Chapter 199

Chapter 199

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: The Two Provinces’ Tiger’s Roar, The Silk Road Reopens Chapter 199: Welcoming at the Valley Entrance

The arrows on the city wall were still trembling when the cavalry behind them came chasing!

These cavalrymen, who came trampling through the dusk, gave the defenders on the city wall almost no time to react, and had already rushed to the city from afar.

A year ago, there was also such a scene that swept through Hanyang, and it was also the “Qiao” banner representing the identity of Qiao Yan, the Prefect of Bingzhou.

But last time, she passed through by first taking Ayang, then entering Jixian, signaling that the Han Dynasty’s pacification forces had advanced from Anding Commandery to Hanyang Commandery, breaking the balance of Liangzhou in one fell swoop.

So whether for the four surnames of Hanyang or the Prefect of Hanyang, she should be considered a friendly force.

But today is different.

The arrows that pierced through the air from afar and stuck into the city wall were enough to indicate that the newcomers were not friendly.

They were clearly their enemies!

Should they close the city gates?

The defenders on the city wall couldn’t help but look at each other.

But before they could make a decision, the advancing cavalry had already made the decision for them.

The hundred arrows that followed the first long arrow instantly sealed the fate of the defenders on the city wall.

Under the life-taking suppression of the flying arrows, relying on the explosive power of these famous Ferghana horses, the elite cavalry led by Lü Bu did not hesitate at all, quickly crossed the moat, and killed the defenders who intended to close the city gates inside the gate tunnel.

The gleaming blades accompanied the famous horses from the Western Regions, roaring like thunder and lightning.

This should have been the stronghold of Liangzhou’s governance, but a moment of hesitation turned what should have been a solid defense into an open posture.

Lü Bu’s killing was extremely decisive.

According to Qiao Yan, the Prefect of Hanyang could not take office for a time and had to rely on the four surnames of Hanyang. Even though he came from the powerful families of the Four Commanderies of Hexi, after Jixian was recaptured from the rebels, the guards here were still the private soldiers of the four surnames.

Not his people. Nor the local defenders recruited from within Jixian.

So these gatekeepers… could only become the sacrifices for her to intimidate this place!

After the signal of the first Bingzhou soldier climbing the city wall was sent, she put down the bow in her hand and slowly rode towards the city gate.

At the same time, these well-trained soldiers, relying on previous siege experience, quickly entered the city under her command and took control of the other three city walls.

Although only a little over three thousand cavalry arrived first, when the cavalry entered the city, the sound of horseshoes hitting the ground echoed throughout the city, forming a rhythm far more astonishing than their charge before reaching the city.

It also resounded throughout the entire city for a moment.

“Is she crazy?” The head of the Jiang family was astonished.

If hearing the sound of the army’s attack had already made him jump up in a hurry, now getting this explanation made him even more uneasy.

This is too unexpected! Too absurd!

“Why is she attacking Jixian?”

Compared to being negligent in guarding against Dong Zhuo, what the powerful families of Jixian had not anticipated was that Qiao Yan, who they thought was soft-hearted due to her youth, would directly choose to break the city at this time.

He quickly mobilized the private soldiers in his mansion and sent people to try to leave the city to deliver the news to the nearby fortresses.

Despite the shock, her hostile state was already clear, so he could no longer hold any unrealistic hopes.

The fortresses could handle Qiang raids, but facing such a large army was impossible to defend.

The only advantage was that people inside still had a chance to escape.

However, just as the people he sent out started to move, the army entering the city had no intention of troubling the city’s residents and went straight for their families.

He watched as one of his men, who had just received his assignment and walked out the gate, fell down immediately.

The soldier with the sword pushed aside the corpse in front of him and stood by the gate, and Qiao Yan, who stepped in behind him, came into his view.

“I think you should save your breath. If even one person can leave Jixian, I’ll consider it my loss.”

Jiang Huai looked at Qiao Yan, frowning.

