Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne? Volume 5: The Han Divided, Battles Settle West of the River – Chapter 154: The Firestone Army Garrison

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Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 154: The Firestone Army Garrison

However, in this decree, it wasn’t just the Southern Xiongnu who came to Gaoping.

The complete instructions given to them were:

To escort the second batch of military provisions and high-quality seeds for planting near Gaoping City, all to be delivered here.

With over twenty thousand troops on the march, the initial supply of grain carts was insufficient, so Bingzhou had already prepared backup transportation.

Now that Qiao Yan had issued her orders, Liang Zhongning, who was overseeing the escort of the provisions, made a detour to Meiji City while passing through Xihe Commandery, picking up both the Left Guli Wang and Yufuluo.

Yufulro adapted relatively well to this conscription.

He had been conscripted by the Han Dynasty before.

Back then, he was sent to Youzhou and Ji Province to quell the rebellion of Zhang Ju in Yuyang, but now he was being sent to Liangzhou.

Earlier, when Qiao Yan requisitioned Huchuquan to farm in Ziwuling, Yufuluo, as his elder brother, couldn’t help but feel uneasy, wondering if he had somehow offended Qiao Yan. After all, her rise to power as the Governor of Bingzhou occurred while he was away assisting in military operations, and he might have missed something important.

Now that he finally had a task assigned to him, and it was merely ensuring that the provisions were safely transported from Bingzhou to Gaoping City without being hijacked, Yufuluo finally felt relieved.

To be honest, compared to fighting against Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun, escorting provisions was much safer.

As they traveled through the Jing River Valley, perhaps due to the proximity of the mountains on either side, they occasionally saw the corpses of Qiang people lying on the ground, making the journey so peaceful that Yufuluo felt like he was on a picnic.

Just as he thought this, he heard the Left Guli Wang beside him whisper, “Do you think the Governor of Bingzhou called us here to make an example of us?”

Before Yufuluo could respond, the Left Guli Wang continued, “Why would she need to warn me with the Liangzhou Qiang? I did have some thoughts about relying on the Xiongnu to invade and seize power, hoping to make the Southern Xiongnu completely independent. But she first warned me with the heads of the Xiongnu, then scared me with the plight of the Xianbei. How could I still have such thoughts?”

He angrily said, “I’ve almost given up all my personal property!”

The position of Left Guli Wang is only second to the Left and Right Wise Kings, and he could even appoint his own subordinates. To end up like this was truly unique.

Yufuluo felt that if he wasn’t mistaken, there was almost a sob in the guy’s voice.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be angry at the dangerous thoughts the guy had or to feel sympathy for his current pitiful state.

Then the Left Guli Wang said, “Do you think there’s a possibility that this time, we’re not the monkeys being warned by killing the chicken, but the chickens being killed?”

“Tuoli, watch your words!” Yufuluo quickly interrupted him.

Fortunately, the Left Guli Wang’s earlier complaints were not loud and were spoken in Xiongnu. Yufuluo glanced at Liang Zhongning in the team, who seemed unaware that Tuoli’s words were malicious speculations about the Governor of Bingzhou, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“Watching my words won’t help…” Tuoli muttered, “The eagle has already been plucked bare.”

Tuoli’s name meant “flying eagle” in Xiongnu, so his metaphor was quite vivid.

But Yufuluo couldn’t praise his apt analogy now. Instead, he sternly said, “Huyan Tuoli, if you keep talking like this when we reach Gaoping City, I won’t be able to protect you.”

With this rebuke, the Left Guli Wang finally quieted down.

In fact, his complaints were only dared to be spoken among his own people. When he actually met Qiao Yan in Gaoping, he immediately fell silent, transforming from an eagle into a quail.

He even praised Qiao Yan’s martial prowess, mentioning the “battlefields” he had seen along the river valley.

Qiao Yan gave him a half-smile.

She really wanted to tell this fool that soldiers like Liang Zhongning, stationed in Wuyuan to guard against the Hu people, had learned a bit of Xiongnu for emergencies.

Although Liang Zhongning was originally a Yellow Turban Commander, he had a knack for languages and had clearly heard the conversation between Tuoli and Yufuluo on the road.

But she hadn’t called him here to be a monkey or a chicken, nor to give him the head of a Qiang leader as a new wine cup, so she didn’t bother to reprimand him for his inappropriate words.

In any case, the Southern Xiongnu, now under her command, were here to show the surrounding Qiang people an attitude.

She had told Han Sui that she was paying homage to Duan Jiong, planning to fight at Fengyi Mountain, and would implement a policy of total annihilation. But if she really used all her forces to exterminate the Qiang, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

So after the initial shock and slaughter, it was time to use some of them.

As for how to use them? The Southern Xiongnu were suitable representatives.

