Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Can’t a strategist ascend the throne? Volume 2: At the Foot of Taihang Mountains, A Small Test of Skill Chapter 70: Living in Peace in Leping

Book:


Can’t a Strategist Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 70: Living in Peace in Leping

Is Leping not peaceful?

Not to mention Zhang Niujiao, who had just led his brothers down the mountain carrying mulberry branches, giving Cui Lie a confused and bewildered look, even outside Leping, many scholars who received Xi Zhicai’s regular letters would probably roll their eyes at Cui Lie if they heard what he said.

Look at that guy Xi Zhicai!

After the County Marquis was confined to Leping, he also had less work to do in terms of strategizing.

Thus, in the slow but steady development of Leping, his letters were filled with a sense of carefree leisure and health.

It almost made He Yong green with envy.

But He Boqiu also knew that as the host of the Three Excellencies’ discussions, caught in the whirlpool of Luoyang, he obviously couldn’t take a step back.

In the tenth month of the second year of Zhongping, Minister of Works Yang Ci passed away, and like Qiao Xuan’s funeral the previous year, he was sent back to Hongnong for burial with the Northern Army’s funeral procession and a hearse.

In the same month, Grandee Secretary Xu Xiang was promoted to Minister of Works, filling the position left by Yang Ci.

Court Architect Ding Gong became the Minister over the Masses, replacing Cui Lie.

In the eleventh month of the second year of Zhongping, General of the Chariots and Cavalry Zhang Wen defeated Beigong Bozhu at Meiyang, achieving a phased success for the Han Dynasty against the Liangzhou rebels, but Dong Zhuo and Zhou Shen, responsible for pursuing the Qiang, failed to consolidate the victory.

Entering the third year of Zhongping, Zhao Ci of Jiangxia rebelled, and Qin Jie, the Prefect of Nanyang who had made significant military achievements during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, was killed. In the tenth month of the third year of Zhongping, the Wuling barbarians rose in rebellion, and in the twelfth month, the Xianbei invaded Youzhou. The sounds of turmoil from all directions became more frequent.

But what was the Son of Heaven doing at this time?

Zhang Wen returned to court and resumed his position as Grand Commandant, leaving the position of General of the Chariots and Cavalry vacant. Liu Hong finally had the opportunity to push the Palace Attendant Zhao Zhong into a position of real power, appointing him as General of the Chariots and Cavalry.

Former Grand Commandant Zhang Yan, who had seen the Son of Heaven’s balancing act clearly in the court that day, did not foresee that he would end up being slandered by eunuchs, imprisoned, and executed, becoming a fire that Liu Hong saw as expendable.

Minister over the Masses Ding Gong, Minister of Works Xu Xiang, and Grand Commandant Zhang Wen were shocked. In the discussions at the Three Excellencies’ office, the matter of eliminating the eunuchs was even brought up openly.

But Liu Hong, having just tasted the benefits of letting eunuchs hold power—eunuchs who could only rely on him—was not about to let such a clear call for action achieve any real results.

He Yong could only write to his friends in a tone that merely recorded what he saw:

“Strange things are happening frequently, so many strange things.

In Luoyang, a child was born with two heads and four arms, the two heads sharing one body.

After autumn passed Hua Ling, thousands of sparrows cried mournfully, fighting and killing each other.

Why? Why?

Fortunately, there is a general amnesty, perhaps the disasters can be avoided.”

What He Yong meant was obviously not the last sentence, about how fortunate it was that there was a general amnesty to quell the evil behind these strange events. But as a scholar caught in the torrent, if he said anything more in this situation, it would only lead him to follow in Zhang Yan’s footsteps, with no benefit at all.

So he only wrote about the strange things.

In contrast, Xi Zhicai was living too comfortably.

In the winter of the second year of Zhongping, to prevent improper storage, some of the yams harvested in Leping were made into yam powder by Qiao Yan, who hired county residents during this non-farming season and sent them to Jinyang for sale. Along with his letter to He Yong, he also sent a few jars.

He said that Qiao Yan, due to her previous acquaintance with Hua Tuo, wrote to ask what medicines would be suitable to add to the yam powder, resulting in the contents of the jar.

“Yam, ginseng, and white atractylodes combined to treat spleen and stomach weakness. Thinking of Boqiu’s busy schedule, his heart troubled, and his lack of appetite, I sent this for you to try.”

This medicinal letter finally lacked the usual teasing tone.

But it would have been better if Xi Zhicai hadn’t mentioned in the letter that the yams in Leping, due to proper cultivation, grew better than ordinary mountain yams, and thus the medicinal effect was also better.

Because this guy wasn’t actually trying to praise the medicinal effect, but instead started rambling about the delicious food derived from yams.

