Chapter 107
Liang Shuai?
Liang Zhongning smiled bitterly and replied, "There is no such thing as General Liang in this world. I'm afraid the title of Marquis Qiao is wrong."
The Yellow Turban leader of that year had completely become a thing of the past with the defeat of Guangzong Quzhou. Even if there were sporadic remnants of the Yellow Turbans rising up in various places, it would be impossible for Liang Zhongning to exist as a leader anymore.
On the contrary, this Qiao Hou in front of him——
He originally thought that the other party's surprise attack on Xiu Tugehu from the Guyang Pass was the limit of what she could do with her status as Marquis of Leping. However, he did not expect that she could rise further and now became the number one ruler in Bingzhou.
To be honest, his greeting to Qiao Yan at that time was more or less because he thought Qiao Yan would be punished for this, and he could be regarded as putting his own life and death aside for the sake of border security.
However, judging from the current situation, she was not only unscathed, but also completely broke the gender and age shackles on her position as governor.
That makes sense.
Didn't she take the same risk back then? Clearly, he had the idea of suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but he appeared before him openly, and even claimed to be Zheng Xuan's disciple. After various calculations, he even became a military strategist whom he relied on.
Liang Zhongning couldn't help but sigh.
Every successful person in this world has his or her own means, especially the one in front of you, who is the best among them. But some people temporarily gain authority beyond their ability, and they should return to their original positions, like him.
He didn't know why Qiao Yan had called him here at this time, he only heard her reply: "I'm just reminding you that being a commander of a region has its own strengths. Even if you can't be a commander of a region anymore, being a centurion or a captain is still feasible."
What she said sounded a little strange, but Liang Zhongning felt that he had not been able to see through her intentions back then, and it was even more impossible now.
She was now sitting at the top, and the aura of a superior in her expression only reminded him of the time when she decisively ordered Dian Wei to kill Bu Ji and Zhang Bo. It also made it seem as if the military advisor back then was just an illusion he had for a time.
She continued, "Or maybe you think I'm bored and want to reminisce about the past, so I want to treat you to a meal, how about that?"
The invitation was initiated by the ruler of Bingzhou, and Liang Zhongning, as a member of the garrison transferred from the Du Liao General's camp to Guangluxai, naturally had no room for refusal.
What Liang Zhongning didn't expect was that this meal was a little special.
She hosted the dinner in the courtyard, and the food served was very simple, just a large piece of husk meat that had just been taken out of the white grass wrapping, two large marrow cakes, a plate of river shrimp paste, and two pots of wine.
Liang Zhongning's memory was not that bad. It was clear that after Qiao Yan assisted him in defeating the Tian family, they looted the food stored in the fortress and had a "sumptuous" meal.
It was naturally rich for those who had not tasted meat for a long time, but it was a bit too simple for the Bingzhou governor to entertain his guests.
It was not difficult for him to see that Qiao Yan's action, just like her calling him "General Liang" at the beginning, was clearly meant to imply something.
He took the half of the flesh handed over by Qiao Yan and asked hesitantly, "What is the purpose of Lord Qiao's action?"
"It's just recreating the scene of that day, but there is one thing that is different from that time." Qiao Yan replied with a smile.
Liang Zhongning originally thought she was going to say that the master and servant were swapped, but she pointed at Dian Wei and said, "He is not tied up."
"...Marquis Qiao is joking." Liang Zhongning was stunned for a moment before continuing the conversation.
This, this is indeed a difference.
But this seems to sound like a bad joke.
Because of this joke, he relaxed a little and subconsciously put the pork into his mouth. Before he ate it, he suddenly realized that the quality of the pork in the pork was much better than usual.
I heard that Qiao Yan put a lot of effort into improving the taste of pork during the two years he was confined in Leping, and this thing in front of him is obviously one of the results.
The marrow cake was freshly baked and tasted much better than what he remembered.
He was guarding the border, and although he did not lack food and drink, it was not delicious either. This meal whetted his appetite.
