Chapter 139
So, can’t a strategist ascend the throne? Volume Five: Two Parts of Han, Battling it Out in Hexi. Chapter 139: Appointment of Officials
Ren Hong, with her newly acquired name and identity, arrived at Jinyang, the administrative seat of Taiyuan Commandery, with this group that had migrated from Luoyang.
Here, those who had pledged allegiance to Bingzhou from Luoyang lined up in an orderly fashion to register.
Qiao Yan certainly couldn’t recklessly accept these people into her territory, but she needed to offer some benefits to show her commitment to accommodating the new population. After discussions with Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai, they finalized a systematic set of regulations.
The residents who relocated from Luoyang would be settled first in Shangdang, Shang Commandery, Xihe Commandery, and the southern part of Yanmen Commandery, without adding to the population burden of Taiyuan Commandery.
Since they arrived at the start of July, they missed the spring planting and autumn harvest, so these new residents could earn food to get through the winter by working in the various workshops and open coal mines around the state.
If one person from a household signed up for military service, that household would be exempt from this year’s grain tax and receive thirty stones of grain from the state for livelihood.
The government reserved thirty acres of wasteland for each household to cultivate, and if they needed more, they would have to pay for it.
While this wasteland policy sounds harsh, it’s worth noting that the wasteland within Bingzhou yielded an average of four stones per acre last year, which is notably higher than the three stones generally produced in the usual farmland of three auxiliary regions. If they follow Bingzhou’s farming methods, at least they won’t go hungry.
Moreover, the farming tools and other daily necessities would be produced by the state in the form of toolkits, sold at a discounted rate to ensure that these new residents could adapt to Bingzhou’s conditions quickly.
“And this.”
Even due to Ma Lun, Ren Hong didn’t have to go through this whole registration process, yet she can’t help but be captivated by the scene before her until someone handed her a piece of paper, snapping her out of her daze.
She noticed the girl who handed it to her looked like she was only eleven or thirteen.
But what was even more intriguing than her age was that she was holding a huge stack of paper!
A huge stack of Leping Marquis paper!
Ren Hong vaguely recalled hearing while she was still at the Luoyang palace that Leping Marquis paper wasn’t cheap. That’s why it hadn’t replaced various types of paper and had instead become the mainstream for recording documents due to its resilience. However, from what she was seeing now…
It oddly didn’t seem that expensive.
The girl before her spoke so quickly: “The paper contains a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of several commanderies in Bingzhou and the job openings available, all expressed through simple illustrations. If you can’t read the text, that’s no problem. On the back, there’s a map of the transit points within Taiyuan Commandery, and the state government offers cheap simple meals. You can also explore Jinyang City, but to prevent disorder, you need to get a number plate at the indicated locations on the map first. That’s pretty much it, and there will be specific personnel to guide you through these processes.”
“Zhaoji—”
Hearing someone calling her from a distance, she waved to Ren Hong. “I have to go! Got other things to do. Just remember to check the instructions.”
The seemingly experienced girl took a couple of steps but suddenly turned back to Ren Hong and said: “Oh, by the way, Bingzhou welcomes you all.”
Ren Hong watched in the direction the girl had run off, where she saw another girl who bore a slight resemblance to the previous one but seemed seven or eight years older. Since this one was coordinating the tasks for the children in this area, she needed some help as the crowd had increased.
The girl called Zhaoji quickly divided the unhanded papers into five parts and stuffed them into the hands of five other boys. She took another account book from her sister, picking up half of the management workload.
This kind of settlement policy in Bingzhou was something Ren Hong had never seen before.
She also just spotted the personnel responsible for agriculture passing by.
From a distance, she couldn’t hear what the person was saying but could see from their mannerisms that they were making final adjustments regarding the distribution of farming tools.
That would be Qin, the agricultural officer, who had made significant contributions to increasing the yields of the farmland, as mentioned by the coachman earlier.
The various girls of different ages showcased in Bingzhou, while distinct from Ma Lun, who had experienced far too many changes and now seemed tranquil as water, filled Ren Hong with wonder, making her feel her choice to come to Bingzhou was the best decision she had ever made.
She suddenly understood why Qiao Yan could often say “Hongyu does not fly low,” expressing such expectations for her or perhaps for all of them.
It was because there were already some successful models under her governance.
As she pondered, she spread the paper Zhaoji had handed her in front of her and found that, just as she said, the front side focused on a comparison of the four commanderies selected by Qiao Yan to accommodate them out of the nine commanderies in Bingzhou.