He could be sure that in this stern statement delivered in a calm tone, Qiao Yan was not joking with him.

But it was precisely this that made him even more puzzled.

“What does the Marquis mean by this?” He tried to keep his tone steady as usual, to avoid showing any sign of fear.

However, Qiao Yan’s disregard for rules and logic, and her blatant attitude, made it hard for him not to feel that something was seriously wrong.

The current situation was telling him that he might have made a wrong judgment.

He thought that even if Qiao Yan could not be considered respectful towards the powerful families of Liangzhou, it was far from a close, dependent, or marital relationship, but at least a balanced coexistence between a strong dragon and a local snake.

This young person couldn’t handle these interpersonal relationships, so she used Zheng Xuan’s arrival in Bingzhou to teach and give them some benefits.

This could be considered a mode they could accept.

Based on this way of doing things, they could maintain their original status.

Even if they were planning behind her back to divide the spoils after she left Liangzhou and return Liangzhou to its previous semi-independent state, at most, they would only be exposed to her and have some property taken away.

And these losses could be recouped from other Liangzhou people.

But killing the city wall defenders at will…

Clearly meant something else!

Jiang Huai’s gaze wandered over the troops behind Qiao Yan.

The order displayed by these unwelcome guests from afar was shocking and made one deeply feel Qiao Yan’s leadership skills.

In the afterglow of the sunset, they looked like statues standing here, only guarding the central leader.

The distant sound of hoofbeats seemed to pause for a moment, leaving only the clearest sound of Qiao Yan’s reply: “I am here to fulfill my promise.”

Promise?

What promise?

She continued, “What I said in Wuwei Commandery should have reached your ears by now.”

“I said that in Liangzhou, I only have one bottom line: no one should stab me in the back. If anyone really does something to contact Dong Zhuo, the only result is annihilation.”

“I promised the Qiang people who took refuge in Huangzhong to let them live here in peace, and I must keep my word. I can’t break my promise on this, right?”

Hearing this, Jiang Huai blurted out, “When did I stab you in the back?”

He didn’t do such a thing!

At most, he just—

Wasn’t as respectful to her as he seemed during the New Year’s greetings.

But to call this stabbing in the back is too unfair to him!

It couldn’t be that they took back the land that had once fallen into the hands of the Qiang in Hanyang and swallowed some other sources, which would be considered betrayal.

They also invested in Qiao Yan!

Facing his question, Qiao Yan didn’t even lift her eyelids, “Then please give me an explanation. Why, when I transferred the defenders here to the north to supervise the autumn harvest, you were so lax in guarding Shanggui that the news reached Dong Zhuo’s ears.”

“Dong Zhuo’s forces, led by Li Ying and Fan Chou, with twenty thousand troops, are advancing from Chencang towards Shanggui and will arrive soon.”

Jiang Huai was shocked.

But what shocked him even more was the second half of the sentence.

“That old thief is old and his courage has waned. If he wanted to attack Liangzhou and Bingzhou, he should have done it long ago. Why wait until my influence here is deeply rooted? Isn’t this the result of your intentional reporting?”

“…” Jiang Huai was dumbfounded.

When Dong Zhuo chose to advance was not important, but this really had nothing to do with them!

Unfortunately, Qiao Yan only gave him an explanation and did not give him a chance to argue.

She immediately ordered, “Take them all out!”

The word “all” was used with a decisive tone.

And the “out” in taking them out was not just taking them out of the mansion in Jixian, but directly out of Jixian city.

The descendants of the four surnames of Hanyang had always been domineering in Hanyang, especially around Jixian, enjoying the treatment of powerful families. They had never been dragged out of the city in such a way.

And never had such a treatment of being tied up and unable to move.

But Jiang Huai at least got an explanation from Qiao Yan and roughly knew the origin of today’s change. The other three families who were dragged out roughly were much worse off than him.

Of course, comparing misery at this time was meaningless.

Jiang Huai looked at his “colleagues” and then back at Qiao Yan’s face.

