Chapter 322

Chapter 322

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 10: The World in Chaos, The Time of the Deer Hunt Chapter 322: Return to Bingzhou

Book: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 322: Return to Bingzhou

If this were really a father-son showdown, it would be a laughingstock.

But before Cao Hong could speak, he heard Chen Gong beside him say, “The Prefect is right. Since Pi is already at Leping Academy, given the current faculty and his classmates’ performance, there’s no need to rush to bring him back. He might even become an extraordinary figure.”

“Now it seems that Qiao Bingzhou made the right decision years ago by taking Zheng Kangcheng from Yuan Qingzhou’s territory. Unfortunately, we are a step too late to establish an academy in Yanzhou and Yuzhou.”

Forget about whether there are students and teachers. Preparing talents early is always better than late. We are already too late.

“Why is even Mr. Gongtai joining in the nonsense?” Cao Hong couldn’t help but mutter.

Cao Chun patted him from behind, signaling him to shut up.

The young man had already seen through Cao Cao and Chen Gong’s intentions.

Not discussing how terrifying Qiao Yan’s advance is, or what benefits it brings her, or how much of a threat it poses to Yanzhou and Yuzhou, is all to prevent most people from spreading panic.

Mentioning Cao Pi, who is still at Leping Academy, turns the current tension into a joke, a typical Cao Cao move. Only someone like Cao Hong wouldn’t see it and would instead undermine it.

Is Cao Cao worried about the current situation? Of course, he is.

He originally thought that taking Runan and Chenjun, then dividing the territory with Qiao Yan, would buy him some buffer time and maintain initiative regardless of future stance changes.

But in the face of the easy victories in these two provinces, the two additional counties in Cao Cao’s hands might not change the situation.

However, anxiety is one thing; losing composure is another.

While thinking about how Qiao Yan’s recent actions might escalate conflicts in Chang’an, giving him a glimpse of her ambitions, he said to Cao Hong, “If Pi can really behead Tadun like Lü Bu’s daughter, hunt with his father in the wild, and besiege Gongsun Zan, then it wouldn’t matter if he became an enemy.”

Unfortunately, Cao Cao’s wish might be hard to fulfill.

After all, at Leping Academy, Cao Pi and Lu Ji are entrusted to Cai Yong and Zheng Xuan, who are more likely to produce great literary or astronomical scholars.

Unaware of Qiao Yan’s preparations, Cao Cao added, “If you’re really bored, accompany Zixiu to Bingzhou tomorrow.”

“Why go to Bingzhou?” Cao Hong asked.

“What year does this drought resemble?” Cao Cao countered.

“Guanghe… six, right?” Cao Hong tentatively replied.

Cao Cao nodded, “You know it’s like Guanghe six, but you don’t remember what that winter was like?”

The winter of Guanghe six was probably the coldest in decades.

The ice in Beihai and Donglai was several feet thick.

After a summer drought and a poor autumn harvest, the people were hit by another meteorological disaster.

Back then, not only was there no cotton for warmth, but even the mulberry bark clothing Qiao Yan later developed in Leping wasn’t available. Those who couldn’t earn enough from the autumn harvest had no money to buy warm clothes, and countless people froze to death.

Cao Cao risked taking advantage of Yuan Shu’s mishandling of the drought to seize most of Yuzhou, not to let them freeze in the possible extreme cold of winter and reignite internal strife.

He explained, “The cotton Qiao Yeshu planted in Bingzhou has increased in yield over the years. Even with internal consumption, like supplying the newly added Youzhou, there must be surplus. It shouldn’t be hard to negotiate a deal with Zixiu.”

“We don’t need to take advantage here; just treat it as a normal transaction.”

Cao Hong was still puzzled, “But why go to Bingzhou for this deal? Qiao Yeshu isn’t in Bingzhou.”

She just completed a lightning attack on Yizhou and is still in Chang’an finishing up. Even if she plans further actions, it’s likely to be towards Luoyang first.

After all, before the Yizhou campaign, she was there, and now Xun Yu and others are helping her with refugee resettlement and restoring order in the eastern part of Sili.

