“So, can strategists not ascend to the throne?”
Chapter 299
The calamities of drought and locusts have stirred up a wild storm in the Central Plains.
This gift… sure is expensive, but for Tian Feng, it might just be a deadly present.
“You seem to be chuckling away,” Qiao Yan remarked, shaking her head after seeing the somewhat dazed Tian Feng off, directing her gaze at Guo Jia.
Guo Jia waved his hand dismissively. “When it comes to gifting, the Jun Hou has quite the expertise… A folding fan engraved with Tian Yuanhao’s fake name as a congratulatory gift for his promotion? Only the Jun Hou could pull that off.”
If we’re talking about heartfelt presents, Mi Zhu of the Donghai Mi Clan surely excels in that department.
But in terms of thrill and bizarre thought processes, you could bundle everyone under Qiao Yan’s command together and they still wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
Thinking about that moment Tian Feng saw that peculiar gift and his look of choking on air, along with the speechlessness in trying to decline, Guo Jia couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Even with the drought looming and the situation being tough—goodness, the two-year ban on alcohol still hasn’t ended—people just have to find a way to seek a bit of joy amid hardship to keep their spirits up, right?
Watching the blind fools from the Yanzhou Qiao Clan is a source of entertainment.
Initially, I thought their utter lack of foresight and outright positioning themselves against Qiao Yan in their judgment was the limit of their stupidity.
But considering the Qiao Clan’s foundation in Yanzhou and the current stances, joining hands with the Shou Zhang Wang Clan to file a complaint in Ye City didn’t end up dragging Yuan Shao down at all; instead, both clans were forced to cough up quite a bit of stored grain.
Yuan Shao wasn’t foolish enough to self-sabotage at a time like this, but those Yanzhou Qiao folks truly believed he could.
Another chuckle came from the Xuzhou side.
This place, which Qiao Yan has been using as a training ground for her juniors, is facing new changes after being split into a North-South standoff two years ago. Who knows if anyone can predict how things will unfold next? I wonder if those juniors, whom she holds high hopes for, will be able to produce a performance that satisfies her.
Then there’s Yuan Shao’s situation.
As Qiao Yan sent off the folding fan chisel, a hint of reluctance crossed her face.
“Sending quality iron to someone else’s territory… especially ironware that’s still quite useful—it’s rare in this world for someone to be as thoughtful as I!”
Guo Jia countered, “But Yuan Shao probably won’t thank you for it.”
This single item reveals an overwhelming amount of information—how will someone already troubled by disasters like Yuan Shao react?
Anyway, he definitely won’t think that Qiao Yan just wanted Yuan Feng to be a role model for folks in the countryside heading from Jizhou to work in Sili.
You must admit, Yuan Shao’s quite dedicated when it comes to arranging fake identities for Tian Feng.
The Yuan Feng identity is not just a flimsy piece of residency proof; it includes a clearly defined hometown and a whole web of relationships tied to that name.
Aside from the unexpected arrival of the son “Yuan Xi” during Yuan Xi’s visit to Chang’an, all other information is easily verifiable.
Thus, when the letter written by Tian Feng after his promotion and the folding fan chisel arrived in his hometown, the whole process of receiving the letter and gift was seamless, without any potential hiccups.
Even if you just randomly asked someone in the area about Yuan Feng, they would likely say—
A diligent, honest man who went to Bingzhou in search of a better life for his family.
That’s precisely it.
If needed, they could even throw in a few details about “Yuan Feng.”
But of course, everything they remembered was arranged for them by Yuan Shao.
After the messenger had departed, someone promptly handed over everything delivered to the personal guards stationed there, which was quickly… no, swiftly sent to Ye City.
With a massive iron slab in tow, even the best of horses couldn’t just carry it directly there.
Yuan Shao stood there momentarily baffled upon seeing the thing.
The hefty folding fan chisel was carefully lifted in front of him by several people, revealing the engraved words “Gift from Yuan Feng for well-digging purposes” right before his eyes.
Previously, apart from the message returned by Yuan Xi, most letters Tian Feng had sent back were ordinary family letters intended to placate Qiao Yan’s potential doubts about his identity. Yuan Shao had seen a few and felt that Tian Feng truly put a ton of effort into writing those letters convincingly.
Later, due to his necessity to assist Hongwen Hall in drafting questions, he had been rigorously controlled, and Yuan Shao never thought he’d receive a response from Tian Feng anytime soon.
Moreover, because of the natural disasters, Yuan Shao almost forgot that the selection had been completed, so receiving something like this all of a sudden left him a bit taken aback.
Yet, even if he knew Tian Feng was sending him something, he never expected it would be this.
And let’s not even get started on the mention of the promotion in the letter!
