Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 3: Galloping through Bingzhou, Troops Depart from Hedong Chapter 96: Dance and Music Performances

She truly did not disappoint Liu Hong’s expectations for her, as evidenced by Jian Shuo’s attitude when he came to visit.

Liu Hong, in order to ensure Jian Shuo made it into the top nine, specifically arranged for him to face the easiest opponent in this round of registrations. Fortunately, Jian Shuo was not entirely without skill and managed to win quite impressively.

However, Qiao Yan’s responsibility was to eliminate those whom Liu Hong did not wish to remain in the competition, which was a completely different level of difficulty.

Perhaps because Liu Hong was quite satisfied with her performance, Jian Shuo even seemed to be trying to curry favor with her.

His words were full of praise for Qiao Yan.

“Does Your Majesty have any other instructions?” Qiao Yan interrupted his rambling and asked. “Now that two matches have passed, nine people remain on the field. Apart from you and me, the other seven include Zhao Rong and Feng Fang, whose leadership skills are slightly inferior. However, their next opponents are Ji Ling and Brother Mengde, so they have no chance of winning.”

“The Adviser for Remonstrance has a bye this round, but he has experience in suppressing bandits and has performed decently so far. In my opinion, he could very well take the position of General Who Crosses the Liao River.”

“Of course, if Your Majesty feels there are still unsuitable candidates, I will do my utmost.”

After her speech, even if Jian Shuo wanted to express dissatisfaction with her interruption, he had to hold back.

He was still waiting for the Emperor’s instructions.

But as Qiao Yan said, after two rounds of matches, the number of participants had been reduced from thirty-six to nine. According to Liu Hong’s initial plan, these nine would be the General Who Crosses the Liao River and the eight colonels of the Western Garden, so the plan was almost complete.

Of course, Qiao Yan was an unusual touchstone and had to be excluded first, after which one more person could be added.

But just promoting one more person wouldn’t be too difficult for Liu Hong to justify.

Overall, this was a list that met Liu Hong’s expectations quite well.

Apart from Zhao Rong and Feng Fang, whom Qiao Yan mentioned, the Adviser for Remonstrance Xia Mou, who had a bye this round, was originally one of the eight colonels of the Western Garden. Compared to the original list, Yuan Shao had chosen not to participate personally and had also given up on the overly obvious Chunyu Qiong, instead selecting Ji Ling and Han Fu to represent the interests of the Yuan clan.

These two did not disappoint Yuan Shao and others, successfully winning the first two matches.

The remaining two were Cao Cao and Bao Hong.

In the next round, apart from Xia Mou who had a bye, it would be Ji Ling versus Zhao Rong, Feng Fang versus Cao Cao, Jian Shuo versus Bao Hong, and Qiao Yan versus Han Fu.

Therefore, Liu Hong did not give Qiao Yan any additional instructions this time.

Jian Shuo’s visit was merely to establish a connection, at most vaguely mentioning that the Emperor said Marquis Qiao could continue to win.

Two days later, Qiao Yan understood why Jian Shuo was not worried about losing to Bao Hong.

Given Liu Hong’s intention to make Jian Shuo the leader of the eight colonels of the Western Garden, he certainly wouldn’t let Jian Shuo’s ranking fall too low.

Bao Hong had probably been talked to by Liu Hong in advance.

As the number of matches decreased and participants were made to appear one by one, Qiao Yan clearly saw Bao Hong’s performance.

He made several mistakes that couldn’t be explained as mere errors, giving Jian Shuo an “opportunity.”

Not only did Qiao Yan, who understood the intricacies, see this, but even those who didn’t quite get it wanted to criticize Bao Hong’s performance.

Qiao Yan had become somewhat familiar with her team by now and overheard the centurion of the Tunqi Battalion whisper, “I originally wanted to beat that guy up, but now I don’t have the chance. He’s really getting carried away.”

Because of the morale-boosting act Bao Hong had previously performed, Qiao Yan’s Yueqi Battalion and Tunqi Battalion were holding their breath, waiting to teach Bao Hong a lesson if they encountered him. Who knew he would lose here.

After Bao Hong left the field, Qiao Yan’s guess was confirmed.

He gave Qiao Yan a grateful look.

Of course, this gratitude was mixed with some inexplicable frustration, as Bao Hong had originally expected a promotion to General Who Crosses the Liao River, but instead became a colonel in the Emperor’s direct army.

But still, it was a promotion, right?

Qiao Yan withdrew her gaze from Bao Hong and turned to her next opponent, Han Fu, replying to the Tunqi Battalion centurion, “If you have any extra energy, use it on our opponents. If we continue to win, you might even get noticed by His Majesty.”

“As Marquis Qiao commands.”

By now, the Tunqi Battalion centurion could see that although Qiao Yan was not officially participating in the selection, the Emperor had never stopped paying attention to her side.

