Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 7: Eight Hundred Qin Rivers, Occupying Guanzhong Chapter 223: The Jian’an Era

The Grand Marshal…

This position is somewhat special nowadays.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the Grand Marshal, such as those with titles added before the Grand General or the Swift Cavalry General, was merely an additional title to highlight the special status of the general’s position, without any real political power.

It wasn’t until the reign of Huo Guang that the position of “Grand Marshal Grand General in charge of the Secretariat” emerged as a dual administrative and military role, later ranked among the Three Excellencies, equivalent to the Chancellor of the early Han Dynasty.

By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the situation had changed again.

The Grand Marshal transitioned from an internal advisory role to a military position, placed above the Grand General, and later renamed as the Grand Commandant, after which the position disappeared.

It wasn’t until Dong Zhuo’s usurpation that the position of Grand Marshal was reinstated, defined as a position above the Three Excellencies, to signify the power of a powerful minister.

To be precise, nowadays, this is a position above both the Three Excellencies and the Grand General.

Qiao Yan asked Xi Zhicai, “Wouldn’t taking this position raise suspicions of usurpation?”

Since the Grand Marshal was granted internal political power, most who held this position were not “proper ministers.”

For example, Huo Guang, who “decided all political matters,” Wang Feng, who “handled all political matters,” and Wang Mang, who outright usurped the Han Dynasty.

Xi Zhicai countered, “Would anyone think that Liu Youzhou originally had any disloyal intentions?”

Qiao Yan pondered and felt that this statement was not wrong.

Although the position of Grand Marshal is often said to be “the pinnacle of wealth and power, with no equal among ministers,” coincidentally, when Dong Zhuo reinstated this position, he did not take it for himself but gave it to Liu Yu to maintain a somewhat decent reputation.

In other words, if anyone thinks that Qiao Yan taking this position has any overreaching intentions, they should first discuss whether Liu Yu had any disloyal thoughts before being forced into the position.

Xi Zhicai continued, “On the other hand, the position of Grand General has mostly been held by relatives of the emperor, and several consecutive Grand Generals did not meet a good end, often having conflicts with the Son of Heaven. Rather than taking this position, it’s better to choose the Grand Marshal.”

Since you want to wear the crown of a powerful minister and have the honor of welcoming the Son of Heaven, why not go further!

The so-called “holding the position of Zhou and Shao, controlling the pivot of the world,” after her achievements in pacifying Liang and Bing and sweeping through Guanzhong, she can indeed strive for this power!

As Xi Zhicai said, in the face of the Grand General of the Eastern Han Dynasty repeatedly intimidating the imperial power, taking the position of Grand Marshal can be seen as both an advance and a retreat, and it is more dignified in upholding righteousness.

Perhaps the only thing to consider is one point.

Most of the previous Three Excellencies had gone through decades of promotion before finally becoming one of the Grand Commandant, Minister over the Masses, or Minister of Works.

Qiao Yan, not yet twenty, sitting in this position, will inevitably be criticized.

But we should also be grateful to Dong Zhuo, who not only reinstated the position of Grand Marshal but also provided several standard templates for rapid promotion to the Three Excellencies.

For example, Huang Wan.

He only started his official career after the Prohibition of Factionalists, almost at the same time as Qiao Yan was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Leping, but he was promoted to the Three Excellencies by Dong Zhuo two years ago.

In other words, it took him only five years from becoming an official to holding a position among the Three Excellencies.

Another extreme example is Xun Shuang.

He went from being a recluse by the Han River to becoming one of the Three Excellencies in just a few dozen days, a miracle of promotion.

This is equivalent to saying that in the current special circumstances, the normal promotion process is not necessarily strictly adhered to.

This also gives Qiao Yan the opportunity to maneuver.

Seeing Qiao Yan’s expression, Xi Zhicai knew she had made a choice between the Grand Marshal and the Grand General and continued, “If you have decided to strive for this position, please pay attention to how to deal with the person currently holding the position of Grand Marshal.”

The current Grand Marshal is Liu Yan, the Governor of Yizhou.

This was also a position granted by Dong Zhuo.

Because Liu Yan did not show any criticism towards the establishment of the Ye court, Dong Zhuo gave him this position after moving the capital to Chang’an.

