“`html
“Can strategists not ascend to the throne?”
Chapter 9 of the Yellow Turban Rebellion told me everything I needed to know about power and ambition.
Liang Zhongning really wanted to argue, but he’d rather avoid being treated like a sack of potatoes all over again in the fortress—especially not after being labeled as the one taken down by Dian Wei.
But after some serious cursing and luring enemies into traps, victory was all but in his grasp. No need to sweat the small stuff like appearances anymore.
Up in the watchtower, Second Master Tian was treated to a spectacle of “Dian Wei” returning in glorious triumph, dragging back the Yellow Turban Commander like a hunter with a prized hog.
This brave fellow was fully aware of who the host and guest were here, and dragging back a captured leader was clearly so Tian Shi could do as he pleased.
Capturing someone alive definitely took some skill compared to just taking them out—it’s a finesse thing.
Second Master Tian couldn’t help but chuckle, stroking his beard as he watched Liang Zhongning laboriously haul in his latest trophy. The guy who had been screaming threats earlier was still at it, hollering some nonsense.
As expected, Liang was clever but still a bit of a rough-and-tumble type—definitely not ready for the limelight.
Now that the Yellow Turban Bandits were firmly in their trap, if they sprinted straight to Puyang and took the city, it was game over for them.
If the Tian family could save Puyang from these intruders, they’d be practically legends.
How splendid!
Second Master Tian noticed one of the returning warriors kicking a Yellow Turban body in frustration then dragging it closer to the fortress, but he didn’t stop them.
In recent days, their side had the upper hand, but those arrows were raining in from the fortress slit like a storm—losing a few troops was just part of the game, considering the fortress crew’s relatives were probably in the chase.
In the face of certain victory, a few minor hiccups were barely worth worrying about.
However, as the victorious young bucks stepped through the fortress entrance, the torches clearly illuminated the face of the lead warrior.
And there it was—a face Second Master Tian absolutely did not recognize!
This guy wasn’t Dian Wei at all!
Before he could even register that shock, a shadow came barreling at him, and it was Liang Zhongning being hurled towards him by “Dian Wei.”
The fellow was a dexterous one among the Yellow Turban troops, and while he couldn’t measure up to Dian Wei’s brute strength, he managed to scale that watchtower in no time.
Before Second Master Tian could even utter “enemy attack,” a short knife was already pressed to his neck.
In the blink of an eye, the dragged-in “corpse” and the returning “fortress guards” had made their move, swiftly taking care of the gatekeepers.
From the corner of his eye, he saw those Yellow Turban bodies outside suddenly springing to action, bolting toward the fortress in a chaotic rush to occupy the place like a pack of hungry wolves.
Just as Young Master Tian learned of the situation from his uncle, he thought he’d done his part guarding the rear; now he thought he could come witness Liang Zhongning’s unfortunate fate, only to catch off-guard by this bunch.
Even if these Yellow Turban soldiers didn’t seem hell-bent on a massacre, merely wounding the able-bodied defenders and tying up the rest was enough to make him shut his eyes and let out a long sigh.
He’d messed up.
With that blunder, the fortress gates were wide open, and recovery was utterly out of the question.
The tides had turned…
Meanwhile, Liang Zhongning was brimming with pride as he finally set foot inside the fortress.
As Qiao Yan awaited the combat to settle down, she received the signal and stepped into the fortress walls, where this Yellow Turban Commander hurriedly approached her.
“Do you have any idea how much food is stashed in this fortress?” He said, his excitement practically making his eyebrows shoot up to the heavens, his face radiating sheer joy in the flickering firelight.
It was no wonder he suddenly switched to addressing her more formally. “There’s a whopping sixty thousand piculs of grain here, and that’s just the rice!”
Liang Zhongning didn’t feel the slightest bit anxious about putting himself in harm’s way during the skirmish, nor did he think twice about how Qiao Yan had practically laid everything out for him.
When he took down Puyang, due to last year’s poor harvest, the grain he had looted from the granary hadn’t been much to brag about.
A little birdie from the Yellow Turbans said that shipment had just left for the capital two months prior, leaving him cursing the incompetent monarch again.
He coveted the food supplies in Tian’s fortress, but he never dreamed there’d be this much!
After capturing the fortress’s master and hearing about the food stock from the head of the Tian family, Liang Zhongning genuinely thought the guy was yanking his chain.
