“Can strategists not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 325: Yang Province Alliance
Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting made up their minds. Once the boat had sailed halfway, they would go meet those two.
As for Su Fei’s remaining subordinates, they’d scattered like roaches as soon as Huang She and Su Fei boarded the ship, creating a decoy to make it seem like they were fleeing in another direction.
Whether that could fool the search team sent by Sun Ce was still up for debate, but for Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting, this was undoubtedly good news.
Because now those two were completely isolated and helpless.
With a few more subordinates, they could still think of a way to escape, but with only these two remaining—one of whom was Huang She, a guy with mediocre martial arts skills—
It wouldn’t be easy to get away.
Huang She, hidden in the cargo box, had no clue how his surroundings were being perceived.
As the waves rocked the boat, he crawled out from the hiding spot and joined Su Fei.
Having successfully slipped away from Sun Ce’s clutches, he felt the cold sweat on his brow lighten, only to be replaced by the heat building up in the cabin.
He wiped his forehead, too preoccupied to ponder how he ended up in such a situation, and peeked out the half-open porthole.
They had boarded the ship in the afternoon, and now the sun was leaning towards the west, allowing Huang She to clearly figure out that they were headed east along the river.
Huang She and Su Fei exchanged glances, both registering the relaxation in each other’s eyes.
Even though heading downstream meant they were getting farther from Jiangxia, and might even be heading toward Sun Ce’s Danyang County or Wu County, the intensity of the search would surely diminish.
Little did Sun Ce know, they were no longer in the net he cast but rather on someone else’s cargo ship.
Unfortunately, the Yangtze River was too wide; otherwise, Huang She thought about just leaping off the boat and swimming to the other side while the ferryman wasn’t looking.
That would be living the high life.
“Once the ship docks, we’ll find a way to jump into the water before they check the cargo,” Huang She whispered, pointing outside.
Su Fei had long served his father Huang Zu and was a decent swimmer, something Huang She already knew, so he didn’t need to ask more about it.
Su Fei replied, “That sounds like a plan, let’s avoid any extra trouble.”
Yet, despite saying that, neither of them had any real experience in executing such an escape; getting onto the cargo ship had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
As they sensed the ship nearing the dock and were about to make their move, the splash from their jump instantly alerted the ferryman.
Next thing they heard was a loud shout: “Thieves! There are thieves on the cargo ship!”
Su Fei: “…”
Huang She: “…”
Their escape method was already quite unique, but now they had to face the situation of being mistaken for thieves.
If they were fast enough, they might slip away unnoticed amidst the commotion; after all, it was dark and windy, and once they were in the water, no one could really see what they looked like.
However, it seemed the cargo ship was transporting something quite valuable, enough to warrant such skilled water fighters among the crew.
These burly guys were no pushovers.
Su Fei, being a martial officer under Huang Zu, found himself in a scuffle with two of the ferrymen but ended up getting overpowered instead.
Two fishing nets were thrown from the approaching boat, ensnaring both him and Huang She, who were then dragged before the local lord in a rough manner as if they were criminals.
Huang She and Su Fei were at a loss for words.
They really didn’t want to end up entangled in any legal issues, especially since they were in Yang Province. If news reached Sun Ce, they would be in serious trouble.
But Su Fei figured, since neither he nor the young master had actually stolen anything from the ship, once they checked them down and found nothing, they should be fine. The most they’d face was some awkward questions about why they jumped into the water.
What he didn’t expect was that the owner of this merchant crew was someone he had met before.
Sitting up straight despite being tied in the net, he wiped away the river water from his face, and when he looked up, he spotted two handsome young men sitting at the head of the cabin.
One of them immediately stood up, clearly recognizing Su Fei. “Su Xiaowei, what brings you here?”
Qiao Ting hurriedly instructed people to release Su Fei and Huang She.
As they fumbled to untie the nets, Huang She discreetly squeezed Su Fei’s hand, signaling him to be careful with his words.
News of Sun Ce’s search for the two of them had already spread along with his military actions in the Poyang Lake area. But to expedite the control over Yuzhang County and to prevent any city loyalists to Huang Zu or Liu Biao from retaliating, Sun Ce likely hadn’t shared the complete information with those inquiring about it.
In other words, the news of Huang Zu’s death might not have reached the other party yet.
To avoid being handed over to Sun Ce for a hefty reward, they had to tread carefully in their conversation!
True enough, as Qiao Ting—who was also known as “Huang Ting,” a merchant from Shu—helped Su Fei upright, she asked, “May I ask, Su Xiaowei, has there been any conflict between Sun Yang and Lord Huang? Why is he sending people to search for you two near Poyang Lake?”
Qiao Ting showed a bit of awkwardness, “You know how it is. Though we have some status back in Shu, once we get to Xuzhou and Yang Province, we still have to watch the local officials’ faces. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had to meet with you last year.”
