Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: The Two Provinces Stand Firm, The Silk Road Reopens Chapter 195: Li Jue Seizes Power

But the more Yan Jun feared something, the more it came to pass.

Taking advantage of Qiao Yan going to inspect what Xu Rong had brought back, he found an excuse to leave and had someone bring a person who had traveled to the Western Regions before him.

After inquiring, the response he received was: “Wasn’t it your arrangement? You told us to make contact with Ma Teng.”

“After all, you said that before Lord Qiao arrived, Ma Shoucheng was the de facto ruler of Longxi Commandery. After her arrival, he could only go to the Western Regions to eat dust, and after resting for less than a month, he had to set out again. It’s too harsh.”

“…” These words were indeed spoken by Yan Jun himself.

If you want to win someone over, you have to exaggerate the situation.

So in the reasons he gave his subordinates to win Ma Teng over, he also said that according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, how could one person be the governor of two places?

Even though Qiao Yan is now showing off her power in Liangzhou, if she really succeeds in exterminating Dong Zhuo and rescuing the Son of Heaven from the hands of the traitor Dong, could she really hold both positions?

At that time, even Huangfu Song would not agree to this.

Although Ma Teng was once a rebel, that was many years ago. Now that he has reformed, the Son of Heaven, considering the power he controls, would support him in regaining control of Longxi after Qiao Yan leaves.

It would definitely be better than the current situation where he can’t return home.

In a way, they should thank Qiao Yan.

If it weren’t for her suppressing and taming the Qiang people in Liangzhou, they would still have a lot of trouble.

Now they just need to take over her achievements after joining forces.

But the problem is—

These words were based on the premise that Ma Teng was indeed pushed out by Qiao Yan.

Thinking of Ma Teng’s performance in the returning team, Yan Jun couldn’t help but feel his vision darken.

After recovering a bit, he continued to his subordinate: “Tell me what you saw when you went out.”

They were supposed to go to the Western Regions to Kushan to do some business, how did it turn into a large-scale warhorse trade?

The subordinate replied: “Last time we went to Kushan, there was already news that Dayuan and Khwarazm felt the Kushan royal family’s control was weakening and wanted to break away. This time, when we reached Kucha, we heard that Dayuan and a branch of Kushan had clashed.”

“We originally planned not to go further, as there are many ways to please the Governor of Bingzhou without risking our lives abroad, but—”

“But then we found out there was another team following us. And it was a team composed entirely of Qiang people.”

Yan Jun: “…”

He felt he had to condemn the powerful families of the other commanderies in the Hexi region.

How could they let such a team pass through Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang without noticing anything unusual and at least inform him? What were they doing!

But upon further reflection, Yan Jun felt it wasn’t entirely their fault.

When Qiao Yan established military farms along the Lu River and at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, everyone thought her grain base only extended to the borders of Wuwei Commandery.

Given her need to attack Chang’an, she indeed didn’t need to expand her territory to an uncontrollable extent.

And when she offered the condition of studying under Zheng Xuan during the New Year as a gesture of goodwill, her threat level dropped even further.

She seemed like a good person to cooperate with for mutual benefit, so who would have thought she had already set her sights beyond Liangzhou?

“By the time we realized, we had already reached Yan Cheng.”

Yan Cheng is located in the middle of Kucha, not far from Itcheng, where the Protectorate of the Western Regions was once located.

In other words, this is the most important oasis in what would later be called the Tarim Basin.

“Ma and Xu reorganized their military equipment here, first heading southwest through the Congling Mountains into Kushan, and after procuring food, they directly raided Dayuan from Kushan, plundering a local… royal army horse supply ranch.”

Yan Jun was dumbfounded.

Back in the day, the Han Dynasty sent General Li Guangli on an expedition to Dayuan, attacking along the way to demand supplies. It was only during the second attack, by cutting off the water supply to the Dayuan royal city, that they forced the nobles inside to offer the head of the Dayuan king, thus obtaining a batch of good horses.

But Qiao Yan was doing something much more daring.

She chose the most chaotic time and the most cunning method.

She didn’t need that many horses.

So when her people successfully plundered the horses, they dispersed using a method of one person riding two horses in rotation, and no one thought this team was from the Han Dynasty.