But once he was shown down to the underground granary, he was hit with reality—it was an absolute treasure trove!
What he saw was even more dazzling than any pile of jewels would have been!
Jewels can’t feed you! But food can!
Rubbing his hands together, he grew increasingly animated, “Not only do we have rice… After today’s labor, let me prepare a grand feast for you!”
How could Liang Zhongning not hold Qiao Yan in the highest regard after grabbing this fortress? His men had taken all the weapons from the defenders and from the cursing of the captured Young Master Tian, he was sweating bullets.
If not for Qiao Yan’s masterful plans, he would never have breached this fortress.
Moreover, if he’d let his competitive spirit get the better of him and gone looking for trouble again, he could’ve easily lost his own head!
All thanks to her…
Liang the Commander graciously handed Qiao Yan a wrap of roasted marrow cake, encased in oiled paper.
Besides rice, the fortress stocked various easy-to-store foods, like the marrow cake that was a mixture of animal fat, honey, and flour, baked and saved for later.
This was like ten times better than the dried cakes she had previously hoarded during her travels with Bu Ji!
Along with the marrow cake, plucked from the cellar, there was also preserved pork and shrimp paste on display.
In these times, there weren’t too many picky eaters around. The Yellow Turban soldiers following Liang Zhongning had already started diving into the food, celebrating their victory in their own way.
But Liang Zhongning thought it was only right to treat Qiao Yan specially, so he had a small kitchen set up for her and ensured a warm meal was prepared.
The one responsible for cooking? None other than Butcher He, who had masqueraded as Dian Wei.
Butcher He was quite the chatterbox.
While Liang Zhongning felt he should carefully consider how to speak with this great contributor Qiao Yan, He didn’t hold back at all.
After asking about Qiao Yan’s preferences…
“`
He immediately sliced through the piece of preserved pork on the table with a knife, and while skillfully cutting, he couldn’t help but chatter away:
“Mr. Yan, don’t think that this preserved pork has gone bad just because it’s been stored for a while. This should be the pig we killed last December. After draining the juices, we covered it with a layer of white rush and sealed it with thick clay. Even if it was stored until July or August, it wouldn’t be much different from freshly slaughtered pork. In these famine years, live pigs are rare; to eat meat, you have to rely on this!”
Qiao Yan vaguely recalled something about this from the “Essentials of Farming,” but in modern times, no one stored meat like this anymore.
The chunks of clay that fell off revealed that the meat beneath was indeed quite different from preserved meat, closer to fresh meat.
She glanced over it, counted her options, and quickly averted her eyes to avoid showing her lack of knowledge on the topic.
But Butcher He didn’t catch her subtle thoughts and continued his rambling.
If he were in modern times, he’d definitely earn himself a “social butterfly” stamp.
He launched from discussing how to cook preserved pork to the Taishi Path, then back to how carrying Liang Zhongning into the fortress was no different than carrying a pig back then. He made his way back to mentioning the wheat paste and river specialties stored in the fortress.
Oblivious to Liang Zhongning’s hungry glare, he went on, talking about how he hadn’t eaten meat in the last two months and mentioned another butcher named He.
“They say people with the same surname often come from the same ancestry, but not all Butcher He’s have the same future. That guy, with his sister made Empress, ended up as Grand General—a real win for the butcher family!”
The butcher he was talking about was none other than Grand General He Jin.
Four years ago, in the third year of Guanghe, He Jin’s half-sister, Lady He, was crowned Empress of the Han Dynasty. With this power play, He Jin became a close court official and was later appointed Grand General due to the chaos of the Yellow Turban Rebellion—a promotion speed that spread like wildfire.
But before Butcher He could continue, Liang Zhongning’s unfriendly voice interrupted, “Watch your words! If you say one more thing, I’ll make sure you can’t speak at all!”
With Liang Zhongning’s severe warning, Butcher He promptly shut his mouth.
You really can’t blame Liang Zhongning for being cautious.
He Jin’s rise as Grand General was largely thanks to the benefits reaped from the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Zhang Jiao’s disciple, Ma Yuanyi, had conspired to raise arms in Luoyang but was thwarted by He Jin, who even received a noble title for his efforts.
The news of He Jin being appointed Grand General coincided with the horrific news of Ma Yuanyi being executed by being torn apart by chariots.
