Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 2: At the Foot of Taihang Mountains, A Small Test of Skills, Chapter 62: July Locust Plague

Book: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 62: July Locust Plague

Most people were used to Xi Zhicai’s mischievous ways, laughing it off. However, the fifteen-year-old Guo Jia couldn’t bear it and immediately wrote a letter back to Xi Zhicai.

[You are so happy, the flowers are invisible to you.]

Translated, it means: You’re so happy that you can’t even smell the peach blossoms in the mountains because you’re too proud, so you can’t see anything on the road.

Upon receiving the letter, Xi Zhicai thought: …This kid is not cute at all.

Of course, Qiao Yan wasn’t so outrageous as to turn Xi Zhicai into a warrior, nor did she plan to let physical training in Leping take up the officials’ working hours to prevent a future epidemic.

The so-called “mountain” for “ten trips up and down in one day” was just a long slope. Ten trips back and forth, even if you run tired and walk fast, would only take a little over half an hour.

This amount of outdoor activity was enough for scholars like Xi Zhicai and a good starting point for Lu Yuan, Qin Yu, and Xu Fu.

Of course, Qiao Yan aimed to use the “Broken Mountains and Remaining Waters” Lethal Spear Technique with her three-section spear, but just going up and down the slope wasn’t enough.

Fortunately, she had already boosted her physique to 62, comparable to an average adult male. Even considering her young age and the need for gradual progress, she was still far ahead of most people.

Although she avoided having her generals as formal mentors, she had no problem seeking their advice. Before Zhao Yun left Leping for Changshan, Qiao Yan had already consulted him on many details of martial training and later asked Zhang Yang for advice, creating a specialized training program focusing on stamina, endurance, core strength, eyesight, arm strength, and balance.

Why not ask Dian Wei?

There’s a reason he’s called the ancient evil.

His answer to Qiao Yan was: He eats a lot, so he’s strong, and using his twin halberds has become second nature, giving him enough killing power.

Does that sound like human talk?

In a way, he’s not wrong.

For a proper warrior, unlike Qiao Yan who’s cheating, subcutaneous fat is essential for prolonged combat. A general’s belly isn’t from sitting too much but from well-developed muscles supporting fat for all-day combat. As long as it doesn’t hinder flexibility with weapons, this state is beneficial for warriors.

But hearing Dian Wei say it makes it sound like eating, sleeping, and fighting monsters easily levels you up.

Qiao Yan chose to side with Zhang Yang, expressing strong condemnation for Dian Wei’s “inhuman” warrior ways.

Before arriving in Leping, Zhang Yang thought Qiao Yan, the Marquis of Leping, took Xu Fu to Jinyang because Leping lacked capable warriors.

He chose to follow Qiao Yan, not just because he felt he was lacking in brains and should follow her orders, but also because he thought he was more suited to be a warrior than Xu Fu, the wandering knight.

Only after falling into the pit did he realize that Xu Fu was transitioning from a wandering knight to a scholar, and Qiao Yan had Zhao Yun, who was even better than Zhang Liao and about the same age, and Dian Wei, a close-combat demon.

But Zhang Yang thought it was his misunderstanding, not Qiao Yan’s false advertising.

Besides, in Leping, Qiao Yan treated the county officials well, with plenty of rice and meat. Even if he got beaten up by Dian Wei in martial arts practice, it was still progress.

Just hearing about Dian Wei’s way of improving martial arts was a bit stimulating.

But to him, Qiao Yan really didn’t need to think she had common ground with him in this aspect.

Border warriors mostly needed to practice archery, with shooting being the most important.

Take Yunzhong County as an example. Before Tan Shihuai’s death, they resisted the Dingling in the north, attacked Fuyu in the east, took Wusun in the west, and invaded the Han in the south. One of the main tasks of defending border cities was to shoot the invading Hu people at the city walls. So, most of his growing up time, besides practicing martial arts, was spent practicing archery.

But Zhang Yang couldn’t help but feel that Qiao Yan’s talent in improving eyesight and arm strength in archery training was even better than his, who was under heavy pressure.

She also didn’t follow the usual process of strategists planning, prefects deciding, and generals leading the attack.

Qiao Yan, the Marquis of Leping, seemed to be able to handle multiple roles!

Like now, this not-yet-fully-grown girl in dark, tight-fitting clothes, holding a lightweight short bow, focused and calm as she drew the bow, her aura unified.

It was around May and June, the sunlight already showing the intensity of early summer, as if the lingering cold of winter had completely disappeared. The golden light of the sun converged on the tip of the young county marquis’s arrow.

