Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: Two Provinces, Tiger’s Roar, Silk Road Reopens Chapter 167: One City, Two Belts

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Can a strategist not ascend the throne?

Chapter 167: One City, Two Belts

Jing Province, which stretches east to the Jianghan region and west to Bashu, is truly a fertile land in today’s world.

Jia Xu deeply understands Qiao Yan’s current situation.

Even if she plans to shed her identity as a lone loyalist of the Han Dynasty to compete, this is not a territory that will be quickly incorporated into her domain.

However, most of the counties under Jing Province are wealthy, and the main road north leads directly to Luoyang and Chang’an. The Yangtze River waterway also provides opportunities to move up to Bashu and down to the southeast. The geographical location and conditions are simply too advantageous.

Such a place, if not taken by oneself, must at least be managed by someone trustworthy.

At the very least, it cannot fall into the hands of someone both ambitious and capable.

“Actually, Liang Province’s geographical location isn’t bad either, right?”

Qiao Yan’s gaze fell on the map of the Han Dynasty’s territory before her. She first looked at Jing Province, where Jia Xu was about to influence the battle situation. Considering the stronger agricultural advantages of Jing Province compared to other regions in this generally colder environment, she then shifted her gaze back to Liang Province’s land, inevitably feeling a bit nostalgic.

Cheng Yu couldn’t help but feel that Qiao Yan’s words carried a hint of self-comfort.

Liang Province, once the gateway to the Silk Road, connected Bingzhou, Sanfu, Yizhou, and the northwestern regions. However, in the face of Qiang rebellions and local warlords, it’s hard to say how much of its former glory remains.

From the perspective of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, the benefits from the Silk Road were minimal, while the financial expenditures on quelling Qiang uprisings were substantial, even crippling the Han Dynasty’s finances.

Fortunately, the phase requiring the most military expenditure in Liang Province has passed. The military deterrence left by the “Three Bright Stars of Liang Province” can be directly inherited by Qiao Yan, allowing her to quickly establish her position.

If not for this, she wouldn’t have chosen this place at all.

One can only say, thank the legacy left by Emperors Huan and Ling.

Within a month of quelling the rebellions of Ma Teng and Han Sui, the scattered armed resistance forces had also entered the final stages of pacification.

Lü Bu and Qu Yi moved north to Wuwei, using the military camp at Aowei City as a base to expand their influence.

Qu Yan and Fu Gan ventured deep into Huangzhong to ensure that the area west of Jincheng Commandery, protected by river valleys, was free of remnants of Han Sui’s forces and Qiang tribes.

Ma Chao, Yang Feng, and Gai Xun entered Wudu Commandery to suppress the rebellion.

Since Gai Xun was previously the Prefect of Wudu Commandery and held high prestige in Liang Province, even without an official appointment from the court, it didn’t hinder him from returning to this position. With the Ma family’s troops stationed in Longxi Commandery, he directly entered Wudu to consolidate power.

The Qiang forces led by Yao Chang and the local magnates represented by Jiang Jiao, after weighing the military capabilities of Qiao Yan’s forces, chose to submit to her, centered around Gaoping City in Hanyang and Anding Commandery.

As for Beidi Commandery, it goes without saying.

The Southern Xiongnu’s Huchuquan, stationed west of Ziwu Ridge, seeing Qiao Yan’s smooth progress in Liang Province without any signs of an outsider’s clumsiness, felt both deeper awe and a sense that he couldn’t be like his brother, who was captured by a Qiang woman while on patrol. He decided to contribute by leading his troops north to expand their territory.

By the time Liu Yu arrived, although there were still some details to negotiate, Qiao Yan’s forces had essentially occupied seven commanderies of Liang Province, with only Dunhuang, Jiuquan, and Zhangye remaining.

But just as the Yang family of Jiuquan sent Yang Feng to her side, as long as she could station troops in Wuwei Commandery, she need not worry about the other three isolated commanderies causing trouble.

At this stage, while she was still cautiously defeating Dong Zhuo, it wasn’t suitable to extend her influence to Dunhuang.

But the current scope was sufficient.

The territory of these seven commanderies was almost equivalent to the size of Bingzhou, which she originally controlled.

This meant that her expedition to Liang Province had doubled her territory!

Even though she relied on Huangfu Song’s forces, fundamentally, the leader of this pacification campaign determined the ownership of the territory.

It was hers!

While Yuan Shao’s Qingzhou and Ji Province still had a small emperor in Ye City and the small court relocated from Luoyang, Qiao Yan possessed a realm where she could fully unleash her potential.

