Chapter 138

Chapter 138

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 5: The Han Divided, Battles Settle the West Chapter 138: The Swan Soars to the Sky

This fire…

It’s enough to ignite people as well.

Wei Ji is extremely grateful at this moment that he had already taken a firm stance earlier. After Qiao Yan sent Lu Yuan to persuade him with the words “Recognize wisdom, deeply conceal flaws, know that opportunities must not be missed,” he thought deeply and did not miss the choice of the noble families to welcome and await the pacifying army.

He can be sure that it was not because he was considered among the young, nor because the Wei family of Hedong lacked the crucial stepping stone back then and was confined to Anyi, that he made such a rash decision.

But because he clearly saw the hope she wove in these chaotic times.

And this is by no means a rootless flower.

Crossing the Yellow River bridge, to facilitate the relocation of the people from Luoyang, Qiao Yan arranged for carts and carriages from Bingzhou to assist those with some remaining wealth. She also set up more than a dozen temporary rest stops along the road from the north bank of the Yellow River to Taiyuan County.

It must be understood that the migration of people, especially whole families, is much slower compared to large-scale military movements, taking several days at least.

Now in the midst of summer, although Qiao Yan is somewhat relieved that it is not yet harvest time, allowing the Bingzhou army to be promptly deployed to farming tasks, hiring Bingzhou residents to assist in the relocation is not impossible. However, she still has to worry about the heatstroke-prone weather.

Fortunately, after entering Hedong from the Zhi Pass, most of the journey is along the Fen River, making water access convenient and the roads mostly flat, greatly reducing the consumption during the migration.

The pontoon bridge on the river will be maintained for at least two months.

By the time the first batch of migrants to Bingzhou settles down, she might have the opportunity to take in another wave. After that, she will have to fully integrate these two groups within Bingzhou before further expansion.

But by then, she will no longer be limited to just Bingzhou…

With these meticulous thoughts in mind, Qiao Yan rode back to the prefectural office, confirming the rest stops and related signs along the way.

Cai Zhaoji clearly understood the message conveyed in the letter sent back to Bingzhou.

To ensure that the people distribute their energy reasonably along the way and understand the signals from Bingzhou, Zhaoji led the children of similar age from Leping Academy to complete the production of these road signs.

These signs bring a smile to people’s faces as they travel.

The childlike strokes on the wooden stands did not hinder the signs from successfully conveying the messages they should to the travelers.

Ren Hongchang, following Ma Lun, naturally did not need to walk to Bingzhou. Sitting on the simply constructed open carriage, she clearly saw the passing signs.

The nearest one depicted a water jug and a bed, with a roof on top, and a note on the right indicating a distance of one mile.

Ma Lun, noticing her prolonged gaze at the sign, asked, “Do you find this different from others?”

Perhaps because Qiao Yan, the Governor of Bingzhou, showed a welcoming attitude towards the incoming people in these details, the commoners, who should have been anxious about leaving their hometowns, instead showed anticipation on their faces, making Ma Lun unconsciously relax a bit.

Ren Hongchang shook her head, “No, not just that.”

She looked towards the distant mountains, the green hills along the Fen River, under the sunlight, the high peaks appeared blurry, seemingly no different from other mountains, but—

“Teacher, you don’t know, I am originally from Bingzhou.”

Since Ma Lun decided to follow Qiao Yan to Bingzhou, she naturally could no longer be addressed as the Grand Historian, so she asked Ren Hongchang to simply call her teacher.

She replied, “Your accent doesn’t sound like you’re from Bingzhou.”

“Because I was less than four years old when my father went to the capital for his post. Later, due to a crime, my sister and I were confiscated into the palace. My sister died early, leaving me alone in the palace.” Ren Hongchang straightened her expression, “Let’s not talk about these sad things, let’s talk about Bingzhou.”

As they talked, they passed another sign, depicting a steaming pancake. It’s unclear whether the sign was meant to encourage people to hurry for a hot meal or just made them hungry from looking at it.

Ren Hongchang’s nostalgic feelings were diluted by the sign, and she continued, “The Bingzhou in my memory doesn’t seem like this.”

When she left Bingzhou, it was the time when Tan Shihuai was building his kingdom on the Tanhan Mountain.

