Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 5: The Han Divided, Battles in the West Chapter 140: Xun You’s Plan

Book: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 140: Xun You’s Plan

Choosing to allocate the remaining points to luck instead of martial prowess or intelligence, Qiao Yan had given it much thought.

She originally believed that after starting with a noble title and having renowned scholars and generals join her, her luck stat was more than sufficient.

However, seeing that holding the Imperial Seal at this time was not suitable and that it would weaken her luck, she couldn’t guarantee that other factors wouldn’t cause further changes.

Conquering Liangzhou, even with the help of the system’s map, was something that couldn’t rely on luck.

The roaming Qiang cavalry could easily deliver a heavy blow during deep pursuits, and the climate in the Hexi, Hetao, and Longyou regions of Liangzhou was highly unpredictable.

What could happen with high luck was unknown, but one thing was certain: if it was too low, trouble was inevitable.

The upper limit of the luck stat was a question mark instead of 100, forcing Qiao Yan to plan ahead.

After deciding on the stat allocation, Qiao Yan turned her attention to other parts of the panel.

The question marks behind her faction and strategist profession were somewhat amusing.

“Why isn’t my faction the Han anymore?” Qiao Yan asked the system.

After all, she was still the Governor of Bingzhou under the Han and hadn’t done anything truly rebellious. Being labeled with a question mark seemed unfair. Didn’t she present herself as a staunch and upright figure in court debates?

[…Because the system’s internal records don’t account for a division of the Han into east and west.] The system paused for a moment before explaining.

Based on her current stance, she should be aligned with the Western Han—referring to the geographical west. However, the system’s timeline is set in the late Eastern Han, which conflicts with her situation, resulting in a question mark for her faction, making her appear even more ambitious.

As for the question mark behind the strategist title, the system added it itself.

Since everyone was being upfront now, it was as if… the system was pretending to be blind.

Qiao Yan’s strategist points increased from 230 to 350 due to her campaign in Luoyang, but achieving this wasn’t just about participating in historical events at specific times.

The strategist system’s judgment wasn’t that simple. If it were, everyone could boost their stats by muddling through.

Earlier achievements like [Devising a Plan to Destroy a Faction] were relatively vague and more like a freebie from the system to boost the host’s stats early on, but that wasn’t the case now.

Qiao Yan’s four achievements were:

[The Dong Zhuo Rebellion: Participated in the Suanzao Alliance and ranked in the top three in contributions]

[The Dong Zhuo Rebellion: Devised a plan to defeat two or more of Dong Zhuo’s Middle Generals in one move]

[The Dong Zhuo Rebellion: Persuaded Lü Bu not to join Dong Zhuo]

[Completed a proclamation against a famous historical figure and achieved over 100,000 views]

The second achievement could have a more dramatic name like [Combo! Dong Zhuo’s Middle Generals]. This achievement wasn’t easy to attain, as it could easily be mistaken for quelling the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si.

It was rare for someone like Qiao Yan to face both Xu Rong and Niu Fu simultaneously.

The third and fourth achievements tested a strategist’s eloquence and writing skills, respectively. However, Qiao Yan achieved these in ways the system hadn’t anticipated.

The system could only console itself that getting the points was what mattered.

With the 120 strategist points from these achievements, Qiao Yan’s stats improved, and she could further enhance her skills.

Skills crucial for campaigns, like incitement, archery, and horseback riding, along with her already valued eloquence, were all upgraded.

This time, she didn’t leave any room in her skill point allocation.

“After my subordinates have grown in number, it’s unreasonable for a leader to be good at everything and take on all responsibilities. It’s better to leave some room for subordinates to shine. So, intelligence just needs to be sufficient,” Qiao Yan said confidently.

[Actually, you could just say ‘lord’ instead of ‘leader’… it’s fine.] The system replied after some mental preparation.

“That’s a bit embarrassing,” Qiao Yan rubbed her hands and opened the new feature unlocked at 300 strategist points: [Ingenious Plans].

With another feature to exploit from the strategist system, she had to maintain some decorum.

This feature had been present since she got the system but was locked until now.

After unlocking it, the description appeared before her.

Every month, the [Ingenious Plans] feature would generate a draw.

The draw would provide intelligence on one of the current faction leaders.