But once she saw the drawings, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Ma Lun, who had completed all their paperwork, approached, noticing Ren Hong’s reaction and casually asked.
“Teacher, look.” Ren Hong handed the paper to Ma Lun, deliberately pointing out a particular part.
The comparison of Shangdang, Xihe, Shang Commandery, and Yanmen included job openings, resource distribution, climate conditions, farmland acreage, and a particularly important factor—safety.
Shangdang was undoubtedly the safest, but the other three had their challenges: Yanmen faced Xianbei from the north, Xihe housed the Southern Xiongnu within, and west of Shang Commandery lay Liangzhou with Qiang and Hu roaming about. All were marked with instability, yet due to how they were labeled, this instability turned into a rather amusing scenario.
In Yanmen Commandery, a stick figure with a gun was drawn, dragging a bunch of cattle and sheep, with a tent in the background where a little person wearing an Xianbei hat was crying.
The South Xiongnu’s garrison site in Xihe Commandery showed another stick figure with a gun, stepping on the head of a Xiongnu, surrounded by a bunch of circles, likely the rumored head collection Qiao Yan used to intimidate the nobility of Southern Xiongnu’s left faction.
And in the location of Shang Commandery was that little person standing with a spear, clearly without an enemy to fight.
If the person drawing this didn’t emphasize the points on the ends of the spear and how they were connected so clearly, Ren Hong thought she might not be so sure this was indeed their Bingzhou governor!
Another girl who received a similar information sheet compared hers with Ren Hong’s.
Upon comparison, although the drawings and text were nearly identical, they were evidently done by different hands.
“This must be the work of Leping Academy.” Ma Lun also found this “flyer” particularly entertaining.
No matter where these newcomers to Leping chose to settle, Qiao Yan’s warrior image was at least communicated once again through these papers, which was immensely beneficial for instilling loyalty in the newly arrived population.
Leping Academy?
Ren Hong recalled hearing the coachman mention that if they could save up some extra money, they might let one child from each family learn a few big characters to find a way into Leping Academy; it seemed there was some kind of admission requirement.
But precisely because of this admission requirement, the people within Leping Academy became Qiao Yan’s publicity team during such crucial moments.
Her eyes lit up—it was truly impressive tactics.
However, what she didn’t know was that Qiao Yan had merely passed on directives to the state and only saw the final products after returning to Jinyang.
Seeing the illustration of her territory’s area and feeling somewhat foolish at how perplexed she looked with that spear, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but chuckle and turned to Cai Zhaoji, who had just wrapped up her tasks, asking, “Did you come up with this idea?”
Originally, Qiao Yan had just hoped that Cai Yan would lead people to create explanations in the form of notice boards, displaying them in the temporary camps within Taiyuan Commandery.
Like the road signs they had seen on their journey.
But Zhaoji’s quick thinking changed it into flyers, and leveraging Cai Yong’s status as a classic scholar, she turned the creation of these flyers into Leping Academy’s assignment, effectively organizing a comprehensive publicity strategy for Qiao Yan.
“Here’s my thought,” Zhaoji continued, “Even though those who arrive in Bingzhou will know that the price of Leping Marquis paper isn’t as high as folks outside say, those who can read are scarce, and having a piece of paper with writing at home is already quite a rarity. So what’s the first thing those settling in Bingzhou would want to learn?”
The answer was obvious.
“It’s the names of the commanderies in Bingzhou, as well as resources like coal, iron, and gypsum mines, and—”
“And the great achievements of the Marquis,” Zhaoji asserted firmly. “This way, what remains for the Marquis to worry about is whether you can consistently deliver achievements that instill confidence in Bingzhou.”
Had this been at the start of Qiao Yan’s endeavors, she might have worried, but at this stage, there was no need.
She had not been blinded by the successes before her, and with such talented people under her, she had already implemented various groundbreaking initiatives that couldn’t simply follow historical accounts.
She replied, “I have you all; what is there to fear!”
As she had decided in Luoyang, in the subsequent personnel transfer orders, Yang Xiu replaced Lu Yuan in the position of principal clerk, Lu Yuan was promoted to the position of功曹 from事, Zheng Tai took the role of district magistrate, and Xun You was assigned as the agricultural officer in Shang Commandery.
Thus, the only remaining vacancies for the officer roles were still in Wuyuan under General Duluo’s camp, which could be concurrently managed by Wu Meng, and a position in Shangdang.