Chen Gong interjected, “If the Prefect sent someone directly to Chang’an, how would others interpret it? They’d think he’s intimidated by Qiao Yeshu’s military achievements, sending his eldest son and top generals to Chang’an to submit. That would do us no good in our current situation.”

Cao Hong nodded, somewhat understanding, but he thought going to Bingzhou wouldn’t necessarily prevent such speculation. It still felt a bit like trying to cover up.

But Cao Cao and Chen Gong didn’t plan to explain further.

First, this transaction must be reported to Yuan Shao, and part of it must be sent to Ye City.

After all, compared to Yanzhou and Yuzhou, Jizhou and Qingzhou are further north and have a greater need for such cotton clothing.

But if Yuan Shao, who just lost Gongsun Zan as his northern barrier, were to negotiate this deal with Qiao Yan, he wouldn’t be happy.

It would be a blow to his pride.

Having Cao Cao as the intermediary to negotiate the deal between Yanzhou and Bingzhou is the most suitable way.

Additionally, this gives Qiao Yan a legitimate reason to temporarily step away from Chang’an politics and visit Bingzhou.

She would surely take this opportunity.

After sending Cao Ang and Cao Hong away, Cao Cao and Chen Gong’s conversation shifted from the earlier optimism to concern. “In your view, will Qiao Yeshu launch another campaign this year?”

“An active campaign is unlikely,” Chen Gong replied, clearly understanding Cao Cao’s worries.

“Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Guanzhong have been quite stable due to her efforts over the past two years. This gave her the chance to extend her reach to Henan Yin and Hongnong in Sili, swallowing a large population during the disaster, but it also created a significant burden.”

“These people need the accumulated resources from the three provinces to support them until they can harvest crops around Luoyang. At the same time, these resources are also needed to stabilize grain prices in the three provinces and support the campaigns in Yizhou and Yingchuan—”

Cao Cao calculated, “That would almost balance out.”

The amount of grain stored in Qiao Yan’s territory, as reported in the Leping Monthly, is roughly estimable.

The supplies from Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Yangzhou in the past two years must also be limited.

Even if she performed exceptionally well during this year’s drought and locust plague, the inevitable reduction in yield due to weather cannot be entirely mitigated by human effort.

The expenditure to stabilize grain prices in the three provinces must also be accounted for.

This is indeed a balanced asset.

“What about the output from Yizhou, the Land of Abundance?”

Chen Gong shook his head, “Back then, Yizhou Governor Xi Jian amassed wealth through heavy taxation, mostly for his own enjoyment. So, to calculate Yizhou’s grain reserves, we must start from when Liu Junlang took over as Yizhou Governor.”

“In the early years, internal opposition in Yizhou was strong, and the consumption from several military campaigns made it hard to accumulate grain. It’s also said that Liu Junlang had some royal family issues back in Luoyang, which likely worsened in Yizhou. Thus, after supporting Xuzhou and Youzhou, the grain reserves can only serve as disaster prevention stockpiles for the provinces.”

“From Qiao Yeshu’s long-term preparations for the drought, it’s clear she won’t give up having a reserve for emergencies, hence the attack sequence of Yizhou first, then Youzhou.”

Cao Cao clapped and laughed, “Well said, Gongtai. So, she won’t… or at least not this year, take any major actions.”

However… as Chen Gong said, this only concludes that she won’t “actively” launch campaigns. The current situation in the world, seemingly divided into four regions with independent provinces, is actually interconnected.

Qiao Yan’s foresight in observing the world is not to be underestimated. Just as she chose to sail from Xuzhou to Liaodong this time, she might move a piece on the chessboard while temporarily holding back.

But even Cao Cao, who has known her for ten years, finds it hard to predict where she might strike next.

So, he merely joked, “With your words, I feel much more at ease. It seems the necessity of learning arithmetic is growing.”

After all, one must calculate these accounts clearly to compete with opponents.








In the midst of the confrontation, they were in a state of knowing what was in their hearts.

“You say, although we can’t establish something like Dong Commandery Academy within Yanzhou, wouldn’t it still be somewhat feasible to set up a quick calculation class alone?”

