Chapter 243

Chapter 243

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 7: Eight Hundred Qinchuan, Occupying Guanzhong Chapter 243: Return to Chang’an

The hardest days of Liu Xie’s early years were when he was coerced by Dong Zhuo to flee to Chang’an, just settling in Guanzhong.

At that time, Dong Zhuo only used him as a figurehead to recruit soldiers, never truly treating him as the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty.

When Dong Zhuo himself could only face the ruins of Chang’an, he certainly didn’t provide Liu Xie with adequate food and clothing.

Fortunately, just a month later, Duan Wei, who was farming in Huayin, quickly supplied food to the newly established court. Lu Zhi and Huang Wan also came from Luoyang, upholding the dignity of the Han Dynasty.

With food, Dong Zhuo didn’t treat Liu Xie as poorly as Li Jue later did, sending him rotten cow bones to eat.

But a child’s intuition is sharp.

Living under Dong Zhuo’s control for a long time kept Liu Xie’s nerves constantly tense, making him lose his appetite.

In contrast, even a bowl of thin rice porridge in front of him now felt satisfying.

By the second month of living there, he had learned his exact location, not just knowing he was in Yizhou.

He was in the southeastern part of Hanzhong Commandery, at the northern foot of the Daba Mountains.

This place had a particularly elegant name, Zhuxi, named after the nearby river.

Located between Xicheng and Shangyong, it was not part of the Hanzhong Plain, so few people passed by.

His adoptive father didn’t farm but earned money by cutting firewood and hunting.

To Liu Xie, he was indeed a capable man.

Even during last winter’s snow, he could catch game in the forest and sell it in Shangyong, also setting up traps to catch more prey.

His adoptive mother did needlework, but as she said, there were too many skilled people in Yizhou, so she often prepared herbs to supplement the family income.

In the first two months, Liu Xie was recovering from injuries and fearing capture by Dong Zhuo’s men, he stayed in the mountain courtyard, learning from his adoptive mother.

These skills were something Liu Xie would never have imagined learning two years earlier.

But as he mastered these basic life skills, he felt much happier than being an emperor with no freedom.

Thinking of the past, he picked up a spoon.

Due to Yizhou’s climate, rice could be grown here, so the porridge was made of rice, not millet or wheat.

The rice was pounded by Liu Xie after buying it.

The well-cooked porridge had a thin layer of oil, and Liu Xie found some minced meat and an egg in it.

For a hunting family, meat wasn’t rare, but using it in meals was still a luxury.

Liu Xie asked, “Why today…”

“Your clothes are getting short, so you must be growing. You can’t go without any fat,” the woman said. “Tomorrow, we’ll cook bamboo shoots with meat to help you grow tall like bamboo. Eat first, and when your father returns, he’ll tell you interesting stories.”

Liu Xie nodded heavily, unsure what to say.

The porridge, though not made with the finest ingredients, tasted better to Liu Xie than any delicacy he had eaten before.

By noon, his adoptive father returned.

As his wife said, he had bought many things while gathering news.

He handed two bundles of cloth to his wife and placed a basket of rice, flour, and salt on the ground, noticing Liu Xie’s hesitant look.

Remembering the instructions from Qiao Yan’s men, he said, “Don’t worry about the war. The Marquis of Leping has been appointed Grand Marshal by the court and is working with the Governor of Yizhou to subdue Zhang Lu. Before the Governor arrived, the Marquis had already conquered the Hanzhong Plain.”

“The Governor of Yizhou panicked, sending food and people, and handed Hanzhong over to the Chang’an court.”

He didn’t notice Liu Xie’s shocked expression, continuing, “But this has nothing to do with us commoners. They say our area will be taken over soon, so we won’t have to fight and can live peacefully. The Hanzhong Plain will be cultivated by soldiers, and those who followed Zhang Lu will be sent to open roads, but it doesn’t concern us.”

Liu Xie, having little contact with real farmers, didn’t realize that an ordinary farmer shouldn’t know such details about the war.

At most, they would know Hanzhong had changed hands and Liu Yan had sent supplies.

He was preoccupied with one thing his adoptive father said—the Marquis of Leping had been appointed Grand Marshal by the court.

Which court granted the title?

Why was she given the position of Grand Marshal?

From last August to now, six months had passed, and Liu Xie had never asked about Chang’an.

At first, it was because he had to maintain his amnesia act and avoid revealing his identity.

But later, it might have been out of avoidance.

Now, hearing about Qiao Yan’s conquest of Hanzhong, he had to ask.

He had thought that after his disappearance, Liu Bian in Ye City would become the sole legitimate emperor.

Thus, the Han Dynasty could be unified from its divided state.

This would undoubtedly be good for the people.

But if that were the case, it shouldn’t involve Qiao Yan as Grand Marshal and Liu Yan as Grand General, with Qiao Yan leading troops to Hanzhong.