The bowstring released, the arrow shot like a rainbow, hitting the center of the target.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help but shout “Bravo!”

With Qiao Yan still only hitting targets at twenty paces, she was far from those who could shoot fifty or a hundred paces. But for someone who had only been practicing archery for two months, her progress was astonishing.

At least in Zhang Yang’s memory, the short bow Qiao Yan was holding was made not long after he arrived in Leping.

At this rate, in a couple of years, Leping might produce a sharpshooter who could hit a target at a hundred paces.

Of course, Qiao Yan wasn’t as optimistic as he was.

Archery, part of the Six Arts of a Gentleman, naturally had corresponding skills on the system panel. She had saved extra skill points, so just like when she needed to improve her riding to travel, she now invested two levels in archery.

At least ensuring that while her spear technique wasn’t fully developed, she could rely on archery for self-defense when necessary.

However, further improvement would have to come from her own efforts.

This wasn’t a goal that could be achieved by just talking; any skill required hard work.

But fortunately, Qiao Yan didn’t waste the archery foundation provided by the system. Continuing to improve without any missteps was undoubtedly better than seeking advice from all directions.

The arm strength improved by drawing the bow also showed in her spear handling.

This was a mutually reinforcing virtuous cycle.

And when she looked away from the target twenty paces away to the green mountain fields in the distance, it was also a visual relaxation.

Leping’s summer was lush not just with plants but with many other things.

The dragon bone waterwheel turned, the paddles on the chain driven by animal power, bringing water from low to high, saving a lot of labor during the time when yams needed the right balance of dryness and moisture.

The young shoots that had just broken through the ground had now climbed up the supports with their slender, fragile stems. The summer breeze made the leaves, about to enter their vigorous growth period, sway without blocking the sunlight passing through the acacia supports, providing enough light for the leaves below.

Among the mountain fields, the figures of those working could also be faintly seen.








The high yield of yams comes with troubles that can’t be solved just by setting up a Dragon Bone Waterwheel.

For example, intertillage.

Because its underground roots grow horizontally and shallowly, the intertillage that’s easy for ordinary crops requires careful handling for yams. You only loosen the topsoil and then carefully remove the weeds.

Zhang Niujiao finally got his wish and rose to a higher position in this hundred-man team, barely qualifying as a small squad leader. These days, he’s been so busy that his back aches, all to carefully remove the weeds growing in the fields, responding to the summer farming rush.

Just as he straightened up, he saw Chu Yan leading the people recruited from Changshan County patrolling on the mountain path above.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.

But thinking about it, although he envies others for their initiative and luck, county officials must be literate and undergo regular assessments. Those who fail are sent back to handle fertilizer, so he thinks he’d better not bother.

The cake fertilizer accumulated since last year, made from fermented beans and processed into cake form, is almost used up. Now, the supplementary fertilizer has to be made from the droppings of ducks that Qiao Yan had purchased and raised at the foot of the mountain.

It seems that farming is still an easier job.

Moreover, a few days ago, Chu Yan came to have a drink with him and calculated how many yam plants survived per acre, and based on the weight of the Iron Rod Yam they collected earlier, how much yield they could expect from this acre.

Zhang Niujiao isn’t good at calculations, but he trusts his brothers and thinks Chu Yan has no reason to lie to him.

But if this is true, doesn’t it mean that their mountainous farmland, which is less than one-eighth of the county’s original farmland, is producing the same amount as before?

That’s just too scary!

If that’s the case, even if the intertillage stage is exhausting, treating this field like an ancestor at home is no problem at all!

According to Chu Yan, if he can persevere until the yams mature, he will definitely have a share of the credit for the harvest. By then, rewards will be inevitable, and since he’s already a squad leader, registering in Leping by August won’t be difficult.

After the autumn harvest, as a resident of Leping County, he can choose to engage in winter activities, and in his spare time, he can slowly participate in literacy classes. It’s not too late to become a county official after learning a few more characters.

Everything is clearly arranged.

Zhang Niujiao was dumbfounded by Chu Yan’s words.

He particularly understands why Chu Yan quickly rose to the position of Qiao Yan’s right-hand man. If Qiao Yan hadn’t brought back Zhang Yang from Jinyang, Chu Yan could have gone even further.

However, Zhang Niujiao thinks Zhang Yang might be of the same type as him…

Let’s just hope this brother can take care of himself.

But the progress in farming and martial arts training at the end of May is encouraging, but it doesn’t mean Qiao Yan only receives good news.