Chen Gong replied with amusement, “If you think there will be traps like Yuan Shao borrowing grain in the upcoming cotton trade, it wouldn’t hurt to have a calculation class.”

“But I think it’s better to first have people invest their extra time in digging water channels and wells.”

Which one is the top priority doesn’t seem too hard to distinguish.

Only by solving the problem of food and clothing first can we consider more things.

This “fullness,” under Cao Cao’s quick response to the disaster and the support of Zao Zhi’s farming policy in the past few years, is still on the critical line that doesn’t make the people flee, but this is only the situation this year.

What if… next year’s disaster is even worse?

They have to think about whether there is something like an underground reservoir in their territory.

The underground reservoir in front of the Qinling Mountains in Guanzhong doesn’t sound like something set up just to boost the people’s confidence.

Hearing this, Cao Cao couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.

This precarious situation of the Han Dynasty, coincidentally met with an environment that doesn’t intend to bring it back to life, what kind of situation will it lead to, even he can’t know before next year arrives.

He can only do his best with what’s in front of him.

At least as the Governor of Yanzhou and additionally controlling Chen Commandery and Runan Commandery in Yu Province, he can’t mess up!

“Cotton trade?” Qiao Yan was somewhat surprised by Cao Cao’s reaction after receiving the news from Bingzhou.

But thinking of his sentiments like “Singing while drinking, how much of life is there?” and “Generous and generous, worries are hard to forget,” it’s not strange at all that such a trade would be proposed from him.

Her eyes turned, thinking of the waves her recent actions had caused in Chang’an, she immediately decided to make a trip to Bingzhou first.

Other prefectures, even those not loyal to the Chang’an court, proposed such a trade at this time, if she doesn’t go personally, how can she clearly assess whether Yanzhou and Yu Province, adjacent to Sili, have the possibility of being directly under their control.

According to what she and Liu Yu said, Cao Mengde making this trade with her for the livelihood of the people in winter is actually quite justified in name.

But you should know, whether it’s justified and whether such a move should be made at this time are two different things.

If she showed enough importance to Cao Cao’s envoy, with Yuan Shao’s pettiness, it would be strange if he didn’t have a grudge against Yanzhou.

This grudge might not show up immediately after the recent upheaval in Youzhou, to prevent losing even this southern ally, but it will eventually play its due role.

Although Liu Yu felt a bit strange, he still approved her decision to return to Bingzhou.

It was already August, nearing the harvest season.

This busiest time of the year for various places temporarily diluted the impact of the changes in Yizhou and Youzhou in the face of more straightforward survival issues.

According to the operational process that has become systematic in Guanzhong over the past two years, the only change is that the grains are not as full as last year, but overall, it’s not something that can’t continue without Qiao Yan.

The carriage and guards went north, and when passing the northern suburbs of Chang’an, Qiao Yan opened the curtain and looked out, seeing farmers carrying hoes, sickles, and baskets heading to the fields.

In the Sanfu area, whenever locust plagues occurred over the years, due to the worship of the locust god, it was almost always a state of helplessness and passivity, unlike this year, even though a reduction in yield is inevitable, maintaining livelihood is still possible.

When Qiao Yan looked at the faces of these people, their faces were still filled with the joy of harvest.

Seeming to notice the markings on the carriage, these farmers walking by the official road stopped and looked towards the convoy, just as Qiao Yan was about to put down the curtain and stop looking out, they suddenly bowed towards the convoy, as if conveying silent thanks to her.

Her hand paused slightly, and she heard Li Ru, who was riding in the same carriage, say, “I didn’t expect the Marquis to be such a sentimental person.”

She smiled, “If a person doesn’t act on emotions, they lose a criterion to balance themselves, as long as one’s personal feelings and wishes don’t completely affect the judgment of the situation, it’s fine.”

How could she possibly be indifferent to these people?

If during the Yellow Turban Rebellion she still thought these people were just tools for her to gain fame, then when she reached the land of Leping, hearing someone say that the bark used to make mulberry bark clothing doesn’t taste good, seeing them rush to welcome her after she shot the Governor to quell the locust plague, she was already tied to this era.

