Chapter 015
Yes, Changshe...
It was not until we were on the road to Yingchuan and had been driving for half a day that the system suddenly spoke, as if it had come back to life: "Wait! Did you have such a dangerous idea from the beginning?"
As Cheng Li said, Qiao Yan won over the Tian family to serve him, killed Bu Ji and Zhang Bo, the two Yellow Turban leaders, and continued to rise in status under Liang Zhongning. At the same time, he sent Dian Wei to Dong'e to deliver a letter to attract Cheng Li to Puyang for help.
The ultimate goal is Changsha!
Although the territory of Yanzhou fell into peace with the unification of the three Yellow Turban factions, in the territory of Yuzhou south of Yanzhou, the fighting between the Han army and the Yellow Turbans had reached a fever pitch.
Changsha is not peaceful.
In March of the seventh year of Guanghe, Right General Zhu Jun was defeated by Bo Cai.
General Huangfu Song of the Left led his troops and was forced to defend Changsha with Zhu Jun.
Outside the Changsha County, the Yellow Turbans of the Bocai tribe surrounded the city.
To be precise, Changsha was not the only place where fighting took place in Yuzhou. But the similarity is that the Yellow Turbans are the ones who have the upper hand, for example -
In early April, the Yellow Turbans of Runan defeated the prefect Zhao Qian in Shaoling.
Three days later, the Yellow Turban Army continued to close the encirclement and completely surrounded the Han army in Changsha City, as if to show their determination to completely suppress the Han army along the way.
So, on the second day after Cheng Li arrived in Puyang, Qiao Yan found Liang Zhongning.
He originally thought that Cheng Li, who came with Dian Wei, was also a disciple of Zheng Xuan as Qiao Yan claimed, and that they came here just to take his military advisor with them. However, Qiao Yan said that his teacher's instructions to him were that if there were no signs of unrest in Yanzhou, it would be better to see whether the Yellow Turbans really had the ability to overthrow the world and support the world.
"Master Zheng observed the stars at night and saw Mars dim half a month ago. There was a strange phenomenon in the sky. This is a sign that the fire virtue of the Han Dynasty is not flourishing. Only the stars of Di and Fang are bright, dividing the land of Yan and Yu."
After hearing what Qiao Yan said, Liang Zhongning showed a confused expression.
The study of astrology and divination was popular in the late Han Dynasty, but for someone like him who had few opportunities to study before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the threshold was obviously a bit high.
But he still understood some things.
At this time, Yinghuo did not have the name of Mars. People called it Huode Xingjun in the folks. Since Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was the son of the Red Emperor and started an uprising by killing a white snake, the Han Dynasty was the representative of Huode.
Mars is dim and the fire virtue is not prosperous, which is undoubtedly good news for the Yellow Turbans.
And the "Di and Fang stars are bright", which corresponds to the geographical areas of Yanzhou and Yuzhou, seems to be good news as well?
Then Qiao Yan was heard saying, "Zheng's army in Gaomi could not see the changes in the stars clearly, so they sent me and Zhongde to Yingchuan to observe. Perhaps it happened in the battle between General Bo Caiqu and General Huangfu. This matter is of great importance. Please forgive me for not staying in Puyang any longer. I will take my leave now."
After she finished speaking, she bowed to Liang Zhongning and was about to turn around and leave.
Liang Zhongning felt dizzy when he heard about the astrology, but he didn't feel dizzy when he heard this sentence.
He slapped his thigh and decided on his next move: "Sir, why do you have to go alone? The Yellow Turbans of Yuzhou and the Han army are in a stalemate. It is most appropriate for me, a Yellow Turban of Yanzhou, to go and support them."
Liang Zhongning also had some little thoughts.
Qiao Yan said that the changes in the stars should be in Yanyu. He had been flattered a lot by the Tian and Xue families in recent days, and he couldn't help but feel that he was really a natural commander. Otherwise, he would not be able to make his soldiers obey him.
And this Yanyu Yanyu, with Yanzhou in front, it is possible that this is a sign that he will shine in the Battle of Yingchuan.
Besides, wouldn't it be much safer to follow Qiao Yan instead of taking people directly to Yingchuan?
Then what is there to hesitate about!
When he inspected the military camp two days ago, he heard the soldiers, who had eaten their fill, asking when they would have a chance to fight.
Previously, Liang Zhongning had to deal with it vaguely, after all, he had no war to fight.
