Chapter 012
But no matter what, this reason was so relatable to Liang Zhongning that it convinced him immediately.
However, if he paid attention to Dian Wei's expression at this time, he would find that there was a hint of speechlessness and choking in his slightly dark face.
As soon as Liang Zhongning left, he blurted out: "When did I ever say that I wanted my son to be your disciple?"
Qiao Yan glanced at him and said, "So do you want to be restricted everywhere when you go out, or even have Commander Qu be wary of you and put shackles on you?"
Dian Wei thought about the situation and chose to shut up.
Just as Qiao Yan said, with the reason she gave as a backup, although Dian Wei could be considered a "surrendered general", he could still move freely in Puyang City.
In the first few days, there were still people looking at him from time to time.
But in Qiao Yan's opinion, this kind of scrutiny was more like looking at an alien than being wary, and he even looked at him with 70% appreciation.
After she called one of them to inquire, her guess was confirmed.
The Yellow Turban soldier said, "Sir, please don't blame us for being rude. It was really that when this brave warrior was captured that day, it took a lot of effort from our leader, and even the combined strength of several people to suppress him. Later, when our commander competed with him in strength, it was even more..."
He couldn't say that the scene Liang Zhongning created was a bit funny. He just touched the back of his head and smiled innocently, and that was all he said.
"We want to see how this warrior has such bravery and how much food he eats in a day. If we can learn a thing or two from him, it will be of some use."
As if he was afraid that Qiao Yan might have some opinion about them, he added: "But a gentleman is still a gentleman after all. He can even recruit such a brave man under his command."
Nowadays, capable people can gain respect from others, not to mention that Qiao Yan can help Liang Zhongning to ensure that they have enough food to eat.
Even though she was a child, the person who was speaking did not look down on her.
Seeing Qiao Yan waving his hand to signal him to continue the patrol work at hand, he hurriedly ran to catch up with the previous team.
Of course, sending them away does not count. She guessed that Liang Zhongning still left some spies to monitor Dian Wei's actions.
However, Dian Wei's fellow villager was still in prison, well fed and well cared for. Liang Zhongning saw that he did not make any unusual moves during the day, so he felt relieved and withdrew his spies from following him.
But something went wrong as soon as he withdrew.
While listening to his soldiers describe the situation, he rushed to the scene with a gloomy face.
When he arrived, he saw Dian Wei holding the two halberds and blocking Qiao Yan's way, and opposite him, there were several corpses lying.
It would be fine if these were just people in Puyang City who were dissatisfied with his occupation of this place and wanted to attack the military advisor he recognized, but the person who died here was also a Yellow Turban, and a member of the Yellow Turban Army not under his command.
Those were all Bu Ji's men.
Not far from these corpses, stood a middle-aged man wearing armor and looking rough. His most iconic feature was undoubtedly the yellow cloth tied on his forehead.
The man stared tensely at Dian Wei's heavy halberd that seemed like it would stab him at any time, and held the sword in his hand tightly.
Seeing Liang Zhongning rushing over, his expression relaxed immediately, but then turned into a violent rage, "Liang Jing, you must give me an explanation!"
Liang Zhongning ignored his angry shout, but first gave Qiao Yan an apologetic look and said, "Sir, I'm sorry for the fright," and then turned to Bu Ji.
Liang Zhongning had already inquired about the situation on the way here, so he naturally knew that although Qiao Yan had been walking around more frequently and "just happened" to be in front of Bu Ji, in the final analysis -
This matter should still be blamed on Bu Ji, not on the gentleman.
Ever since he obtained the 600,000 hu of grain, the bacon, the smoked meat, and the stock of sauces from the Tian's Fortress, Bu Ji's eyes had never turned back from red.
The three parties received orders from the Great Sage to station troops in Dongjun. Once there was a change in the defense line of Bo Cai's troops in Changsha, they would need to reorganize their troops as soon as possible to fight against the imperial court's troops.
But when the troops were stationed in Dongjun, they only said that the three parties should help each other, but did not say that all the food should be shared.
Bu Ji doesn't think so.
He just felt that the man surnamed Liang was hiding something.
Earlier, the two of them had reached a reluctant agreement while toasting each other. Liang Zhongning agreed to give the other two a tenth of his earnings, which could be regarded as his support as the "host" for their troops stationed at the foot of Puyang City.