From the time Qiao Yan reached 300 strategist points until now, exactly one month had passed, and the feature had generated a draw.

She had boosted her luck, so surely she wouldn’t get anything too absurd… right?

[You have obtained intelligence on leader – Dong Zhuo]

[Rumor has it that Dong Zhuo, like Liu Xiu, can summon meteors. During the battle against Han Sui and Bian Zhang in the second year of Zhongping, a meteor as long as ten zhang appeared at night, startling the horses and allowing him to seize the opportunity to defeat the enemy.]

Qiao Yan: “…?”

What is this?

System! System, is this intelligence even reliable?

If Qiao Yan could see the system’s physical form, they might be staring at each other in disbelief.

However, since this message involved both Dong Zhuo and Han Sui, whom she was about to face, it could still be considered a warning. It wasn’t entirely useless.

Since there was no rush to launch the campaign, Qiao Yan decided to wait for next month’s draw.

If it wasn’t reliable, she’d save up for a ten-draw.

She closed the system panel and heard a servant report that Zhao Yun requested an audience.

Remembering the tasks she had assigned to Xu Shu and Zhao Yun, she immediately had Zhao Yun brought in.

Among Dong Zhuo’s generals, Qiao Yan had already recruited Xu Rong and had him appointed as the Commandant of Shuofang upon returning to Bingzhou. She couldn’t show too much favoritism towards Zhang绣.

At this time, Zhang绣 hadn’t yet taken over his uncle’s military authority and had only shown decent martial skills. If Qiao Yan personally asked about his surrender after filling the last personnel vacancy, it might seem like he was being favored over her old subordinates. However, having Zhao Yun and Xu Shu handle it would avoid such implications.








There was a difference, but it didn’t matter.

Zhang Xiu was captured by Zhao Yun, so it was only fitting for him to handle the matter of persuading Zhang Xiu to surrender.

Zhao Yun saluted her and replied, “My lord, Zhang Xiu is willing to surrender, but he has one request.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Zhang Xiu’s uncle is still under Dong Zhuo’s command. If he surrenders rashly, it might provoke Dong Zhuo to take action against Zhang Ji, which makes him hesitant. Coincidentally, during our journey, Advisor Xi Zhicai had a casual conversation with him and gave him an idea, which he has now proposed.”

At this point, Zhao Yun’s expression turned somewhat awkward. Seeing Qiao Yan looking at him, he had no choice but to continue, “When Zhang Ji followed Dong Zhuo in fleeing Luoyang, he didn’t have the chance to gather his family and belongings. His wife, Lady Zou, had been with the army and was also in Luoyang. When we brought Zhang Xiu back, we also brought Zhang Ji’s family, including Lady Zou.”

“Zhang Xiu’s request is for you to detain Lady Zou instead of sending her to Chang’an. He is willing to guard Dingxiang for you first, then write a letter mocking his uncle for failing to protect even his nephew and wife. This would provoke his uncle to share a common hatred for Dong Zhuo. When you face off against his uncle Zhang Ji, if you can capture him, Zhang Xiu will persuade him to surrender.”

“…Did Jia Xu get too talkative when he saw a fellow from Liangzhou?” Qiao Yan pinched the bridge of her nose, suspecting that if this trend continued, someday rumors would spread that she had a fondness for other men’s wives, and it wouldn’t be entirely unjustified.

But whether it was Ma Lun, Qin Yu, or Lu Yuan, they were all short on female assistants. If Lady Zou wasn’t just beautiful but also capable, she could be put to use. Plus, the provocative letter to Chang’an wouldn’t be written by her but by Zhang Xiu himself, so the plan wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

“Tell him I agree, but next time there’s a surrender from Liangzhou, let me know before Jia Xu comes up with any ideas.”

Jia Xu had a good grasp of her temperament. This minor joke wouldn’t make her feel that Jia Xu had overstepped. On the contrary, by openly displaying his connections with Liangzhou generals, he made her feel more at ease.

Jia Xu’s move was also a reminder to her that her forces were growing, and it was becoming more likely that many of her subordinates would come from the same region, such as Liangzhou and Bingzhou generals, or Yingchuan scholars.

In an era where regional ties easily formed cliques, Qiao Yan couldn’t issue explicit orders to prevent normal interactions. She could only balance them and, from her position as a leader, discern which suggestions were genuine and which were attempts to suppress other factions.

