Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 7: Eight Hundred Qin Rivers, Occupying Guanzhong Chapter 236: The Pinnacle of Officialdom

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Can a strategist not ascend the throne?

Chapter 236: The Pinnacle of Officialdom…

Order the Grand General and the Swift Cavalry General to hunt together in Hanzhong!

Literally, this seems to be a joint encirclement of Zhang Lu by Qiao Yan and Liu Yan.

But whether the prey in this hunt in Hanzhong is Zhang Lu, whom Qiao Yan calls unforgivable, or Liu Yan, who has disloyal intentions, most people present are not stupid and can hear the underlying meaning.

Naturally, it’s Liu Yan!

But under the pretense of having the Grand General and the Swift Cavalry General jointly lead troops for encirclement, at least nominally, they haven’t yet torn apart their relationship with Liu Yan.

“Hunt together…” Huangfu Song repeated the term and suddenly laughed heartily: “Good! What a hunt!”

The last time the term “hunt together” appeared in Qiao Yan’s mouth was when she claimed to hunt with Han Sui in Jincheng.

But at that time, she didn’t give Han Sui any chance to “hunt together.”

After she bypassed Longxi County and first captured Ma Teng, all that was left for Han Sui was a dead end surrounded on all sides.

Today, her words are firm, clearly showing the same arrogant attitude.

Although it’s a hunt together, it’s not hard to guess who is taking the lead.

This is not about discussing with Liu Yan to jointly capture Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.

It’s about advancing the Guanzhong army into Hanzhong before Liu Yan receives the words of encirclement and hunting from Chang’an, giving Liu Yan the illusion that they are about to march south and go anywhere!

To completely extinguish Liu Yan’s ambition for the Son of Heaven’s position in one go.

However—

Even Minister over the Masses Wang Yun feels that their condemnation and attack on Liu Yan are not quite in line with the current situation.

Even His Majesty Liu Yu is hesitant about whether to hold Liu Yan accountable.

So what would Liu Yan himself think?

He couldn’t have imagined such a head-on blow!

At this moment, Liu Yan is indeed thinking this way.

On one hand, he has people check whether the fire in the Yizhou government storehouse was an accident or man-made, and on the other hand, he worries about whether there was any concrete evidence taken by the envoys from Chang’an after Dong Fu’s former residence was burned.

But he realizes in his heart that he doesn’t need to panic.

Even if his early schemes were exposed to Liu Yu and Qiao Yan, with a more pressing opponent, could they ignore the threats from Ye City and Youzhou, the watchful eyes of Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, and the upcoming spring plowing arrangements, and recklessly invade Yizhou?

They probably can’t do that!

At most, they have made their intentions clear, but the friendly neighborly state maintained on the surface will not be affected by this unexpected confession.

At least until they settle things with the Ye City court, they won’t have spare time to deal with Yizhou.

But considering that Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao are not easy to deal with, Liu Yan feels that this process will take at least five years.

By then, with his division of Yizhou people and support for Dongzhou scholars, he will have firmly grasped Yizhou and might even have the strength to further incorporate the southern barbarians like the Banjian Man.

At most, in the current situation of strong enemies and weak self, he can’t completely anger the Chang’an court in words.

After all, the Grand General position he holds was given up by Qiao Yan, and she is a young general whose victories make one suspect she might act impulsively.

Considering the likes of Han Sui and Dong Zhuo who were swiftly defeated by her, Liu Yan feels it’s best not to follow their path and leave some buffer between them.

That’s enough.

When he shared this thought with his subordinates, Zhao Wei, who was present, couldn’t help but show some joy.

It seems his arrangements have worked.

He wanted to suggest to Liu Yan to send the eldest son to Chang’an as an official to temporarily put this mutual understanding behind them.

Such a move might even confuse the people in Chang’an into thinking Liu Yan only held such thoughts before Liu Yu declared himself emperor in Chang’an and has now abandoned such schemes.

But after throwing out this pretense, whether to be a ruler or a subject would still depend on the situation!

The initiative is still in their hands in Yizhou!

After all, Liu Yan has four sons by his side, and sending the eldest to the capital isn’t that regrettable.

If not considering the arrow wound Liu Yan received in his early years, his age is still at the prime for a ruler, and there’s no need to worry about any accidents with the eldest son not by his side.

But Zhao Wei, fearing his eagerness might alert the keen Liu Yan, who is sensitive to balancing Yizhou’s powers, and lead him to connect it to the government storehouse fire, had to remain silent.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yan said at this moment: “What do you think about sending my youngest son to Chang’an for studies as a gesture to ease relations?”

