Chapter 194

Chapter 194: The Crimes of the Four Families

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: The Tiger’s Roar in Two Provinces, the Silk Road Reopens, Chapter 194: The Crimes of the Four Families.

Lu Yuan’s words were not wrong.

Even the strategists and generals who had already pledged allegiance to her might not be entirely trustworthy when it came to controlling intelligence organizations.

But Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting, these two sisters, were different.

The dual constraints of their surname and gender meant that only under Qiao Yan’s rule could they receive truly fair treatment, relying on their own intellect and abilities rather than their beauty.

Qiao Rui’s death in the battle between Yuan Shu and Liu Bei further freed them from the shackles inherited from their father.

Ultimately, even if Yuan Shu was forced to retreat to Yu Province due to Qiao Yan’s interference in the Jing Province conflict, and even if Yuan Shu’s confrontation with Yuan Shao was a result of Qiao Yan’s meddling, Qiao Rui’s death should not be blamed on her.

On the contrary, offering them shelter was a kindness, nurturing them was a kindness, and allowing them to have independent personalities rather than being someone’s appendages was also Qiao Yan’s kindness to the Qiao sisters.

This was enough reason to choose them.

However, this was a relatively dangerous job. When the provinces were in chaos, merchants were often robbed or coerced into handing over their goods. Bandits were rampant during times of hardship, and even with armed escorts, there was still a risk of incidents.

At the same time, the dual role of being an intelligence chief and dealing with various forces meant that if their identities were exposed, they would face the risk of death.

Unless, by then, the power Qiao Yan wielded was enough to make all the provinces fear her.

In such a situation, as long as the Qiao sisters bore the mark of being Qiao Yan’s own people, no one would dare to touch them.

Qiao Yan pondered the pros and cons, remaining silent for a while.

But Lu Yuan could see from her expression that she was actually satisfied with this choice.

Even if an outsider were placed in this position, there would still be considerations of loyalty and personal safety. Comparatively, the Qiao sisters were the least risky.

“Let them study at the academy for half a year to adapt to the life there. After the affairs in Chang’an are settled, I will consult them about this matter,” Qiao Yan made the decision. “If they are willing to take on this task, their curriculum will need to be adjusted.”

Their performance when they chose to join Bingzhou was not enough to prepare them for such a special position.

From their demeanor, accent, ability to judge intelligence, and techniques for handling crises, they would need specialized training.

To ensure that their disappearance from Leping Academy to carry out their nationwide business would not attract the attention of the students, Qiao Yan would also need to make preparations.

Fortunately, the most likely candidate was already in place, and the rest were just supplementary matters.

Before that, let Guo Daxian, who came from the Black Mountain Army, handle the business expansion.

Qiao Yan knew that to ensure this business would not be linked to her in the short term, the best way was not to have no connection with Bingzhou, but to have trade relations while ensuring that the core products were not unique to Bingzhou.

So, after meeting Guo Daxian, her first assignment was to send him to Shu to purchase Shu brocade and sell it in Bingzhou, Ji Province, and Xuzhou.

Then Qiao Yan met with Sun Qian.

In terms of academic ability, Sun Qian was not top-tier among Zheng Xuan’s disciples, as he was not focused on deepening his study of the classics.

But for Qiao Yan, practical talents like Sun Qian and Guo Yuan were more valuable in these turbulent times.

Sun Qian had no objections to serving under Qiao Yan, but she couldn’t assign him a high position immediately.

After some thought, she placed Sun Qian in the position of a subordinate official in the administration, assisting Xi Zhicai.

The messages from various regions in Bingzhou were all gathered by Xi Zhicai.

So, in a way, this appointment was meant to lighten Xi Zhicai’s load.

“Is the lord giving me a capable assistant or asking me to evaluate his administrative abilities?” Xi Zhicai asked with a laugh.

It seemed like both a reduction and an increase in workload.

Qiao Yan replied, “With your intelligence, it’s definitely a reduction. If you don’t delegate tasks to your subordinates, you’ll exhaust yourself acting as the governor.”

Assigning more tasks was the best way to gauge someone’s capabilities.

This was an obvious truth.

Xi Zhicai said, “It sounds like the lord is talking about herself.”

To ensure she didn’t overwork herself, she piled tasks onto her subordinates. This was indeed Qiao Yan’s specialty.

Fortunately, she now had enough people under her to afford such antics.