Xu Rong and Ma Teng specifically disguised these horses as merchant caravans in Shule, buying a batch of grape seeds before heading back east.

These horses couldn’t be considered the best Dayuan horses, at least not as good as the ones later named Yuhuacong and Zhaoyebai by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, but they were still several levels above the quality of Liangzhou horses.

So to disguise the special nature of the caravan, they had the Liangzhou horses walk on the outside and the Dayuan horses on the inside, with extra coverings, making them look no different from ordinary caravans at first glance.

Of course, this didn’t mean Xu Rong and Ma Teng’s pressure was any less.

Just looking the part wasn’t enough.

Theoretically, Dayuan horses could travel a thousand miles a day, but on long journeys, they couldn’t lack food and water.

Just like when Li Guangli sent three thousand Dayuan horses to Yumen Pass, only a little over a thousand remained.

The loss was staggering.

So…

“The wealth we brought was exchanged for Western rock sugar upon reaching Kushan. Some of this sugar was used to tame these horses, and some was exchanged back for money when passing through Qusha on the southern Silk Road, and then used to buy fine grain.”

According to Xu Rong, this was ultimately to be offered to Lord Qiao, and how it was used wasn’t up to them.

It was only by using this method of coaxing and careful breeding that they managed to bring back over five hundred Dayuan horses to Wuwei Commandery with less than a ten percent loss.

Yan Jun couldn’t help but ask his subordinate: “In such a situation, you still dared to cozy up to Ma Teng?”

Was he stupid?

Just look at this operation to know that if Ma Teng had any ill intentions towards Qiao Yan, he would never have let such a batch of fine horses fall into her hands.

This wasn’t just about forming a fierce cavalry.

More importantly, half of these horses would definitely be used for breeding to ensure the production of superior hybrid horses.

The horses of Liangzhou and Bingzhou were already good, and after this round of crossbreeding, the consequences after the New Year needed no explanation.

The subordinate was also aggrieved, stammering: “I didn’t cozy up to Ma Teng on the way back. It was before the five hundred Qiang people appeared, I had already told Ma Teng what you said.”

“I thought, since he spent the New Year in the Western Regions and was thrown out after such a short rest, he must be in the worst mood and most likely to want to drive Lord Qiao out…”

“Who knew it would turn out like this.”

Honestly, he was also quite confused on the way, just being swept along in the team, and now that he said it, he felt much more relaxed.

But while he was relaxed, Yan Jun, standing opposite him, felt a bit dizzy, probably because the heat was a bit intense today.

It’s over.

It’s over!

For a “rebel” leader like Ma Teng who had once opposed Qiao Yan, if he was determined to clear his name, just suffering a bit and bringing good horses from the Western Regions to the Central Plains for Qiao Yan might not be enough.

Think about how Han Sui died.

Ma Teng led a team to attack Kuiyuan Gorge, while Ma Chao led Qiao Yan straight to the foot of Jincheng.

He had already sacrificed Han Sui, why would he care about reporting a few more to show his loyalty despite being a rebel?

The more Yan Jun thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he immediately rushed back to Guzang City.

The five hundred Dayuan horses had just arrived, and Qiao Yan’s attention would definitely be on the horses. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he needed to quickly find the elders of his family to come up with a bargaining chip for atonement.

This plea for forgiveness absolutely couldn’t be said by Ma Teng first; he had to think of a plausible reason himself.

But just as he was speaking with his grandfather, he heard the panicked report from a servant—

Guzang City was surrounded.

Guzang City, seven li from north to south and three li from east to west, was surrounded.

Due to the existence of the military farms in Wuwei Commandery, Guzang City also had Qiao Yan’s office, and naturally, there were garrison troops.

These garrison troops had already taken control of the city gates before the encirclement was complete.

But their control wasn’t to let people in, but to prevent people in the city from using the city walls for defense.

In such a situation, the encirclement outside brought pressure on everyone in the city.

It was like a butcher’s knife hanging over the city gate.

When Yan Jun was dragged up the city wall by his grandfather, he saw the people gathering below and couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

To besiege a city, you don’t need to fill the entire boundary, just line up at intervals of a cavalry charge to prevent a breakout.

At the same time, when the enemy’s troops had already reached tens of thousands, and they controlled both the city gates and walls, they could charge into the city at any time.