Qiao Yan said, “Since you say so, you must already have some ideas.”

Xi Zhicai replied, “After Liu Youzhou ascends as the Son of Heaven, please ask for a position for the Governor of Yizhou. Let him step down as Grand Marshal and become the Grand General.”

Qiao Yan laughed at this.

The Grand General indeed has the real power to mobilize the world’s military forces, but if the person holding the position is in the treacherous lands of Yizhou, unless they can move north from Yizhou and take Guanzhong as a springboard, the title of Grand General is just for show in their own territory.

The authority of the Governor of Yizhou is sufficient.

Why bother with the additional title of Grand General?

But on the surface, this request for enfeoffment has no issues.

Liu Yu has no relatives to appoint as Grand General.

His wife and concubines and their children fortunately escaped to Dai Commandery when Gongsun Zan occupied Youzhou, not suffering the same fate as Liu He, who died in the war, but his brother-in-law died in the battle of the Coastal Road.

Thus, the position of Grand General is most suitable for someone like Liu Yan, a relative of the Han Dynasty, to show his co-optation.

But Liu Yan has overstepped his bounds in Yizhou.

So what consequences will this seemingly co-opting but actually demoting appointment bring?

Regardless of the specifics, Qiao Yan has the opportunity to maneuver and seize the position of Grand Marshal.

Seeing that her subordinates had brought Zhu Tan over during their conversation, Qiao Yan temporarily halted the topic.

She mounted her horse and nodded to Xi Zhicai, saying, “Thank you for your advice. After I return from Youzhou and head to Guanzhong, please wait for my good news.”

Back then, Xi Zhicai, with a salary worth only ten heads, took it upon himself to push Qiao Yan to the position of Governor of Bingzhou. Now, as the Administrative Officer of Bingzhou, he advocates for her to strive for the position of Grand Marshal, staying true to his original intentions.

However, isn’t this also a kind of mutual understanding between ruler and minister?

After exchanging a smile, Qiao Yan turned her horse westward and, under the protection of her personal guards, headed towards the Juyong Pass in Shanggu Commandery.

Although it’s not yet time to expand her territory to the entire Youzhou, nor is it time to confront Gongsun Zan directly, under the banner of supporting Liu Yu, she must at least show Gongsun Zan that the Bingzhou army will not retreat further after reaching Shanggu.

However, what Qiao Yan didn’t expect was that upon arriving in Shanggu Commandery, she had an unexpected gain.

Zheng Xuan’s old friend Bing Yuan, who had been living in seclusion in Liaodong Commandery, decided to head to Bingzhou after receiving a letter from Zheng Xuan, feeling that Liaodong was no longer a safe place due to the conflict between Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu.

He had just heard that Liu Yu was ambushed by Gongsun Zan while pursuing him and was defeated, and now Zhang Liao, a subordinate officer of the Governor of Bingzhou, was stationed in Shanggu Commandery, so he hurried there.

Zhang Liao led Qiao Yan into the city and said, “This Mr. Bing is quite lucky. Someone escorted him from Liaodong Commandery, otherwise he might have been robbed by bandits.”

“And the strong man who escorted him is quite interesting. I learned from Mr. Bing that this man is also from Qingzhou. During the Zhongping era, there was a dispute between the Qingzhou government and the Donglai Commandery government, and each sent a memorial to the authorities. At that time, he was the Memorial Officer of Donglai Commandery and went to Luoyang to destroy the Qingzhou government’s document, submitting the commandery’s first. Although he was working for the commandery, and the commandery was in the right in this dispute, to avoid being held accountable by the Qingzhou government, he fled to Liaodong.”

Hearing the word “Donglai” and this vaguely familiar story, Qiao Yan paused and asked, “What is this man’s name?”

Zhang Liao replied, “He calls himself—Tai Shici of Donglai.”

If Yuan Shao knew that, despite being the Governor of Qingzhou, he had let a sharpshooter originally from Qingzhou fall into Qiao Yan’s hands, regardless of whether Tai Shici was escorting Bing Yuan to Bingzhou as a bodyguard or going to join Qiao Yan, he would probably be furious.

But now, he was looking at the official document sent to him by Gongsun Zan.

Yuan Shao truly did not expect that Liu Yu’s return from Liangzhou to Youzhou and his confrontation with Gongsun Zan would end in such a way.