But Bu Ji, who was able to plunder villages first, turn people into refugees, and then force them to join his army to plunder cities and plunder land, can already see that—
He is not a man with a small appetite.
Moreover, he felt that the three of them were just leaders of a small Yellow Turban faction at the beginning, but now they had become different in the number of people they led, and they even felt a little inflated in their mentality.
In his opinion, the reason why Liang Zhongning was able to capture Puyang, the capital of Dongjun, first was because he had the advantage in the marching route.
But when it comes to ability, there is really nothing about him that Bu Ji finds worthy of admiration!
Especially after hearing that he actually relied on the guidance of a boy, Bu Ji felt that it was a waste to let this person occupy the food reserves that could last for two years.
Two days ago, when he continued to ask for food without success, he received a reply from Liang Zhongning, "There are countless forts around, why don't you do as you please, General Bu?"
Bu Ji was a reckless person and could not stand such provocation, so he immediately led his men to besiege one of the forts.
But you have to know that the amount of food stored in the fortress is closely related to the financial resources of the fortress owner and the amount of land purchased.
The Tian family - not to mention in Puyang, even in Dongjun, they can be regarded as one of the most powerful families.
As a result, the gains that Bu Ji obtained after breaking through the fort by brute force were much less than Liang Zhongning's 600,000 hu.
What people fear most is comparison.
Especially when there was no imperial army approaching Yanzhou, there was naturally a lack of external force that could force the three of them to work together.
While Bu Ji was checking his gains, he couldn't help but feel more critical of Liang Zhongning.
This resentment grew in his heart after he tried to attack another larger fort and was defeated just like Liang Zhongning had encountered before.
So when he saw Qiao Yan and Dian Wei parading in the streets, and even saw the little boy giving him a provocative smile, he immediately went crazy.
But who is Dian Wei?
Strength, one of the prerequisites for being a military commander, was undoubtedly displayed to an extreme degree in him.
He could even lift heavy objects like the Yamen Flag with one hand.
In the original historical trajectory, during the battle between Cao Cao and Lu Bu in Puyang during the Xingping period, Dian Wei responded to the call and broke the enemy's formation. He was heavily armed and held more than ten small halberds. When the enemy was within five steps, he remained calm and threw the halberds at the enemy, breaking the enemy's formation and allowing Cao Cao to retreat.
In the battle of Wancheng with Zhang Xiu, even though he died in battle, he also created a way for Cao Cao to escape.
This is a first-rate tiger general!
Bu Ji originally intended to teach Qiao Yan a lesson, to make an example of him and to give Liang Zhongning a warning, but he never expected that he would be dealing with such a tough guy.
Dian Wei had already been informed by Qiao Yan that he didn't need to worry about anything else and if anyone attacked, just kill them.
So the only people lying on the street were Bu Ji's soldiers.
If Qiao Yan hadn't shouted "Stop!", I'm afraid Bu Ji would be the one to be killed the next moment.
As he felt frightened, his anger grew.
This is why, when he saw Liang Zhongning coming, he guessed that the other party would not dare to delay the important matter of the Great Sage Master, and would not dare to watch him die here, so he immediately shouted angrily in an attempt to gain the upper hand in momentum.
Liang Zhongning was too lazy to give him any face at this time.
Listen to what excuses this person used when he was causing trouble for you, according to the reports from his subordinates!
He actually said that Yan Qiao's expression was very provocative!
How is this possible?
In Liang Zhongning's understanding, Qiao Yan came to help him solve his problems only because of the prophecies and astrology, and it was also a deal in exchange for his men to protect her when she returned to Gaomi.
He had never seen her mention the contribution she made in the battle to capture Tian's Fort to outsiders when she was in Puyang City.
Not to mention, just yesterday, Qiao Yan came to ask him if he had any extra manpower available because he had almost reached an agreement with Dian Wei and could escort her.
A person who is about to leave this place, whose teacher is a great talent of the time, is still under the influence of the Party and Faction Persecution and has been confined to the tiny place of Gaomi for more than ten years. It is hard to guarantee that he cannot be won over after the victory of the Yellow Turbans and become a benchmark for his own side to appeal to the people.
How could such a person possibly provoke a reckless man like Bu Ji for no reason!
Furthermore, the gentlemanly demeanor that Qiao Yan displayed since meeting Liang Zhongning had already left an overly deep-rooted impression on Liang Zhongning.