This was a completely unbalanced attack and defense.

Yan Jun was panicking.

But when he looked down, he immediately saw the commander of this force.

Earlier, she had been quite concerned, asking if he was too hot, but in less than half an hour, she was now in armor, weapons in hand, her gaze towards the city wall cold and indifferent.

As she casually wiped the tip of the spear in her right hand with a cloth in her left, she exuded an increasingly chilling aura.

Beside her, Zhao Yun, who had been in charge of the military farms in Wuwei Commandery, was also in full armor.

Yan Jun had once thought that Zhao Yun, who could win the trust of the Qiang people and handle affairs with a cautious and steady approach unlike a general, was indeed one of the good-tempered types.

But now, he only saw one thing.

This person was clearly a trusted subordinate cultivated by Qiao Yan, and in this military coercion, he displayed the same aggressive spirit.

If Qiao Yan gave the order now, he could immediately lead his team into the city and take the enemy’s head.

And behind him were not just the Bingzhou troops brought during the initial establishment of the military farms, but also Qiang people who had quickly come from the foot of the Qilian Mountains upon hearing Qiao Yan was attacking Guzang City.

This was how they gathered such a large number of besiegers in a short time.

In the eyes of these Qiang people, the powerful families in Guzang City had done little for them, while Qiao Yan had provided them with winter shelters, jobs to earn money, and the military farms were about to yield harvests.

So what was taking Guzang City before the harvest?

They might even move from outside the city to inside.

Before Yan Jun could speak, the head of the Duan family of Wuwei, who had also heard the news, asked from the city wall: “Governor Qiao, what is the meaning of this? We have not been disrespectful to you. It is true that some of our Duan family members served under Dong Zhuo, but not all branches of the family are the same. Why be so aggressive?”

The Duan family head’s first reaction was that Qiao Yan’s siege was targeting him, as Duan Wei was the one who served Dong Zhuo.

Qiao Yan responded to his question with a sneer, “Since I could get along with you peacefully before and had no intention of holding you accountable, how could I be causing trouble for you because of Duan Zhongming? I’m here for him.”

She raised her spear, pointing at Yan Jun.

“Please give me an explanation. What did you mean by trying to win over Ma Shoucheng and intending to regain control of Liangzhou?”

Yan Jun felt all eyes on the city wall were on him, along with the people behind who hadn’t climbed the wall, all looking in his direction.

The sun above was still fierce, not yet setting, and now with so many eyes on him, it felt like he was about to be set on fire.

Yan Jun didn’t know whether to feel relieved or helpless, as Qiao Yan’s next words were: “I think at his age and status, he can’t decide the direction of the Yan family of Wuwei, right? Please, the person in charge, give me an explanation.”

What explanation?

With such military force surrounding the city, any explanation demanded wouldn’t be taken lightly.

Yan Jun looked at his grandfather, seeing a resolute expression on his face.

In fact, the decision to use the Silk Road to undermine Qiao Yan and win over Ma Teng wasn’t made by the Yan family alone.

It was a common understanding among the four commanderies of Hexi.

For them, it was just a normal way to secure their future, not a betrayal, but they didn’t expect to run into someone as serious as Qiao Yan.

Now that the situation was stronger than them, they could only grit their teeth and admit it.

But if Qiao Yan insisted on making them pay with blood, they could only drag the entire Hexi region down with them.

In this dead silence and almost dizzying heat, the commander below said word by word: “Please, the Yan family, hand over the capital to control Wuwei, otherwise—”

“I think you all feel that my actions in Gaoping City and Jincheng weren’t enough to teach you a lesson!”

As Qiao Yan’s retreating figure disappeared from sight, Yan Jun’s legs gave way and he sat down on the ground.

His mind was still echoing Qiao Yan’s words before she left.

“I have only one bottom line in Liangzhou: no one can stab me in the back. If it’s not done, fine, but if it is done, whether it’s inciting the Qiang people and rebel forces or contacting Dong Zhuo…”

“I will have their entire family beheaded as a warning!”

Just as Yan Jun thought of this, he suddenly felt his back…








Kicked in the back, his grandfather’s voice came from behind: “Get up! Sitting like that, what kind of look is that!”

