Chapter 137: Bridge Across the River
In today’s world, let alone princesses, even commoner women have fewer restrictions on remarriage. There is even a saying that “since Dong Yan, princesses and noble ladies have been subject to more than the rules of etiquette”1.
However, it was still somewhat surprising to Qiao Yan that Princess Yang'an, who had no other brothers to support her after her father's death, would say at this time that she wanted to divorce Fu Wan in order to maintain the dignity of the Han Dynasty.
But the eldest princess, who still had the royal demeanor, showed no hesitation when she said this, and it was obvious that her words were the result of her careful consideration.
Before Qiao Yan could open his mouth, the eldest princess said, "Of course, if they really want to come, it won't just be Ah Shou and I. Ah Shou's biological mother and my youngest son Fu Ya, as well as... the several princesses that Ah Shou proposed to take in in the mansion, will also come."
"So, the princess has already explained this matter to Minister Fu?" Qiao Yan asked.
She naturally had no objection to this.
From Fu Shou's earlier conversation with the eldest princess, Qiao Yan was able to roughly outline her image.
She was somewhat strict with her children, which sometimes made Fu Shou feel intimidated by her. Fortunately, she knew that the honor of being the eldest princess was only given by Liu Hong to show his preferential treatment to the descendants of Emperor Huan of Han. She seldom communicated with the royal relatives on weekdays, so it didn't matter whether she stood on the side of Liu Xie or Liu Bian.
It is not difficult to understand why she was unwilling to follow Liu Bian, the new emperor, to Yecheng.
On the one hand, as she said, she knew very well that this move was a destruction of the authority of the Han royal family and she felt resentful. On the other hand, in this court formed with Liu Hong's eldest son as the heir, the situation she faced would be even more embarrassing.
Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were loyal followers of the emperor, but they had burned down the Nan Palace earlier. Perhaps the new emperor was just a tool for them to seek power, let alone her, the eldest princess.
Yecheng, Jizhou, is a place where Liu Bian can forget the various setbacks he suffered during his time in Luoyang. It is also a place where Fu Wan can seek wealth and honor again. However, it is definitely not a place that Princess Yang'an Liu Hua can go to.
It is also not a place where Liu Hong's princesses can go.
And now it happens that there are frequent disturbances on all sides, and no one can predict whether this brief period of weather relief will last for one or two years. If she asks to go to her fiefdom, if the drought comes again, she may not be able to protect herself.
After analyzing the various princes who came to Luoyang to support the king, Liu Hua realized that the only person she could choose to surrender to was Qiao Yan.
For this reason, she called Fu Shou back.
Ever since Fu Shou came into contact with Qiao Yan, she has often regarded the Bingzhou governor as her idol. His suggestion to bring several princesses to the mansion to avoid disaster on the day of Liu Hong's death made Liu Hua realize that he could no longer treat her as an ordinary child.
Facts proved that she was right about Fu Shou. When Liu Hua asked Fu Shou if she could help introduce Yu Qiaoyan, Fu Shou thought for a moment and asked, "Since Lord Lu and others think that the emperor in Chang'an may be rescued, the eldest son of the late emperor will be in trouble, and father wants to advance by following the emperor, which is a way to bring disaster. Why can't my second brother and I follow mother to Bingzhou?"
Let Fu Wan take his eldest son Fu De to Jizhou.
Since her father was unreliable, she would take her mother and run away with her stepmother.
They could still give Fu Wan a plausible reason and say that their choice was to make the family business not to put all the money in one basket. But what is the truth? Who can tell after they have parted ways with Fu Wan?
Liu Hua and Fu Shou discussed this method and found it feasible, so they immediately decided to talk to Fu Wan about it.
Of course, she would not bring this kind of word game to the attention of Qiao Yan in public, and only replied: "I will not bring this kind of trouble to Lord Qiao. I am the eldest daughter of Emperor Xiaohuan, and I have a lot of dowry, so I don't need any help from Lord Qiao. I just want to ask Lord Qiao to agree to one thing."
"My sons Fu Ya and A Shou have both reached the age to go to school. I heard that the great scholar Cai Bojie is in Leping, so I would like to ask Marquis Qiao to introduce them to him. As for whether they are willing to be accepted as his disciples, I have no intention of forcing them."
