Chapter 010
"I am not from Yanzhou, why should I stay here?"
Qiao Yan seemed to have not noticed Liang Zhongning's inappropriate behavior of dropping the cake in his hand. He continued to eat leisurely while replying.
She even said the words "she was not from Yanzhou" so smoothly that no one could tell she was lying.
With such a calm performance, Liang Zhongning had no idea that the other party was clearly playing a trick of retreating in order to advance.
He quickly replied, "There are so many disasters around us. If a man of your talent had an accident on the road, wouldn't it be a huge pity?"
The earnest care expressed in these words is beyond words.
But he soon saw Qiao Yan's face darken.
Previously, when he was pointed at by his broken spear, and when facing the defense of Tian's Fortress, Qiao Yan was too calm and mature. Now he suddenly showed a different expression from before, which really made Liang Zhongning feel a little uncomfortable.
He also suddenly realized that the other party dared to come directly to him and was a person with an extremely sharp temper.
"What are you talking about, Commander Qu? Since I know that troubles are brewing everywhere, I should return to Gaomi as soon as possible to serve Master Zheng. How can I stay here in peace?"
Qiao Yan's harsh words caught Liang Zhongning right off guard.
No matter how much the Yellow Turban Army chanted slogans like "Heaven is dead", they would never really destroy the culture of respecting teachers and valuing education. This made Qiao Yan's words particularly valid.
Liang Zhongning wanted to act like a bandit and just detained the person, but he couldn't help but feel that -
He had relied on the enemy's ability to break through the fortress and obtained enough food for his people to eat for nearly two years. Even his subordinates changed their impression of Mr. Yan and showed respect to him. If he just abandoned the donkey after it had done its work...
No, it should be said that forcibly tying people to the chariot somewhat undermines his dignity.
Although this so-called majesty was almost lost when he was carried by his subordinates like a pig.
His mind was racing, and suddenly an idea came to him.
He first said in a gentle voice: "Sir, you are right. Your assistance in capturing this fortress and obtaining food is equivalent to saving the lives of the soldiers in my team. You said that I was in trouble and came to warn me, which is another favor——"
"If I just send someone to take you to Gaomi, it won't be enough. It would be better for you to rest here for a few days first, and then leave."
Seeing Qiao Yan's expression eased, Liang Zhongning did not care to sigh that it was a bit funny for Qiao Yan to behave like this at such an age. He took the opportunity to continue, "Besides, the Yellow Turban Army may not have the ability to discipline their subordinates as well as I do. If they fail to distinguish between friend and foe on the road, wouldn't they be injured by mistake?"
He continued, "Why don't I wait for a while to talk to my fellow soldiers in the neighboring area before sending someone to escort you?"
Qiao Yan glanced at him without comment.
Liang Zhongning felt that this look seemed to have some opinions about his self-boasting ability to discipline his subordinates, and seemed to be somewhat moved by his suggestion.
But no matter what, it is a good thing that the other party did not insist on leaving immediately.
After some thought, he decided to add fuel to the fire.
Before he could figure out how to add fuel to the fire, a natural reason came to him, as if someone had given him a pillow when he was sleepy.
After the fort was built, Qiao Yan no longer had to sleep in the tent as he did the night before, but instead had a separate room to rest.
Not having to sleep under the tent allowed her to sleep more peacefully.
She slept until noon, but as soon as she went out, she almost doubted whether she had woken up yet.
Liang Zhongning stood at the door with a sad face.
This expression made Qiao Yan feel that there was some exaggeration and fakeness in it, but when he showed half of his face covered by his hands, people could not help but jump their eyelids.
"Did you hit a tree?" Qiao Yan was smoothing the wrinkles on his clothes and couldn't help but pause at this moment.
There were also children of similar age in the dock, who provided her with a good opportunity to change the clothes she had taken from the dead body.
When Liang Zhongning saw her, he couldn't help but secretly praise her for her good figure, but when he opened his mouth, he pulled the wound on his face and grimaced again.
"It wasn't that I hit a tree," he whispered back, "You know, I said last night that since we have captured Chenliu Dian Wei, it would be a good thing if we could use him for our own purposes."
