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“Can strategists really not ascend to the throne?”
Chapter 281 begins with Guo Jia bursting into laughter.
To be honest, he’s been envious of Jia Xu and Li Ru’s cushy work situation for quite a while now.
And he’d bet his last coin that he wasn’t the only one—everyone in the know, including Cheng Yu and Xu Shu, couldn’t help but envy Jia Xu’s chill retirement life.
Sure, Jia Xu had a rough time with Dong Zhuo before, but let’s be real—if wrapping up one tough job meant kicking back and still getting recognized for their hard work, they might as well take a crash course in acting and give this high-stakes job a shot themselves.
But now, with all the chaos in Guanzhong, Jia Xu was called back, and Guo Jia couldn’t hide his excitement.
When he heard Qiao Yan was giving Jia Xu a sweet deal—working four days and off for two—his envy flared up again.
“You know, I was thinking about dropping in on Yuan Benchu…” Guo Jia didn’t even finish before he caught Qiao Yan’s warning glare. He quickly cleared his throat and said, “Just kidding! It’s not like I’d go claiming kinship just because there’s a Guo Tu over there, right?”
He wasn’t that bored.
Even if they shared the same surname and came from Yingchuan, that didn’t mean they were close.
Feigning betrayal didn’t carry much credibility coming from the Grand Marshal’s Secretary.
Best to send a message instead.
It was a little unfortunate he wouldn’t get to witness how Jia Xu and Li Ru squared off over Qiao’s sisters. That would’ve been quite the show!
It was a given that Jia Xu would be reinstated in Chang’an.
A year had already passed since Dong Zhuo’s death, and Guanzhong wasn’t buzzing about how Qiao Yan took over anymore. Now people were talking about the new emperor, the new road to Chang’an, and the liquor debate. Jia Xu wasn’t the villain of the court chaos; his return wouldn’t stir the pond much.
Li Ru was in the same boat. Since his capture by Qiao Yan, enough time had passed for people to forget his past under Dong Zhuo.
But whether being forgotten meant he wanted to come back was another story.
In any case, they could still advise Qiao Yan from Shangjun and seize any necessary opportunities to make remarkable contributions. Why plunge into the muddy waters of Chang’an?
Yet, with everyone in the same boat, how could one person just chill while another put in the work?
To Guo Jia, Jia Xu was bound to drag Li Ru into his efforts to score some points for his disciple. Li Ru, similarly, would do his best to counter. With their back-and-forth, their exchanges must’ve been quite a show…
Guo Jia sighed, regretting he wouldn’t see it.
If the tongue-lashing clashes in Shangjun were riveting, the stirrings in Ye City were equally intriguing.
News from Qiao Yan indicated that Middle General Qu Yi was mobilizing troops, seemingly aiming to take the Taihang Mountains and push into Ji Province. Yuan Shao immediately summoned all his strategists and generals.
Just as Qiao Yan suspected, her early efficiency in mobilizing troops led other factions to develop a false impression—
As long as conditions were right, her annual large-scale movements could crush her enemies effortlessly.
Thus, news of troop mobilization in Bingzhou was undoubtedly a declaration of war!
And a dangerously clear one at that.
One thing Yuan Shao felt relieved about was that the horseshoes had finally been produced on his side, thanks to the minimal tech barrier. From June to July, he armed all his cavalry.
If cavalry clashes erupted, his horses would be less worn out.
With the autumn harvest approaching, some supplies in the government storehouse could be allocated for military rations, easing concerns about food during their campaign.
But none of that could change the fact that when the news reached him of Qiao Yan brazenly sending troops at this time, his first reaction wasn’t the anger of being considered prey, but rather—
Anxiety.
This anxiety was clear for his subordinates who came afterward to see.
Yet, none dared to criticize Yuan Shao’s mindset. After Yuan Xi brought goods from Chang’an to Ye City, the stark differences on display for everyone to see couldn’t be ignored.
Fortunately, Yuan Shao was asking how to respond rather than how to retake control, which brought a slight sense of calm to those present.
