Chapter 005
Liang Zhongning stared at the uninvited guest.
If he had not suffered a previous defeat outside the Tian's Fortress, he might have thought that the other party was an ignorant person as soon as he introduced himself.
But perhaps, even if he really had this idea, after carefully thinking about the meaning of the other party's words, he would not really regard her as a rebellious person who rashly blocked his way.
"Gaomi Yan Qiao?" Liang Zhongning frowned.
At that time, people often added place names before their given names to indicate their origins, such as Zhao Zilong of Changshan and Lu Fengxian of Jiuyuan.
One reason is that the "two-name ban" implemented after Wang Mang usurped power in the late Western Han Dynasty was still largely followed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. After the second name, there are many people with the same name or surname. It will be much easier to distinguish them if you add the place name, official title or nobility in front of it.
Secondly, people at that time had an astonishingly high recognition of their fellow villagers.
Of course, regardless of whether the names are similar or not, Yan Qiao of Gaomi and Dian Wei of Chenliu are both names that Liang Zhongning had never heard of before.
There is one difference, Gaomi is not within the territory of Yanzhou.
When talking about Gaomi, it is difficult to avoid one person.
"Yes, it's Gaomi where Zheng Shikang Cheng is." Qiao Yan seemed to be able to guess what he was confused about at the moment and continued to speak.
She withdrew her hand and stood still. Her tone when she answered was so calm that it was hard to believe that she was lying.
The original "Qiao Yan" had been ill for many years, had not gone out for a long time, and rarely interacted with her neighbors. Moreover, because of her mother, it would be more appropriate to say that she spoke Luoyang Mandarin rather than Yanzhou Liangguo accent, which undoubtedly gave her disguise an extra layer of protection.
But compared to Qiao Yan's calmness, Liang Zhongning was undoubtedly much more out of control after receiving the other party's reply and hearing the four words "Zheng Shi Kang Cheng".
Who is Zheng Kangcheng?
That is the contemporary master of Confucian classics, Zheng Xuan!
Actually, Gaomi belonged to Beihai Kingdom at that time. If she really followed the strict self-proclaimed name, she should have called herself Beihai Yan Qiao, just like Beihai Kong Rong.
But in front of the name Zheng Xuan, there was obviously nothing wrong with her calling him that.
Zheng Xuan studied successively under Diwu Yuanxian, Zhang Gongzu and Ma Rong, and had become a famous scholar of Confucian classics at the age of forty. During his time as a farmer in Donglai, he had thousands of disciples who listened to his lectures.
In the first year of Jianning's Party and Faction Persecution, Zheng Xuan was implicated because he was a former official of Du Mi. So thirteen years ago, Zheng Xuan was sent back to his ancestral home in Gaomi□□.
People in the world value famous people, let alone a world-famous person like Zheng Xuan.
The imprisonment after being sent back to Gaomi did not affect Zheng Xuan's teaching in Gaomi.
During these thirteen years, he wrote millions of words of Confucian classics, founded Zheng School, and became famous in the confrontation with the New Text School of Confucianism!
Even the Yellow Turban Army, whose disciples were so powerful, could not say that they could compare with Zheng Xuan in terms of commanding the support of hundreds of people in places like Gaomi and Donglai.
The name of Gaomi, if because of Zheng Xuan, may be even more famous than Beihai.
And if this young boy who came to his door was really Zheng Xuan's disciple, Liang Zhongning would not dare to treat her disrespectfully.
He dropped the half-broken gun in his hand, and his expression became less aggressive.
Then he pulled the reins and slowly moved forward until he stopped in front of the other person.
At such a close distance, the face in the backlight appeared clearly enough in front of him.
Under the current threat from this bandit, the other party's expression remained calm, as if he was facing a mountain collapse and remained unmoved. He just raised his eyes, as if making another gesture to him.
He is so young and has such grace and demeanor, it does seem to make sense.