When these appointments were issued, it had already been nearly half a month since Qiao Yan returned to Jinyang.
The people from Luoyang had been settled into their respective commanderies, and Qiao Yan had made decisions concerning the piled-up paperwork during her campaign against Dong Zhuo, with the first batch of newcomers already arriving in Bingzhou, ready to take up their responsibilities.
To her surprise, Zheng Tai actually came to her after he took office, saying, “I would like to recommend someone to you, for the position of agricultural officer in Shangdang.”
Zheng Tai’s first recommendation after assuming the position of district magistrate wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Qiao Yan straightened her expression, prepared to hear what he had to say.
“You might not have noticed amidst your busy schedule, but among those who arrived at the registration office in Jinyang yesterday, there’s a clan that should be under the jurisdiction of River North County, surnamed Chang. The Chang family isn’t particularly prominent, but it indeed has its share of talented individuals.”
“But shouldn’t such a family not need to come to Bingzhou?” Qiao Yan asked, puzzled.
“No, they do need to come.” Zheng Tai shook his head and continued, “Wang Kuang, the clerk at He Jin’s Grand General’s Mansion, if I recall correctly, should have crossed paths with you.”
“You could say we fought against each other in battle, plus… we shared an appraisal session.” The former referred to Wang Kuang’s participation in the earlier selection battle for General Duluo; the latter pertained to how Wang Kuang was present during Xu Zijiang’s monthly appraisal five years ago.
However, Zheng Tai wasn’t referring to either of those occasions.
He stated, “This news might not have reached Bingzhou yet, but those fleeing have arrived first. Wang Kuang, due to his association with the late emperor’s eldest son, would naturally take sides with that faction. He immediately petitioned for the position of magistrate in River North County while celebrating the new emperor’s ascension.”
“Given his credentials and reputation, the appointment came swiftly. However, while Wang Kuang is good at mundane talk, governing a county is likely a bit too challenging for him. He sends his subordinates to observe each county secretly to identify minor offenses, regardless of their underlying situations, he just has them rounded up. Anything or anyone that hesitates gets directly arrested and their families exterminated, partly to demonstrate his authority as magistrate and partly to quickly fill the government storehouses, so he can start training soldiers in this current situation.”
Wang Kuang’s actions were frankly absurd. If every magistrate behaved like him, how would it be any different from Dong Zhuo?
Zheng Tai looked down on Wang Kuang’s behavior, thus referring to this “man of character” in complete formality, then added, “In the Chang clan of River North County, there’s one person who used to…”
Wang Kuang rounded up his guests for reasons unknown, sending the family into a panic about how much ransom he wanted. In response, a young lad named Chang Lin went to his fellow townsman, Hu Muu Biao, and said…
“Wang Kuang is a man of both literary and martial talent. In this fertile land of River North, with the young emperor and treacherous officials lurking, now is the time to select virtuous individuals, root out thieves, and help the troubled.”
As the saying goes, “The wise watch the winds, adapting like echoes; they calm chaos by harmonizing. What victory cannot be gained? If there is no benevolence, and you lose the capable, disaster is imminent, how can the court hope for help?”
After saying this, Hu Muu Biao took Chang Lin’s words to Wang Kuang, urging the release of Chang Lin’s uncle, who was being held captive. However, Chang Lin wasn’t sure if their luck would hold, so he hurriedly took his family to Bingzhou that night.
“I’ve heard of this Chang Lin before,” Zheng Tai said. “He’s studious and talented, known for his dislike of injustice. Why doesn’t Qiao Yan promote him to an official position in Shangdang County?”
Zheng Tai bowed slightly and added, “This is akin to spending a fortune to buy a bone.”
Qiao Yan thought it over and agreed with his suggestion.
But after sending Zheng Tai off, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she forgot something regarding Chang Lin and Shangdang County.
She vaguely remembered he had a close friend he met while seeking refuge in Shangdang, but now, with so much going on, she just couldn’t recall who it was.
Anyway, since he’s on her turf now, if there really was an important figure, she’d surely hear about it, just like how Zheng Tai recommended Chang Lin to her.
The vacant position for Wuyuan County soon found a suitable candidate.
This time it wasn’t a new face—Xu Fu showed up at her door, stating, “Since you, my lord, plan to campaign against Liangzhou, you must first stabilize the internal situation before targeting the external one. The General stationed at Wuyuan should be assisting you in quelling the local unrest. Given the recent central upheaval, although he may not abandon his post, he should have been aiding you rather than merely attacking the outsiders.”