Qiao Yan smiled and said, "I think the princess can wait until she arrives at Leping Temple before making this decision."
Leping Academy was not supported by Cai Yong alone.
There seemed to be a deeper meaning in Qiao Yan's words, so Liu Hua didn't ask any more questions. He just agreed on the departure time with her and turned around and left.
After seeing off Princess Yang'an, Qiao Yan quickly turned to bow to Xun Shuang and said, "I have heard of the name of the Xun family of Yingchuan when I passed by Changsha in my early years. Unfortunately, Mr. Ciming was hiding from disaster at that time, so I did not have the opportunity to visit him for advice. Now I see that you are willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. You are truly a model for our generation to emulate."
Xun Shuang shook his head and replied, "You don't have to praise me like that. I'm old. How can I compare to the heroic spirit of Marquis Qiao, who crossed the river in times of danger and defeated the Dong bandits. You don't have to think that my going to Chang'an is a big deal. It's just a change of place to live. When it comes to supporting the country and the people's livelihood, you young people are still the ones who need to be looked up to."
Princess Yang'an spoke directly and did not hide anything, and the same was true for Xun Shuang.
He pushed Xun You, who was with him, forward and said, "I came here for only one thing."
"Although there is a saying in this world that one should promote the virtuous and avoid relatives, since Marquis Qiao has a plan to advance from Liangzhou to Chang'an, after thinking it over, I still want to recommend Gongda to you. Gongda is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and is very good at analyzing the current situation of war. If Marquis Qiao goes to Liangzhou, he can accompany the army. What do you think?"
These words shocked Qiao Yan even more than when Princess Yang'an told her that she wanted to surrender.
Even though she did not show such surprise on her face, her heart was already filled with uncontrollable waves.
What do you think? What do you think?
This is Xun You!
Xun You was praised by Cao Cao as "He followed every call and defeated the enemies before and after, all thanks to his strategies"!
In her original plan, the war to conquer Liangzhou should be led by Jia Xu, a native of Liangzhou.
Since Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai needed to stay in Bingzhou, and Guo Jia needed to pay attention to the situation outside the Great Wall to prevent problems from arising in the attack on Budugen and Kebineng and causing disasters, the most she could do was to bring Xu Fu with her.
Fortunately, after the death of Yan Zhong, the famous Xiliang scholar, Ma Teng and Han Sui no longer had a mascot sign. At the same time, Dong Zhuo entered the capital, which made them less threatening. So they started to attack each other and cause civil strife. Under this circumstance, if Qiao Yan could get help from Huangfu Song again, he would not be under too much pressure.
But if there is another Xun You, it will be like adding wings to a tiger!
As soon as Xun Shuang finished speaking, Qiao Yan subconsciously looked towards Xun You.
Today in the parliament hall, Xun You only supported his great-grandfather Xun Shuang, like a silent crutch with no sense of existence, but when meeting those eyes, it was not difficult to recognize that this was the look of a person who had his own plans in mind.
Even though Qiao Yan did not know that Xun You had described her as "unfathomable" before she arrived in Luoyang, she could see that Xun Shang recommended Xun You not to ensure that he could be smoothly picked up from Chang'an and accomplish the mission of saving the emperor, but because after the battle of Luoyang, Xun You himself had already evaluated the forces of all parties and finally decided on the object of his loyalty.
If he himself did not have this intention, based on the evaluation of Xun You by Zheng Tai, a famous scholar who had arrived in Bingzhou earlier, he would never be arranged to go by Xun Shuang at will.
It was during this eye contact that Qiao Yan realized another fact.
In this campaign to purge the court and defeat Dong Zhuo, she was finally, officially, included in the list of people who could be invested in by these prestigious Central Plains families.
She is no longer the young governor who rose to prominence simply by relying on her status as Liu Hong's loyal subject!
He is a person who can compete with his peers, elders, and even the heroes of the world, and is also placed at the forefront of the list!
Xun You, or the Xun family of Yingchuan, had the foresight to enable them to act ahead of others.
But the subsequent impact of this trip to Luoyang is by no means over.
At least it is not just the Xun family that made this decision to invest, there are other famous families with complex connections.
