Chapter 184: Li Jue’s Thoughts
Some people remain heroes in their twilight years, their ambitions undiminished, while others simply resign themselves to aging.
Dong Zhuo clearly belongs to the latter group.
For those like Li Jue, who had pledged their loyalty to Dong Zhuo early on, this transformation is particularly tragic.
He had once been a local power in Liangzhou, joined the army, and expanded his influence with the hope of grasping a high position, all the way until he managed to reach a place just below the emperor.
Back then, Dong Zhuo had ambition and vision in abundance.
When they were rampaging in Luoyang, Li Jue felt incredibly fortunate to be following Dong Zhuo.
But now?
He listened dazedly as Dong Zhuo spoke, musing that Qiao Yan, being an experienced strategist, would never allow any vulnerabilities in their rear to exist, leaving them susceptible to attack.
And given her customary practice of launching campaigns in spring, no one could guarantee that while they sent out troops, Qiao Yan wouldn’t also advance towards Chang’an simultaneously.
If that happened, their retreat routes would be completely cut off, leaving them with no original options for retreat.
Theoretically, this statement held a bit of truth.
In the spring of the fifth year of Zhongping, Qiao Yan launched an attack against the Xianbei royal court.
In the spring of the sixth year, she sent out troops again to ensure the Xianbei wouldn’t invade anymore, deepening their fear of the Han.
In the spring of the second year of Guangxi, she attacked Gaoping City, slaughtering eight thousand Qiang.
In the spring of the third year of Guangxi, there was indeed a decent chance she would continue her military campaigns.
Yet, although Li Jue had gained the rank of Middle General under Dong Zhuo, he knew Dong Zhuo no better than anyone else when it came to understanding his plans.
Dong Zhuo’s hesitation to mobilize might stem from a strategic assessment of the situation, or it could just be cowardice—Li Jue could see it clearly.
Fear chilled Li Jue’s heart.
If the leader was in such a state, what would become of those following him?
Wait for Qiao Yan’s growing power to surround and annihilate them in Chang’an?
Or continue fleeing south into Yizhou and Jingzhou territories?
If Li Jue were the type to be comfortable with small gains, he might accept such an arrangement.
But after witnessing the casualties among the capable ones by Dong Zhuo’s side in the battle for Luoyang, he had grown dissatisfied.
Dong Zhuo’s aging state and the surrounding atmosphere of wealth but chilling neglect only intensified his feelings.
While he hadn’t expressed his anxious sentiments during their dealings, upon returning to his station at Gaoling, his expression fell immediately.
“If the Prime Minister wants to wait, his opponents aren’t going to let him wait in peace—what kind of situation is this?”
“At this rate, if the Prime Minister doesn’t act soon, we might as well pack up our bags ready to leave, or start preparing our funeral garments!”
His wife gasped in alarm, “What do you mean by that?”
Initially, she had thought Gaoling’s defense was rock-solid.
Ultimately, Dong Zhuo hadn’t followed Jia Xu’s advice to rotate the garrison; Li Jue remained at the helm at Gaoling, while his nephew Hu Feng was stationed in Chunhua.
In more than a year, the forces stationed in both places had expanded alongside Dong Zhuo’s military recruitment.
This augmentation brought her some sense of security.
So why were they now talking about preparing funeral garments?
Li Jue sighed, “The Prime Minister no longer wants to fight; he’s given up!”
His voice rose slightly, teeth clenched, “Doesn’t he realize that at his point, stepping back doesn’t mean seeking a peaceful retirement; it’s just a plummet from the heights to a miserable end?”
“—And we’ll go down with him!”
His wife, who had been confidently discussing their advantages at Gaoling and Chunhua, found herself at a loss for words in this dire situation.
Finally, she managed to squeeze out, “So… what should we do?”
Li Jue took the tea cup from his wife’s hand, gulped it down to soothe the turmoil in his chest, then voiced the conclusion he’d come to on the way, “The Prime Minister doesn’t want to fight, but I still do! So let’s take control of the troops from him!”
People generally don’t want to face death!
He had to fight for this.
But this wasn’t going to be an easy task.
He recognized Dong Zhuo’s shifting mindset, yet the soldiers commanded by Dong Zhuo wouldn’t simply take orders from him.
These men formed a military alliance around Dong Zhuo, not around Li Jue.
