although he occasionally led heavy infantry, he wouldn’t change his position as Qiao Yan’s personal guard commander.

Generals like Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, and Zhang Yang, who excelled in cavalry, were even less likely to be transferred to this position.

After some thought, Guo Jia replied, “Xu Huang, Commander Xu.”

He explained, “Your Highness first entrusted him with the Yanshan defense line to test his loyalty and diligence. Before the Liangzhou campaign, you appointed him as the gatekeeper, indicating your intention to use him. From what I’ve seen, his strictness in military discipline is no less than Wen Yuan’s. The former White Wave bandits have also been dispersed into various units, so there’s no need to worry about rebellion. Keeping such a talent in a low position would make it seem like Your Highness has a biased view of him.”

“Additionally, have you noticed something about Xu Huang? While guarding Yanshan, he repeatedly led troops to repel the Hu people’s roaming tribes, showing great bravery. Yet, he maintains a strong sense of boundaries with Your Highness’s other generals.”

“I think his character can be described as frugal and cautious.”

This “cautious” was different from Jia Xu’s earlier reluctance to stand out.

It was more like Xu Huang’s own sense of inferiority due to his past as a bandit.








Modesty leads to cautious actions.

However, such an attitude, like Sun Ce’s personality flaw, isn’t always a good thing.

Guo Jia laughed, “People who show such behavior are best pushed forward. The longer the previous observation period, the heavier the current responsibility. After forming a stark contrast, they can break free from this emotional restraint and become an indispensable right-hand man for the lord.”

He added a teasing remark, “I’ve always been good at judging people.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen Qiao Yan as his lord, right?

Qiao Yan was both amused and exasperated by his sudden self-praise.

But what Guo Jia said earlier wasn’t wrong.

Xu Huang’s “frugality and caution” were very evident, to the point where Qiao Yan was a bit worried about his integration with other generals.

Since Qiao Yan herself had the ability to command troops, she wasn’t too concerned about her subordinates having private relationships that didn’t cross boundaries. Instead, she preferred to let them learn from each other, communicate, and compete, without forcing them to be overly cautious.

Moreover, it was indeed time to make use of Xu Huang!

Back then, she spent a lot of effort dividing the White Wave Bandits to the point where they could be lured down the mountain to surrender, especially with Xu Huang, where she even played a trick of sowing discord. It couldn’t be just for him to guard the gates.

Previously, there wasn’t a suitable position for him, so he was placed in a training role.

But now was the perfect time!

Qiao Yan immediately responded, “As Fengxiao suggested, let Xu Huang lead the vanguard camp. Before the battle of Chang’an, all the chain mail produced will be given to this unit.”

This was a godsend opportunity for Xu Huang.

The casualty rate in the vanguard camp was indeed high, but it also meant that Qiao Yan would carefully select the members of this unit.

And such dangerous work would be rewarded with high military achievements.

“There’s another reason for choosing you as the vanguard commander,” Qiao Yan said. “I will add some Qiang and Hu people to this vanguard unit. You’ve been stationed at the Yinshan defense line for several years and have dealt with the Hu people quite a bit. I think it shouldn’t be difficult for you to make them obey your orders.”

“Additionally, you’ve been exposed to various defensive crossbows and climbing equipment, but you lack experience with siege equipment. Within these two months, I want you to become thoroughly familiar with them.”

She looked into Xu Huang’s eyes and asked solemnly, “Can you do it?”

Xu Huang’s eyes lit up.

The more he integrated into the Bingzhou army, the more he could sense the unique characteristics of this force.

He was no longer the elite bandit who had been forced to surrender and needed to redeem himself, but a general she had high hopes for.

He replied firmly, “If I can’t, I’ll bring you my head!”

Well, that’s a bit too dramatic…

Qiao Yan looked at the suddenly enthusiastic general before her and thought to herself. There might be quite a few insiders and fooled enemies in Chang’an, so the difficulty of this siege battle wasn’t high, making it a good practice for him.

When it came to the Central Plains, there would be plenty of opportunities for this vanguard unit to participate in battles.

After all, the defenses in the Central Plains wouldn’t be as crude as in Liangzhou, and it wouldn’t always be like in Bingzhou, where wars mostly occurred in mountains and grasslands.

So, it was time to prepare in advance.

With Xu Huang’s matter settled, the various inspections in Bingzhou were almost complete.