Moreover, since she had no plans to replace all the prefects in Liang Province with her own people within the next two years, as long as she could smoothly tap into Liang Province’s human and material resources, having Liu Yu and Huangfu Song by her side was not a problem at all.

Her current top priority was to delineate the land in Liang Province suitable for military and civilian settlements.

Only by defining these areas could she ensure that Liang Province’s military expeditions no longer relied solely on grain supplies from Bingzhou and could eventually become self-sufficient.

Cheng Yu, hearing Qiao Yan’s comment about Liang Province’s geographical location, said, “Jincheng and Wuwei are quite good.”

Among the seven commanderies of Liang Province, although the area around Gaoping City in Anding Commandery had established military settlements like Huo Shizhai, geographically, it was a strategic location for building cities outside the pass, but not the most optimal for agriculture.

The two places Qiao Yan mentioned were.

The agricultural areas in Liang Province were mainly distributed in the Jing River Valley, downstream of the Ni River, the Qingshui River basin, the Wei River basin, the Yellow River basin in Jincheng, and other areas fed by snowmelt from the mountains.

Limited by mountainous terrain and valleys, these areas were scattered rather than forming continuous belts.

Large river valley basins like Jincheng and Yuzhong were rare treasures.

The civilian-owned farmland originally distributed in these agricultural areas couldn’t be reclaimed by her, and areas reserved for military routes were unsuitable for extensive cultivation. Thus, the options were quite limited.

First, thanks to Han Sui’s prior occupation, Jincheng was now available.

The natural irrigation conditions, defensive terrain, and exclusivity after Han Sui’s cleanup made this place almost like another Leping.

This was also Qiao Yan’s first choice for military settlements.

But even Jincheng couldn’t compare to Wuwei.

If modern people think of Wuwei, nine out of ten would probably think of the Tengger Desert.

However, in the late Han Dynasty, although Wuwei had sandstorms, it was far from the extent seen in later generations.

Snowmelt from the Qilian Mountains converged into the Lu River, flowing northwest towards Duye, also known as Xiutuze. The oasis belt along this route passed through Luan Niao, Guzang, Xuanwei, and Wuwei counties, forming a green barrier between Wuwei and Zhangye.

If she could transform this area into her military settlement, it would be equivalent to holding Liang Province’s second strategic point after Gaoping.

The changes in later dynasties also proved the importance of this place, making Wuwei’s Guzang the capital of six dynasties.

Cheng Yu watched as Qiao Yan marked this belt and the one in Jincheng with special emphasis.

“Zhongde, this will be our focus for development in the next year.”








The former is mainly military settlements, which are private training grounds sheltered by Kuiyuan Gorge, echoing the military settlements within Bingzhou. Additionally, the salt deposits west of Huangzhong are retrieved periodically by soldiers and local clan militias, stored here. How to secure this place tightly requires your diligent attention.

If Cheng Yu hadn’t managed internal affairs in Bingzhou in recent years, he might not have dared to agree so readily.

Seeing Qiao Yan’s gaze, even if she said nothing, Cheng Yu understood the importance of this trust, knowing the consequences if this place were seized by outsiders or internal chaos erupted.

With ample political experience, Cheng Yu decisively replied, “Rest assured, my lord.”

Qiao Yan knew Cheng Yu wouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep and continued, “The latter is mainly civilian settlements, used to recruit the Qiang people from Lushui, the three western counties of Hexi, and to relocate the mixed and troublesome populations within Liangzhou.”

Although she wasn’t in a hurry to push her armed forces to Liangzhou’s borders—indeed, she couldn’t due to the distance—she saw potential in using Bingzhou’s systematic farming techniques to manage agriculture in Wuwei, creating population aggregation, diversion, and assimilation.

This was also a territory she intended to use to demonstrate her stable governance of Liangzhou to Liu Yu and Huangfu Song.

Only by managing this line properly would she have the opportunity to expand further northwest.

Thus, in her letter to Xi Zhicai, Qiao Yan mentioned that after the autumn harvest, Bingzhou needed to send some technical talents to Liangzhou to fill her “one city, two belts, multiple points” settlement and stabilization plan.

One city: Gaoping City.

Two belts: Jincheng River Valley Basin Belt and Wuwei Lushui Green Belt.

Multiple points—

The local clans intimidated by Qiao Yan’s military actions in Liangzhou, except for the distant Jiuquan, which sent a useful talent, handed over parts of their lands in Anding and Hanyang.