Qiao Yan raised her cup to Xi Zhicai and replied, “You understand me. Thinking about all the unfinished tasks ahead, the road is long and the burden is heavy.”

The implication was that they needed to live long lives.

This applied to both her and Xi Zhicai.

But Xi Zhicai looked at the cup in Qiao Yan’s hand and really wanted to comment. Shouldn’t she be drinking tea or wine instead of this concoction of milk, tea, and rock sugar that she called “milk tea”?

This drink was even chilled before being served.

But if Qiao Yan were to say it herself, drinking iced milk tea in summer was as satisfying as having a warm quilt in winter. This kind of mental satisfaction was irreplaceable.

Wasn’t this a way to prolong life?

When Qiao Yan finally toured Bingzhou and confirmed that even the newcomers had adapted to life there, she returned to Liangzhou. By then, the weather in July was getting hotter.

Fortunately, the military garrison in Jincheng Commandery, where Qiao Yan first arrived, was not even ten degrees by modern standards.

While asking Cheng Yu about the situation in Liangzhou during her absence, she glanced out the window and momentarily felt like she was there to escape the heat.

Compared to those still consolidating their power and quelling rebellions, Qiao Yan’s current environment was undoubtedly the most comfortable.

But it couldn’t be denied that comfortable temperatures didn’t mean fewer crises.

For example, Cheng Yu said, “My lord, you should pay attention to the four families of Hanyang.”

Compared to the “chickens” she killed as a warning to the Liangzhou nobility, the four families of Hanyang were treated quite well by her.

Moreover, Qiao Yan concentrated the military and civilian garrisons in Jincheng Commandery, Wuwei Commandery, and Anding Commandery, leaving the control of Hanyang to the original Prefect Zhang. This gave the four families of Hanyang even more freedom.

In their view, Qiao Yan’s attitude towards them was only natural.

Jiang Jiao of the Hanyang Jiang family accompanied Gai Xun to Bingzhou, and when Qiao Yan’s army passed through Hanyang on their way to attack Longxi Commandery, they also…








They provided a lot of help.

So the arrival of the Bingzhou army was not a trouble for them, but rather an opportunity to remove some stumbling blocks.

Cheng Yu continued, “At the end of June, as you instructed, I recruited more people from the prefecture due to the increasing number of Qiang people under my command. Among them, there was a talented man from Hanyang named Xue Xia. Everyone in the prefecture said he was capable, but unfortunately, he came from a poor family and had no connections with the four prominent families of Hanyang. He even repeatedly refused their invitations, and his reputation in the local area grew louder.”

“The descendants of the four prominent families of Hanyang deeply despised him and were even more worried that after serving you, he might have some adverse effects on them. So they planned to deal with him before you returned to Liangzhou.”

“Your reputation in Liangzhou is based on military achievements rather than governance, and you have been generous to the four prominent families of Hanyang, even sending their descendants to Bingzhou to study under Zheng Xuan. Xue Xuan feared that you and the four families were colluding and planned to flee overnight, but fortunately, I invited him back to Jincheng Commandery first.”

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yan’s expression became serious.

The ecological environment formed in Liangzhou over the past century determined that not only the Qiang people were prone to surrendering to the Han Dynasty and then rebelling, but these powerful families in Liangzhou were also prone to forming alliances and then seceding.

With these forces still existing, the blocked upward mobility affected not just Xue Xia.

Xue Xia could rely on his reputation and knowledge to let this news reach Cheng Yu, but what about others?

Compared to the relatively restrained powerful families in Bingzhou facing threats from the Hu people outside the pass, those in Liangzhou truly had lawlessness written on their faces.

Perhaps in their view, this was the rule.

So to fully bring Liangzhou under her control, these unstable factors had to be completely shattered and rebuilt.

“I have an idea about this matter and would like to hear Zhongde’s opinion.” Qiao Yan’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, her calm tone hiding a hint of killing intent.

From her tone, Cheng Yu could easily tell that the “matter” she referred to was not just about Xue Xia’s unfair treatment.

Sure enough, Qiao Yan said, “With Wenhe planning in Chang’an, whether it’s Dong Zhuo himself or his generals, there will be an army attacking Liangzhou before the autumn harvest to break the deadlock, and the key point to assist the attack on Liangzhou is in Hanyang.”