Rubbing his aching head, he turned to his wife, “What do you think? If we let my son Shishi marry the Prime Minister’s granddaughter, making us family, is there any chance…”
Li Shishi was his son, and Dong Bai was Dong Zhuo’s granddaughter, being of similar age.
If they could gain further trust from Dong Zhuo this way, it would indeed be a good move.
But before he could finish, his wife vehemently shot him down. “Don’t even think about it!”
“Let me tell you, even if you think you can gain the Prime Minister’s generals through family ties, don’t count on Shishi marrying Dong Bai. That girl has been spoiled by her grandfather; she’s hardly suitable. I’d say, send our daughter to the Prime Minister; you could at least have him as a father-in-law.”
“What nonsense are you talking about!” Li Jue’s expression turned dark.
“Oh, so you know I’m talking nonsense?” she retorted with a cold laugh. “Let me tell you, if you really think Shishi is going to be your tool for seizing power, don’t wait for the Bingzhou army to storm into Chang’an; I’ll take your son and leap off the Gaoling city wall right now.”
“Alright, enough of that! Stop making it worse for me…” Li Jue seized her hand, halting her from turning away, “Can’t I think of another way?”
His wife, who always pampered their son Li Shishi, showing such behavior was no surprise to him.
But with this path closed off, he couldn’t help but think he might not even need to involve Dong Zhuo.
Considering his own forces, he realized they were quite significant.
After Dong Zhuo’s older brother had died, and his younger sibling fell in battle, he was left only with his elderly mother, granddaughter, and Dong Huang, who led the imperial guards, with few relatives to support him.
Even Dong Huang had only replaced Fan Chou under Dong Zhuo’s suspicion, becoming the captain guarding the Palace City in Chang’an.
But Li Jue had a decent number of family members at his side.
He had two cousins, Li Ying and Li Huan, currently with him in Chang’an, plus two nephews, Li Li and Li Xia, of an age ready for battle, and a nephew, Hu Feng, whom Dong Zhuo had appointed as the cavalry commander at Chunhua.
If all these people led their own units… they really wouldn’t need to fear Dong Zhuo so much.
Li Jue thought to himself, if doom was truly imminent, would Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, Duan Wei, and the others genuinely remain loyal to Dong Zhuo?
And those because of the Liangzhou upheaval…
“So that’s why Yan Xing decided to join Dong Zhuo.”
That guy was all in because Dong Zhuo was the only one with a chance to strike back at Han Sui and get some revenge.
What would a young general with exceptional martial skills think if he found out that Dong Zhuo planned to abandon the counterattack?
And then there’s Jia Xu, always strategizing for Dong Zhuo, who must be sighing every time he hears about this decision.
If Li Jue remembered correctly, Jia Xu was only working for Dong Zhuo because he saw it as a chance to revitalize the Jia family in Wuwei. He even sacrificed his wife and children back in Bingzhou for Dong Zhuo’s plans.
But Dong Zhuo evidently let Jia Xu’s careful plotting go to waste.
Thinking about it, maybe even Jia Xu could be persuaded to switch sides!
Li Jue realized this and felt a flood of clarity wash over him.
However, he didn’t jump into action right away. He waited until Jia Xu was sent by Dong Zhuo to inspect various military camps and noticed him staring into space, puzzled as to why Dong Zhuo wasn’t following his plans, before he struck up a conversation.
“Mr. Wenhe, I hope it’s not too forward of me to ask you something. I think your plan to attack Bingzhou is quite feasible—”
Seeing Jia Xu soften his attitude with that line, Li Jue seized the moment, “Perhaps the Prime Minister believes Qiao Yan is unbeatable because of earlier failures in Luoyang and the recent defeats of Ma Teng and Han Sui. But at the end of the day, she’s just a small fry. Expecting one person to control two commanderies without a hitch? Even a deity couldn’t pull that off!”
Jia Xu asked, “What are you trying to say?”
“What I’m saying is, if we act first and present your brilliant plan to the Prime Minister, maybe he’ll come to his senses and take further action immediately. Why not give it a shot?”
Li Jue spoke earnestly, “We are all from Liangzhou; we can only rely on each other. We can’t let such a golden opportunity slip by! Even if the Prime Minister wants to blame me afterward, I’ll take it. It’s better than doing nothing and getting wiped out on the Guanzhong plains!”
As soon as he spoke, he locked eyes with Jia Xu, ready to act if any sign of hesitation appeared.