Behind the temporary table set up outside the city, she sat on the ground, flipping through the bamboo slips in front of her, waiting for everyone to be dragged out of the city.

This extremely leisurely demeanor clearly showed that she did not care about the resentment of the families in front of her, nor did she feel any disrespect in her actions.

She just found a few locals from the city to help her identify the names of those dragged out, corresponding to the family trees.

If they matched, they were marked.

If there were omissions, people were sent to find them.

It was efficient!

But Jixian fell into her control too quickly, so the families had no time to send any messages.

If the city could be taken, the fortresses could naturally be taken as well.

Although Lü Bu was somewhat dissatisfied that the elite cavalry he had finally armed with such fine horses could only be used to attack fortresses, and felt it was a bit degrading to personally drag out a bunch of fat-headed guys, thinking of Qiao Yan’s words that only after solving the matters here could they go outside Shanggui for a good fight, he could only urge the action.

By the time the surroundings were illuminated by torches, the number of people tied up outside the city had doubled.

Prefect Zhang couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his face.

When she first started taking people out, he had already been invited over.

But although it was said to be an invitation, he did not feel that Qiao Yan showed any respect to him in her actions.

He tried several times to speak up for the four families, but was stopped by the sharp look in Qiao Yan’s eyes.

Afraid that he might also be thrown to accompany Jiang Huai and others, Prefect Zhang did not dare to continue.

But hearing that the fortresses around were being breached by her, and now in the middle of the night, the slower-moving chariots and cavalry had also arrived, making Qiao Yan’s side look even more formidable, Prefect Zhang thought more and more that if he didn’t say something, he might lose the chance to dissuade her.

“Prefect Qiao…” he said carefully, “Dong Zhuo’s attack is indeed an accident. It must be that Chang’an has fully recovered from the previous defeat in Luoyang and is invading at this time. It is not necessarily that the four surnames have informants.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Qiao Yan signal to Zhao Yun beside her, and several pieces of silk paper were thrown in front of Prefect Zhang.

He flipped through a few and found that these were letters exchanged with Dong Zhuo that had been collected.

The banquet invitation in the first month of this year, and Qiao Yan’s various performances in Liangzhou before that, had indeed made some who had contact with Dong Zhuo choose to burn the letters in their hands to prevent Qiao Yan from catching them.

But these were mostly those close to Qiao Yan.

Hanyang Commandery was not under Qiao Yan’s direct control, and the situation was very different.

Among the four surnames, many were arrogant, thinking that because Jiang Jiao served under Qiao Yan, they had a source of information and a wind vane, and even felt that with the letters from Chang’an, no one could change their status no matter who ruled Liangzhou.

But it was precisely these letters that became their death warrants at this time.

What Qiao Yan showed Prefect Zhang was not just that.

There were also many documents for purchasing farmland, clearly not in line with the Han Dynasty’s laws, and the state’s account books were also confiscated from the four surnames’ storerooms. There were also letters exchanged between the four families, in which the suppression of talents to promote their own descendants was countless.

“…”

“What else does Prefect Zhang want to say?” Qiao Yan raised an eyebrow.

Indeed, there was no direct evidence to prove that they had talked with Dong Zhuo about this advance, but based on past words and deeds, with the initiative in her hands, right and wrong could only be determined by her!

Prefect Zhang’s voice was much lower this time: “Of course I know some things.”

The growth of powerful families is also a feature of Liangzhou, and he is also part of it.

It’s just that some are more law-abiding, and some are less so.

The four surnames of Hanyang, with the Prefect’s weakness, were clearly more inclined to the latter.

“I just want to say, seeing that Dong Zhuo is attacking, having more help is always better. There’s no need to make the relationship so ugly. If Dong Zhuo sees it as a joke, wouldn’t it be bad?”

The private soldiers raised by the four families were indeed no match for Qiao Yan’s generals, but they were still strong laborers.

It shouldn’t be that for an unconfirmed news, they would all be dealt with.