“Speaking of which, isn’t this timing for mobilization a bit too convenient?” Shen Pei piped up. “Just the other day we learned that Tao Qian died in Xia Pi, and Xuzhou’s descended into chaos. Now, it feels like Bingzhou is amassing troops at the Taihang Mountains, ready for action.”
“What are you saying… Tao Gongzu’s death is related to Qiao Yan?” Yuan Shao asked.
“Not quite,” Shen Pei shook his head. “What I mean is, could it be that Xuzhou, being one of the few regions aligned with the Ye City court, could have backed us, and with Tao Gongzu’s death, it reduced our power, pushing Chang’an to make their move now?”
“If that’s the case, it’s concerning that they, who are farther from Xuzhou than we are, seem to have caught wind of it first, which explains their rapid troop movements.”
Yuan Shao furrowed his brow.
Though he wasn’t sure how much aid Xuzhou could provide him, it had nominally responded.
Excluding the chaos in Xuzhou, and with Youzhou being hard to control, that made only four regions.
Yet the Han Dynasty had thirteen provinces!
This obvious strength disparity was precisely why Qiao Yan didn’t even wait for the autumn harvest to deploy her troops!
That made perfect sense.
What he said about the timings was also quite accurate.
From receiving news of Tao Qian’s death to deciding to mobilize, and from that order reaching Bingzhou via Qu Yi’s military coordination, all required time. This meant Qiao Yan learned of Tao Qian’s demise much earlier than Yuan Shao.
Unless she was keenly aware of every movement in Xuzhou, she couldn’t have pulled that off so effortlessly.
If she could track Xuzhou so closely, what about Ji Province?
A sense of wariness washed over Yuan Shao, realizing that Shen Pei brought this up for a reason—to keep him vigilant and ensure their war preparations weren’t leaked.
He said, “The two critical passes connecting Ji Province and Bingzhou are Fuko and Jingxing. I intend to have two leaders each command an army stationed there while sending another to patrol between the two passes to correct any flaws and to potentially disrupt any attacks from Bingzhou. What suggestions does everyone have?”
Ju Shou replied, “In our current situation, it’s better to defend than attack. By picking this timing to strike, it’s both a disadvantage and an advantage for you, my lord. As long as you’re willing to swallow your pride this time and just hold the line, it might actually undermine their offensive.”
Qiao Yan’s winning streak had given her a reputation.
So even if Yuan Shao couldn’t defeat her, simply enduring her attacks would help build morale on his side.
Defending is generally less daunting than attacking, especially since—
They conveniently had a capable defensive candidate from Ju Shou’s party.
That would be Gao Shun, brought back from Yu Province.
To Yuan Shao, that was indeed a trustworthy choice.
But before Ju Shou could voice this recommendation, an outsider suddenly shouted, “Urgent news from Yu Province,” cutting Ju Shou off just as he was about to speak.
Yuan Shao immediately signaled to pause their previous conversation and let this urgent report come forth.
When he heard urgent news from Yu Province, Yuan Shao instinctively thought of Yuan Shu.
That guy had broken his leg from Ju Shou and Gao Shun’s ambush, but knowing Yuan Shu, a broken leg wouldn’t sit him still for long. If anything, it’d just lead him to vent his frustration in other ways.
His hands were fine, right? He could still scrawl out something like “Shaos not a Yuan’s son.”
And his mouth still worked, right? He could still hurl insults.
When the envoy from Liu Bei, Jian Yong, was brought to Yuan Shao, those were exactly the thoughts running through his mind.
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“He even thinks Yuan Shu has made some progress this time, at least he knows how to spread rumors up close, without giving him a chance to intercept the letters.”
However, the moment Jian Yong spoke, Yuan Shao realized he had been wrong.
Jian Yong said that the scholars of Xuzhou had approached Liu Bei, hoping Liu Bei would take the position of Governor of Xuzhou.
Yuan Shao’s expression instantly became interesting.