Now that he was here, he was too lazy to continue thinking, so he simply drank half a pot of wine beside him in one gulp.
Qiao Yan slowly played with the marrow cake in his hand until he had drunk half of the wine before he said, "This is the first game I won, so I naturally remember it clearly."
Liang Zhongning paused.
She was talking about the first game she won, not the first game she assisted Liang Zhongning in winning.
But if you really look into it, what she said is not wrong.
He wiped the wine stains off his face and said, "Yes, this is Qiao Hou's first victory."
Qiao Yan continued, "Only the winner can drink wine, eat meat and get enough food. This is the truth of the world today."
It was so then, and it is so now.
"Back then, General Liang thought he was the winner, so he invited me to be your military advisor to help you avoid the bloody disaster, or to win the next game. Now that I am the winner, I wonder if I can invite you to become my subordinate and follow me to continue winning."
Liang Zhongning guessed that Qiao Yan might have some instructions for him, but he didn't expect that he would be won over in such a straightforward way.
He hesitated for a moment and replied, "I am now under the command of General Du Liao."
Qiao Yan was in charge of the battle in Bingzhou, but he could not arbitrarily take General Du Liao's troops over to his own hands, otherwise it would be a mess.
But when he said this, Qiao Yan just shook his head and said, "You don't have to worry about this. I just need to use someone. General Han will give me this face."
Liang Zhongning asked again: "But I used to be a member of the Yellow Turbans. Does Lord Qiao really trust me?"
This is the more critical issue.
But when hearing this question, Qiao Yan replied without hesitation: "You should still remember how you became the leader of the united team after Bu Ji and Zhang Bo died, and made their former subordinates follow you. The second truth of this world is that as long as people can have enough food, there is nothing that cannot be turned to, even if they were enemies in the past. And I can feed the people of Bingzhou, isn't that enough?"
Qiao Yan knew very well that it was meaningless to talk about getting promoted, getting rich, and realizing personal ambitions after joining the army with a man like Liang Zhongning who had not received much education and had only become calmer because of his many experiences.
The most straightforward statements are often the most effective.
He was able to become a leader of the rebel army in the past because the people had no way to survive, and now he can become Qiao Yan's subordinate because of her words "I can let the people of Bingzhou have enough food to eat."
However, he is somewhat different from Chu Yan, Zhang Niu Jiao and others.
He stuffed the small piece of meat in his hand into his mouth. As he swallowed and chewed it a little slowly, it was not difficult to tell from his somewhat empty eyes that he was struggling to think.
Respecting what Qiao Yan did and becoming his subordinate are two completely different things.
But just as Qiao Yan said, the world is governed by such rules. If she could really ensure that people were well fed and able to survive, why would he bother holding on to these past events?
Even though he had once been among the Yellow Turban captives, he had witnessed with his own eyes the destruction of Zhang Jue's deified image.
After swallowing the last bite, he asked, "What does Qiao Hou need me to do?"
Qiao Yan was obviously not surprised by his decision, and replied, "Take care of some things for me first."
Of course, before that, he had to take her handwritten letter written as the governor of Bingzhou back to General Du Liao's camp and present it to Han Fu. Then, despite the other party's gaze that seemed to want to see if he had any special abilities, he received approval for the transfer and returned to Taiyuan County.
At this point, he probably couldn't find any excuses for himself, saying that he made this choice because he was drunk from the meal that Lord Qiao had invited him to.
He was now clear-headed enough to look at the provincial capital gate in front of him, and then took a step forward.
It is hard to say whether Qiao Yan still had some feelings of the Yellow Turban leader in his mind when he called him "General Liang" earlier, but at this moment, he could not and indeed would not have such feelings.
Qiao Yan was so perceptive, how could he not notice this change in Liang Zhongning.
She obviously enjoyed it.
Since he joined the army, the manpower under the jurisdiction of the provincial government has become almost stable this winter.
