Chapter 257
“Can a strategist not ascend the throne?”
Little did Zhang Meng know, he was just a pawn chosen by Qiao Yan, and he leaped right into this trap without any awareness.
When he took the knife from the hands of that armed individual, he even took the time to inspect it carefully from top to bottom. In the end, he concluded—
This is indeed a superb knife.
But of course, there are differences between good knives. For instance, a knife designed for slitting throats is different from a thick-bladed knife.
The former excels in sharpness and resilience, while the latter shines in strength.
The knife in Zhang Meng’s hands belonged to the former category.
In other words, if this knife were used in actual combat, it could easily slice through flesh and bone. But heavy armor would still effectively block its blade, so what about the concrete ground in front of him?
If it were the latter kind of knife, he might rely on its strength and explosive force to chip a small piece out of the concrete under extreme circumstances. The former, however, was clearly not up to the task.
But Zhang Meng didn’t understand any of this.
Realizing just how sharp this long knife was, he even asked the previous knife wielder for some items to test the sharpness, like wood, leather armor, and even other weapons.
In short, the final results left everyone quite satisfied.
His rigorous performance, well, it drastically reduced the chances of him being dismissed as a fool.
This “everyone” didn’t just refer to the onlookers.
Zhang Meng was also clearly pleased with the current situation.
To him, with a good knife in hand, combined with his strength, it would be easy to cut through gold and jade, let alone tackle such a path!
Meanwhile, Qiao Yan watched this scene from a distance, unable to help but smile.
Someone nearby commented, “I see your lordship’s action here is not just showcasing this miraculous path, but also showcasing the knife.”
Hearing Cheng Yu’s remark, Qiao Yan replied, “This can only be considered a secondary effect. Everyone knows that having the advantage in weaponry is essential for defeating the enemy. Those with iron weapons have already considered how to make their knives sharper; what we’re doing is merely doing our best.”
This isn’t akin to evolving from dirt paths to gravel roads to concrete; it reflects a qualitative change. In modern terms, it can only be seen as an improvement in quality control.
But when Zhang Meng cut through the sword of a guest from Jing Province with this knife, the way everyone looked at the knife changed slightly.
This place was originally just a demonstration of the new road in Chang’an, but at this moment, it had shifted focus from paper to fine horses to military might and now to weaponry, creating a robust impression that didn’t even need to be spoken.
But such a fine knife—
Zhang Meng rubbed his sweaty palms, gripping the hilt tightly, and swung it down towards the concrete.
In a flash, with a sound that would make anyone wince, everyone heard the painful sound of metal bending as the blade connected with the ground.
This was surely not the sound a knife would make if it cut through concrete like it was tofu!
Zhang Meng nearly lost his balance and fell sideways, but thank goodness he had enough martial prowess to keep himself upright.
As he regained his stance, he couldn’t help but stare at the knife, frozen in place.
In that moment, he realized he had exerted every ounce of his strength.
When the blade struck the ground, the vibrations traveled from the tip of the knife to his palm, leaving his arm tingling painfully.
If he hadn’t instinctively held onto the knife, it would have surely slipped from his grasp.
It was because of this stubbornness that, for a brief moment, he felt as though his arm no longer belonged to him.
But such “effort” clearly didn’t yield the expected returns.
Not only did he fail to leave a scratch on the ground, but the knife he had thought could cut through iron like mud now had a noticeable curl at its tip!
If it weren’t for the knife’s inherent resilience, Zhang Meng might have doubted it wouldn’t break on the spot, which would certainly give him a painful lesson.
The mere thought of such an outcome sent a chill down his spine.
If that unfortunate scenario did happen, there wouldn’t be a chance for him to escape!
This failure to cut the ground, which almost resulted in his injury, left Zhang Meng feeling an unprecedented sense of defeat. Another emotion nagged at him even more.
Standing there with the now-useless knife, he felt all the surrounding eyes boring into him, silently saying—look, here’s the guy who overestimated himself.
This subtext made him wish he could sink into a crack in the ground.
Or better yet, he wished for the chance to turn back time, to the moment he first arrived in Chang’an, and take back those underestimating words about the path.
However, in reality, the majority of those present, after witnessing the curled tip of the knife, didn’t focus on Zhang Meng’s flushed face, but rather on the seamlessly constructed ground.
The citizens of Chang’an had seen this ground laid, so they knew its previous muddy state.
But now, what did they see?
Now it had transformed into a solid foundation that neither people nor vehicles could damage, weapons could not cut through.
What a miraculous sight to behold!
After all, even stones couldn’t possibly be this large and flat.
Such an existence undeniably shattered their previous understanding.