"So I competed with him in strength!"
“……?” You really dare!
But Qiao Yan couldn't say it so bluntly, so he just asked in a roundabout way: "So what's the result?"
Dian Wei is indeed an honest man.
If Qiao Yan had his level of fighting power, and the opposing commander was Liang Zhongning, who claimed to be a cultured man but was actually a fool, what was the point of competing? He might as well take advantage of this useless competition to kidnap the person.
By then, let alone lifting the siege of Tian's Fortress, we might even be able to counterattack Puyang.
When Qiao Yan thought of this, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.
But Liang Zhongning obviously didn't receive the condemnation in her eyes, and just continued, "Actually, I'm not that stupid. When I brought him into the pit before, it took so much sandbags and manpower to suppress him. If I were in his place, I wouldn't be able to do that. But when I told him about the philosophy of our Yellow Turban Heavenly Master Dao, he told me that he didn't understand, and the only way to subdue him was to rely on strength."
"Why is General Qu so confident in his own strength?" Qiao Yan asked.
Liang Zhongning smiled and said, "I don't have any confidence, it's just a little trick. It's the same as borrowing a car and a beam scale..."
The "borrowed car" he mentioned was a kind of ancient catapult, which, like the beam balance, relied on the principle of leverage.
Of course, there was no such thing as the lever principle in the Han Dynasty, but this is the general idea.
If this trick is used during a strength contest, it might actually work.
But obviously, if he succeeded, he wouldn't be in this state.
Sure enough, the next moment, she heard Liang Zhongning say, "But there was a small problem. The crossbar was directly broken by the strong man and hit my face directly."
He pointed to the bruises and scrapes on his face, indicating that this was the result of the accident.
Just imagine what a ridiculous scene this is.
Qiao Yan was torn between laughing and giving the Yellow Turban leader some face for a moment, when he heard the other party start to make use of the topic, "Sir, you said I was in trouble. I am afraid there are signs of bloodshed recently. Even fighting with a defeated general can lead to such a disaster. If you want to leave, you may hear the news of my death tomorrow."
"Sir! You can't leave!"
“……?” Is this a valid reason?
Qiao Yan couldn't help but fall into silence.
It was clearly the result she wanted, but she felt like she was being cheated.
It is true that Liang Zhongning's face was injured by the wood, but he was still very thick-skinned.
He didn't care what Qiao Yan thought. Anyone who could help him obtain 600,000 hu of grain stored in the fort was a great talent, no matter how old he was.
If he doesn't keep this great talent, he will never sleep well!
Facing Qiao Yan's almost straightforward expression of speechlessness, he continued without any psychological burden: "Since the master has taught me how to break through the fort, why not save people to the end? It's better to stay here for a few more days."
Qiao Yan hesitated for a moment before replying with a "yes".
But how much of her so-called hesitation was real, probably only she herself knew.
After she gave this reply, the Yellow Turban leader Liang and the "adviser" Qiao looked at each other and gave a satisfactory evaluation in their hearts.
In a sense, it can be said that everyone is happy.
Perhaps the only thing that was not very happy was Dian Wei, who clearly won the wrestling match, but was tied up like a dumpling again by the big gift bag of ropes and the beating prepared by Liang Zhongning in advance.
Qiao Yan couldn't do anything to him for the time being.
Given her current condition, it would be much easier for her to temporarily reach a consensus with those who use their brains than to gain recognition from those who make a living by physical labor.
Liang Zhongning and Dian Wei are different.
The Yellow Turban Army could be "bribed" as long as they were given food, and she was viewed through the filter of a disciple of a great Confucian scholar.
Dian Wei obviously couldn't understand why this skinny child was so worthy of his bowing down to him.
Just like Qiao Yan didn't know what kind of luck the Tian family had to allow this "ancient evil man" to be temporarily useful to them.
Even though she had already activated the sign-in system in the counselor system and saw that there were things like temporary attribute cards in the sign-in rewards, which could temporarily make up for her lack of strength.
