Chapter 312

Chapter 312

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 9: The Calamity of Drought and Locusts, Flying to Liaodong Chapter 312: Troops Depart from Yinping

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Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 312: Troops Depart from Yinping

If someone else said they wanted to conquer Yizhou within a month, it might sound like a joke, but if Qiao Yan said it, it would sound like a firm statement.

The previous battle of Hanzhong had a particularly intimidating effect on Yizhou.

At that time, the officials under Liu Yan could not have dreamed that within two months of the coronation ceremony in Chang’an, Qiao Yan would boldly send troops to Hanzhong, expel Zhang Lu, seize Hanzhong, and invite Liu Yan to come north to Yizhou for talks.

Such a decisive and terrifying presence, unhindered by the Qinling Mountains, if she were to come to Yizhou again, could indeed stir up a storm in just a month or so.

Moreover, during Xu Shu’s two years as the Prefect of Hanzhong, he was not just setting up paper mills and shipyards in Yizhou for Qiao Yan, nor was he merely supervising the young Emperor Liu Xie in Hanzhong.

If that were all, Qiao Yan would not have needed to send such a trusted confidant.

During these two years, he assisted the generals in Hanzhong in recruiting soldiers from Yizhou, sent friendly signals to Guanghan Commandery and the neighboring Ba Commandery, fully utilized the situation where Liu Yan could not fully control the northern regions of Yizhou, and even befriended the Qiang people near the Baishui Pass.

If she were to send troops south, she could likely mobilize not only her own forces but also launch a hunt in Shu.

At the same time, Xu Shu, relying on the intelligence organization provided by Qiao Yan, gradually compiled information on some forces in southern Yizhou, aiming to avoid a difficult situation of fighting city by city when expanding the front to the entire Yizhou.

These things seemed insignificant in peacetime, as if the Prefect of Hanzhong was just getting along with his colleagues in Yizhou, but in reality…

That would only be seen when Yizhou underwent a drastic change.

Xun Yu was not entirely aware of this, but at the beginning of this year, when Xu Shu returned to Chang’an from Hanzhong to report, he had a brief exchange with him.

It was this conversation that made him sure why Qiao Yan dared to delegate such authority to this young man, placing him almost independently in Hanzhong.

Because he was undoubtedly the person who could secure the springboard for her attack on Yizhou!

And her own military style destined this thousand-mile raid to be not an impossible task!

One month, that was the time limit she set for herself to quell the turmoil in Yizhou.

So what the two people in front of her needed to do was not to question whether this one-month advance was possible, but to answer the question she posed.

“If it’s just one month, I can ensure that when the Marquis leaves, Luoyang will be in a state that, when the Marquis returns, the development will only be more favorable to the Marquis.”

Xun Yu solemnly made a promise.

He thought for a moment and then asked, “Forgive me for being concerned about the Marquis’s military plan, I would like to know, where does the Marquis plan to start the attack on Yizhou?”

Qiao Yan replied, “Since it’s a quick battle to reach Shu, we can’t go through Hanzhong.”

Zhao Wei and others chose to support Liu Yan’s young son Liu Zhang to ascend when Liu Yan was seriously ill, and even likely made corresponding interest exchanges with Liu Zhang’s maternal family, the Fei family of Jiangxia, to ensure that the situation in Yizhou could be fully controlled by him, the Fei family, and Liu Zhang before the news of Liu Yan’s death reached Chang’an.

In this way, even if the court did learn of Liu Yan’s death, it would be difficult to transfer manpower to Yizhou at this time, and could only accept Liu Zhang succeeding Liu Yan as the Governor of Yizhou.

Driven by this control, they had to strictly control the Dongzhou scholars under Liu Yan and strictly guard against Xu Shu in Hanzhong noticing the changes in Shu, sending his subordinates Ma Chao, Chu Yan, and Yao Chang south to intervene in the succession dispute in Yizhou.