If that happened, the various commanderies of Liangzhou might also be in turmoil, and even—





The situation was not favorable for her pacification efforts.

Qiao Yan sneered, “Prefect Zhang, your words are quite confusing to me. May I ask if you’ve ever heard the saying, ‘To secure the outside, one must first secure the inside’?”

A prefect must have some level of knowledge, so it’s unlikely he hadn’t heard of this.

But as soon as the phrase “secure the inside” was mentioned, Prefect Zhang became alert to the deeper meaning behind the word “secure.”

Given Qiao Yan’s actions today, this was clearly not a straightforward pacification.

When he looked around, the torchlight illuminated not only her subordinates but also the sharp blades.

There was an underlying message: If all these people were gone, wouldn’t that be another form of “securing the inside”?

Prefect Zhang couldn’t help but curse inwardly. This Qiao Bingzhou truly lived up to her reputation as someone who rose through warfare, employing the same ruthless tactics even in such times.

“You also made a mistake. I don’t need these people to fight Dong Zhuo for me.”

At this point, Qiao Yan slammed the bamboo scroll on the table.

Those who had been too frightened to sleep were suddenly jolted awake by the sound.

Those close enough to her also heard her next words: “I am confident of victory. Since I won’t lose, why would I need them to play double-faced games with me?”

“Guards!”

Her raised tone made both Prefect Zhang, who was temporarily safe, and the four families of Hanyang, who were now prisoners, tense up.

“Bring out anyone who has corresponded with Chang’an.”

Hanyang’s Jixian was a small place. With the letters as evidence, finding these people was all too easy.

Some had long forgotten about these letters, while others had even taken them out to admire just a few days ago.

But regardless of the differences, they all faced the same fate.

Qiao Yan spoke decisively, leaving no room for negotiation: “Kill them and hang their heads on the city walls.”

“Qiao…”

Before he could finish, Qiao Yan cut him off. “Prefect Zhang, I advise you to think twice before speaking, or I might have to consider sending someone to Jiuquan.”

Remembering how Qiao Yan had the Qiang people, led by Xu Rong and Ma Teng, raid Dawan for warhorses, Prefect Zhang quickly shut his mouth.

If her claim of marginalizing Xu Rong and Ma Teng was false, then her statement about being unable to control the other three commanderies of Hexi was likely also untrue.

If he couldn’t save the four families of Hanyang and instead brought disaster upon his own family, there would be no place to cry.

Thinking about Dong Zhuo’s advance, he, the Prefect of Hanyang, hadn’t received any news, while Qiao Yan, stationed in Jincheng, had received the report first and quickly mobilized her troops. He felt even less qualified to speak.

Such speed of response…

Who knew if she had a spy in Dong Zhuo’s camp?

Unaware that he had stumbled upon the truth, Prefect Zhang wished he could make himself as invisible as possible, watching as the “evidence-backed” members of the four families were dragged out from the crowd.

Facing certain death, their desperate pleas filled the air outside the city in an instant, but Qiao Yan’s eyes showed no trace of emotion.

Witnessing this, Prefect Zhang couldn’t help but think that some people truly deserved their positions as imperial ministers and young governors.

In the dim night, the cries of despair turned into curses against her, only to be silenced by the sound of blades taking lives.

The soldiers carrying out the executions followed Qiao Yan’s orders, carrying the heads to the city walls.

Though the darkness lessened the visual impact, the fear in people’s hearts grew stronger in the absence of light.

Among the crowd, a young man named Zhao, sitting back-to-back with his wife to hold hands despite being bound, instinctively tightened his grip in fear.

Realizing his reaction, he quickly apologized to his wife, saying, “I’ve dragged you into this.”

His wife wasn’t from the four families of Hanyang but had been brought along to ensure no one escaped.

Qiao Yan understood the necessity of rooting out all threats in Liangzhou.

A case from Jiuquan in the second year of Guanghe was proof enough.