But to have the strength to defeat Dian Wei, he is obviously still far from it.
But let's not think about the things that I can't figure out for now. Even though Liang Zhongning was hit on the face, he still covets Dian Wei, so I think he will not go hungry.
Since people can't die, there will always be a chance for her to take action.
Compared with Dian Wei, what is more important is how to deal with the people in Tian’s Fortress.
Now that she had accomplished her logical goal of staying on the pirate ship temporarily, it was time for her to move on to the next step.
In Liang Zhongning's opinion, these people were used to a comfortable life and were treated differently from ordinary people. They would probably not be willing to join the Yellow Turbans and become a member of his army.
At a time when the Yellow Turbans and the official Han forces were in confrontation, since such a powerful force had lost the capital to protect itself, the most appropriate way to deal with it was undoubtedly to take their lives directly.
These are the rules of the game in troubled times.
Liang Zhongning still remembered his previous promise to Qiao Yan, and thought he should talk to Mr. Yan Qiao about it.
So the imprisoned head of the Tian family heard a familiar voice coming from outside the house.
However, this time he did not shout and curse loudly as he did outside the fortress, but whispered that he wanted to consider eradicating the entire Tian family.
Tian Tao, the head of the Tian family, clenched his fists.
This is indeed the most appropriate way of dealing with the situation, but it is undoubtedly a disaster for the Tian family!
But strangely, he immediately heard another voice.
The voice said, "I have observed the fate of General Qu before, and the fatal disaster should not be on the Tian family. I think we can make full use of these people."
Tian Tao heard the Yellow Turban leader ask, "May I ask, Mr. Yan, what does it mean to make the best use of things?"
Although he was unable to see the expressions of the two men at the moment, it was not difficult for him to hear the respect for each other from Liang Zhongning's tone.
Realizing this peculiarity, he exchanged glances with his brother, and a look of deep thought emerged on his face.
He then heard the man Liang Zhongning called "Mr. Yan" say, "Since the commander has occupied Puyang and has ambitions to take over Yanzhou, we cannot deal with these powerful people at will. Using force to prevent them from resisting is one thing, and tapping into their connections and power for our own use is another."
"Most of the fort owners have connections with each other, and some even form alliances with each other. The head of the Tian family is probably no exception..."
Through the door, Qiao Yan's voice was very low. Tian Tao did not hear all her words clearly. He only vaguely heard that she seemed to be saying that they should attack with thunder on the one hand and allow the owner of the alliance's fort to pay to redeem the person as a way of appeasement on the other hand. He also heard that she seemed to mention the hidden population in the fort, and then her voice became inaudible.
The only good news for the Tian family is that they can at least live a little longer.
But in the final analysis, whether the Yellow Turban leader can follow the words of another person is completely unknown. They can't put all their hopes on this.
Especially since they are still alive now, on the one hand it is because the Yellow Turban leader, under the guidance of others, has played the game of keeping hope, and on the other hand it is because the other party feels that there is still some value left in them that can be tapped.
But it must be known that whether the imperial court's anti-riot team can win and when it can drive out the rebels in Yanzhou is completely unknown.
In troubled times, it is not easy for people to protect themselves, let alone support others.
The so-called redemption is almost impossible.
At best, this reason was just a temporary excuse to deceive Liang Zhongning.
No matter how Tian Tao thought about it, he felt that this military advisor in the Yellow Turban Army was smart, but also strange in that he made mistakes in a situation where he shouldn't have.
When the two elders of the Tian family were being escorted to Puyang City like goods and inquired about the news about Qiao Yan from the Yellow Turban soldiers, they felt that it was a little unreal.
She is too young and her origins are too mysterious!
In ancient times, Gan Luo became a senior minister at the age of twelve. It seems that the abilities of geniuses are indeed different from those of ordinary people. Therefore, it is not incomprehensible that this military advisor could give advice to Liang Zhongning at the young age of ten.
But from what these people said, the other party actually learned from Zheng Xuan——
This is puzzling.