Now even more so, firmly connected with the territories of these several prefectures.

“The Marquis said not to let her feelings affect the judgment of the situation, there seems to be something implied in her words,” Li Ru leisurely picked up the teacup on the carriage table and commented.

Qiao Yan replied, “This matter doesn’t need to be said so clearly.”

What she was talking about, of course, was Wang Yun.

Since the advance into Yizhou was not informed to the Chang’an court, plus she sought fame for her generals due to the Youzhou war, even though Wang Yun was reprimanded by her in court for not having made any contributions, it didn’t affect his underlying attitude of nitpicking.

If he was for the people of the Han Dynasty, not wanting a powerful minister to make such reckless moves regardless of the court, leading to the development of a situation like Dong Zhuo? Probably not!

He just stubbornly clings to his reputation as a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty and his honor belonging to the scholar class, not wanting to end up as a useless person in Qiao Yan’s step-by-step actions.

Perhaps, even if she informed everyone of the strategy to attack Yizhou, he would still find a way to argue.

Who let his ideals and ambitions be not quite the same as Xun Yu’s.

But, who said Wang Yun’s behavior is a bad thing?

At least with his actions, Liu Yang, who already harbored hostility towards her, would probably feel he found a kindred spirit, and the court officials who, like Wang Yun, harbored dissatisfaction with the Grand Marshal, would naturally take Wang Yun, in the position of the Three Excellencies, as their leader, and then gather around him.

How nice, she doesn’t even need to use targeted bait to fish alone.

Having Li Ru deliberately appear to fish out Qi Zhou, who then seeks Wang Yun’s advice, and then Wang Yun jumps out to be the apparent leader, can be considered a play that saves Qiao Yan a lot of trouble.

And now she temporarily left Chang’an to go to Bingzhou to discuss the cotton trade, also providing them with a safe space for communication.

She really wants to see, under the circumstances that these people don’t have much military power and are surrounded by her territory, what kind of interesting play they can come up with.

It can’t be like Liu Zhang’s failed usurpation, right?

Wang Yun is not as foolish as Zhao Wei.

This unknown possibility made Qiao Yan think here, and she couldn’t help but smile.

She then said to Li Ru, “Speaking of which, after working with Mr. Wenhe for a long time, Mr. Wenyou’s acting ability has greatly improved.”

The contrast he showed when he reappeared in front of Qi Zhou had already been reported to Qiao Yan, making her find it really interesting.

But Li Ru wasn’t too happy to attribute this credit to Jia Xu.

The reason he appeared in Chang’an back then was because Jia Xu dragged him into the water, if it weren’t for this guy insisting on arguing with him, he could have continued to retire in Shang Commandery because of his disciple’s performance.

Now he has to do two years of paperwork in Chang’an.

It’s only because Qiao Yan wanted to give Wang Yun a signal—that Li Ru might have exposed his identity to the outside, and needs to hide his traces a bit, that Li Ru was temporarily allowed to return to Bingzhou.

He replied, “At most, this is called natural acting, not as good as Jia Wenhe’s social finesse.”

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

She watched the competition among these strategists without any interference, after all, who could say this isn’t a way to make these not very proactive guys play their part?

Li Ru, in order to enjoy the same work four days and rest two days as Jia Xu, has really put in a lot of effort in the past two years.

Qiao Yan has no guilt about this kind of healthy competition.

After all, compared to those who actively work overtime for their own benefits, the one who is still kept in the dark is probably worse off.

Behind their carriage, because they needed to go to Youzhou to announce the Emperor’s decree, followed Tian Feng’s carriage.

He worked hard to come up with a balanced position conferment, thus getting this assignment to Youzhou to announce the decree.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know that this might not be an opportunity for him to successfully return to Ji Province and report what he had gained over the years, but a time for him to officially break away from Yuan Shao’s camp.

Long before this convoy set off, Qiao Yan had already sent a letter to Zhang Liao.

She had enough confidence in this general who could stand alone, so Zhang Liao should also know—

At what moment to let Tian Feng reshape his cognition!

Three years of undercover promotion, it’s time to wrap up.