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“Can strategists not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 216 – Intelligence Delegation
These two old scholars, accompanied by two kids, somehow transformed into a little preschool gang.
In a way, this regression isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but their obvious attempts to hide it made Qiao Yan wonder if she looked a bit like the villain checking in on them.
She reached up and poked her cheek, and Lu Ji, catching her gaze, instinctively wiped his own face.
In that moment, he suddenly realized he hadn’t fully erased the evidence of sneaking some pastry.
Maybe he shouldn’t be thinking this, but you could already tell this kid would have guts in the future.
Faced with being caught, he puffed out his chest and strove to appear nonchalant after wiping away the traces.
Unfortunately, he was still young, and the whole thing came across as somewhat absurd.
Qiao Yan found it amusing but decided not to call them out directly, pondering whether to have someone write down all the amusing anecdotes from Leping Academy.
It didn’t need to go in the Leping Monthly Report’s gossip section, but maybe when these second-generation students all took on positions under her in a few years, it could be a fun reminiscence of Leping Academy?
Whether it’s embarrassing history or not, it would surely be an interesting source for future historians.
Lost in thought, she didn’t voice her plans but bowed to Cai Yong and Zheng Xuan, bringing up her intention of inviting Xun Shuang to this place.
Zheng Xuan replied, “Xun’s Eighth Dragon, Kind and Bright, I have long heard of Xun Ciming’s name. But I’ve been in Beihai while he’s in Hanbin, one in exile and the other in seclusion, we haven’t met in years. I never expected to have this opportunity in his later years.”
Qiao Yan sighed, “It’s just that Mr. Ciming is worried about the state of the world and isn’t in good health. I want to invite him, but I’m afraid he won’t accept…”
Hearing this, Cai Yong and Zheng Xuan knew what she meant.
Basically, it was just about writing an invitation letter for Xun Shuang to come over.
They both had a long-standing acquaintance with Qiao Yan, and couldn’t help but chuckle, “Ye Shu, with your method of bringing one person at a time, are you aiming to gather all the great scholars of the world?”
She was playing a bold plan without disguise.
That said, they were not unwilling to help with this “trick” to get people here.
Cai Yong’s poetry in the Leping Monthly Report getting such an alternative interpretation was already an honest reflection of his mood.
Over the years, he had reflected on his past, recognizing that his earlier struggles were closely linked to his low emotional intelligence in offering advice and social interactions.
But changing one’s disposition isn’t something that can happen overnight.
Fortunately, his two daughters had been influenced; the younger one was directly learning from Qiao Yan.
As Qiao Yan’s influence expanded from the modest Leping to Bingzhou and even approaching three regions, that child was gradually becoming a capable individual.
The elder one, forced to grow in the mundane world, had now found healing and rebirth here.
For Cai Yong, this was already the biggest gain in his current situation, not to mention he had also completed editing the Dongguan Han Ji.
As for Zheng Xuan, a year spent here was enough for him to see that Leping was indeed suitable for deep academic study.
Many of his aspiring disciples were also finding positions.
Guo Yuan, known for his excellent character and ability, was first appointed by Qiao Yan as a military officer in Liangzhou before being reassigned to Guanzhong, looking like someone who was about to take on significant responsibilities.
This promotion also provided a model for Zheng Xuan’s disciples.
So, for Xun Shuang, this location would indeed be a good place.
Though Qiao Yan hadn’t mentioned it, Zheng Xuan thought of a personal acquaintance who, like him, resided in seclusion and was quite adept in academics.
In Zheng Xuan’s view, continuing to seclude himself in Qingzhou or Youzhou was not as beneficial as living in Leping, especially since the abundance of paper resources here surpassed anywhere else.
If he felt living here meant living off others’ kindness, he could spend some time writing instead.
However, this person was currently avoiding trouble in Liaodong and was presumably too blocked by the war in Youzhou to come easily.
At most, it would be sending a letter first and assessing the situation from there.
He hadn’t voiced his plans about inviting Ying Yuan here; upon hearing Qiao Yan ask if there was anything lacking in this place, he brought up the new cotton clothes distributed at Leping Academy.
Aside from the soldiers guarding the area, the students at Leping also received their share of cotton clothing.
However, due to the surrounding mountains, the northern winds were mostly blocked by Wutai Mountain, making the temperature overall not too low, and with good daily food conditions for the students, they decided to make the cotton clothes a bit thinner, considering these energetic young people.
This was sufficient for them to keep warm.
Zheng Xuan noted, “I heard that when distributing the cotton clothes, you specifically issued a decree stating it was strictly forbidden for them to pass these clothes to others, including their elders at home, which is quite an unusual rule.”
Qiao Yan didn’t find this rule unusual.
She replied, “I can’t be blamed for emphasizing this; this year’s cotton yield isn’t enough to supply everyone. Inevitably, someone would want to gift the cotton clothes to relatives in the name of filial piety. From a moral standpoint, this act isn’t a bad thing and can actually reflect one’s character. But what if in winter, students from the academy see some wearing cotton clothes while others still in single-layer clothes? What would they think?”