So if Qiao Yan went through Hanzhong, it might seem like she could directly mobilize the garrison of the Middle General of Annan in Hanzhong, but in fact, it would be easily detected by Zhao Wei and Liu Zhang, which could lead to some desperate actions, and that would be bad.

Once the situation is delayed, how could it be beneficial for her to make a divine descent?

Xu Shu’s preparations in Hanzhong were to stabilize Yizhou later, not to be used in the process of breaking through.

She said, “I will go through Wudu Commandery.”

From Wudu Commandery south to Yizhou, reaching Guanghan Dependent State!

Because the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, or the Taishi Sect, this Taoist sect in Yizhou, was not completely exterminated as the culprit of the chaos after Qiao Yan led the troops to conquer Hanzhong, Zhang Lu’s mother, Lady Lu, was even temporarily brought out by Qiao Yan as the leader to assist the followers in redeeming their sins in Hanzhong, so Zhang Lu, who was driven to Guanghan Dependent State by Qiao Yan that year, still led his followers to study the teachings and open roads as a form of collective activity.

Therefore, the road from Wudu Commandery to Guanghan Dependent State and extending within Guanghan Dependent State is actually not as difficult as imagined.

“Was the Marquis planning this surprise attack when she drove Zhang Lu here that year?” Guo Jia asked before seeing Qiao Yan off.

If so, it seems too ingenious.

Qiao Yan replied, “Maybe, maybe not. Yizhou cannot remain independent forever, and building more roads is not a bad thing.”

The roads from Hanzhong to Chang’an were to make Hanzhong, separated by the Qinling Mountains, more accessible to Chang’an.

The road between Wudu Commandery and Guanghan Dependent State, and the road from Guanghan Dependent State south to Chengdu, on one hand, were to strengthen the connection between Yizhou and Liangzhou, and on the other hand, perhaps when she stood on the shoulders of later generations to merge history, it was hard to ignore the impact of such a road in the surprise attack on Shu.

The name Guanghan Dependent State may not be so familiar, but the name Yinping Path must be familiar.

In the late years of the country, the famous general Deng Ai sneaked through Yinping and rushed to Chengdu, completing the war that destroyed Shu and made the later lord Liu Shan surrender.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Fu Youde, a general under Zhu Yuanzhang, also took this road over Mount Motian to complete the war to pacify Shu.

When Qingchuan was liberated, the People’s Liberation Army also marched from the Yinping Path.

Letting Zhang Lu develop in Guanghan Dependent State and using the Taishi Sect’s road-building teachings on such a road, even if not for today, would surely play a role in Yizhou, which had been independent for many years, when facing the critical illness of Liu Yan and the struggle for succession among his sons.

Now, it’s just the right time.

To prevent the news of this troop dispatch from leaking, Qiao Yan didn’t even inform Sima Fang, who was in Henan Yin, of her whereabouts.

In Sima Fang’s eyes, Qiao Yan seemed to be leading a small team of cavalry back to Chang’an, perhaps because some measures in Luoyang needed Liu Yu’s approval, or because Luoyang had gradually accepted the management from the Chang’an court, giving her the conditions to leave temporarily and report the slightly overstepped actions in the Yuzhou war situation to the Chang’an court.

But what Sima Fang didn’t know was that Qiao Yan galloped from Luoyang to Chang’an, passing through the capital at night, and did not stay there, but continued westward, thus not alerting anyone in Chang’an.

It wasn’t until she led her troops to Maiwu that she stopped briefly.

There, she sent two letters via carrier pigeons to two other pigeon stations.

One letter was sent to Hanzhong, ordering Xu Shu to immediately have Yao Chang and Ma Chao return to Wudu Commandery and meet her at the point where the Qiang River flows from Wudu Commandery into Guanghan Dependent State.

The other letter was sent to Hanyang Commandery, ordering Lu Yuan, the Assistant Governor of Liangzhou there, to dispatch Fu Gan, the Middle General of Pingliang, and his subordinates from Hanyang to Wudu to join her.