What a strange development!

Liu Xie carefully asked, “You said, Grand Marshal?”

“You don’t think it’s a horse-keeping job, do you?” the man laughed. “I heard it’s the highest position below the Son of Heaven, now held by the Marquis of Leping. After the former emperor disappeared, she supported Liu Yu to succeed and had the merit of quelling Dong Zhuo’s rebellion, so she naturally deserves a high position and great rewards.”

“Speaking of that old traitor Dong Zhuo,” he continued, “if it weren’t for him, so many people from Chang’an wouldn’t have fled to Yizhou. Without land, they can only work as woodcutters or fishermen, competing with me. But he’s dead now.”

Hearing Dong Zhuo was dead, Liu Xie subconsciously relaxed.

But halfway through, he realized something was wrong!

According to his adoptive father, Dong Zhuo in Chang’an was gone, and Liu Xie had also disappeared. Qiao Yan, entrusted by his father as a regent, didn’t support Liu Bian but instead supported Liu Yu to ascend the throne?

Doesn’t that mean there are still two emperors, and chaos will continue?

Liu Xie’s expression changed repeatedly, unsure if his disappearance was good for the world.

His adoptive father noticed his expression and said, “I think it’s fine. Liu Yu’s good reputation has even reached us in Yizhou. Youzhou is a harsh place, but he managed to stabilize grain prices at thirty coins per dan.”

Liu Xie’s eyes widened.

Such news would never have reached him under Dong Zhuo’s control.

He only knew grain prices in Chang’an were shockingly high, and even his orders to Dong Zhuo to release grain for disaster relief didn’t improve the situation much.

But Liu Yu stabilized grain prices at that level, so his governance must be impressive.

It’s understandable that his good reputation reached Yizhou, crossing mountains and rivers.

Liu Xie heard the man continue, “As for the Marquis of Leping, she never loses a battle and values people’s livelihoods, increasing Bingzhou’s crop yields. This pair of rulers…”

“Your servant’s cooperation might be a blessing for the people, huh?”

Just as he finished speaking, his wife beside him said, “You’ve already said it, this doesn’t have much to do with our Hanzhong area, why do you care if they are good rulers or not?”

“There is still some relation,” he replied, “They mentioned that Hanzhong’s taxation will follow Guanzhong’s from now on, land tax will definitely not be collected, and the straw tax will be halved starting this year. Since Bingzhou’s farming methods may not be suitable for Hanzhong, they will first experiment with military farming. If results are seen this year, they can teach it here next year. Hearing this, I even want to buy land to farm.”

“But luckily, I also heard about a new job there. A bit upstream from Xixian County in the north, a dock is to be built, and a new town will likely emerge. I can walk a bit further to sell game and firewood there, maybe earn a bit more, and by the end of the year, I can buy you all some nice fabric.”

Liu Xie listened blankly as his parents discussed.

His foster mother asked if they should move closer to that area, but they were reluctant to leave their current living environment and decided against it.

He then heard his foster father say that Chang’an City has become a gathering place for people from surrounding areas in just half a year. Previously, people flowed from Chang’an to Yizhou, but now it’s the opposite.

The newly established court in Chang’an has set the year’s reign title to Jian’an, which seems fitting.

Liu Xie has never seen the situation in Ye City and doesn’t know how Liu Bian and Yuan Shao are cooperating there.

But strangely, he has an intuition that achieving the common people’s migration as his foster father mentioned is not an easy task.

When his foster father mentioned this, he touched Liu Xie’s face.

The scar on Liu Xie’s face, due to the poor effectiveness of folk remedies in removing marks, remained.

The man sighed, “If your face were still good, seeing how smart you are, maybe in a couple of years, we could save some money and send you to Guanzhong or Bingzhou to study and learn some good skills.”

“Today, I also heard that the Grand Marshal has invited several great scholars of the time to the Leping Academy in Bingzhou and established the Hongwen Hall in Guanzhong to attract talents from all over. Although it’s not something we can hope for, if there’s a chance, we should try.”

But for now, forget it.

With the scar on his face, Liu Xie is unlikely to follow the normal path to becoming an official.

But for Liu Xie, while he regrets not being able to see the current state of Guanzhong with his own eyes, he feels extremely fortunate.

If he really went to Chang’an, even with this scar, he might be recognized by old ministers familiar with him.

But at this time, why should he go to Chang’an, and why should he be found?

If there were no Son of Heaven in Chang’an, and the Han ministers were still searching for him after eliminating Dong Zhuo, keeping Guanzhong in a state of disorder, he might immediately reveal his identity to his foster father and return to Chang’an.

After removing the threat posed by Dong Zhuo, with the assistance of several regent ministers, he would surely be a good Son of Heaven.