It cannot be said that it was entirely because of the agricultural book, but the agricultural book that was exchanged did play a catalytic role. In short, Qiao Yan had already made a decision at this time -
Let’s fight the Xianbei in early spring!
Make some money first! At the same time, Fengxiao also used this victory to begin planning his strategy of dividing the Huns.
But--
"There's still most of winter left..." Qiao Yan sighed as he looked out the window at the cold winter sky.
It’s really long.
How much can you do in one winter?
For the common people of Bingzhou who ploughed in spring and harvested in autumn, it was impossible for them to spend the winter as "firewood from the stream is soft, felt is warm, and my cat and I don't go out".
Staying at home in the winter is a good time to do house repairs and weaving and clothing making work. However, in the current situation of the last years of the Han Dynasty, this is already considered a comfortable state.
Nowadays, many people have no land, and the ordinary people who are registered under the names of rich landlords become laborers who are ordered by their masters to do work such as road construction and dock building in winter.
And from what Qiao Yan had seen when he rode through the various counties of Bingzhou, and because of the custom in Bingzhou, many towns and villages were taking advantage of the winter break to practice weapons and archery in order to be prepared for any emergency.
The latter was a good thing for her, but the former——
This dependent relationship could not be changed drastically when she first became the governor of Bingzhou, just as the Leping Hou paper, which had already formed a production chain in Leping, could not be promoted so quickly, and movable type printing could not be invented at this time. However, this did not prevent her from making several task decisions that must be accomplished before the arrival of spring after inspecting the winter scenery in Bingzhou.
One of them is the renovation of the river channel during the dry season.
She recruited laborers from Bingzhou in the name of the state capital to accomplish this task.
After Qin Yu, Jia Xu and others went to various counties to inspect and register the grain stored in the government warehouses, Qiao Yan could be sure that only renovating the waterways around the better-equipped farmlands in Taiyuan and Shangdang counties would not cause excessive expenditure burden.
In addition to the original keel tipping cart, she also gave the drawings of the barrel cart recorded in the agricultural book to the craftsmen for production, to be installed in specific locations, to ensure that there would be no mistakes in watering the fields next year.
The second is the expansion of enrollment at Leping Academy.
It sounds like this time the enrollment has expanded from Leping to the whole of Bingzhou as the area under her control has expanded, so it should be considered to be aimed at all parts of Bingzhou.
But in fact, those who could send their children here to study in Leping Academy presided over by Cai Yong, a scholar, either had spare money or spare food, while the children from poor families, whom Qiao Yan wanted to see the most, would never have such luxurious treatment, at least until they had enough food to eat at home.
The state government cannot afford to make their education mandatory, or to allow the top students to receive rewards to subsidize their family expenses.
So this is more like a targeted enrollment of wealthy families in Bingzhou.
Qiao Yan was not surprised by this situation. She even mentioned when discussing this matter with Xi Zhicai whether this could be considered another form of hostage delivery.
"Leping is surrounded by mountains and has natural shelter. It is relatively easy to build a defense line on the mountains. This place will be the future cultural core area." Qiao Yan pointed on the map and said.
The capital of Bingzhou must still be in Jinyang, Taiyuan County. This is the inevitable result of the governor's power radiating throughout the territory. But whether out of nostalgia or other considerations, Qiao Yan did not give up the idea of Leping itself.
Then setting up the cultural center in Leping, the safest place and the place she has the most control over, to attract more people to study in the future, undoubtedly became her first choice.
With Cai Yong's reputation, the help of the Hedong Wei family who had previously promised to lend her two instructors, and the importance that she, the governor of Bingzhou, attached to Leping Academy, the idea of just giving it a try was enough to convince the noble families in Bingzhou to send some people.
“If anyone in the state has any reckless thoughts, the people under Lord Qiao’s control will not be easily sent back, which is also a backup guarantee.” Xi Zhicai couldn’t help but clap his hands and laugh when he said this, and he was also thinking in his heart, wondering if this place would be different in a few years.