Xu Fu bowed to Qiao Yan, saying, “I, Xu Fu, lack talent, but I wish to take up the position in Wuyuan County to help you eliminate this internal trouble.”
With the way he laid it down, Qiao Yan could feel the lingering spirit of a wandering knight beneath his academic facade.
If the situation weren’t so dire, he might have casually said, “I’ll go get Han Fu’s head for you.”
Nevertheless, his attitude brought reassurance to Qiao Yan.
This was truly her trusted aide. Now that he had set out, he could certainly take on heavy responsibilities, like plotting the downfall of Han Fu.
Qiao Yan exchanged glances with him for a moment, confirming his resolve as a sharp tool for cutting away the rot, replying, “As you say, I’ll have your appointment letter sent to you soon.”
Seeing Xu Fu linger instead of leaving immediately, Qiao Yan asked curiously, “Do you have something else to say?”
She wasn’t surprised that Xu Fu had an additional matter, considering her subordinates always had brilliant ideas, but his expression had a hint of awkwardness that seemed at odds with the decisiveness in his earlier remarks about eliminating Han Fu.
After some deliberation, Xu Fu finally spoke, “Earlier, my lord gave a new name to Mr. Zhongde, promoting him to ‘Yu’. And there’s that newcomer from Bingzhou, Madam Ma, who gifted you a character ‘Hong’…”
He shot her an expectant look, “I wonder if my lord would also grant me a new character?”
Honestly, Qiao Yan had been thinking of doing this, but seeing Xu Fu’s attitude—like getting a name change from his lord was a validation of sorts—made her chuckle a bit.
She grabbed a piece of paper, wrote down the character “Shu,” and handed it to him.
“May you succeed in all matters and not forget the common people, so you can achieve great deeds. How does this name sound?”
And just like that, this name returned to history’s fold.
Xu Fu, or rather Xu Shu now, had no clue about Qiao Yan’s thoughts; he merely felt that receiving such a blessing while asking for an official position was a timely stroke of luck.
From now on, he’d be known as Xu Shu!
He carefully folded the note with the new name, tucking it into his sleeve. Noticing Qiao Yan was still watching him, he straightened up slightly.
“Alright then, leave now. But go and gauge how Zhang Xiu, who was caught, feels about taking the position in Dingxiang County to avoid crossing paths with his uncle.”
If that could work out, one more vacancy would be filled.
Once she finished these affairs, Qiao Yan finally had the chance to see Li Ru.
After capturing him during Dong Zhuo’s escape in Luoyang, she didn’t let him suffer any hardships.
First, she had someone treat his injuries from being thrown off a horse, then merely restricted his movements without skimping on food.
Even when he wanted to read during his downtime, Qiao Yan made sure books were delivered to him.
However, this fellow didn’t seem as carefree as Zhang Yi, who she had imprisoned previously, and wasn’t about to stuff himself full just to build up strength.
To Qiao Yan, if she were to evaluate Li Ru’s current state, he was merely aware of his predicament, eating and sleeping as necessary, even stepping outside for a stroll, though he appeared a bit lanky.
This sent a signal; if he thought he could act treasonously just because he was captured—
“I know Mr. Wenyou is unlikely to be as loyal to me as Wenxian was.”
Hearing Qiao Yan’s voice from behind, Li Ru didn’t stop his work.
In the house where he was being held, he submitted a request to cultivate a piece of land to plant some vegetables and flowers.
While Qiao Yan was trying to appear low-key by farming in Luoyang, Li Ru seemed to be finding a way to pass the time.
He swung the hoe again, though his arms still hurt, and his legs had him limping around. The sight was downright comical and somewhat sad.
He replied, “Since you understand this, why come all the way here?”
Li Ru was fully aware of Qiao Yan’s reasoning for keeping him here. Qiao Yan had already provided an explanation when capturing him.
Did Qiao Yan truly need his strategizing? Not necessarily.
During their journey to Bingzhou, he had been contemplating her potential expansion plans, given her rising reputation from defeating Dong Zhuo, worrying about Dong Zhuo’s future amid all this.
Too bad he was stuck here; even if Qiao Yan claimed Dong Zhuo would change from his previous ways after facing defeat, he wouldn’t be able to pass that info along.
Thinking of this made Li Ru sigh.
Even without these strategists assisting her, Qiao Yan was clearly superior to Dong Zhuo in terms of strategy.