After delivering the provisions, some of the Southern Xiongnu, apart from the five hundred who continued to escort the provisions, were assigned by Qiao Yan to sweep the surrounding tribes, while others were sent to farm at Huo Shizhai.

Yufuluo was in the former group, while Tuoli was in the latter.

Hearing that he only needed to switch from being exploited in Meiji City to farming near Gaoping City, Tuoli finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His gaze swept over the heads of the Qiang leaders on the city wall, feeling that not taking up arms against Qiao Yan might have been the smartest thing he had ever done.

Comparing the danger of his task with Yufuluo’s, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority.

So he “kindly” reminded, “I’ve heard that the Qiang are fierce warriors who consider dying in battle an honor and dying of illness a disgrace. You’d better be careful, Yufuluo.”

Yufuluo pointed to the blood-stained land outside Gaoping City and said, “If the Qiang were truly invincible, it wouldn’t look like this. The Han army is in high spirits, and one more or less of me won’t make a difference. Instead of worrying about my safety, you should worry about whether you’ve been getting lazier over the years. If you can’t even be useful for farming, that would be a real joke.”

“…” Tuoli decided to shut up.

He looked at his hands, which had lost some weight due to recent fright but were still plump, and felt that Yufuluo might be right.

He should probably ask the garrison soldiers under Qiao Yan how to farm.

If he remembered correctly, Qiao Yan had come up with quite a few new tricks in Bingzhou?

Yufuluo didn’t bother with what Tuoli planned to do and instead focused on his own task.

By the time these Southern Xiongnu arrived at Gaoping City, the agreed battle time with Han Sui had already passed.

This meant that, based on the information Qiao Yan had received, Han Sui had ultimately abandoned a direct confrontation at Fengyi Mountain, choosing instead to wait for her to attack Jincheng and then use the geographical advantage to repel her.

During the waiting period, Huangfu Song’s troops had also moved from Chaona City to Gaoping City.

When the agreed time at Fengyi Mountain arrived and Han Sui didn’t show, these two fierce armies set out the next day.

In just one day, one army slaughtered the nearby Fengyang Qiang, while the other dealt with the Fenghe Qiang, their decisiveness and ruthlessness shocking everyone.

These two Qiang tribes were located west of Gaoping City, having migrated east after being defeated by the Han army in Hanyang during the Jianchu era.

In recent decades, they had repeatedly participated in the Western Qiang uprisings, often following the Xianling Qiang, and after the Xianling Qiang’s collapse, they developed independently.

During Han Sui’s leadership of the Qiang rebels, these two tribes had participated to some extent, acting as responsive forces scattered within Anding Commandery.

It was this tendency that made them targets for elimination after Han Sui refused the battle invitation.

This was undoubtedly a signal Qiao Yan was sending out:

Han Sui was cowardly, not daring to counterattack after she had taken Gaoping City, despite his leadership of the Qiang. Instead, he remained holed up in Yuzhong and Jincheng, so she would have to clear the path to Yuzhong herself!

With the Fengyang and Fenghe Qiang blocking the way, their only fate was to be wiped out!

The combined five to six thousand members of these two tribes were not spared, and only the horses, cattle, and sheep they raised were driven towards Gaoping City by the Han army.

When the news spread, the surrounding Qiang tribes cursed Han Sui while also fearing Qiao Yan’s methods.

If she truly intended to exterminate them, under the threat of her formidable army, they could either unite and, with their combined numbers and a desperate situation, perhaps have a chance to turn the tide, or they could choose to flee far away, escaping through Hanyang Commandery to Longxi Commandery.

“Is there another possibility?” A voice emerged from the participants of this simple meeting.

“What do you mean?” The elder at the head looked at the speaker and asked.

The one asking about other possibilities was a girl in her early twenties. Seeing everyone looking at her, she said, “A few days ago, I saw many grain carts being escorted by people dressed like Xiongnu on the mountain. Perhaps this Governor Qiao is different from Duan Jiong.”

The elder frowned, “Yao Chang, don’t forget that you are a Shaodang Qiang just because you claim to be a descendant of Emperor Shun and changed your surname to Yao. Don’t have unrealistic expectations of these Han people.”

The Shaodang Qiang had mostly submitted to the Han Dynasty during Emperor He’s reign, settling in Longxi, Hanyang, and Anding, with a branch near Gaoping. This was the branch to which the girl called Yao Chang belonged.

They were indeed different from the Zhong Qiang, Fengyang Qiang, and Fenghe Qiang that Qiao Yan had attacked.

Because they generally had a good relationship with the local Han government, they mostly settled in relatively fertile lands, engaging in agriculture in addition to the Qiang’s usual nomadic lifestyle.

Because of this lifestyle, their intelligence network was more developed than other Qiang tribes.