The two consecutive Party Persecutions did make the party members disappointed with the court, but it seems that among these people there should not be a master of Confucian classics like Zheng Xuan, let alone someone who would train disciples to support the Yellow Turbans' raids.
Ultimately, this is a question of the reputation of the scholars.
But when the little boy, whose voice was only heard but not seen, appeared, he calculated Tian's plan clearly and restrained Liang Zhongning with his fortune-telling skills. He really didn't seem like a disciple that an ordinary teacher could teach.
It’s a pity that these two people can’t get a reasonable explanation for the time being.
The strategist system 068, who was the only one who knew the secret, looked at Qiao Yan's eloquence skill, which had been upgraded from lv5 to lv6 on his personal panel, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
It always felt that this thing was flashing golden light in front of it, indicating an unparalleled presence.
It has even changed its name from [Briefing Talent] to [The Number One Fraudster].
In addition, her physical fitness value was also improved.
The number displayed on the panel now has changed to 35.
As for why it is 35 instead of 34?
Since the rewards for the first day of the sign-in system are a bit more impressive, the attributes given are not temporary, but 1 permanent attribute point, which has now become Constitution +1.
This time, Qiao Yan didn't need to explain. The system had already consciously explained the actions of its host by comparing it to Sima Yi's outlasting others.
It thought about Cao Cao who was still in Changsha, and then looked at the host in front of it who looked radiant because he was well fed, well rested, and felt that it would be better for it to say less when it was not necessary.
The other party is obviously very opinionated and has indeed made the right choice so far.
The system even felt that her way of doing things was not as simple as seeking wealth and fame at the risk of one's life.
Qiao Yan didn't care what the system was thinking at the moment.
She sat on the ox cart that Liang Zhongning had specially harnessed, and enjoyed unique treatment in the team returning to Puyang City.
The biggest benefit of riding in a car for her is undoubtedly that the files and materials she collected from the study of the head of the Tian family can be piled on the car and transported back together. She can also read them during the journey, allowing her to find some things that do not exist in historical materials but are of great use to her now.
Although she has gained Liang Zhongning's trust, and the other party is more interested in winning her over, you have to know -
What Qiao Yan did not tell the system was that what she said at the beginning about being a "dog-headed military advisor" rather than a "military advisor" was never a lie.
She chose Liang Zhongning as her first choice and had her own considerations.
This is not just a simple matter of improving personal environment. Just like the battle of the fort was just a trial run, this is just the beginning of this operation of walking on thin ice.
When the walls of Puyang City were vaguely visible in front of her, she put down the bamboo scroll in her hand and felt more confident.
However, compared to Qiao Yan's calmness at the moment, Liang Zhongning was much more depressed.
The people who stayed in Puyang City since he left did not slack off because he was away for a few days, and there was no situation like the Dong'e County where the city was taken back by local tyrants.
But at this time, there were two more forces under the city of Puyang.
The respective powers of Bu Ji and Zhang Bo.
The three parties did have a cooperative relationship, but there were also many dissatisfactions among them. What made Liang Zhongning particularly unhappy was that in the Han Dynasty people mostly addressed each other by their characters, but Bu Ji always called him by his full name, and only called him General Liang when there were people around.
What made him even more depressed was that he escorted such a large amount of grain into the city in order to show his ability to intimidate Puyang, but Bu Ji tried to directly take away 30% of it on the grounds that his subordinates were short of food and there might be trouble.
"Thirty percent? I can give him ten percent at most!" Liang Zhongning muttered.
The face involved in this tug-of-war was not the same as his shameless request for Qiao Yan to stay and serve him, so he did not consult her about this matter.
This was exactly what Qiao Yan wanted.
She still has some things she needs to do.
On the third day after returning to the city, when Liang Zhongning and his two generals Bu Ji and Zhang Bo were having a dinner party in the government office, an unexpected guest arrived at the Puyang prison.
Liang Zhongning listened to Qiao Yan's advice and did not take action against the people from the Tian family. Instead, he temporarily locked them up on the pretext of demanding a ransom from them in the future.
Of course, in this case, there is no need to expect him to provide the other party with a good environment and food.
