Chapter 192

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Chapter 192

The chapter titled “The Qiao Sisters” starts off with some complicated family talk.

So when Zhang Fei was discussing direct relations, he was using that “not closer than five degrees of kinship” logic.

From his somewhat jumbled explanation, Liu Bei figured out that the Qiao Yan, who tragically got herself chopped by Zhang Fei, had a cousin in the mix.

Qiao Rui was a bit smug about being related to Qiao Yan, often boasting to the subordinates about family ties, which made it clear to those who surrendered to Liu Bei.

But this family fact also made Yuan Shu go bonkers when Qiao Yan turned down his collaborative offer, and he took it out on Qiao Rui, sending her to deal with Liu Bei’s crew.

Of course, it could also be seen as giving someone a chance to steal the spotlight.

So, back to the situation at hand.

Liu Bei was busy assembling the prisoners while directing the fallen soldiers to be buried nearby, but his mind was troubled.

Guan Yu casually reassured him, “General, you really shouldn’t worry so much. The ties between the Bingzhou governor and the Qiao family from Liang have never been close. Back when they were trying to take Dong Zhuo down, Yuan Benchu found it sneaky to borrow food from Qiao Bingzhou, and Qiao Zhao didn’t lift a finger to stop it — instead, he was probably hoping to get a piece of the pie himself. As far as I know, not many from the Qiao clan ended up serving in Bingzhou, so their interactions are pretty minimal.”

“Qiao Rui is serving the rebel Yuan Shu; we’re doing the Emperor’s bidding by slaying rebels. If Yide hadn’t taken out Qiao Rui, it would’ve been us facing the chop today.”

“Exactly, exactly,” Zhang Fei chimed in. “What Yunchang said is spot on! That Qiao Zhao was totally shameless, getting slashed by Hu Xiong like an easy target. Yuan Shao only got smacked by Qiao Bingzhou’s few insults, and those were about him being slow to attack.”

“With Qiao Rui gone, we’re practically helping to rid the world of a menace.”

Seeing Liu Bei’s meaningful glance, hinting for him to keep quiet, Zhang Fei quickly muttered, “Hey, I was the one who did the deed, so if anyone’s gonna get scolded, it’s me. Besides, this really doesn’t concern us…”

Liu Bei felt quite exasperated with Zhang Fei.

This wasn’t as easy as he imagined.

Qiao Zhao met his end at the hands of Hu Xiong during the battle against Dong Zhuo, that was an accident. And guess who’s responsible for Qiao Rui’s death? Yep, that would be them.

And on paper, Liu Bei was in Qiao Yan’s debt.

Let’s not forget the Yellow Turban Rebellion! If it weren’t for Qiao Yan mustering forces up north, a lot more of Dong Zhuo’s troops would have been guarding their positions around Chenggao, making it a real nightmare to breach.

Liu Bei struggled to gather the forces and earn a military title in the Jinan State post-war.

And look at Qiao Yan now, leveraging the strategy of securing Liangzhou first before heading to pacify Chang’an—it’s a classic inside-outside coordination move borrowed from his master Lu Zhi.

By standard procedure, he should have gone to Liangzhou with Lu Zhi’s other disciples instead of taking on Yuan Shu here.

Even compared to Gongsun Zan trying to grab Youzhou, Liu Bei was already a loyal minister to the Han, with a solid record in Jinan over the past two years—but still, he had his debts to pay.

But since it was already done, and they had just moved into Yuzhou, there was no point in telling off his own people.

He figured it was best to send Qiao Rui’s body back to Liang, and write a letter of apology to Qiao Yan, leaving the rest of the matters until they finished off Yuan Shu.

What lay ahead was a tough battle; not much time for overthinking.

Yuan Shu was likely underestimating him because of his reputation as an anti-bandit general, which was why he managed to win this round.

But in Runan, or anywhere in Yuzhou, Yuan Shu had way more family power and connections he could lean on.

Being cautious was mandatory.

However, the news of Qiao Rui’s death was causing quite the stir among the Qiao clan.

With Liu Bei hitting the Pei State right next to Liang, Qiao Rui’s body hadn’t even made it to the Qiao family less than a day later.

Faced with the corpse in front of them, the gathered Qiao clan members exchanged looks.

According to their earlier thoughts, ever since Qiao Yu bought the farm during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and Qiao Xuan soon after from illness, the Qiao clan should have been cozying up to Qiao Yan, the Marquis of Leping. But really, they were still banking on Qiao Zhao and Qiao Rui.

Both of these guys cozying up to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were making them feel all warm and fuzzy, thinking they could ride the Yuan clan’s coattails to greatness.

Especially after Emperor Ling’s death left Qiao Yan without her biggest supporter.

