Chapter 182

Chapter 182

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: Two Provinces Stand Strong, the Silk Road Reopens Chapter 182: Return to Liangzhou

The book it belongs to:


Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 182: Return to Liangzhou…

The rich collection of books and comprehensive education displayed by Leping made people, even knowing there was a trap, jump into it willingly.

In fact, the cultural invasion Qiao Yan truly wanted to achieve through the Leping Monthly Report couldn’t reach the expected effect as the production of the monthly report hadn’t expanded further.

Cai Zhaoji’s compilation of the monthly report content was still in the process of adaptation.

But undoubtedly, these handwritten reports had already strongly showcased the spiritual outlook of Leping to those who could obtain them.

People with a bit of foresight would realize that students cultivated in such an environment would inevitably show much higher adaptability to the turbulent society than others.

Not to mention someone like Xun Yu, whom He Yong called a “Talent to Assist a King.”

Although he himself still wanted to observe the situation in various provinces across the Central Plains and planned to look elsewhere, he had already seen the current situation in Xuzhou clearly.

Tao Qian was no mediocrity, but he wasn’t someone who could survive for long under high pressure in a tight spot.

Xuzhou would eventually be dragged into the mutual annexation battles due to the Son of Heaven’s weakening power and the rising power of the feudal lords, becoming a place of trouble.

If the various hidden dangers under Tao Qian’s command erupted one after another, he would only suffer greatly.

Then, the most suitable place for Zhuge Liang to grow and learn was Bingzhou.

Better go to Bingzhou!

He had a plan in mind for how to persuade Zhuge Liang’s uncle.

Zhuge Xuan, who resolutely resigned from his original position after his brother’s death to come to Xuzhou to take care of the orphaned and widowed, was truly a man of filial piety and righteousness. His own opinions were not particularly strong, and he was easily influenced by others in judging the situation.

Out of trust in Xun Yu’s reference opinions and consideration for the future of his brother’s descendants, Zhuge Xuan would certainly accept the suggestion and take a few people to Leping.

Zhuge Liang also believed that Xun Yu could do this, so he only asked, “But where does the master plan to go?”

At this time, Zhuge Liang still couldn’t quite understand why Xun Yu didn’t plan to go to Leping as well, even though he had several friends in Bingzhou and often corresponded with them. With Xun Yu’s ability and ambition, he should no longer be idle.

But Xun Yu didn’t answer this question, just shook his head and turned the topic to today’s lecture.

Because he knew he wouldn’t stay in Xuzhou for long and was only teaching Zhuge Liang out of a desire not to see a young genius buried, the two didn’t refer to each other as master and disciple.

But perhaps for Zhuge Liang, this was a relationship that was more than master and disciple.

Meanwhile, in Bingzhou, Qiao Yan was paying special attention to the follow-up effects of the New Year gifts she had sent out while also courting several talents brought by Zheng Xuan.

The gifts sent to Liu Xie and Liu Bian, seemingly teasing and mocking, had their real significance behind them, and she had to ensure they were implemented.

The gifts of people and items sent to Cao Cao, Sun Ce, and Tao Qian were also to ensure that during her attack on Dong Zhuo this year, the situation in the Central Plains would remain under her control.

Counting it up, Liu Bei of the future Shu Han, who would be one of the three kingdoms, was in a better position now than in history, where he wandered around relying on others. Sitting in the position of Jinan Chancellor was equivalent to being a local prefect, with authority over both finance and military affairs.

But Jinan State belonged to Yanzhou, and once Cao Cao realized that the various governors and inspectors were continuously expanding their power and wanted to secure the position of Yanzhou Governor before planning further, he would inevitably clash with Liu Bei.

Not to mention the foreign generals and strategists under Cao Cao, the Cao and Xiahou families behind him had much deeper foundations than Liu Bei.

Zao Zhi, a talent who could assist Cao Cao in attracting refugees for land reclamation, had laid the groundwork for him a year earlier.

In this situation, if the two couldn’t tolerate each other, Liu Bei could only temporarily seek refuge with Yuan Shao to the north or Tao Qian to the east, still in a relatively passive environment, posing little threat to Qiao Yan.

If anything, Qiao Yan could also extend an olive branch to him, uniting with him under the name of rescuing Liu Xie and Lu Zhi in Chang’an.

But at least now wasn’t the right time for this, and it would be unnecessary.

Compared to Liu Bei, Cui Yan and Guo Yuan recommended by Zheng Xuan were more suitable for her at this time.

There is a small story about Cui Yan in “Shishuo Xinyu.”