After forming this understanding, it was not difficult for Liang Zhongning to further infer why she appeared here.
Zheng Xuan was well versed in the study of prophecies and divination at a young age, and his level of numerology was extremely high. After entering Guanzhong and becoming a disciple of Ma Rong, he followed him to calculate the Hun Tian theory.
In the eyes of Liang Zhongning, who had heard a lot about Zheng Xuan, it was possible that the boy was a disciple of Zheng and had made some achievements in the study of divination and destiny, and then he could have deduced Zheng Xuan's movements.
Liang Zhongning was a little wary of this master, but he didn't want to show any weakness on his face. Instead, he asked loudly, "Then why are you looking for me?"
No matter how much the Yellow Turbans occupied the prefectures and counties at this time, they could not change their nature as refugees. On the other hand, Zheng Xuan's disciples were at least related to scholars. It is not an exaggeration to say that there was a chasm between the two.
He was not blind either, and he could see that although the child's face lacked some color, he grew up in a pampered environment.
There is no such thing as a visit without a request. He doesn't think there should be any intersection between the two of them.
Qiao Yan seemed to be completely oblivious to the other party's unwillingness to deal with her, and replied in a deep voice: "I observed the stars at night and knew that Commander Qu was in trouble, and not just one trouble. I would like to give Commander Qu a few pieces of advice in exchange--"
"Please ask Commander Qu to escort me back to Gaomi."
Liang Zhongning was not moved by the other party's words "General Qu is in trouble", but just asked about the conditions of the exchange. "But the world is in turmoil, and I see that you are powerless, so why are you in such a hurry to travel?"
Whether he is in trouble or not doesn't seem to be something that needs to be deduced.
The disrespect he suffered in the battle at Tian's Fort, coupled with the fear of almost losing his life at the hands of Dian Wei, not only was his armor in disarray and his followers separated, but even the mount he was relying on for escape had an arrow wound on it.
If we return to Puyang City in this situation and run into Bu Ji and Zhang Bo's troops coming from the west, who knows if there will be any disaster.
This is just a fact.
Qiao Yan smiled and replied slowly, "Master Zheng predicted a change in the world several months ago and sent me to the capital to get some information. With the rise of the Yellow Turbans, the Han Emperor had no choice but to lift the ban on political parties, which turned out to be true. Although the order has been issued to all states, I need to return to Gaomi to find out what the attitude of the court is."
When she mentioned "lifting the ban on party imprisonment", Liang Zhongning raised his gun again, which he had just put down.
For a moment, the spear with the wooden spike was only one step away from her neck. Even the counselor system in her consciousness began to warn in fear, but Qiao Yan still didn't move his eyelids, but continued:
"However, your army is so large that my return journey is difficult. Now, crossing the border of Puyang is already the limit. I am afraid I will have to trouble the commander to lend me someone."
Liang Zhongning was almost amused by her righteous tone.
He said angrily: "The resurgence of the party members has made them one and the same as the imperial court. Since you know the Yellow Turbans, how come you don't know our slogan that the Heaven is Dead? What kind of cooperation are you talking about? Aren't you afraid that I will kill you first?"
"So you want to kill the patriots?" Qiao Yan asked.
Liang Zhongning asked back: "Can a ten-year-old child be considered a patriot?"
But all he got was a calm reply:
"It doesn't matter if you are young if you have ambition."
A temporary camp was set up between Puyang and Tianshiwubao.
Liang Zhongning went to gather the remaining troops, and Qiao Yan was temporarily free.
She is now considered the guest of the Yellow Turban leader, and naturally enjoys a private tent in the camp.
The counselor system finally let out a sigh of relief.
It almost thought that its host would die before accomplishing its mission!
[You are too bold. You have clearly seen the styles of Bu Ji's and Zhang Bo's tribes. No matter how cultured Liang Zhongning sounds, there is no guarantee that he will not kill you directly. 】
"Wealth and honor are sought in danger. Moreover, the atmosphere at the end of the Han Dynasty was like this, and killing famous people without authorization was not a good thing."
Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, which almost made him lose Yanzhou. Later, he did not let Ni Heng die at his hands. Instead, Ni Heng went to Liu Biao in Jingzhou and Huang Zu in Jiangxia, and finally lost his life.
No matter how difficult it is to control the Yellow Turbans in terms of military discipline and how they behave like brutal bandits, anyone who truly deserves the title of their leader would never risk the wrath of the world and kill Zheng Xuan's disciples.
Although she was just an impostor who borrowed the face of Duke Zheng as her own protection, Liang Zhongning had no chance to go to Gaomi to ask her whether she was Zheng Xuan's disciple within the next three or two months. Qiao Yan had no psychological burden of having her identity exposed.
Who would have thought that she could do such a thing!
Not to mention that she said she came from Luoyang, which also explained the tone of her Mandarin.
While she was answering the system's questions, her hands did not stop moving.
Liang Zhongning's decision to lead his men out of Puyang City to attack the Tian family was hasty, but he did bring all the necessary things with him. Qiao Yan borrowed a flint and a marching pot from him, and finally boiled water in a corner of the opened tent.
This was also the first sip of hot water she had drunk since she traveled to the chaotic world at the end of the Han Dynasty.
Qiao Yan couldn't care less about the Yellow Turban Army guarding outside the tent for the time being. He didn't care whether the soldiers had any particular ideas about her. After all, most scholars had some quirks, so it wouldn't be surprising if she was one of them.
She squatted beside the makeshift fire rack, warming herself with the boiling water.
The cluster of firelight reflected in her eyes, and was immediately shrouded in the misty fog.
Then she broke the last piece of dry biscuit in her arms into pieces in the pot.
This is still not a delicacy, but it is much more filling than just eating it dry.
The system thought about the conversation between Qiao Yan and Liang Zhongning before they separated, and then asked: [But do you really want to help him break through Tian’s Fortress? You must know that once you take this step, you will become inseparable from the Yellow Turban Army. 】
Qiao Yan took a sip of soup, shook his head and replied: "How to judge a matter? You can't just look at the beginning. I have my own ideas. I won't delay the progress of becoming the world's number one strategist."
The system is speechless.
It was silent for a while before complaining: "I now feel more and more that your eloquence skill should be called deception, or should be called empty promises. 】
As a system that should have been highly relied upon because of the presence of the golden finger, the only psychological comfort it has left is that Liang Zhongning, like it, is completely led by Qiao Yan.
When the Yellow Turban leader went to gather his followers, he even felt that he had a huge advantage by forcing Qiao Yan "to" plan the capture of Tian's Fortress on his behalf on the grounds that "Puyang has not yet been settled, and it is difficult to have idle people. If you consider yourself a man of ambition, why don't you give it a try?"
But how could he have the advantage?
System: I don’t know what to say, just sympathize with him first.
"No, you should say that it's not that my eloquence worked, but that I was just lucky."
In fact, Qiao Yan didn't expect that Liang Zhongning would be in this state when he met him.
But when she saw the enemy's defeated troops from the hillside, she realized that this would undoubtedly give her more room to mediate than if the enemy returned victorious.
This might be her chance!
What I learned from the other party about Tian's Fortress and Dian Wei's appearance there were also good news.
Dian Wei...
This fierce general, who took on the responsibility of close protection for Cao Cao after joining his army but eventually died of exhaustion in the Battle of Wancheng, was undoubtedly one of the best bodyguards of the time.
Even though Qiao Yan said that Liang Zhongning didn't dare to kill her, and she didn't change her expression when the broken gun was pointed at her today, she still couldn't help feeling -
If she had a bodyguard, her personal safety as a "strategist" would be guaranteed, right?
Who made her only have a physical fitness of 31 and a combat power of 15?
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