When he had initially seen Liu Bei as a tool against Yuan Shu, he never imagined that, since Yu Province was next to Pei State and Xuzhou, it would allow Liu Bei such a lucky break.
But not only did Yuan Shao fail to predict this, when Chen Deng rushed to Yu Province and appeared before Liu Bei, Liu Bei also did not expect this situation to arise.
The death of Tao Qian had already left Liu Bei stunned, and the internal turmoil of Xuzhou made him realize how quickly a force could fall apart, each faction acting independently; this suggestion to pull him into the mess made Liu Bei lose his composure.
After recovering from the news, Liu Bei immediately rejected Chen Deng’s proposal.
According to the plans he had laid out for himself, he should gradually defeat Yuan Shu’s forces in Yu Province, step by step conquer territories, and based on his military achievements, whether he started as a garrison Prefect or rose to the Governor of Yu Province, it all had to be through steady and careful progress.
This kind of promotion would be enough to dilute the weaknesses of his early career.
But what was happening now?
Xuzhou suddenly left without a leader, and they wanted him to parachute in?
This had the smell of someone taking advantage of a fire, and if he really took this position, such a sudden rise would inevitably lead to some issues with integrating into Xuzhou.
If you say Liu Bei was completely uninterested in the position of Governor of Xuzhou, then you’d be underestimating him.
He loved horses, music, and fancy clothes since he was young, and while he still retained some of those habits, he was just clearer than some people driven by desires about what he could earn through his own efforts.
The position of Governor of Xuzhou was clearly a fine but ill-fitting garment.
But Chen Deng had shared two points with him.
The first was the argument that Qiao Yan had guessed.
He brought up the common folk of Xuzhou.
Liu Bei wasn’t a native of Xuzhou, and he didn’t have a straightforward understanding of the extent of the damage that Ze Rong’s Buddhism had caused in Xuzhou.
But he had seen the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the past.
When Chen Deng spoke in such a serious tone that brooked no doubt about its authenticity, mentioning the unconditional faith and contribution of the people in Guangling County towards Ze Rong, discussing the special corvée labor practices and the built temples and pagodas, and then mentioning the military grain stolen from Pengcheng and Xia Pi, Liu Bei couldn’t help but make some connections, and his expression turned serious.
Then he heard Chen Deng ask, “General, don’t you want to see the people of Pei State dragged into war? You’d rather urge for civil peace first and only then confront Yuan Gonglu, yet you would allow the people of Xuzhou to suffer?”
The second point Chen Deng made was that Liu Bei had only participated in military service since his youth, and now he was just a general without political power, being directed by others, acting as a frontline soldier, evidently surrounded by fierce generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei yet failing to develop a significant territory; all of this ultimately came down to—
He was neither like Qiao Yan, who could think ahead from the margins, nor like Yuan Shao, who had so many strategists planning for him.
To say Liu Bei’s development had been a life of wandering would not be entirely accurate, but hearing Chen Deng’s words did stir some feelings in him.
Especially when Chen Deng immediately followed up, saying that now Liu Bei was in Yu Province; if the scholars of Yingchuan and Runan wanted to support him, it shouldn’t be hard for them to come over. Yet, either they sided with Cao Cao or Yuan Shao in the north, or they headed west to pledge themselves to Qiao Yan; not one came to Liu Bei for help in his time of need!
None!
The only person Liu Bei could still consider a strategist was Jian Yong, who he knew since childhood and also came from Zhuo County.
Unfortunately, Jian Yong was better at debate than strategy.
Chen Deng then continued, explaining that this situation arose because most scholars, when seeking a place to secure themselves, not only assessed the potential and character of the lord but also looked at how other scholars of similar conditions were treated under that lord.
Since Liu Bei had no one under him, what reason would draw more people to him?
But now it was different; the scholars of Xuzhou were willing to take the plunge and even wanted to elevate Liu Bei to the position of Governor of Xuzhou.
All they required was that Liu Bei accomplish two things—
The first: quickly mobilizing troops to Xuzhou to suppress the disturbances caused by Ze Rong in southern Xuzhou, restoring peace to the people’s livelihoods.