His brows shot up and then furrowed again; he hesitated for a good while before asking Xu You, “What’s this called? A rose by any other name?”
Yuan Shao recognized the identity of the chisel the moment he saw it.
He had a few recent copies of the Leping Monthly Report; after all, even Jizhou and Qingzhou implemented several measures to prevent locust outbreaks based on the information they followed from the reports.
He certainly wouldn’t miss the mention of enhancing underground water usage to alleviate disaster during a drought.
The innovative pneumatic drilling rig design was right there in the April issue, perfectly illustrated, and the folding fan chisel appeared just like the one presented to him.
In fact, before this chisel appeared before Yuan Shao, he had initiated an internal discussion about whether to start drilling deep wells en masse, utilizing the well irrigation channel method.
Among his subordinates, two distinct positions emerged.
Understanding the merits, Ju Shou led a group that believed this deep well should indeed be drilled.
Given Qiao Yan’s judgment that this drought might turn into a more prolonged catastrophe, it was only wise to prepare thoroughly.
Conversely, a faction led by Guo Tu argued that if they continued to be led by Qiao Yan like this, which regime would Ye City truly belong to?
Having already allocated considerable manpower and resources towards exploring innovations from Chang’an, they felt the methods proposed by the opposition requiring a large iron ore consumption wouldn’t necessarily be worth the trouble, and Yuan Shao should not keep riding the coattails.
This dilemma bothered Yuan Shao.
The resources needed for deep well digging could be allocated towards weapon manufacturing, which would yield clear benefits.
Returning to the well initiative… if the quantity of chisels wasn’t sufficient, prioritizing arrangements around Ye City would surely lead to inequities.
Yuan Shao, at heart, tended to prefer not to follow in Chang’an’s footsteps at this moment, yet due to Ju Shou’s towering reputation in both court and military, his judgment consistently gained more trust than Guo Tu’s; thus far, Ju Shou had hardly made any blunders, and most still believed in his assertions, leaving Yuan Shao a bit hesitant to voice his own.
Now, this physical folding fan chisel made things even trickier for him.
Seeing Yuan Shao gaze contemplatively at the heavy chisel, Xu You sensed it wasn’t the right time to interrupt his thoughts.
Sure enough, after a while, Yuan Shao finally voiced, almost uncertainly, “Ziyuan, it’s been nearly three years. Do you think this smart cookie Qiao Yan hasn’t figured out Yuan Hao is working for her?”
Though time passed and no actions were taken that exposed his identity, by now, it seemed they should have established fixed impressions, thus reducing the odds of discovery.
However, at this critical juncture, the chisel placed before him felt like a hammer dropping directly on Yuan Shao’s head.
Perhaps… perhaps there’s a slim chance she’ll interpret this as not forgetting where the water comes from, setting a benchmark.
But it’s Qiao Yan!
“Would she actually trust so easily that someone with no background could work his way up to handle examinations, even entering the Shangshu Tai?”
If Qiao Yan could act this naively, Yuan Shao believed she must have already seen the foundations of the Chang’an regime crumbling—there’s no possible way it could develop to the headache-inducing extent it had today.
Yuan Shao stared at the inscription for quite some time, then inquired again, “Is it possible she already knows who Tian Feng is, and that’s why she placed him in this role, even using his promotion to tip me off?”
Xu You inhaled deeply, replied, “Yes, that’s very likely. But can you handle the fallout from that realization?”
If Qiao Yan likely knew Tian Feng’s true identity, then the news Yuan Xi delivered might have been selectively filtered.
All the efforts they put forth earlier could have been for nothing.
Compared to Yuan Shao attempting to sway public opinion against Qiao Yan, clearly, the intricacies of Qiao Yan’s mixed signals posed a much greater threat to Yuan Shao’s side.
Should this issue come to light, it would undoubtedly shake the troop’s morale!
Xu You pressed, “Even so, what can you do about it? Are you going to label Tian Yuanhao as a traitor?”
Not to mention whether Tian Feng even knew about this, the faction of scholars in Hebei he belonged to, along with the reputation he built over the years, meant that if Yuan Shao pursued that option, he’d certainly face backlash from Hebei’s gentry.
Unless Yuan Shao could firmly establish dominion over multiple states and wield absolute influence.
Moreover, for now, it was merely a well-drilling tool presented to Yuan Shao; no compelling evidence substantiated any claim of betrayal from Tian Feng.
In Yuan Shao’s silence, Xu You continued, “Instead of…
“Rather than getting twisted up over whether Tian Yuanhao has betrayed Ming Gong, why not just see if this well-drilling cart really shows its capabilities in the Leping Monthly Report?”
Yuan Shao’s face flashed with a moment of hesitation.