Who made Zhang Jue busy fighting Lu Zhi? The Bo Cai tribe, which was closest to him, was also in the upper hand, and it was obvious that they did not want to share the credit with him.
But it is different now. He can use polite words like observing the stars at night to explain his "unauthorized" dispatch of troops.
This couldn't be better!
He immediately gathered the men and brought enough military rations. Ten days after Qiao Yan mentioned to him the idea of going to the Changsha front, he led the army to officially set out, except for the garrison left behind in Puyang.
The system was once again stunned by this change.
The skill points that Qiao Yan gained when she assisted Liang Zhongning in getting rid of Bu Ji and Zhang Bo were added to the skill of [Elocution] long before Cheng Li arrived in Puyang.
This improvement in skills is indeed difficult to judge in a quantitative way.
But the system saw that she spoke the theory of astrology fluently without any thought, and it realized a fact more and more clearly.
This skill, which is absolutely useful for a strategist, is a terrifying thing for someone like Qiao Yan who uses his brain.
From the system's perspective, this series of arrangements was by no means a post-empty plan, but was clearly something she had already considered when she approached Liang Zhongning.
Now this mixed Yellow Turban army, carrying abundant military rations from Yanzhou to Yingchuan, is definitely not going to assist Bo Cai in breaking through Changsha where the Han army is stationed. On the contrary...
The system feels that it may be necessary to light a candle for the Yellow Turbans.
It was out of this thought that it asked the question:
"Have you been harboring such dangerous thoughts from the beginning?"
"If I say no, will you believe it?" Qiao Yan asked back.
Don't believe it.
The system replied silently.
It glanced at its host as it thought about it.
While waiting for Cheng Li to arrive in Puyang and Liang Zhongning's mentality to become increasingly unbalanced under the flattery of the two powerful men, Qiao Yan actually had some free time and tried to learn how to ride a horse.
It's a pity that this skill can't be learned overnight, and the skill points she has obtained can't be wasted on it for the time being.
So she was still sitting in a separate carriage, marching with the troops.
Cheng Li, on the other hand, met the Han Dynasty's requirements for the "Six Arts of a Gentleman" and was riding his horse beside the carriage at this time.
Qiao Yan lifted the car curtain and glanced at the other person, then looked away, refusing to admit that he had any resentment towards himself as a child with short legs.
But compared to Qiao Yan's insignificant dissatisfaction with the status quo, the system's resentment was much deeper.
From Qiao Yan's overly calm expression, it belatedly realized that it seemed to have been slapped in the face twice.
As a system with a good memory, it remembered very clearly that when it chose an identity for the host, it was because it wanted her to be able to directly rely on Cao Cao and Huangfu Song.
But now Huangfu Song and others are still trapped in Changsha, but she has already headed straight to Changsha with the Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou who respect her as their military advisor.
The scene of one being inside the city and the other outside the city at that time would be a bit subtle no matter how you think about it.
The second thing was that when Qiao Yan mentioned that the Han army would sweep Yanzhou in June, and she needed to find a chance to survive before June, the system suggested that she go to a city in Yanzhou that had successfully fought against the Yellow Turbans, such as Dong'a.
But now, Dong'a's think tank has come to her side.
Although it cannot be said that they had surrendered, they were still persuaded by Qiao Yan's words of "pacifying the Yellow Turbans in an entire state", which resulted in a situation in which the system saw two high-level counselors joining forces.
The powerful Xue family in Dong'a also contributed a lot of manpower to this trip.
It seems to be in line with the system's original suggestion -
Even the word "completely different" is not enough to describe the difference!
These are two completely different things!
The system couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
How did it initially treat Qiao Yan as a poor little guy who had to endure humiliation and surrender to the enemy in order to survive?
It has only been a month since she woke up from the pile of corpses, but she not only looks radiant as if she had a full meal, but she has also transformed from a person who had never experienced the war to the military commander who commands with confidence.
Liang Zhongning returned a little bit proud, but his respect for Qiao Yan remained the same.
On the way to Changsha, he respectfully asked Qiao Yan to give him a few more advice.
However, what made the system a little strange was that Qiao Yan's advice to Liang Zhongning was not perfunctory.
For example, today, her guiding topic is about the arrangement of toilets in a camp of more than 10,000 people, based on the relevant records in "Collection of Li Weigong's Art of War" and "Records of the Three Kingdoms" compiled by Wang Zongyi.
What is a toilet? That was the toilet in the military camp.