Between the lines, he was saying, “If you have no appetite, you should try these recipes I’m sharing with you, because I’m eating quite well now.”

For example, Xi Zhicai had previously been sent yam pork rib soup by Qiao Yan when he had a cold.

At that time, the ribs were lamb ribs, as in Bingzhou, where animal husbandry was well-developed in the northern regions, eating lamb was quite normal.

But this time, the ribs were pork ribs.

The practice of castrating pigs had existed since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, otherwise there wouldn’t be the saying in the “Book of Changes”: “The tusks of a castrated boar are auspicious.” By now, the taste of pork was already quite good.

However, in the Han Dynasty, pigs were part of the Son of Heaven’s sacrificial offerings, and due to food shortages, raising pigs at home was not easy, making pork relatively more expensive than other meats.

But Qiao Yan, as the Marquis of Leping, could afford it.

Moreover, under her house arrest, according to Xi Zhicai, because she valued the livelihood of Leping’s people, she dug out the “Book on Agricultural Practices” compiled during the former Han Dynasty, found a passage that said, “Break open a gourd, and use the white flesh inside to fatten pigs,” and after building pig pens in Leping, had the pigs castrated and then fed with gourds.

Basically, using ancient agricultural texts as a basis for scientific pig farming.

Thus, in the winter of the third year of Zhongping, Leping enjoyed authentic yam pork rib soup.

With such reasonable farming and delicious pork, Xi Zhicai’s healthy gourmet life became unstoppable.

For two consecutive months, He Yong almost wanted to tear up any letter from Xi Zhicai as soon as he saw it.

This scoundrel first wrote about how the Marquis of Leping used rock sugar to enhance the color, cooking up Dongpo pork. Although Xi Zhicai didn’t know why this dish was called Dongpo pork, it didn’t stop him from thinking that it looked like amber, melted in the mouth, and was a triple delight of color, aroma, and taste.

Then he mentioned that the pork in Leping had little odor, was especially fatty, and that after spring arrived, they went on a county outing, set up a grill to roast pork ribs, paired with the mellow aroma of spring wine, truly a human delight.

He Yong stared at this letter, deeply feeling one thing.

A punchable person saying a few reasonable things doesn’t change their nature; sooner or later, they’ll write something that makes you want to cut ties with them.

Yet He Yong couldn’t do that.

Because the few reasonable things Xi Zhicai said were especially important.

Qiao Yan was indeed confined to Leping, but she went to the prefectural office every ten days, not reducing her contact with other parts of Bingzhou.

Although in the second year, Cui Lie, the Governor of Bingzhou, used the excuse of wanting to discuss the compilation of the “Dongguan Han Records” with Cai Yong to turn Qiao Yan’s visits for education into Cui Lie coming to her, slightly reducing her outings, her actions in the second year of Zhongping to seize power and quell the locust plague had established her influence in Bingzhou.








She came, and letting her reside in Leping also had its own way of hearing the voices from all over Bingzhou.

For example, the Prefect of Yanmen, Guo Yun, joined forces with Bingzhou’s Military Officer, Zhang Liao, and gained the upper hand in the battles against Quidou in the Yunzhong area of Yanmen. This forced the Xianbei raiders to choose Youzhou as their breakthrough point instead of plundering both Youzhou and Bingzhou.

However, Xi Zhicai also mentioned in his letter, [Quidou’s younger brother, Budugen, is ambitious and has the demeanor of a leader. There will inevitably be a battle on the frontier, but the situation is unclear.]

Of course, he wasn’t complaining to He Yong.

He immediately followed up by saying, could we consider talking to His Majesty about lifting the house arrest on our Marquis of Leping earlier? In Leping, we have enough to eat and wear, and even the entire Shangdang region has seen a rise in martial spirit due to the satisfaction of basic needs.

Aside from the Black Mountain Bandits who previously surrendered to Leping, many refugees from the Central Plains, fleeing the locust plague, passed through Changzhi and arrived in Leping, forming a force ready to defend Yanmen at any moment.

This statement made He Yong ponder some other thoughts.

If it were a relatively peaceful time, He Yong would definitely report Xi Zhicai’s letter, suppressing her private army situation.

But the current situation is different.

With the rise of rebels, local officials are frequently falling victim. Holding a strong armed force is especially necessary for self-preservation in the regions.

With the eunuchs’ growing power in the capital, whether Qiao Yan, who holds actual combat capabilities outside, could be a force to be won over became something He Yong evaluated in his mind.

She indeed has some friendship with Bi Lan, and even the Dragon Bone Waterwheels extensively built in Leping are Bi Lan’s creations. But he is somewhat different from the likes of Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, at least not meddling in court politics, currently overseeing the construction of Yutang Hall.

