Chapter 101
Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 4: The End of Zhongping, Luoyang’s Storm, Chapter 101: The Governor’s Subordinates
Belonging to the book:
Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?
Chapter 101
He Jin stood in the cold wind for a long time before finally returning to the Grand General’s Mansion and immediately summoned He Miao.
He Miao and Empress He in the palace share the same mother, but with He Jin, they are of different fathers and mothers.
However, after his mother remarried, he took the surname He, making him much more trustworthy than outsiders.
He Jin said, “I have a few words I want to say to you.”
Seeing him dismiss the attendants before speaking, He Miao instinctively knew that what he was about to say was not something simple.
Sure enough, He Jin said with a stern face, “Dou Youping, ranked among the ‘Three Lords’, appointed as the Grand General, renowned for his scholarly virtues, still ended up beheaded at Luoyang’s Duting. What do you think we have?”
Dou Youping is Dou Wu, the Grand General who died nineteen years ago due to the exposure of his plot against the eunuchs.
He Miao was stunned by the question. What do they have?
They certainly don’t have a senior like Dou Wu who held the position of Minister of Works, nor a like-minded companion like Chen Fan.
In the court, even Lu Zhi, whose military power was withdrawn by Liu Hong, could point at his nose and say, using three thousand men to fight a thousand rebels is no different from using an iron axe to chop firewood, nothing to boast about.
He Miao, feeling depressed, heard He Jin continue, “Whether we can hold high positions ultimately depends on a word from His Majesty.”
He Miao was startled and quickly looked around, ensuring the windows and doors were tightly shut, then whispered to He Jin, “Such words should not be spoken carelessly.”
“What’s the use of being cautious now?” He Jin coldly observed He Miao’s actions and said, “Once Prince Xie ascends the throne, promoting Dong Zhong to the position of General of Agile Cavalry is just the beginning. Don’t forget, between our He family and Prince Xie lies the grudge of matricide. To His Majesty, using either the He or Dong family as relatives makes no difference.”
He Miao sensed He Jin’s unusual mood and could only advise, “Brother, why be so pessimistic? Don’t forget Prince Bian still holds the status of the eldest son. His Majesty’s health has been deteriorating recently. If something happens, the Empress Dowager, being our sister, has enough authority to ensure her nephew’s succession.”
“Do you think I’m joking?” He Jin, displeased with his brother’s hesitation, slammed the table and stood up, “The first to act becomes the butcher, the latecomer the meat. That’s our current situation. If you still can’t see His Majesty’s intentions, go back to slaughtering pigs.”
These words struck a nerve.
He Miao stammered in response, “Whatever you say, brother.”
“Good, then I ask you this,” He Jin stepped forward, staring intently into He Miao’s eyes, “If I start trying to cut off His Majesty’s support now to ensure Prince Bian’s smooth ascension, will you help me?”
He Miao, not the sharpest tool in the shed, nodded firmly at the mention of ensuring Liu Bian’s ascension, replying, “Whatever you say, brother, I’ll follow.”
He Jin was satisfied.
Although Qiao Yan could guess that her schemes in Luoyang would surely heighten He Jin’s sense of crisis, she didn’t know that this reckless man was already plotting such “big plans.”
To act against the current emperor’s wings while Liu Hong still holds real power is truly a death wish.
But this obviously has nothing to do with her, “far” away in Bingzhou, as she is still busy coaxing the system.
[Governor of Bingzhou! How did you become the Governor of Bingzhou? Is this strategist behavior? You even poached Jia Xu!] The system sternly accused.
If Qiao Yan heard correctly, it seemed, perhaps, maybe, there was a hint of grievance.
She flipped through the book in her hand and casually replied, “Liang Xi served as the Governor of Bingzhou as a Deputy Minister of War.”
[You’re befriending noble families and recruiting bandits in Bingzhou, that’s not right!]
“Upon taking office, Liang Xi lured and recruited, summoning the powerful to his government, and drafting the strong as volunteers.”
[You even sent troops to attack the Xiongnu!]
“Those who did not comply were attacked, with thousands beheaded, and the Chanyu submitted.”
[You developed agriculture in Leping, creating a bunch of things!]
“The people spread across the fields, diligently encouraged farming and mulberry cultivation.”
[You, you, you even led troops to win the martial combat championship in the capital.]
“It is said that among the governors, none have matched Liang Xi.”
[…] The system was speechless.
Qiao Yan wasn’t even making a proper defense for herself but was reciting Liang Xi’s biography, leaving the system feeling choked.
Theoretically, everything Qiao Yan did could correspond to Liang Xi, but that’s not the point!