The war situations in Yuzhou, Yangzhou, and Youzhou were still ongoing, and there was no place for her to intervene, or rather, no need to intervene.

In the cotton fields of Shangjun, the green seedlings had grown quite a bit.

The period of frequent pests and diseases during this stage of cotton growth had passed safely, so there wouldn’t be many more troubles.

What made Qiao Yan even more delighted was that, with Ma Jun’s technical support, the cotton seed separation equipment had been fully completed and put into production, ensuring that after the autumn harvest, the cotton processing needs could be directly met.

This further ensured that before winter arrived, the cotton in these fields could be transformed into cotton clothing.

Previously, when Qiao Yan asked Huang Yueying and Zhuge Liang about their thoughts on the push knife, the two children went off to study mechanical works on their own and missed Ma Jun’s round of modifications.

But when Qiao Yan chatted with them, she sensed that they didn’t feel much regret. Instead, they believed that with their increased knowledge, they could definitely complete the task even better next time.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but feel pleased.

This was the future of Leping Academy…

As for Cao Pi, who was sent to the academy by Cao Cao, since he was too young, he was directly paired with Lu Ji.

The result was—Zheng Xuan took Lu Ji, and Cai Yong took Cao Pi.

In this combination, Cao Pi’s demeanor as the future Emperor Wen of Wei wasn’t evident, but his interest and talent in literature were quite obvious.

If he ended up with great literary skills but low political EQ from studying under Cai Yong, that definitely wasn’t Qiao Yan’s intention.

It was just a coincidence, yes, a coincidence!

Qiao Yan, without any psychological burden, tasked Cai Yong with teaching the literary prodigy and then began planning when to return to Liangzhou.

However, at this time, she also welcomed two special newcomers.

The Qiao sisters, who arrived in Bingzhou via a merchant caravan, waited outside Leping Academy for Qiao Zhen, Qiao Zhao’s daughter, who verified their identities and introduced them to Qiao Yan.

The two sisters changed out of their disguises and washed off the dust that had concealed their faces. Although the fatigue in their expressions hadn’t completely disappeared after a night’s rest, the joy of successfully escaping their fate as potential gifts was evident in their eyes.

When they looked at Qiao Yan, there was also a sense of admiration.

Qiao Yan looked back at their faces and couldn’t help but suspect that these were the later famous Qiao sisters who married Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

However, they weren’t called Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, but Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting.

So whether they were the famous Qiao sisters or not wasn’t that important.

With their elegant and graceful demeanor, Qiao Yan thought they perfectly matched the sisters’ temperament.

After hearing their story of how they faced their situation after their father Qiao Rui’s death and chose to come to Bingzhou to seek refuge with her, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but inwardly applaud.

Although the journey wasn’t too chaotic due to Cao Cao’s presence in Yanzhou, it still wasn’t an easy trip.

But when they stood before her, they didn’t mention any hardships of the journey, only asking if they could study at Leping Academy.

“…” After recognizing Cao Ang, who was about the same age as her, as a nephew, and Sun Ce, who was a generation younger, as a friend, having two nieces only four years younger didn’t seem too strange.

That said, when the term “aunt” came out of the mouths of these two beautiful sisters, Qiao Yan’s expression froze for a moment.

Thankfully, she was a governor now, and there was no situation she hadn’t seen before!

Being called “aunt” was nothing.

Before the Qiao sisters noticed her odd expression, she replied, “Go report to the academy and treat this place as your home. If you don’t want to, I won’t inform the Qiao clan of your presence here.”

Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting exchanged glances, seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Although Qiao Yan had only spoken a few words to them since they entered the study, her tone and attitude made them feel a sense of security.

Before coming here, they had wondered if they needed to show some talent to be accepted as members of the Qiao clan.

But it seemed that Qiao Yan, their aunt and lord, didn’t care much about that?

“By the way,” Qiao Yan added, “After entering the academy, observe for a few days and understand the situation before choosing your courses.”

Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting nodded in agreement and, at Qiao Yan’s gesture, left the study.

After they disappeared from sight, Qiao Yan heard Lu Yuan, who had been waiting outside, say, “It seems the lord is quite satisfied with their personalities.”

Qiao Yan smiled, “Having decisiveness, insight, and enough initiative, such clan sisters are much better than the troublesome type, right?”

The two sisters also didn’t seek any special treatment just because Qiao Yan was the governor.

Overall, their arrival was mostly good news.

