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“Can strategists really not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 284 is all about the bountiful harvest in August.
For Qiao Yan, witnessing such abundance wasn’t a rare occurrence, but for the folks in Guanzhong, this was the first time in many years!
Last August in Chang’an was when Qiao Yan marched from Liangzhou, and her clashes with Dong Zhuo’s troops had everyone worried about crops being trampled underfoot.
From Chencang to Maiwu, they even had some early harvests.
Credit to the wise Duan Wei under Dong Zhuo, and some bureaucrats negotiating, farming didn’t turn out to be as ridiculous as his petty cash flow.
This year, though, is a whole different story!
They truly implemented several improvements in agricultural methods to ensure that every household enjoyed the satisfaction of a full granary.
Just imagine the locals comparing these times — it doubled their happiness!
In Jizhou, they worried about Bingzhou troops potentially crossing the Taihang Mountains to mount an attack. This year, they achieved unity and even conscripted many Qianshou for defense.
Meanwhile, Xuzhou was thrown into disarray after Tao Qian’s death, making the autumn harvest a mere afterthought.
But Chang’an? Here, they could put all their energy into harvesting millet and wheat and revel in the joyous bounty.
It wasn’t just the farmers laboring in the fields; even the scholars from Hongwen Hall were getting in on the conversation.
This morning, Tian Feng showed up at Hongwen Hall, took his seat, and immediately overheard some newcomers chatting about the harvest in Guanzhong.
These people, whether they were truly knowledgeable or just fluff, quickly adjusted their talk for the sake of the pragmatic preference showcased by Qiao Yan, trying hard to mention people’s livelihoods instead of empty chatter to win the Grand Marshal’s favor.
Tian Feng caught on; he couldn’t help but worry about Yuan Shao in light of the current mood in Chang’an while keeping his ears perked for juicy intel.
After all, Hongwen Hall wasn’t as privy to the real harvest numbers in Guanzhong like the Grand Minister of Agriculture and his subordinates.
Fortunately, among the chit-chatters were a few with farmland in Guanzhong, and Tian Feng heard them spill some news.
“The Grand Marshal had someone begin teaching the farming methods last winter, distributing quality seeds before spring. Even my clumsiest tenant farmers have adapted to the new methods. Unfortunately, this is just the first experimental year; with vast lands and sparse population, some fields still went unattended.”
Another queried, “So what’s the final yield per mu?”
“Roughly around five shis.”
Well, that’s shy of the alleged triple yields floating around!
But just when Tian Feng thought that, he almost slapped himself silly.
Five shis per mu? Was he expecting to conjure food out of thin air?
The folks in Chang’an would need time to adjust to this new agricultural approach.
In this first year, the fertilizer produced in Bingzhou couldn’t reach every household, so they were setting up centralized production facilities for fertilizer, even needing to establish mining for the gypsum required.
To be fair, raising the yield from three shis to five is quite an achievement!
At least no one in Guanzhong was complaining.
This year was glorious; who knows what next year could yield – they could have double the reserves!
This hit home more than that fanciful road under construction in Chang’an.
This was truly building Chang’an!
Regarding the situation in Jizhou, Tian Feng felt less qualified to dispute that five shis per mu didn’t match the figures he’d seen in Leping Monthly Report.
After all, he had already sent the farming methods from Bingzhou through Yuan Xi to Yuan Shao back in the fifth and sixth months of the year.
Even if Yuan Shao accepted that intel without a blink, it wouldn’t have been feasible to spread and implement it within the same year, creating a widening gap between the two sides.
He wondered what the current situation was like in Jizhou.
Being in Guanzhong, Tian Feng had a clearer view than most, as he was tied to the supply network with the court in Chang’an. The atmosphere didn’t feel like they were on the brink of an offensive.
Such a relaxed vibe could not be explained away by some battle-hardened charm of Qiao Yan.
In other words, Qiao Yan wasn’t planning a complete invasion of Jizhou this year.
The troop movements before the autumn harvest were likely more about messing with Jizhou’s mindset rather than preparing for battle.
He wondered if people like Ju Shou and Shen Pei would realize this quickly enough.
And when would the Duke finally send someone stable to get in touch with him?