The Yueqi Battalion centurion who shot Wang Kuang in the first match had received special rewards from the Emperor, and in the previous match, he had been asked his name by the Emperor due to his excellent performance in following Qiao Yan to defeat the enemy.

What about the third and fourth matches?

He might even get a promotion!

This was much more profitable than others who only received incidental rewards for supporting their assigned generals!

Even though none of Qiao Yan’s opponents seemed easy to deal with, it didn’t dampen his ambition in the slightest.

However, Qiao Yan dared not underestimate Han Fu.

Although Han Fu was not as difficult to deal with as Dong Min, he had Qu Yi, a general not much inferior to Xu Rong.

With Dong Min’s lesson fresh in mind, Qu Yi would obviously not be fooled by Qiao Yan’s diversion tactics.

This somewhat increased the difficulty for Qiao Yan’s side to defeat the enemy.

But Han Fu—he was even less capable than Dong Min as a commander.

He couldn’t help but feel that if he relied solely on Qu Yi’s abilities to win this battle, he wouldn’t be much different from a useless figurehead.

So when he saw Qu Yi’s cavalry successfully breaking through the flank, he decisively pushed his own rear troops forward.

But this time, Qiao Yan didn’t even let Guo Jia take the field, instead having a centurion from the infantry battalion impersonate Guo Jia.

What Qu Yi thought was cutting off an arm was merely sending a centurion off the field, but what Qiao Yan was fishing for was the enemy commander.

And as Qu Yi broke into the central army, the infantry, seeing the cavalry’s achievements, were unwilling to give up this opportunity for merit. When they formed an encirclement, they displayed an astonishing momentum, holding out until Qiao Yan captured Han Fu and turned back to support.

After Han Fu left the field, Qu Yi didn’t last much longer either.

However, winning another match against an unusual enemy did not make Qiao Yan complacent, as she guessed her next match would still be tough.

Sure enough, she soon saw the next match was—

Jian Shuo versus Xia Mou, she versus Ji Ling, and Cao Cao had a bye.

Cao Cao visited Qiao Yan’s military camp again.

This time, he asked a very straightforward question: “From Yanshu’s perspective, has His Majesty already chosen Jian Shuo as the General Who Crosses the Liao River?”

Appointing a eunuch as an external official was indeed a bizarre idea, but someone like Liu Hong, with his temperament, could do such a thing.

From the current situation, it was hard for Cao Cao not to come to this conclusion.

When there were nine people left, a new rule was added: a bye could only occur once for any individual, so the later the bye, the more advantageous.

Adviser for Remonstrance Xia Mou’s bye was less about luck and more about being a tool for Jian Shuo to complete the selection of the top three from five.

With Qu Yi and Xu Rong successively defeated by Qiao Yan, Ji Ling would obviously be no exception.

Thus, the next round would leave Qiao Yan, Jian Shuo, and Cao Cao.

In his view, under these circumstances, the bye would definitely go to Jian Shuo, not Qiao Yan!

Then it would be the winner between him and Qiao Yan facing Jian Shuo.

But what if Jian Shuo lost?

The position of General Who Crosses the Liao River was more likely to go to Jian Shuo than to Qiao Yan.

Cao Cao could deduce this battle situation, and naturally, so could Qiao Yan.








She teased, “How about I let Mengde win? As we said while chatting over wine, I’ll make you the General of Crossing Liao?”

Although she said so, Cao Cao could tell it was more of a joke.

This was indeed a battle of five hundred against five hundred, but it could still be considered a serious fight. There was no such thing as letting someone win.

He immediately laughed, “If that’s the case, Yueshu underestimates me, Cao Cao. Success or failure is just a matter of luck. Even if I lose, it’s fine. This time, everyone has their beloved generals to assist in battle, and I also have my disciple Lian to help. There’s no need to give in.”

This statement was quite accurate.

Cao Cao naturally had a group of excellent generals from his family, and Cao Zilian, who came with him this time, was one of them.

Although Cao Hong, who followed Cao Cao in his southern and northern campaigns, had a stingy nature and was somewhat impatient, he was still a genuine talent as a main general.

Even without any battle achievements now, he still had the potential.

Qiao Yan thought about her own troops having to face the combination of Cao Cao and Cao Hong after defeating Ji Ling, which gave her a headache.

But this time, she must win!

She should even thank Liu Hong because he thought highly of her, setting her opponents as they are now.

Wang Kuang, Dong Min, Han Fu, Ji Ling, Cao Cao!

Regardless of whether both sides have the same configuration or if the outcome of this five hundred battle would be drastically different in a larger-scale battle.

At least, if Liu Hong intended to make a surprising decision, even one completely different from the previous situation, she would have a solid record to back her up.

Not a record compared to those Black Mountain Bandits or White Wave Bandits, but a record compared to these “elite troops of the court”!

After sending Cao Cao away with the excuse that “If Mengde can really perform like this, he will surely catch His Majesty’s attention,” she called Guo Jia over.