This operation moving from Luoyang to Jinyang, along with the relocation of civilians, had Li Ru marveling at Qiao Yan’s meticulous approach.
He heard Qiao Yan’s calm voice, not bothered by his refusal to cooperate: “I’m just curious, with someone like yourself, why are you so loyal to Dong Zhuo? Or do you not see that his character will lead to his downfall?”
Li Ru replied lightly, “You must know, a life-saving favor must be repaid with gratitude.”
This clarified the nature of his relationship with Dong Zhuo.
Perhaps at the beginning, they truly were mutually supportive, given Dong Zhuo’s rise in Xiliang and his dealings with Qiang nobility, living up to his former title of General.
Qiao Yan thought for a moment before asking, “So if Dong Zhuo were to die, would you seek revenge or would you rather join me?”
Li Ru didn’t directly answer, instead, he countered, “With your cautious approach, adding to your reputation as a loyal servant of the Han, aren’t you worried that employing someone like me might tarnish your name?”
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yan laughed, “Since you ask, I’ll take it as a positive response to my earlier question.”
Li Ru’s steadfastness reflected his decision to stand by Dong Zhuo during his downfall without actively supporting opposition against him.
However, once Dong Zhuo was dead, all grievances would vanish; he wouldn’t be identified as Dong Zhuo’s strategist anymore, being fair in service till the end.
This was, of course, good news for Qiao Yan.
She added, “How much territory do you think I control at the moment? Isn’t there a role for you in that? If you feel burdened by the name Li Ru, linked to your past with Dong Zhuo, feel free to rebrand yourself as Li Meng or something. With my connections in Bingzhou, I can easily arrange for a new ID.”
Before leaving, Qiao Yan said, “Please consider this carefully.”
Li Ru couldn’t help but shake his head; the way Qiao Yan presented the idea of him changing names to Li Meng felt a tad juvenile.
But as she claimed, this vast world had plenty of room for someone like him, beyond his past.
He pondered for a moment, ready to set aside this obviously long-term thought.
Qiao Yan was set on leading an expedition against Dong Zhuo at Liangzhou, who was then in Chang’an, and this plan was no longer a secret within the Bingzhou army.
But launching a campaign against Liangzhou wouldn’t be easy.
Even if she could quickly familiarize herself with Liangzhou’s geography, it wasn’t the same as the conflicts involving Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song, which were riddled with complications. Defeating the Qiang people, who’d recovered from the earlier purge by Du Qiang, and the formidable alliance of Ma Teng and Han Sui wouldn’t be as simple as merely vocalizing the intent.
Even with Bingzhou as a backer, they would have to wait until after the autumn harvest when there was enough surplus grain to mount an offensive.
And moving further against Chang’an would take a while longer.
We’ll see then.
In this fragmented world, each claiming an emperor—
The Liu Xie, abducted to Chang’an by Dong Zhuo, was using Guangxi as his herald.
Liu Bian, recently ascended in Ye City with Yuan Shao’s support, publicly announced the name change to Zhaoning.
This signified a recognition of his authority by using his era’s name.
Regions along the north-south divide faced difficult choices, possibly seeing representatives from both sides sent over.
Fortunately for Qiao Yan, she wouldn’t have to navigate such dilemmas.
Long before Liu Bian took the throne, she had already declared her intentions: to march into Liangzhou to rescue Liu Xie while following Liu Hong’s last wishes, which meant pledging loyalty to Liu Xie as emperor.
So for Bingzhou, it was the seventh month of the Guangxi era.
Qiao Yan reclined on a soft couch in her study, listening to the rustling bamboo and cicadas outside while opening her character panel.
【Name: Qiao Yan】
【Faction:？】
【Occupation: Strategist（？）】
【Age: 15 (Years)】
【Physique: 95 (100), Martial Strength: 80 (100), Intelligence: 82 (100), Luck: 75 (？)】
【Remaining Points to Allocate: 11】
【Skills: History lvl 7, Eloquence lvl 9, Incitement lvl 10, Artifact Identification lvl 4, Archery lvl 12, Horse Riding lvl 11, Drawing lvl 3, Calligraphy lvl 7, Archaeology lvl 5, Ancient Currency Study lvl 3…】
【Remaining Skill Points to Allocate: 0】
【Strategist Points: 350】 (Every 10 strategist points grants 3 attribute points and 1 skill point)
She stared at the panel for a while, then poured all 11 remaining points into her luck.