With Chang’an’s development booming and more folks settling down, the spread of news about the fruitful autumn harvest would surely draw a new batch of settlers. If he could arrange for people to come into Guanzhong now, it would raise the least suspicion.
There was no way they’d wait until Guanzhong conducted a population check, right?
Tian Feng sighed at the thought.
He overheard the scholars in Hongwen Hall feeling a bit down, noting that the Grand Marshal wasn’t in Chang’an today. They probably couldn’t draw Qiao Yan back just like the earlier debates brought Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang.
Strangely, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang probably had no idea when they’d be of age to serve. They were most likely still stuck in Leping Academy, grinding through their studies. He couldn’t understand why Qiao Yan treated them so differently.
But they’d never guess that Qiao Yan had given them a particularly special assignment!
At that very moment, she was inspecting the autumn harvest in Guanzhong with Cheng Yu while discussing the situation in Xuzhou.
“Even with the Huai River dividing the north and south, we can’t underestimate the alliance of Liu Bei and the scholars from Xuzhou,” Qiao Yan remarked.
She couldn’t fully trust the so-called historical developments; after all, the situation had reached a point where experience no longer sufficed.
Liu Bei might find himself embroiled in disputes with the Xuzhou scholars until Chen Deng conveniently handed Xuzhou over to someone else, or maybe they would find themselves in a prolonged honeymoon phase as the territory they could control shrank to about half of what it was.
In any case, it was best to consider the latter for Xuzhou’s development.
Compared to Zhang Yi, they were at a disadvantage.
His only advantages over the northern Xuzhou governor were perhaps just two.
One, he had served as a prefect in Guangling for a time earlier in his career, making him quicker to adapt than Liu Bei.
The second—
He served a Chang’an court that clearly performed better externally than the court of Ye City.
After this autumn harvest, this comparison would hit hard, just like the new road in Chang’an and rumors of banquets!
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Just like that, some merchants heading to Xuzhou took Zhang Yi along, gathering some support for him.
There’s definitely a sense of “favoritism” going on here.
So Qiao Yan thought for a moment and said, “This time for the autumn harvest in Chang’an, the data from each county must be detailed. After handing it to Zhaoji, she should draft a preliminary version for the Leping Monthly Report.”
She also needed to give Zhang Yi a boost because, facing the enemies from the north, he might struggle a bit.
Even with Zhou Yu’s support coming from Yang Province, Zhang Yi’s disadvantage in armed forces was painfully obvious.
The news of Ze Rong’s death had already reached her from Xuzhou.
On the bright side, Zhang Yi had acted decisively under Zhou Yu’s guidance, using the secret of launching Kongming lanterns to expose Ze Rong’s Buddhist scam.
If he had hesitated even a bit, the outcome might not have been as effective as it was now.
It’s just that on the night when lanterns soared by Baima Lake, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, under Chen Deng’s command, crossed the river directly toward Huaiyin, surprising Ze Rong’s military camp located south of the Huai River.
This sudden river crossing battle might have been the only regret for Liu Bei’s side: they didn’t encounter Ze Rong in the camp.
It was only after they retreated to the north bank for most of the day due to the Huai River’s boundary that word spread that Ze Rong had died outside, with his head mysteriously taken away, leaving only his body, which Zhang Yi’s troops had found and sent to Gaoyou.
After confirming the body through various details, everyone could agree this was indeed Ze Rong’s corpse and not some crafty escape trick.
In the aftermath of Ze Rong’s demise, Zhang Yi undoubtedly reaped the greatest benefits.
Since Ze Rong couldn’t counter Zhang Yi’s question about the lanterns, he ended up dead outside, and thus the Buddhist followers in Guangling County, whose faith had been shattered, either returned to their normal farming lives or rallied under Zhang Yi as proper soldiers.
Some of the grain stored in Gaoyou was covertly dispatched to Yang Province by Zhou Yu as payment for his assistance, while some became the resources Zhang Yi used to recruit these soldiers.
His subsequent actions to cleanse the Buddhist temples and statues in Guangling County revealed Ze Rong’s unscrupulous ways to everyone.
This resulted in his rising prestige in Guangling and the gold and copper coins he obtained after melting down the statues.