Even though Qiao Yan knew very well that if he wanted to rebuild order, he must not rely too much on the aristocratic families and depend entirely on their support to gain a foothold.
But she knew the proper degree of getting along with others.
Someone like Xun You, who can be classified as a strategic weapon, would not be rejected by Qiao Yan.
This thought in her mind did not make her hesitate for long in front of Xun Shuang and Xun You, and she immediately replied: "Don't avoid enemies when recommending people from outside, and don't avoid sons when recommending people from inside. This is what Qi Huangyang said. The country is in danger, and the people recommended by Mr. Ciming must be the ones I really need."
She pondered for a moment and continued, "If I remember correctly, Gongda was recommended by General He to serve as the Yellow Gate Minister. Unfortunately, there is no official position of the corresponding rank in Bingzhou. But if I want to conquer Liangzhou, I must set out via Shangjun. I wonder if Gongda is willing to serve as an official in Shangjun of Bingzhou and follow the army to the battle."
Xun Shuang recommended Xun You to her. Even if he said that Xun You crossed the river in times of crisis and defeated the Dong bandits, and that he had praised her to the utmost, he would never want to hear what she had to say - whether Xun You could become a military advisor during the march was still an unknown, and they would wait until she achieved some results.
Offering Shangjun the currently vacant position was also tantamount to her response to Xun's optimism.
Xun You heard this and bowed to her: "It is enough to do this job. I will do my best to help you."
He made this promise in a serious tone, and his expression was gentle in contrast to before. But for Qiao Yan, it was a principle of military strategy that a man of great kindness should not be in charge of an army. If Xun You wanted to be competent as a military advisor and compete with Jia Xu in the battle of Liang Province, he had to adopt this attitude.
She helped him up and said, "Then please send Mr. Ciming back first, and then report to my military camp in the north of Luoyang."
The soldiers under her command are now temporarily borrowing part of the camp of the Northern Army's five schools.
The Luyang coalition forces were stationed in the south of the city, and the Suanzao coalition forces were stationed in the east of the city, so as to avoid disturbing each other.
In this way, Xun You would not take the wrong road.
He replied to her, "As you command, my Lord," and followed Xun Shuang back to Sikong Mansion.
Qiao Yan had no idea what kind of communication and instructions the grandfather and granddaughter had after the matter of choosing a master was completed. All she knew was that Yang Xiu, who had already greeted her across the street, was now filled with resentment.
He walked over, feeling emotional. After four years of not seeing each other, Qiao Yan's aura of a superior has become more prominent, no longer limited by the four words "young phoenix and clear voice" back then. At the same time, he couldn't help but mutter that he was the one who had a keen eye for talent early on, so how could he...
"Do you have any extra positions in your Bingzhou Prefecture?"
Qiao Yan replied: "I thought that with your temper, Yang Dezu, you should ask which position you have set your sights on and want to compete with the other party."
“……”That’s not the case.
We cannot label him with such a stereotype just because he was quite dissatisfied with Qiao Yan and made provocative actions and agreed to go to Dingzhong Temple to ask for a Yuedanping evaluation.
Yang Xiu muttered, "Those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who have worked hard will be granted titles. This is an established rule. I have never intended to use the reputation of the Hongnong Yang family to ask for any preferential treatment from you. Moreover, I have been absent from Bingzhou for the past few years, and I know very little about the way of governing under your command. If I rashly seek a high position, I will only bring disgrace upon myself."
Anyone who gets slapped in the face once will learn a lesson.
Qiao Yan couldn't help but laugh and said, "This isn't something you, Yang Dezu, would say."
"You are wrong," Yang Xiu shook his head and replied, "It is precisely because I am conceited that I am a smart man that I only seek a place to stay first. Future promotion will naturally depend on my ability."
"Does your father have any objection to your choice?" Qiao Yan asked again.
After all, Yang Biao chose to stand on the side of the Yuan family, with whom he was related by marriage, and was about to follow them to Yecheng.
If Yang Xiu had gone with them, the treatment he would have enjoyed would not have been the same as if he had come to surrender to Bingzhou. He could only choose the leftovers.
