Chapter 114

Chapter 114

Can’t a strategist ascend the throne? Volume 4: The End of Zhongping, Luoyang’s Storm Chapter 114: The Decision to Enroll

Belonging to the book:


Can’t a strategist ascend the throne?

Chapter 114: The Decision to Enroll

In the Han dynasty, apart from the Grand General, which was a permanent position, most other general titles were temporarily abolished after the end of military campaigns.

However, with the current turmoil in the world, these general titles are now in a state of constant readiness.

Above the General Who Conquers the Barbarians, there are not only the Four Directions, Four Garrisons, and Four Expeditions, but also Grand General He Jin, General of Agile Cavalry Dong Zhong, General of Chariots and Cavalry He Miao, and the temporarily vacant General of the Guards.

In Liu Hong’s thinking on official appointments, these four general titles were mostly held by relatives of the emperor, except in special circumstances like Huangfu Song and Zhang Wen attacking the Liangzhou rebels.

So, for Qiao Yan to receive the miscellaneous title of General Who Conquers the Barbarians is truly an unexpected delight!

This means that among the current four regional governors, despite being the youngest, she holds the highest status, simultaneously holding the titles of County Marquis and General.

Apart from Liu Yu, the Governor of Youzhou, who might gain more prestige next year by also serving as Grand Commandant, no one else could surpass her.

If Liu Bian or Liu Xie were to ascend the throne as they did in history, one would not have time to appoint several generals and governors, and the other’s appointments would carry a somewhat illegitimate air, making the value of her General Who Conquers the Barbarians title even more significant.

Once the chaotic times begin, despite the original intent of the general title being Liu Hong’s symbolic reward, this position undoubtedly becomes her legitimate claim to quell rebellions and conquer barbarians.

If we must count, there’s another advantage!

In the future, when the authority to establish offices is not limited to titled generals, and the positions under the regional governor are insufficient to accommodate those she wishes to recruit, she can appoint them as subordinates of the General Who Conquers the Barbarians’ office.

This edict is not Liu Hong using her as a sharp blade, but rather her gaining another tool in her hands.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Qiao Yan’s mind, but she maintained a respectful and surprised expression as she received the imperial decree from Bi Lan.

“Your Majesty’s heavy trust, Qiao Yan dares not forget, and will surely take it upon herself to eliminate external threats and stabilize the borders.”

After saying this and rising, Qiao Yan asked Bi Lan, “Would Palace Attendant Bi like to accompany me to see the Dragon Bone Waterwheel in action?”

Among the other palace attendants, maintaining a normal relationship with Qiao Yan was enough to show Liu Hong her stance, but Bi Lan was somewhat special.

Even though it wouldn’t be difficult for her to contact Ma Jun due to Ma Lun, in this era, she could never have too many mechanical talents.

Bi Lan’s ingenious skills, in Liu Hong’s hands, were merely used to build bronze statues and waterwheels, but in Qiao Yan’s hands, they could do so much more.

Since he was the one delivering the edict, it was natural to further solidify their relationship.

Of course, before leading Bi Lan to the inspection, Qiao Yan had already arranged for the removal of any curved plows and iron harrows from the fields they would pass through.

Fortunately, it was already April, and the fields were lush with seedlings, so these tools had been temporarily withdrawn, avoiding any exposure.

Thus, what Bi Lan saw was a scene of greenery surpassing the farmlands of the Sanfu region.

The farmers moved about with calm expressions, not putting on a show for the arrival of the emperor’s envoy.

He couldn’t help but praise, “Marquis Qiao is not only skilled in archery and horsemanship, adept at commanding troops, but also ranks among the top in agricultural achievements across regions.”

Considering that this was Bingzhou, a frontier region in the eyes of Luoyang residents, Bi Lan’s praise became even more sincere.

He even paused for a moment, gazing at the waterwheels in the fields.

Some thoughts he didn’t need to voice, but Qiao Yan knew what he was thinking.

As eunuchs, they were useful tools for the emperor to wield power. Even without descendants to carry on their legacy, they likely didn’t just want to enjoy wealth and power during their lifetimes, nor end up like Wang Fu, whose corpse was left unclaimed.

If they could leave a beneficial mark in history, it would be truly wonderful.

But Liu Hong only used his ingenious creations as decorations or for amusement, unlike Marquis Qiao…

This is a method remembered by the people!

When leaving Jinyang, Bi Lan felt a bit reluctant.

He pondered whether, upon returning to Luoyang, he should come up with some special creations to see if he could do some practical things for Marquis Qiao.

With this thought, he even forgot that delivering such an edict was usually a lucrative task involving receiving rewards.

Qiao Yan naturally wouldn’t remind him of this.