To Liang Zhongning, if it weren’t for Ma Yuanyi’s death, there would have been no need for the Great Virtuous Teacher to strike first; if they could have acted sooner during the Luoyang incident, they would have achieved even greater victories by now.
Though Grand General He Jin hailed from a butcher’s family, he stood as their sworn enemy.
Moreover, if any of them envied the other’s influential family ties, wasn’t that essentially a denial of the claim, “Heaven has perished”?
After scolding the butcher, Liang Zhongning turned to Qiao Yan and said, “Don’t take my anger personally; such words truly can’t be spoken in our camp.”
“I came from Luoyang, so naturally, I understand your point. There’s no need for the rebel leader to explain more to me,” Qiao Yan smiled, not betraying any unusual emotion.
Being in the same place as these rebels, she had to be extra careful about such taboos, and it certainly wasn’t a choice most sensible individuals would make.
But Qiao Yan didn’t feel she had made any mistakes from the start.
Given her age and status, her current situation was undoubtedly the best available.
Besides, apart from her other motive, just looking at her current circumstances, she found she wasn’t entirely at a loss.
For instance, though she couldn’t check the light screen right now, the system had already cheerfully informed her that her assistance in breaking through Tian Family Fortress had indeed been a legitimate way to earn strategist points.
As a result, her previously non-existent strategist points had increased to 10.
Those 10 strategist points not only meant she had earned 3 freely distributable attribute points and 1 skill point through her efforts, but also represented a new feature that had appeared in the overly simple functionality list of the strategist system.
Sign-in.
It was a pity she had to wait until she filled her belly, took care of matters in this fortress, and found a quiet place before checking out this new function.
She was curious what kind of rewards this new feature would bring her.
Qiao Yan secretly pondered, already planning her actions ahead.
However, at that moment, it was hard for her not to have her attention drawn to the delicious aroma wafting around her.
Butcher He, now quiet, worked even faster preparing the preserved pork and pickled vegetables, and finally, this late dinner, which had been delayed for several hours, was served to Qiao Yan.
No matter how fancy it was posed, the essence of this meal—preserved pork with wheat paste and marrow cake—couldn’t change its humble nature.
But after all the actions she’d taken today directing the Yellow Turban soldiers to utilize their skills, her energy was quite drained; she felt like she hadn’t eaten properly for days, and this warm meal felt no different from a feast.
Of course, she knew she couldn’t binge after a long period of hunger.
Liang Zhongning, however, didn’t have such concerns.
With the verbal fights and luring enemies being quite the physical workout, he grabbed half a piece of meat and swallowed it down without hesitation.
After filling up somewhat, he glanced at Qiao Yan and noticed how she was daintily savoring her food. Compared to her, his lack of finesse became glaring.
He couldn’t help but mumble to himself that she really was acting like a scholar.
However, just then, he suddenly heard Qiao Yan speak, interrupting his inner thoughts, “They say that discussions over a meal are the best—though I don’t drink, it’s still appropriate to say a few words with you, the rebel leader.”
He quickly adjusted his expression, “Please, speak freely, Ms. Yan.”
Qiao Yan continued, “I mentioned earlier that I’m here to assist you with two challenges. The first issue is resolved, and for the second one, I believe I don’t need to labor much; just a couple of pointers should suffice. May I ask when you will send someone to return me to Gaomi?”
Liang Zhongning was so astonished that the marrow cake slipped from his hand.
“You’re not going to stay a few more days?”
Today’s victory, with six hundred thousand measures of grain, had certainly given Liang Zhongning a taste of success. While counting the supplies, he thought, “Ms. Yan truly lives up to being a disciple of Zheng Xuan.”
Zheng Kangcheng didn’t even serve in office and had been unfortunate enough to be caught up in the Prohibition of Factionalists, confined in Gaomi, yet he managed to train his disciples to such a level. He truly deserved his renowned reputation.
Now, he couldn’t help but think, if he had “Ms. Yan” assisting him, perhaps he could achieve more than just breaking Tian Family Fortress.
He even completely forgot their initial tense encounter when they first met.
All thoughts about her being young or needing to return to Gaomi to send a message were tossed aside as he contemplated how he could leverage her wisdom for his benefit.
But just as he began to entertain these ambitions, why was “Ms. Yan,” who had earned him praise, suddenly wanting to leave?
No way! Absolutely not!