Although she is young, she is always calm and nonchalant, so the accusation of provocation is nonsense.
With this understanding, Liang Zhongning became more and more displeased with Bu Ji.
Thinking about the way Bu Ji addressed him, he couldn't help but wonder why Dian Wei didn't just chop this guy named Bu to death before he arrived.
He will then come and clean up the mess.
No…he couldn't think like that.
The number of people under Bu Ji's command is almost the same as his. If the new recruits are counted, there are almost twice as many as him.
Even though this person may not have such supporters among his subordinates, if any of these people start a riot to avenge him, it will not be easy to resolve.
If the Great Sage knew about this, he would be in big trouble.
Liang Zhongning thought of this and suppressed his unhappiness towards Bu Ji for provoking trouble. He said, "Why is General Bu so angry? General Tian Gong has ordered that once we enter the city, in addition to arresting the local corrupt officials, we are not allowed to use weapons in the city and disrupt people's livelihood. General Bu, are you going to disobey this order first?"
After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but feel proud.
These were the words that his teacher had taught him to use to deal with Bu Ji when he was trying to get Qiao Yan to stay yesterday and mentioned that he was in a bad situation and didn't have any extra trustworthy people to spare.
It is said that as long as he occupies this high point of public opinion, he will have the upper hand.
The second half of the sentence was his own elaboration: "Or is it that General Bu used force against you because the attack failed, and you want to snatch my men to assist you in your operation?"
Qiao Yan also didn't know whether Liang Zhongning had mastered some special skill of attracting hatred during the previous shouting and cursing outside the Tian's Fortress.
But maybe he really did have some contempt for Bu Ji from the bottom of his heart, and no matter how hard he tried to hide it, it would always reveal some clues in his tone.
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Yan saw Bu Ji's face turn red and then white, then white and then green, looking extremely ugly.
The failure in attacking the fort was undoubtedly a shame for him, not to mention the possibility of recruiting people to help!
This is too heartbreaking!
Bu Ji immediately shouted angrily: "Scholars are useless, let alone such a child. It's just luck. Only someone with your ability can treat the other party as a guest of honor. It's really a joke! Why did I kidnap her!"
"On the contrary, you protected this man and this strong man and attacked my soldiers. Are you trying to occupy the city and ignore the orders of General Tiangong..."
"General Qu, please be careful with your words." Qiao Yan interrupted him firmly.
Being described by Bu Ji as "useless" did not make her look angry.
Even though Bu Ji was angry with her because of Liang Zhongning, he had to admire her ability to cultivate her energy.
He couldn't help but doubt whether the provocative look he had seen earlier was just a mistake, or whether it was a misunderstanding caused by his narrow-minded thinking.
Qiao Yan continued, "General Liang attacked Puyang and successfully captured the city. After defeating the Tian family, he caused the powerful to feel insecure. These should be no different from General Zhang's plan. You have accused him of ignoring orders for no reason. You can be said to have found a pretext to accuse him of a crime!"
Bu Ji wanted to take the opportunity to ask for food, but was blocked by Qiao Yan's words "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime".
Before he could continue speaking, he saw a flash of anger between Qiao Yan's eyebrows, and he did not completely suppress it. When he spoke, his tone was even more hurried. "As for what Qu Shuai said about uselessness and luck, I dare not agree with it."
"If Commander Qu thinks this is a fluke, why not set a three-day deadline to see if it is a fluke!"
Bu Ji couldn't help but sneer when he heard this, "Why are you, little kid, going to use your old tricks again to lead others to dig a hole?"
He was very interested in how Liang Zhongning had breached the fortress, but those who followed him had gained benefits, so naturally they would not pay attention to Bu Ji's followers' words.
That is to say, the empty shell of the Tian's Fortress only provided him with some clues to observe.
The most obvious thing that Bu Ji saw when he led his troops was naturally the several potholes.
If we ignore the tricks of shouting, firing rockets and faking death to mislead everyone in Tian's Fortress, and only look at these holes, it is hard not to think that their victory was just luck.
But Qiao Yan had no intention of helping him clear up his confusion.
From informing Liang Zhongning that she intended to leave in a retreating manner, to wandering the streets of Puyang with Dian Wei, to the implicit provocation after meeting Bu Ji, it was all for the performance at this moment.