Yang Xiu replied, "Before you and your men came to Luoyang, I made a bet with my father. It was said that if you, my lord, could enter Luoyang first, my father would not be able to stop me from choosing Bingzhou."
He bowed to Qiao Yan and said, "I have to thank you for not letting me lose this bet."
But it is obvious that after experiencing this emergency battle in the face of danger, he is not the only one with vision.
Although Yang Xiu was proud, he couldn't help but feel dizzy when he thought about the fact that he was competing with Xun You at the same time.
"There are still some positions left in Bingzhou..." Qiao Yan walked towards the northern military camp, motioned Yang Xiu to follow him, and took the opportunity to figure out which position was suitable for him.
At this time, Yang Xiu's origin from the Hongnong Yang family was not only not an aid to him, but also a restriction to him.
For example, she had previously felt that the position of Da Zhongzheng, which was urgently needed in Bingzhou, would never be given to Yang Xiu. This position responsible for selecting talents might be more suitable for Zheng Tai.
If it looks like this -
"I intend to promote the current chief clerk to the position of Gongcao Shigong, and appoint you as the chief clerk. What do you think?" Qiao Yan asked.
If Yang Xiu was only an accountant or a fake assistant, she would inevitably be suspected of mistreating the children of aristocratic families if it were made public.
The position of Inspector was not suitable for Yang Xiu's emotional intelligence.
On the contrary, accompanying the army as a chief clerk was more in line with his qualifications in Bingzhou and his own abilities.
This also allowed Qiao Yan to naturally promote Lu Yuan from the position of chief clerk to the position of Gongcao Shishi.
This position is no less important than the positions of Beijia and Zhizhong, and was originally reserved for her by Qiao Yan. Now, based on merit and seniority, she can be placed here.
It is interesting to note that when Cao Cao was the prime minister, Yang Xiu also served as the chief clerk.
It was hard not to make Qiao Yan feel quite subtle when he met Cao Cao in person.
But as for poaching, well, if you poach more people, you won't feel guilty.
Moreover, the focus of this meeting was not to discuss how much she had stolen from the other party, nor to discuss whether she should make up for the gift that she had not given to some nephew, including the two gifts given to Cao Cao's second son Cao Pi, who was less than two years old, and his son Cao Zhang, who was just born this year, but to see Lord Lu off.
Or it could be Lu Gong and others.
Lu Zhi, Huang Wan, Wang Yun, Yang Zan, Shisun Rui, and Xun Shuang were just representatives of the officials who went to Chang'an this time.
The Sunset Pavilion, which is a famous farewell spot in the west of Luoyang, is in front of us. Zhangfanggou, which is the boundary of the west, is the boundary of the west. After crossing the bridge and heading west, we are out of Luoyang. Looking around, we can see that there are many people coming and going here today. It doesn't seem like the western suburbs, but a prosperous place in the capital.
Although these officials who were about to rush to Chang'an did not bring their families with them, they all brought a lot of luggage with them, just to gain Dong Zhuo's trust.
This also made Qiao Yan realize very clearly that the great unification of the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties, which lasted for nearly four hundred years, had formed a deep-rooted sense of loyalty among the people.
Even though the situation has now become a division between the East and the West due to this unexpected change, even though the ills of the late dynasty have shown so many signs of being difficult to reverse, and even though neither Liu Xie nor Liu Bian can be regarded as wise rulers who can turn the tide, they still regard themselves as Han ministers and are willing to die for it.
She wanted to break this situation and establish a new set of rules from this already broken situation. It was far from enough to rely solely on the people under her command who did not have much sense of belonging to the Han Dynasty and on this state.
It’s not enough…
As she looked at this scene, she was moved by the scene that was like the whistling wind and the cold Yishui River, and at the same time she couldn't help sighing in her heart about this matter.
This is what it means to have a long and arduous journey.
"You just promised Lord Lu that you would stop General Huangfu from being controlled by Dong Zhuo, and you would not let Lord Lu wait too long and then just sit here in a daze. How come you, Lord Qiao, who has always been good at strategizing, would sometimes be confused?" Cao Cao interrupted her thoughts and asked.