He sighed, “If it weren’t for this battle, I wouldn’t have known that Liu Bo’an’s military command ability was so poor.”

Liu Yu’s performance in this battle was like directly delivering himself to Gongsun Zan.

What a pity…

“What a pity that in this battle, Zhang Wen Yuan under Qiao Yeshu’s command still performed remarkably well.”

Whether it was his arrangement of camp defenses, intercepting the allied forces of Gongsun Zan, Ke Biner, and Tadun, beheading Ke Biner and forcing the Xianbei branch to retreat, or his rescue of Liu Yu after Liu Yu stubbornly pursued Gongsun Zan, circling Xu Wu Mountain and suddenly appearing to save Liu Yu, all showed extraordinary general prowess.

Yuan Shao was not unmoved by such a fierce general.

It’s just that Zhang Liao is from Yanmen Commandery, has followed Qiao Yan for a long time, and is clearly highly valued, so there’s no way he could be lured by others.

So while Gongsun Zan’s victory over Liu Yu is true, this victory cannot be seen as a victory over Qiao Yan, nor can it shake the morale of Qiao Yan’s side.

Instead, with Liu Yu’s defeat and retreat, it seems that most of Youzhou has fallen into Gongsun Zan’s hands, but in reality, Dai Commandery and Shanggu Commandery have been incorporated into Bingzhou, giving Qiao Yan two additional commanderies.

It’s not difficult for the Bingzhou army to defend these two commanderies.

The Juyong Pass is directly connected to the Taihang Mountains, known as the Jundu Mountain in this area, also one of the Eight Passes of Taihang.

Holding this pass ensures the safety of Dai Commandery and Shanggu Commandery.

Zhang Liao’s decisive action minimized the defensive pressure on the Bingzhou front.

With the Juyong Pass in hand, although Gongsun Zan has troops stationed in Changping, he cannot cross the border.

It’s even more impossible for the Jizhou front to invade Dai Commandery unless they first cross the Taihang Mountains.

The more Yuan Shao thought about Zhang Liao’s decisive action, the angrier he became.

No wonder Qiao Yan didn’t take Zhang Liao to the battles in Liangzhou and Guanzhong.

Such a capable general, though young, is indeed essential for guarding the rear.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. It’s better not to think about it. Yuan Shao turned his thoughts back to the military report in his hand and asked Ju Shou, “In your opinion, should we agree to Gongsun Bogui’s request?”

To be honest, Yuan Shao had once been wary of Gongsun Zan’s southward invasion and even assigned the task of teaching Yuan Shu a lesson to Liu Bei due to military deployment decisions. Now, having to compromise with Gongsun Zan due to his gathering of prisoners, expansion of his army, and alliance with the Wuhuan, Yuan Shao felt quite unhappy.

But listening to Ju Shou’s reply, he felt that now was not the time for emotional decisions.

Ju Shou said, “Think about it, what if we don’t give Gongsun Zan this position?”

“After Liu Yu’s defeat, Gongsun Zan has accumulated over fifty thousand troops in various commanderies. Although the Bingzhou army at Juyong Pass has cut off Gongsun Zan’s westward advance, it’s not easy for them to exit the pass. Thus, Gongsun Zan can station troops in Changping while moving south to invade our Jizhou, making Bingzhou laugh at us.”

“On the other hand, if you first grant him the title of Governor of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan, out of reason, should not disrespect us.”

Ju Shou seemed to sense Yuan Shao’s concern and added, “But this move is not because you fear him, but because the former Governor of Youzhou, Liu Yu, under the circumstances of having our Son of Heaven in Ye City, actually had thoughts of proclaiming himself emperor, which is rebellion. Gongsun Zan’s military action to suppress him is a righteous act, hence this reward.”

This explanation justified Yuan Shao’s seemingly inconsistent actions and preserved the face of Jizhou.

Yuan Shao felt much more at ease.

Ju Shou further analyzed, “Additionally, I suggest you station a military commander in Bohai Kingdom and Donglai Commandery to restrain Gongsun Zan.”