So, this time, the bamboo fan chisel Qiao Yan sent him seemed to force him to decide whether to drill deeper into the well based on actual results, instead of letting his advisors bicker amongst themselves, all of whom had little experience dealing with regional droughts and couldn’t convince one another.
XU You’s next sentence cemented Yuan Shao’s resolve. “Whether Ming Gong is being led by the nose by that person in Chang’an can be painted in a favorable light externally, but if he mismanages disaster relief, won’t he just become a laughingstock for Cao Mengde and Yuan Gonglu?”
Years of friendship between Xu You and Yuan Shao meant he knew exactly how to counsel Yuan Shao at this moment.
But now that the decision based on facts was made, Yuan Shao could temporarily endure Tian Feng’s rise in Chang’an, but he still had one pressing question.
Yuan Shao fought to shift his gaze away from the “for well-drilling” label on the bamboo fan chisel, his facial muscles twitching for a moment as he asked, “What should we do about what Tian Yuanhao mentioned in his letter regarding Qiao Yesheng sending his family to Ye City after getting promoted?”
He still held out some hope that Tian Feng was still with him, so that mention of sending family might not mean Qiao Yan was trying to snatch hostages from Yuan Shao but rather that Tian Feng wanted someone stable to connect with without having to fight alone in Chang’an.
If Yuan Shao wanted to, he could even send word about Qiao Yan potentially having figured out Tian Feng’s identity to try and rescue him from the “den of demons.”
But recalling the thoughts he had two years ago when he dispatched Yuan Xi to Chang’an, it was clear to him that he would much rather believe that Chang’an had turned into a complete trap.
To send or not to send, this was truly a suffocating dilemma.
But in comparison to Yuan Shu in Yuzhou, Yuan Shao’s situation was relatively okay.
After all, Yuan Shao enjoyed the advantage of being close to the Son of Heaven, with a relatively complete court system.
While his strategists were all acting independently, they still offered some insightful suggestions that he could hear.
Most importantly, Yuan Shao possessed more execution power and decisiveness than Yuan Shu.
Of course, if one had to say so, Yuan Shu wasn’t without guts; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gained a reputation as a formidable warrior.
On the day Emperor Ling passed away, the idea of burning down the Southern Palace to drive the eunuchs out was also proposed by Yuan Shu first.
It’s just that such decisiveness clearly didn’t extend to managing the people’s livelihoods in Yuzhou.
Yuan Huan was utterly disappointed with Yuan Shu’s sort of slack approach to dealing with trouble.
Their collaborative effort to take down Wen Chou alongside Zhou Yu back in the day didn’t seem to mark the start of turning around Yuzhou’s situation. Instead, it made Yuan Shu believe that every time he faced an intractable problem, the answer would conveniently present itself.
And that wasn’t even the worst-case scenario.
If Yuan Shu could admit his own limitations and simply grant more power to his subordinates, placing the right people in the right positions, it could also be considered a way to govern the regions.
He could even claim it was a hands-off approach to governance.
But since Ju Shou and Gao Shun launched a surprise assault on Runan, nearly forcing the Yuan family from Runan to relocate entirely, Yuan Shu, after having his foot treated by Qiao Yan’s envoy Fan E, couldn’t shake off the feeling of insecurity. So he clung tight to his forces, turning his stronghold into an ironclad fortress.
“During a drought, how can we just focus on defense?” Yuan Huan attempted to persuade him but left seething after a fruitless conversation.
This miserly approach allowed Yuan Shu to sip his iced honey water today without a worry in the world and sleep soundly tonight.
As long as the city walls were sturdy, his legs wouldn’t face a second disaster.
But did Yuan Shu even hear the cries of the desperate citizens suffering from the calamity?
Even commoners serving under Yuan Shu contributed significantly to what he deemed his fortified iron walls!
Perhaps the drought wouldn’t alleviate immediately; after all, even if the emperor personally prayed for rain, it wouldn’t necessarily descend right away.
And locusts wouldn’t be entirely stopped from hatching just because men tried to intervene, considering the barricades in Guanzhong failed here too.
He at least should show he was actively trying to turn the situation around, rather than waiting for summer to transition into autumn, and autumn into winter, thinking disaster would sort itself out and Restore Runan and Yingchuan to the vibrant days of yore.
Hoping for that was less likely than expecting the sun to rise from the west!
Even though the Yuan clan of Runan and the Yuan clan of Chenjun shared kinship, Yuan Huan felt like giving up.
The current stability wasn’t necessarily stable.
If grain prices spiked due to the worsening disaster, and the populace, having shifted from anxiety to rage, went riotous, what methods could Yuan Shu employ to quell the rising panic, and how could he ensure that these seemingly strong defenses wouldn’t crumble overnight?
Yuan Huan looked at the Leping Monthly Report in his hands, a deep melancholy growing within.