However, his adversaries also sent a clear message within Xuzhou with this swift river-crossing battle—
The northern Xuzhou governor was from the military and had a strong enough demeanor and capability to fend off enemies.
No one could predict when he would advance into southern Xuzhou and reclaim another piece of land south of the Huai River.
Due to this lightning-fast deployment, Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and others, who had nearly separated the Linyi County from Xuzhou, became a lot more accommodating towards the scholars of Xuzhou.
Unlike before, they didn’t just flaunt their superiority.
That said, Liu Bei still had a long way to go before reaching a collaborative state with Zang Ba and had numerous obstacles limiting him from crossing the Huai River for military action.
During this period of stalemate between south and north Xuzhou, it was precisely the opportunity for Qiao Yan to develop a shipyard at Hailing.
She claimed she could only send out two ships, but if the system could provide tools for precise navigation, she wouldn’t mind launching two more ships for this standoff in Xuzhou.
With fewer ships, it might be a little tricky to lure the local bandits into joining their departure.
About the reason for two boats and five hundred men in the Leping Academy’s assignment?
Is there really an issue with making the assignment a bit harder just to account for extreme situations?
Qiao Yan thought unapologetically.
After all, she was dealing with Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Sima Yi, and Lu Yi…
When she mentioned arrangements for Xuzhou Hailing, Cheng Yu couldn’t help but ask, “By the way, who do you plan to use as the military advisor for this place?”
Just like Qiao Yan stated in court, sending just Zhang Yang was a stopgap measure.
While showing support for Xuzhou, she couldn’t come off too harsh towards Yang Province.
In reality, Zhang Yang’s personality was totally unsuitable as a main commander.
So Qiao Yan had to arrange for more people to go over there.
In response, she said, “Don’t you think it’s quite interesting to use Xuzhou as a training ground for young people?”
A training ground for youngsters?
Though she sounded teasing, Cheng Yu felt instinctively that, given Qiao Yan’s personality, she was being sincere.
The Xuzhou situation had evolved into this structure because it was a test for the Qiao sisters.
Thus, the following support for Zhang Yi and the planned maritime venture to Liaodong… seemed like a genuine test for the younger generation?
Calculating further, by the time she was ready to shake up the structure again, those promising youths in Leping Academy would already be sixteen.
In today’s era, that was certainly the age to step up and take action!
Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao were also this age when they took on heavy responsibilities under Qiao Yan.
With a decade having passed, the next generation was indeed due to take the stage.
Realizing this, Cheng Yu suddenly became aware that he had already crossed fifty.
But following Qiao Yan without rest, he found it hard to notice the passage of time.
It was perhaps only when she mentioned these young juniors that he felt a ripple.
“Yeah, it’s time to let the youngsters take the field.”
Qiao Yan heard the sentiment in his words and smiled, saying, “They still have much to learn; if we’re talking about seasoned stability, we still need to look up to you, Sir.”
With Cheng Yu holding down the fort, she could confidently plan her strategies from all directions.
This bond was irreplaceable by any rising stars.
Cheng Yu didn’t say much, just exchanged a knowing smile with her and continued towards the next field.
This was the unspoken understanding between them, without needing any sentimental words.
After all, he was in good health now, so he just needed to keep serving the lord with all his heart.
How many others in the world enjoyed such treatment?
Qiao Yan’s sisters, Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting, received a letter from her a few days later.
The letter praised their performance in Xuzhou, but cautioned them against overstaying as it could lead to mistakes. She urged them to ensure the stability of their outpost before returning quickly, to avoid being identified for their role in the upheaval in Xuzhou.
Without hesitation, they looked at each other to confirm if they had missed anything unusual in their actions.
After confirming everything was clear, they set off with the merchant convoy.
For Xuzhou, it was just two merchants from Yizhou completing a bit of commerce and leaving.
Perhaps it was the potential unrest in Xuzhou that made “them” hastily leave, to avoid being swept into any conflict.
But in truth, what they accomplished in Xuzhou was far beyond mere business.
As the convoy passed through Xia Pi, Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting rode on horseback, glancing back.
They saw the shimmering Huai River below the rising red sun, dividing Xuzhou into two halves.