“I want to use the charge of the four prominent families of Hanyang colluding with Dong Zhuo to arrest and eliminate them, then send troops to Chang’an. This battle—”

“Must shock the world and make Liangzhou bow its head!”

Colluding with Dong Zhuo?

This was, of course, a baseless charge for the four prominent families of Hanyang.

But they had been exploiting Liangzhou for many years, and the number of people they had harmed was beyond count.

In another record Cheng Yu submitted to Qiao Yan, they had investigated countless powerful families’ misdeeds in Hanyang Commandery under the guise of managing the lands sent out by the four families.

Compared to the Yang family of Hanyang, who were the first targets of Qiao Yan’s crackdown, the harm caused by the Jiang, Yan, Ren, and Zhao families was much greater.

So this cruelty towards them might as well be a blessing for the people of Liangzhou.

Qiao Yan also had to make the people of Liangzhou, especially the remaining powerful families, know who this place now belonged to before she entered Guanzhong!

As for the possible backlash after eliminating the four prominent families of Liangzhou, as Qiao Yan said, as long as she could make the attack on Chang’an a shocking event, these resistances would not cause much trouble in the short term.

And by the time they could have any real impact, the forces replacing them as the backbone of Liangzhou should have already taken shape under Qiao Yan’s command.

So—they could be killed!

Cheng Yu was well aware of the parasitic nature of these powerful families in Liangzhou, and coming from a humble background himself, he had no connections with them, allowing him to clearly see the drawbacks of their power alliances.

Was this method cruel?

Perhaps, but compared to the deep-rooted problems of Liangzhou repeatedly dragging Qiao Yan down, it was better to cut the Gordian knot.

At most, he pondered the feasibility of Qiao Yan’s words from a rational advisor’s perspective and, after evaluation, replied, “This is feasible.”

“However, we need to weigh who should be killed and who should be spared.”

Killing too many would not be digging a hole in one’s own land for other crops to grow, but rather digging through the farmland itself.

People seeking to survive probably wouldn’t care who they were up against.

Since resistance and non-resistance both lead to death, they might as well die a quick death.

So the sequence of actions must be just right.

Qiao Yan and Cheng Yu exchanged a meaningful glance.

She replied, “I have a good idea.”

With Cheng Yu’s approval, Qiao Yan felt more confident in taking bold actions.

Now, she just hoped that Dong Zhuo’s people would cooperate a bit.

Before this plan of using others to eliminate enemies, Xu Rong and Ma Teng, who had gone to the Kushan Empire for the second time, returned to Wuwei Commandery.

Their previous trip to the Kushan Empire had taken a lot of time due to importing cotton from India, but this time, with experience on the road and their real target being Ferghana, they returned faster than last time.

They set out at the end of the month and returned before mid-July.

But this time, they brought back even more.

When Qiao Yan heard the news of their return and arrived at the border of Wuwei and Zhangye, she saw from afar the large number of Ferghana horses accompanying the returning caravan.

Under the July sun, these famous Ferghana horses, known as “sweating blood” steeds, came in a grand procession, causing Yan Jun, who had come to welcome them with Qiao Yan, to change his expression.

Such a number of famous Ferghana horses could not be sold off, nor could they be purchased with the money they carried, so they must have been seized!

However, when he looked at Qiao Yan, he saw no surprise on her face, only an air of righteous confidence.

This made him suddenly realize a terrible fact.

The fundamental purpose of the second Silk Road trip was precisely this; there was never any talk of importing rock sugar!

But realizing this now was of no use.

The people had returned, the horses had returned, and even Xu Rong and Ma Teng, whom he thought had been disdained by Qiao Yan, were now bowing before her, clearly having accomplished their mission.

And think about the situation of the farmland in Wuwei Commandery…

The state of the farmland in July made it easy to predict the harvest in August and September.

Not to mention the Lushui Qiang people who had been incorporated into the farmland, even Yan Jun himself was in awe of the growth in the military and civilian farmland, wishing he could hand over his private land to Qiao Yan for management.

All facts and signs indicated that being her enemy was a choice one should not make if they still had a brain.

Thinking of this, Yan Jun subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Are you hot?” Qiao Yan asked, looking at him.

Yan Jun wanted to point to the scorching sun above, but then noticed that above him was a sunshade made of oiled paper, preventing the sun from shining on his face.

“…”

Now he only hoped for one thing.

That his subordinates involved in the Silk Road trade were smart enough and had not yet tried to win over Ma Teng!