These were the scattered territories she owned within Liangzhou.

Compared to the lands actually occupied by the powerful clans, these were just a drop in the bucket, but Qiao Yan knew where the main contradiction lay. To govern Liangzhou, she still had to deal with them, and the best move now was to know when to stop.

Some of these scattered lands were handed over to the Qiang tribes who had pledged allegiance to her, paying taxes in the manner of Bingzhou, while others were given to Xu Shu, who had come from Bingzhou.

During the winter, Xu Shu used the psychological threat of the Xianbei people stationed near Han Fu to make the Du Liao General flee his post.

After Han Fu was officially stripped of his authority by Qiao Yan, Xu Shu took over the command of the Du Liao General’s camp.

But with the complete defensive line of Shuofang County, Guyang Road, Baidaochuan, and Yanmen in Bingzhou, the Du Liao General’s camp was no longer necessary. It was better to directly deploy these troops to Liangzhou, becoming a scattered yet quickly assemblable force in various counties.

“I entrust this task to you, and you should understand its meaning,” Qiao Yan said when she specially called Xu Shu for a talk after he arrived in Liangzhou.

They, along with their close followers, traveled north along the Yinma River to the Yellow River.

With the followers retreating at Qiao Yan’s signal and the roaring Yellow River as a barrier, this was a conversation known only to heaven, earth, and the two of them.

Xu Shu suddenly felt a subtle familiarity with the scene.

The conversation outside Quzhou City in Ji Province six years ago seemed similar yet different.

Back then, Qiao Yan had asked him a question—

Does the word ‘life’ merely mean having a breath left?

He said he would tell her after he figured out the answer, giving him a reason to continue following her.

In the six years in Bingzhou, he might have found the answer.

Qiao Yan had also gradually grounded the compassion she couldn’t spare for the weak in every step she took.

But he still didn’t intend to answer.

Because in the evolution of Bingzhou, and even today’s Liangzhou, the answer might change with the ruler’s actions.

Amid the roaring river, Qiao Yan’s voice still clearly reached his ears: “Like Zhongde, your position among my followers is irreplaceable. I hope you can follow in his footsteps until I need both hands to move forward. Do you understand?”

Xu Shu was smart and wouldn’t miss the underlying message.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Qiao Yan started educating him, who had volunteered to serve, and handed him over to Cheng Yu for cultivation. Even during the management of Leping, they maintained a teacher-student relationship. Now in Liangzhou, Cheng Yu still handled major affairs while Xu Shu managed minor ones—

But this didn’t mean Qiao Yan wanted them to remain in a teacher-student relationship, always constrained by hierarchy, only following in their predecessors’ footsteps!

Instead, she hoped that loyal confidants like Cheng Yu and Xu Shu, unburdened by family ties, would form a complete channel for advancement, able to stand independently when she needed a full-scale attack.

Xu Shu, with his wandering knight experience and martial arts for self-defense, had the same expectations as Cheng Yu.

Both as generals and strategists.

He was about to dismount and bow in thanks when Qiao Yan stopped him with her whip, “Just understand. So, I hope you do one thing well. When Mengqi and Boyang assisted Gai Yuangu in taking Wudu, the three powerful clans of Li, Wang, and Jiang handed over some lands. I want you to manage these lands properly. Whether you can be my other hand depends on this. Do you understand?”

The brilliance in her eyes made Xu Shu vaguely guess.

The Western Han River and Mian River in Wudu connect to Hanzhong, so the significance of managing Wudu needs no further explanation.

Hearing this order, for a moment, the roaring river seemed to echo the boiling of his blood.

He remained silent for a long time before calming down, then bowed to Qiao Yan, “Controlling the entire county from minor points, and under Gai’s watchful eyes, my lord has given me a challenge, but I am willing to accept it.”

Even though he grew up in Yingchuan, under the emperor’s shadow, so what?

From sixteen to twenty-two, following Qiao Yan, his rich experiences showed him the imminent collapse of the Han Dynasty with no way to turn it around.

Looking at the world, only the Governor of Bingzhou cares about the people’s needs and has the ability to act!

Even if it means rebellion, so be it!

“Let’s go,” Qiao Yan pointed to the ferry on the river, interrupting Xu Shu’s thoughts, “Before we go, accompany me to Wuwei Commandery.”

“They say you gain something from traveling thousands of miles, so let’s see the scenery of the northwest Silk Road!”