He turned around and saw that his grandfather’s face seemed to have aged a lot compared to before, with an undeniable tiredness between his brows.

No wonder his grandfather would act like this; their Wuwei Yan family had suffered a great loss this time.

What is the capital to control Wuwei?

Nothing more than people and wealth.

The farmland controlled by the Yan family, under the threat of the enemy at the gates, had no other choice but to be handed over to Qiao Yan.

These farmlands originally had no clear boundary with the military farms by the Lu River, and now they were directly merged, fitting in seamlessly.

Even the farmers responsible for managing and cultivating the land were all transferred to Qiao Yan’s command.

Boxes of treasures were also moved out from the Yan family’s estate in Guzang City, spread out outside the city into a dazzling display of wealth, causing immense heartache to their original owners.

These items were quickly counted by Qiao Yan and sent away.

Even the fine wines and wine vessels stored in the cellar were not spared.

Yan Jun, thinking about how he had previously entertained Qiao Yan with this fine wine, wished he could slap himself.

If he hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have continued digging underground in search of wine, eventually uncovering the entire cellar.

Fortunately…

“Fortunately, the people are still safe,” Yan Jun heard his grandfather say. “We are taking the brunt for the other families this time. If they don’t want us to drag them down with us, they had better compensate us for some of our losses.”

“It’s also fortunate that Qiao Yan, the Prefect of Bingzhou, is still young and her methods are somewhat gentle.”

If he were in Qiao Yan’s position, he would definitely use this incident to ensure no one dared to challenge her again.

At least some bloodshed would be necessary to establish that threat.

This half-hearted approach only makes people think she still has strong cooperative intentions with the Liangzhou noble families, so her threat of “If anyone succeeds, I will behead them as a warning” still carries a light touch.

This is obviously not just the thought of Yan Jun’s grandfather, but also the thought of the four prominent families of Hanyang who have been silently targeted by her.

“She’s still young after all…”

However, Qiao Yan, sitting across from Cheng Yu at this moment, said, “I will teach them a lesson. Since I am here under the late emperor’s edict to clear the court, I naturally have to learn from the late emperor.”

Dian Wei, standing beside her, muttered, “What is there to learn from him?”

Qiao Yan replied, “Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.”

Cheng Yu, usually so composed, almost couldn’t maintain his expression at Qiao Yan’s words.

The late Emperor Ling’s “rabbit biting when cornered” was choosing to promote Qiao Yan to the position of Prefect of Bingzhou under the pressure of the noble families and the Grand General’s power, and planning to kill He Jin before his death.

And Qiao Yan?

Probably in the situation where the Wuwei Yan family tried to incite Ma Teng but failed, considering her good relationship with the Liangzhou noble families, she let them off with a financial loss to avoid disaster.

But when the four prominent families of Hanyang colluded with Dong Zhuo in battle, she had no choice but to suppress them with bloodshed.

Under this logic, who would think that the four prominent families of Hanyang were framed by her?

How helpless she is…

Now she is helplessly withdrawing part of the garrison from Hanyang due to a lack of manpower as the autumn harvest approaches, transferring them to Wuwei Commandery and Jincheng.

She also asked the Prefect of Hanyang and local powerful families to assist in monitoring the movements in the Sanfu area, showing that her actions against the Yan family were a special case and she does not suspect other families.

But the real pre-autumn harvest deployment was the transportation of dozens of heavy crossbows from Bingzhou, along with the vanguard troops led by Xu Huang and other troops recruited from Bingzhou, heading to Liangzhou.

Among the Qiang people who had migrated to the Great and Small Huangzhong since winter, those willing to fight were dispatched east to Yuzhong.

A unit was dispatched from the military farms in Wuwei Commandery, crossing the Wushao Ridge and stationed in Aowei City.

Perhaps the only one who did not make a clear personnel deployment was Huangfu Song, who was in Gaoping.

According to Qiao Yan, after the autumn harvest, the people of Liangzhou would have grain, so they would not take advantage of the Han Dynasty’s military mobilization to cause chaos. Therefore, Huangfu Song was asked to supervise the autumn harvest at Huo Shizhai military farm and receive part of the military provisions transferred from Bingzhou.

After making these arrangements, Qiao Yan began to organize the gains from this Silk Road journey.