The troop movements in both places were strictly prohibited from being disclosed.








What kind of movement should be made to alert the outside world?

Although it might take longer for news to travel from Wudu Commandery or Hanyang Commandery to the ears of the Yizhou scholars in Chengdu than for Qiao Yan to reach Chengdu herself, it’s worth noting that since she started using carrier pigeons as a means of communication, a considerable amount of time has passed. The number of pigeons lost along the way must be in the double digits. Who knows if any party has realized that these are no longer just birds seen as auspicious signs but the most qualified messengers.

To prevent the enemy from learning the news in advance by imitating her method of dissemination, it’s better to be cautious in this troop deployment.

In any case, while Qiao Yan was taking decisive action for her plan to pacify Yizhou within a month, Lu Yuan and Xu Shu, who received her message, didn’t dare to delay at all.

One team quietly set out from Nanzheng in Hanzhong and arrived at Ju County in Wudu Commandery, while the other team mobilized overnight from Hanyang Commandery and reached the commandery office of Wudu Commandery first, meeting Gai Xun, the Prefect of Wudu who was there.

Fu Gan was not alone; among his companions was an old acquaintance of Gai Xun, Jiang Jiao, who had escorted Gai Xun to Bingzhou in the past.

Reuniting with an old friend, Gai Xun felt that Jiang Jiao had changed a lot compared to before.

In the past, as a scion of the four great families of Hanyang, Jiang Jiao had a certain sharpness in his demeanor, knowing the impossible yet striving for it, with the confidence that his family could back him up.

But now, due to the collapse and reconstruction of the four great families of Hanyang, that frivolous arrogance in his confidence has completely disappeared, leaving only a steadiness born of experiencing upheavals.

In contrast, Gai Xun, being relatively older, hasn’t changed as much.

Although he once competed with Zhang Lu for the position of Prefect in Wudu Commandery a few years ago, compared to the chaos caused by the Liangzhou rebels and the Qiang people, the current situation is something he wouldn’t have dared to dream of.

After Qiao Yan completely established order in Liangzhou and Zhang Lu was expelled from Wudu Commandery following Liu Yu’s establishment of the capital in Chang’an, Gai Xun’s life became even more comfortable.

He had always been popular among the Qiang people due to his conduct—this was true even when he was an official in Hanyang Commandery—and even more so after becoming the Prefect of Wudu Commandery. Now, without having to worry about warfare, he even looks a few years younger than he did a couple of years ago.

When they met, they had quite a bit of nostalgic conversation.

However, before they could reminisce for long, Gai Xun got back to business, “What’s the situation?”

Jiang Jiao replied, “The Lord intends to send troops to Yizhou and needs Prefect Gai to assist us in mobilizing some soldiers who are adept at navigating the mountain paths between Liangzhou and Yizhou to join the expedition.”

“The Lord is personally leading the expedition to Yizhou?” Gai Xun was almost startled.

For someone in her position, personally going to Yingchuan to negotiate boundaries with Cao Cao was already an extremely risky move.

Anyone in her position should rarely take such actions personally.

But clearly, Qiao Yan not only did so but, shortly after completing the Runan talks, is about to do something even more daring—

Personally leading an expedition to Yizhou.

To pass through Wudu Commandery and mobilize troops from Hanzhong and Hanyang to Wudu Commandery to support her actions, it’s evident that she’s not just planning to attack Hanzhong as she did in the first year of Jian’an but to directly enter the southern regions of Yizhou.

“This question will be answered more clearly when the Lord arrives in person,” Fu Gan interjected.

Qiao Yan indeed arrived in central Wudu Commandery just a couple of days after Fu Gan and Jiang Jiao, only slightly delayed because she was also coordinating the movement of military supplies from Chencang.