If not for the long Xiaohan Path blocking the way from Yuzhou to Guanzhong, he wouldn’t doubt many of the Yuzhou residents would consider migrating.
To an illiterate person, this Leping Monthly Report conveyed a kind of indescribable reassurance.
“Yuan Shubu!” Just as Yuan Huan thought this, he suddenly saw a soldier rushing towards him, panic clear on the soldier’s face, breaking him out of his deep thoughts and indignation.
Even before the soldier reached him, he was already shouting, “Yingchuan… Yingchuan’s locusts have gathered into a disaster!”
Yuan Huan’s expression shifted.
Locust disaster has struck?
Right, it’s already May!
The first batch of hatching locusts was likely airborne at this point, and the attempts to protect the Runan and Ying areas were far less effective compared to Guanzhong as Qiao Yan had reported in the Leping Monthly Report—
A plot of land one zhang square could produce hundreds of locusts due to drought.
Once the locusts took to the air, they couldn’t just be eaten by ducks raised on the ground or easily caught in fishing nets anymore; one had to take real action against the impending locust plague.
Yuan Huan pushed aside his thoughts about Yuan Shu’s irresponsibility, quickly instructing Yan Xiang to handle the locust disaster in Runan, and then made his way toward Yingchuan.
As he left Runan Pingyu, Yuan Huan couldn’t help but glance back, hoping to catch a sign that Yuan Shu had had a change of heart.
But to his disappointment, what he saw were the lands that appeared far less vibrant than last year, subtle signs of unrest among the seemingly fortified city walls.
From the sounds carried by the wind, he vaguely heard the words “go home.”
“Yuan Shubu?” The soldier bringing the news looked puzzled at Yuan Huan’s pause.
Yuan Huan gritted his teeth, deciding to first resolve the larger immediate issue before debating whether Yuan Shu’s actions were inappropriate.
But unbeknownst to him, as the locust disaster had not yet exploded everywhere, not everyone was fixated solely on their own little corners.
For instance, Qiao Yan, who at this moment, alongside Guo Jia and Xun Yu, had taken to horseback riding out of Chang’an, heading straight to Tong Pass, aiming for the Hongnong Jun meant to shelter the fleeing populace, intending to change the status quo that only occupied the territories within the Sili.
This was also a diversion to attract attention away from the naval battle in the direction of Xuzhou.
And then there was Cao Cao, who deeply understood that regardless of what decisions lay ahead, he could no longer be confined to his current circumstances; he must make a change.
This drought was a headache for some, but very likely an opportunity for him!
Under the administration of Zao Zhi and Man Chong in Yanzhou, where disaster reports had come in from various locations, the situation was still manageable in terms of mitigating the effects of the calamity.
He looked over at the gathered Cao and Xiahou relatives in the hall, as well as his trusted advisors Xu Chu and Li Gan, then turned his eyes towards his strategist Chen Gong, giving him a nod.
Having decided to go to war, they had to act swiftly!
All he sought was a quick victory!
Hongnong Jun is located between Tong Pass and Hangu Pass, if it were in modern times, it would be known for the famous Sanmenxia city, but for now, it’s called Shan County, fairly close to the capital of Hongnong Jun.
Xun Yu had just been discussing with Qiao Yan that the area for sheltering the fleeing populace would be set between the Yellow River and Luo River when he suddenly noticed Qiao Yan’s focus shift from listening intently to him to looking up at the sky.
In the next moment, she raised her arm and unhesitatingly shot out a crossbow bolt from her sleeve.
This powerful arrow didn’t miss, striking down a bird soaring overhead.
But as that bird plummeted to the ground, Xun Yu suddenly realized it wasn’t just an ordinary sparrow used for hunting; it was a dove that originally represented auspicious omens.
No, it was more than that.
The dove, which should’ve flown towards Guanzhong, was swiftly caught and presented to Qiao Yan, and in that moment, Xun Yu noticed a little bamboo tube tied to the dove’s leg.
This was… a carrier pigeon?
Qiao Yan took the bamboo tube down, opened it, and pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper.
As the paper unfurled revealing its contents, Xun Yu saw her expression immediately darken.
Having spotted the pigeon flying overhead with his keen observational skills, Qiao Yan didn’t wait for it to reach the pigeon base in Maiwu before having it intercepted; she shot down the letter before it could reach her hands.
The two-sided coding meant she had no time to hesitate, as any slight twist of misfortune could put her previous plans at risk, so losing one carrier pigeon was no big deal.
Her gut told her that the news heading to Chang’an was surely abnormal!
And she wasn’t mistaken!
On that secret message, in the coded writing style she had established, it read—
Cao Cao’s troops launched a surprise attack on Runan Jun.
Yuan Shu’s army has turned on him, and Yuan Yuzhou is dead on the battlefield.