The various categories she had previously defined would inevitably undergo some changes with this expansion, and there was no way this place could compete with Yingchuan, which had a strong foundation in aristocratic families, for the reputation of producing many extraordinary people. But at least, in another two years, if this place can still remain safe, it will likely have a natural attraction for students from Liangzhou, Sili and Jizhou.
Xi Zhicai obviously does not hesitate to make the worst guess about the current situation.
Qiao Yan said to him, "Since Mr. Zhongde needs to take care of the state affairs, Fengxiao is in charge of the border affairs. I want to entrust this key position to you. Leping is my fiefdom, so I must ensure that there are no worries. What do you think?"
Although she did not say that this responsibility must be given to a confidant, it was not difficult for Xi Zhicai to hear this meaning.
For no reason, he thought of the scene he had seen before he revealed his identity. The Marquis of Leping was sitting on the roof and issued the order for the action.
That action at that time showed that everything was under control, and today Leping still needs a controlling hand.
But as she walked towards Leping, she was carefully handing Leping into his hands.
This is a heart-warming commission for anyone who has talent and ambition to realize his or her dreams.
Xi Zhicai bowed and replied, "I will definitely live up to the trust of Lord Qiao."
He will also carefully screen the admission list of Leping Academy.
After all, we can't just let Cai Yong do this.
Qiao Yan’s only hope at the moment is to quickly “trick” Cai Zhenji into coming to Leping. Because she was able to teach Yang Huiyu, the virtuous queen of the Western Jin Dynasty, and Yang Hu, the founder of the conquest of Wu, Qiao Yan's expectations for Cai Zhenji were no less than those for Qin Yu.
But when it comes to selecting students, Lu Yuan and Xi Zhicai must play a round of combination cards.
After this matter was handed down, it became the first priority of this winter, preparation for farming.
Part of what can be done this winter is for Jia Shu to calculate how much top dressing fertilizer is needed in advance, collect the materials, and prepare the fermentation tanks that have been excavated in advance.
The other part was to use the salt and iron monopoly held by the governor to concentrate on producing a batch of agricultural tools needed in the spring.
Without affecting the military's weapons and armaments.
It is the rakes that are particularly in need of expanded production.
At this time, the rake used to break up the hard clods of earth in the fields was not a nine-toothed rake. This could indeed be done when relying on manual labor, but with the emergence of the curved plow, some oxen were freed. In order to improve efficiency, the rake pulled by oxen was also called an iron-toothed rake. It looked a bit like a wooden frame with iron teeth on the long sides.
The people who were assigned by Qiao Yan to be responsible for this part were Liang Zhongning and Zhang Niujiao.
Qiao Yan would never admit it. She made this decision because she thought that putting these two people together might give them a lot of common topics.
Anyway, it is still a winter truce, so instead of asking her for permission to go fight the Huns, Zhang Niujiao might as well become a small leader to supervise production.
"I suspect that Lord Qiao is seeking revenge for personal gain." Zhang Niujiao fiddled with the rake frame sample in his hand and complained to Liang Zhongning.
It makes sense that this was a personal vendetta, since the test paper that he had failed ended up in front of Qiao Yan.
Thinking of this, he looked again at the Yellow Turban leader who was said to have been badly betrayed by Marquis Qiao, and actually felt that he had found some psychological comfort.
Liang Zhongning was quite calm at this moment. He guessed that Qiao Yan sent him here not to guard against him and reduce his chances of contacting the border defense team at this time, but actually to show him his attitude.
Starting with farm tools, we should first ensure that the people of Bingzhou have enough food to eat. This is the practical step mentioned by Marquis Qiao.
Only when he has a real and practical understanding of her, can his previous resentment be completely eliminated, and they can get along with each other as superiors and subordinates without any barriers or grudges.