This is not a trivial subject.
During a march of tens of thousands of people, the layout of toilets was particularly important. After all, if not handled properly, it could very likely cause an epidemic, leading to extremely serious consequences.
Liang Zhongning carefully wrote down what Qiao Yan said, as if he had found a treasure. As soon as he got off the carriage, he went to discuss how to improve it with the person in charge of logistics in the Yellow Turban Army.
Cheng Li looked at the other party's performance and exchanged a look with Qiao Yan that showed they knew each other well.
"Mr. Zhongde and the Xue family's young men have a life-and-death friendship in defending Dong'a together. You should also know where these people are in the army."
After Cheng Li received her eye signal to move closer to the frame, Qiao Yan asked in a low voice.
Previously in Puyang, Qiao Yan was not able to have too much contact with these people, but the situation is different now.
During the march, given the Yellow Turban Army's combat readiness, no matter how orderly they marched, there was bound to be some confusion.
This was also a good time for her to gather people together and have a chat.
Hearing her ask this, Cheng Li nodded and replied: "I will gather everyone tonight."
She also gave the same arrangement to Dian Wei, and gathered people from the Tian family.
Liang Zhongning had just gotten an important job that he felt would help improve his ability to march and deploy troops. How could he have the extra energy to pay attention to this military advisor who "always thought of him" and actually gathered some people in the team in the wild in the middle of the night to hold a mobilization meeting.
The term "mobilization meeting" was a name secretly given by the counselor system itself.
After all, in its opinion, if Qiao Yan just wanted to assign tasks to the undercover agents in the Yellow Turban Army, there was no need for him to sneak out of the army himself.
She could have let Cheng Li act as her mouthpiece and pass on the instructions.
With Cheng Li's intelligence, there would never be any misunderstanding. Not to mention that he was not only smart, but also decisive and resolute in character, which determined that after he confirmed to fight alongside Qiao Yan, he would implement everything thoroughly.
But Qiao Yan explained to the system that there were some things that Cheng Li would never think of saying based on his previous resume.
These words were necessary to make the Tian and Xue clans, who were originally powerful families in Yanzhou, willing to die for her plan.
Qiao Yan stood in front of these people, and then paced back and forth in front of them.
She also saw several familiar faces among these people.
For example, Tian Yan, the eldest son of the Tian family——
She originally thought that Tian Tao, the head of the family, would never let his son take risks, but she didn't expect that he would also appear here.
But his expression at this moment was completely different from the look on his face when they met in the dungeon that day, when he wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.
Over the past few days, both Tian Yan and other people here have witnessed her ability to act in the Yellow Turban Army.
Even if she didn't find a rock to stand on to make up for the height difference, it didn't prevent them from feeling that the ten-year-old child in front of them had an aura that was as powerful as a mountain.
When she stopped and stood in front as if she had something to say, they almost subconsciously held their breath, just wanting to hear what she was going to say.
Qiao Yan spoke slowly.
"I have called you all here today because I only have a few words to say. It is up to you whether you listen or not."
Her tone was calm, but there seemed to be a thunderous change hidden in her words.
Her next words undoubtedly confirmed this intuition.
"When I was young, I followed my parents to read poetry and military books. Seeing the vastness of the world, I had great ambitions. I wanted to fight against the enemy and make meritorious deeds for the country when I grew up. After many years, I wrote on the tomb, "Tomb of the Former General Qiao Hou of the Han Dynasty."
"Now there is no chance to fight a decisive battle at the border, kill the great Xianbei and Western Qiang enemies, and gain merit and be awarded a title. However, the Yellow Turban bandits are rising up everywhere, and the Han Dynasty's ancestral temple is in turmoil. If we can defeat the Yellow Turbans and pacify Yan and Yu, we may be able to realize our vision of the past!"
She glanced at everyone's face and spoke word by word:
"So do I, and so do you."
"You were born in a powerful family, so you should know that people with different surnames cannot be crowned kings in the Han Dynasty, but you can earn a title of marquis of a pavilion or county, and leave your mark in history, rather than just being left in the words of fear among your fellow villagers."
Under the stars and the moon, there seemed to be a kind of bewitching look in her eyes that made one's blood boil.
But or maybe, she just grasped the ambition of these powerful people who were unwilling to be just powerful people, and at this moment she grabbed it and ignited it.
"Qiao Yan is not talented, but I dare to ask you to listen to my instructions and strive to leave a name in history!"
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