But all he saw was a flicker of interest in Jia Xu’s expression, quickly masked by a calm demeanor, as he finally said, “You’re a bit late.”
Li Jue blinked, confused, “Late for what?”
Jia Xu replied, “If you had said this earlier, I might have been able to help you out. You could achieve a victory without getting blamed by the Prime Minister. But now, it’s not possible.”
“You must have received reports from scouts on the Zhi Dao. A few days ago, the Governor of Bingzhou has people continuing to cultivate land in Shangjun and even sent troops there. This might just be her setting up another military base and expanding agricultural land in Shangjun. But it could also mean someone leaked info, making her cautious about our attacks.”
Li Jue hesitated for a whole month about whether to approach Jia Xu.
In terms of military timing, he missed the window of opportunity.
Qiao Yan’s actions left Jia Xu with no reason to support Li Jue’s idea of attacking Shangjun.
Even though they were miles apart and couldn’t talk much, the situation was always under control.
Jia Xu leaned towards the idea that Qiao Yan had some new method to increase yields, hence the expansion in Shangjun.
But little did he know, down south in Shangjun, which is today’s Yan’an and Suide, instead of wheat, they were cultivating cotton heavily guarded by troops.
Of course, this didn’t stop him from continuing to stir the pot in Chang’an.
He had carefully picked the timing to propose that attack on Bingzhou, right before Li Jue came to report on defense matters.
The scene Li Jue saw was that of his suggestions falling flat, leading him to sigh heavily—it was all part of Jia Xu’s plan.
This was when he finally caught onto the Western Liang general’s intent to disregard Dong Zhuo’s command and act independently.
That wall was loosening up; it was time for him to dig in.
Seeing Li Jue look confused over the missed opportunity, Jia Xu said, “I know General Li is a man of courage and wisdom. Wanting to act first isn’t a betrayal; it’s just a way to help the Prime Minister break through this predicament.”
“But the situation has changed. Please don’t make any futile sacrifices. If you really want to do something, pick a different time and method.”
That line, “Don’t make any futile sacrifices,” really hit home for Li Jue.
He quickly bowed to Jia Xu, “Please teach me.”
At that moment, Li Jue’s mind was fixated on one thought—
If Dong Zhuo couldn’t use this strategist well, then let him take over!
The underlying tension in Chang’an hadn’t sent any signals to the outside world.
After Li Jue was persuaded by Jia Xu and held back from launching an attack, everything seemed to still be under Dong Zhuo’s control.
Confident in her ability to maneuver the situation, Qiao Yan had started focusing on managing the spring plowing activities in Liangzhou and Bingzhou.
Especially Liangzhou.
Last year’s winter rapeseed, sown after clearing the farmland, had transformed into a golden sea of flowers by April.
The rapeseed flowers would yield seeds twenty days after blooming, and when Qiao Yan was inspecting the fields in Wuwei Commandery, the flowering season had already passed halfway.
In about ten days, the flowers would be done, and the harvest of rapeseeds would follow, turning the land into fields for wheat.
During this transition, most of the Qiang people who had been directed to five work sites would be shuffled into the farming teams.
Exceptions would only apply to the reception and foreign language office members.
But the number of Qiang in the former was already limited, and the latter’s main job was to guide the various Qiang to the respective fields, utilizing the Han language they had learned over winter to explain the tasks, thus counted as part of the spring farming efforts.
As Qiao Yan walked through the fields, she saw quite a few Qiang dressed in matching uniforms. They were busy dealing with the veteran farmers sent from Bingzhou while also relaying messages to each other, making it quite a bustling scene.
Compared to the chatter she heard when she first returned to Liangzhou in February, the Han spoken now sounded much more pleasing, probably due to how much practice had improved their skills.
At least it was much more tolerable than before.
The other Qiang, after working in various departments like the Production Office, Textile Office, and Construction Office for a winter, had received their respective salaries. They were starting to build trust in Qiao Yan.
When they were farming, it was hard to tell they once belonged to a nomadic tribe.
It was even harder to remember that just two years ago, they were in a life-and-death struggle with the Han army.
Seeing all this, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but remark to Zhao Yun beside her, “Zi Long, don’t the Qiang people today remind you of the Black Mountain Bandits back in the day?”
And now, the Black Mountain Bandits had become the Black Mountain Army… no, they were an inseparable part of the Bingzhou Army now.
So what about these Qiang people?