Last year, Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting indeed had dealings with Su Fei.
Since Su Fei was close to Huang Zu, those outsiders wanting to trade in Yuzhang County had to go through Su Fei’s approval.
Of course, approval was just a thin veil over a bribe; otherwise, why did Huang Zu think he had such a good job in Yuzhang County?
At that time, Su Fei had even marveled at how the brothers from Shu had none of those rustic airs of folks from closed-off areas; they had been quite capable and generous.
But now, suddenly being reminded of this matter, Su Fei couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, Qiao Ting was bringing it up not to gloat over their misfortune but to follow up with, “We’re not curious about why you’re on our merchant vessel; we just want to check if there will be any battles in Yuzhang County soon. If so, we’d better refrain from trading over there for a while.”
This left Su Fei unsure of how to respond.
There would definitely be battles, and the most critical one had already been fought, ending with Sun Ce taking Nanchang.
Yuzhang County was about to undergo a massive reshuffle.
After all, with Sun Ce capturing Yuzhang County, he wouldn’t allow it to remain independent, not even closer to Liu Biao, forcing the officials in each county to comply with his demands.
It would be a clean sweep!
However, saying such things in front of shrewd merchants, who naturally seek profit and avoid harm, would be akin to telling them that Sun Ce was about to emerge as an even more suitable lord of Yang Province. If they wished to thrive, they might as well deliver the two of them to Sun Ce as gifts.
However, Su Fei’s silence seemed to spark a different interpretation in the two young merchants.
“Don’t feel the need to explain, Su Xiaowei. We can guess your meaning. Seems we better steer clear of Yuzhang County for the time being. As for your whereabouts, we won’t tell anyone else,” Qiao Lan cut in.
The young man spoke with a calm smile, leaving Su Fei to truly understand why they managed to lay out their business in both Yang and Xuzhou.
This ability to read between the lines and engage in smooth exchanges made it quite pleasant.
Qiao Lan pointed to the night outside and said, “But you two should avoid going ashore here; it’s not very safe.”
Huang She quickly asked, “Why’s that?”
Qiao Lan replied, “This place is the Congyang Ferry in Lujiang County. Recently, the prefect of Lujiang, Lu Kang, has been inspecting various regions due to the autumn harvest. He happens to be passing through here, and if you two happen to run into his men and are recognized, it could cause some trouble.”
While encountering an inspecting official in this county isn’t all that easy, after narrowly escaping from their jump into the water, Huang She and Su Fei couldn’t help but feel jittery, deciding it was best to avoid any risks.
Who knew if others would strictly follow Sun Ce’s arrest orders; but Lu Kang surely would.
After all, he was the one whom Sun Ce helped out when being besieged by Yuan Shu.
Now that Sun Ce maintained a rough balance with the four families of Wu County, it was all thanks to Lu Kang’s efforts.
With Qiao Lan’s warning, Huang She looked at the two merchant siblings with a hint of gratitude.
Given his previous status, these merchants wouldn’t have been fit to stand in his presence, yet under current circumstances, they were nothing short of lifesavers.
He tentatively asked, “So where are you two planning to dock next?”
Before formally meeting these two, Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting had already discussed their plans, so there was no hint of deceit on her face.
She replied openly, “We were headed to Jing County, as we have some business lined up with a few prominent clients there. We had initially set the agreement for after the harvest, but since we’ve been idle lately, we thought it best to finalize things as soon as possible. Our next stop is actually Tongguan Town, which isn’t far from Jing County. If you don’t mind, you can board there.”
Exchanging glances, Su Fei and Huang She replied, “That would be very much appreciated.”
If they ever regained their former glory, those two would surely receive recognition for this—
They were truly savvy.
After leaving Congyang Ferry, Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting even prepared a separate boat with enough food for them, towing it behind the larger vessel to avoid having the ferryman eavesdrop on their conversation.
Upon reaching Tongguan, they could make their exit at their discretion.
This meticulous planning led Huang She to quietly express his gratitude to the two, unaware that Qiao Lan needn’t have even mentioned Jing County; she could have directly referred to Tongguan.
So, the mention of those two words surely held her intention.
As Su Fei and Huang She found themselves in a situation safe enough for them,
In a rather private setting, they began to discuss their next moves.
According to their previous thoughts, once they reached Tongguan Ferry, they would head straight back to Jiangxia before Sun Ce had a chance to spread the news across the entire Yang Province. However, it seemed they were considering another possibility.
“Jing County…” Su Fei pondered over this destination mentioned by Qiao Lan, asking, “Eldest Young Master, do you remember who occupies Jing County in Danyang?”