Zhao Wei: “…”

Wait! This is not what he had in mind!

According to normal logic, there should be a progressive development at this point.

If Liu Yan had already reached an agreement with Chang’an to exchange sending Liu Zhang as a hostage for the Grand General position, he shouldn’t be saying this now!

In this flash of insight, Zhao Wei made a judgment that seemed absurd to him—

The news he received earlier about Liu Yan sending Liu Zhang to Chang’an might be false, a false message released by the envoys from Chang’an!

But if that’s the case, what had he done before?

To change Liu Yan’s decision to send Liu Zhang to Sili as a hostage, he had presented Liu Yan’s schemes, the factional struggles within Yizhou, and the possible issues with Liu Yan’s heir selection to the envoys from Chang’an.

Yet in fact, Liu Yan seems never to have considered such a thing!

Zhao Wei had only made a one-sided speculation based on fragments from the envoys.

Because they carried the imperial decree appointing Liu Yan as Grand General and likely didn’t know the hidden circumstances of Liu Yan’s control of Yizhou, Zhao Wei never doubted they would create such false news.

In fact, if he hadn’t jumped into the pit, their false news would have been exposed after they left Yizhou.

But now…

It’s not the envoys’ mystification becoming a laughingstock in Yizhou, but Zhao Wei making a move extremely unfavorable to Yizhou, even thinking his actions were for the benefit of Yizhou people!

This potentially terrifying speculation made Zhao Wei’s face change.

But at this moment, he couldn’t speak to Liu Yan…








To speak of this matter, one must suppress any changes in their expression.

Even though he had erased all evidence of Liu Yan’s rebellious intentions, this was still an overstep taken without Liu Yan’s knowledge.

Who knows if his actions might give Liu Yan the opportunity to carry out a third purge of the Yizhou scholars!

Alerted, Zhao Wei immediately made a decision.

He would never admit that he was the one who did this!

Even though he knew he had fallen into a trap set by the envoy from Chang’an, he could only pretend he had never done such a self-sabotaging act.

But what he probably didn’t expect was that, with his full assistance, not only was Liu Yan’s ambition exposed before the court of Chang’an, giving Qiao Yan the chance to propose the plan to hunt in Hanzhong, but it also led to another highly favorable consideration for Qiao Yan in the court.

The so-called “hunt” is, of course, initiated by someone of higher status to command those of lower status.

Given the current situation, it was impossible for them to let Liu Yan command Qiao Yan.

If that were to happen, it would not align with their intention of “hunting in Hanzhong.”

However, under the current official hierarchy, the Grand General ranks above the Three Excellencies.

If they maintained the current unbroken relationship with Liu Yan, it would likely require Liu Yu himself to lead the expedition to achieve this goal.

But Liu Yu’s ability to command troops had been fully demonstrated in his confrontation with Gongsun Zan.

He could lead troops, but he couldn’t win.

Thus, a royal expedition was clearly not feasible.

With the people of Chang’an finally enjoying some stability, it was also not suitable for Liu Yu to travel, and the Son of Heaven should remain in the capital.

What could be done to change this situation?

There was actually a way!

Simply promote Qiao Yan above Liu Yan.

But above the Grand General and below the Son of Heaven, there was only one position available.

The Grand Marshal.

This position was originally held by Liu Yan, but after Liu Yu ascended the throne, he was removed. Now, if it were to come full circle and land on Qiao Yan, who was supposed to hold the position of Grand General…

Due to Liu Yan’s ambition to usurp the throne, no one found any issue with this arrangement.

Moreover, they had already considered Qiao Yan capable of holding the position of Grand General, effectively placing her above everyone else.

Simply promoting her one step further to the position of Grand Marshal to restrain Liu Yan, this unstable member of the Han imperial family, was clearly inevitable!

Huang Wan had no intention of defending his cousin and instead sought to distance himself from him. With this in mind, he was the first to propose this suggestion.

Let the Son of Heaven issue an edict, promoting Qiao Yan to Grand Marshal at the same time as the order to hunt in Hanzhong!

Let her title of Grand Marshal, which was previously only an additional title to her position as General of Agile Cavalry, become the true pinnacle of a subject’s position!

“This matter…” No.

Before Qiao Yan could finish speaking, Lu Zhi interrupted her, “Do you want to see Liu Yan, the Grand General, emerge victorious even in defeat after we rush to Hanzhong, and have the grounds to accuse and question you?”