But the current situation is different.

With Liu Yu, who has the demeanor of a benevolent ruler, at the center, and Qiao Yan, who seized Hanzhong within days, as the Grand Marshal, the tax burden on the people has suddenly decreased, and benevolent people from all over are coming to serve, perhaps—

Compared to Liu Bian inheriting the throne, Liu Yu’s reign is a more suitable choice.

If he appeared, wouldn’t Liu Yu, who has just ascended the throne for two months, be very embarrassed?

At that time, there would not just be two Sons of Heaven, but three!

How ridiculous that would be!

So rather than letting the newly restored order in Chang’an fall into chaos again, it’s better to keep things as they are.

Just assume that Liu Xie no longer exists in this world, only Wang An.

“What are you daydreaming about?” the man suddenly called out to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie turned to see that he was no longer standing in front of him but had taken a tightly wrapped package from the basket.

“Today at the market, someone was selling smoked meat, and the flavor was truly unique. I traded a wild pheasant I caught for it, so today we’ll have a treat.”

Halfway through his words, seeing his wife looking at him, he quickly added, “Don’t say I’m wasting money! The wild pheasant jumped into my hands, and the smoked meat was a barter, no money spent.”

As he unwrapped the package, he muttered, “They use more salt and sauce than you do, so the child should at least get to taste something new.”

Seeing this, Liu Xie couldn’t help but laugh.

The change of power in Hanzhong did not cause any upheaval in the lives of this couple from Yizhou; instead, it seemed to be moving in a better direction.

Who could say this isn’t a good outcome?

He really couldn’t bear to lose the life he has now.

Though ordinary and simple, it gives him a sense of security like never before.

He also just happens to be a commoner from Hanzhong, curious to see what the world will look like under the joint management of Liu Yu and Qiao Yan.

While Liu Xie was enjoying his bamboo shoot smoked meat mixed rice, Qiao Yan had already returned to Guanzhong.

No one would think this was an expedition where ten thousand went out and only half returned.

As far as the eye could see, soldiers marching on the official road from Maiwu to Chang’an were escorting an astonishing number of grain carts, their expressions clearly showing the pride of victory.

After their journey through the Qinling Mountains, they showed no signs of fatigue but marched chests out towards Chang’an City.

Each of them had the same thought—

This was the first battle launched in the first year of Jian’an!

Not only did they win this war and seize Hanzhong, but they also brought back so much loot, which is the best testament to the Grand Marshal’s title!

If before this battle, Liu Yan still had thoughts of sitting comfortably in Hanzhong, now he certainly wouldn’t dare.

And if before this battle, there were still people who dared to say Qiao Yan was too young to be granted the title of Grand Marshal, now they shouldn’t either.

After all, from Qiao Yan’s dispatch to Hanzhong to now, only a little over thirty days have passed.

More than half of that time was spent traveling through the Qinling Mountains.

Sending the message to Chengdu, having Liu Yan come, and then him returning to prepare grain for the army took over ten days.

So their actual combat time was only five or six days.

Anyone who thinks they can replace Qiao Yan is welcome to try, but they’ll face many hardships and dangers marching into Hanzhong now!

But those who see this team now probably first think not that this is a fierce and strong army, but—

So much grain!

“How much grain do you think these carts are carrying?” one person stopped by the roadside and asked his companion.

“At least five hundred thousand dan…” the other replied uncertainly.

These people had seen the trade between Dong Zhuo’s regime and Yizhou, but the teams back then were far inferior to what they see now.

What’s loaded in the grain carts, whether it’s grain or something else, is clear to everyone.

The amount is astonishing.

The first person shook his head, “I think it’s more, probably close to a million dan.”

Regardless of whether this grain is to be stored in the Chang’an government storehouse or poured into the Chang’an market to stabilize grain prices, one undeniable fact is—

With such a large amount of grain arriving in Chang’an, the people’s confidence in the court will greatly increase.

It’s only March now, and farming in the Guanzhong Plain has just started; any prospects are still unknown.

But even if a disaster strikes this year, with this grain at hand, they have room to maneuver.

If they previously came here because of Liu Yu’s ascension and the stabilization of Chang’an’s chaos, or didn’t flee further, now they can temporarily follow the court’s guidance and farm with peace of mind.

But obviously, what they saw wasn’t everything.

When Qiao Yan led her troops out of the Xiegu Valley to Mei County, she had already sent scouts on fast horses to report to Chang’an.

Liu Yu and his ministers in Chang’an were prepared for Qiao Yan’s hunting expedition to last until the end of April, but they were completely surprised that she returned in March, bringing back…

“A million dan of grain?”

Hearing the scout’s report, even Huangfu Song, who strongly supported Qiao Yan’s campaign, was shocked.

He quickly asked, “Did she just go and kill Liu Yizhou?”