“Indeed,” Lu Yuan replied, “So I plan to take advantage of the lord’s good mood and report the candidate I was tasked to find earlier.”

It was the candidate for using merchant activities to disguise intelligence transmission.

Qiao Yan had given Lu Yuan three months to decide on this candidate, and the time wasn’t up yet.

But since she chose to report early, she must have her reasons.

This probably wasn’t an answer that hadn’t been thoroughly considered.

“Let’s hear it.”

Lu Yuan said, “I have three candidates for the lord to choose from.”

Three?

This surprised Qiao Yan.

Lu Yuan continued, “The first is a disciple brought by Lord Zheng after he arrived in Leping. However, he didn’t come with the initial group but followed after hearing that Lord Zheng was here. His name is Sun Gan, courtesy name Gongyou, also from Beihai.”

“Sun Gongyou is eloquent and has the talent of a strategist. Since his arrival in Leping half a month ago, I’ve had some exchanges with him and found that he has a particularly sharp memory for names and scattered events. He can recount the names and talents of all three thousand disciples of Lord Zheng in Beihai, so every conversation with him is substantive.”

“I suggest the lord make good use of him, even if not necessarily for intelligence work.”

Qiao Yan nodded, “If what you say is true, he indeed meets the conditions I need.”

If Liu Bei knew that Sun Gan didn’t follow his original trajectory of being recommended by Zheng Xuan to the state and later becoming his subordinate, he’d probably cry.

But compared to losing Zhuge Liang, this might not be much of a loss.

So Qiao Yan asked quite frankly, “What about the second?”

Lu Yuan replied, “This person is named Guo Daxian. The name is… a bit crude, but considering he came from the original Black Mountain Army, it’s not surprising.”

“Compared to General Chu and Zhang Niujiao, his commanding ability is lacking, but he’s still a capable leader. If the Black Mountain Bandits had been given the chance to expand, he might have become a rebel leader.”

“Putting aside that possibility, let’s talk about him personally. His wife and children survived because of the lord’s efforts in Leping to take in refugees, so he holds a deep sense of gratitude towards the lord. Compared to the first candidate, Sun Gongyou, his loyalty to the lord is higher.”

“After the Black Mountain Army in Leping no longer needed to grow yams for a living, he didn’t choose to join the military but started some small businesses. With his good image and eloquence, he has now settled in Jinyang City, renting a large shop. Given a few more years, he might become a major taxpayer.”

Qiao Yan pondered that, according to Lu Yuan, this person was well-suited for developing business and traveling north and south as a trusted insider.

But whether he could overcome the influence of his background, handle intelligence work, and interact with people across social strata seemed a bit uncertain.

Lu Yuan also immediately voiced this concern.

“So my suggestion to the lord is actually to use the second candidate to open up trade routes, the first to collect and filter information, and the third, or rather the third group, as the head of the intelligence system.”

Hearing the word “group,” Qiao Yan had a moment of realization.

The reason why Lu Yuan came to visit after the Qiao sisters met her was also self-evident.

Lu Yuan continued, “When the lord’s two nieces arrived yesterday, I chatted with them for a while and mentioned how they came to Bingzhou. The younger one told me that they chose to use a merchant caravan as cover, which was a hasty decision, but they had deeply considered the choice of goods to carry.”

“If the chosen goods weren’t convincing enough, it would be easy for people to see that they were actually two sisters disguised as boys, which would be too dangerous.”

“Among the specialty products of Suiyang in Liang State, she thought the most suitable to sell to Bingzhou was lacquerware made from Shangqiu tung wood. Since Bingzhou’s prices were fair and the people lived in peace, they probably didn’t lack food, but with spare money, they would definitely lack decorations.”

“Additionally, since the lord is a woman and supports women working to earn a living, they should also have spare money, so she chose lacquer hairpins and lacquer jewelry boxes. These items were light enough for the two sisters to carry and provided a reasonable explanation for why they would travel to Bingzhou, ensuring they wouldn’t arouse suspicion.”

Qiao Yan thought it was quite remarkable that they could think of all this while fleeing their home on short notice.

Lu Yuan bowed to her, “I should congratulate the lord. Among your two nieces, the older one is good at making decisions, and the younger one is good at detailed thinking. Together, they are a perfect pair to take charge.”

“They are also more suitable than anyone else to be the lord’s trusted eyes and ears.”