As Zhang Chang pulled the dazed Zhang Meng off the concrete path, the citizens of Chang’an heard the guards on duty informing them that soon, after the Son of Heaven and the officials’ carriages passed through the city gates and returned, they would be allowed to walk on it themselves.
After all, Chang’an’s decree was that if railings were present on both sides of the royal road, stepping on it would be against the law. So, since the railings had been removed today, they could walk on it; subsequently, when no barriers were established, they could walk too.
They could actually walk on it?
Everyone exchanged glances, confirming they hadn’t misheard, and suddenly their faces lit up with joy.
Just moments ago, they were skeptical about Zhang Meng’s knife situation, and now their focus had turned to the ground, eager not to miss the best spot when their turn came.
Another batch of carriages passed before them and then returned, and soon the previously obstructing guards orderly retreated down the long street.
Lu Zhi had just descended from his carriage and turned to see the long street filled with people.
Recalling the earlier scene, he couldn’t help but smile a little.
“This is the first time I’ve seen the citizens bowing their heads before the Son of Heaven and his ministers, not out of reverence for his authority, but while examining the details of this road.” When Qiao Yan returned from directing the demonstration, Lu Zhi said this to her.
Qiao Yan jested, “Perhaps they’re contemplating whether the weight of the Son of Heaven and the Three Dukes can break this miraculous path?”
Wang Yun was a bit distant before and had missed Lu Zhi’s earlier comment. Hearing Qiao Yan mention the “weight,” he inquired, “What weight?”
Qiao Yan responded, “The weight of a mountain.”
Hearing her say this, Wang Yun waved his hand helplessly. “Grand Marshal, please refrain from joking like that. I reckon the four types of paper we saw earlier weigh far more than we do.”
Let alone Zhang Chang’s immense curiosity about these new types of paper, even Wang Yun couldn’t resist feeling a bit fidgety as he passed by those sheets of white and yellow paper.
But giving credit to Qiao Yan for eventually providing clarity, he suppressed his curiosity and asked, “As for the paper, I’m curious, it seems only a few can comprehend its quality. Perhaps letting a few more people test it on the ground would be far more useful than having these papers presented now. Why choose this path?”
Qiao Yan pointed to the congested crowd near the street, asking Wang Yun, “In your view, Minister Wang, do you think aside from having that person swing the knife, it would be more effective to engage several others to boost the atmosphere compared to letting them experience it themselves?”
Clearly, it wouldn’t.
More people would prefer to trust what their eyes could see, especially something that hadn’t appeared before.
From Wang Yun’s perspective, he saw individuals poking the ground with their carrying poles.
Perhaps because they noticed Zhang Meng’s arm wasn’t fully recovered since the knife swing, no one dared to test it brutally.
This action, of course, wouldn’t cause any damage to the concrete road, but the people still engaged in it merrily, looking quite pleased with themselves.
To Wang Yun, this seemed to further confirm their belief that this was a miraculous path bestowed upon Chang’an by the heavens.
It truly was more beneficial than having others demonstrate on it.
“But it seems you still haven’t answered my question; even so, this segment could be canceled,” Wang Yun remarked.
Qiao Yan smiled knowingly, “This could be called a little trick to rally collective wisdom.”
“What do you mean by that?” Lu Zhi asked beside her.
“Let’s put it this way,” Qiao Yan explained, “If it were solely up to me to think of a way to promote this road, or even my subordinates, at most it would reach the level you all saw today. But since we want to spread the renown of the Chang’an court far and wide, and create pressure on the other end, we certainly can’t stop here.”
Upon hearing this, even though Lu Zhi and Wang Yun already knew Qiao Yan was bold and ambitious, they still didn’t expect her to feel unsatisfied in front of what they considered a remarkable spectacle.
She had even grander goals.
“Think about it. Since we can unveil such paper at this grand ceremony, then there must be a way to produce it. If there’s such a capability, who wouldn’t want to record their literary and artistic achievements in a more aesthetically pleasing way? Who wouldn’t want their masterpieces to exist in a more expressive manner? Who wouldn’t want to try painting on paper instead of rock walls to document their experiences?”
This made Wang Yun have an inkling of realization.
Qiao Yan said, “Minister Wang, forgive me for being blunt. If you were a young aristocrat who wasn’t well-acquainted with me and had come to question me about the liquor limit, but now you see such high-quality goods that could satisfy a spiritual pursuit, would you—”
“What a choice, huh?”
“One unfortunate fact is that the wine party is still ten days away, so I can’t get any answers for now. It’s just that I had no intention of having any direct communication with them before this, even going so far as to temporarily leave Chang’an to avoid their visits. What can they do to ensure they’re not left out?”
