Chapter 5

“Can a strategist really get on the throne?”

Chapter 5

Liang Zhongning stared at the unexpected guest.

If he hadn’t suffered a defeat outside Tian Family Fortress earlier, he might have thought that this person was a complete fool the moment they introduced themselves.

But maybe, even if he had really considered that, after properly contemplating the implications of the other party’s words, he wouldn’t have dismissed her as an impulsive lunatic.

“Yanzhou Yan Qiao?” Liang Zhongning furrowed his brow.

Back in those days, people often added their place of origin before their names for status, like Changshan Zhao Zilong or Jiuyuan Lü Fengxian.

This was partly due to the “Prohibition of Two-Character Names” enacted after Wang Mang usurped the throne during the late Western Han, which still lingered in the Eastern Han. With so many same names and surnames, adding place names or titles made it easier to distinguish them.

Furthermore, people held remarkable loyalty to their local communities at this time.

And speaking of common names, without considering that, high-profile figures like Yanzhou Yan Qiao and Chenliu Dian Wei were certainly names Liang Zhongning had never heard before.

There was one difference though, Gaomi wasn’t in Yanzhou.

And when you mention Gaomi, it’s hard not to think of one person.

“Indeed, it’s the Gaomi where Master Zheng Kangcheng resides,” Qiao Yan seemed to guess what he was confused about and continued speaking.

She stood with hands at her side, and her calm tone made it hard to believe she was lying her way through this.

Originally, “Qiao Yan” had been sick for years, rarely going out and even less often interacting with neighbors. She sounded more like Luoyang Mandarin than the local dialect, which certainly added another layer of protection to her disguise.

But compared to Qiao Yan’s serene demeanor, Liang Zhongning’s response upon hearing “Zheng Kangcheng” was anything but composed.

Who was Zheng Kangcheng?

That was the contemporary master of Confucian studies, Zheng Xuan!

By rights, Gaomi at this time belonged to Beihai State, so if she were to be precise, she should technically introduce herself as Beihai Yan Qiao, just like Beihai Kong Rong.

But in the face of Zheng Xuan’s name, her way of referring to herself was obviously nothing to be questioned.

Having studied under masters like Wu Di Yuanxian, Zhang Gongzu, and Ma Rong, Zheng Xuan became a renowned scholar by the age of forty, with thousands of disciples who listened to his lectures while cultivating in Donglai.

The Prohibition of Factionalists in the first year of Jian Ning implicated Zheng Xuan because he had formerly served under Du Mi, resulting in his forced return to his hometown of Gaomi thirteen years ago.

With many noted figures sharing names, it was no surprise an eminent scholar like Zheng Xuan was known.

His confinement upon returning to Gaomi didn’t stop him from spreading his teachings.

He even wrote millions of characters worth of academic works in those thirteen years, creating the Zheng School of Thought and famously contending against the mainstream Confucian doctrine!

Even the massive force of the Yellow Turban Army, despite their momentum, couldn’t dare to claim they had the same clout in Gaomi and Donglai as Zheng Xuan did.

If Gaomi was famous, it was largely due to Zheng Xuan.

And this young visitor, if she truly was a student of Zheng Xuan, Liang Zhongning knew he couldn’t treat her lightly.

He lowered the half-barrel of his spear, losing some of his aggressive posture.

Then, he gently pulled the reins of his horse, moving forward until stopping right in front of her.

At such a close distance, her face backlit by the sun was vividly clear before him.

Despite the intimidating presence of the bandit, her expression remained steady, as if the world could collapse around her without her flinching. She simply glanced up at him, giving a slight nod.

So young and yet with such an impressive demeanor—it somehow made sense.

With this realization, Liang Zhongning found it easier to deduce why she was here.

Zheng Xuan, in his youth, excelled in predicting the heavens and astrological arts, and after studying under Ma Rong in the capital, became well-versed in astronomy.

To someone like Liang Zhongning, who had heard plenty about Zheng Xuan, it was entirely plausible that this young girl, if she was truly a disciple of Zheng, could have gleaned his movements from her studies.

Not wanting to show any weakness despite his internal caution regarding such a formidable figure, he asked aloud, “What brings you to seek me, then?”

Despite the turmoil caused by the Yellow Turbans, Zheng Xuan’s disciples at least had a connection to literati, which set them leagues apart.

He wasn’t blind; he could tell this girl, though slightly pale, had been raised in a more privileged environment.

No one visits without reason; he didn’t believe they shared any common ground.

But Qiao Yan, seemingly oblivious to his reluctance to engage, calmly replied, “By observing the stars, I know that the Rebel Leader faces danger, and it’s not just any danger. I want to offer you a piece of advice in exchange—”

“Please protect me in returning to Gaomi.”

Liang Zhongning remained unperturbed by her mention of “the Rebel Leader in danger”; he simply pressed on with the exchange. “But with chaos reigning across the land, you seem unarmed and in no hurry to travel?”

Whether he was in danger hardly seemed debatable.

The earlier defeat at Tian Family Fortress, coupled with the fear of nearly losing his life at the hands of Dian Wei, left him more than just ruffled in his armor. The horse he rode to escape bore an arrow wound!

Returning to Puyang City in such conditions, what if he were to run into Bu Ji and Zhang Bo’s group coming from the west? Who knows what trouble that could bring!

That was just the reality of it.