Zheng Xuan pondered, “Those in cotton would likely think, if others are gifting their clothes to family while I’m still wearing mine, am I being seen as selfish?”
“Exactly the point. People tend to conform, especially when worried about being questioned regarding their virtue,” Qiao Yan said. “I would rather share some cotton clothes meant for the guarding soldiers with the academy, enabling them to stay warm through winter and focus on their studies instead of using this to show that they’re not stingy.”
“If they really want to gift cotton clothes to their relatives, why not earn it through performance and then be rewarded?”
Qiao Yan turned to Lu Ji and said, “Take your sister for example. She has contributed quite a bit under me and is now heading to Liangzhou once again. I regard her as a close confidant, so naturally, I must respect her father, hence ten or more pieces from these cotton clothes will be sent to Lujiang. But your piece is for you alone, understand?”
“I understand,” Lu Ji nodded seriously, “I can’t use the rewards given by the lord to boost my own image; filial piety must be earned on my own.”
After saying this, he added quietly, “But my piece won’t even fit my father.”
The others chuckled at this.
Qiao Yan patted his head, “You’ll grow taller in a few years. Until then—”
She gave the others a significant look, “Don’t eat so much cold stuff in autumn.”
After stepping out of the room, she made sure the four bowls were taken away.
Qiao Yan instructed the attendants in the courtyard, “Both Zheng and Cai are not that young anymore. A little indulgence now and then is fine, but we must control their intake of sweets and cold drinks.”
However, as she left the courtyard, she also considered asking Hua Tuo to whip up some healthy snacks when he had time, as she didn’t want them to miss out on enjoying food altogether.
But before she could remember a suitable snack, she heard someone calling her from behind, interrupting her thoughts.
She turned to see Cao Pi catching up.
This kid, a year older than Lu Ji, stood before Qiao Yan and, noticing the lack of any displeasure on her face, finally spoke up, “I’d like to ask, Lord, if I want to buy cotton clothes for my parents, what other methods can I use?”
His situation was different from Lu Ji’s.
Lu Yuan worked under Qiao Yan and was highly valued, thus could secure certain benefits for her father.
On the other hand, Cao Cao, though he counted Qiao Yan as a friend and peer, had gained his title as the Yanzhou governor through the emperor’s command issued from Ye City.
This put them on opposing sides.
Even though Cao Pi was young, having studied geography here in Leping, he could somewhat grasp the difficulties his father faced.
Obtaining the title of Yanzhou governor was easy based on the advantages he gathered in Dong Commandery, consolidating other areas in Yanzhou was not too hard, and he neared completion. However, being able to speak of honoring the Son of Heaven or easily change allegiance like Qiao Yan? Not a chance.
In the current situation, that was impossible.
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“Don’t be reckless and switch sides, or you’ll definitely bring down trouble from the north!”
It was precisely because Cao Cao and Qiao Yan weren’t quite the traditional allies at this moment that when Cao Pi asked this question, he couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious inside.
Cotton clothing is a great thing; even a kid like him knew that!
Though he hadn’t yet considered that as cotton clothing became more popular, the power gap between factions would become even more apparent, he still wanted to give his parents a piece.
Qiao Yan smiled and said, “There’s no need to ask too much about this; your father is a clever man. Before winter sets in, he’ll send someone to find me.”
As soon as she spread the news about Ye City, Cao Cao would certainly send someone over.
But she could treat farming techniques as a gift for the new year, while the cotton used for making clothes was a different story.
This wasn’t about whether or not to consider past friendships; it was the inevitability of the situation.
At most, the benefits from the former action could influence the latter trade.
With cotton clothing still being relatively unique, the trade could definitely be capped within acceptable limits for the other side.
Wasn’t this just another way to fill one’s military supplies using someone else’s farmland?
But such talk didn’t need to be shared with Cao Pi.
Better to wait for Cao Cao’s messenger to arrive first.
Cao Pi nodded in a way that made him seem somewhat confused, then bowed to Qiao Yan before retreating.
Watching the child’s back, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but muse about how early children mature these days. She then headed back to her part of the academy, asking for the Qiao sisters to be brought over.
When they arrived, they found a gray pigeon pacing back and forth on a table in front of Qiao Yan.
This messenger pigeon had been raised in Leping and presented to Qiao Yan by a pigeon keeper, and it wasn’t showing any signs of wanting to escape. Instead, it pecked a few grains from Qiao Yan’s hand and stared at her with wide eyes.
Seeing this, the Qiao sisters, who were a bit intimidated at first by meeting Qiao Yan again, suddenly relaxed a lot, and the livelier younger sister even flashed a smile.
Qiao Yan caught the change in her expression and asked, “Have you both adjusted well to the academy over these three months?”
Qiao Ting quickly straightened her expression and replied, “Both my sister and I really like it here.”
She felt she had agreed with her sister’s judgement; coming here had been the best decision she’d ever made.
The learning atmosphere at Leping Academy emphasized talent over family wealth. With Cai Zhaoji topping the first two years and Qiao Yan as the academy’s founder, gender differences didn’t matter here.
Interestingly enough, although various fields like literature, martial arts, medicine, and agriculture had different developmental tendencies, they were not as distinct as oil and water; rather, they complemented each other.