To ensure the successful transportation of the Ferghana horses obtained through this venture, almost nothing else was brought back from this Silk Road trip except for grape seeds.

But just these over five hundred horses were an incredibly significant gain.

When Qiao Yan summoned her generals, Lü Bu didn’t even glance at the gains from the Yan family on the ground, but stared straight at the Ferghana horses.

It was said that a few days ago, he even went to buddy up with Xu Rong, trying to find out how to get such good horses, clearly wanting to pull off another heist.

This wasn’t because Lü Bu had any disdain for Red Hare.

Red Hare, a fine Xiliang horse mixed with Ferghana blood, was naturally no ordinary horse, and certainly not comparable to these Ferghana horses seized from the grasslands.

But having a single majestic steed is nothing compared to having an entire troop of famous horses.

Unfortunately, Lü Bu knew that despite his combat prowess and Red Hare making him the top warrior among Qiao Yan’s generals, in terms of actual commanding ability, he couldn’t be considered the best among the troops.

Given Qiao Yan’s usual approach of considering everyone’s opinions, the most likely scenario was that these fine horses would be evenly distributed among the various troops.

So he had to make an effort himself!

However, what Lü Bu didn’t expect was Qiao Yan’s arrangement: “Send two hundred Ferghana horses and breeding Liangzhou horses to Bingzhou for specialized care and breeding. As for the remaining three hundred Ferghana horses—”

“Lü Bu!”

Lü Bu quickly stepped forward.

“Select three hundred elite soldiers from your troops and get them accustomed to the Ferghana horses within half a month. I want to see a cavalry that strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies when we attack Chang’an. Can you do it?”

Lü Bu almost thought he misheard.

But the envious looks from those around him confirmed that he had indeed heard correctly!

This was Qiao Yan’s arrangement!

Someone like him would never ask why he was chosen; he would only think that the Marquis truly had an eye for talent.

So if he didn’t display strength worthy of these Ferghana horses, he would be letting down the Marquis’s trust!

He clasped his hands and replied, “I can!”

In this resolute reply, he almost wanted to present the three hundred men directly to Qiao Yan.

She didn’t stop Lü Bu from wanting to share his joy with his subordinates, waving her hand to let him go select his men.

But as she watched Lü Bu’s departing figure, she couldn’t help but show a subtle smile.

She couldn’t tell Lü Bu that letting him lead this troop was partly to show the Liangzhou people the destructive power of the Bingzhou cavalry in a reckless state, and partly—

The Ferghana horses were just too fast. If someone like Zhao Yun, who accurately judged the situation, were to use them, wouldn’t they catch up to some people?

That wouldn’t be good, right?

Perhaps sensing something, Dong Zhuo in Chang’an suddenly woke up from his nap.

His complacent mood, as the autumn harvest approached, became increasingly unable to deceive himself.

With his prolonged inactivity, his no longer young body began to show various problems.

Lately, he often dreamed of his deceased son, but couldn’t remember what he had said, and sometimes dreamed of being chased by something, but couldn’t see the pursuer’s face.

None of these were good omens.

Dong Zhuo slowly got up, rubbing his troubled chest, thinking he might be overthinking.

The feud between Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao in the past few months had given him much to laugh about, and Gongsun Zan seizing Liu Yu’s position as Prefect of Youzhou confirmed that this was an era where the rules of the game had already changed.

So he would eventually have the last laugh!

Thinking this, Dong Zhuo’s spirits lifted.

But it was at this moment that he realized something was wrong with the sounds outside.

Any troop movements required his permission, but the sounds of troops quickly surrounding Weiyang Palace were definitely not from his orders!

Dong Zhuo was extremely sensitive to these sounds; having been in the military for years, he immediately stood up from his bed and drew the weapon by his side.

At the same moment, an alarm from one of his trusted aides, accompanied by the sound of flying arrows, ignited the chaos.

“What—” Who is it!

The outermost guards of Weiyang Palace didn’t even have time to finish their sentence before a weapon pierced their throats.

Then came the infantry with spears surrounding the palace walls.

In the guards’ last glimpse, they saw that half of this aggressive force were their former “comrades,” and the other half were new recruits from Chang’an.

But now they were moving swiftly, their armor clinking in unison, clearly heading for the same target.