What about Qiao Yan herself?

Due to Zhang Yi, Yuan Shao has some criticisms of her, but since she was ennobled for her merits during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, her reputation has far surpassed that of her peers. Her political views in the Discourse on Feudalism are considered fair and far-sighted.

With the endorsement of famous scholars like Xu Zijiang, she can be said to have some rapport with the literati.

With this as a lead, there’s potential for discussion and alliance.

Letting her develop a potential military force might not be a bad thing.

Especially when he mentioned that Xi Zhicai could serve as a bridge for communication, the officials in the Three Ducal Ministers’ office tacitly approved this idea.

Leping’s potential isn’t just in this aspect; there’s also the Leping Marquis Paper, named by Qiao Yan after Zhang Liao first referred to it as such when dealing with bandits.

From the initial Mulberry Bark Clothing to the research on Mulberry Bark Paper, significant progress has been made in the past two years due to the maturing paper-making technology.

He Yong didn’t know that in Leping’s warehouses, a considerable amount of Mulberry Bark Paper was stored with moisture-proof measures, enough to support the county’s educational enlightenment. After all, Qiao Yan only revealed their paper-making achievements through Xi Zhicai’s letters.

Then, citing the high production cost, she stated that only a small amount could be supplied to friends.

And it wasn’t just paper; she sent a handwritten copy of one volume of Cai Yong’s “Dongguan Hanji” to He Yong, asking if he thought any corrections were needed.

He Yong wasn’t a fool; he could see this was a ploy to extract historical materials and manpower. But while touching this much more durable paper, thinking that scholarly discussions could further spread through this medium, He Yong could only grit his teeth and send back a batch of bamboo slips.

The subtext was probably, “You got what you wanted, now send more paper.”

Qiao Yan knew she still had to maintain good relations with these scholars, as their words could sway a person’s reputation. So, without any detours, she had He Yong receive a batch of usable Leping Marquis Paper within half a month.

Of course, before that, a larger portion of the paper had already been sent to Liu Hong.

In her memorial to Liu Hong, Qiao Yan wrote that since she began her self-imposed seclusion, she had been diligently studying and, due to the cumbersome bamboo slips, thought of improving paper. Now, using materials like mulberry bark, she had created this new paper.

However, some costs in the paper-making process hadn’t been reduced yet, making it not as cheap as Cai Hou Paper, and thus not suitable for mass production. She could only prioritize supplying the palace and sending some to acquaintances in Luoyang. Once the cost was reduced, she would present the paper-making secret to the palace.

Even if Liu Hong had the extra thought to send someone to Leping to verify, Leping could always find a way to counter. This emperor, known for his personal indulgences, didn’t delve deeply into the matter.

In any case, the reputation of Leping Marquis Paper spread, but mostly among the scholar-official class.

This was enough for He Yong and others to elevate Qiao Yan’s status another notch.

Across the Taihang Mountains, they couldn’t know what other undisclosed progress Leping had made during this period, but the notion that Qiao Yan, after lying low for two years, would surely achieve greatness had almost become a fixed belief.

Of course, what also became famous was Xi Zhicai’s title as the “Leping Gourmet.”

In letters to He Yong, he would, after consulting with Qiao Yan, write something to seek the elevation of Leping’s political status. But in letters to friends in Yingchuan, he had no such concerns.

This was purely a long-term program, something that could be named “A Bite of Leping.”

Making the most of the mountains when confined to Leping, Qiao Yan fully utilized the local resources.

As Xi Zhicai wrote in his letters, not only is the pork delicious, but all kinds of rare plants in the mountains have their uses.

For example, a plant called Quercus baronii, not uncommon in the Taihang Mountains, is typically used for making charcoal. But they recently discovered that, due to its similarity to millet, it could also be used for brewing, producing a wine with a woody aroma.

Another example is the wild grapes, known as Gelei in the “Book of Songs.” Xi Zhicai thought if peas could be used for brewing, why not wild grapes? And indeed, they concocted a wine with a balanced sweet and sour taste, which he also mentioned in his letters.

He concluded the letter with—

[Eating pork fat mixed with rice, accompanied by bean paste, a plate of wild vegetables, a bowl of rib broth, a pot of clear wine, watching the mountain flowers, looking back at the children in the courtyard running with windmills made of Leping Marquis Paper, gazing at the mountain fields, the yams are ripe again, but alas, I’m full today, so I’ll make cakes tomorrow.]

If calculated by traditional age, Guo Jia, just turning eighteen, slammed the table and, under Xun Yu’s gaze, shouted, “Xi Zhicai is going too far, I’m going to Leping to settle this with him!”

As for whether it’s to settle the score or to see what it’s really like there…

We’ll see when we get there!