“North of Bohai Kingdom is Guangyang Commandery and Yuyang Commandery, the first line of defense against Gongsun Zan. Donglai Commandery faces Liaodong Commandery of Youzhou across the sea. If we station troops in Donglai Commandery, Gongsun Zan will also fear us crossing the sea and entering the heart of Youzhou.”

Yuan Shao looked at the map and asked…








“Who should be stationed here?”

Ju Shou replied, “I believe Your Excellency has already made a decision on this matter.”

What he should advise is that Yuan Shao should not care too much about face and give Gongsun Zan the title of Governor of Youzhou.

The position of Cavalry Commandant that Ju Shou holds is also part of the military, so he cannot be seen merely as a civil official under Yuan Shao.

In this situation, recommending military officers for positions is somewhat inappropriate.

Hearing Ju Shou’s words, Yuan Shao didn’t ask further, but instead asked those present, “Do any of you have objections to the arrangements for Gongsun Bogui?”

With Yuan Shao already showing a clear inclination, his strategists, despite their internal factional disputes, would not contradict him at this moment and all expressed agreement.

Then they could discuss another issue: how to deal with the Xianbei branch and the Wuhuan.

In the petition submitted by Gongsun Zan to Yuan Shao, there was also a piece of news that Qiao Yan had not yet learned.

The Wuhuan Chanyu Qiuliju, whose health was already poor, had either worsened due to the harsh winter or because Tadun unexpectedly followed Gongsun Zan to war, causing Qiuliju to die of shock. In any case, by the time Gongsun Zan sent this petition, the Wuhuan Chanyu was no longer Qiuliju but Tadun.

Yuan Shao vaguely remembered that Gongsun Zan had a past grudge with Qiuliju, which once resulted in a mutually destructive outcome.

Qiuliju’s death actually strengthened the alliance between Gongsun Zan and Tadun.

This was not good news for Yuan Shao either.

Yuan Shao turned to Xu You, “Ziyuan, what do you think of this matter?”

Since Xu You returned from Chang’an last time, he had become much more silent, perhaps because that trip to Chang’an had embarrassed him.

But now, directly questioned by Yuan Shao, Xu You quickly adjusted his mood and replied, “Gongsun Zan requested in his letter that Tadun be enfeoffed as a king, but the iron law of the Han Dynasty is that only the Liu family can be kings. In the past, Emperor Huan wanted to enfeoff Tan Shihuai as a king to establish good relations, but even though one cannot rashly discuss the Son of Heaven, scholars privately had many complaints. Your Excellency should not repeat this mistake.”

“As Gongyu said, enfeoffing Gongsun Zan as Governor of Youzhou is due to his military achievements in defeating Liu Bo’an. At most, Tadun should only receive a reward for his assistance. Your Excellency might as well ask Gongsun Zan who is the main contributor in this military achievement. If he is secondary, then the title of Governor of Youzhou should be given to Tadun; if he is primary, how dare Tadun be enfeoffed as a king?”

“In my opinion, granting him the title of Marquis of Liaodong, with the annual salary of the Liaodong dependency, and bestowing the title and seal of Wuhuan Chanyu would suffice.”

“Although the Liaodong dependency was originally established to settle the Wuhuan people who submitted to us, due to trade, there are also many Han people living there. Gongsun Zan, as Governor of Youzhou, also owns the Liaodong dependency. Let these two argue over tax collection.”

The potential for their disputes might not only be about territorial inclusion but also whether the title of Marquis of Liaodong can satisfy Tadun’s appetite.

If it weren’t for Liu Yu’s impulsive pursuit, allowing Gongsun Zan to turn the tables, Tadun, who narrowly escaped death during the camp raid, would likely have some grievances with Gongsun Zan.

Despite Gongsun Zan’s current glory in repelling Liu Yu and openly seeking legitimacy, there are still many potential crises.

Yuan Shao then heard Xu You continue, “Additionally, please find an excuse in half a year to have His Majesty grant the titles of Village Marquis to Nanlou, Supuyan, and Wuyan.”

Theoretically, these three are not from the same Wuhuan tribe as Qiuliju and Tadun, but because Qiuliju grew increasingly powerful, he gradually annexed the populations of the other three tribes, becoming the dominant Chanyu.

These three each claimed kingship, guarding the Chanyu among them.

Tadun’s sudden usurpation of Qiuliju’s authority was only possible with Gongsun Zan’s support, allowing these three to coexist peacefully with him, submitting to his intimidation.