The second: he must not let down the kindness shown by the scholars of Xuzhou today in the future.
Chen Deng’s words hit Liu Bei like a powerful medicine.
He took the lives of the common people of Xuzhou as a responsibility and laid the sincerity of the scholars before him; how could Liu Bei still say no?
All he said was that while the scholars’ plea moved him, he couldn’t act rashly without permission—he had to inform the court in Ye City.
Chen Deng accepted Liu Bei’s point but also had a request: speed was essential.
Military news was like a fire to put out. If the stationed troops in Xuzhou did not promptly move to the Huai River front, and Ze Rong directly attacked the state capital, who knew how many of those scholars willing to support Liu Bei would still be left?
Thus, Jian Yong dashed off with Liu Bei’s letter, the petition from the scholars of Xuzhou, and a letter of resignation penned by Tao Qian featuring the state seal to Ye City.
Yuan Shao stared at the complete documentation and was momentarily speechless.
If he were still in his original stable situation, he might have the resources to think Liu Bei unqualified to sit in the position of Governor!
What kind of ridiculous thing was this in the world?
But at this moment, Qiao Yan’s soldiers were advancing in Bingzhou, and just before, Shen Pei had noted that Qiao Yan’s mobilization might be due to the death of the Governor of Xuzhou, leaving Yuan Shao with one less ally. Now, Liu Bei could replace Tao Qian as Governor and still remain on his side; wasn’t that also a stroke of luck?
Yuan Shao’s expression changed over and over, and he turned to see the approving gazes of his strategists, suppressing his unwillingness.
He looked at Jian Yong and said, “Tomorrow I will make a report to Your Majesty.”
Let him take a night to calm down, and then they could discuss it.
The thought of his once frontline soldier about to turn into a governor on equal footing with him due to changing circumstances nearly made Yuan Shao want to spit blood.
Maybe this thought was also fueled by the repeated threats posed by Qiao Yan.
Unbeknownst to him, when Jian Yong was settled into the courier lodge in Ye City, a special group of guests arrived from Chang’an.
At the forefront was Zhang Yi’s subordinate.
Traveling from Xuzhou to Chang’an was a far greater distance than from Xuzhou to Ye City, so these folks had to ride one person per two horses, rushing through the night to make it as soon as possible before appearing before Qiao Yan.
Eagerly awaiting this moment, Qiao Yan wasted no time and reported the matter to Liu Yu, followed by an emergency meeting of the important officials in Chang’an.
Upon hearing a series of unexpected developments from Xuzhou, even the usually steady Lu Zhi was a bit dazed. But when they heard Zhang Yi volunteered to align with the Chang’an court and raise troops to eliminate Ze Rong, and that Yang Province was willing to send troops to assist, all eyes turned to Qiao Yan.
Years ago, Qiao Yan’s feat of shooting the governor was directly mentioned by Emperor Ling of Han in the court, so it was no wonder they all still remembered it vividly.
“What are you looking at me for?” Qiao Yan raised an eyebrow, “Knowing the error and improving it is a great thing; if I still planned to settle scores with him over the past, why would I call for this emergency meeting?”
Her nonchalant tone made it sound as if the past dispute with Zhang Yi was just a cup of water splashed on another.
Then they saw Qiao Yan step forward and bow to Liu Yu, saying, “Though Xuzhou is not easily defensible, it is still territory of the Han. Former Governor of Guangling, Zhang Zhitai is willing to take on heavy responsibilities, denounce Ze Rong, and recover Xuzhou. It is fitting to reward him with the position of Governor of Xuzhou. If Your Majesty is concerned about Xuzhou and Yang Province being remote, making it difficult to manage, perhaps establishing garrisons at the borders of the two provinces would serve as oversight.”
Her gaze swept over Zhang Yi’s subordinate, who was still somewhat anxious, and she added, “To the north of the mouth of the Yangtze River is a city called Hailing; in my opinion, we can station troops there to show the prestige of the Chang’an court!”