But what they never saw coming was Qiao Zhao, the East Commandery Prefect, getting taken out like a joke at Hulao Pass, followed by Qiao Rui biting the dust under Yuan Shu in the first skirmish against Liu Bei.

In just two years, their hopes for strong male relatives had gone up in smoke, while Qiao Yan—

She not only steadied her ground in Bingzhou, but even made Liangzhou quake beneath Bingzhou’s might!

If you had to pick who among the local governors was the most influential, it might not even be Yuan Shao who backed Liu Bian, but rather Qiao Yan, who carved out her own space with sheer muscle.

“What do we do now?” asked an elder in the Qiao family house in a low voice.

Clearly, he wasn’t talking about the funeral arrangements for Qiao Rui.

Before the living made any decisions about their future, the death of Qiao Rui wasn’t their biggest issue.

He was asking if, after losing Qiao Zhao and Qiao Rui, they should try to raise a new talent to reenter the political arena, or just jump on the bandwagon with the Bingzhou governor?

If only the Qiao family had a little more cushion, he wouldn’t be facing such a dilemma.

The thing is, while Qiao Xuan may have been high up, he played things by the book and didn’t help his kin, and the few that showed promise had just been flat out unlucky.

So right now, they had no decent talents to pick from!

Swearing fealty to the second option wasn’t guaranteed either.

The split of the realm today made Qiao Yan’s power in Liang and Bingzhou seem colossal, but if she failed to rescue Liu Xie from Chang’an and ended up with the blame for pressing Dong Zhuo and causing Liu Xie’s demise, what would happen once Yuan Shao and Liu Yu dealt with Gongsun Zan? Would the next rebel be her?

The sky-high towers could come crashing down in an instant.

When you put it like that, Yanzhou looked a lot more peaceful.

Cao Cao, with his amassed strength in East Commandery and the legit title of Yanzhou governor, taking full control of Yanzhou was just a matter of time.

He had war campaigns under his belt to back him up on this deal with the court in Chang’an, plus the endorsement from the court in Ye City. As a father figure to Yanzhou, it didn’t seem like his situation was going to change anytime soon.

Moreover, he had friendships with Qiao Xuan and Qiao Yan, and even if he managed to get Liang under his belt, he probably wouldn’t take any harmful actions against the Qiao clan.

After all this talk, staying put here seemed like the most reasonable option.

“We still need to send someone to Bingzhou to chat with Qiao Yan about our difficulties, hoping to snag some connections for support, so we can spotlight and lift up some promising talent from the clan.”

As the elder of the Qiao clan wrapped up, he added, “And as for Cao in Yanzhou, we might as well…”

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“A little bit of flattery never hurts.”

Even though Liu Bei, the general who offed Ziwai, is a bit of a ruffian, he’s also the prime minister of Jinan State under the banner of Yanzhou, so we still gotta take orders from him.

Someone chimed in, “But what if Liu Bei actually manages to take down Yuan Shu and then sets up shop in Yu Province?”

Simply relying on Cao Cao to keep Liu Bei in check won’t do the trick.

Before he could finish his thought, an elder shot him a glare.

This guy suddenly realized that cozying up to Cao Cao wasn’t just about avenging Qiao Rui; there was another layer to it.

If the Qiao clan could pick out a suitable young heir, they’d still have to go through that whole “Recommendation for Filial Piety and Integrity” rigmarole, and as per local norms, the best recommendation would be from Cao Cao.

Some unspoken rules definitely didn’t need to be laid out explicitly.

The elder continued, “I think Cao, the lord of Yanzhou, could also be a family connection for the Qiao clan. We can discuss that in a couple of years.”

Two years should give them time to figure out if Qiao Yan can really hold onto her position.

And that “in a couple of years” might have some other implications.

The sisters, who had journeyed here after their father’s death, caught that last bit painfully.

They exchanged glances filled with horror.

But when they laid eyes on their father’s body in the hall, all thoughts of fear vanished, replaced by the raw grief of having lost both parents so suddenly.

Qiao Rui had once said that she’d come to fetch them once she got settled under Yuan Shu’s command.

She made a mental note to find a sturdy house so Yuan Shu wouldn’t catch a glimpse of his two daughters.

But before she could fetch them, fate had severed their ties forever.

After the chaotic funeral, the sisters finally had some peace and brainpower to ponder their future.

The Qiao sisters, still under fourteen, had a beauty that was rare to find, with the promise of grace even while clad in mourning garments, their faces streaked with tears.

The elder sister, Qiao Lan, held her younger sister Qiao Ting’s hand, whispering, “I heard Lady Bian from Yanzhou came from a brothel, but people didn’t care much about her being part of the military entourage. Not only did she escape danger during Dong Zhuo’s uprising, but she also managed to keep her family safe while retreating from the capital. They only remember her for her beauty, and I think that’s what the elder is hinting at.”