What was Liang Xi’s situation then, and what is hers now?
The system felt its intelligence was being insulted! These are not comparable.
Thinking so, as it saw her targeted arguments silencing it and then checked the character panel to confirm the gains from this Luoyang trip, as a qualified and professional system, it tearfully explained to the host.
[As you said, from the Han’s standpoint, you gave the emperor a reason to weaken the noble families and relatives; re-establishing the General Who Crosses the Liao is a great service to the Han; defeating Dong Min, Wang Kuang, Han Fu, and Ji Ling in battle can be considered as opposing forces under current judgment, totaling 60 strategist points. Additionally, there’s a special achievement for striking a blow against a well-known relative’s power, adding another 30 strategist points.]
60 points plus 30 points—
90 points! What a profitable gain.
This trip to Luoyang was not just breaking even but a huge profit.
That said, Qiao Yan still felt a bit of heartache, why fighting the Xiongnu didn’t count.
But considering this was done without consulting superiors, “damaging” the relationship between two forces, under stricter definitions, this could even be seen as a strategist attempting to usurp power, so it’s not surprising it doesn’t count.
Fortunately, once she had the authority of the Governor of Bingzhou and controlled Bingzhou’s military, such military actions had a justifiable stance.
The system didn’t know what dangerous operations Qiao Yan was thinking of now, it just watched in dismay as she, after a series of sophistries, did something that made it want to vomit blood.
With 27 free attribute points and 9 skill points credited, she added 7 to constitution, 9 to martial power, 10 to luck, as if just to hint she could still be considered a strategist, she added the last 1 to intelligence.
Then, out of the 9 skill points, she allocated 3 to the incitement skill, raising it to lv7, 1 to archery, 2 to horse riding, leaving the remaining 3 points as before going to Luoyang, probably still for unforeseen needs.
Thus, her character panel became—
[Name: Qiao Yan]
[Faction: Han (initial faction)]
[Occupation: Strategist (system setting)]
[Age: 13 (full years)]
[Constitution: 81 (100), Martial Power: 70 (100), Intelligence: 81 (100), Luck: 75 (?)]
[Remaining distributable points: 0]
[Skills: History lv7, Eloquence lv7, Incitement lv7, Artifact Appraisal lv4, Archery lv8, Horse Riding lv8, Painting lv3, Calligraphy lv4, Field Archaeology lv5, Numismatics lv3…]
[Remaining distributable skill points: 3]
[Strategist Points: 230] (Every 10 strategist points automatically grants 3 attribute distributable points and 1 skill distributable point)
Looking at this scene, the system felt for a moment that it might need some psychological counseling.
Its host is really a bit off…
But an undeniable fact is, she is indeed increasing her strategist points.
According to the system’s almost zero novice experience and the host progress control references seen in pre-release training courses, achieving such data at this age and in this transmigration year is one in a million.
If only looking at the data, this is indeed a state that could achieve the task of becoming the world’s top strategist.
Especially considering that Liu Hong is still on the throne and has not yet passed away, the Three Kingdoms period has not officially begun, and many achievements limited to the Three Kingdoms background have not yet been triggered.
From this perspective, this is an extremely impressive answer sheet.
The system choked for a long time, finally squeezing out a sentence [Can we add two more points to intelligence next time?]
This was its compromise.
But to Qiao Yan, she didn’t think this value was that necessary.
In dealing with targets’ psychological control, in strategizing when facing problems, what’s needed is not just straightforward intelligence, but also a sense of the overall situation and emotional intelligence in conversations.
Intelligence is enough as long as it’s sufficient.
But the system still needs a bit of soothing, otherwise, if it gets upset, she won’t have an alarm clock.
As for verbally agreeing now, how to operate later is another matter.
Thinking this, Qiao Yan turned to the system and said, “By the way, you promised the martial arts system’s rhetoric experience before, I’ve roughly thought it through, I’ll write it for you when I return to Taiyuan. Your neighbor… is there anything like a farming system?”
[…?] The system blankly typed out a row of transparent question marks in front of Qiao Yan, clearly expressing its speechless mood.
Qiao Yan didn’t even blink, “Or a steelmaking system would do.”
[No! There’s no such thing!] It firmly protested against the host’s wild ideas.
“So there is the former,” Qiao Yan seized the loophole in its words and calmly said, “You know, as a qualified strategist, developing enough food is very important.”
“For example, Mao Jie under Cao Cao in the future suggested rectifying agriculture, Zao Zhi proposed the theory of garrison farming, leading to the ‘Garrison Farming Decree’, Deng Ai started as a student of the Diannong Commandant, wrote ‘On Crossing the River’, stating that in six or seven years, thirty million hu of grain could be accumulated on the Huai River, using this as a basis, conquering Wu would not be difficult, thus gaining Sima Yi’s appreciation.”