But it must be known that in the early years of Emperor Ling, Nanlou, who originally resided in Shanggu, commanded nearly ten thousand people, more than Qiuliju at that time. With such an advantage, Nanlou would not easily submit to Tadun.

By giving them support, a balance of power within the Wuhuan could be formed.

At that time, whether Gongsun Zan would take sides or watch the Wuhuan internal strife would be an opportunity for Ji and Qing Provinces.

Yuan Shao clapped his hands and laughed, “Good! With Gongyu and Ziyuan’s brilliant strategies, why should I fear these two Liaodong brutes!”

He then turned and asked, “By the way, since Kebineng of the Xianbei branch has died, should we assist Xianbei’s Qianman to contain a military force in Bingzhou?”

“This is inappropriate,” Shen Pei, who was present, replied. “The strengths of the Wuhuan tribes are similar, and they may still fight among themselves, but Qianman is different.”

“He was already frightened by the Bingzhou army and fled. Seeing that the Xianbei Chanyu Budugen was supported by Qiao Bingzhou, his tribe grew stronger. Now with Kebineng also killed by the Bingzhou army, he is already terrified. If Your Excellency dares to request an enfeoffment for him, he might go to Shanggu Commandery tomorrow to seek forgiveness from the Bingzhou army.”

Although Shen Pei’s words were not pleasant, Yuan Shao had to admit that what he said was true.

He said, “In that case, we don’t need to bother with him. Let Gongsun Bogui take this Xianbei branch for his own use.”

After Gongsun Zan obtained the title of Governor of Youzhou, he probably wouldn’t miss such a useful labor force.

After these arrangements were settled, Yuan Shao looked around at those present. Thanks to the reliability of his strategists, he finally calmed down his earlier envy of Qiao Yan having Zhang Liao as an assistant.

However, listening to the advice of Ju Shou, Xu You, and Shen Pei, Yuan Shao couldn’t help but think of someone missing from the gathering.

He muttered to himself, “Tian Feng has been in Bingzhou for quite some time to gather information. Logically, whether he has gained anything or not, he should have sent a letter back from Bingzhou. Why is it like a stone sinking into the sea with no news?”

With Tian Feng’s intelligence, it shouldn’t be the case that he was discovered by Qiao Yan as soon as he arrived in Bingzhou and then detained.

Nor could it be that he was lazy and neglected to send a letter.

Thinking that Tian Feng couldn’t just disappear, Yuan Shao planned that if he still didn’t receive any news in half a month, he would send someone to Bingzhou to look for him.

If Tian Feng could hear Yuan Shao’s muttering, he would probably pour out his grievances.

The current situation of being out of contact really couldn’t be blamed on him.

Being directly caught by Zhang Niujiao in the position of “future confidant,” his daily work and literacy classes were group assignments, rarely mixing with a large number of people.

This meant that it was almost impossible for him to secretly pass messages to his subordinates.

More troublesome was that because Zhang Niujiao intended for him to learn arithmetic at the Academy, seven days after his promotion, he was packed off to Leping with a batch of approvals.

Leping Academy is a relatively free place to come and go, but Leping Academy of Sciences is not.

Considering that Ma Jun, the great inventor researching weapons, is also here, Leping Academy of Sciences is strictly managed according to military camp regulations.

Before Tian Feng could observe what special material the walls here were made of, the manager informed him that this place had everything for accommodation, work, entertainment, and dining, so entering and exiting required registering the purpose and time, and nothing could be taken out of the Academy.

Deciding not to arouse suspicion, he temporarily suppressed the impulse to meet his subordinates, planning to apply for a day off from Zhang Niujiao after finishing his abacus studies, and then send out all this information in one go.

But unlucky Tian Feng ran into a big event.

On the nineteenth day of his routine abacus studies here, just when he thought he could be “released” tomorrow, Leping received a message.

Due to Liu Yu’s succession as the Son of Heaven, the old site of the Chang’an palace needed to be re-surveyed, and the original Luoyang Lingtai needed to be rebuilt in Chang’an. The date and process of the enthronement also required the assistance of the Grand Historian and his subordinates, so some of them needed to go to Chang’an to start work.