It says that after Cao Cao unified the north, a Xiongnu envoy came to pay his respects. Cao Cao, feeling inferior due to his “short stature,” had Cui Yan pretend to be him to receive the Xiongnu envoy while he stood behind holding a sword. After the envoy left, he said that Cui Yan, pretending to be Cao Cao, indeed had a majestic appearance, but the one holding the sword behind looked like the real hero.

This is also the origin of the phrase “holding the sword for someone.”

But of course, this story is fabricated.

Not to mention whether Cao Cao’s temperament would think his appearance would affect his evaluation, the timing of this story is also incorrect.

This event is said to have taken place in the 21st year of Jian’an, when Cao Cao received the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Luanti Huchuquan, the one Qiao Yan sent to Ziwuling to farm. But it was also in this year that Cao Cao imprisoned Cui Yan for allegedly alluding to himself in a letter to Yang Xun and soon ordered him to commit suicide, making it impossible for Cao Cao to choose him as a substitute.

But anyway, “Shishuo Xinyu” has many fabricated stories, and it’s hard to say if this was meant to insinuate Cao Cao’s killing of Cui Yan.

Only one thing in the story is correct—Cui Yan’s appearance and moral integrity were both impeccable.

It must be said that those with the character “Yan” in their names in the late Eastern Han Dynasty were quite capable.

Qiao Yan unambiguously included herself in the praise and then assigned Cui Yan the position of Inspector.

As she told Cui Yan, “Ji Gui has the integrity of a pine tree, his words are firm and strong, inspiring people to uphold their reputation and act accordingly. Now that I govern millions, I often fear my words and actions might cause harm, so I ask Ji Gui to assist me with what Zheng Gong has taught.”

The position of Inspector, responsible for supervision and impeachment, had not been established in Bingzhou before.

When the population of Bingzhou was simpler, the biggest conflict was actually in wars against foreign tribes, so having the various commandery officers and clerks perform supervisory duties was sufficient. But now, her subordinates included not only people from Bingzhou but also from Liangzhou, Yingchuan, Sili, and Ji Province, and the population was becoming increasingly complex.

Although the pontoon bridge at the Mengjin crossing had been dismantled, it didn’t stop people from various places from gradually seeing Bingzhou as their refuge.

Thus, the position of Inspector became necessary.

Cui Yan, with his strong temperament and love for straightforward advice, indeed had the insight and confidence to offer such advice. As Cui Yan’s fame among scholars grew, Qiao Bingzhou, who could accept his advice, also gained a positive reputation.

This was undoubtedly a mutual fulfillment.

Cui Yan immediately took up his post.

And his classmate Guo Yuan, after hearing Qiao Yan’s explanation of the planting progress in Bingzhou and Liangzhou, chose to follow Qiao Yan to Liangzhou.








This choice better suits Qiao Yan’s needs.

In Bingzhou, there is an entire agricultural team built around Qin Yu as the core. After several years of磨合, they are fully capable of adapting to Bingzhou’s operations. Now, all they face is a limited population increase and the subsequent need for farmland reclamation.

In Qiao Yan’s considerations, Bingzhou’s next top priority is to increase production, not personnel arrangements and expansion, etc.

This is not what Guo Yuan is good at.

In contrast, Liangzhou needs to统筹安排 the farmland of the Qiang and Han people,统筹 various military and civilian屯田 areas. The calculations required are quite complex, and the person in charge needs to have a good understanding of the issues involved.

Relying solely on Cheng Yu and Zhao Yun, who are in charge of屯田 in Jincheng Commandery and Wuwei Commandery, is not enough.

They also need to handle another issue, which is the conflicts between the Qiang and Han people during their governance in these two places, and even the troubles between different Qiang tribes.

Therefore, it’s best to establish a separate institution for numerical records.

For this purpose, Qiao Yan仿效 Cao Cao and Zao Zhi’s official positions, appointing Guo Yuan as the屯田校尉.

After交代完 this matter, Qiao Yan’s purpose for returning to Bingzhou was basically achieved.

The people of Bingzhou saw the州牧 who had出征 Liangzhou return safely, saw her inquire about the development progress of Bingzhou,延请郑玄 as a teacher for the Bingzhou Academy, further蒸蒸日上 the cultural industry of Bingzhou, and leave a new supervisor for the庶务 of various places in Bingzhou.

All these足以让 the民心 of Bingzhou安定下来, allowing her to return to Liangzhou without any worries.

Lu Xun, Lu Ji, Lu Lingju, Guo Huai, and others still need to continue their studies at Leping Academy. Those西凉豪强子弟 were also arranged to suitable旁听 positions as hostages in her hands. She only brought Guo Yuan and her亲随, heading back to Liangzhou in mid-February.