“Do you think Mao Jie, Zao Zhi, and Deng Ai can be considered strategists?”
The system thought about it and felt that naturally, they could.
Although Deng Ai is also considered a famous general, he is versatile in both civil and military affairs, so counting him as half a strategist is not a problem.
“Then to be the world’s top strategist, one should surpass these people, right?”
As for her current statement that she wants to surpass a Deng Ai who hasn’t even been born yet, Qiao Yan has no psychological burden, as long as it can convince the system.
She even added at this moment, “By the way, shouldn’t this be part of your strategist system’s teaching curriculum?”
The system absolutely would not admit that its inventory only contains classic tactical teaching cases and strategist dialogues, indeed lacking methods for improving crop cultivation and garrison farming strategies, making it seem like a very failed thing.
So it left Qiao Yan with a “I’ll go ask” and disappeared.
Qiao Yan couldn’t help but laugh.
Guo Jia met Qiao Yan at the Yellow River crossing outside Beimang and saw her shaking the book in her hand, in an extremely good mood.
“Lord Qiao, are you thinking that with your wish fulfilled, it’s like returning home in glory?” Guo Jia teased after getting on the carriage.
Qiao Yan’s hometown naturally couldn’t be considered Bingzhou, but as she told Liu Hong, since she was enfeoffed in Bingzhou and had Qiao Xuan’s grave here, she naturally regarded Leping as her hometown.
Her return as the Governor of Bingzhou was indeed a glorious return.
But this was obviously not her goal.
“Not entirely.” Qiao Yan shook her head.
Her current joy was clearly not just because of the system’s naive stupidity, but because before reaching the Yellow River, she sat alone in the governor’s carriage, listening to the sounds of the carriage passing through the mountains of Mangshan and the combined sounds of wheels and horse hooves, suddenly connecting the more than three years of time, thus feeling a bit emotional.
Some words she couldn’t mention to the system, and even before determining if the system could read her thoughts, she could only think carefully.
Among these various thoughts and twists, she had no one else to talk to.
But now reminiscing, it’s also a kind of fun.
Back then, when she just woke up from the pile of corpses in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, survival was indeed the main concern, and fortunately, her familiarity with this period of history allowed her to integrate into this era without much difficulty.
But her initial thought was only that without achievements and reputation, in this era, the system’s fantasy of relying on identity to cling to a powerful figure and become a strategist of a faction had no feasibility at all, so she had to pave various retreats and add layers of protection for herself.
She had to have merits like pacifying the Yellow Turbans to completely break the shackles of gender and age, to live in this world in a decent way.
But later?
Later, all the scenes she saw reminded her of one thing, this is not enough!
If the world cannot be quickly cleared, it will only be a scene of Han people fighting among themselves, wasting human resources, leading to foreign invasions and rampant bandits, then even if she completes the task of becoming the world’s top strategist, she cannot survive in this era for long.
But at that time, she also knew that the weak have no capital to give too luxurious sympathy, which is why she said such things to Xu Fu and watched the remnants of the Yellow Turbans being sent to the border defense.
And now?
Just like what she said to Lu Zhi,
When she accumulated her own strength through Leping, why couldn’t she take on heavier responsibilities? Why couldn’t she gather talented individuals around her, forming a force to contend with the declining Han Dynasty?
Of course, before the act of shooting the Governor with an arrow, when her influence was still limited to Leping, she still had a way out, even though she showed signs of ambition.
Looking at the rivalries among heroes in the late Han Dynasty, even Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu, who had a son-killing feud, could still serve as ruler and subject. How much more so for someone like Qiao Yan?
But after she made this decisive move, expressing her ambition with the words “Ye Shu” to compete for the impression of a loyal minister to Liu Hong, her strategists, more than outsiders, understood her current reaction and made their choices accordingly—
Qiao Yan truly had no way to retreat anymore.
Strangely, once she achieved the results of this struggle and secured the position of Governor of Bingzhou, she didn’t feel the panic of being pushed forward with no retreat. Instead, she felt more at peace than ever before.
She said to Guo Jia, “I’m just thinking, now that I’m the Governor of Bingzhou, it will be much easier to promote the officials in Leping.”
This is a mutually beneficial deal.
The Governor’s procession moved along the post road by the Fen River.
In this harsh winter, few people were seen along the way, and with the White Wave Bandits already brought down from the mountains, there were even fewer people who might appear here. Guo Jia joked that it was no different from walking in fine clothes at night.