After all, everyone was in a state of mutual satisfaction, so there was no need to burden her accounting officer with an additional expense from the government storehouse.

Qiao Yan had a thrifty mindset: the emperor didn’t give rewards, so she didn’t need to reciprocate. However, after seeing Bi Lan off, she turned to face Xi Zhicai’s teasing gaze.

“Seeing through but not speaking out is what a competent advisor should do, right, sir?” Qiao Yan said.

Xi Zhicai cupped his hands, “Spiritual satisfaction is also satisfaction. Marquis Qiao’s brilliance is beyond our reach. I just wanted to congratulate you once more.”

“Congratulate me on what?”

“The area around the new city on the Baidao River can now become Marquis Qiao’s private property,” Xi Zhicai calmly replied.

Indeed!

With this approval, the northern region of Bingzhou, specifically managed by her, was now fully formed.

From the Baidao Pass, Wugao, Wuyao, to Liangcheng, along the southern foothills of the Yinshan Mountains, and extending three hundred miles south, there were few inhabitants in Bingzhou. But this area, irrigated by the Yellow River’s tributaries, with salt marshes and Daihai Lake, and the coal and iron deposits she needed to exploit, was a veritable treasure trove.

With the establishment of the border defense city at Baidao Pass, military settlements on this wasteland could officially begin.

It wasn’t too late to sow seeds in April!

Historically, the nearest name for this new city would be the Eastern Shouxiang City, but considering the thoughts of the grassland dwellers, it shouldn’t be called that.

So, either following the naming pattern of Wuyao, Wugao, and Wuquan, calling it Wuchuan, or as she decided now, to assert control over her territory, she ultimately named it—

Suiyuan City.

This was also a name used in later times for this place.

Though the name, like Shouxiang City, carried the meaning of pacifying and soothing the distant, it was more modest.

Though Lü Bu found the city name a bit humble, when he was transferred here from Yanmen under the pretext of building the new city, his eagerness was evident.

When he last came to the Bingzhou governor’s office, it was only four months ago. Then, having resigned from his county official position, he was practically a commoner. Who would have thought that in less than half a year, he would personally go beyond the frontier to kill enemies and receive the position of Commandant of Yunzhong Commandery.

“During the construction of Suiyuan City, I hope you can stay in Leping for a while,” Qiao Yan said, gesturing for him to sit.

Before Lü Bu could ask why he needed to go to Leping, she continued, “I have high expectations for Suiyuan City and have already sent experienced farmers to measure the arable land in the Baidao River area. I also plan to build the city walls of Suiyuan City according to the standards of the Guyang Road walls, using cement…”








Using blue bricks for construction, as the person in charge, if you know nothing about it and still get promoted so quickly, it would be hard to convince others.

Lü Bu thought it over and felt that Qiao Yan’s words made sense.

If he only had brute strength, he indeed wouldn’t deserve a high position. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been defeated by Zhang Liao, and as Qiao Yan said, even though he holds the position of captain, if troops need to be deployed, he would still be under Zhang Liao’s command.

Leading a city should require corresponding skills!

Qiao Yan continued, “You should stay at Leping Academy for two months. I will arrange for specialists to teach you, ensuring that after two months, you will have a clear understanding of all projects when supervising the construction of Suiyuan City. How does that sound?”

With the appointment letter for the captain of Yunzhong County still in his hand, Lü Bu naturally thought it was a good idea.

However, Qiao Yan added, “I heard you have a daughter, eight years old this year, about the right age to start her education. Why not send her to the academy as well? A few days ago, Prefect Guo mentioned wanting to send Guo Huai there, so they can enroll together.”

Lü Bu agreed without hesitation.

Who is Guo Yun? He’s from the prestigious Yangqu Guo family!

With such a background, he still chose to send his son to Leping Academy, showing his trust in Qiao Yan’s ability to educate the younger generation.

If his daughter could receive such education early, even if she couldn’t hope to have a legendary experience like Qiao Yan—eleven enfeoffments, fourteen as a prefect, fifteen as a general—she could still serve as a female official under Qiao Yan, like Cai Zhaoji, right?

But after leaving the prefecture, he thought of a serious problem.

Wait, isn’t this strange?

Wouldn’t that mean he and his daughter would be attending the same school?

He heard that Leping Academy posts grades at the entrance. Although he and his daughter wouldn’t be taking the same courses, what if they shared a subject and their grades were listed together, with his name below his daughter’s? How embarrassing would that be?

Now he remembered the earlier news about Qiao Yan placing Jia Xu and Jia Mu in the same position, pitting father and son against each other in performance.

He found it amusing at the time, but now he was about to become the main character in such a scenario!

Of course, he didn’t know that Qiao Yan was also considering whether to appoint Jia Xu as an official in Suiyuan City.