As if she was very angry at Bu Ji's words "using the same old tricks to lead people into a trap", her hands at her side clenched into fists and trembled slightly for a moment. After the strength was withdrawn, she slowly loosened her fists.
There was still a hint of anger on her face, but her tone had softened.
"General Qu is underestimating me. We can still win even without digging a trap. I just hope that when I return, General Qu will not feel embarrassed and refuse to attend the celebration banquet!"
Seeing that no matter how calm the boy was, he could not hide his rage, Bu Ji laughed out loud and said, "If we can really celebrate, why not go to the banquet? I will definitely bring Zhang Shuai to celebrate with you!"
"But if we can't win..." He left these four unfinished words and turned away.
After his figure disappeared from sight, Liang Zhongning approached Qiao Yan and asked carefully, "Sir, are you really going to take action again just to vent your anger?"
It is naturally a good thing for Qiao Yan that he does not leave for the time being.
But I have heard that most scholars are very proud. If the gentleman loses his calculation in anger because of the provocation of a fool like Bu Ji, wouldn't that be bad?
But he only heard Qiao Yan's reply after he withdrew his gaze: "Please lend me 500 men, General. I will bring back the results of the battle before sunset tomorrow."
"…You really want to go?"
Qiao Yan's eyes were stern. "Go! Why not? This person insulted me, which means he looked down on me, Master Zheng of Gaomi. If I don't show some results, wouldn't it bring shame to Master Zheng?"
As if she realized that her emotions were a little out of control, she calmed down and said, "Qu Shuai doesn't have to go. It's enough for me to give him some men."
She was thinking that after this matter was over, she would have to go to Beihai to make a formal apology to Zheng Xuan, the tool she used to play a trick on him. But this did not prevent her from continuing to use this excuse to pry open the process without any guilt for lying.
Liang Zhongning naturally couldn't tell any falsehood in these words.
Since she said so, he really didn't have anything else to say except to fulfill her wish.
But Qiao Yan's performance did not seem like he was forced to attack.
As soon as she led her men out of Puyang City, they headed straight for Gao's Fortress, without any hesitation at all.
It was she who had obtained information from Tian Tao and even had a part of the map of Gao's Fortress in her hands.
This is a battle that cannot be lost.
Bu Ji tried to repeat Liang Zhongning's victory by attacking this large fortress, but ended in failure. Gao's spies outside had already passed on the news.
This undoubtedly made them feel that the Yellow Turban Army's combat effectiveness was just so-so.
As for why the Tian family fort was breached, it was ultimately because they lacked the ability.
But as soon as they slacked off in defense, they were faced with their opponent Qiao Yan.
Not only does she have the advantage of knowing both herself and her enemy, she also has an assistant with incredible physical strength like Dian Wei.
Before they left Puyang City, she made sure Dian Wei and the 500 soldiers he brought with him had a full meal, and also brought enough dry food.
This undoubtedly improved their mental outlook a little.
So when Bu Ji was about to leave the camp at dusk the next day, he saw Qiao Yan leading a group of people dragging dozens of carts loaded with grain, heading towards Puyang City.
This was obviously not food smuggled out of the city to keep up appearances.
The people tied with ropes and forced to walk behind the grain carts still had fresh signs of having participated in the battle, clearly having been defeated not long ago.
Those were unfamiliar faces.
Qiao Yan sat upright in the carriage, with Dian Wei still guarding the front, making Bu Ji dare not move.
What made it even more difficult for her to just rob the food and leave was Liang Zhongning, who had heard the news and had come out of the city to greet her, and the soldiers following him.
Under the protection of these two parties, Bu Ji only felt that the smile on the other party's face was extremely dazzling.
The muscles on his cheeks trembled for a moment, and when he spoke, he could not hide his unwillingness no matter what, "Sir, you are very capable. I wonder how much you will gain from this?"
Qiao Yan replied politely, "Of course it's not as much as last time. It's only 400,000 bushels. It's not even corn, just ordinary corn."
“…”
If Bu Ji knew the word Versailles, he would have attributed it to Qiao Yan.
He struggled to suppress his urge to curse, took a deep breath and said, "Then I will just wait for the celebration banquet."
Qiao Yan glanced around calmly.
When the words "four hundred thousand hu" came out, not only Bu Ji looked at her, but also the soldiers in his camp who were living frugally.