This earned him a good eye-roll from Qiao Yan.
But there were still differences.
On the winter trade routes, merchants occasionally passed by. Seeing this unusual procession, they couldn’t help but stop and inquire about the situation.
The soldiers escorting them were from the Northern Army Five Divisions, who had followed Qiao Yan to victory in the recent competition. They held a deep respect for this almost legendary Marquis of Leping.
Since the centurions didn’t restrict them, the soldiers didn’t hesitate to stop or rein in their horses, spreading the news that the Marquis of Leping had been appointed as the Governor of Bingzhou.
Most passersby and curious Bingzhou locals didn’t understand why Marquis Qiao had to go to the capital to plead guilty for taking unauthorized action against the Xiongnu, but the result was good!
In short, Marquis Qiao won the competition to select the General Who Crosses the Liao River, and the Emperor in the capital thought Marquis Qiao was capable, so after appointing her as the General Who Crosses the Liao River, he also made her the Governor of Bingzhou.
The revival of the Provincial Governor System was still unknown to some less informed people, but the soldiers escorting Marquis Qiao said that the Governor of Bingzhou was the highest authority in Bingzhou, which was easy to understand.
The highest authority!
This was undoubtedly exciting news for the people of Bingzhou.
Although they didn’t know how long Qiao Yan would remain as the Governor of Bingzhou, at least, based on her previous actions, they could expect a period of peace!
Han Fu suddenly felt someone looking in his direction and instinctively straightened his back. But the next moment, he heard someone ask, “Is that the person defeated by Marquis Qiao?”
Han Fu’s expression froze.
But remembering that before he left Luoyang, Yuan Shao had specifically told him not to conflict with Qiao Yan unless necessary, he gradually relaxed, pretending he hadn’t heard the comment.
Yuan Shao was right. With her current authority to oversee and command him, and her ability to leave Luoyang unscathed and even secure the position of Governor of Bingzhou, she could easily make him suffer in silence.
At least until he found a way to counterbalance her, he clearly had to keep a low profile.
For someone like Han Fu, this…
This wasn’t something unacceptable.
But as he looked at the excited Bingzhou commoners who had just received the news, he couldn’t understand why they didn’t seem surprised that a woman could be the Governor of Bingzhou.
He thought this and asked it out loud.
Qu Yi replied, “Given the martial and fierce customs of Liangzhou and Bingzhou, as long as Marquis Qiao is strong enough, she could even declare herself king here, and no one would oppose her. Of course, I’m just using an extreme example.”
He didn’t mean to support Qiao Yan declaring herself king.
Qu Yi always spoke his mind, and Han Fu, having known him for a while, took it well.
But if the people of Bingzhou held their Governor in such high regard, Han Fu had even less confidence to oppose her.
The only person who might conflict with Qiao Yan, the former Governor of Bingzhou, Cui Lie, surprised Han Fu even more.
Upon hearing that Qiao Yan was now the Governor of Bingzhou, and that he, the Governor of Bingzhou, was now also the Prefect of Taiyuan and Xihe, and responsible for guiding Qiao Yan, Cui Lie only lamented, “Why so much more work?”
Han Fu felt he needed to reevaluate his understanding of this famous scholar from Jizhou.
He had no ambition at all!
Previously, Han Fu had criticized Cui Lie for being money-grubbing, but he also thought that in an environment where everyone had to fight for themselves and their descendants, Cui Lie’s actions were understandable.
But from this encounter, he saw a leisurely retiree in Bingzhou.
If that was the case, being the Prefect of two regions was indeed more tiring than being a Governor.
Then he heard Cui Lie casually ask Qiao Yan, “Have you thought about the appointments for your officials? The Governor has many more subordinates than the Governor. You probably won’t inherit my team, and I’ll need to bring more people to help me.”
The tone of this conversation was as casual as if they were discussing what to buy today.
Han Fu couldn’t take it anymore.
He left, citing his need to take up his position as the General Who Crosses the Liao River, and headed straight for Wuyuan.
Qiao Yan watched Han Fu and Qu Yi leave, not minding Han Fu’s current state, but briefly focusing on Qu Yi.
Although she now had several fierce generals, being in Bingzhou and having the real power of the Governor, she couldn’t have too many generals.
Despite Qu Yi’s loss to her in the recent battle in Luoyang, he was undoubtedly one of the top generals.
The Qu family from Xiping had led clan soldiers against the Qiang before leaving Liangzhou, accumulating considerable combat experience, with Qu Yi being the best among them.
In the Battle of Jieqiao, Qu Yi led 800 shield soldiers and 1,000 crossbowmen in an ambush, repelling Gongsun Zan’s tens of thousands of cavalry. It sounded like a made-up story.