Yao Chang had heard much about the Governor of Bingzhou. In her view, if Qiao Yan truly followed Duan Jiong’s methods, the Southern Xiongnu in Xihe Commandery would have been eliminated long ago.

After all, Duan Jiong’s famous quote was: “To let the surrendered live among us is like planting thorns in fertile fields and raising vipers in one’s home.”

He meant that even if the Qiang were dispersed to live among the Han, they would inevitably cause trouble, so it was better to kill them all.

If Qiao Yan didn’t entirely follow Duan Jiong’s methods, and at this time…





The Xiongnu were conscripted to this battlefield, which seemed like a somewhat subtle signal.

She met the gaze of her superior with a firm tone, replying, “I naturally won’t forget my identity, but I want to give it a try. You can rest assured, I will only lead those from my own ranks who are willing to support this move. If it fails, it won’t affect you!”

The youth of the Shaodang Qiang, though skilled in herding and farming, also adhered to the fierce martial traditions of Liangzhou, where even women carried spears and bows.

Yao Chang was no exception.

After finishing her argument with the elder, she took a dozen or so companions she had convinced and headed straight for Gaoping City.

However, before she reached the city, she happened to see Yufuluo and his men leaving Gaoping with a small group.

She had originally intended to confront the Prefect of Bingzhou directly, but upon seeing this, she changed her mind.

Rather than going empty-handed, it would be better to bring a hostage.

Yufuluo would never have imagined that while he was just trying to scout the area before executing Qiao Yan’s task, he would suddenly fall victim to misfortune.

This campaign against the Qiang was not as simple as he had told Tuoli.

Qiao Yan had given him another instruction: he needed to select a few tribes from the Qiang she had already screened to cooperate with Chu Yan in capturing rather than exterminating them.

Yufuluo thought that since he had finally been entrusted by the Prefect of Bingzhou, he should excel in this task. It would prove that as the next Southern Xiongnu Chanyu, he could serve Qiao Yan diligently and reliably, at least more so than someone like Huyan Tuoli. So before the official campaign, he might as well scout the surrounding areas.

However, as soon as he entered the mountains, both he and his horse stumbled, fell, and he passed out.

When he woke up, he found himself and his companions tightly bound, while the mastermind behind the ambush, a Qiang woman with a bow and knife, was shouting towards Gaoping City, “If Prefect Qiao needs someone to dispatch, why use such useless trash! Consider me instead!”

Qiao Yan, having been informed of the situation, climbed the city wall and looked down.

The Qiang woman below had deep-set eyes, a somewhat cold beauty, but what Qiao Yan admired more was the strength and confidence exuded from her horseback stance with a knife.

And—

Her self-recommendation at this moment.

What a clever person indeed!

“So, my lord, where do you plan to place her?” Cheng Yu asked as he followed Qiao Yan up the Liupan Mountain.

Qiao Yan replied, “No rush, we’ll decide when we officially engage Han Sui. I actually prefer to keep her in Liangzhou rather than Bingzhou, preferably with a legitimate status.”

The Han government had a principle in governing Liangzhou: let the local strongmen govern Liangzhou.

Although the Three Mutual Laws would transfer strongmen from one commandery to another, there was no doubt that with this status and their connections, they could effectively control the local Qiang forces.

But in later years, the lack of capable talents among the strongmen or the frequent rebellions of the Qiang made this control relationship disappear, leading to a state of complete chaos.

Some things couldn’t be said to others, but to subordinates like Cheng Yu who understood her ambitions, she could speak freely.

For example, Cheng Yu knew that her campaign against Liangzhou wasn’t to fight Dong Zhuo or to bring back Emperor Liu Xie, but simply to seize an opportunity to take control of Liangzhou.

Thus, it wasn’t just about quelling the rebellions in Liangzhou, but also about how to govern it.

This was a different proposition from Bingzhou.

In Bingzhou, apart from Xihe Commandery, the other commanderies, though harassed by the Qiang, were still predominantly Han. But in Liangzhou, the Qiang were mixed everywhere, like mixing black and white sesame seeds, making it difficult to separate them quickly.

Rather than relying on strongmen, Qiao Yan preferred the idea of using the Qiang to govern the Qiang, in addition to appointing her own people.

Thus, a Qiang leader was necessary.

The first to pledge allegiance to her, Yao Chang, was worth observing further.

But since her plan couldn’t be implemented immediately, Yao Chang and her tribe were first settled in the mountainous farmland area of Huo Shizhai, engaging in farming alongside the recruited Han people, utilizing the Shaodang Qiang’s expertise.

Considering Yao Chang’s self-recommendation set her apart, Qiao Yan gave her a minor leadership position to further assess her character.

As Qiao Yan looked down from the heights towards the farmland, she saw the fields, already cultivated by the Zhong Qiang, further improved and expanded.

Amidst the rolling hills, this relatively flat area appeared even more fertile.