Zhao Jun’an of Jiuquan had a feud with the local tyrant Li Shou, who killed him. Zhao’s three sons died one after another in a plague, leaving only a daughter. Just as Li Shou was celebrating the Zhao family’s demise, Zhao’s daughter, Zhao E, killed Li Shou in the street and then calmly turned herself in.

This wasn’t to say Qiao Yan compared herself to the lawless Li Shou, but with the fighting spirit of Liangzhou people, it was possible someone might seek revenge for their husband.

Thus, no mercy was shown.

When executing those connected to Dong Zhuo’s forces, their families were also not spared.

This collective punishment tormented Zhao Ang.

He didn’t mind dying, but his newlywed wife was pregnant and likely wouldn’t survive either.

“Why are you panicking?” came a steady voice from behind, calming Zhao Ang. His wife, Wang Yi, asked, “Did you write to Dong Zhuo?”

“…No,” Zhao Ang replied. Though talented among his peers, he was still young and had only received some resources from his family, hardly enough to be involved with Dong Zhuo.

Wang Yi asked again, “Did you seize farmland or bully others?”

Zhao Ang shook his head, “You know I haven’t done such things.”

He had always been disciplined and focused on being recommended as a filial and incorrupt official, never engaging in such misdeeds.

Wang Yi said, “Then there’s nothing to worry about. If the Governor of Bingzhou indiscriminately executes even people like you, she would lose all hope of recruiting talent in Liangzhou. Killing traitors is serving the country, killing oppressors is justice for the people. Even if your relatives are among them, you have no grounds for revenge. But she can’t kill you.”

“The only thing you need to worry about is that after today, the four families of Hanyang will collapse. Given Qiao Bingzhou’s tone, she’s not afraid to face Dong Zhuo and might even march on Chang’an. The four families of Hanyang are connected to Dong Zhuo, so their deaths are in vain.”

“Today… the grudges of those killed won’t disappear with their deaths. Old enemies might still seek revenge. Are you afraid of that?”

Before Zhao Ang could answer, an order came from the front.

Qiao Yan ordered those who had seized farmland to be dragged out and executed.

This didn’t warrant execution, but after her earlier declaration, no one dared to stop her, nor did they have the ability to do so.

This aligned with what his wife had said.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind before he finally replied, “I’m not afraid.”

“If the Zhao family falls, I still have my talents. If there’s truly nowhere to go, I might as well be the first Zhao to join Qiao Bingzhou, hoping for the family’s revival.”

“Even if we have to give up our wealth and live in hardship, with the lesson of the four families of Hanyang, we should still have some farmland to rely on, free from being seized.”

Zhao Ang spoke more calmly, “We’re not yet at a dead end.”

Wang Yi didn’t respond but held her husband’s hand tighter.

In this life-and-death crisis, she too felt fear, but she hadn’t misjudged her husband.

He was a sensible man.

Having reached a mutual understanding, they heard that after the second round of executions, Qiao Yan sent people into Jixian to beat drums and ask if anyone wanted to accuse the survivors of the four families.

If no one came forward before dawn, they could live.

Hearing this, Zhao Ang and Wang Yi both sighed in relief.

Their lives were essentially saved.

Meanwhile, Guo Jia and Xun You, who had just arrived with the slower cavalry, were immediately put to work by Qiao Yan—

Judging cases.

Guo Jia almost protested, “My lord, you really…”

Know how to put people to work.

Qiao Yan glanced at the carriages carrying heavy crossbows and armor, as well as the war chariots.

Her unspoken message was clear: She knew they had slept well on the way here, which was why they were so energetic now.

They had to put in some effort.

“Fengxiao and Gongda, you’re both good at reading people. Help me determine if those coming forward to accuse are doing so out of genuine fear or just taking advantage of the situation.”

“And if they’re taking advantage?” Guo Jia asked.

“Then check if the accusers have any records. People who do such things are rarely clean, right?”