She wiped the sweat off her face after the archery training and just returned to the county office when she received a letter brought back by Lu Yuan.

Two days ago, she had Lu Yuan go to Jinyang City again.

If Qiao Yan were selfish enough, she should have kept the Dragon Bone Waterwheel a secret when it was installed in the mountainous fields of Leping, as it was only used for watering roads and suppressing dust in Luoyang City.

But Qiao Yan thought that the people were already suffering enough in the late Han period, so why keep something beneficial to the people and population maintenance a secret.

She was indeed planning to intensify the conflict between the local noble families of Bingzhou and the newly appointed governor, but she also mentioned in her report to Zhang Yi that since spring, there has been insufficient rainfall, and the terrain of Bingzhou, with mountains on both sides and a basin in the middle, has many water sources. Why not install the Dragon Bone Waterwheel to ensure irrigation of the dry fields.

This was to ensure Bingzhou’s yield during the autumn harvest and to prevent the dry fields from being plagued by locusts.

This report was written in April.

But Qiao Yan did not receive a reply immediately. Instead, the Wang family, paying special attention to Zhang Yi due to his status as a disciple of the Yuan family from Runan, sent her a reply.

Wang Yang claimed in the letter that they highly valued the suggestion from their ally Qiao Yan and naturally used the Dragon Bone Waterwheel in their own fields. Additionally, they mentioned that Zhang Yi sent a letter back to Luoyang.

This was clearly to seek the Yuan family’s opinion on the matter.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but frown.

The Yuan family…

The Yuan family probably wouldn’t value her idea.

The locust plague records of the Han Dynasty in recent years are mostly concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Moreover, in the noble families’ perception, the Dragon Bone Waterwheel is just an auxiliary tool, so why bother saving this bit of manpower.

In fact, Qiao Yan’s guess was indeed correct.

In Yuan Shao’s reply to Zhang Yi, the general idea was that since you are now in the position of Governor of Bingzhou, you should first establish yourself. As for the drought problem, having people carry water a few more times can solve it. You shouldn’t spend your energy on the Dragon Bone Waterwheel.

Although you currently don’t have direct military control, as a governor, you can oversee the work of the various county officials and naturally make some suggestions for military operations.

Previously, in the fourth year of Guanghe, Tan Shihuai passed away. Tan Shihuai’s successor, Helian, died from an arrow wound while campaigning in the north, directly causing the once nearly unified northern Hu forces to fall back into fragmentation.

Although this doesn’t mean the border disturbances have improved, it is undoubtedly an opportunity for the Han court.

Under Yuan Shao’s analysis, Zhang Yi should try to support Helian’s son, Qianman, who, due to his young age, had his power seized by Quidou. Supporting the weaker side would inevitably lead to a split in their forces, allowing the Han to profit from the situation. Reporting this to the court would surely make Zhang Yi’s position as governor more secure, as he would have established military achievements.

If it were a different time, and if Qiao Yan knew what Yuan Shao said in his letter, she might have to call him far-sighted.

After Tan Shihuai’s era, the power struggle between Helian’s son and Quidou, Budugen’s elder brother, indeed led to further fragmentation of the northern tribes. Subsequently, the two northern heroes, Budugen and Ke Biner, continued to fight until the reign of Emperor Ming of Wei, ending with Budugen’s death and Ke Biner’s retreat to the northern deserts.

But this is a politically correct suggestion, and it doesn’t contradict Qiao Yan’s belief that it’s not suitable for the current situation!

More than a month later, Zhang Yi, after receiving the Yuan family’s advice, belatedly sent this reply to Qiao Yan. Although the letter didn’t criticize her suggestion, it did mention in a somewhat condescending tone that Marquis Qiao had not even managed Leping County for a full year, and the benefits of her suggestion were not yet clear, so the state government would consider it carefully.

Consider it carefully?

Although she knew it was due to different levels of foresight, Qiao Yan still wanted to curse, “This fool is not worth scheming with.” However, as a county marquis, she had to consider her words and actions carefully, so she only said, “The steps are too big.”

Zhang Yi didn’t think this was a case of taking too big a step without considering the situation in Bingzhou. He more agreed with Yuan Shao’s proposed plan, which was undoubtedly the beginning of his grand strategy in external affairs.

But just a month and a half later, an urgent message flew over the Taihang Mountains into Jinyang.

The message said—

In the second year of Zhongping, July, locusts in the three auxiliary regions.

What are the three auxiliary regions? The three regions around the capital, where a locust plague first broke out!