In February, Liangzhou is still freezing cold, with almost no signs of spring along the way. Even the泾水 they passed was frozen.

But when she arrived at Jincheng Commandery, the Qiang people who came to湟中 for winter and were accommodated here, due to the热火朝天气氛 of their work, made this place not seem so cold.

After巡视 the farmland planted with越冬油菜, Qiao Yan accompanied Cheng Yu to the last place and asked, “How many people finally passed the seven-day test and entered the外语办 to study?”

Among the five办事之地, the most important one for Qiao Yan is here.

This is not just about how many Qiang people she can teach in the first batch, but also关系到 the promotion of the Han language.

Relying solely on the disciples of Xun Shuang and Lu Zhi is not enough to cover the requirements of the entire Liangzhou.

These Qiang people who have learned the Han language are more aware of how to master a new language and can effectively optimize the learning process.

Cheng Yu replied, “More than 7,000 people participated in the报名, and finally, 800 were retained. But by March, only about 400 can achieve necessary functional conversations. To truly achieve smooth communication, it will take at least half a year.”

“According to君侯’s吩咐, these Qiang people studying here are ordered not to use the Qiang language for communication unless necessary, and they must go out to interact with Han people after completing their功课. This time may be shortened a bit.”

After盘算了一番, Qiao Yan replied, “Enough. If the progress here goes smoothly, courses for the Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei people in Bingzhou can also be开设起来了.”

In Liangzhou, as long as they can be deployed to corresponding positions before this year’s秋收, especially in the军队 composed of Qiang people, making them nodes for smooth communication and military orders, replacing the original独立为战 situation of Qiang tribes, it will be enough!

She glanced towards the外语办学堂方向 and then收回目光.

Although this is not like Leping Academy, which will be a十年栽培 plan, it also cannot be expected to change daily.

She turned to Guo Yuan and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take子尼 to see the situation in Liang州 first. Before春耕, I hope you can quickly adapt to the situation here and become my臂膀助力.”

Guo Yuan immediately agreed and followed Qiao Yan’s footsteps.

However, they did not notice that a姑娘 sitting by the window cast a careful打量 gaze towards them.

Before Qiao Yan returned to Bingzhou, Mi Tang had already passed the local考核 and became one of the students in the外语办.

When置身其中, she quickly realized that the对外宣传 of being able to eat and wear the same as the disciples of大儒 seems to be just the most微不足道 advantage.

The Han language courses they received started from the courses of the thirteen provinces of the Eastern Han.

Although Mi Tang happened to share the same name as one of the Qiang leaders, she had spent so many years facing how to raise牛羊, how to survive in恶劣 environments, and how to fight with common beasts on the荒原. This was the first time she saw such a广博天地.

It turns out that Liangzhou is just such a small part, and the area they lived in before is even more边缘.

She郑重地 wrote her name on the paper in front of her and heard the teacher in charge of the class talk about the origin of the Qiang people,思考着自己是不是也应该跟她见到过的姚嫦一样让自己有一个汉姓.

For example,姜.

This was a想法 that naturally萌生 after two months of Han language courses, but perhaps she was not the only one with this idea.

These fortunate Qiang people who received educational opportunities生出了模糊的传承概念 and naturally引申到了汉人的姓氏上.

It was also at this time that she heard the sound of交谈 from outside.

Although she couldn’t fully understand the content of their conversation, she understood a few sentences.

They were discussing when these 800 people could be put to use.

Mi Tang immediately looked out the window but only saw Qiao Yan’s departing背影.

She knew the differences in Han clothing and couldn’t help but guess that this must be the legendary Bingzhou牧.

She didn’t look like the传闻中力可搏虎气壮山河的样子, but even just seeing her背影, thinking that they were able to安然过冬 because of her, she felt a十足的安全感.

Thinking about her expectations for those who are learning the Han language, Mi Tang quickly refocused her attention on the课本 in front of her.

She needs to work harder! At least to have the ability to stand in front of her and自荐 like Yao Chang!

The smooth progress of the Qiang people’s learning courses is not the only good news Qiao Yan received in February.

At the end of February, Xu Rong and Ma Teng, who踏上丝绸之路, returned to Liangzhou.

They only needed to go as far as the Kushan Empire, not all the way to Rome, which大大节省了 the time spent on the road.

A round trip of four to five months was indeed enough.

Xu Rong,满面风尘, stepped into the武威郡郡治府衙 and said, “Xu Rong幸不辱命,替君侯将棉花种子带回来了.”

This was the first thing乔琰 had drawn on the图册 before his departure!