Although there are many homestays in Puyang City, Liang Zhongning did not want these people to cause him trouble, so he put them in jail.
The Tian family had never had such an experience before.
As a powerful local family in Yanzhou, before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, even the governor of Dongjun had to rely on these people when he was in office.
From the prefect down to the county magistrate and the chief clerk, and even the magistrate of Puyang County, all of them showed respect to the head of the Tian family.
But when encountering unreasonable and brutal people like the Yellow Turban bandits, the situation is completely different.
At first they still had some words of protest, but the Tian's Fort had been breached and the food stored in the fort had fallen into the hands of the enemy. They no longer had even this last condition for negotiation. After being imprisoned for three or two days and starving, their morale was further damaged.
The head of the Tian family looked at his younger brother who had been unusually silent since his failed plan that night, and his son who had been cursing and swearing in the first two days but now seemed to have matured a lot after the setbacks, and couldn't help but sigh.
In this overly quiet atmosphere, his sigh was particularly clear, and at the same time, another sound became particularly obvious.
It was the sound of footsteps approaching this place.
Tian Tao's face tensed and he looked in the direction where the sound came from.
You can't really blame him for being so nervous.
Ever since he lost the barrier of the dock wall, he had inevitably prepared himself for the possibility of life and death being at the mercy of others. Just like what Liang Zhongning had said outside the house before about cutting the grass at its roots, he also knew very well that no matter how much he cursed the other party's decision in his heart, he had no ability to resist.
He stared at the corridor of Puyang Prison, which was only dimly lit.
In the long and narrow corridor outside the prison, as the sound approached, an elongated shadow was illuminated by the candlelight.
He originally thought it was a prison guard, but when this figure officially appeared in front of the Tian family, he was shocked to find that this figure was too short.
He immediately realized that this was none other than Mr. "Yan Qiao" who had given Liang Zhongning advice!
Only she has such characteristics!
His guess was indeed correct.
When the other party stopped, the true identity of the person whose footsteps belonged to was revealed in front of him.
This was the first time he met the "great hero" who broke through the fort.
Although he already knew that she was only a child of about ten years old, when he actually saw her, he realized the shock he felt from her age.
The lantern in her hand illuminated the darkness in front of him and also illuminated half of her face.
Even though her young age was visibly visible at first glance, and she had a different demeanor from ordinary people, it could not change the fact that she looked too young, and did not look like someone who could compete with the leaders of various forces in Yanzhou.
Besides, what was she doing here?
Everyone could see that Liang Zhongning was fond of her, so it was only natural that she should be at the banquet where General Liang was showing off to the other two generals, instead of appearing in this prison.
He thought so in his heart, but did not say it out loud.
The other party’s unexpected visit was most likely not to take his life, but to have something to say to him.
In this case, how to start this conversation becomes the top priority.
But he was weighing the pros and cons here and wanted to wait for the other party to speak first, but there was a person in the cell who couldn't sit still.
Young Master Tian was naturally not like his father and uncle. He regarded Qiao Yan as no less important than Liang Zhongning, the leader of the Yellow Turbans. He just felt that the little boy seemed to have come to see their miserable plight!
He knew that he was not as glorious as he used to be, but the tyrannical nature in him still made him unable to tolerate the fact that he was laughed at by a little kid.
He immediately jumped up, grabbed the bars of the cell, and looked at Qiao Yan from a not-so-far distance.
At this glance, he met the other person's gaze, which was so dark that it made him feel a chill down his spine.
He relied on the boiling resentment in his heart to hold on without showing any fear, and asked loudly: "Since you followed a good teacher, why did you follow a thief?"
When the head of the Tian family heard this, he felt that he was in trouble!
The definition of "following a thief" is a heavy accusation for any capable person.
However, Qiao Yan's face did not show any emotion or embarrassment because of Tian Yan's question. He even showed a smile which was not clear but was visible to several people.
She replied calmly: "Why did you follow the enemy? For Yanzhou, for the Han Dynasty, and for--"
She paused, then uttered four words that no one present had expected to hear.
"Loyalty and filial piety are both important."
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