As the leader of the Xianbei, Tan Shihuai divided his jurisdiction into three parts, with Bingzhou belonging to the western part from Shanggu County to Dunhuang County, known for annual raids. Even within Taiyuan County, there was an atmosphere of instability.

But now, as she looked around, the carriages traveling between the mountains did not seem to be forced to assist due to interference, and the drivers appeared more well-dressed and healthier than the residents relocating from Luoyang.

The driver, overhearing her, interjected, “You’ll be even more surprised when we get further ahead.”

The Fen River, originating from the Ningwu Guancen Mountains, flows from north to south. Entering Bingzhou means heading towards its source.

The scene before her seemed to be moving towards the source of this confidence in attracting people.

Even without the driver’s words, Ren Hongchang realized that the road towards Jinyang seemed much smoother than usual, having undergone some leveling and repair.

This wouldn’t be strange elsewhere, but in Bingzhou, a place of frequent unrest, it was somewhat unusual.

She thought so and asked accordingly.

“This? This wasn’t built by us,” the driver replied, “Two years ago… yes, two years ago, before the prefect became the prefect, she rounded up the bandits hiding in the Taihang Mountains and proposed a rule to redeem death with Hu heads. But after three expeditions to the frontier, some still failed to achieve military merits. The prefect probably realized they weren’t cut out for fighting.”

“During the winter when there were no battles, the extra soldiers were also involved in road construction within the prefecture. This year, only those unsuitable for combat were allowed to exchange road-building mileage for food, repairing this road from the prefectural office to Hedong.”

“We, who rarely leave Bingzhou, didn’t feel much, but merchants traveling to and from Bingzhou in April and May found it much more convenient.”

Qiao Yan had considered this.

Building internal connecting roads first, then external ones, with Bingzhou’s current military strength sufficient to protect itself, indeed had the capital to use merchants for external propaganda.

Chu Yan, as the gatekeeper, guarded the crucial entrance and exit of Bingzhou, enough to defend against malicious bandits.

Moreover, she didn’t attempt to create anything as anachronistic as cement roads, just had some potholes repaired, which wasted limited military resources but conveniently facilitated the relocation of Luoyang residents.

The driver made it sound simple, but Ren Hongchang, who still remembered Bingzhou’s earlier conditions, felt it was by no means easy.





The invasion of Tan Shihuai was like opening the floodgates of chaos. In such a desolate place, the poor only got poorer, while the rich got richer. Bandits, claiming to fight for survival, rarely robbed the rich to help the poor. Instead, they targeted places where they could easily plunder.

But now, it seems these people have all become laborers in Bingzhou.

As the carriage moved forward and entered an open area with visible farmland, she began to understand what the coachman meant by “even more surprising.”

Having been in the palace for many years, she hadn’t traveled outside much. Even when she left Luoyang’s northern suburbs, crossed the Mang Mountains, and passed the Yellow River, she never saw Luoyang’s farmland. However, she had heard rumors of poor harvests in recent years.

Before entering Taiyuan Commandery, they passed through Hedong and saw many civilian fields in the Sili region.

Hedong was considered a prosperous area, with the Fen River irrigating the land, yet…

It was still far from what she was seeing now!

“This is the Quitian method,” Ma Lun, being well-informed, immediately recognized the farmland before her, which was cultivated by digging trenches and sowing seeds.

It was recorded in the Book on Agricultural Practices.

However, the Quitian method required significant manpower and resources, especially since heavy fertilization was needed between the trenches. It was mostly implemented on a small scale in the high-standard fields of powerful landowners, making it difficult to promote widely.

During her time managing the Yuan Clan’s affairs, Ma Lun had inspected their estates and found only a small portion of the land could achieve this.

But the sight of a gradually bountiful harvest before her eyes, seemingly successfully promoted on a large scale, left her astonished.

Judging by the coachman’s demeanor, this wasn’t a unique phenomenon to this area, which made the implications even more intriguing.

First, Bingzhou must have made some improvements in farming tools, allowing deep plowing, sowing, and weeding to be successfully implemented.

Second, they must have found a way to effectively teach these farming techniques to the people of Bingzhou.

Lastly, there must have been some new methods in fertilization. It couldn’t just be about piling more manure to achieve such results.

This didn’t seem like a change brought about by quantity alone.

She soon heard the information she was looking for from the coachman.