But it was true.
He even chased Gongsun Zan to his central camp and later rescued Yuan Shao from another of Gongsun Zan’s forces.
Whether he became arrogant due to his achievements or was suspected by Yuan Shao for overshadowing him, Qiao Yan didn’t know.
But there was no doubt that having a hero like Qu Yi on her side would be a great asset.
But since he was now in Bingzhou, there was no rush.
Qiao Yan first needed to assign the positions of the Governor’s subordinates.
As the Governor of a province, overseeing both military and administrative affairs, she naturally had many subordinates.
Below the Governor were two positions: Chief Clerk and Administrative Clerk. The former, as mentioned in her conversation with Jia Xu, was reserved for Cheng Li, while the latter, though she didn’t know Xi Zhicai’s desire for a promotion, was indeed for him.
Then there were various officers managing different affairs.
The Registrar, managing financial records, naturally went to Qin Yu, who had previously overseen agriculture in Leping and served as the Marquis of Leping’s steward.
The Military Officer and the Military Affairs Officer were both military positions, but the former was more for supervising battles in specific areas, while the latter had a broader scope, including internal security.
Qiao Yan intended to keep Zhang Liao as the Military Officer and promote Zhao Yun from County Captain to Military Affairs Officer.
But she had more generals than just Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun, and she couldn’t leave the others without positions.
Fortunately, there were more military positions in Bingzhou than just these two.
The Governor had the authority to appoint an officer in each commandery to oversee governance and report documents. In Bingzhou’s special situation, the officers of Yanmen, Yunzhong, Wuyuan, and Xihe could also have military roles.
Thus, Qiao Yan chose Zhang Yang as the officer of Yanmen, assisting Zhang Liao against the Xianbei.
This took care of one person.
But she didn’t plan to assign Xu Huang, Dian Wei, and Chu Yan to the other three positions.
They had more suitable roles.
For Chu Yan, Qiao Yan placed him as the Gate Captain.
The Gate Captain wasn’t just a local position but the guardian of the province’s main gate.
In Bingzhou, the main gate was the mountain pass, a position only Chu Yan could handle.
For Dian Wei and Xu Huang, Qiao Yan gave them positions as the Governor’s personal guards.
Xu Huang, having recently joined, needed closer supervision.
As for the officers of Yunzhong, Wuyuan, and Xihe, Qiao Yan had a suitable candidate.
None other than Guo Jia.
She had previously discussed with Guo Jia her hope that he could handle intimidation, pacification, and deception for her. Now, she had him take on the roles of officer for Xihe and Yunzhong, facilitating his operations.
This left six commanderies—Taiyuan, Shangdang, Dingxiang, Shuofang, Wuyuan, and Shangjun—without officers.
There were two more positions: Merit Officer and Education Officer.
The latter was easy; Qiao Yan planned to consult Cai Yong about taking on this role while teaching at Leping Academy. It would help him accumulate some wealth, not relying solely on student fees.
But the former—a position overseeing performance records—was too aggressive for her newly assumed role as Governor, so she left it vacant for now.
This didn’t mean she wouldn’t fill it.
It was an important source of authority for the Governor to impeach officials.
And the best position for a trusted confidant.
Qiao Yan planned to give this position to Lu Yuan, but for now, she placed her as the Chief Clerk.
There were also some standard low-level positions.
For example, Cai Zhaoji, being too young, was given the position of Clerk.
Clerks handled provincial documents and laws, so Jia Xu, “borrowed” from the Grand Commandant’s office, was also in this position, along with Xu Fu and Fu Gan.
Jia Xu was a survivor, so Qiao Yan didn’t expect him to immediately pledge loyalty or offer strategies, but making use of his experience in clocking in and out was fine.
With Leping’s average age being too young, Cai Yong and Cui Lie could handle education, while political skills were best left to seasoned veterans like Jia Xu.
Jia Xu, having just settled down with his wife, suddenly felt a chill, as if someone was plotting against him.
But he didn’t need to worry about these “heavy burdens” yet.
Qiao Yan would meet them one by one.
So, the first she met was Cheng Li.
This didn’t seem like a meeting between a newly appointed Governor and her soon-to-be entrusted subordinate.
Cheng Li calmly reported everything that had happened in Bingzhou during Qiao Yan’s two-month absence, then congratulated her on becoming the Governor.
Qiao Yan flipped through the documents, looked up at Cheng Li, and asked in an equally steady tone, “Shouldn’t Mr. Zhongde fulfill the promise of changing your name?”
That promise—
To change “Li” to “Yu.”
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