Huang She usually didn’t stray from Yuzhang County, but he kept a tab on the various powers within Yang Province, and one of them was Zu Lang, who called himself the Grand Commander of Jing County.
Grand Commander of Jing County, of course, is right in Jing County!
Over the past few years, even as Sun Ce’s reputation grew in Yang Province, that didn’t stop Zu Lang from steadily building his forces.
Especially given that a few stragglers from Yan Baihu’s forces, nearly wiped out by Sun Ce, had run off to Danyang and joined Zu Lang’s side.
That accounted for part of his manpower.
Besides, during the uprising in Xuzhou, Zu Lang had taken a trip to Xuzhou to mooch a few free meals from Ze Rong, intending to investigate the tricks that could potentially bring Sun Ce to misfortune.
However, Ze Rong ended up being a casualty as Zhang Yi and Liu Bei carved up Xuzhou, ultimately meeting his demise at Zu Lang’s hands.
Yet, despite this unexpected turn of events, Zu Lang’s ambitions only swelled.
He was no fool.
After claiming Ze Rong’s head, he deftly ferried some of the deceived Xuzhou citizens over to Jing County, then raided Tongguan for cash and weapons, arming this new batch of troops.
In the following two years, he secretly procured a stash of supplies from Yizhou through Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting, hoarding them in Jing County, increasingly resembling an independent, large-scale fortress power.
All these maneuvers, combined with Sun Ce’s current preoccupation, allowed him to transform from the Grand Commander of Jing County to the most likely candidate among the mountain bandits to rival Sun Ce!
If Huang Zu from Yuzhang County were to die, and the remaining resistance forces in the southern part of Kuaiji County were eradicated by Sun Ce, then based on the severity of the threat, Zu Lang in Jing County would undoubtedly be Sun Ce’s next target.
The principle of “first secure the interior before dealing with external threats” applies within a nation as well as within a region.
Zu Lang embodied that internal strife.
However, for Huang She and Su Fei, who were feeling like lost puppies at this point, Zu Lang was a genuine savior!
If it weren’t for Qiao Lan mentioning his whereabouts, they wouldn’t have even thought of his name amidst their chaotic escape.
“Zu Lang…” Huang She murmured, a flicker igniting within him.
The resentment he had suppressed since leaving Nanchang began to resurface, fueled by the possibility of revenge.
While hiding in that cargo ship’s container, Huang had considered a very pragmatic question.
Liu Biao was indeed the governor of Jing Province, but unlike Qiao Yan or Sun Ce, he hadn’t secured his position through brute force; he rather relied on familial influences from the likes of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue to stabilize Jing’s situation.
So, would Liu Biao really mobilize against Sun Ce just because Huang Zu was dead in Yuzhang County?
Even if Liu Biao had some grievances over Sun Ce killing his subordinates, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, along with their clan backing, would never allow Liu Biao to make such a rash decision.
After all, with Jing Province currently enjoying the authority of the imperial court as a shield, even if Sun Ce sought revenge for Sun Jian, he’d have to think carefully about whether he could withstand the Grand Marshal’s wrath; and the interests in the borders of Jing Province only went so far. If they could dispatch Huang Clan, wouldn’t that benefit others too?
Such weighing of pros and cons during familial affairs is quite common and could easily appear when he sought help upon returning to Jing Province.
But what if he approached it differently? What if he used the existing internal strife in Yang Province to strike back against Sun Ce? Wouldn’t that present a more feasible route to achieve his goal?
He absolutely had to give it a shot.
Zu Lang might be a mountain bandit, but in nature, he was closer to a powerful clan leader, just like his father Huang Zu!
This added fuel to their conversation.
Zu Lang hadn’t submitted to Sun Ce yet, and it was unlikely he’d change his mind just because of Huang Zu’s death.
If he still had a stream of support trickling in from Jing Province, he might just stir up a storm right in Danyang County!
The more Huang She thought, the more he saw a glimmer of hope in his otherwise bleak prospects.
So, by the next morning, when he received invitations from Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting for breakfast, both sides seemed to have flipped their morale completely.
Huang She stated that he had figured something out—that Sun Ce would eventually pay the price for his rash advance, and therefore, there was no need to frown over temporary victories or losses.
Qiao Lan chimed in, saying their uneven demeanor was due to receiving news via a fast boat last night that their cargo in Lujiang County had been robbed.
“The ones who robbed our cargo were precisely the mountain bandits,” Qiao Ting added, her expression displaying some gloom, “In Yizhou, the southern barbarians rarely pull stunts like this; we can only blame Yang Province for still stirring up such mess.”
“If it had occurred in Danyang, we could’ve taken it up with the Grand Commander of Jing County, but since it’s in Lujiang County, we can only chalk it up to bad luck. Maybe next time, we’ll hire more bodyguards to escort the goods.”