“This is the work of the Prefect and Officer Qin. They drew diagrams of the deep-trench standards on Leping Marquis paper and posted them in every county. They also introduced the curved plow and iron rake during the farming season. The new fertilizer in the fields was also widely produced and distributed by the Prefect.”

“Do you know how much our Bingzhou yielded per mu last year?”

The coachman’s proud tone made Ma Lun smile.

In his demeanor, he didn’t treat them as high-class visitors from the big city of Luoyang but instead eagerly shared the achievements of Bingzhou, which was proof of Qiao Yan’s success as the Governor of Bingzhou.

She didn’t interrupt his eagerness to boast but instead listened attentively as the coachman continued, “It’s still less than the Bai Dao Chuan managed by Marquis Qiao, with only a little over five dan per mu.”

“Cough…” Ren Hongchang choked on her words.

“Only five dan”? What kind of talk is that!

Is that how you use the word “only”?

Ma Lun patted her back and, with a warm smile, pointed to the surrounding fields, “Judging by the growth of your crops this year, I think it’ll be more than five dan.”

“You have a good eye,” the coachman praised her. “This year, in some fields, we followed the Prefect’s advice and buried bone meal as base fertilizer before sowing. With last year’s experience, we better understand these farming methods, so the yield should be around six dan per mu.”

“The Prefect hasn’t increased taxes either. Due to the late Emperor’s passing, the land tax previously issued by him has been waived. For small folks like us, we can live a better life.”

Although it might not be appropriate to express any glee over the Emperor’s death, the policy of waiving land taxes, spreading from Leping to all of Bingzhou, made it feel like the national mourning was actually a blessing.

“My eldest son is serving in the Prefect’s army. While stationed at Yanmen, he luckily shot a few Hu people and, besides his military salary, brought back seventy dan of grain. That’s real income. With the increased yield from the fields, in a couple of years, we might even tighten our belts and let my second son learn a few more characters to pass the Leping Academy’s entrance exam.” The coachman, calculating his gains, couldn’t help but look forward with anticipation.

Ren Hongchang listened and realized that this was no longer the Bingzhou she remembered!

That Marquis Qiao was truly remarkable!

Filled with admiration, she gazed intently at Qiao Yan when they stopped at the next post station, just as Qiao Yan entered with her guards.

Such a direct gaze made it impossible for Qiao Yan to ignore.

She looked up and met Ren Hongchang’s strikingly beautiful face.

No longer needing to maintain a submissive demeanor and having wiped off the yellow powder from her face, she looked even more outstanding.

Qiao Yan naturally asked for her name. Upon hearing that she had been a palace maid named Diaochan, a subtle smile appeared in her eyes.

“What does ‘Hongchang’ mean?” she asked.

“It means prosperity and flourishing,” Ren Hongchang replied hesitantly.

“How about I give you a new name?” Qiao Yan asked with interest.

Ren Hongchang, now seeking refuge in Bingzhou, understood that a name change, like Cheng Yu’s, was a sign of the ruler’s favor. It wasn’t an offense but a mark of importance.

Seeing her nod in agreement, Qiao Yan asked for paper and brush from her attendant, wrote a character, and handed it to Ren Hongchang.

She took the paper and saw a single character:

“Hong.”

Ren Hong?

“Isn’t this name a bit too masculine?” Ren Hongchang asked softly.

Qiao Yan smiled and countered, “The feathers of a swan don’t fly low, traversing between heaven and earth. Who says this character is only for men?”

She looked at the assistants Ma Lun had brought to Bingzhou, her hopeful gaze unmistakable.

Even without Ren Hongchang’s sudden attention, she would have come over to interact more.

Cultivating these literate and numerate young women into talents would take far less time than raising children from infancy to adulthood.

This was indeed the most valuable treasure she had brought back from her direct strike on Luoyang!

The emotions in her gaze were clearly conveyed to those she looked at, stirring something in their hearts.

In her past role as a palace maid in the Han court, she was just a title, not someone with a name that carried hopes and expectations. But the vibrancy she saw along the way in Bingzhou showed her a glimmer of light in the exemplary order.

And this name change marked a brand new beginning for her.

Ren Hong, holding the Leping Marquis paper with the character “Hong,” nodded firmly. “I’ll take this name!”