Qiao Yan put away his thoughts and replied, "If a person has no worries, how can he be called a human being? On the one hand, I am worried that Lu Gong and his men will go to Chang'an and live under Dong Zhuo's butcher knife for a long time. On the other hand, I am thinking that the eldest son of the late emperor is the emperor of the east and the capital is moved to Ye. What should the residents of Luoyang do?"
"I heard that Yuan Benchu intended to have the emperor issue an edict to exempt taxes in the area around Yecheng and allow some residents to relocate, but the number of people willing to follow his orders was definitely not the majority."
Being under the emperor's feet does not necessarily mean peace. Take Luoyang for example. When Dong Zhuo arrived, the first people to suffer were the people of Luoyang.
Cao Cao thought for a moment and replied, "Not all of these people will stay in Luoyang."
The land in Luoyang is expensive and the houses are crowded. It was because Luoyang was the capital that it was able to gather to such a scale.
Gathering together in this way today is not the choice of the people who have learned to seek benefits and avoid harm in troubled times.
In the future, with the withdrawal of the five schools of the Northern Army, the population of the capital city of Luoyang will be reduced by at least half.
And these people will probably migrate to nearby states and counties.
Cao Cao said again: "I originally wanted to tell you that your expedition to Liang Province has realized my ambition to conquer the west ahead of me. Why not give me a chance to march forward together? But since you deliberately mentioned the matter of the residents of Luoyang to me, I have another idea."
He said with a firm tone: "I ask for the position of governor of Dongjun. If I make some achievements, I will ask for the position of governor of Yanzhou."
The former governor of Dongjun, Qiao Mao, was killed by Hu Zhen, Hua Xiong and others during the attack of the Suanzao Alliance on Xuanmen Pass, which left the position of governor of Dongjun vacant.
Dongjun is connected to Sili. If people from Luoyang move out, they are very likely to choose this place.
"Who does Meng De plan to ask for this position?" Qiao Yan looked at the team that was packing up their boxes and setting off in the setting sun. Even though Lu Zhi still had his back straight and was full of pride and integrity, she couldn't help feeling a little melancholy in her heart.
Cao Cao was heard to reply: "It makes no difference who you ask for help from, as long as you can achieve your goal."
Qiao Yan withdrew his gaze from Lu Zhi and looked towards Cao Cao.
It was not difficult for her to notice that after experiencing the unreliable march of the Suanzao Alliance, some of his ideas had obviously changed.
But this more practical idea is obviously more suitable for today's era.
As for other emotions, given Cao Cao's experience and maturity, he would not show them outwardly, allowing Qiao Yan to fully understand them.
She just asked casually, "Come to think of it, Xuande and you went the same way to Suanzao, so you are quite familiar with him. Have you ever asked him what his plans are?"
Cao Cao replied, "Xuan De originally intended to follow Lord Lu to Chang'an, and he also wanted to serve as a disciple, but Lord Lu scolded him and he came back."
Qiao Yan continued, "Lord Lu must have said that Xuande is in his prime, and he has warriors like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to help him. Even if he doesn't know what to do, it would be good to go to Qingxu where the Yellow Turbans have not yet been pacified and do his best."
Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed, "Yeshu really deserves to be a student of Lord Lu. He knows his temper very well. I suggested that if this is the case, why not let Xuande accept the invitation of Ying Zhongyuan, the governor of Mount Tai, and seek a position of 2,000 dan in a nearby place, so that they can look after each other."
"It's close to Mount Tai, and we have to guard against the Qingxu Yellow Turbans..." Qiao Yan thought Cao Cao had a bad taste, "Isn't that the Jinan State where you once served?"
Cao Cao replied frankly: "From the position of magistrate of Qinghe County to the position of prime minister of Jinan, it can be considered a promotion."
This is where Liu Bei went next.
As for Cao Cao, even without Qiao Yan's reminder, he would have chosen a county in Yanzhou as his first destination.
Given the locations of these two places, if they wanted to ensure that they could obtain this official position, they had to recognize Liu Bian's position as emperor.
This seems to be inconsistent with Cao Cao's earlier cooperation with Lu Zhi to ensure Liu Xie's accession to the throne, but just as he said -
As long as the goal can be achieved.
When he and Qiao Yan parted, he asked another question: "Ye Shu advised me to take in the people who moved out of Luoyang in Yanzhou and keep them safe. Don't you plan to do something about it?"