Once she said that, it made clear why the guards who jumped into the water to catch Huang She and Su Fei last night were so formidable.
If they were meant for defending against thieves, it all made sense.
It seemed it was a necessary move following their increased losses.
By the principles of reciprocity, having received Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting’s hospitality, Huang She and Su Fei should’ve expressed a bit of sympathy for their situation.
But perhaps because they’d spent the entire night pondering how to persuade Zu Lang to rise up with their support, the two felt that these mountain bandit forces could rob at will, indicating that they were some feisty characters.
This kind of display made it seem more probable that they could persuade Zu Lang.
Upon reaching Tongguan, Huang She and the others pretended to leave but actually trailed Qiao Lan and her team. They watched as they first headed toward Jing County, then set off back north towards Xuzhou, finally arriving in Jing County, where they boldly declared they wanted to meet Zu Lang.
“After the farce with Ze Rong’s fake announcements, Zu Lang better be on his toes—these two won’t be easy to convince,” Qiao Ting reflected after receiving reports from her watchful subordinates.
“So, you hinted at some news to Zu Lang during the meal,” Qiao Lan laughed, responding.
“But whether it will succeed, I can’t say for sure—even I can only ensure they subconsciously receive the message I want to send, but I can’t make them act according to my wishes,” Qiao Ting sighed, “So I suppose we’ll have to make a trip to Wu County to stoke the Yang Province situation.”
Could Zu Lang be the only one who could help Huang She?
Not necessarily.
Sun Ce was currently progressing smoothly, making him a significant threat to some Yang Province nobility who still regarded him as merely a brute.
Now it would depend on how far these three forces could retaliate from within.
Qiao Lan replied, “Before anything else, let’s inform Junhou.”
Sun Ce’s moves were rather abrupt, and even with Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting receiving news and acting swiftly, especially in ensuring Huang She and Su Fei’s safety, one could say they acted decisively.
But given the distance between Yang Province and Chang’an, they still couldn’t consult Qiao Yan about whether their actions were appropriate, so all their previous moves could be considered unilateral.
Now at last, having dropped those two off where they needed to go without exposing their identities, it was the right time to report back to Qiao Yan.
At this moment, Qiao Yan was still in Bingzhou, so a letter sent via pigeon to Leping Academy found its way from Leping to Bingzhou’s provincial office.
Upon hearing about Sun Ce’s military maneuvers mirroring hers, Qiao Yan was initially taken aback but then couldn’t help but chuckle.
Perhaps Sun Ce was emulating not just her, but also Cao Cao.
After all, both Cao Cao’s attack on Yuan Shu and Sun Ce’s offensives in Yuzhang were actions taken during disastrous years, where the better-prepared factions launched assaults against those who neglected production.
This was the act of a hero!
Now, this youth in his twenties had made notable progress compared to his earlier days!
However, Sun Ce’s expansion, while taking over territory she didn’t actually control, wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
She was indeed looking forward to Sun Ce sorting out Yang Province, so she could manage it better in the future.
As she meticulously read through the letter, she fully understood the plans laid out by the Qiao sisters, and she noted how they ended with a query on whether their actions were appropriate.
“What’s inappropriate about it? A little more self-confidence is what you need,” Qiao Yan smiled slightly as she held the letter in front of a candle and set it ablaze, “If everything requires my approval, unless there’s a telephone that transmits messages in the blink of an eye, where could I possibly have the capacity to oversee such a vast world?”
Fortunately, although they still lacked a bit of confidence, she was genuinely pleased that—
Whether it was transmitting information to those who needed to know, making swift and accurate judgments on the situation, or hiding their identities, Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting had already become seasoned.
One day soon, this small Leping Qiao Clan would undoubtedly emerge as a force to be reckoned with across the realm.
She sharpened her pen and started drafting a reply.
In the letter, she wrote about how the “remnant” forces of some Wu County families—Xu Gong, Yan Baihu, among others—should navigate the alliance with Zu Lang, the Grand Commander of Jing County and Huang She, who still had the Huang Clan in Jiangxia backing him, and let them come to their own conclusions about how they wanted to proceed in Yang Province.
The only thing she needed from them was to not put themselves in danger by trying to direct events forcefully to fit their expectations.
As she thought about the potential consequences of such an alliance, Qiao Yan’s pen paused slightly.
Years ago, when she had allowed Jia Xu to orchestrate a plan to eliminate Sun Jian, she had felt similar hesitation.
However, the conflict for supremacy now offered even less space for retreat than back then.
She also needed to take responsibility for her subordinates and the citizens under her command!
This brief pause felt like an occasional heavy stroke on the paper before she continued writing—
Pass the word to Jia Wenhe: When the situation in Yang Province changes, spare no effort to trap Zhou Yu in Xuzhou!