“Or do you want to see the court in Ye City question our indiscriminate handling of friends and foes, becoming a laughingstock?”

“Or perhaps you want to see Liu Yan, as you suspect, recuperating in the fertile lands of Yizhou, becoming a thorn in our side?”

After these three rhetorical questions, Lu Zhi turned to Liu Yu and said, “I hope Your Majesty considers this proposal. The title of Grand Marshal is not an overreach, but a position for the capable, to make generals submit, civil officials emulate, to prevent cunning officials from hiding the truth, and evil men from bending the law, to ensure the people’s welfare and the army’s morale.”

In the face of suppressing the threat from Yizhou, Qiao Yan’s promotion was undoubtedly the best solution they could offer, turning this hunt into an invitation from the Grand Marshal to the Grand General to hunt down the bandit Zhang Lu, and after destroying the enemy leader, to laugh and intimidate.

Lu Zhi understood this.

How could Liu Yu not understand?

He had long felt guilty for Qiao Yan’s efforts for the Han cause when she yielded the position of Grand General to Liu Yan, hence the additional authority granted to her as General of Agile Cavalry with the title of Grand Marshal.

Now, being able to legitimately grant her the title of Grand Marshal, Liu Yu’s sense of guilt completely disappeared.

It was only right!

Moreover, if it were someone like Wang Mang or Huo Guang, holding the position of Grand Marshal would be seen as a threat to imperial authority, but what about Qiao Yan?

No one present dared to say she was not a loyal subject of the Han!

If we count from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, her contributions to the Han over these eight years surpassed what others had done in decades, so why shouldn’t her status match her deeds?

Without considering the possibility of her replacing the Han, the position of Grand Marshal was the most suitable!

Thus, two days later, the people of Chang’an heard a special drumbeat announcing an edict.

Because the Marquis of Leping, Qiao Yan, had been loyal and dedicated to the revival of the Han, the position of Grand Marshal was reinstated above the Three Excellencies and the Grand General, with authority over military and political affairs.

The common people didn’t quite understand the significance of changing from Grand Marshal General of Agile Cavalry to Grand Marshal, and some even thought that losing four characters meant a reduction.

But hearing that this was a promotion for the Governor of Bingzhou who had pacified Chang’an, and thinking of the changes in their lives over the past six months, they couldn’t help but applaud.

But this reduction of four characters in the title meant much more to Qiao Yan.

In the Purple Palace Hall, she was now dressed in official robes, listening to the reading of the imperial decree.

“In accordance with heaven and the times, I accept this mandate.”

“In the second month of the first year of Jian’an… an edict to the Governor of Bingzhou, General of Agile Cavalry, Marquis of Leping, Qiao Yan.”

“Since the middle of the Zhongping era, you have held the title of Governor, commanding the army, pacifying the distant regions. Despite the barbarians raiding the borders and the people’s fierce nature, you have also donned armor at the frontier, chasing through the night, slaying the Xiongnu chieftain in the wild, thus earning your position through virtue and dedication.”

“At the end of Zhongping, when the traitor Dong Zhuo caused trouble, you, as a model of upholding the Han court’s dignity, raised troops to suppress the traitor, leading the white-feathered soldiers, waving banners to quell the rebels, forcing the traitor to flee west.”

“Then driving the long chariots and shining halberds, reaching Xiliang, soaring like an eagle, pacifying the Qiang rebellion.”

“In the Guangxi era, your pure heart remained unchanged, your loyalty and bravery constant, your might sufficient to secure Guanzhong, your discernment sharp, guarding Juyong, your reputation reaching the nine barbarian tribes…”

“With a heart to reward virtue and talent, I remember your loyal and upright service, spreading virtue and kindness, upholding integrity and righteousness, to secure the state. I hereby promote you to Grand Marshal. Respect this!”

As the final word of the decree settled, Qiao Yan raised her hand and carefully received the edict from the Grand Herald, Chen Ji.

On the day Liu Yu ascended the throne, she had already received his side sword from his hands, much like the generals of the early Han receiving the sword of Emperor Gaozu, to open the way for the court and conquer the four directions.

Now, in this ceremony promoting her to Grand Marshal, she received from Liu Yu the feathered staff, symbolizing her authority and honor.

With this decree of Grand Marshal—

From this day forward, she was the first in both name and authority, beneath only the Son of Heaven!