Qiao Yan raised his eyebrows: "When did I ever say that I am the type to just give away benefits to others?"
She has big ambitions.
Long before the "failure" in pursuing Dong Zhuo's army and returning to Luoyang, she ordered Zhang Liao to take some people back to the Yellow River, except for the soldiers who were nominally stationed in the Northern Army camp.
When the people of Luoyang migrated out, Bingzhou might not be the first choice, but since it was the first to attack Luoyang and did not harm the people at all, it was certain that it would be at the forefront.
The only thing that prevented them from making the decision to move to Bingzhou was the big river.
She should be thankful now that she had built enough ships in order to confuse the troops led by Niu Fu who were stationed in Mengjin at that time.
In addition to transporting the troops that would defeat the enemy after her soldiers who had landed in sheepskin bags seized the river bank, these boats also played another role at this time.
In the second half of June, the Yellow River's rainy season flood period has passed, and the water flow in the Mengjin section has become calmer.
These boats, with four long poles erected on both sides of the hull, were suspended on the river surface with anchors, and long wooden boards were laid between the boats within the range defined by the long poles.
It connects all the way from Mengjin Ferry to the north bank of the river.
This formed a floating bridge between the two banks.
When Ma Lun and her assistants carried the remaining books across the river, she saw many Luoyang residents pushing carts across the river on the floating bridge.
Ren Hongchang, who was arranged by her to rescue people in Beigong, was also in the team crossing the river with Ma Lun. Looking at the bridge over the Yellow River that had never been built before, he couldn't help but show a bit of amazement in his eyes.
That day, Ma Lun reunited with his second son and asked him what kind of reward she wanted. She thought about it for a while and replied that she wanted to be a capable person who could make a living in the world. So Ma Lun accepted her as his disciple to inherit her mantle, and naturally she had to follow him to Bingzhou.
She also didn't know whether it was the right choice for her to make this choice instead of continuing to be the female official "Diao Chan" in charge of clothing in the palace. But at least the road to Bingzhou and the construction of a floating bridge on the river to attract immigrants from Luoyang had made her realize that Marquis Qiao was not only extremely talented in warfare, but also had a courage that ordinary people could hardly match.
There is still the Taihang Mountains separating Bingzhou. What is it like under the governance of the Bingzhou governor?
This is not just her idea.
These Luoyang residents who moved to Bingzhou had such doubts. Yang Xiu, who had been away from Bingzhou for four years, had such doubts. Even Xun You, who had just joined Qiao Yan's army, had such curiosity.
He crossed the river with Qiao Yan and saw a young man of extraordinary bearing waiting on the other side of the river. From the address Qiao Yan gave when he motioned for him to come aside to talk, he realized that the man was Wei Ji from the Wei family in Hedong.
Wei Ji is not even 25 years old yet, but he is known for his ability to break things. In the Hedong Wei family, which is known for its Confucian classics and calligraphy, he is undoubtedly the head of the family. Therefore, before Qiao Yan sent troops to Luoyang and asked Lu Yuan to find the Wei family, he was already the head of the Wei family.
Qiao Yan returned triumphantly, so he naturally came to greet him as a sign.
He followed Qiao Yan along the river, but couldn't help but look at the floating bridge that stretched from north to south.
Whether you say that this took advantage of the season or relied on the mobility of the Bingzhou army, this was undoubtedly a big move.
"Mr. Qiao's bold thinking and daring actions sometimes make me feel that I can never catch up with him." He sighed.
Even though he had not gone to the south bank of the river this time, it was not difficult for him to see from the expressions of the people of Luoyang who had crossed the river that they were longing for Bingzhou because of Qiao Yan.
This makes people feel that this Bingzhou governor is really good at creating miracles.
Qiao Yan replied: "Bo Ju, this is not my ability, it is just that - the world is difficult, Luoyang is not easy, the people hope for peace and happiness."
Wei Ji paused.
He couldn't tell for a moment whether the word "Leping" meant enjoying peace and tranquility, or whether it was a reference to Bingzhou by the Marquis of Leping, or maybe both.
But in the eyes of the victorious young governor—
He saw a blazing flame that was sweeping across the world.
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