Qiao Yan stood up and added, “I’ll leave this to you. I’m going to get some sleep. After resting tomorrow, we’ll head to Shanggui and prepare for battle!”

Her claim to Prefect Zhang that she wouldn’t lose didn’t mean she planned to face Li Ying and Fan Chou’s steadily advancing forces with an exhausted army.

She wanted a flawless victory, one that would allow her to march on Chang’an with momentum!

With the four families of Hanyang decimated, it was time to rest.

When she woke, the area outside Jixian was empty of the four families.

Only the bloodstains and the heads on the city walls proved that the events of the night were not a dream of the Hanyang people.

Among the four families of Hanyang, the good and bad were mixed. After questioning about treason, harm, and public grievances, less than two or three out of ten remained.

When the survivors were released, they almost dazedly heard Qiao Yan’s order forbidding anyone from seizing their property.

During the night’s public accusations led by Guo Jia and Xun You, some tried to drag innocent members of the four families into their personal vendettas, only to end up with their heads on the walls alongside Jiang Huai.

This also led to Guo Jia uncovering an old case in the area.

With the threat of force, there was no room for ambiguity.

Qiao Yan teased Guo Jia, “After this, the people of Jixian should give you a plaque for your sharp judgment.”

“Let’s skip that and focus on the bigger picture,” Guo Jia yawned but remained alert. “Early this morning, a second report came from Sanguan. Inspired by your example, everyone’s getting bold—”

“He even went to Chencang, scouting out the numbers of Li Ying and Fan Chou’s troops, including cavalry and infantry, and their advance timing. I calculated that they set out around the same time as us due to troop rest.”

Qiao Yan thought for a moment and replied, “If I recall correctly, the distance from Chencang to Shanggui is about the same as from Dingxi to Shanggui, if not slightly shorter. This means we have more flexibility than we thought.”

In other words, she didn’t have to rely solely on cavalry and defensive equipment to stop Li Ying and Fan Chou. She could wait for the infantry to arrive.

While she was intimidating the four families of Hanyang in Jixian, her infantry was still on the way.

They would arrive in time to give Li Ying and the others a “surprise”!

Unaware of the upheaval in Liangzhou, Li Ying and Fan Chou were still on the move.

When they heard from their scouts that they were close to Shanggui and that the defenses were still in place, they exchanged glances and sighed in relief.

If the Chancellor’s retreat in Liangzhou hadn’t been cut off by Qiao Yan, forcing them to retreat to Chang’an without a source of warhorses, this siege shouldn’t have been so difficult.

As a result, their 20,000 troops were stretched thin, moving slowly through the narrow mountain paths of the Wei River valley.

Fortunately, their supplies were sufficient, and their opponents were likely still focused on their autumn harvest.

They immediately ordered the troops to speed up the final leg of the journey. Tonight, they would dine in Shanggui!

They would eat the enemy’s stored grain!

They were tired of the monotonous scenery.

Li Ying, who had initially thought this was a cushy job, had cursed Li Jue countless times in his heart.

Now, it seemed the suffering was finally over.

As the mountains ahead gradually lowered, nearing the exit, Li Ying even sped up his horse, eager to reach the city.

But just as his spirits were highest, he rounded a bend in the valley and saw something that shouldn’t have been there.

In his line of sight, a dense army stretched across the valley entrance. At the front, heavy infantry with shields stood ready, while archers on the hills aimed their arrows at him.

But that wasn’t all.

Most striking was the figure at the head of the cavalry behind the shield bearers.

Li Ying had seen Qiao Yan before, during her attack on Luoyang.

Even after more than two years, he could never forget that figure!

The still-blurry figure raised her whip toward him, as if in greeting, but also as a clear signal to advance.

In the next moment, the shield-bearing soldiers took a step forward.

In that synchronized step, the ground and the surrounding mountains seemed to tremble like thunder.

Hearing this, Li Ying nearly fell off his horse.

Only one thought remained in his mind—

What the hell!

Why is Qiao Yan here?!