The two sisters absolutely loved this place.
In her spare time, Qiao Ting began learning some self-defense techniques from Lu Lingju.
Meanwhile, Qiao Lan dabbled in first-aid medicine with the academy’s female physician.
This was perhaps because they realized on their way to Bingzhou that they still lacked knowledge, but this choice only confirmed to Qiao Yan that these two sisters might indeed be useful, capable of taking on roles in her intelligence network.
After listening to Qiao Ting share about life in the academy over the past three months while seated in front of her, Qiao Yan casually changed the topic, asking, “Earlier when you walked in, you seemed a bit curious about this pigeon?”
Since Qiao Yan’s tone was casual, Qiao Ting didn’t hold back, replying, “It’s not that I think it’s strange for a lord to raise pigeons; I’m just curious as to why the lord chose a gray pigeon.”
Given today’s aesthetic standards, pure colors were the most desirable.
White pigeons are pure, with auspicious legends; black pigeons aren’t bad either, since everyone knows Lord Qiao loves wearing dark clothes.
Putting a gray pigeon in front of Qiao Yan seemed mismatched for the elegant lord.
As for Qiao Ting’s question, Qiao Yan didn’t answer directly. Instead, she lifted the gray pigeon.
As she raised her arm to let it go, the messenger pigeon flew straight out the window, heading towards the fortress in Leping Mountain.
In the eyes of the three, the silver-gray blur darting through the air seemed to merge with its environment and quickly vanished from sight, even more elusive than a white pigeon.
Qiao Yan responded, “Gray pigeons survive better; that’s why I chose it.”
What Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting didn’t expect was for Qiao Yan to suddenly turn back to them after saying that, her gaze carrying a serious undertone: “Pigeons are like people, aren’t they?”
Her words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Qiao Lan immediately realized that Qiao Yan had likely brought them here not merely out of a senior’s concern for their well-being, but for another purpose entirely.
Thinking back to why they had chosen Qiao Yan before coming, one reason stood out—they could be cultivated as trusted confidants by her, and Qiao Lan’s heart skipped a beat.
This seemed like a sign.
She cautiously asked, “Does the lord hope for my sister and I to learn to survive like this gray pigeon?”
“Not entirely,” Qiao Yan shook her head and replied, “Do you know what those gray pigeons are meant for?”
She didn’t intend for them to guess but continued speaking, “They are used to send messages.”
“Messages from south to north, even with the best horses, they might cover just about 200 miles a day, but pigeons can do 800 miles in a day, as the rumors say.”
“These pigeons can even fly through storms until they get the message into my hands.”
Meeting their slightly surprised gazes, Qiao Yan asked, “If I say I want you to help me manage this message channel, would you be willing?”
“Even if you aren’t willing, that’s fine; these messenger stations have their own operating codes and hidden channels, knowing about them doesn’t affect…”
It wouldn’t affect her from picking another person for the job, so she wasn’t pressuring them into a choice.
But before she could finish, Qiao Lan interrupted, exclaiming, “I’m willing!”
The determination in her voice was clear as day.
This was a true reflection of her current resolve.
Living in Leping, or rather in Bingzhou, she saw Qin Yu managing agricultural affairs, Lu Yuan assisting with court matters and foreign relations, Zhaoji handling cultural promotions, and even females under Qiao Yan’s command. As long as she still wished to grasp her own fate, she wouldn’t refuse this assignment.
Moreover, if she was willing to go with the flow, entrusting her future to the tides of the times, she wouldn’t even have thought about the decision to seek out Qiao Yan.
Previously, she had been considering that many at Leping Academy could assist Zhaoji with monthly reports, and they couldn’t compare to some seasoned farmers in agricultural matters, let alone martial skills; Lu Lingju, despite being young, could easily take both of them down. So it seemed likely they’d end up following Lu Yuan’s path.
However, Qiao Yan was now offering another choice.
A choice that was unique yet perfectly suited for both of them.
Qiao Lan thought this, and Qiao Ting felt the same. She chimed in, “I’m willing too.”
Qiao Yan swept her gaze over the faces of the two sisters, noticing their words were genuine, and then said, “I won’t hand this matter over easily; after all, it’s a matter of life and death for me. Before officially taking over, I need you to pass an assessment.”
“Of course, before the assessment, I will have someone teach you.”
Meanwhile, Jia Xu, who was in Shangjun, heard a knock on his door the next day.
He opened the door to see the Qiao sisters standing there.
Qiao Lan bowed and said, “The lord sent us to ask you about the methods for farming; we will be living in the courtyard next door to you until spring comes.”
Learn to farm?
Jia Xu glanced at the cotton fields outside.
Since returning to Bingzhou with Qiao Yan, the cotton in these fields had already been turned into cotton clothes, quilts, and cotton fabric, with not a single grain left behind.
If they really wanted to learn, it would be appropriate to start in April or May next year, and they should seek out the seasoned farmers.
Learning to farm at this time of year…
As he thought about this, he glanced at Li Ru, who lived in another courtyard, and couldn’t help but sigh.
“My lord, could you at least come up with a reason that doesn’t sound so fake?”