Given the local climate and planting conditions, Qiao Yan decided on three crops to plant here—

Sesame, broad beans, and wheat.

This would be the military settlement of Huo Shizhai.

The reason it was still called Huo Shizhai wasn’t because it was within the range of the future Huo Shizhai Nature Reserve.

Geographically, it leaned more towards the eastern side of the broader Liupan Mountain range.

But when Qiao Yan looked west, she saw the distant mountains, still hazy, displaying a mix of dark red and green, as if scorched.

This unique Danxia landform, combined with the sunset, created a distinctive landscape in central Liangzhou, and gave the mountain settlement its name.

These mountains, in the early Yuan dynasty, became a necessary passage on the northern route of the eastern Silk Road.

But now, the mountains were mostly undeveloped, and traveling towards Yuzhong wouldn’t pass through them.

Qiao Yan withdrew her gaze, temporarily setting aside her plans for the future, and said to Cheng Yu, “Let’s head down.”

As they reached the farmland below the mountainside, she paused for a moment.

Perhaps because most people have a fondness for farming, even though the land was still being plowed and no seeds had been sown, she felt a sense of peace amidst the laborious expedition.

Even if she wouldn’t stretch the campaign to wait for the harvest.

Cheng Yu couldn’t help but tease, “Han Sui must be very confused. My lord issued him a challenge, but now you’re farming in Anding Commandery.”

Qiao Yan turned to her longest-serving strategist and said, “You should know, I never farm without aiming for greater gains.”

This was indeed Qiao Yan’s style, and Cheng Yu had witnessed it from the beginning.

She grew mustard greens in the capital to lower Emperor Ling’s guard, ensuring no changes in her noble status before reaching Leping.

She farmed in Leping to accumulate the first batch of popular support and grain reserves, gaining the capital to recruit followers.

She promoted farming tools and methods in Bingzhou, establishing military settlements in Baidao Chuan to ensure sufficient military provisions for the campaign against Dong Zhuo and the advance into Liangzhou.

Thus, farming in the Liupan Mountain area of Liangzhou was clearly not a temporary measure while planning the attack on Yuzhong!

What she was plotting would give Han Sui a headache!

Moreover, staying in Gaoping, who was really the most troubled? Han Sui?

Probably…

Just as she thought this, a familiar voice from the farmland interrupted her thoughts.

She walked a few steps towards the direction of the voice and realized it was the Left Guli Wang of the Southern Xiongnu.

No wonder his Chinese sounded a bit odd.

Recalling his words on the way to Gaoping City, Qiao Yan decided to listen to what he was saying, treating it as a bit of entertainment.

As they walked further, they saw who the Left Guli Wang was talking to.

It was the Shaodang Qiang who had surrendered to her under Yao Chang’s persuasion, avoiding extermination.

For these Qiang, it was still somewhat difficult for Qiao Yan to shake off the label of cruelty.

Although Qiao Yan had temporarily settled them here and didn’t seem to hold any prejudice, out of a sense of kinship, they felt more connected to the Southern Xiongnu working alongside them.

Seeing that Tuoli, nominally a high-ranking Southern Xiongnu, was so approachable, they considered him a brother.

During a farming break, they chatted with him.

The Southern Xiongnu grain delivery team had brought not only seeds but also farming tools.

A Shaodang Qiang tribesman, holding a curved plow, asked Tuoli, “Can this curved plow really double the land yield as Prefect Qiao said?”

Even if it achieved deep plowing, it shouldn’t be that much.

But this question… asking anyone else would be fine, but asking Tuoli was a bit off.

After all, his farming skills were learned just a few days ago; he was no expert.

But realizing he didn’t have to be the “chicken” or “monkey” made as an example, he felt relieved. Now being seen as a mentor by these Qiang, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

Comparing himself to the unlucky Yufuluo, who had been taken hostage by Yao Chang, Tuoli felt that being held at gunpoint by Qiao Yan wasn’t so bad.

After all, not many people targeted by the Prefect of Bingzhou survived this long.

This was a unique treatment!

Thinking this, he decided to bluff.

Recalling what he had heard from the Han people a few days ago, he replied, “Of course not, you need to add bone meal as base fertilizer before sowing, and then apply two special fertilizers after sowing.”

The Qiang in front of him nodded somewhat understandingly and asked, “What is bone meal?”

“…” Tuoli awkwardly realized he hadn’t asked others about this either.

Back in Xihe Commandery, only those dedicated to farming would engage with the new farming methods issued by the prefecture.

He was just responsible for eating!

But to maintain a reliable image in front of these “brothers,” he couldn’t be stumped by such a seemingly simple question!

He had an idea and motioned for them to come closer, whispering, “Why do you think the lord killed so many Qiang and cremated them according to Qiang customs?”

Not far away, Qiao Yan paused in her steps.