Paper isn’t like cotton clothes.
For these noble youths, without cotton clothes, they still have furs to keep them warm in winter.
As long as there’s money, they wouldn’t end up freezing to death.
The worst that could happen is that in the promotion crafted by Qiao Yan, Princess Yang’an, and Mi Zhu, if they continue to dress as they did before, they’d appear out of touch with the trends.
But if they’re still using old-fashioned paper instead of that pristine mulberry bark paper, that might be more about their reputation.
The reputation of scholars.
Why did she bring out four types of paper at this time?
Aside from the bamboo paper she just got her hands on, the mulberry bark paper, blue sandalwood paper, and other variants all fall under the category of “skin paper,” which can be produced similarly and aren’t new products.
She didn’t show them before but waited until now simply because—
She needed to secure a fair exchange of benefits with these two items.
And here they are, just in time.
By pushing bamboo paper with cheap prices to expand Leping Monthly Report’s circulation and reduce educational costs, she also needed to get a grip on the life threads of some others.
Wang Yun asked tentatively, “Are you suggesting that since we’re focusing on promoting this route, they might as well lend a hand to get the news about this paper?”
Qiao Yan replied, “If they’re unwilling to let go of the wine industry’s exorbitant profits, then of course, that’s the most clever move.”
If Wang Yun were to analyze the current situation, he’d probably find it just as she described.
She hadn’t even explained the liquor ban yet and had already regained the initiative, forcing others to ease relations with her. So, if these folks promoted this spectacular route in Chang’an a bit, it’d be a perfectly timed move.
Once they made that choice, their respective news channels and publicity methods, not to mention their own reputations, could turn “Chang’an has a magnificent road” into an undeniable fact known far and wide.
This wouldn’t harm their own interests.
Qiao Yan added, “I think they’ll each show off their tricks.”
The anecdotes and tales written by scholars through the ages are one more exciting than the other; who knows, maybe a bizarre story about “mud flowing to Chang’an and water turning into stone” would emerge someday.
In short, let them showcase their skills.
Lu Zhi thought Qiao Yan’s words had a hint of mischief, but as he looked at the bustling scene, he couldn’t help but think that this bit of mischief was really quite insignificant.
Amidst the crowd, he spotted an exceptionally amusing sight.
A guy who was previously responsible for guarding the road was now holding what seemed to be a neighboring dog, pressing its paws onto the ground in front of him. It was rather adorable—
Weren’t they always wanting to step on it? Now they could step all they wanted.
The two sides’ earlier chase and blockades oddly came to a harmonious end like this.
If it weren’t for the orderly situation in this land, and if the people weren’t joyful, such a scene filled with childlike joy would never have happened.
Or perhaps… that dog was really back in the pot as the onlookers initially assumed, and not here.
Thinking this, he appreciated the rarity of the scene even more.
Yuan Yao among the crowd caught sight of this as well, his eyes flickering.
He was now stepping on this special road.
Though caught up in the flow of people, he couldn’t deny his intense curiosity about the scene.
It wasn’t until the surrounding guards began to disperse, shifting from blocking them from stepping on this paved road to letting newcomers come to see it, that Yuan Yao belatedly realized he shouldn’t get lost in this and forget the primary task he came to Chang’an for.
He was supposed to seek out the Grand Marshal to request medical help for his father!
Yuan Yao hurriedly walked out of the crowd, heading in the direction the guards indicated.
But just as he leveled his gaze from the ground to eye level, he suddenly spotted a somewhat familiar figure in the crowd.
Even though the other was dressed in unfamiliar clothes and had his head down to lessen his presence, they had once been called cousins and played together in Luoyang. There was no way they wouldn’t recognize each other.
It was Yuan Shao’s second son, Yuan Xi!
But why was he here?
Remembering that his father was injured precisely because of Ju Shou, whom Yuan Shao sent from Chenliu to ambush him, and that Yuan Shao was at odds with the Chang’an court, Yuan Yao didn’t think twice before chasing after him.
If he’s not mistaken, catching Yuan Xi could still be considered an achievement.
But there were too many people around for it to happen easily.
In a blink, he realized he had lost sight of Yuan Xi.
When he tried to look again in the crowd, Yuan Xi was nowhere to be seen.
Yuan Yao was sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, so he really must have seen Yuan Xi and it wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
Too bad he didn’t catch him!
As he contemplated Yuan Xi’s possible intentions for being here, he continued on his way to the Grand Marshal’s residence.
What surprised him was that before he even submitted his visiting card, he was recognized by someone who had been waiting at the gate and was brought in.