“Or maybe the marriage prospect is Cao’s eldest son, but that’s not really what I’m after.”

“Sister, we’re just the two of us left who fit as some sort of bargaining chip for this match. Are we really going to be offered up to Cao in two years?”

Qiao Ting shook her head vigorously.

She may not know who she’d end up marrying, but she absolutely refused to be handed off like some prize possession.

“I have an idea,” Qiao Lan said, her eyes betraying a mix of gloom and determination. “What if we escape quietly and throw ourselves at the mercy of the Marquis of Leping?”

“You once mentioned that your real sister had some correspondence with the girl studying at Leping Academy, and she said it’s a nice, free place. Qiao in Bingzhou treats her just as a regular student, not as ‘Qiao Zhen.’ There, girls can study, learn martial arts, and even hold official positions. I bet she wouldn’t see us as pawns.”

Qiao Ting looked at her sister in a daze.

In this era, choosing to run away from family protection, even for a relative in another state, was a pretty precarious move.

Yet, upon hearing this escape plan, she found herself instinctively replying, “We’ve lost both parents, and even the Qiao clan can’t be our safety net. The only one we can rely on now is her. We both know our letters and tunes, dabble in a bit of arithmetic. Instead of being offered to some stranger, wouldn’t it be better to be trained as trusted confidantes?”

Qiao Lan nodded, “Exactly!”

The plan to escape was easier than expected.

Years ago, Qiao Yan had passed near the Qiao clan’s ancestral residence. This place lacked the fortified walls of a fortress, just the outer wall of an old manor.

It wasn’t like climbing a skyscraper.

Plus, nobody suspected that the two seemingly fragile sisters, busy with funeral guests, would bolt under the cover of night.

They quickly altered some of their father’s old clothes to fit them, packed up some valuables, and ran out of Qiao territory.

But just getting out wasn’t enough; the journey from Liang to Bingzhou wasn’t a stroll in the park.

Thankfully, trade was lively between Bingzhou and Yanzhou.

So, they bought some Liang specialities and pretended to be foot-traveling merchants seeking a lucky break in Bingzhou. After paying a fee, they joined a trade caravan, blending into the inconspicuous crowd.

This considerably reduced their travel risks and made it less likely for the Qiao clan to realize they were missing.

Meanwhile, back in Bingzhou, Qiao Yan was busy discussing Sun Ce’s recent antics in Yang Province with Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia.

Guo Jia set down the report Qiao Yan had handed him with a sigh, “The tricks of those Wu County noble families are truly ruthless, but they underestimated Sun Ce’s military prowess.”

There was actually more to Gao Dai’s demise than met the eye.

Sun Ce had invited Gao Dai for a chat, intending to use the Zuo Zhuan as a topic to bridge the gap, which initially seemed like a fine choice.

To know about something not particularly familiar, just to bond with a famous figure, was quite a respectful move.

But afterward, rumors amongst Gao Dai’s acquaintances revealed that prior to that meeting, someone warned Gao Dai that Sun Ce despised being upstaged. If he faltered at Zuo Zhuan’s questions, things might get dicey.

So, it was better to feign ignorance, let Sun Ce show off a bit, and hope to pass it off smoothly.

But by the time the word spread, Gao Dai’s head was already on the chopping block!

Sun Ce had already rushed off to pursue Wang Sheng and the others.

This young tiger, still in its cub phase, kept demonstrating exceptional command abilities despite being caught in a double bind.

Speed is of the essence in warfare; once he gathered enough supplies from Zou and Wang Sheng, he’d definitely turn around to strike at Xu Gong, wrapping up the Wu County mess quickly.

Yet winning doesn’t necessarily mean true victory.

“Xu Gong couldn’t possibly match up to Sun Ce, but Sun Ce’s ferocity in Wu County is bound to intensify tensions with the four great families of Jiangdong.”

If he keeps cranking up the heat, even Lu Kang might turn on him.

After all, he’s of the Lu clan from Huating (Wu County), not the Lu clan of Lujiang, so inherently, he’s still a Wu County local.

What initially seemed like a golden opportunity for Sun Ce would likely spiral back into a tight squeeze.

“That’s good for us,” Qiao Yan remarked.

Even though she had bestowed official ranks and farming tools upon Sun Ce, ultimately, they were still enemies. Not adding fuel to the fire was a win in itself. “If this keeps up, Sun Ce won’t have the surplus to deal with Yuan Shu and Liu Biao anytime soon.”

“In other words, if we can trap a tiger in a cage, its claws will only reach for the foes stuck in the same cage, right?”

So who are those shared caged foes? Obviously, the powerful families of Jiangdong and the bandits of the Shanyue!

We ought to take full advantage of Sun Ce’s fierce blade and clean house!