Qiao Yan smiled and replied leisurely, ”

“A few months ago, Master Zheng predicted that the world would change. He sent me to the capital to scout the situation. With the Yellow Turbans rising, the Han Emperor had no choice but to lift the ban on the political faction, just as he said. Although the decree has been issued to various provinces, I still need to return to Gaomi to clarify the court’s stance.”

When she mentioned the lifting of the political faction ban, Liang Zhongning raised the gun he had just put down once again.

For a moment, the gun, still a bit splintered, was only a step away from her neck. Even the Strategist System in his mind started panicking with warnings, but Qiao Yan didn’t even flinch and continued speaking.

“However, with your army marching grandly, my return journey will be difficult. Now that I’m at the limit of Puyang territory, I might need to trouble the commander for some assistance.”

Liang Zhongning found her audacious tone utterly ridiculous.

He angrily replied, “Political factions rising again would make us no different from a bunch of bandits. Since you know about the Yellow Turbans, how can you not know our slogan of ‘The heavens are dead’? What cooperation can we discuss when I might take your life first?”

“So you want to kill a person of ambition?” Qiao Yan retorted.

Liang Zhongning shot back, “Can a ten-year-old child be called a person of ambition?”

All he got in response was an unwavering reply.

“What does age matter if one has ambition?”

A temporary camp was set up between Puyang and Tian Family Fortress.

While Liang Zhongning was busy regathering the remnants of his forces, Qiao Yan got a moment of peace.

Now, she was practically a guest of this Yellow Turban commander, enjoying the privilege of having her own tent in the camp.

The tension that had been hanging over the Strategist System finally eased off.

It almost thought its host would embark on her adventure only to meet a premature demise!

【You’re too bold; you’ve seen the policies of Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, and no matter how cultured Liang Zhongning sounds, there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t just kill you on the spot.】

“Fortune favors the daring. Besides, in the chaotic atmosphere of the late Han, killing a person of note isn’t a good look.”

Cao Cao had almost lost Yanzhou by executing Bian Reng, and later didn’t allow Ni Heng to die at his hands, instead passing him around Jing Province and Jiangxia before fate eventually caught up with him.

Even if the Yellow Turbans are hard to control now, those truly worthy of the title “commander” wouldn’t dare to offend the world by killing Master Zheng’s disciple.

She might just be a fake, borrowing Master Zheng’s reputation as a shield, but in these past few months, Liang Zhongning had no chance to run back to Gaomi and confirm whether she was really Master Zheng’s disciple. Qiao Yan had no burden of being discovered.

Who would’ve thought she’d act like this!

And let’s not even get started on her claiming to have come from Luoyang; her official talk got explained too.

While answering the system’s doubts, her hands were busy at work.

Liang Zhongning’s hasty decision to attack the Tian Family Fortress had its advantages; Qiao Yan borrowed flint and a cooking pot from him and finally got some water boiling in a corner of the tent.

This was the first hot water she’d had since transmigrating to this chaotic late Han era.

Temporarily ignoring the Yellow Turbans outside the tent and their potential opinions on her quirks, she squatted by the makeshift stove, using the boiling water to warm herself up.

The flickering flame cast light in her eyes, only to be soon covered by the steaming mist.

Afterward, she crumbled her last piece of dry biscuit into the pot.

This still wasn’t a gourmet meal, but it was definitely a better option than gnawing on it dry.

The system recalled the conversation between Qiao Yan and Liang Zhongning before they parted and asked, 【Are you really going to help him break into the Tian Family Fortress? Just know that once you take this step, you’ll really be tangled up with the Yellow Turbans.】

Qiao Yan took a sip of soup and shook her head, replying, “You can’t judge a matter simply by its beginning. I have my own ideas; it won’t hinder my progress towards being the world’s number one strategist.”

The system was left speechless.

It hesitated for a moment before sarcastically remarking, 【I’m starting to feel like your eloquence skill should really be called ‘Deception’, or maybe ‘Building Castles in the Air’.】

As a system that should be greatly valued for its golden finger, all it had left was a little consolation that Liang Zhongning, like it, was completely led around by Qiao Yan.

This Yellow Turban commander even thought that by saying, “With Puyang unsettled, it’s hard to find any spare hands. Since you consider yourself a person of ambition, why not give it a shot?” he was forcing Qiao Yan into “having to” plot the attack on the Tian Family Fortress, which was undoubtedly a huge advantage.

But the one with the advantage wasn’t really him, was it?

The system: can’t think of what to say, let’s just express some sympathy for him.

“No, you should say it’s not my rhetorical skills that worked, but I’m just really lucky.”

In fact, Qiao Yan hadn’t expected Liang Zhongning to be in such a state when they met.

But when she saw the defeated troops from the hillside, she realized that this situation undoubtedly gave her much more space to maneuver than if they had come back victorious.

This could be her opportunity!

What she learned about the Tian Family Fortress and the presence of Dian Wei here were both good news.

Dian Wei…

This fierce general who took on the role of Cao Cao’s close guard but ultimately perished in the Battle of Wancheng due to exhaustion was undoubtedly one of the top bodyguards of his time.

Even though Qiao Yan confidently said Liang Zhongning wouldn’t dare kill her, she still couldn’t help thinking —

If only she had a bodyguard, her safety as a “strategist” would surely be guaranteed!

After all, she currently had a physical stat of 31 and a combat value of 15.

---