Fortunately, none of her civil or military officials had yet proposed anything driven by power struggles, and she, as their leader, was clearly not someone easily fooled.

While pondering this, Qiao Yan had someone summon Xun You.

After returning to Bingzhou, the first thing she did wasn’t to discuss plans to attack Liangzhou with Xun You, leveraging his strategic expertise.

Instead, she wrote a letter to Huangfu Song, instructing Fu Gan to deliver it immediately to Liangzhou, to prevent Dong Zhuo, who had fled back to Chang’an, from hastily replenishing his troops and summoning Huangfu Song to the court under the emperor’s name.

This was of utmost importance.

Fu Gan hadn’t expected that in his third year serving under Qiao Yan, he would have the chance to avenge his father.

Even if this was just a prelude to Qiao Yan’s campaign against Liangzhou, it didn’t diminish his excitement upon receiving this task.

Fortunately, Fu Gan was always composed. He assured Qiao Yan that aside from delivering the letter, he wouldn’t engage in any unnecessary actions, nor would he let hatred cloud his judgment and meddle in matters concerning Han Sui and Ma Teng.

He was gone for half a month, and the lack of movement from Liangzhou didn’t unsettle Qiao Yan.

In this situation, the absence of any troop movements was actually a good sign.

Leaving Xun You idle for half a month allowed him to familiarize himself with Bingzhou’s internal situation and military distribution, making his subsequent strategic proposals more targeted.

Xun You was a smart man and naturally understood the intent behind Qiao Yan’s arrangement.

Thus, during these half a month, although he held the title of Shangdang Personnel Officer, he actually traveled through most of Bingzhou. Except for the fortress areas in Leping, which Xun You declined to visit on the grounds that he hadn’t yet earned any merit, he had a good grasp of everything he needed to know.

Now was the time to meet him.

When Xun You entered the governor’s study, he saw Qiao Yan sitting by the window, with two bowls of “snow mountains” on the table before her.

Bingzhou had “extorted” many cattle and sheep from the Xianbei, so the governor’s residence was well-stocked with dairy products. Earlier, Xi Zhicai had mentioned in his letters to Yingchuan the various delicacies Qiao Yan had concocted, and now she had come up with this “snow mountain.”

But to Qiao Yan, the “snow mountain” wasn’t particularly innovative, as a primitive version of ice cream had existed from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty.

Bingzhou’s winters were harsh, so storing ice in ice cellars wasn’t difficult. In summer, heating and pouring the milk mixture into a mountain shape, then freezing it in the ice cellar, created the “snow mountain.”

Though for the sake of decorum, she should have been sipping tea with bamboo outside the window, Qiao Yan decided to indulge her own preferences.

What’s wrong with a leader having a fondness for ice cream in summer?

After all, she had plundered the cattle and sheep herself!

She gestured for Xun You to sit opposite her and asked, “You’ve been in Bingzhou for some time now. What do you think of it?”

Xun You, whose emotions were slow to surface, naturally didn’t show any surprise at the differences between this place and others beyond the Taihang Mountains. He simply replied, “I suddenly understand why Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia have sent fewer letters over the past two years.”

Because the strength Qiao Yan displayed in her campaign against Luoyang was just the tip of the iceberg compared to the changes that had spread from Leping throughout Bingzhou. Bingzhou already had too many things that couldn’t be fully revealed to the outside world.

To the common people who only saw the results without understanding the process, these changes simply made their lives better and gave them a sense of security in Bingzhou.

But for someone like Xun You, who delved deeper into issues, these accumulated advantages and innovations made Qiao Yan, the Governor of Bingzhou, all the more formidable. He couldn’t help but feel pity for those outside Bingzhou who were still immersed in power struggles.

Some had amassed such astonishing advantages and were still forging ahead, while others…

Following Qiao Yan’s gesture, he tasted the “snow mountain” and found that it had a hint of green tea flavor, making it a different form of tea tasting. The slight bitterness and coolness brought his thoughts back.

Then he heard Qiao Yan ask, “Now that you know the situation in Bingzhou, what advice do you have for me?”

Xun You had already prepared his response and didn’t hesitate to reply, “I suggest that by next spring, you advance your troops to the Shegu Mountain line and establish military farms east of the Ni River.”