Lü Bu was hard to manage, and Qiao Yan didn’t intend to have Jia Xu manage him.

The main reason for appointing Jia Xu to this position was—

Suiyuan City was newly established, with numerous tasks ranging from agriculture to military affairs. The ideal candidate needed to be capable of handling responsibilities independently, maintain stable communication with Lü Bu, and have some understanding and adaptability towards the Hu people north of Yinshan.

Among Qiao Yan’s subordinates, few had such capabilities, and Jia Xu was the most available.

With Lü Bu, a peerless warrior, stationed there, and the Xianbei recently beaten by Qiao Yan, Suiyuan City’s safety was assured. Strengthening the city walls would make it a perfect turtle shell.

Excellent! The reasoning was solid.

After arranging for Lü Bu to go to Leping, Qiao Yan thought about it and wrote another appointment letter.

This appointment was for Cai Zhenji.

Previously, Cai Yong, citing his position as the education officer in Bingzhou, invited Cai Zhenji and her husband Yang Zhi to stay in Leping.

Due to the inconvenience of winter travel and the need to care for her sick mother-in-law, they only set out this spring.

They arrived in Bingzhou in March, just as Qiao Yan was returning from her expedition beyond the frontier.

After Qiao Yan’s return, she hadn’t had the chance to visit Leping and thus hadn’t formally met them. But if she wanted to know what was happening in Bingzhou, someone would report it to her.

For example, Cai Zhaoji mentioned that the Taishan Yang family had become increasingly impoverished in recent years, and her sister looked even more haggard than when they parted in Luoyang to attend Qiao Xuan’s funeral.

The locust plague and epidemics in the Central Plains were particularly harsh on the poor.

Qiao Yan then asked Zhaoji about her assessment of Zhenji and Yang Zhi’s knowledge.

Zhaoji didn’t lie, saying, “Yang Zhi is good at governance, and my sister is good at managing people.”

With this, Qiao Yan had a clear idea.

Since they came under the pretext of Cai Yong missing his eldest daughter, Qiao Yan didn’t plan to assign them positions immediately.

But now, there was an opportunity to assign Cai Zhenji a task.

With Lü Bu’s daughter and Guo Yun’s son enrolling, and since Lu Yuan, her current registrar, was busy liaising with noble families in Bingzhou and unsuitable for a teaching position at the academy, it would be better to appoint Cai Zhenji as a teacher.

Guo Huai had the talent of a famous general, and Cai Zhenji had taught Yang Hu well, so teaching Guo Huai should be no problem. As for Lü Bu’s daughter—

Qiao Yan didn’t know much about her, only hearing from Lü Bu that she took after her father, being martial-minded from a young age, and might well be trained into a general.

“How about sending your son to enroll as well?” Qiao Yan asked Dian Wei.

When Dian Wei was repaying Tian Shi’s kindness, he had a wife in Chenliu, which was normal by contemporary standards, but Qiao Yan found it somewhat irresponsible, especially since she later learned that his wife was pregnant at the time, though not visibly so, and even Dian Wei only found out later.

Fortunately, after Dian Wei followed her to Leping, he brought his wife there, ensuring her safety, and she safely gave birth to Dian Man.

Now that the enrollment age was being lowered, Dian Man, who was five years old by traditional counting, could also be sent to enroll.

This would fulfill her promise to Dian Wei. Leping Academy was her establishment, and Dian Man enrolling there was akin to becoming her disciple.

Moreover, this batch of students, given their backgrounds, could be trained as military officers.

To this end, she also considered the eldest son of Linghu Shao, the current officer of Shuofang County.

Dian Wei naturally agreed without hesitation.

But…

Five, six, seven, eight years old—such a neat row of ages made Qiao Yan chuckle.

Fortunately, they were only students at the academy and not her subordinates, otherwise the average age of Bingzhou officials would drop by a decade.

Qiao Yan twirled her brush and decisively wrote “Leping Kindergarten” in bold characters, along with “Suiyuan City,” and sent them to the city’s craftsmen to make corresponding plaques.

Education is a long-term plan spanning decades. This batch of students would surely be of use to her in ten years, and she had the patience to wait for them to grow.

Just as she could steadily progress now, patiently improving Bingzhou year by year.

As she wrote the order to dispatch Leping craftsmen to Baidao Chuan, the April spring breeze brought a light drizzle to the lush green fields.

Qiao Yan looked out the window, seeing the rain curtains falling from the eaves, reflecting off the green bamboo outside, forming a pale green curtain.

A chirping sparrow, seeking shelter from the rain, landed on the windowsill and looked at her without fear.

In past years of disaster, birds were rarely seen, but now they added color to the vibrant scene.

Seeing this, Qiao Yan paused her brush and smiled.

What a joyous rain…