However, Qiao Yan wouldn’t tell him that the moment he set off from Yu Province, the intelligence personnel there had already sent word via carrier pigeon to Guanzhong, leading some to have noticed Yuan Yao’s entry into the city ahead of time.
This is what turned his appearance into something not quite unexpected.
But such intelligence does have its limitations; for example, Ju Shou and Gao Gan starting their own journey to Chenliu County wasn’t something Qiao Yan’s people could know since they didn’t leave with troops from Ye City. So when reports from Yu Province told Qiao Yan about Ju Shou attacking Runan with private troops from the Gao clan of Chenliu and the general leading them being Gao Shun, Qiao Yan stared at the message for quite a while.
Fortunately, this news wasn’t too unfavorable for her.
Yuan Shao’s offensive strategy indicated that he wouldn’t be able to achieve his goal of conquering Yu Province anytime soon. On the other hand, this news served as a reminder that despite being the Grand Marshal with power over all, she shouldn’t underestimate her opponent or the extent of these butterfly effects.
But when she turned to listen to Yuan Yao mention Yuan Shu wanting to invite Hua Tuo to treat him in Runan, she really felt a mix of laughter and tears.
Was Yuan Shu’s attitude strangely unique among the chaos of the late Han period?
To put it bluntly, was he too carefree about things?
At such a time, he was thinking not about how to restore his image in front of the Yuan clan in Runan after such a disaster, but about inviting a famous physician to check on him?
One can only say it’s fortunate Hua Tuo is indeed good with external injuries; that can be considered a match for the symptoms.
Despite that, Qiao Yan had no intention of lending Hua Tuo to Yuan Shu.
“Mr. Yuanhua is currently occupied with other urgent matters and can’t go to Runan for the time being,” Qiao Yan replied. “But although he can’t go, his disciple can. The former general, having been injured by rebels, is a great Han merit official. The court will surely give him due attention and won’t sit idly by.”
That line really gave Yuan Shu a face-saving boost.
Yuan Yao had just entered Chang’an and had already been swept up in Qiao Yan’s show of strength; now he heard such words. How could he think this was a mere trick?
He only thought that Qiao Yan likely hadn’t supported Runan before due to being held back by other matters and wasn’t ignoring Yuan Shu.
Even now, it wasn’t that she was disregarding Yuan Shu’s injuries; it’s just that… perhaps it just wasn’t appropriate to call upon Hua Tuo at this moment.
If Yuan Shu knew he sent his son to seek a physician, only to end up getting a fervent admirer of the Grand Marshal, he might curse himself for making such a decision.
But he knew nothing of the events happening in Chang’an and was unaware that his dear son, having learned that Qiao Yan was sending Fan A, who happened to be the most skilled in acupuncture and health among Hua Tuo’s disciples, could help calm Yuan Shu’s temper, thought Qiao Yan was a genuinely good person, and thus informed her of having seen Yuan Xi in Chang’an.
“Yuan Xi… Yuan Xianyi?” After temporarily settling Yuan Yao in the Chang’an inn, Qiao Yan pondered over this unexpected appearance, wondering if it might provide her some middle-ground profit.
Though Yuan Yao had also said he couldn’t guarantee Yuan Xi was actually here and there was a chance he misidentified him, considering the motivational record of an unknown person on the previous Leping Monthly Report, it wouldn’t be surprising if Yuan Shao had sent someone to Chang’an.
Qiao Yan would send someone to confirm if the news was true.
Yet it was a bit unfortunate that, having seen Tian Feng’s failure turning into a hardship for himself, Yuan Xi wouldn’t think to pull a double agent gig to join forces with Tian Feng.
Thus, dealing with Yuan Xi would become a bit of a headache.
If they captured him on the spot, with Yuan Shao’s attitude toward his son, it likely wouldn’t be useful for extracting any benefits in a hostage negotiation.
If he let him go, he definitely couldn’t let him learn valuable information from Tian Feng and then escape smoothly from Chang’an.
That way, Qiao Yan would lose too much.
She needed—
To have him serve some purpose.
But to her surprise, the first message she received wasn’t about Yuan Xi but rather about the reason she discussed with Lu Zhi and Wang Yun for showcasing paper. Surprisingly, she got feedback the very next day.
Cai Zhaoji came to see her and said strangely, “Lord, someone asked if Leping Monthly Report accepts external submissions, particularly for the literature section. It’s about yesterday’s presentation of Chang’an Road.”
Qiao Yan straightened up from her previously relaxed position. “Which talented person wrote a timely piece?”
Cai Zhaoji replied, “This person is named Wang Can, the grandson of former Minister of Works Wang Shuma, but…”
“Do we want to use this essay or shall we wait until you’ve read it?”