He calmly put the sample back on the cart, motioned Zhang Niujiao to go with him to do an experiment with the oxen, and replied: "If Lord Qiao really wants to take revenge, I can assign you another task. You have seen the formulas for two topdressing fertilizers from Jia Jili, wouldn't it be better for you to collect them?"
In addition to the gypsum that Jamu was responsible for supervising the mining, the former also required cow dung and the latter required human urine. That is why it is necessary to use indigenous cement to make this fermentation tank.
Compared with the raw bone meal fertilizer that was also being tested on the fields of the Guo family in Yangqu, these two were much more troublesome and difficult to endure.
Zhang Niujiao fell silent when he heard this.
Only after he had harnessed the harrow to the ox did he speak: "You are right. It seems that Lord Qiao still thinks highly of me. After all, food is the primary need of the people. If we prepare these things in winter, we can go fight the Hu people in the spring."
He couldn't have such a biased perception of Qiao Hou.
Yes, that's it.
After this conversation and cooperation, the duo, privately named "Fool and Unhappy" by Qiao Yan, have gained an understanding of each other's situation.
Afterwards, in addition to the production of the harrow frames and spikes, since the personnel who had previously specialized in agriculture and sericulture from the Leping Academy had been gradually transferred to Taiyuan, the curved plow that had been further improved based on agricultural books was also to be put into production at this time, also supervised by these two people.
Zhang Niujiao now understood why Qiao Yan placed him here.
A considerable number of people working on the "assembly line" of wooden farm tools were black mountain bandits who had been lured by Qiao Yan to the handicraft industry. He could talk to anyone, which obviously made it easier to convey the tasks.
Of course, these people now have Leping household registration, and can even be considered the first group of people who followed Marquis Qiao to start his business.
With a leader like him who is now very contented with his life in charge, this busy team during the twelfth lunar month seems to have regained the atmosphere of planting yam in the fields back then.
Liang Zhongning looked at the bustling scene in front of him and couldn't help but sigh, but he also unconsciously revealed a barely visible smile.
This is Bingzhou under the rule of Marquis Qiao...
Indeed, it is something that people really yearn for.
In parallel with this initiative, there are other things going on.
The villagers in the villages and towns took advantage of the winter to practice martial arts and prepare for war, and those in charge of the border defense front naturally did not rest either.
At the end of January, Qiao Yan officially assigned Xu Huang to the Yinshan defense line, using the second batch of raw materials accumulated after the fermentation tanks were built to defend the Guyang Road Pass.
Taking into account the fact that he could not bite off more than he could chew and the fact that there was not enough extra manpower, Qiao Yan did not plan to let Xu Huang pay attention to the coal mines in Daqingshan and the iron ore resources in Bayan Obo.
After all, if she could properly utilize the mineral resources in Yanmen and Xihe, it would be a remarkable progress.
At the same time, on the Yanmen border, because Bingzhou had already made clear the plan to attack the Huns in the spring, both Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang, who were already familiar with the border defense team, and Lu Bu, who had just been newly appointed, continued to perform their duties of training the army.
Once the troops are dispatched, although it will inevitably be a surprise attack and blitzkrieg, logistical supplies must also be prepared.
The items for this material preparation are:
Anyway, among the governor's subordinates, except for the secretary-general who had specific powers and responsibilities, there were no strict restrictions on the others. Qiao Yan threw the matter to Jia Xu without hesitation.
"Wenhe, do you have anything to say about this?" Qiao Yan had an expression as if he was on a mission. Jia Xu was used to looking calm, and he also had the courage he had gained from walking on the line between life and death several times, so he maintained an impartial attitude.
Previously, Qiao Yan had acted first and reported later, making Jia Mu also serve as the acting assistant in the state, which caught Jia Xu off guard. It also confirmed that although Jia Xu was not sure what the reason was, the degree of importance that this Marquis Qiao attached to him was indeed extraordinary.
Now, not only does he have to face the dilemma of being an official together with his eldest son, but he is also forced to do something he is not prepared for.