The Sanguan Pass from Guanzhong to Wudu posed no obstacle to her, allowing her to successfully meet Gai Xun in Wudu Commandery on the sixth day after receiving news of the changes in Yizhou.

To Gai Xun’s question about whether personally leading the expedition to Yizhou was too risky, Qiao Yan gave this explanation:

“Having the Prefect of Hanzhong appear at the scene of such an act of falsely claiming the governorship of Yizhou would likely be far less effective than the Grand Marshal appearing in person. If even such a prominent figure can appear in the heart of Yizhou without anyone noticing, who would dare to scheme such underhanded tactics?”

“Moreover, this trip isn’t entirely a risk. The Middle General of Annan I’m bringing is an expert in mountain warfare, the Protector of the Qiang is a channel for communication with the Qiang and Nanman, and people like Yancai are accustomed to fighting in harsh conditions. Such a setup is enough for me to successfully cross the Yinping Trail.”

“Furthermore, I’m not fighting alone in Yizhou, facing various obstacles along the way. For example, when I first go to Guanghan Dependent State and then head south, passing through this Guanghan Dependent State, will Zhang Lu be a stumbling block or an ally?”

Zhang Lu?

Hearing this name, Gai Xun instinctively wanted to say that Qiao Yan would find it much harder to remove him from Guanghan Dependent State than it was to drive him out of Wudu Commandery and Hanzhong Commandery.

In the more than two years he has been operating in Guanghan Dependent State, Zhang Lu must have learned from past lessons and put more effort into fortifying his defenses.

The intricate relationships he has formed with the local Qiang people also allow him to mobilize more forces to prevent being easily expelled.

But Gai Xun felt he didn’t mishear one thing: in Qiao Yan’s tone, she seemed to think Zhang Lu wasn’t her enemy.

Facing Gai Xun’s puzzled gaze, Qiao Yan replied to him, “Whether someone is an enemy or a friend can change with the situation. If I can free Zhang Lu from being confined to this small area of Guanghan Dependent State and even allow him to regain the glory of the Taishi Path, will he choose to be captured by my suddenly arriving troops or to cooperate with me?”

Zhang Lu is a very smart and pragmatic person.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have quickly chosen to cooperate with Liu Yan after the Taishi Path was once taken over by Zhang Xiu, using Liu Yan’s power to achieve his goal of regaining control of the sect.

If two years ago his methods were still somewhat immature, leading to him being beaten by Qiao Yan as a celebratory gift for the establishment of the Chang’an court and having his mother use supernatural tales to seek aid from Liu Yan, by now…

He should have honed his character through the hardships.

Seeing Qiao Yan speak with such certainty, Gai Xun didn’t try to stop her decision anymore. Instead, he arranged for the people she needed to transport supplies to be included in the logistics team as she instructed.

The team from Hanzhong, the Liangzhou army brought by Fu Gan, and the thousand or so soldiers Qiao Yan brought from Chencang, totaling about five thousand people, rested briefly in southern Longnan for half a day before heading straight for Guanghan Dependent State.

Zhang Lu, feeling secure in this remote location and thinking he had a few more years to recuperate due to the ongoing conflicts in Xuzhou and Yuzhou, never expected that after more than two years of silence from Wudu Commandery to the north, such a force would suddenly emerge, heading straight for his garrison at Huyi Dam in Guanghan Dependent State.

The leader wasn’t even a general commanding a detachment but Qiao Yan herself!

The Grand Marshal, who had pacified Hanzhong with lightning speed, rode slowly to the outside of his camp, looking at the scene of being surrounded, and though she didn’t show any hint of mockery, the confidence exuding from her eyes was unmistakable.

Indeed, she should be confident.

The Taishi Path followers stationed at Huyi Dam only slightly outnumbered her troops, but in terms of actual combat capability, her soldiers, mostly from Liangzhou, could likely match them one for one.

What ability did he have to contend with Qiao Yan!

Then they heard Qiao Yan speak, “Master Zhang, it’s been a while. How have you been?”