Dong Zhuo!

The next moment, the main hall doors of Weiyang Palace where he was located were forcefully pushed open.

A column of fully armed soldiers entered with their leader.

As the light from outside illuminated his face, Dong Zhuo, standing behind a group of palace guards, couldn’t help but change his expression.

The person who came was actually Li Jue!

Of course, only an insider could directly attack the imperial city.

Behind Li Jue, besides his close followers, were the steady-paced Jia Xu, Yan Xing who had defected from Liangzhou, and his nephew Dong Huang, who was tied up.

Dong Huang commanded the imperial guards in Chang’an; if even he was captured… this was definitely not good news.

This meant Dong Zhuo had lost a true direct line of troops.

At this moment, Li Jue solemnly held an edict, slowly approaching.

Without it being unfolded, Dong Zhuo couldn’t see what was written on it, only a splatter of blood.

But this was definitely an edict extremely unfavorable to Dong Zhuo.

Because Li Jue’s demeanor with it vividly depicted the image of a villain who had gained the upper hand.

Dong Zhuo’s expression darkened: “What do you mean by this?”

How dare he rebel!

Those behind him were also incredibly audacious!

Dong Zhuo’s control over the Xiliang army was not just through bribery or authority, but also through bonds of gratitude.

But now—

Dong Zhuo clearly saw that these people’s attitudes towards him were as before, yet they all stood behind Li Jue.

What Dong Zhuo couldn’t understand was why the imperial guards had surrendered so quickly without sending him any message.

After all, it was daytime, not night!

This confusion on Dong Zhuo’s face was clearly caught by Li Jue.

He obviously didn’t need to explain everything to Dong Zhuo, simply replying, “Chancellor, don’t worry. You have shown me great favor and promoted me; I won’t do anything to you. I just want to do something beneficial for you, me, and all of us.”

In fact, he couldn’t kill Dong Zhuo.

If he did, given the Xiliang army’s temperament and respect for Dong Zhuo, his own life would be at risk.

These people wouldn’t so easily follow his lead.

Li Jue declared loudly, “By the Emperor’s command, from today onwards, the Chancellor is to be confined here. All actions of the Xiliang army and Chang’an garrison will now follow my orders.”

He then looked Dong Zhuo up and down.

Perhaps because he had just woken from a nightmare, Dong Zhuo still looked somewhat disheveled.

Li Jue became even more convinced that he had made the right choice.

A choice to lead the Xiliang army to glory!

He raised the Emperor’s edict, his seemingly calm and advisory tone laced with sarcasm: “Chancellor, you are old now, your ambitions are no more, and some decisions are inevitably wrong! How then can you lead us to seek unparalleled achievements and vie for the wealth of the world?”

“I must correct the chaos for you.”

This edict, handed by Liu Xie to Wang Yun, and then to him, though not stamped with the Imperial Seal to prove its authenticity, was undeniable due to its bloody words.

Previously, Dong Zhuo had conscripted Chang’an soldiers in the name of Emperor Liu Xie, thinking it was an advantage of controlling the Emperor, but now this blood-written edict became a weakness for him.

This was Li Jue’s explanation to the new recruits of Chang’an.

At this moment, Duan Wei, who had not been incited by Li Jue, was still stationed in Meiwo to the west of Chang’an, completely unaware of the shocking changes in the city.

Dong Zhuo would never have thought that the Liangzhou people, whom he believed would never betray him, would turn against him.

He narrowed his eyes at Li Jue’s face.

This man, who had always been obedient and ingratiating, had only risen to the top tier under his command after the deaths of Niu Fu, Dong Min, and Hu Zhen, not even deserving the rank of Middle General, now appeared confident of victory.

To Dong Zhuo, if it weren’t for hearing Jia Xu cough lightly behind him, Li Jue would not just be showing pride, but murderous intent.

He not only wanted to seize power, but also the throne!

Dong Zhuo sneered, “So you think you can surpass Qiao Yan?”

“That’s none of your concern, Chancellor!” Li Jue retorted, “With Mr. Jia Xu’s help, I will surely win!”

He stepped closer, speaking emphatically, “I will use this victory to show you, Chancellor, that it was your fear that led to defeat, and your failure to utilize a Liangzhou genius!”