Jia Xu bowed and replied, "It's not that I intentionally disobeyed Lord Qiao's order, but if I remember correctly, Lord Qiao ordered me and my family to come to Bingzhou because it should be a legal matter?"
Hearing him say this, Qiao Yan replied calmly: "It is winter now, and few people are out and about, so no thief dares to take the risk of committing a crime; the prefecture holds military power, so no bandits dare to cause trouble; the results of the inspection of the treasury have come out, and since the previous rule of Lord Cui, there is no one in Bingzhou who has embezzled money and grain. From this point of view, the only thing left is the matter of sending troops. Military orders are also laws, so Wenhe will do it first."
It was a relief that she could state this reason so frankly.
A feeling of extreme speechlessness flashed through Jia Xu's mind, but he also realized that he obviously had no room for refusal.
He immediately replied: "I will follow the orders of Lord Qiao."
It was not difficult for him to handle something thoroughly. The process from calculation to allocation went exceptionally smoothly. Even when he went to hand over supplies to Lu Bu, according to the report from the people who accompanied him, Qiao Yan said that they got along quite well.
But his performance ended there. As soon as the handover was completed, he returned to his original position with no intention of showing up.
Compared with those who strive to perform at the top, Jia Xu really makes Qiao Yan unsure how to evaluate him.
All I can say is that it makes sense that some people can live a long life. After all, he was a strategist who lived to be seventy-six years old and had a good end.
"It seems that the force of forcing someone to do something is not strong enough..." Qiao Yan muttered as he looked at the sand table in front of him.
Hearing her nagging, Xi Zhicai found the fight between Qiao Yan and Jia Xu very funny.
No matter how he looked at it, he felt that the scene was like a child with a bad taste turning a turtle that had curled up in its shell upside down, waiting for the turtle to stretch its limbs out of the shell and flutter back out.
However, this turtle was not roasted over the fire, so it was in a completely stable state.
However, Xi Zhicai believes that there is no need to be too anxious. After all, the turtle cannot crawl out of Bingzhou now.
His eyes followed Qiao Yan and fell on the sand table model in front of him.
The previous three-dimensional map on the sand table only showed the territory of Naleping, with the distribution of relevant resources and signs of mountain field planting areas marked on the surrounding mountains and hills.
Now, what has replaced it on this sand table is the general topography of the entire Bingzhou and the distribution of counties and towns.
Clay sculptures representing towns are scattered among the Luliang Mountains, Taihang Mountains, Wutai Mountains and the northernmost Yinshan Mountain range, and various forts are located in the form of mud blocks with flags inserted into them.
But the most striking feature is the marking of mineral resources.
Now, the iron ore, coal mine and gypsum mine, which are most useful to Qiao Yan, are all covered with eye-catching colors. The coal mine and iron mine in Yanmen County even indicate the distance between them and the activity range of the Xianbei tribe.
This three-dimensional map of Bingzhou is placed before our eyes. Although it is far less magnificent and beautiful than the actual mountains and rivers, it gives us a feeling of having the mountains and rivers in our hands.
Especially after this series of tasks have been assigned, it is like placing pieces in an orderly manner on the invisible chessboard in front of you, just waiting for the end of the game, when these chess pieces that are gradually gaining momentum will swallow up other opponents on the board.
Xi Zhicai had just thought of this when he suddenly heard Qiao Yan say, "Please write another letter for me, sir."
When Qiao Yan turned around, he saw Xi Zhicai's alert expression, and added: "Don't worry, sir, I don't mean to ask you to write a letter of apology this time. This is just an ordinary report document. As long as-"
"Just report the actual situation of Bingzhou's preparations for war truthfully."
Xi Zhicai heard clearly that Qiao Yan slightly emphasized the word "truthfully", which was obviously not an ordinary signal.
Then he would know how to write.
In February of the fifth year of Zhongping, Liu Hong, who was in Luoyang, received a report from the governor of Bingzhou.
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