Logically, this matter shouldn’t involve Tian Feng, as he belongs to the agricultural tool production department and is not under the jurisdiction of the Grand Historian.

But the person teaching him abacus is Ren Hong.

According to the specific division of the Grand Historian’s subordinate officials, her current official position should be called Lingtai Cheng.

This official position, according to the Han Dynasty’s official regulations, only has a monthly salary of one hundred dan, but it is the top subordinate under the Grand Historian, commanding over forty “Lingtai Daizhao” and overseeing the sun, moon, stars, and weather.

Since Qiao Yan renamed Ren Hong more than two years ago, she has been diligently studying under Ma Lun in Leping, achieving today’s results.

Therefore, when Ma Lun caught a cold due to the winter weather, the task of building the new Lingtai in Chang’an was handed over to Ren Hong.

Suddenly receiving such an important task, Ren Hong couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, so she brought along all the personnel she could mobilize.

To be fair, Tian Feng didn’t show any particularly impressive performance while learning the abacus, at most just following the routine.

But the thing is… he completed his studies following the routine.

So Ren Hong thought about it and decided that he was also a promising talent who could assist her in her work, so she went directly to Zhang Niujiao to borrow him.

Tian Feng felt that when he was looking for a job in Bingzhou, he shouldn’t have said that he wanted to earn more money in Bingzhou to bring his family there.

So when Ren Hong generously offered him triple the salary, he didn’t have a reason to refuse.

He couldn’t say he gets motion sickness in carriages, could he?

There’s even a Hua Tuo in Leping!

Helpless, Tian Feng didn’t even have the chance to inform Yuan Shao that he had gone from being a spy from Ji Province to Bingzhou, directly spying all the way to Chang’an.

Yuan Shao probably wouldn’t have thought of this.

After all, before Tian Feng left Ye City, no matter how much they considered the possible accidents in this intelligence-gathering mission, they never expected the current situation.

Who could he reason with!

According to the logic of Bingzhou people’s evaluation, this should be considered a stroke of luck, being heavily relied upon.

Thinking of this, Tian Feng subconsciously tugged at the cotton coat he was wearing.

Reportedly, for the sake of the presentable attire of the personnel going to Chang’an, even he was issued one.

In the books of the agricultural tool production department, he saw part of the components of the cotton seed separation machine and the cotton bow, but unfortunately, he didn’t see where the cotton was planted.

But even if he saw it, it would be useless, as his messages couldn’t be sent back.

However, when Tian Feng felt the warmth and cold resistance of this cotton coat, he couldn’t help but worry more about Ji Province.

What he was thinking about wasn’t how much manpower Bingzhou could preserve in winter under the influence of such cold-resistant items, but another equally serious issue.

In the past, it was believed that battles in the northern environment would not occur in winter.

Even if they did, both the attacking and defending sides would be under the same harsh environmental conditions.

But now that Bingzhou has such unreasonable cold-resistant items, doesn’t it mean that besides the differences in weapons, there is another influencing factor?

He couldn’t help but stare blankly at the direction of the carriage’s vent window, feeling that his responsibility for this investigation was becoming increasingly significant.

Fortunately, his unusual behavior at this moment was not noticed by anyone.

This fairly large carriage was seating more than a dozen people, including Ren Hong.

At this moment, she was fully focused on reviewing the knowledge Ma Lun had taught her, so she wouldn’t pay attention to Tian Feng’s actions.

Thinking that not long after they arrived in Chang’an, Qiao Yan would also come, she couldn’t help but feel a bit more nervous.

She wanted to prove that what her teacher had taught her over the past two years was enough for her to walk in front of people as the Lingtai Cheng, not as the female official Diaochan, and also to prove that Qiao Yan’s expectation of her, “Hongyu does not fly low,” was gradually being realized.

And she had another important task on this trip.

Although she didn’t know why, since Qiao Yan had assigned this task, she had to complete it for her.

Logically, the era names of past years were mostly changed based on the thoughts of the Son of Heaven, especially the era name after the new emperor’s enthronement.

But strangely, before Qiao Yan went to the Juyong Pass in Youzhou, she sent a message to Leping.

She said she hoped to use the Grand Historian’s astrological deductions to persuade Liu Yu to set the era name as—

Jian’an.