Of course, these soldiers were not just looking at her, they were also looking at the series of carriages that were carrying a lot of weight, with covetous looks in their eyes.
She intentionally came here just for this effect!
Seeing these reactions, Qiao Yan thought to himself, "As expected," and then replied, "General Qu, when you talk about a celebration banquet, you are underestimating my generosity. What General Liang got from Tian's fortress was enough for his troops to eat for two years. If he takes all the extra for himself, wouldn't he be a selfish person?"
Liang Zhongning was dumbfounded when he heard such a compliment right after he arrived. But then he noticed that there was clearly a bit more kindness in the eyes that his people cast towards him.
Receiving such a look, and realizing that he was indeed not as smart as Qiao Yan, he simply remained silent and let the gentleman continue speaking.
Hearing Qiao Yan's words suddenly, even Bu Ji was stunned, "This..."
He originally thought that the other party was here to show off, but the truth made him a little confused.
She followed up with the unexpected words and said, "It's just that this fort was breached by the people under General Liang's command. These soldiers almost died when they breached the fort. I can't just give you the things for free. Now I have a way to have the best of both worlds. I wonder if General Qu is willing to listen."
"You tell me first."
Bu Ji didn't know what Qiao Yan was up to, and he couldn't help feeling a little worried.
But when he looked away, he happened to see Liang Zhongning's face was a little more tangled, and he immediately realized -
This may indeed be good news for him.
But how could he know that Liang Zhongning's behavior was not because he was worried about damage to his interests.
He was actually just worried that if Qiao Yan intended to make peace between the two sides, he would not even be able to use the excuse that "he had no extra manpower to confront Bu Ji."
His military advisor was about to fly away, how could he not feel depressed?
In such a bad mood, he almost missed what Qiao Yan said next. Fortunately, he realized that he shouldn't be in a daze at this time and perked up a little.
Then Qiao Yan said, "If Commander Qu is willing, I will coordinate with your troops and we will attack like we did before to break through the Tian and Gao forts. After the victory, the profits will belong to you, but you need to give 10% to Commander Liang. Is that okay?"
Can I?
Her unhurried tone, coupled with the grain carts behind her, created an extremely astonishing persuasiveness.
She really had the upper hand in this matter.
Almost in an instant, the soldiers of Bu Ji's army, who had been eyeing the grain carts covetously, had already focused their attention on their leader.
This is feasible!
Look at the soldiers behind Qiao Yan. Five hundred people went out, and there were only a few less when they came back.
If it weren't for Bu Ji's position in the Yellow Turban Army, they would have forced Qiao Yan to agree by pressing his head as soon as he finished speaking!
Bu Ji felt a chill down his spine when he was stared at.
He struggled for a long time between "there might be fraud" and "this deal is indeed worthwhile", and heard Qiao Yan's conclusion: "So tonight's Puyang Midnight Meeting is not for celebration, but for an alliance. If General Qu is willing, he can come with General Zhang."
After she said this, she smiled gently at Bu Ji's soldiers, and then urged Dian Wei to drive the carriage towards the city.
This move of not taking into account past grudges and instead making concessions undoubtedly won the favor of the surrounding Yellow Turban soldiers.
Liang Zhongning wanted to ask whether she would leave after this transaction, or whether this transaction was suspected of being a fraud, but every time he opened his mouth, she would block him with a sentence "We'll know the outcome tonight", and in the end he could only shut up.
But for some reason, he had a premonition that something big was going to happen tonight.
This premonition reached its peak when Qiao Yan held the map, spread it out in the hall, and motioned Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, who were at the banquet, to come forward and watch.
Liang Zhongning had seen the map marking the distribution of forts around Puyang City before. It was drawn by Qiao Yan a few days ago, and there were many notes in tiny handwriting on it.
Seeing Qiao Yan act so serious, Bu Ji and Zhang Bo subconsciously moved forward with candles in hand.
In the face of absolute interests, people will always ignore some things.
Neither of them noticed that, during this action, both of them unconsciously escaped from the protection of their own troops.
After all, this slowly unfolding map is not a map, but the basis for whether they can have enough food to eat next.
But just as the map was fully unfolded, two splashes of blood splashed on the parchment.
then--
When Dian Wei dropped his short spear, two human heads rolled onto the map.
The heads of Bu Ji and Zhang Bo.
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