“In normal battles, there’s no such situation where you have to fight every two days against a team of similar strength…” Qiao Yan couldn’t help but show some worry on her face, “Fengxiao, do you have any solutions?”

Initially, creating a competitive atmosphere among the three cavalry camps to boost morale could only last for a while. The rewards and recognition given to the centurions of the Yueqi and Tunqi camps motivated them, but it wasn’t a method that could be spread to the entire camp.

Especially the part about fighting every two days…

Although the scale of five hundred people controlled the consumption within a certain range, it was still an extremely tiring state of fatigue.

In ancient siege battles, why did the main generals allow soldiers to vent their emotions by looting the city’s wealth or even massacring the city?

This was partly to win the soldiers’ hearts and partly to balance tension and relaxation in theory.

Of course, such methods of venting were just raising the butcher’s knife to the victims, and Qiao Yan didn’t find any merit in it.

Regardless of large-scale battles, Qiao Yan’s current situation was somewhat similar.

Facing Wang Kuang, Dong Min, Xu Rong, Han Fu, and Qu Yi in succession had already put her troops in a state of extreme tension.

Either before or after facing Ji Ling, she had to find a way to relieve the emotions of this team.

Guo Jia thought for a moment and replied, “Marquis Qiao facing Ji Ling, I’m not worried. I don’t need to assist in commanding. Could you give me two days to prepare something?”

Qiao Yan looked at Guo Jia, confirmed he had a plan, and let him go ahead.

As Guo Jia said, Ji Ling wasn’t a troublesome opponent.

In the future, he was known for his bravery under Yuan Shu, but ultimately, he was famous for his martial prowess, not his intelligence.

But if he had brute force, would Dian Wei be any worse?

Even when Qiao Yan held her formation and advanced slowly, Ji Ling was the first to disrupt the rhythm of the confrontation, choosing to attack her actively, and was eventually taken down.

Liu Hong was tired of praising Qiao Yan, but he finally saw what he wanted to see.

Jian Shuo secured the top two through a cheating-style bye, and the next match was Qiao Yan against Cao Cao. No matter who won, he had a way to handle it.

This made him even more hopeful for achieving his goal.

With this in mind, Liu Hong didn’t stop Qiao Yan from sending some things into the military camp. According to Qiao Yan, these weren’t for use in the competition but to provide some entertainment for the soldiers.

It really was entertainment.

Following Qiao Yan’s orders, the soldiers came to the open space in the camp before sleep, and to their surprise, a small stage was set up.

But this stage was different from the usual street performances they had seen.

This stage was smaller and higher, with a curtain pulled up. When the candlelight behind it shone, it lit up before their eyes.

Before they could see the curtain clearly, a silhouette of a horse and rider appeared on the curtain, followed by a row of small figures.

From behind the curtain, someone sang, “In the capital’s general selection, Marquis of Leping came, leading five hundred soldiers. Suddenly, someone came outside the camp, wanting to exchange for a hundred soldiers.”

Before the singing finished, a general’s figure appeared on the other side, pointing towards them.

“Ah, that’s Colonel Bao!” someone immediately recognized the situation from the lyrics.

They were actually being performed on stage.

Although shadow plays weren’t mainstream, some had seen them before, but being part of the performance was a first!

How novel.

The tired soldiers suddenly perked up.

Sure enough, they saw the shadow puppet representing Qiao Yan whip Bao Hong away.

At this sight, the camp erupted in joyful laughter.

Even though the puppet props for several people were cut as connected figures, for soldiers with little entertainment, this was a real surprise.

The most proud was the centurion of the Yueqi camp, who had a separate figure performing the scene of shooting Wang Kuang with an arrow, accompanied by a lyric.

“They say the Yueqi rides up and down hills, crossing streams, flying horses and fast arrows, truly formidable, shooting Duke Wang off his horse, winning His Majesty’s applause.”

The centurion was so proud that he memorized the lyric.

This would be his future bragging right to his descendants!

Next was the battle against Dong Min. Somehow, something was thrown behind the screen, depicting the scene of two hundred long poles being launched.

Everyone stared intently, and then they saw—

Han Fu, who hurried to seize the battle merit but fell into a trap.

Ji Ling, who only had brute force.

And then…

The screen suddenly went dark, all the singing and music disappeared, and the entire camp fell into a quiet and dark environment.

It… it’s over?

The soldiers, just getting into it, suddenly realized there was nothing more to perform.

Because they had only fought up to this point.

Guo Jia waved to the performers, signaling them to pack up and leave. As Qiao Yan’s deputy commander, he had already gained some authority among the five hundred soldiers. Seeing he had something to say, everyone turned to look at him.

Guo Jia said slowly, “If you want to see the continuation of this shadow play, you’ll have to win the next battle. Of course, losing is fine too, there’s another way to perform it.”

“…”

Another way to perform it?

The soldiers almost jumped up.

They naturally wanted to see themselves being mighty on the screen.

Win! They must win!